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By Lizzie Bennett I wrote a few days ago about vehicle preparedness in winter. I want to follow on from that today with things you should be thinking of if you find yourself caught outside in... | 0 |
26. Oktober 2016 Julia Shevelkina Russia Beyond The Headlines organisierte auf der Buchmesse eine Filmvorführung und eine Lesung zu den Solowezki-Inseln. Quelle:RBTH Hölle und Paradies liegen auf dem Solowki-Archipel nah beieinander, wie der russische Schriftsteller Ewgenij Wodolazkin auf der Frankfurter Buchmesse erklärte. Dort stellte er nicht nur sein neues Buch vor, sondern auch die RBTH-Kurzfilmdokumentation „Das Gedächtnis der Solowezki-Inseln“.
„Viele leben gerne hier auf dem Solowki-Archipel. Der Sommer ist warm genug und der Winter ist kalt. Pilze und Beeren sprießen aus der Erde, Fische locken Angelfreunde und die Natur! Vor allem sie ist hier einfach atemberaubend.“ Ein schöner Ort eigentlich, wenn es nicht um die berühmt-berüchtigten Inseln im Weißen Meer ginge, wo sich zu Sowjetzeiten das erste große Häftlingslager befand, und nicht ein Mann spräche, der täglich Touristen hierhin bringt, um sie an die grausame Geschichte des Ortes zu erinnern. Der lange Weg auf die Solowezki-Inseln „Das Gedächtnis der Solowezki-Inseln“ heißt die Kurzfilmdokumentation , die das RBTH-Team vor einem Jahr drehte. Mit Foto- und Kameraequipment im Gepäck begaben sich junge Reporter damals auf eine lange Reise, sprachen mit Mönchen aus dem Solowezki-Kloster, fanden Gärtner, für die das Archipel ein gewöhnlicher Arbeitsort wie jeder andere ist, und besuchten das Fischerdorf Rebalda, wo seit Jahrzehnten Meerkohl gewonnen wird.
Der so entstandene Film wurde am vergangenen Samstag am russischen Stand der Frankfurter Buchmesse präsentiert. Die Einführung gab der russische Schriftsteller Evgenij Vodolazkin, der seinen neuen Roman „Aviator“ („Der Flieger“) vorstellte. In seinem Buch, das die vielschichtige Geschichte der Inseln thematisiert, lässt sich ein Häftling des Gulags 1932 im Rahmen eines Experiments einfrieren und überlebt so das Aufblühen und den Niedergang der Sowjetmacht. 1999 wird er entfrostet und fängt an, ein Tagebuch zu führen, in dem seine Erinnerungen an die Vergangenheit sich mit aktuellen Ereignissen verflechten.
Ewgenij Wodolazkin präsentierte in Frankfurt die Kurzdokumentation von Russia Beyond The Headlines. / RBTH
„ Die Solowezki-Inseln spielen eine große Rolle in meinem Roman“, erzählte Vodolazkin dem anwesenden Publikum, „sie sind in gewisser Hinsicht stellvertretend für Russland zu betrachten.“ Einst habe es hier ein Klosterparadies gegeben, das später in die kommunistische Lagerhölle umgewandelt worden sei. „Zumindest dachte ich so, als ich vor fünf Jahren meine Arbeit an einem anderen Buch – den Erinnerungen der Menschen, die auf den Solowezki-Inseln einsaßen – begann. Aber dann stellte sich alles als wesentlich schwieriger heraus“, berichtete Vodolazkin.
Denn das Paradies in Reinform habe es auf Solowki nie gegeben. Schon 1667 bis 1676 sei der Archipel Schauplatz einer schrecklichen Periode der russischen Geschichte gewesen, als die Inseln von zaristischen Truppen besetzt waren. Diese Zeit nennt Vodolazkin eine schlimme Form der Barbarei.
„Und auch die Hölle war hier nie die Hölle in Reinform“, fügte der Autor hinzu. Sogar im Straflager habe es Beispiele für menschliche Größe gegeben. „Wenn Mönche, die dort lebten, Wärtern das Leben retteten, halfen sie damit eigentlich denjenigen, die ihnen Leid angetan haben“, erklärte Vodolazkin.
Die Kurzdokumentation von Russia Beyond The Headlines wurde auf der Buchmesse präsentiert. / RBTH
Mit diesem einfachen Beispiel zeigte Vodolazkin, wie widersprüchlich die Geschichte der Solowezki-Inseln doch war, und tauchte mit dem Publikum ein in die Welt des Dokumentarfilms. An das Heilige des Ortes erinnert der Film mit Aufnahmen der hölzernen Kreuze und Kapellen. Die kleinen eisernen Grabsteine mit der lakonischen Inschrift „Zwei Personen“ bringen den Zuschauer jedoch schnell in die Gegenwart der Solschenizyn-Bücher zurück. „Die Inseln erinnern sich an alles, was hier passiert ist. Das spürt man“, sagt eine Offstimme am Ende des Films. | 0 |
5 Debate is raging in the UK over the work of Sharia Councils often used by Muslims to settle family disputes and divorce. Two inquiries have been launched into its practices after accusations of discrimination against women came to light. Activists made their cases in the House of Commons on Tuesday..both for and against the Councils. We put the issue up for debate with Baroness Cox, who raised a motion against Sharia law in the House of Lords today, and Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadan Foundation in the UK. | 0 |
The White House’s Overflowing In-box Written by Ralph R. Reiland Email
No matter whether it’s Trump or Clinton who wins the election, the victor will be confronted with an inbox brimming over with acute social and economic difficulties.
Nevertheless, regarding unemployment, the latest jobs report from the Department of Labor, issued October 7, recapped September’s economic performance and portrayed the following semi-buoyant state of affairs: “Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 156,000 in September, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.”
Conversely, the Labor Department’s report also verified the weakening level of job creation in the U.S. economy: “Thus far this year, job growth has averaged 178,000 per month, compared with an average of 229,000 per month in 2015.”
Reporting the level of joblessness by the millions, the Labor Department stated the following: “The unemployment rate, at 5.0 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, at 7.9 million, changed little in September. Both measures have shown little movement, on net, since August of last year.”
Setting the official number of unemployed persons in the U.S. economy at 7.9 million adds up to a huge undercounting of the actual the level of U.S. joblessness and a far-reaching case of public sector malfeasance, as evidenced by the jobless figures contained in recent column, “Men Need Help. Is Hillary Clinton the Answer?” October 21, 2016, by Susan Chira, a senior correspondent and editor on gender issues for The New York Times.
“If Hillary Clinton wins this election and becomes the first female president of the United States, American men may well be one of her most urgent problems,” writes Ms. Chira. “Consider some startling statistics: More than a fifth of American men — about 20 million people — between 20 and 65 had no paid work last year.” That 20 million with no work is more than double the official jobless number of 7.9 million.
Continues Chira, “Seven million men between 25 and 55 are no longer even looking for work, twice as many black men as white.” None of those seven million unemployed individuals are counted as unemployed by the Labor Department because they’ve not been sufficiently active in looking for work in the previous four weeks. Rather than being counted as unemployed, they’re authoritatively pigeon-holed by the D.C. bureaucracy as “discouraged” rather than jobless.
“There are 20 million men with felony records who are not in jail, with dim prospects of employment, and more of these are black men,” reports Chira, while also citing forecasts of higher levels of unemployment on the horizon: “Lawrence H. Summers, the former Treasury secretary and now a professor of economics at Harvard, estimates that a third of men between 25 and 54 without college educations could be out of work by midcentury.”
Similarly, women in the workforce are not exempt from the insecurities and joblessness being doled out in the labor market. “Economists and scholars have assembled a trove of disturbing data about the plight of men, even as they acknowledge that women’s employment has stalled for the past 15 years as well,” writes Chira.
Regrettably, the seemingly endless months of backbiting in the election focusing on Trump’s incivility and the Clinton staff’s practice of smashing her communication devices with hammers will do nothing to fix the problem of this increasingly marginalized and dispirited workforce.
Ralph R. Reiland is an Associate Professor of Economics Emeritus at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. | 0 |
BREAKING : Ex-Apprentice Summer Zervos Paid $500,000 By Gloria Allred To Accuse Trump, Deal Went To Others Too BREAKING : Ex-Apprentice Summer Zervos Paid $500,000 By Gloria Allred To Accuse Trump, Deal Went To Others Too
GotNews Reports
The Apprentice loser and Trump “fake rape” accuser Summer Zervos was bribed $500,000 by Democrat fundraiser and lawyer Gloria Allred to make her accusations against Donald Trump, a deal that was shopped around to other ex- Apprentice contestants too, according to anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
GotNews’ source tells us that Zervos’ sexual harassment accusation against Trump is a “completely fabricated hoax.”
Zervos was paid half a million dollars by Gloria Allred, which is being paid out “slowly over time” according to our source. LYING TRUMP ACCUSER SUMMER ZERVOS IMMEDIATELY AFTER BEING FIRED AND HUMILIATED ON NATIONAL TV BY DONALD TRUMP. FROM NBC.
Zervos was a big league Trump supporter who converted her whole family to the Trump Train until she met Gloria Allred, as was reported before.
Money talks!
GotNews’ anonymous source tells us that Zervos’ family is aware of the transaction and angry about it, but does not want to be caught up in the news cycle. | 0 |
Mel Craig’s father has been tormented over the past year by swindlers calling him at home, threatening him if he did not send them more money. “Returned after a trip to find receipts on the table for $300 worth of iTunes cards,” wrote Ms. Craig, a New York Times commenter in Washington, D. C. “Dad doesn’t even know what iTunes is. ” More than 1, 000 readers responded to Ellen Barry’s recent article on a call center in India that is being investigated for fraud against Americans. Many of the commenters, who responded on the article and on The Times’s Facebook post, said they, too, had received calls from strangers demanding payments or personal information. Some expressed sympathy for those who are conned, and others voiced anger at the criminals and a system that seems to do little to protect the vulnerable. Readers also shared their tactics for dealing with the calls. “Sometimes I give the scammer a made up credit card number one digit short of the full complement, then keep changing the sequence when they read it back,” Bruce in Cleveland wrote. “I can still make dinner while I’m doing this on speaker phone. ” Here is a selection of the responses. They have been edited and condensed. — Thomas E. Heines in Dallas, who has worked in information technology — Eric Beldoch in Ardsley, N. Y. — Aryan Nair via Facebook — Mel Craig in Washington — Richard Garner in Germantown Hills, Ill. — Thomas H. Williams in Annapolis, Md. — AMM in New York — Evelyn in Orlando — Ellen D. Murphy in Portland, Me. — Jeff in the Slope in New York — MNW in Connecticut — Joan Morrissey via Facebook — Ken in Mont Vernon, N. H. — Mary Ann Hymel in Bellevue, Wash. — Elizabeth in Washington — Crystal Means via Facebook — Mosselyn in Silicon Valley | 1 |
Consider this a primer on everything you need to know about one of the most important events of the fall season: the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s “L’Amour de Loin” on Thursday, Dec. 1. (It runs through Dec. 29.) WHY IT’S A BIG DEAL For a couple of reasons. Even as the Met has slowly modernized its offerings in recent years, it still does far less contemporary opera than major European companies. And “L’Amour de Loin,” which had its premiere at the Salzburg Festival in Austria in 2000, has since become one of the most acclaimed and widely performed works of the 21st century. The Met may be late to the party on this one, but it’s still an arrival worth celebrating. Another important aspect relates to its composer’s gender. The Met hasn’t performed an opera written by a woman since Ethel Smyth’s “Der Wald” in 1903. (Read that sentence one more time, and think about it hard.) So it’s a major statement for the company to be adding Ms. Saariaho’s “L’Amour de Loin” to its history — though this is a slightly delicate matter, since she has long resisted being categorized (read: ghettoized) as a “female composer. ” WHO SHE IS Born in Helsinki in 1952, Ms. Saariaho has long experimented with incorporating electronics and technology into her work, without ever abandoning the resources and colors of traditional instruments. (For one piece, she developed a special microphone to individually amplify each of a cello’s four strings.) There are fewer recognizable melodies in her music than there are shimmering, changeable textures, and sudden whirlpools of violence and activity. But even if they’re not necessarily catchy, her vocal lines are lush and intense, well suited to the love and longing in “L’Amour de Loin. ” WHAT IT’S ABOUT Ms. Saariaho, working with the writer Amin Maalouf, created a stylized version of the life of a historical figure, the troubadour Jaufré Rudel. A wealthy prince in Aquitaine, Jaufré is tired of his dissolute aristocratic life and, spurred by a pilgrim’s tale, falls in love with someone he’s never met: Clémence, the Countess of Tripoli. He avoids meeting her, though, fearing that that would ruin the purity of his “amour de loin” (“love from afar”). The story couldn’t be simpler, and the opera deepens not through the complexity of the plot, but from the emotional weight of living with these characters in a kind of contemplative stillness. (We aren’t in “La Bohème” anymore, Toto. “L’Amour de Loin” feels more like it’s suspended in space.) The work moves back and forth, like a kind of pendulum, from Jaufré (a baritone role) to Clémence (soprano) with the Pilgrim ( ) acting as transmitting the ’s songs to the countess. POLITICAL RESONANCES “Though it was not intended as such,” Anthony Tommasini wrote in his review of the 2000 premiere in The New York Times, “‘L’Amour de Loin’ provides a jolt of sanity amid the political conflicts that of late have been rattling the world, Austria in particular, over issues of nationality, immigration, the sanctity of borders and the cultural gulf between the West and the East. ” And in an interview with The Times in 2002, Ms. Saariaho said: “In the midst of composing it, I understood that it was also my story. I was at once the troubadour and the lady, these two parts of me that I try to reconcile in my life. To write music, concentration is necessary, an interior hearing. To be a woman, to be a mother, one needs to be always available and busy. It’s difficult to have, at the same time, your feet on the ground and your head in the sky. ” WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE There always seems to be a kind of metallic shimmer over the score, or perhaps a sheen of iridescent sea foam. Ms. Saariaho has always been adept at weaving together acoustic and electronic sounds, and here she adds tastes of medieval harmonies and North African rhythms. It’s a sinuous landscape, punctuated by dramatic orchestral explosions. While there are only three soloists, a chorus and powerful orchestra make this a very grand intimate opera. In Jaufré’s music, the oboe and low strings are prominent, with harp chords connected to what would have been his instrument, the lute. Clémence’s world is brighter, its string textures higher. Ms. Saariaho conceived the two characters as having different harmonic languages that eventually merge. But, she said in a recent phone interview, “you don’t need to know music theory to perceive it. My music is written for ears you don’t need to intellectualize it. You just need to let yourself enter. ” Reviewing the 2000 premiere, Mr. Tommasini wrote: “Ms. Saariaho has provided a lushly beautiful score, structured in five continuous acts lasting two hours. ” (It should be noted that the Met will perform it with an intermission.) “Best known for her explorations of sound, Ms. Saariaho continues in that vein here with music that combines vivid orchestration, the subtle use of electronic instruments and imaginative, sometimes unearthly writing for chorus, which sings from the side of the stage. The vocal writing is by turns elegiac and conversational. Her harmonic language is tonally grounded, with frequent use of sustained low pedal tones, but not tonal. Bits of dissonance, piercing overtones and gently jarring electronic sounds spike the undulant harmonies, but so subtly that the overall aural impression is of beguiling consonance. ” BUT Mr. Tommasini added: “The music sometimes lacks urgency. Stretches of the score pass by, beautiful, yes, but lacking in profile, just orchestral backdrops for the singer’s reflections. ” DO I NEED TO PREPARE? The short answer is no: All you need to enjoy this opera is a couple of hours and an open mind. But of course it can only be rewarding to listen to some of Ms. Saariaho’s music beforehand to get a sense of her sound world. The haunting vocal works she wrote in the years leading up to “L’Amour de Loin” are gorgeous, among them “Lonh” (“Afar”) a setting of Jaufré Rudel’s poetry for soprano and live electronics from 1996 “Château de l’Âme” (1996) “Miranda’s Lament” (1997) and “Oltra Mar” (1999) for chorus. WHAT INFLUENCED IT “Before I had the story,” Ms. Saariaho said by phone, “I was already thinking about how to express these two very universal things and big mysteries of internal life which are love and death. ” An impossible love shot through with the death drive, presented through lush, contemplative music? Yes, Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” (already heard at the Met this season) makes its presence felt in “L’Amour de Loin,” as it does in much of modern opera. The stylized, dreamlike quality of Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande,” its sense of shifting mists of sound that can suddenly coalesce in furious energy, is also a clear precursor. Messiaen’s “St. François d’Assise,” ruminative and largely interior, made an important impression on Ms. Saariaho, who had doubted that she had the traditional operatic gift for narrative thrust. WHO’S IN THE CAST Clémence will be sung by the bright young soprano Susanna Phillips, who’s mostly performed at the Met in Mozart operas. (The role was written for Dawn Upshaw, known for the purity of her tone.) The Eric Owens, who had a breakthrough with the company as the malevolent dwarf Alberich in Wagner’s “Ring” cycle, may put that gift for moodiness (and his smoky voice) to good use as Jaufré. Tamara Mumford, with her rich, plummy mezzo, will be the Pilgrim. And the Met’s exceptionally versatile chorus takes a crucial role here as, Ms. Saariaho explained, “the sonic bridge between the soloists and the orchestra. ” WHO’S CONDUCTING Almost as exciting as the Met premiere of “L’Amour de Loin” is the company debut of Susanna Malkki, a conductor of wide range who has nevertheless made contemporary music something of a specialty. Recently installed as music director of her hometown Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, she also led the New York Philharmonic for the first time last year. Since the Met has been barely better at attracting female conductors than female composers, to have the two finally together in a single production does feel, yes, like the breaking of a glass ceiling. WHO’S DIRECTING Robert Lepage, the Canadian master of theatrical spectacle, declined the opportunity to direct the Salzburg premiere of “L’Amour de Loin,” but he’s now getting a second chance. His work hasn’t been seen at the Met since the last outing, in the spring of 2013, of his production of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle. (Remember the massive set of mechanical seesaws that never seemed to work quite right?) If that “Ring” was widely considered a failure — “Pound for pound, ton for ton, it is the most witless and wasteful production in modern operatic history,” Alex Ross wrote in The New Yorker — it didn’t sway the loyalty of Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager. He has brought Mr. Lepage back for Ms. Saariaho’s far more intimate, restrained and, well, short work, and the staging at least looks transfixing, with a Mediterranean created through LEDs. THE OPERA IS DEDICATED TO Gerard Mortier, one of the great impresarios of modern operatic history, who died in 2014. He shook up the stodgy Salzburg Festival when he took over its leadership in the early 1990s, and after the premiere of “Lonh,” at Salzburg in 1996, he proposed to Ms. Saariaho the idea of writing the opera that became “L’Amour de Loin. ” | 1 |
Protesters Clash After Mount Greenwood Police-Involved Shooting Laura Podesta and Will Jones, ABC 7 (Chicago), November 7, 2016
Protesters clashed Sunday afternoon near the site of a deadly police shooting of a 25-year-old man in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood.
Investigators said Joshua Beal, of Indianapolis, was armed when a confrontation between him and officers resulted in him being fatally shot. However, family members dispute the police narrative.
Michael Beal, Joshua Beal’s brother, was charged with aggravated battery to a police officer, resisting arrest and attempting to disarm a police officer, a Cook County State’s Attorney spokesperson said Monday. He is scheduled to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
On Sunday, Mount Greenwood residents squared off against activists demonstrating against the shooting. The clash between Black Lives Matters and Blue Lives Matters groups became tense at times as they exchanged chants such as “KKK” on one side and “CPD” on the other side.
{snip}
According to police, the shooting occurred after a vehicle leaving funeral services at a nearby cemetery stopped in traffic in front of a Chicago fire house near West 111th Street and South Troy Street. An off-duty firefighter told the driver that they were illegally blocking the fire lane. The occupants exited the vehicle and a verbal/physical altercation ensured, police said. An off-duty Chicago police officer was inside a nearby business and assisted the firefighter.
A Chicago police sergeant driving to work stopped when he observed a man with a firearm in his hands. After the man “failed to drop his weapon, shots were fired striking the individual multiple times,” police said.
{snip}
According to family, an off-duty officer in an unmarked vehicle cut off one of the vehicles in the funeral procession. The family members and officer got out of their vehicles. After a verbal exchange, gunfire erupted but Beal’s family said that he did not provoke the officer, and merely disclosing that he had a concealed weapon permit.
{snip}
Video circulated online on Sunday that claimed to show Beal holding a gun.
“The problem is everybody is making their assumptions based on the little stuff they see, the picture, the video. No one knows what happened,” activist Ja’Mal Green said.
The video appears to capture the tense moments before the shooting, showing at least two people with their guns out. In another video, gunshots can be heard.
{snip} | 0 |
Society Naza says the upcoming full moon will appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than usual.
The brightest moon in almost 69 years will be lighting up the night sky this week in a treat for star watchers around the globe.
The phenomenon, known as the supermoon, will reach its zenith in Asia and the South Pacific on Monday night.
It will then reach its most brightest mode in North America before dawn on Monday.
Across the international dateline in New Zealand, it will reach its brightest after midnight on Tuesday local time.
If skies are clear, the upcoming full moon will appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than usual, according to NASA. This image shows a near full moon in Aravica, Arizona, on October 13, 2016. (Photo by AFP)
The moon’s distance from Earth varies because it is in an egg-shaped, not circular, orbit around the planet.
Since the moon’s orbit is elliptical, one side (perigee) is about 50,000 kilometers closer to Earth than the other (apogee).
The word syzygy is the scientific term used for when the Earth, sun, and moon line up as the moon orbits Earth.
When perigee-syzygy of the Earth-moon-sun system occurs and the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun, we get a perigee moon, which is more commonly known as supermoon.
This coincidence already happened one time on October 16.
On November 14 and December 14, it happens again, as the moon becomes full on the same day as perigee. On November 14, it becomes full within about two hours of perigee—arguably making it an extra -supermoon.
The full moon of November 14 is not only the closest full moon of 2016 but also the closest full moon to date in the 21st century.
The next time a full moon comes this close to Earth will be November 25, 2034. Loading ... | 0 |
Yes there Really are White Debils! You wanna list?And thats just the beginning! Page 1 Related Threads 1 Mail with questions or comments about this site. "Godlike Productions" & "GLP" are registered trademarks of Zero Point Ltd. Godlike™ Website Design Copyright © 1999 - 2015 Godlikeproductions.com Page generated in 0.006s (8 queries) | 0 |
Native American Girls Describe the Real History Behind Thanksgiving Share on Facebook
6 Native American girls school us on the REAL history of Thanksgiving. | 0 |
The brutal and largely illegal immigrant filled street gang recently became a primary target of the Trump Administration — and rightfully so. However, Trump promised to target and go after Mexican cartels and has yet to actually do so. [1. are the hired help and act as foot soldiers for Mexican cartels or transnational criminal organizations they are not the top dogs. This fact is best shown in news from 2014 involving gang members and a methamphetamine stash house in St. Paul, Minnesota. In that case, a Mexican Sinaloa Cartel stash house had been robbed in the city of St. Paul. gang members flew from Los Angeles, California, and kidnapped two Minnesota teens. tortured the teens in an effort to obtain information on who might have robbed the Sinaloa Cartel stash house. The significant factor here is that were acting as the hired help for the Mexican cartel they were not acting on their own direction or for their own interests. They were working for the masterminds in the Sinaloa Cartel. In addition to Breitbart reporting on the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime also illuminates the relationship between Mexican cartels and : the cartels are apex criminals and are “mara,” or street gangs employed by the Mexican cartels. 2. Going after gives the appearance of going after Mexican cartels while avoiding the actual repercussions of doing so. Going after Mexican cartels entails possibly going after Mexico’s president and many of Mexico’s state governors, city mayors, and other officials — as the line between Mexican politicians and does not exist. The diplomatic consequences would be huge and it is far easier to appear that the administration is keeping its promises by going after a largely Central street gang like than actually going after Mexico’s elite. Even though is a Central street gang, most Americans would likely not know this and would not distinguish between Central crime groups and the crime groups who actually run the show. 3. Official talk of being designated as a terror group allows the Trump Administration to look tough on crime from south of the border while avoiding the diplomatic consequences of designating Mexican cartels as terror groups. Several Mexican cartels, specifically Los Zetas and the Gulf cartel, have crossed the line from being just organizations and have actually obtained direct and official political power. They have control of certain regions of Mexico. This is most true in Tamaulipas, a state immediately south of Texas. They use targeted assassinations against officials, have camera systems set up in border cities to monitor the populace, and they have “links” in nearly all news outlets who decide what can and cannot be published. They are paramilitary groups that use extreme violence to keep political control of regions of Mexico. These groups hire the street thugs of at times, but are simply the hired help. Designating these Mexican cartels, or factions thereof, as foreign terror organizations would mean that many of Mexico’s leaders would be in trouble for their participation in such groups. Governors would go down and possibly even the current Mexican president. Singling out allows the Trump Administration to look tough and send a message, but to avoid actually going at the root of the problem and facing the consequences for doing so. At best it risks creating diplomatic difficulties with a small Central American nation while avoiding making Mexico’s elite angry. Brandon Darby is managing director and of Breitbart Texas. He the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart. com. Ildefonso Ortiz is an journalist with Breitbart Texas. He the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. | 1 |
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Select Page Ammon Bundy’s lawyer tackled, Tasered by U.S. Marshals in a surreal ending to the Oregon standoff trial [w/ VIDEO]
By Maxine Bernstein
Moments after the Oregon standoff defendants’ acquittals were announced in court Thursday, Ammon Bundy’s lawyer Marcus Mumford stood before the judge, and argued that his client should be released from custody immediately and allowed to walk out of the courtroom a free man.
Ammon Bundy, who chose to wear blue jails scrubs throughout the trial, was dressed in a gray suit Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown told him that there was a U.S. Marshal’s hold on him from a pending federal indictment in Nevada.
“No, he’s released on these charges. He’s acquitted. Nevada doesn’t have jurisdiction,” Mumford yelled, standing before the judge. “If there’s a detainer, show me.”
“Mr. Mumford, you really need to never yell at me now or never again,” the judge responded.
Brown told Mumford that she’s releasing Bundy on all federal holds in the Oregon case, but he’ll have to take up any questions about the federal holds from the Nevada case with the U.S. Marshals Service.
“If they want him, they know where to find him,” Mumford told the judge. “I don’t see any paper proving their authority to hold him.”
Suddenly, a group of about six to seven U.S. Marshals, who had been either standing or seated around the perimeter of the courtroom, slowly moved in and surrounded Mumford at his defense table. The judge directed them to move back but moments later, the marshals grabbed onto him.
“What are you doing?” Mumford yelled, as he struggled and was taken down to the floor.
As deputy marshals yelled, “Stop resisting,” the judge demanded, “Everybody out of the courtroom now!”
Mumford was taken into custody by the Federal Protective Services.
He was cited for failure to comply with a federal lawful order and disturbance and released with a Jan. 6 date to return to federal court, said Eric Wahlstrom, supervising deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service.
According to Wahlstrom, Mumford was shocked with a stun gun in what’s called a dry-stun mode, meaning no probes were fired into his body but a Taser was placed up against his body.
Wahlstrom, who was not in the courtroom, said the actions were taken because Mumford was resisting and preventing marshals from taking Ammon Bundy out of the courtroom and back into custody.
Wahlstrom said the stun gun was used because deputy U.S. marshals “attempted to handcuff him and he continued to resist.”
But observers who were close to the arrest decried the use of force against a lawyer in court.
“What happened at the end is symbolic of the improper use of force by the federal government,” Mumford’s co-counsel J. Morgan Philpot said. Philpot explained that Mumford was attempting to point out that since the judge previously had said in court that she had no authority over detention orders made by the court in Nevada, she couldn’t now maintain the right to order his client held.
“I grew up on a dairy farm, so am I used to some rough treatment, sure?” Mumford told reporters, after his release. But he said the actions of the U.S. marshals were uncalled for.
“All I was asking for was papers. Just show me you have the authority to take Mr. Bundy into custody,” Mumford said.
Defense lawyer Per C. Olson, who represented co-defendant David Fry, called the physical confrontation “a complete overreaction. Utterly disgusting.”
Olson said Mumford was getting animated, but he did nothing physical. He didn’t charge the bench, or block marshals from his client. “He raised his arm as if to say, what the hell…And they grabbed him, Tased him and took him down. It was just shocking. It was completely inappropriate,”Olson said.
Defense lawyer Matthew Schindler, standby counsel for defendant Kenneth Medenbach, said he was disappointed by Mumford’s challenge to his client’s return to custody, considering he faces more serious federal charges in Nevada.
Schindler said Mumford was exhausted, having “put out everything he had,” during the past six weeks of the case.
“Unfortunately he let his passion and desire and belief in his client overcome his good judgement,” Schindler said.
Margaret “Margie” Paris, a University of Oregon law professor and former dean, said she couldn’t believe what occurred when she learned of the confrontation.
“It just blows my mind,” Paris said. “To have a lawyer who’s making an argument in court physically restrained and taken down is extraordinary. He’s entitled to make these arguments. If he was repeating himself over and over, the more typical response is to hold him in contempt. But to physically accost him is just shocking.”
Oregonian Staff Writer Jeff Manning contributed to this story.
— Maxine Bernstein Share: Rate: | 0 |
This cigarette lighter also doubles as a great bit of branded advertising
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Although to be honest it’s made us want to take up smoking again | 0 |
Hillary Clinton’s campaign is planning its most ambitious push yet into traditionally states, a new offensive aimed at extending her growing advantage over Donald J. Trump while bolstering candidates in what party leaders increasingly suggest could be a sweeping victory for Democrats at every level. Signaling extraordinary confidence in Mrs. Clinton’s electoral position and a new determination to deliver a punishing message to Mr. Trump and Republicans about his racially tinged campaign, her aides said Monday that she would aggressively compete in Arizona, a state with a growing Hispanic population that has been ground zero for the country’s heated debate over immigration. Mrs. Clinton is “dramatically expanding” her efforts in Arizona, her campaign manager, Robby Mook, told reporters on Monday. She is pouring more than $2 million into advertising and dispatching perhaps her most potent surrogate, Michelle Obama, for a rally in Phoenix on Thursday. In Indiana and Missouri, Mr. Mook said, the campaign will spend a total of $1 million to drive voter turnout, despite what he acknowledged was an “uphill battle” for Mrs. Clinton in two states that could determine control of the Senate. Mrs. Clinton is also directing more money to a series of presidential battleground states with competitive House races. The maneuvering speaks to the unexpected tension facing Mrs. Clinton as she hurtles toward what aides increasingly believe will be a decisive victory — a pleasant problem, for certain, but one that has nonetheless scrambled the campaign’s strategy weeks before Election Day: Should Mrs. Clinton maximize her own margin, aiming to flip as many red states as possible to run up an electoral landslide, or prioritize the party’s congressional fortunes, redirecting funds and energy down the ballot? Thanks to an infusion of contributions in recent weeks, and what aides describe as a war chest they had maintained in case the opportunity arose, Mrs. Clinton is in effect trying to do both. The assault illustrates her priorities three weeks before Election Day. She hopes to hand Mr. Trump a loss so humiliating that it jars him and Republicans, removing any doubt about the wisdom of running on a platform. But she also is demonstrating to the congressional Democrats with whom she may soon be working that she is also is dedicated to expanding their ranks. “I think it’s an act of good will, because her numbers look good and some of our races are tighter,” said Representative Dina Titus of Nevada, one of the states receiving cash. “But it’s also an important move, because she’s going to need friends to get her appointments approved, to have our help breaking through the obstruction on the other side to get legislation through. ” After nearly eight years in which Democrats on Capitol Hill grumbled about a lack of such support from President Obama, Mrs. Clinton has taken care to stay in frequent contact with Senator Chuck Schumer, her former New York colleague, about races. Mr. Schumer, poised to be the incoming Senate Democratic leader, and the current leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, met with Mrs. Clinton’s top campaign aides in Washington last month and pressed them to offer financial support for the Senate races, according to a Democratic official briefed on the meeting. And Mr. Schumer has not been shy since about his hope that if Mrs. Clinton clearly appeared on her way to winning the race, she would redirect some money to congressional races. “This is one of many things that the Clinton campaign is doing to help us win a majority in the Senate,” Mr. Schumer said through a spokesman. While party strategists are glad to have the money that Mrs. Clinton is directing from the Democratic National Committee to efforts in Indiana and Missouri, they have little appetite for Mrs. Clinton to visit those states, where she is likely to lose, because that would make it easier for Republicans to tie Democratic Senate candidates to her. Mrs. Clinton is also pouring money into two congressional districts, in Nebraska and Maine, that both apportion their own presidential electoral vote and have competitive House races. And she is sending an additional $6 million to seven presidential battleground states with hotly contested Senate and House campaigns. Democrats are also attempting to unseat Senator John McCain of Arizona from the seat he was first elected to in 1986, but Mrs. Clinton’s late decision to swoop into that state is not related to his race, which few Democratic leaders believe they can win. Her incursion there is about her own campaign — and the Democrats’ desire to focus attention on the damage Mr. Trump has done to Republicans with Hispanics. In particular, Democrats hope to make an example of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an ardent Trump supporter, by defeating the Phoenix lawman, whose incendiary comments about Hispanics and aggressive tactics with immigrants have garnered attention far beyond his jurisdiction in Maricopa County. “If Democrats were going to win in Arizona in 2016, you’d need a Republican who turns off Republican women, who really energizes Latinos, and you’d need other races on the ground that can really drive engagement — and we have all that,” said Andrei Cherny, a former state Democratic chairman. Alexis Tameron, the current state Democratic chairwoman, said Republican stumbles had allowed local Democrats to “jump our own timeline” for when officials expected to make the state competitive on the presidential level. “I give credit where credit is due,” Ms. Tameron said. “And I have been thanking a lot of people, including Donald Trump. ” Mr. Trump’s campaign did not respond to messages seeking comment on Mrs. Clinton’s plans. Mrs. Clinton’s team had weighed for weeks how seriously to look beyond core battlegrounds like Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina, another state that Republicans carried in 2012. Eager to torment Mr. Trump, and the Republicans straining to navigate his erratic bid, her team has also planned at least faint, plays in other states with little history of Democratic success. In Texas, the campaign has prepared an ad highlighting Mrs. Clinton’s endorsement from The Dallas Morning News. And Mrs. Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, has begun sitting for local media interviews in Utah, where Mr. Trump has struggled to break away from Mrs. Clinton and an independent candidate, Evan McMullin, in recent polls. (On a conference call with reporters on Monday, Mr. Mook mentioned Mr. McMullin by name.) The most brazen push, though, is in Arizona, where the campaign has also scheduled appearances on Mrs. Clinton’s behalf from her daughter, Chelsea, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Mr. Mook added that Mrs. Clinton may appear there herself in short order. “We certainly hope to get her there,” he said. Mrs. Clinton’s aides were intrigued by both Arizona and Georgia, and they surveyed voters in each state. Arizona appeared more promising, officials said, because of its combination of Mormons, Hispanics and Native Americans and because the officials found white voters in Georgia to be more resistant to Mrs. Clinton. Mrs. Clinton has more conspicuously emphasized congressional and state races during campaign appearances, taking particular care to mention fellow Democrats on the ballot. Some Republicans seem inclined to capitalize on the attention. A email on Monday from Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican in a competitive race in Florida, went out under the subject line “Hillary wants me gone. ” “Hillary Clinton’s campaign has SO much money on its hands,” the message read, “that they are now focusing on races instead of her own campaign. ” | 1 |
A federal judge in Michigan on Thursday ordered that bottled water be delivered to residents of Flint, Mich. more than two years after the city’s switch to an untreated source resulted in contaminated and undrinkable water. Under the ruling by Judge David M. Lawson of Federal District Court, state and city officials must immediately begin providing each Flint resident with at least 96 bottles of water per week as the city works toward a permanent solution. “How the water crisis is resolved ultimately will be left to the City of Flint and the State of Michigan,” Judge Lawson said in his preliminary injunction. “Nonetheless, there is an immediate danger to Flint residents. ” The city is not required to deliver water to residents whose homes have properly installed and working filters, are unoccupied or decline the service. Judge Lawson also ordered that officials provide information in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and Hmong, to residents about lead levels of city water and how to install filters that properly reduce the contamination. Lawyers for the city and state could not immediately be reached for comment about whether they plan to appeal the ruling. The ruling came as a result of a lawsuit filed by Concerned Pastors for Social Change Melissa Mays, a Flint resident the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the Natural Resources Defense Council. “This is immediate, emergency relief and it’s an emergency situation,” said Dimple Chaudhary, a senior attorney with the defense council. Flint’s water crisis can be traced back to April 25, 2014, the day the city switched its water supply from Detroit’s treated water to its own polluted river. City officials failed to treat the water from the new source in a way that would prevent lead from leaching into it, and the city and state played down the problem for months. Flint had fought the request for deliveries of water, arguing that residents had sufficient access to clean water from distribution centers throughout Flint and at home using filters that the city provided. Judge Lawson disagreed. Residents struggled to properly install the filters because of language barriers, old age, cognitive barriers or a lack of necessary tools, the judge said. Others struggled to retrieve water even from the distribution centers. “It is clear that some residents, who are actively seeking safe drinking water, are encountering great difficulty,” he said. The ruling is effective immediately. Judge Lawson also said officials must provide a status update on their efforts by Dec. 16. | 1 |
Posted on November 4, 2016 by Gilad Atzmon
In her recent Washington Post Article , Jewish academic Cheryl Greenberg makes one valid observation. Trump’s criticism of the Jews is far more subtle than his disapproval of other groups and identities (Mexicans, Muslims, Women etc). Though Trump is not known for pulling his punches, when it comes to the Jews, Trump chooses his words very carefully. Trump, according to Greenberg, is so careful “that it’s not clear that Trump himself fully understands the implications of what he’s saying.” I guess that the Jewish academic couldn’t restrain herself from looking down at the Goy candidate.
Greenberg sees Trump as a puppet-master who controls his audience by means of ‘dog whistling.’ “Trump’s references to money, bankers and international conspiracies appear to be deliberate anti-Semitic dog whistles, and his alt-right supporters recognize (and celebrate) that.”
Greenberg elaborates on her observation, “first of all, dog whistles serve when overt expressions are not an option; they communicate to those who are familiar with the conspiracy theories but maintain plausible deniability.” According to Greenberg, when Trump wants to communicate a message about the Jews, he uses an indecipherable code intelligible only to half of the Americans . . . Greenberg and the ADL.
If Greenberg is correct, if Trump says ‘international Bankers’ but really means Jews, then both the Republican candidate and half of the American people are fearful of the Jews. They must very well understand what a confrontation with Jewish institutions may entail. They know that, in America, criticism of Mexicans, Women, and Muslims is a kosher territory but even a subtle criticism of Jews may cost them dearly. One may wonder, how did this happen? What is the substance of that magical power that empowers half of Americans to speak in codes when they think about Jews?
Greenberg seems to raise the right question just to come up with the wrong answer. “Why would anti-Semitism not be an overt option, while racism, sexism, and xenophobia are?”
“Americans are less willing to accept blatant anti-Semitism than racism,” Greenberg’s answers.
What Greenberg really wants to say is that Americans can be racists and can say whatever they like about whoever they want. But when it comes to Jews, they refrain. Americans do know very well the geography of the boundaries of correctness. Jewish power is for them a taboo, at least momentarily. America and Americans are fully aware of the enormous power that is bestowed in the hands of just a few Jewish oligarchs within the ubiquitous industries of media, finance, politics, and culture.
America would have loved to dissolve the situation peacefully but it can’t. Jewish power can’t be contained or suppressed because we are not even allowed to allude to it, let alone point it out.
Jewish power is defined as the power to silence criticism of Jewish power. Jewish power, as such, is a ticking time bomb. It is a unique form of self-destructiveness. The history of the Jews proves this point. Time after time it is Jewish power that sets the path towards a glamorous Jewish golden age that leads to the most severe tragic consequences.
The Jewish phobia of anti-Semitism is not driven by fear of the gentile. It is actually the other way around. The Jewish fear of anti-Semitism is the result of Jews being fearful of their own might. Jews tend to recognise that there is something in themselves that evokes animosity from others. This is the true meaning of the Jewish “Pre Traumatic Stress Syndrome.” It is the acceptance that from here forward, things can only get worse. Many Jews see in Trump’s popularity a symptom of a fatigue of their own power. They interpret the nostalgic yearning for ‘America being great’ as a pining for a Christian past. Something that predates Goldman Sachs’ and Soros’ dominion. The Jewish aggression towards Trump can be realised as an expression of Jewish guilt. Yet, Trump himself has very little to do with it. He married his daughter to a Jew. He trades with Jews, he loves Israel. He is almost as Jewish as the Clintons.
Greenberg is optimistic. For her, Trump’s popularity is “the final gasping of white supremacy.” His voters—pretty much half of the American people—are dogs reacting to a man with a whistle. I am not as optimistic as Greenberg. I think that exploring such contempt towards half of the American people in the name of a vague progressive mantra is a very dangerous game. It suggests to me that progressives have reached a state of complete detachment.
Gilad Atzmon is an Israeli jazz musician, author and political activist. His new book, “The Wandering Who,” may be ordered from amazon.com or amazon.co.uk . | 0 |
RIO DE JANEIRO — The Olympics are as much about what warms the heart or initiates debate as who wins the medals. But what warms the heart or initiates debate can be a matter of perspective in a sprawling event that brings together more than 200 nations and territories. There was little division on Tuesday in the Olympic Stadium, when two runners — Abbey D’Agostino of the United States and Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand — offered a helping hand to each other after a collision in the 5, 000 meters and then urged each other on to the finish. “I mean, that girl is the Olympic spirit right there,” Hamblin said afterward, speaking to reporters about D’Agostino. But on Sunday in the women’s marathon, when the German twins and training partners Anna and Lisa Hahner decided — spontaneously, they insist — to join hands as they crossed the finish line deep in the pack and far from the medals, they quickly drew sharp criticism. German track and field officials accused them of publicity seeking and treating the Olympic marathon “like a fun run. ” This is not just a German point of view, of course, but it does reflect the range of expectations as athletes navigate the cultural norms that relate to competition and sportsmanship. The Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby, who refused to shake the hand of his Israeli opponent Or Sasson, was following his nation’s standards — one that Olympic officials expressly reject. He was ejected from the Games. There was no outcry, only amusement, when David Katoatau, an exuberant weight lifter from Kiribati, danced off stage on Monday with the goal of heightening awareness of the threat posed by climate change to his tiny nation in the central Pacific Ocean. The Hahner twins had no political agenda when they joined hands to end their race, but their move, to their surprise, was still polarizing. “Victory and medals are not the only goal,” Thomas Kurschilgen, sports director of the German Athletics Federation, said in an email on Tuesday. “Still, every athlete in the Olympic competitions should be motivated to demonstrate his or her best performance and aim for the best possible result. ” That approach, according to Kurschilgen, is what divides elite sport from sport and what he thinks the Hahners failed to grasp. “Their main aim was to generate media attention,” he said. “That is what we criticize. ” The twins, who placed 81st and 82nd in the marathon, do not see it that way. Contacted on Monday, they initially declined to speak, but Anna Hahner later sent an email in which she said they had not planned on finishing and had done their best individually. “In all the marathons we ran together before, there was a point in the race we had to split up,” Anna said. “This was also the case in the Olympic marathon. ” Anna said she started faster, and then Lisa’s group caught up with her at around the mark, at which point Anna said they ran about three kilometers together. “But then I realized I couldn’t run this pace, and I had to let them go,” Anna said. “Lisa was always not far from me. After 40 kilometers, there was a turning point, and I knew, ‘Okay Anna, two kilometers to go to close the gap to Lisa.’ I invested all I had and 300 meters before the finish line, I was next to Lisa. It was a magical moment that we could finish this marathon together. We did not think about what we were doing. ” But Anna said the symbolism was not lost on either twin. “We trained the last four years to participate in this marathon,” she said. “Neither the time nor the position was what made us happy but to know that we did the best that was possible that day. ” And yet the sisters were well short of their best marathon performances. Anna’s personal best in the marathon is 2 hours 26 minutes 44 seconds. Lisa’s is 2:28. 39. In Rio, Anna finished in 2:45. 32, and Lisa in 2:45. 33 despite coming early to the Olympic city to acclimatize. Clearly, the large time gap between their previous performances and their Olympic performances made Kurschilgen and others only more convinced that they were not seeing the twins’ best effort. There is a school of thought at the Olympics and elsewhere that it can be better for an athlete’s profile and even their bottom line to lose memorably — however unintentionally — than to win routinely. D’Agostino and Hamblin would not have become global talking points on Tuesday if they had simply collided and soldiered on without interacting. Nor would the British runner Derek Redmond have become part of an “Olympic moment” if he had simply won his 400 semifinal at the 1992 Olympics instead of tearing his hamstring and insisting on continuing the race. His father came onto the track to assist him as he hobbled to the finish with the Barcelona crowd cheering him on. Even though Redmond was disqualified for receiving outside aid, the image and the memory were and remain powerful. It is the unexpected and uncalculated gesture that so often moves the masses most, no matter what the culture. “This is Olympism,” said Mary Wittenberg, former director of the New York City Marathon who has attended many Olympics. “Yes, athletes go as hard as they can to win the shiniest medals they can most of the time. We love that, and we want to see those medal dreams come true. That said, there are moments when it’s not all about that and most often, as in the case of the Hahners, it’s also because that’s not in the cards at a given event. So an athlete makes a conscious decision to make the most of the moment in a different way. ” It is worth noting that the Hahners were not the only twins to finish side by side on Sunday. Kim and Kim of North Korea finished 10th and 11th on Sunday in an identical time of 2:28. 36. No word from North Korea whether this was perceived officially or unofficially as an uncompetitive act. | 1 |
As Hillary Clinton assailed Donald J. Trump on Thursday for fanning the flames of racism embraced by the “” the community of activists that tends to lurk anonymously in the internet’s dark corners could hardly contain its glee. Mrs. Clinton’s speech was intended to link Mr. Trump to a fringe ideology of conspiracies and hate, but for the leaders of the the attention from the Democratic presidential nominee was a moment in the political spotlight that offered a new level of credibility. It also provided a valuable opportunity for and recruiting. Jared Taylor, editor of the white nationalist publication American Renaissance, Mrs. Clinton’s remarks, questioning her praise of establishment Republicans and eagerly anticipating her discussion of his community. “Come on, Hillary,” he wrote. “Talk about Alt Right. ” In an ode to Mr. Trump’s characterization of Jeb Bush, Mr. Taylor described her speech as “low energy. ” Other white nationalists mocked Mrs. Clinton, saying she sounded like a neoconservative and a “grandma,” while welcoming the publicity. Mr. Trump has publicly kept his distance from the but his critics have accused him of offering subtle cues to invite its support. His appointment of Stephen K. Bannon, the head of Breitbart News, to be chief executive of his campaign was cheered by members who are avid readers of the Breitbart website. The claims to support the preservation of white culture in the United States, and many of its members want to see an overhaul of the entire political system. However, its views are widely seen as white supremacist and . Many who align themselves with philosophies say that they do not subscribe to all of Mr. Trump’s policies, but that electing him would be a step in the right direction because of his “America First” worldview and his hard line on immigration. This week, some expressed disappointment that Mr. Trump appeared to be softening his tone on deporting people who are in the country illegally. Richard B. Spencer, the president of the National Policy Institute, who is credited with coming up with the name “” pushed back against claims that the group promotes violence and said in a statement that there was a double standard at play. “While Hillary Co. condemn the — nonviolent activists seeking social change, largely through a vibrant internet presence — she allows noted supporters of terror to attend her rallies and has never once disavowed the actions of domestic terrorists associated with Black Lives Matter,” Mr. Spencer said. Mrs. Clinton’s public criticism of the could turn out to be a boon for the movement, and its members did their best to capitalize on the moment. Some, in an effort to show a lighthearted side, circulated footage of Mr. Taylor playing the saxophone at the group’s most recent conference. The white nationalist website VDare published a “What Is the ?” video and blasted out a pitch warning, “Hillary wants to ignite a witch hunt against the because she knows we are finally starting to make an impact on the public’s thinking about immigration. ” And the Stormfront forum set up an online thread for potential new members. After Mrs. Clinton’s speech, one group of white nationalists convened a videoconference that was broadcast on YouTube. The consensus was that Mrs. Clinton was “toothless” and “lackluster,” and they expressed disappointment that she had not mentioned leaders by name. She made reference only to David Duke, the former Klansman whose support Mr. Trump was slow to disavow. Although the tried to put its best foot forward, there was plenty of venom directed at Mrs. Clinton, and the conspiracy theories ran wild. A popular attack was the continuing effort to raise questions about her health. By addressing the in such a prominent setting, Mrs. Clinton ran the risk of helping its cause. But Richard Cohen, the president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, dismissed the idea that Mrs. Clinton was doing the public a disservice by drawing attention to the . “I think every public official ought to denounce racism, and that is what Secretary Clinton did,” Mr. Cohen said, noting that the ideology opposes the notion that all people are equal. Referring to the term “” which was trending on Twitter, he added, “It is a fancy, almost antiseptic term for white supremacy in the digital world. ” | 1 |
(image credit: AP) If you signed up for Obamacare, you’ve been screwed. If you didn’t sign up and opted to pay the penalties, you’ve been screwed. If you didn’t sign up, didn’t pay penalties, and stuck with your original insurance company, you’ve been screwed. If you didn’t sign up, didn’t pay penalties, and paid cash for medical care, you’ve been screwed. Every person in America has been affected, regardless of what you did or did not do. That’s because the Affordable Care Act irrevocably ruined our access to medical care at an affordable price in this country. In the mere span of 4 years, the prices have skyrocketed and many families have to pay more in monthly premiums than they pay on their mortgages. Meanwhile, medical costs have been driven up to astronomical prices, making it nearly impossible to pay out-of-pocket for care. And these premiums? They are for the crappiest coverage you can imagine. Some families pay $1500-2000 a month for 60% coverage after they pay the $5000 deductible. That’s nearly $20,000 per year before Obamacare pays for a penny of their costs. And now…now that insurance companies have gone belly up when they were forced to become a part of the “exchange,” medical costs are skyrocketing, doctors won’t see patients who aren’t “covered,” employers stopped offering insurance as a benefit, and people lost their jobs due to Obamacare costs… The whole thing is failing. Even President Obama has admitted it . And now we have proof that it was planned that way. But that isn’t the worst of it. The worst of it is that this program was designed to fail and steer us into single payer healthcare, where a government entity can decide what procedures will or will not be covered. They’ll decide who is deserving of cancer treatment and who is not. They’ll mandate things like flu shots and childhood vaccines. One of the recent Wikileaks shows that Hillary Clinton knew this and was complicit. Melissa Dykes of The Daily Sheeple wrote : In an email thread dated September 26, 2015 between Hillary and her senior policy adviser Ann O’Leary titled “Memo on Cadillac Tax for HRC,” Hillary wrote, “ Given the politics now w bipartisan support including Schumer, I’ll support repeal w ‘sense of the Senate’ that revenues would have to be found. I’d be open to a range of options to do that. But we have to be careful that the R version passes which begins the unraveling of the ACA .” “Which begins the unraveling of the Affordable Care Act.” A Democrat supporting Republican legislation to destroy Obamacare on purpose. How many millions have they raked in on this deal and bilked the American people for in Obamacare penalties because they can’t afford the “affordable” health care? And the American people will look at this like a “victory” when it does unravel, even though it has been the plan all along. Hillary Clinton, that savior of woman and children, knew that this would fail. She is supporting the legislation to destroy it, leaving everyone in America at the mercy of the horrible replacement that she will dream up to redistribute wealth and deal the death blow to the already-struggling middle class. Mark my words, as bad as this disaster is, it is only going to get worse. Watch this video for the full story. Article first posted at DaisyLuther.com Submit your review | 0 |
Email
Donald Trump has stated that, on advice of his lawyer, he will not release his tax returns until his audit is concluded.1
By contrast, Hillary Clinton has released her federal 1040 returns, (but not her state or possible other returns). Language on her campaign website asserts that she and her running mate “continue to set the standard for financial transparency.”
The Clinton returns reveal much information, but they reflect a standard short of full financial transparency. More significantly, the tax reductions the Clintons receive when donating to their foundation and the lower rate of self-employment taxes they paid compared to those who make much less reflect some of what is wrong with the U.S. tax system. Gross income is the gross receipts minus their business expenses and $3,000 of a carried forward capital loss that started in 2008.2 Total federal taxes is their income taxes minus foreign tax credits (for them, only years 2011-13)* plus self-employment taxes and additional taxes due to the Affordable Care Act (higher medicare taxes and taxes on investment income starting in 2013) * For the Clintons, the foreign tax credit came to $160,000 or less each year from 2011-13 and arose from work done abroad.
For years 2010-2015, the table below shows the Clintons’ reported gross income, total federal taxes paid, charitable contributions, and the amount of the latter going to the Clinton Foundation.
What follows mainly focuses on the Clintons’ 2014 tax return.
Self-employment Income
Almost all of the Clintons’ gross income after deducting expenses ($28,020,811) was derived from self-employment: with the biggest amounts for making speeches (slightly more than $8.7 million made by Hillary and $8.4 million by Bill), consulting ($6.1 million made by Bill,) and writing ($4.6 million made by Hillary.)
All of their speaking income is paid by The Harry Walker Agency. However, under IRS rules, who paid the agency or to whom they spoke is not disclosed.
The tax return indicates that $2.125 million of Bill’s consulting income, before deducting expenses, was paid by Gems Education. A Wikipedia article describes Gems Education as “the largest operator of private kindergarten-to-grade-12 schools in the world, [that] as of 2015 has over 70 schools in over a dozen countries…”
In 2010, Bill Clinton “named GEMS Education a strategic partner of the Clinton Global Initiative .” According to the tax returns, in 2011, for the first time, GEMS Education paid Bill– $500,000 raising its payment each year thereafter.
Laureate Education paid Bill $4,292,475. It is described in the New York Times as “a network of for-profit schools .”
In 2010, Laureate hired Bill as its new honorary chancellor. As disclosed on the tax returns, it paid him over $17.5 million from 2010-2015. Bill’s visits to Laureate’s campuses were described to have “inspired” students.3 The nature of the advice Clinton provided is not part of the tax return.
Business Deductions
Both Clintons took deductions against their self-employment income. These deductions are supposed to be ordinary and necessary meaning they are common and appropriate. Their expenses deducted for airfare, transportation, and hotels came to several times what most people earn at their jobs.
In 2014, Bill claimed travel expenses of $375,793 for his speaking business, an amount considerably less than the $2,018,050 spent on travel for that business in 2013. By contrast, his total travel expenses for his consulting business for 2013 and 2014 together came to less than $600.
Hillary’s travel expenses for making speeches in 2014 came to $813,842. Another $288,504 was spent on travel for her writing business in 2014.
Under IRS rules, specific details such as where they went and stayed, and for how long, are not provided.
Self-employment tax
Self-employment income is subject to self-employment taxes: social security and medicare taxes paid by the self-employed. In 2014, social security taxes were paid on only the first $117,000 of net income at a rate of 12.4% resulting in a maximum tax of $14,508. The medicare portion which is 2.9% of all net income had no income limits.
If one adds the Clintons’ 2014 self-employment tax to their additional medicare tax under the Affordable Care Act, the total comes to $1,010,090 or 3.6% of their total net self-employment income.
The Clinton returns show the gross unfairness of the self-employment tax that leaves those with high incomes paying a rate that is much lower than those with significantly less income.
For example, a person making $30,000 of self-employment income after deducting expenses would pay a self-employment tax of $4,239 which is over 14% of their self-employment income, or more than 3 times the rate paid by the Clintons.
Clintons’ Unearned Income
From 2011-2014, the Clintons reported no dividend income from stock holdings, only interest income. In 2014, it came to only $25,171. All but $464 was paid by JP Morgan Chase Bank. How their money is invested with the bank is, as allowed by the IRS, not made clear– probably in the form of CDs or bonds.
By contrast, in 2007, the Clintons made over $1 million in interest income and over $90,000 in dividends. All of the latter is reported as coming from trusts.
In 2007, they also reported over $15 million on the sale of stock held by their trusts. Most sales were for less than $100,000 with only one for slightly more the $250,000. Most sales occurred on or before May 11 reflecting very good timing since this was shortly before the financial meltdown.
Their stock holdings were diverse. They consisted of holdings in major corporations including Bank of America, Wal-mart, Chevron, Exxon, General Electric, Honeywell, and Lehman Brothers prior to its bankruptcy.
At first glance, one might see the Clintons as acting upon information that the economy would soon crash, but they may have decided to rid themselves of holdings that might be used against Hillary in her run for the presidency in 2008.
Reporting no dividends from 2011-2014 probably indicates no re-entry into the stock market after the meltdown, or that they only purchased stocks that paid no dividends.
There is a huge difference between their total interest and dividend income in 2007 of $1,159,836 with their 2014 interest income of $25,171 and no dividend income. Despite the low interest rates, how could their dividend and interest income have plummeted so much?
Given the size of their total income all these years, one has to wonder if they have been spending it all or investing it in ways that do not show up on their tax returns.4
This raises other questions. Have they been making large gifts/political donations or paying large personal legal bills? Have they set up an entity that handles investments and pays taxes on the income generated instead of passing it through to them individually to report on their tax return?
Charitable Contributions
Those who usually receive the biggest reduction in their taxes per dollar donated are those with the highest income because they are in a higher tax bracket. Many charitable donors receive no tax reduction because they do not itemize their deductions. In 2014, the Clinton donation to their foundation of $3 million reduced their taxes $1,188,000 –39.6% of the money donated, not including a probable savings of state taxes. This level of savings can be viewed as a government subsidy/giveaway to the rich since it reduces the government’s revenue and allows the money donated to be used to support and finance the policies of their own foundation.
In 2014, all but $200 of their remaining charitable contributions, $22,500, went to two churches. From 2010-2015, 2014 was the only year specified contributions went to religious organizations.
Comparison to Romney 2010 Return
In 2010, the Romneys reported on their tax return gross income of $21,661,344. Despite a gross income that was $8 million more than the Clintons that year, their total federal tax came to less than 14% of their gross income, $3,009,766– over $1,000,000 less than the amount of federal taxes paid by the Clintons.
The main reason for the Romneys’ lower taxes was because most of their income came from investments which were taxed at a lower rate (a policy that began when Bill Clinton was president) while the bulk of the Clinton income was “earned” income which is taxed at a higher rate.
Like the Clintons, the Romneys saved on their taxes by making donations. $1.525 million went to their church and over $1.45 million of stock was donated to their own foundation. It in turn made donations to entities including Brigham Young University, The George W. Bush Library, and the Harvard Business School. 4
Why All of the Above Smells Foul
The rich are said to be different than most people. One difference is that three of the last four major party candidates for the presidency had their own foundation. This suggests that having a foundation could be a future requirement for being taken seriously as a candidate.
By releasing their returns, the Clintons have acted with more transparency than Trump.
Trump may be hiding something, but the Clinton returns raise many questions whose answers should be of concern to voters.
The Clinton’s gross income declined sharply in 2015 from over $28 million in 2014 to $10,745,378. Nevertheless, this “lower” income could arouse disgust given the levels of poverty in the world and unmet basic needs of millions.
The low level of taxes the rich pay under the IRS rules allow for the massing of fortunes which normally go untaxed during their lifetimes, except for whatever property taxes they pay on the real estate they own.
Footnotes
1.By signing his Form 1040 return, Trump indicated, as stated above one’s signature that
“Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return and accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, they are true, correct, and complete .”
If what he submitted is “true, correct and complete,” shouldn’t he be willing to share his returns with the public even if many lawyers think otherwise. See various views held by some lawyers on this issue at:
http://lawnewz.com/politics/legal-experts-side-with-trump-it-would-be-totally-stupid-to-release-his-taxes-during-audit/
2. The capital loss started in 2008 when the Clintons disposed of a holding they acquired in 2003 of Yucaipa Partnerships showing a loss of $726,761. For some details about it and their relationship to it, see this Wall Street Journal article at: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123716092427335513
The Clinton ties to Yucaipa weren’t all costly. According to the 2007 tax return, Yucaipa Global Holdings paid the Clintons over $2.75 million. (The relationship between Yucaipa Global Holdings and the disposed Yucaipa Parnerships is not clear to me.) There was no income from Yucaipa during subsequent years reported on a Schedule E where one reports partnership income as had been reported in 2007.
A Wikipedia article indicates that:
“Former U.S. President Bill Clinton , a close friend of founder Ron Burkle, was an advisor to Yucaipa. From 2003 to 2006, Bill and Hillary Clintons’ tax returns show total Yucaipa partnership income of $12.5 million.”
3. http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/23/news/clinton-laureate-university/
4. There are no indications on the tax returns that the Clintons invested in real estate. From 2007 through 2015, their property taxes remained around $100,000. The only exception is 2013 when it jumped to $128,098, but then went back down to $104,303 the following year. | 0 |
Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Dick Durbin ( ) said President Donald Trump’s proposed U. S. border wall was “a political stunt. ” Durbin said, “The Democrats in the house and the senate are ready to work and cooperate with the White House to keep the government open. But we told the president weeks ago, don’t try any political stunts, don’t put any poison pills into this process. Let’s just do the responsible important work of funding this government. We know what this wall is all about. This was a promise made by the president during his campaign. Don’t you remember he said the Mexicans were going to pay for it? Now we know it’s going to cost 20 to 70 billion dollars for this wall. We have Democrats and Republicans all along the border opposing this deal. It’s a political stunt, an obsession for the president that should not shut down our government. ” He added, “I hope the president will back off. To think that he would consider shutting down the government of the United States of America over this outlandish proposal of a border wall which we can’t even pay for at this point and is opposed by Democrats and Republicans all along the border, that would be the height of irresponsibility. He would not want that to define his first 100 days. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
Law enforcement officials have yet to confirm that Esteban Santiago Ruiz, the shooter allegedly responsible for killing five people and injuring another six at Fort International Airport last week, posted any content linked to radical Islam or jihad on his social media platforms. [Officials have not dismissed radical Islamic terrorism as a potential motive for the mass murder, however, as Santiago had previously reached out to the FBI, insisting that the CIA was forcing him to join the Islamic State (ISIS) and watch propaganda videos. “It’s way too early in the investigation. We’re looking over all of his social media, things like that. It’s giving us a picture of the individual, but it’s way too early for us to rule out anything,” George Piro, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, told reporters on Saturday. The Associated Press notes that Piro’s illustrious FBI career includes interrogating late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein following his capture. Santiago was deployed to Iraq in 2010, reportedly working to diffuse improvised explosive devices. He received a Meritorious Unit Commendation award following his deployment, though he was subsequently discharged from the Alaska National Guard for “unsatisfactory performance. ” A Miami Herald report reiterates that law enforcement officials “have discovered no information on Facebook and other online sites to suggest the Iraq war veteran was radicalized by the Islamic State or any other terrorist organization,” despite a wide array of Internet rumors linking Santiago to jihadist sentiments online. The report notes that officials have since shut down his known social media accounts and have not completed their review of the available material. What his social media did reveal, however, is that Santiago had some ties to Florida, despite being born in New Jersey, raised in Puerto Rico, and currently living in Alaska. Local affiliate Fox 4 reports that his Instagram account featured photos of himself in Naples, Florida — an drive from Fort Lauderdale — visiting cousins. Authorities have interviewed 175 people and counting about Santiago’s behavior and mental state, including a number of family members and Santiago himself. The Associated Press describes Santiago as “cooperative” with authorities, revealing that he bought a ticket to Fort Lauderdale specifically to commit the mass shooting. The most prominent bit of evidence linking Santiago to the global jihad movement is his own confession to the FBI that he had been hearing voices encouraging him to commit acts of terrorism in the name of the Islamic State. He walked into an FBI office in Alaska, where he had been living, and told agents that the American government was forcing him to watch the signature gruesome propaganda videos for which the Islamic State is known. The FBI then confiscated his gun and scheduled him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. While the details of that evaluation remain unknown, Santiago was allowed to remain free, and officials returned his gun to him. “Officials told a news conference the gun was returned to the suspect because the Iraq war veteran had not committed a crime,” Fox News reports. Law enforcement officials have not confirmed whether the gun returned to him following that evaluation is the same weapon he used in the Fort Lauderdale attack. The claim that he had not committed a crime also raises some questions. Santiago had been arrested in January and charged with “misdemeanor counts of property damage and assault” for allegedly strangling his girlfriend and breaking down her bathroom door. Santiago has since had a son, currently believed to be in Alaska. The Associated Press notes that he had brought his infant to the FBI offices when he turned himself in for watching ISIS videos: “He was a complaint. This is something that happens at FBI offices around the country every day,” FBI agent Marlin Ritzman said. Santiago had a loaded magazine on him, but had left a gun in his vehicle, along with his newborn child, authorities said. Officers seized the weapon and local officers took him to get a mental health evaluation. His girlfriend picked up the child. On Dec. 8, the gun was returned to Santiago. Authorities wouldn’t say if it was the same gun used in the airport attack. Santiago may face the death penalty if found guilty of a premeditated mass homicide at the airport. | 1 |
Young Somalis in Pomerania have “demolished” their kitchen and living quarters during a violent “rampage” in which they demanded PlayStations and more pocket money. [Four teenagers have been separated and sent to other residences for ‘unaccompanied minors’ after their violent rampage forced a staff member of the facility to flee to his office, where the locked himself in and called for police help. The migrants had only been in Germany for two weeks when they became violent, threatening to beat the member of staff tasked with their care unless he fulfilled demands including giving the teens game consoles, more pocket money, and moving them to accommodation in a bigger city. The Somalis, who are reportedly between the ages of 15 and 17, destroyed most of the furniture and “demolished” the kitchen in their living quarters. According to Parchimer Zeitung, the youths were still rioting when police arrived, forcing police to put them in handcuffs while the situation could calm down. The German newspaper stated that the four unaccompanied minors will be held responsible for the property damage caused, and attempted blackmail of officials. Jan Buchholz, who runs the accommodation in Dargelütz, was reportedly taken aback by the violence as the Somalis had only been living there for two weeks, having been sent back to Germany from Scandinavian countries under the Dublin agreement. The migrant housing operator said the outburst came as a surprise, noting the young men had been participating in a carpentry workshop in the region. “As long as they are busy, they don’t cause us much stress,” said Mr. Buchholz. However, police had to intervene at the accommodation for unaccompanied minors in Dargelütz just a few days prior to the Somalis’ rampage over what the migrants believed to be insufficient pocket money. Officers in the operation seized more than 40 grammes of cannabis from a Syrian, who then proceeded to violently resist arrest. Breitbart London reported on how migrants in Germany last year burned down a conference hall during Ramadan, causing £8. 6 million in damages, because they feared Christians and other would eat all the gummy bears and Nutella chocolate spread during the daylight hours in which Muslims choose to fast. | 1 |
Four states are currently suing President Donald Trump over Executive Order 13780, temporarily restricting immigration from seven nations, and that number of states will likely grow in the next few days. At least one of these legal challenges appears headed for the Supreme Court. [Many of the 20 lawsuits filed over Trump’s first executive order (EO) are being dismissed, but when EO 13780 revoked and replaced the first EO, several states decided instead to press forward, insisting that the new EO is still a “Muslim ban. ” Trump signed EO 13769 on Jan. 27. Washington State sued on Jan. 30, joined by Minnesota. Judge James Robart of the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a rare temporary restraining order (TRO) on Feb. 3, blocking the EO. There were several reasons that the federal trial court and the appeals court could have dismissed the lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction. Instead, on Feb. 9 the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the TRO. Although longstanding constitutional principles should require the Washington State lawsuit to be dismissed because EO 13780 has provisions different from EO 13769, and thus any legal challenge should have to start over at the beginning, the plaintiffs have asked Judge Robart instead to regard the new EO as a continuation of the first EO and continue to block the policy. On Mar. 9, Oregon was permitted to intervene as another plaintiff in Washington and Minnesota’s case. The attorney general of New York has announced that the Empire State would seek to intervene in that case as well. The previous day, on Mar. 8, the State of Hawaii filed its own separate lawsuit challenging the order in the federal district court in the Aloha State. Hawaii is represented by former U. S. Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal and a team from his powerhouse law firm, Hogan Lovells. Both of these cases will eventually end up before the same appeals court: the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco. It is possible from there that one or more of these cases could go to the Supreme Court, perhaps on an expedited schedule. Washington v. Trump is No. 2:17cv141 in the Western District of Washington. Hawaii v. Trump is No. 1:17cv50 in the District of Hawaii. Ken Klukowski is senior legal editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @kenklukowski. | 1 |
PARANÁ, Argentina — An Argentine court reopened an investigation on Thursday into accusations that former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner sought a secret deal with Iran in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires. The original case was filed by Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor whose mysterious death in 2015 convulsed the country. Three judges on the Court of Cassation, Argentina’s highest criminal appeals court, voted unanimously to reopen the criminal complaint, which accused Mrs. Kirchner and her foreign minister, Héctor Timerman, among others, of sealing a deal with Iran to cover up the role Iranian officials were said to have played in the bombing of the Jewish community center, which killed 85 people. An appeal to the Supreme Court by Mrs. Kirchner is possible, but legal experts say it could face challenges because the Court of Cassation did not issue a final ruling on the case, but rather called for a new investigation. “Of course we are going to appeal,” said Alejandro Rúa, Mr. Timerman’s lawyer. “This case has been plagued with violations of constitutional guarantees. And if we run out of local instances of appeal, we are going to the Commission of Human Rights. ” With the ruling, the three judges — Ana María Figueroa, Mariano Hernán Borinsky and Gustavo M. Hornos — took the rare step of ordering the reopening of a criminal investigation even though the prosecutor in the court, Javier de Luca, had said that Mr. Nisman’s complaint should not proceed. They also said that a new judge would be selected by lottery, effectively blocking lower court judges who had refused to reopen the case from participating in the investigation of Mr. Nisman’s accusations. In their ruling, the judges made it clear they believed that the lower courts had been too quick to dismiss the evidence that was presented. The delicate nature of the case demands “a quick and efficient resolution, but above all a transparent answer” from the judicial system, Judge Hornos wrote. “It also demands a diligent and exhaustive investigation. ” The decision was the latest judicial setback for Mrs. Kirchner, who faces several investigations. On Tuesday, she was indicted in a corruption case having to do with public works contracts, and earlier this year, a separate court indicted her on charges of manipulating the nation’s Central Bank by entering into contracts to sell the bank’s dollars at rates. Mrs. Kirchner has denied the allegations against her, describing them as the work of a justice system bending to the will of President Mauricio Macri, her longtime opponent, who took office in December 2015. In his stunning accusation, Mr. Nisman said that Mrs. Kirchner, who was president from 2007 to 2015, had sought to negotiate impunity for a group of Iranian officials suspected of involvement in the country’s deadliest terrorist attack in order to seal trade deals with Iran. But on Jan. 18, 2015, hours before Mr. Nisman was set to present his case to lawmakers, he was found dead, slumped in a pool of blood in his apartment with a gunshot wound to his head. Mr. Nisman’s death sent shock waves through Argentina’s political system, and the country became engulfed in a seemingly endless debate about whether he had committed suicide or been murdered. Mr. Nisman had been appointed by Mrs. Kirchner’s husband and predecessor as president, Néstor Kirchner, to take over the stalled bombing investigation in 2004. Two years later, he formally accused Iranian officials and the militant group Hezbollah of carrying out the attack. His death, just weeks after Mrs. Kirchner ordered a of the country’s notoriously politicized intelligence agency, remains unsolved, and investigators are looking into claims of a . Mr. Nisman’s complaint has languished in the courts. A federal judge, Daniel Rafecas, argued in February 2015 that Mr. Nisman’s claims did not “minimally hold up” and that there was “not even circumstantial evidence” that could implicate Mrs. Kirchner. An appeals court agreed with Judge Rafecas, as did the Court of Cassation, and the case was closed in May 2015. Then, this past August, DAIA, Argentina’s largest Jewish community association, called on Judge Rafecas to reopen the case, saying it had new evidence. Judge Rafecas and the appeals court disagreed that the evidence, including a phone call between Mr. Timerman and a Jewish community leader discussing Iran’s responsibility in the 1994 bombing, was enough to reverse their earlier decision. Thursday’s decision “took us by surprise,” DAIA’s president, Ariel Cohen Sabban, told a local radio station. “We don’t want the courts to tell us we are right,” he added, “but we do want to be certain that we did everything we could to investigate the worst case of terrorism” in Argentina’s history, “and if there has been any kind of impunity cloak for those who carried out the attack. ” A key element of Mr. Nisman’s case was a memorandum of understanding reached between Argentina and Iran in 2013 that would have included a commission to jointly investigate the bombing. But that agreement was never carried out and ended up being declared unconstitutional last year. Iran has long denied any involvement in the bombing. | 1 |
by Paul Fassa Health Impact News
An episode of Dr. Mark Hyman’s “ Fat Summit ” featured the work of Dr. Dale Bredesen, who specializes in researching and clinically applying his research on those afflicted with dementia, including Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are considered incurable by modern pharmaceutical dominated mainstream medicine.
Fortunately, Dr. Bredesen is a practitioner of functional medicine , which approaches the underlying cause of any disease then focuses on treatments usually involving systems of holistic or alternative medicine instead of pharmaceutical drugs.
His research has been ongoing for 27 years to determine what really causes dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It was fun witnessing Dr. Hyman’s energetic, fascinating interview of Dr. Bredesen. Some of what was revealed about Alzheimer’s was quite surprising, and his research went beyond the lab to confirm his team’s findings clinically.
They were actually diagnosing root causes and curing the incurable with natural holistic means. What Dr. Bredesen Discovered About Amyloid Plaque
Amyloid plaque, the sticky substance that interferes with neuron transmission and destroys brain cells, is commonly considered the cause of Alzheimer’s without knowing how it accumulates to begin with.
Dr. Bredesen has discovered it is actually a protective measure created by the brain. This is similar to how cholesterol rushes to patch up arterial lesions, yet is considered the root cause by modern mainstream medicine for heart disease.
Instead of reducing cholesterol with statin drugs for heart disease symptoms, it’s wiser to get to the root cause of the arterial inflammation damage that the cholesterol is trying patch up. Both Bredesen and Hyman agreed on how important cholesterol is to the body in general and the brain in particular.
It is the major building material for brain tissue and the protective myelin sheath, which promotes rapid transmission of nerve signals to all parts of the body from the central nervous system.
Various independent researchers, functional medicine practitioners, rogue cardiologists, and naturopathic doctors have determined that most arterial inflammation is caused by excess refined sugar intake, which includes artificially synthesized high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
Dr. Bredesen and his team have discovered the same holds true for amyloid plaque. Instead of attempting to create chemicals for removing the plaque, which thus far has proven disastrous, why not discover what the plaque is attempting to protect against and treat that? What Invites Amyloid Plaque to Build Up in the Brain?
Here’s where modern medical technology combines with integrative medicine. Dr. Bredsen considers it a “perfect fit.” State of the art neurology and biochemical technology is used to determine which of the following basic issues exist, then natural holistic nutritional sources, environmental, and lifestyle changes are used to eliminate them.
Here are some of the basic areas discovered that can be remedied without pharmaceutical drugs:
Inflammation: This can be caused by infectious pathogens but more often by environmental toxins such as: Mercury – dental amalgams and other sources Sleep issues – good sleep is needed for the brain’s glymp h atic action to purge itself of toxins Indoor building materials and mold from interior dampness in homes and work spaces Chronic sinus issues – this opens up the potential for “nasal probiotics” Excess simple carbohydrate consumption – refined starches and sugars Chronic stress – a common denominator for many inflammatory conditions Aspartame – commonly used neurotoxin in diet sodas and other processed foods as a sugar substitute Excess alcohol consumption Insulin resistance – some consider dementia/Alzheimer’s diabetes 3, this is where coconut oil comes to the rescue ( Source )
Insufficient Brain Nutrients: Lacking these nutrients needed for optimum brain and memory function, among them are: Vitamin D – the aversion to sunshine helps create this very common deficiency Vitamin C Vitamin B12 – methylcobil a ba n without folic acid is the preferred supplement source for B12 (Source) Sex hormones – oestrogen and progesterone for women and testosterone for men that need to be sufficient and balanced Omega 3 fatty acids – sourced from pure fish oils or flaxseed oil or ground flax seeds, our processed foods are top heavy with transfat omega-6 fatty acids Low cholesterol – often caused by statins (Source)
Toxins: Some are already listed here, but amyloid plaque’s network of protein parts is also an attempt to remove those toxins and others. Detoxing with known items that can cross the blood brain barrier was proven helpful.
A perfect example is aluminum from vaccines, common underarm deodorants, and other environmental sources. There are mineral waters high in ionic suspended silicon that penetrate the blood brain barrier to bind with and remove aluminum. The most recent pervasive environmental toxin in the food supply is glyphosate, which also adversely affects the brain. Conclusion
Remember hearing how destroyed brain cells never come back, the brain loses that portion forever, once a brain shrinks that’s it? It has been medical “common knowledge.” Dr. Bredesen told about ordering another CT scan of a patient who had been under the clinic’s care.
The radiologist thought it was a waste of time, but did it anyway. He was shocked to realize that patient’s shrunken hippocampus and other parts of his brain’s memory storage had grown since his first brain scan at the start of treatments. Another medical myth shattered.
Dr. Hyman asked Dr. Bredesen to provide dramatic clinical success using their resources of modern technology’s discovery techniques for holistic non-pharmaceutical solutions.
So Dr. Bredesen told of a man who had turned 70 and was so bad off he couldn’t remember with whom he had lunch that very same day. Friends and family were encouraging him to sell his business. His cognitive and memory test scores were among the bottom five percentile.
After holistic treatments, his test scores went into the 90 percentile group, higher than most younger people in good health. Instead of selling his business, he added another store. All this success without pharmaceutical drugs.
Going directly from animal (mouse) and lab culture studies to human clinical testing would have been impossible if Dr. Bredesen were attempting to create a new drug. Because there was nothing used that had any potential dangers requiring expensive human trials over a longer time, he was able to put his discoveries to the test without FDA oversight.
Since Dr. Bredesen is a neurological expert and well versed in biochemistry, he tended to rattle off lines of technical terms that would confuse most of us, but not Dr. Hyman, who would spontaneously and congenially intervene with relaxed layman language.
This made that interview go smoothly in a light-hearted manner without confusion, yet be packed with information, not all of which I’ve included here. And since this interview was part of the “Fat Summit,” some time was spent on discussing the role of fats for brain health. Coconut oil with its high percentage of medium chain lauric fatty acid was agreed upon as an ideal dietary fat for brain health. (Source)
Note: The Fat Summit is completed, but the entire week of presentations is available for purchase here .
Source links for more information: | 0 |
Pope Francis greeted former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Wednesday, just days after the film star’s name had been floated as a possible candidate for U. S. Ambassador to the Holy See. [Schwarzenegger, a Roman Catholic, has been repeatedly criticized by Church figures for his support for abortion and gay marriage, and for state funding of embryonic stem cell research. Nonetheless, his name began appearing recently in short lists of possible candidates for the office of U. S. Ambassador to the Vatican, an important listening post for the American government. Though Schwarzenegger was married to Maria Shriver in the Catholic Church, after 25 years of marriage the couple split in 2011, although they have yet to finalize their divorce. Schwarzenegger met the Pope Wednesday accompanied by his current girlfriend, physical therapist Heather Milligan. Schwarzenegger is an unlikely candidate for Ambassador to the Holy See. During the 2016 Republican primaries he endorsed John Kasich, and then announced in October that he would not vote for Donald Trump in the November election. Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter Follow @tdwilliamsrome | 1 |
WASHINGTON — Over the past two decades, Taiwan has slipped from its position atop the list of flash points in the complex relationship between the United States and China. In meetings between President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China, it has typically come up after half a dozen more pressing issues, like trade, cyberattacks and Beijing’s aggressive moves in the South China Sea. Now, though, in a single phone call with the president of Taiwan, Donald J. Trump has thrust it back on the table. Not since President Richard M. Nixon met with Mao Zedong in 1972 — when the two issued the Shanghai Communiqué clarifying the status of Taiwan — has an American leader so shaken up the diplomatic status quo on the issue. “Taiwan is about to become a more prominent feature of the overall U. S. relationship,” said Jon M. Huntsman, who served as ambassador to China during Mr. Obama’s first term. “As a businessman, Donald Trump is used to looking for leverage in any relationship. A President Trump is likely to see Taiwan as a useful leverage point. ” In the short run, Mr. Trump has rattled the entire region. Representatives of several Asian countries contacted the White House on Saturday to express concern, according to a senior administration official. In the longer term, officials in the Obama administration worry that the episode could not just ignite tensions across the Taiwan Strait but also inflame trade relations and embolden China in the South China Sea, where it has clashed with the Philippines, Vietnam and other neighbors over competing claims to reefs and shoals. Mr. Trump expressed no misgivings about taking the call from President Tsai which was arranged beforehand at the initiative of the Taiwanese government, not Mr. Trump’s camp. Mr. Trump bridled at suggestions that he had committed a faux pas, writing on Twitter on Friday evening that it was “interesting how the U. S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call. ” Nor did Mr. Trump or his aides make a gesture to reaffirm the One China policy, much to the chagrin of the White House. It fell to a spokesman for the National Security Council to affirm that the United States was not changing the policy. Under that policy, the United States formally recognized the People’s Republic of China in 1979, abrogating its ties with Taiwan, as the Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping, sought to bolster China’s economy and create closer ties to the West. Whether Mr. Trump views the call as the beginning of a change in approach toward Taiwan is not clear. A person close to him insisted that he was just being polite in taking Ms. Tsai’s call. But Stephen Yates, a former deputy national security adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney who is advising the Trump transition, said in an interview that people around Mr. Trump were well aware of the nuances of American policy toward Taiwan. Among Republicans, there has always been a push to confront China by reaching out to Taiwan. In a statement on Friday, Senator Tom Cotton, the Arkansas Republican who was briefly believed to be a candidate for Mr. Trump’s defense secretary, praised him for taking the call, saying it “reaffirms our commitment to the only democracy on Chinese soil. ” President Ronald Reagan antagonized China by inviting a delegation from Taiwan to his inauguration. Aides to President George W. Bush pressed him to take a more confrontational approach with China until the attacks of Sept. 11 reordered his priorities, increasing the need for him to cultivate China on counterterrorism and other issues. Tensions over Taiwan peaked under a Democratic president, Bill Clinton, who in March 1996 ordered two aircraft carrier battle groups into the Taiwan Strait after China conducted missile tests to intimidate the island. For some China experts, shaking up the relationship would not be the worst thing in the world. “We have had a status quo of sorts in the Taiwan Strait that has kept the peace, but it recently has not looked all that durable, nor was it very agreeable to most citizens of democratic Taiwan,” said Orville Schell, the director of the Center on U. S. Relations at the Asia Society. “Whether a new kind of Trumpian brinkmanship will now cause China to reconsider its position towards Taiwan, or to respond in a dangerous and militant way, remains to be seen,” he said. Mr. Trump has spoken harshly about China, accusing it of concocting climate change as a hoax to undercut American manufacturers, branding it a currency manipulator (when it in fact is trying to prop its currency up) and threatening to impose a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods. Mr. Trump’s trade advisers have also advocated punitive responses to what they portray as unfair Chinese actions. A few days after he was elected, however, Mr. Trump spoke with China’s president, Mr. Xi, and released a statement afterward that said the two men had a “clear sense of mutual respect. ” Taiwan is also likely to seek a closer relationship with the United States. After years of a Kuomintang government, which pursued closer China ties, Taiwan elected Ms. Tsai as its second president from the Democratic Progressive Party. Analysts said that Ms. Tsai, though not a firebrand, was seeking to diversify Taiwan’s economic partners and carve out more space for it in international affairs. There are also lingering questions about Mr. Trump’s business dealings in Taiwan. The news media there has reported that the Trump Organization sent a representative to Taiwan to explore building a luxury hotel in a development near Taipei’s airport, though an official with the Trump Organization said it was not planning any expansion into Taiwan. The Trump Organization does not dispute that one of its employees — assigned to promote hotel sales related to Asia — was in Taipei, the capital, in October for a visit. The duties of the executive, Donoghue, include trying to find guests for the company’s hotels worldwide, and she is not involved in developing new real estate projects for Trump Hotels. For the Chinese government, as for many other governments around the world, Mr. Trump’s freewheeling diplomacy poses a challenge. At first, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, played down the episode, saying it was a “petty action by the Taiwan side” that would not upset the longstanding policy of One China. But hours later, the Chinese Foreign Ministry lodged a formal complaint with the Obama administration. It urged the United States to “handle issues related to Taiwan carefully and properly to avoid causing unnecessary interference to the overall U. S. relationship. ” David Shambaugh, the director of the China policy program at George Washington University, said Beijing’s measured response made sense. But he said that if the Trump administration took more concrete steps to change ways of dealing with Taiwan, “they can expect additional pushback from China. ” | 1 |
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. often described poverty and prejudice as related enemies, and in the last few months of his life, he called publicly for a national demonstration by the poor that would “confront the power structure massively. ” The Poor People’s Campaign was an effort to do precisely that, not with just a march but with an extended occupation of the National Mall in Washington. Organized by Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference — and led by Ralph Abernathy after Dr. King’s assassination — the campaign brought around 3, 000 people from all over the country to a spit of land that would soon be drenched by rains, and filled with wooden shanties and varied attempts at utopian collectivism. They called it Resurrection City. It was an urban area taking up 15 acres near the mall’s Reflecting Pool. The first demonstrators arrived on May 12, 1968, on buses from Mississippi. An architect designed rudimentary tents and wooden structures for temporary residents, and then came a city hall, a general store, a health clinic and a handful of celebrity visitors, including Sidney Poitier, Marlon Brando and Barbra Streisand. The New York Times assigned Faith Berry, an author, to visit the camp near the end of its run. George Tames, a staff photographer in Washington, took hundreds of photos there. A handful of them ran with Ms. Berry’s article, which explored the camp’s struggle to cohere as an ad hoc society of people of different races with varied demands and overwhelming needs. The published photos generally captured the messy end of the camp. Resurrection City’s failures — from illness to theft and racial conflict — dominated the coverage of the time. Calvin Trillin captured it best when he wrote in The New Yorker that June: “The poor in Resurrection City have come to Washington to show that the poor in America are sick, dirty, disorganized and powerless — and they are criticized daily for being sick, dirty, disorganized and powerless. ” The images shown here present an alternative, and more portrait. First, there is an image showing one of the camp’s many speakers. The camp’s public address system was used to announce everything from campsite meetings and emergencies to phone calls, but it was also where Abernathy and others sought to rally residents, and remind them of the cause. The other images show life in the camp at its most calm, humane and mundane — two women chatting inside a tent a bit of barbering, a bit of (free) health care and some of the homes and homemade messages intended to define the camp on its own terms. These photographs, never published until now, show neither simple success, nor failure. They are less pretty than powerful, as a testament to idealism and its challenges — evidence of our continual urge to gather and make demands on Washington, wherever and whenever needed. | 1 |
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This is part of a series of articles devoted to summer vacations that had an enduring impact on a writer’s life. Other contributors include Sara Novic, Dominique Browning, Francine Prose and Jacqueline Woodson. In the late 1920s when the British poet Robert Graves asked Gertrude Stein to recommend somewhere to live that was not England, she advised him to move to Majorca. “It’s paradise,” she said, “if you can bear it. ” He could bear it and made the mountain village of Deia, 22 miles northwest of the capital, Palma, his home for the rest of his life. I often think about Stein’s cryptic comment when I recall my first vacation in this same village 30 years ago. I was 27 and living in London, and my new English boyfriend was approaching 40. I was excited about getting to know more about him in paradise for two weeks, but it would have been wiser to know less. On the third day of our vacation, my boyfriend declared that he had sunstroke. He was sweating profusely while we watched a tiny winged creature suck nectar from a flower. He said, that’s a hummingbird, and I said, no, it’s a bumblebee then he felt faint and needed to lie down in a dark room. All the rooms were dark in our European pensione because the formidable owner of this establishment, her name was Isobel, insisted we keep the battered green wooden shutters closed during the day. There was no and it was a sweltering August. According to Isobel, the three lazy brown hens that sat clucking all day under the shade of the lemon trees in the garden next door had stopped laying eggs because of the heat. Therefore she had taken eggs off the breakfast menu and replaced them with two plums instead. My companion was pleased the hens had gone on strike because he loathed eggs. I noticed that he starved himself during the day — “to keep his boyish figure” — and saved his money for a hearty evening dinner. What we liked to eat most in this tranquil Majorcan village, framed by the mountains — the Serra de Tramuntana, which turned pink and gold at sunset — was grilled dorado served with dill, capers and bitter olive oil. We reserved the same table every night on the terrace of one particular restaurant. It had a view of the olive trees and the blazing purple bougainvillea that grew on the pretty Majorcan houses in the valley, all of them built from stone. While my boyfriend squeezed lemon onto his fish, he talked to me about parallel worlds and alternative realities. It was part science, part science fiction — and part something entirely personal to him. He laughed in a sophisticated and knowing manner when he explained to me how inferior he found the world in which he was obliged to earn money and pay the bills. He explained how parallel worlds coexist in the same space and time as our own universe and how he thought he had another life in one of those universes. I was in love with him and only half listening. It might be that to totally listen to him would undo the love and ruin my vacation. As we strolled back to our pensione after dinner, a sudden gust of hot wind blew sand and small insects into my eyes. In that moment, as I was temporarily blinded, he asked me to marry him. I pretended not to hear him, but when I could see again, the stars seemed extra bright in the night sky, the palm trees silver and ghostly, like another universe. I noted that we were very well matched when we played table tennis at the local bar. The owner of this bar had set up the table under the shade of a big old tree on which grew abundant clusters of scented white blossoms. We whizzed about with our little paddles, dodging the overhanging leaves and blossoms and wasps as we chased the ball and slammed it back to each other. I broke off a stem of the blossom and took it to our hotel room. After a while the scent was so overwhelming that I threw it out the window. On the days we had the energy to walk a mile through the lemon and olive orchards to the beach, we always swam together. Never solo. One of us would say, let’s go in, and we’d swim out for a while and then climb onto a flat rock that felt like a small private island, though it was not far from the shore. One morning as we were lazing in each other’s arms on this rock, the sea lapping beneath us, I saw a man standing on a smaller rock nearby. He was scooping up sea urchins and placing them in a yellow string bag he had tied to the waistband of his shorts. At the same time, my companion was telling me about an who had accompanied him on a road trip to America 20 years earlier. Apparently, the whole Jack Kerouac legend was very much alive inside him in his younger days. In fact, all the beatnik boys in his hometown outside London wanted to be Jack. He wanted to be Jack, too. I pressed my toes against the soft moss that grew on the side of the rock and idly wondered if my boyfriend had Jack’s talent. For example, was he up all night typing spontaneous prose on an endless roll of paper until he got to The End? Was he in the running to have a School of Disembodied Poetics named after him? I returned to the task of not understanding why he talked about himself only through his and parallel worlds. That was not a good sign, but I wanted to ignore all the signs, so I shifted my attention back to the man who was collecting sea urchins. He had a cut on his knee, but he was happy in the sunshine, jumping between rocks to scoop up the spiky urchins. I liked watching him because he was mucking about in the present tense while my boyfriend talked about the past. THE SALTY MEDITERRANEAN SEA has always been my particular pleasure. Especially in this bay where the water was so clear and cool. So I dived in from our special flat rock, a complicated maneuver involving precise judgment — I had to avoid the smaller sharp rocks nearby — and did a little flip under the water with my eyes open. When I surfaced, the man collecting sea urchins beckoned me over to take a look at the ball of black needles in his hand. He said the urchin was a delicacy, like caviar, much relished by sea otters and starfish. I expressed surprise at a starfish eating an urchin without being stung by its sharp spines, but he explained that the star lay on top of the urchin and smothered it. “I am going to let you taste this one,” he said, “but first we have to crack into it. ” The urchin man took out a pair of scissors he kept in the yellow string bag and cut into the shell. His fingers plunged inside the urchin and then he passed me the slimy orange sac that lurked within it. It was impolite not to accept the urchin roe after all that work, so I pretended it was an oyster and popped it into my mouth with incredible nonchalance. It was sweet and tasted of the ocean. I thanked the man, flipped back into the sea and swam back to the flat rock where my companion was staring at the sky, as if interrogating its blue immensity for parallel universes. The next day I went off on my hired moped to explore the pine forests in the mountains, while my boyfriend stayed in the pensione so he could lie on his back to realign his spine and calm his mind. When I returned (carrying three small green pine cones for him) he told me he had an who designed a log cabin in a pine forest. She was also a model. I wondered if he was bragging because I had pretended not to hear his marriage proposal? We made our way to the terrace of the pensione and sat with Isobel at her table under a fig tree. She liked to crochet while her pregnant poodle lay on her lap, and she always sat on her special patroness chair, a throne made from straw, facing the ocean. A Swedish couple who were staying at the pensione walked onto the terrace with their ice blond son. He was holding a small fish he had caught that day — it was slightly larger than a sardine. For some reason, he threw the fish at one of the cactuses that had been planted in a pot on the terrace. It missed and landed on the ground, whereupon the pregnant poodle jumped off Isobel’s lap and started to poke the silver fish with her paw. Isobel shouted something in Spanish and waved her hands at my boyfriend, as if she wanted him to do something. I saw that the forlorn fish still had a sharp hook embedded in its mouth, so I ran toward the plump gray poodle and removed it from her paw. When I looked up, my boyfriend was brushing his hair. “This has happened before,” he said. “This has happened in a parallel universe. ” The poodle started to whimper. I stared at the hairbrush. Would it float above his head and tap the warm air, searching for a seam to rip open another reality? The next day I changed my airplane ticket and headed, solo, to London. It was cold and it was raining. Despite its being August, everyone who was in town and not on vacation had turned on their heating. I was so happy to be home. Majorca was paradise but I could not bear it. | 1 |
Facebook reported a group of BBC journalists to the police after they highlighted and sent the social network images posted on Facebook that broke the site’s terms of service during an investigation on pedophiles. [“As part of an investigation into pedophile groups on Facebook, the BBC flagged 100 pieces of infringing content via the report button,” Gizmodo reported. “Despite its own rule that ‘nudity or other sexually suggestive content’ is forbidden, Facebook removed just 18. ” “When the BBC pointed this out to director of policy Simon Milner and asked for an interview, he agreed on the condition the BBC provided examples of the images — for which Facebook then reported the journalists involved to the National Crime Agency,” they continued. “To add insult to injury, after reporting journalists for complying with its request for examples of images that moderators had not removed, Facebook then canceled the promised interview. ” In a statement, Facebook accused the BBC of breaking the law while distribution images of “child exploitation. ” “It is against the law for anyone to distribute images of child exploitation,” said Facebook. “When the BBC sent us such images we followed our industry’s standard practice and reported them to CEOP (Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre). ” The BBC claims that some of the content found on Facebook included: “I have been very disturbed by what I have seen, very disappointed that one year on we are still seeing images that are very sexualised, totally in my view unacceptable,” said the Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield. “The moderation clearly isn’t being effective, I would question whether humans are moderating this, are looking at this, and also I think it is failing to take account of the context of these images. ” Facebook’s response was also criticized by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). “Facebook’s failure to remove illegal content from its website is appalling and violates the agreements they have in place to protect children,” declared the charity in a statement. “It also raises the question of what content they consider to be inappropriate and dangerous to children. ” Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook. | 1 |
Informe: El Pentágono gastó 60.000 millones de dólares en proyectos abandonados en 20 años 22:01 GMT
Uno de los proyectos que nunca fue puesto en marcha les costó a los contribuyentes más de 20.000 millones. El Departamento de Defensa de Estados Unidos AFP
El Departamento de Defensa estadounidense ha gastado al menos 58.000 millones de dólares en las últimas dos décadas en proyectos de armas que nunca llegaron a materializarse, informa Washington Examiner .
El medio citó un informe de Frank Kendall, el subsecretario de Defensa encargado de adquisiciones, tecnologías y logística, en el que se mencionan 23 costosos programas que fueron financiados para finalmente cancelarse.
Los más caros de esos proyectos abortados fueron Future Combat System, un programa de modernización del Ejército que requirió más de 20.000 millones de dólares, y el del helicóptero polivalente de ataque y reconocimiento RAH-66 Comanche , en el que se invirtieron 9.800 millones de dólares.
Los representantes del Pentágono insisten en que estos proyectos no supusieron un despilfarro porque, aunque se suspendieran, las tecnologías desarrolladas en su marco pueden utilizarse en otros programas. Todo sobre este tema | 0 |
By 2050, the world’s population is estimated to reach 9.7 billion people. Already, 795 million people go to bed hungry each evening. Catching up to – and alleviating – the problem of... | 0 |
Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, ( ) said Donald Trump’s hopes to get along with Russia “will be dashed pretty quickly. ” McConnell said, “I don’t think it is all that unusual for a new president to want to get along with the Russians, I remember George W. Bush having the same hope. My suspicion is these hopes will be dashed pretty quickly, the Russians are clearly a big adversary and they demonstrated it by trying to mess around in our election. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
We Are Change
Iraqi Army Discovers US-Made Missiles in ISIS’s Military Base in Mosul
Iraqi army and popular forces have discovered a number of US-made missiles from a military position of the ISIS (ISIL, IS, Daesh) in the Southern part of Mosul, informed local sources disclosed after the first group of pro-government troops opened their way into Southern Mosul on Monday. “Several US-made missiles were found in al-Shoura region to the South of Mosul,” a local source said on Monday.
The Iraqi army and popular forces had found US-made missiles in Anbar province several times before.
Provincial officials confirmed that the US-made weapons were sent by the US-led anti-ISIL coalition airplane for the ISIL terrorists in Anbar province.
Meantime, Iraqi security officials announced that the ISIL has sent US-made military equipment to Tal Afar region in the last two days to stand strong against Iraqi popular forces’ impending attack to capture the region.
“The ISIL terrorists have sent US-made TOW anti-tank missiles to Tal Afar and it is quite evident that they are preparing for a long-term war,” the Arabic-language media quoted an Iraqi security official as saying on Monday.
In late August 2015, a senior Iraqi intelligence official revealed that the US helicopters drop weapons and other aids for the ISIL terrorists in the Western province of al-Anbar.
“The fighters present at the forefront of fighting against the ISIL always see US helicopters flying over the ISIL-controlled areas and dropping weapons and urgent aids for them,” the official who called for anonymity told FNA.
Yet, he said the helicopters could have also been sent from Turkey or Israel.
He added that in addition to dropping aids, the helicopters transfer the ISIL ringleaders and wounded members from the battleground to some hospitals in Syria or other countries which support the terrorist group.
The official cautioned that such assistance further prolongs the conflicts in Anbar, adding that when the Iraqi army and popular forces purge the terrorists from Anbar province, the US helicopters will transfer the ISIL ringleaders to other regions to prevent the Iraqi forces’ access to ISIL secrets.
Also in March 2015, a group of Iraqi popular forces known as Al-Hashad Al-Shabi shot down the US Army helicopter that was carrying weapons for the ISIL in the Western parts of Al-Baghdadi region in Al-Anbar province.
Meantime in February 2015, a senior lawmaker disclosed that Iraq’s army had shot down two British planes as they were carrying weapons for the ISIL terrorists in Al-Anbar province.
“The Iraqi Parliament’s National Security and Defense Committee has access to the photos of both planes that are British and have crashed while they were carrying weapons for the ISIL,” al-Zameli said.
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Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief executive of American International Group, reached an unexpected settlement ending a tumultuous, battle over civil accounting fraud charges first brought in 2005 by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Mr. Greenberg, 91, and his Howard Smith, A. I. G. ’s former chief financial officer, reached the agreement with the current New York attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, who announced it on Friday. In the settlement, the two men acknowledged that they had participated in and approved two transactions that inaccurately portrayed A. I. G. ’s financial results over four years. They agreed to give up more than $9. 9 million that they received as performance bonuses from 2001 through 2004, with Mr. Greenberg paying most of that amount. But it is a fraction of the more than $50 million the state had sought. The former executives also released statements acknowledging their roles in the transactions, but not admitting to fraud. After negotiations spanning about two months, the settlement was a quiet conclusion to a case that began during an era when Mr. Spitzer extracted large fines after accusing Wall Street research analysts of publishing biased research, mutual fund managers of shady trading and insurance brokers of rigging bids and receiving kickbacks. The Enron and WorldCom accounting frauds had shaken corporate boards. But Mr. Greenberg was determined to fight his case, and both sides dug in for a long battle. Neither Mr. Greenberg nor Mr. Spitzer have the same jobs they had in 2005, having receded from those prominent roles. The trial began in September before New York State Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Ramos after 11 years of delays and legal maneuvering, much of it as Mr. Greenberg appealed rulings by the judge. After his testimony and in the trial, Mr. Greenberg and the lawyers arguing for the state began mediation in December. The trial had been set to resume last month, but was postponed pending the talks. The former executives were accused of overseeing two sham reinsurance deals aimed at duping A. I. G. investors. One deal turned auto warranty insurance losses into investment losses the other inflated A. I. G. reserves by $500 million. The charges led to Mr. Greenberg’s ouster in 2005 as chief of A. I. G. which he had built into a global insurance leader. In a statement on Friday, Mr. Schneiderman said, “Today’s agreement settles the indisputable fact that Mr. Greenberg has denied for 12 years: that Mr. Greenberg orchestrated two transactions that fundamentally misrepresented A. I. G. ’s finances. ” In his statement, Mr. Greenberg said he “initiated, participated in and approved these two transactions” as a result, A. I. G. ’s public filings “inaccurately portrayed the accounting, and thus the financial condition and performance for A. I. G. ’s loss reserves and underwriting income. ” In an interview, David Boies, Mr. Greenberg’s lawyer, called the agreement a “nuisance settlement,” noting that Mr. Greenberg had avoided two penalties sought by the state that would have barred him from working in the securities industry or as an officer of a public company. The settlement’s outline was framed by the mediator, Kenneth R. Feinberg. The transactions were featured when A. I. G. settled accounting fraud charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2006. One, a reinsurance deal between A. I. G. and General Reinsurance Corporation, a company owned by Berkshire Hathaway, prompted federal criminal charges in Connecticut against several former executives of the companies two former Gen Re executives pleaded guilty. A 2008 jury verdict against five others was overturned on appeal. What began as a battle was nasty from the start. Before he brought the charges in May 2005, Mr. Spitzer had forced the ouster of Mr. Greenberg’s son Jeffrey as chief executive of the insurance brokerage Marsh McLennan after charging it with and receiving kickbacks. And Mr. Greenberg complained that Mr. Spitzer was treating minor infractions, like “foot faults” in tennis, as capital crimes. Mr. Spitzer shot back, “too many foot faults, and you can lose the match. ” Early in the trial, Mr. Greenberg admitted to a sometimes active role in formulating the transactions at issue but insisted he had intended for them to comply with accounting rules. He said he had left most details to subordinates. On the stand, he lunged and parried with state trial lawyer David E. Nachman, avoiding simple answers so often that the judge chided him. “If we don’t want this trial to last a year, you’re going to have to give direct answers,” Judge Ramos said. In his opening statement, Mr. Boies said, “this case is devoid of any admissible evidence that ties Mr. Greenberg to anything that was improper about these two transactions. ” Saule Omarova, who specializes in the regulation of financial institutions as a professor at Cornell Law School, said the case was about the legacies of Mr. Greenberg as A. I. G. ’s longtime leader and Mr. Spitzer as a onetime prominent Wall Street regulator. Stepping back, she said, the case is a prominent example of regulators’ efforts to untangle the blame for “ activities at large financial conglomerates” that later loomed large in the financial crisis of 2008. Three years after the charges led to Mr. Greenberg’s ouster, A. I. G. nearly collapsed and needed an $185 billion federal rescue. Mr. Spitzer resigned as New York governor in 2008 in a prostitution scandal. The state and the two defendants had reached an agreement to settle the case just before A. I. G. ’s . However, a steep drop in A. I. G. ’s stock price at that time reduced the value of a planned charitable donation of A. I. G. shares that would have been part of the settlement, and the agreement was called off. Before the trial, Judge Ramos ruled in favor of the state on one of the charges, but that was overturned on appeal, and the defense unsuccessfully sought to remove him from the case. In the Gen Re deal struck in 2000, the company was supposedly paying $10 million to get reinsurance from A. I. G. according to testimony by Christian M. Milton, a former A. I. G. executive. But A. I. G. arranged to repay the $10 million to Gen Re with a $5 million deal fee, he testified. The state charged that the “secret” fee repayment was a sign the reinsurance was bogus, intended mainly to allow A. I. G. to increase reserves by $500 million. But Mr. Greenberg, who initiated the deal by phoning the Gen Re chief executive, testified that he was not aware of the repayment plan. In a 2008 deposition admitted into evidence early in the trial, Alice Schroeder, a former Morgan Stanley insurance analyst, said that if she had known about the Gen Re transaction and its impact in raising A. I. G. ’s reserve levels, she “almost certainly” would not have upgraded the stock in early 2001. She also described Mr. Greenberg as “a very manager. ” One cloud over the state’s case was whether a deposition of Richard Napier, a former Gen Re executive, could come into evidence. Mr. Napier was an important prosecution witness in the Connecticut trial who in 2005 pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit securities fraud in the A. I. G. deal. While the defense objected to parts of Mr. Napier’s deposition as inadmissible “hearsay,” New York State lawyers argued that a “ exception” to hearsay rules should apply. Judge Ramos received briefs on the issue but had not ruled before the mediation effort began. | 1 |
A New York Times article pointed out that an alleged rape in Maryland went “virtually uncovered” on CNN, MSNBC, and most other networks, while Fox News devoted a considerable amount of time covering the incident. [The two alleged rapists, ages 17 and 18, enrolled as freshmen at a public high school in Rockville, Maryland, after federal immigration authorities detained and later released them even though they were in the country illegally, the Baltimore Sun reported. The suspects allegedly forced a girl to perform oral sex on them in a bathroom stall while they raped and sodomized her, despite her crying out in pain, begging them to stop, police said. Police investigating the incident found blood and DNA at the scene of the crime, Fox DC reported. television networks left their viewers uninformed about the rape case, according to the Times. Times writers John Koblin and Nick Corasanti said that, unlike the other networks, Fox News gave “considerable time” to what they called “a rape case in Maryland. ” They added that “viewers would not have heard” about the Rockville rape” if they had turned to CNN or MSNBC,” where the case was “virtually uncovered” on those networks. The Times also said that Fox News was accurate in criticizing the other networks for not covering the issue, according to an “ ” by the paper. Even though the story was ignored by most networks, the alleged rape has generated national outrage. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that the alleged rape by illegal immigrants is one of the reasons why President Trump is so “passionate” about cracking down on illegal immigration. “This is a tragic event, and it is horrendous, and horrible, and disgusting what this young woman in Rockville went through. I can’t possibly imagine,” Spicer said at the White House on Tuesday. | 1 |
Geneticists tell us that somewhere between 1 and 5 percent of the genome of modern Europeans and Asians consists of DNA inherited from Neanderthals, our prehistoric cousins. At Vanderbilt University, John Anthony Capra, an evolutionary genomics professor, has been combining computation and a medical records databank to learn what a Neanderthal heritage — even a fractional one — might mean for people today. We spoke for two hours when Dr. Capra, 35, recently passed through New York City. An edited and condensed version of the conversation follows. Q. Let’s begin with an indiscreet question. How did contemporary people come to have Neanderthal DNA on their genomes? A. We hypothesize that roughly 50, 000 years ago, when the ancestors of modern humans migrated out of Africa and into Eurasia, they encountered Neanderthals. Matings must have occurred then. And later. One reason we deduce this is because the descendants of those who remained in Africa — present day Africans — don’t have Neanderthal DNA. What does that mean for people who have it? At my lab, we’ve been doing genetic testing on the blood samples of 28, 000 patients at Vanderbilt and eight other medical centers across the country. Computers help us pinpoint where on the human genome this Neanderthal DNA is, and we run that against information from the patients’ anonymized medical records. We’re looking for associations. What we’ve been finding is that Neanderthal DNA has a subtle influence on risk for disease. It affects our immune system and how we respond to different immune challenges. It affects our skin. You’re slightly more prone to a condition where you can get scaly lesions after extreme sun exposure. There’s an increased risk for blood clots and tobacco addiction. To our surprise, it appears that some Neanderthal DNA can increase the risk for depression however, there are other Neanderthal bits that decrease the risk. Roughly 1 to 2 percent of one’s risk for depression is determined by Neanderthal DNA. It all depends on where on the genome it’s located. Was there ever an upside to having Neanderthal DNA? It probably helped our ancestors survive in prehistoric Europe. When humans migrated into Eurasia, they encountered unfamiliar hazards and pathogens. By mating with Neanderthals, they gave their offspring needed defenses and immunities. That trait for blood clotting helped wounds close up quickly. In the modern world, however, this trait means greater risk for stroke and pregnancy complications. What helped us then doesn’t necessarily now. Did you say earlier that Neanderthal DNA increases susceptibility to nicotine addiction? Yes. Neanderthal DNA can mean you’re more likely to get hooked on nicotine, even though there were no tobacco plants in archaic Europe. We think this might be because there’s a bit of Neanderthal DNA right next to a human gene that’s a neurotransmitter implicated in a generalized risk for addiction. In this case and probably others, we think the Neanderthal bits on the genome may serve as switches that turn human genes on or off. Aside from the Neanderthals, do we know if our ancestors mated with other hominids? We think they did. Sometimes when we’re examining genomes, we can see the genetic afterimages of hominids who haven’t even been identified yet. A few years ago, the Swedish geneticist Svante Paabo received an unusual fossilized bone fragment from Siberia. He extracted the DNA, sequenced it and realized it was neither human nor Neanderthal. What Paabo found was a previously unknown hominid he named Denisovan, after the cave where it had been discovered. It turned out that Denisovan DNA can be found on the genomes of modern Southeast Asians and New Guineans. Have you long been interested in genetics? Growing up, I was very interested in history, but I also loved computers. I ended up majoring in computer science at college and going to graduate school in it however, during my first year in graduate school, I realized I wasn’t very motivated by the problems that computer scientists worked on. Fortunately, around that time — the early 2000s — it was becoming clear that people with computational skills could have a big impact in biology and genetics. The human genome had just been mapped. What an accomplishment! We now had the code to what makes you, you, and me, me. I wanted to be part of that kind of work. So I switched over to biology. And it was there that I heard about a new field where you used computation and genetics research to look back in time — evolutionary genomics. There may be no written records from prehistory, but genomes are a living record. If we can find ways to read them, we can discover things we couldn’t know any other way. Not long ago, the two top editors of The New England Journal of Medicine published an editorial questioning “data sharing,” a common practice where scientists recycle raw data other researchers have collected for their own studies. They labeled some of the recycling researchers, “data parasites. ” How did you feel when you read that? I was upset. The data sets we used were not originally collected to specifically study Neanderthal DNA in modern humans. Thousands of patients at Vanderbilt consented to have their blood and their medical records deposited in a “biobank” to find genetic diseases. Three years ago, when I set up my lab at Vanderbilt, I saw the potential of the biobank for studying both genetic diseases and human evolution. I wrote special computer programs so that we could mine existing data for these purposes. That’s not being a “parasite. ” That’s moving knowledge forward. I suspect that most of the patients who contributed their information are pleased to see it used in a wider way. What has been the response to your Neanderthal research since you published it last year in the journal Science? Some of it’s very touching. People are interested in learning about where they came from. Some of it is a little silly. “I have a lot of hair on my legs — is that from Neanderthals?” But I received racist inquiries, too. I got calls from all over the world from people who thought that since Africans didn’t interbreed with Neanderthals, this somehow justified their ideas of white superiority. It was illogical. Actually, Neanderthal DNA is mostly bad for us — though that didn’t bother them. As you do your studies, do you ever wonder about what the lives of the Neanderthals were like? It’s hard not to. Genetics has taught us a tremendous amount about that, and there’s a lot of evidence that they were much more human than apelike. They’ve gotten a bad rap. We tend to think of them as dumb and brutish. There’s no reason to believe that. Maybe those of us of European heritage should be thinking, “Let’s improve their standing in the popular imagination. They’re our ancestors, too. ’” | 1 |
The list of Emmy winners | red carpet looks | our critic’s review of the show ] LOS ANGELES — It was business as usual in the two major categories at the Emmys on Sunday night, as HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and “Veep” repeated as winners for best drama and comedy. But for a ceremony that can be numbingly predictable, the Emmys were energized by a slew of winners in the acting categories and a tour de force in the limited series category by FX’s “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. ” The success of the O. J. series set the theme for the evening as Sarah Paulson, Courtney B. Vance and Sterling K. Brown all scored their first Emmy victories. Rami Malek won his first Emmy as well in a race for best actor in a drama, for his role as the tortured hacker in USA’s “Mr. Robot. ” And in a big upset, Tatiana Maslany won as best actress in a drama for her numerous performances in BBC America’s “Orphan Black,” beating out the likes of Robin Wright, Claire Danes and last year’s winner, Viola Davis. Kate McKinnon of “Saturday Night Live” provided a change of pace, too, upsetting Allison Janney, a Emmy winner, as best supporting actress for comedy. Likewise, Louie Anderson won his first Emmy in the best supporting comedy category for his role as a suburban mother in FX’s “Baskets. ” There was a changing of the guard in the variety category, as John Oliver’s show, “Last Week Tonight,” ended the run of Comedy Central victories. There were familiar winners as well: In the comedy category, Julia won her fifth consecutive best actress award for her role on “Veep,” and Jeffrey Tambor, for the second year in a row, won for his role as a transgender woman in “Transparent. ” This was the second consecutive year that “Game of Thrones” and “Veep” took top honors, which helped propel HBO to six Emmys on Sunday night and 22 Emmys over all (some categories were awarded previously) the biggest haul of any programmer. FX was right behind with 18 wins, including six on Sunday. “Thrones” once again led all shows with 12 wins, including three on Sunday, but there is some good news for HBO’s rivals in the drama category: Next year “Game of Thrones,” one of TV’s most widely praised dramas, will not be eligible for the Emmys the network elected to start the show’s seventh season in the summer 2017, outside of the window. In a sign of the expected Emmys dominance for “Game of Thrones” and “O. J,” Jimmy Kimmel, the show’s host, said in his opening monologue, “If your show doesn’t have a dragon or a white Bronco in it, go home. ” Here are some of the themes and highlights of the evening: Comedy Central had a chokehold on the variety talk show category for years, and a Comedy Central alumnus took the award on Sunday: Mr. Oliver, for his HBO show, “Last Week Tonight. ” The show is now in its third season, and the win represents a breakthrough of sorts. The Emmy in this category has been handed out to daily talk shows for years and hasn’t been given to a weekly show since Tracey Ullman won for her sketch series “Tracey Takes On … ” nearly 20 years ago. (Starting last year, variety sketch series and variety talk series were separated into different categories.) Mr. Oliver’s triumph is a blow for Comedy Central, which had won this award for 13 consecutive years between “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report. ” Not this year Trevor Noah, Jon Stewart’s replacement, was shut out of the race and not nominated in his first year as host of “The Daily Show. ” But there was some solace in Comedy Central’s night, when “Key Peele” won the best variety sketch series award. The bad news? That is now off the air. Not surprisingly, this year’s divisive election played a significant role in this year’s ceremony. Lamenting the possibility of a Donald J. Trump presidency, Mr. Kimmel lit into the reality show producer Mark Burnett, who was one of the creators of NBC’s “The Apprentice,” the show that made Mr. Trump a nationwide television star. With ABC’s camera firmly squared on Mr. Burnett — who laughed the entire time, despite the charged barbs — Mr. Kimmel said that if Mr. Trump is elected president, Mr. Burnett is the man to blame. “If he’s elected and he builds that wall, the first person we’re throwing over it is Mark Burnett,” Mr. Kimmel said. Later in the night, after “The Voice” won the best reality show, Mr. Burnett, a producer for that show as well, shot back at Mr. Kimmel saying that the host gave “another five minutes of free publicity” for Mr. Trump. Mr. Kimmel took the stage afterward and had his own retort: “That Emmy is going on the hood of Trump’s limousine, isn’t it?” And Ms. who plays the vice president turned president Selina Meyer, said this upon winning her Emmy for every year she’s been nominated in the role: “Our show started out as a political satire, but it now feels more like a sobering documentary. ” FX’s “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story” was a ratings hit and a darling of critics, and now a Emmy winner. In addition to winning the limited series Emmy, Ms. Paulson, Mr. Vance and Mr. Brown all won acting awards. Mr. Vance and Mr. Brown both beat to win. Nearly every feature player on the show was nominated for an award, a total of six in all. After Ms. Paulson was named best actress, she got up from her seat and gave a big hug to Marcia Clark, the prosecutor she played in the drama, and whom she brought as her guest to the ceremony. Ms. Paulson’s performance was a sympathetic one, and it’s been a year of redemption for Ms. Clark. “I, along with the rest of the world, had been superficial and careless in my judgment,” Ms. Paulson said, choking up as she directed her comments to Ms. Clark. “And I am glad to be able to stand here today in front of everyone and tell you I’m sorry. ’’ For FX, “The People v. O. J. Simpson” was the leader for what was turning out to be its best year at the Emmys ever. “Fargo” was also nominated in the category and, after years of being shut out, FX’s critically praised “The Americans” finally broke through with three major nominations — best drama, best actor (Matthew Rhys) and best actress (Keri Russell) — though it did not win. The Oscars have been the subject of withering outrage the last two years for a lack of racial diversity in the acting categories. The Emmys? There’s been something closer to silence. No one would argue that TV has fully addressed the issue of race — it has a problem when it comes to tapping minorities behind the scenes, as the Directors Guild of America reported last week, and CBS was criticized in August for a fall lineup featuring familiar white male actors. But nearly two dozen minority actors were nominated for Emmys this year, following Ms. Davis’s acting victory a year ago. There were three winners in acting categories Sunday, a notable departure from this year’s Academy Awards, in which no minorities were nominated in the acting categories. In addition to wins from Mr. Brown and Mr. Vance, Regina King won the supporting actress in a limited series Emmy for her role in ABC’s “American Crime. ” And “Key Peele” prevailed in the variety sketch award. Instead, attention has turned to the awards themselves, with campaigning having turned into something of a blood sport. In the last two years there has been a 40 percent increase in the number of submissions for the best drama Emmy, according to the Television Academy. And “for your consideration” mailers have reached comical proportions, with Netflix sending out a package to Emmy voters so hefty that it could crush a toe. For each of the last three years, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon have become a larger presence at the Emmys. Netflix had 54 nominations this year, its highest ever, and for the first time, it did better than any of the broadcast networks. But despite the upheaval Netflix has caused in the industry, the streaming service has yet to have a big Emmys night. Though it collected nine Emmys overall, including three on Sunday, Netflix continues to strike out in the best drama, best comedy and best actor and actress categories. Ben Mendelsohn did win the Emmy for best supporting actor for his role in “Bloodline. ” But even with the lavish attention on the presidential election this year, neither Kevin Spacey nor Robin Wright won for their roles in the political drama “House of Cards. ” Neither actor has won a Primetime Emmy Award. For Amazon, Mr. Tambor won again for “Transparent. ’’ The broadcast networks continued to have a diminished presence at the Emmys. NBC won two awards Sunday night, and ABC and Fox won one. CBS was shut out altogether. 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The mayor of Laredo, Texas, Pete Saenz, is now calling President Donald Trump’s Executive Order to begin construction of a border wall “offensive”. [In an interview with CBS News, Saenz said Trump’s border wall plan is “divisive” because of its physical appearance and the “psychological impact” it will have on tourists visiting Laredo. “It serves as a negative psychological impact on people that visit our city,” Saenz told CBS. “Could you imagine having a city with a huge wall there? It’s not very inviting. It’s very divisive. ” Saenz’s town of Laredo sits right on the Border and is a area for not only illegal aliens, but the Mexican drug trade as well. As Breitbart Texas reported, Laredo is one of the main hubs for drug smuggling by the Los Zetas Cartel, sitting just north of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, often considered the “home base” of the criminal organization. The CBS News piece also makes a point to portray border walls as not necessarily working, in terms of keeping illegal immigrants out of the country and preventing an of drugs, titling the piece “Critics on why building a Mexico border wall won’t be effective. ” Unlike local Democratic politicians like Saenz opposing the border wall, U. S. Border Patrol agents have praised Trump’s immediate action at the border, as Breitbart Texas reported. “We know we won’t have a wall along the 2, 000 miles of border,” the President of the Local 2455 of the National Border Patrol Council Hector Garza said. “What we will have is a wall where it is needed. That barrier with proper manpower, resources, technology and other tools will be effective. But most important, for the first time we have a president that wants to secure the border. ” John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder. | 1 |
NTEB Ads Privacy Policy WHEN LIBERALS ATTACK: Crazed Crooked Hillary Supporter Attacks Tea Party In Saint Augustine, FL This woman, obviously a Crooked Hillary supporter, was walking with 3 other friends, when they stopped to watch a meeting of the St. Augustine Tea Party on the street corner. They all stopped and she went back and forth with herself until she had the nerve to confront - the assault - this member of the Tea Party. by Geoffrey Grider October 29, 2016 Moments later, she flies into a rage, rips the sign out of his hand and throws it to the ground, then rips the Tea Party flag out of his hand and throws that to the ground.
Have you ever sat back and watched someone who was working up the nerve to do something nasty like shoplift from a store or slash someone’s tire? They go back and forth, reasoning amongst themselves, until they finally have worked up the courage to carry out the deed. That’s exactly what happened today on Saint George Street in St. Augustine, FL, as I stood there and watched the event unfold.
This woman , obviously a Crooked Hillary supporter , was walking with 3 other friends, when they stopped to watch a meeting of the St. Augustine Tea Party on the street corner. They all stopped and she went back and forth with herself until she had the nerve to confront – then assault – this member of the Tea Party.
The Tea Party member asked her: “Why do you kill babies?”
Her immediate response was: “Because it keeps the crime rate down”.
Flabbergasted at her answer , he asked her again and she again gave the same response. Moments later, she flies into a rage, rips the sign out of his hand and throws it to the ground, then rips the Tea Party flag out of his hand and throws that to the ground. Having finished her assault , she storms off in a huff.
Can you imagine the cry and faux Liberal outrage that would have resulted if a Donald Trump supporter had acted like this with a female Crooked Hillary supporter? It would be headlines on the nightly news for a week and jail time for the Trump supporter.
Now you have see with your own eyes what real Hillary Clinton supporters look like and act like. Please share!
Geoffrey Grider NTEB is run by end times author and editor-in-chief Geoffrey Grider. Geoffrey runs a successful web design company, and is a full-time minister of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to running NOW THE END BEGINS, he has a dynamic street preaching outreach and tract ministry team in Saint Augustine, FL. NTEB #TRENDING | 0 |
For all of her famed competence, Hillary Clinton has also been, from the beginning, something of a stumbler. While she was still a prospective first lady, she famously insulted all those mothers of the world there was a gap between her and everywoman, and she walked right into it with a misstep that colored her public persona going forward. She has stumbled in traps of her own making — those emails — and traps set by others. And yet, even after years of those missteps, Clinton has always somehow righted herself. She has withstood not just her own missteps but also the relentless attacks on her personally: on her cankles, her coldness, her hairstyles, her marital choices, her audacity, her arrogance, her calculatedness. This summer, a gift shop at International Airport sold a novelty item called the “inflatable mini Hillary bop bag” the box displays a large, presumably male fist in contact with the side of Clinton’s head and the words: “She falls down, but pops back up!” It is a hateful and misogynist object that can’t hide its grudging admiration, which is much of Hillary Clinton’s public perception in a nutshell. That resiliency provides an unavoidable — even poignant — subtext of the widely viewed video that surfaced on Sunday, showing Clinton stumbling as she tried to enter a waiting van following a sudden departure from a Sept. 11 memorial event. A young woman — it is touching that it is a young woman — is holding her under her left arm as they wait for her vehicle to pull up. Clinton sways backward before moving forward. She stumbles a little, wobbles from side to side, then stumbles again and again, each time moving a bit more erratically. The door of the van is just a few feet away. Inside that door is safety, privacy, a quick escape to her daughter’s home no one will be the wiser if she can just get to the car. Surely she can make it that far. She is, for better or for worse, Iron Woman, who stumbles but never falls — until she does. She almost disappears from sight as she plunges, her weight supported by the security team around her. Her feet scrape the ground. It turned out to be pneumonia, which her team knew as early as Friday. It’s her lungs that were impaired, not her brain, as Tom Brokaw originally rushed to suggest on “Meet the Press” she should see a neurologist, he said. But instead, it was a problem of breath, a kind of small suffocation. It seems unlikely that Donald Trump has familiarized himself with Susan Sontag’s “Illness as Metaphor,” in which Sontag argued that illness is often perceived as a result of weak character traits. But for weeks, Trump seemed to be working off some kind of playbook. Clinton was not just lacking in the physical stamina required to fight ISIS, he said, “but the mental stamina” his team often spoke of her as “frail. ” In turning illness into a personality flaw, a dangerous side effect of femaleness, Trump most likely made it all the more difficult for Clinton to acknowledge straightaway whatever health issue was in fact troubling her, whenever it kicked in in earnest. We now know she had a diagnosis of pneumonia at least two days before she declared to the press outside her daughter’s apartment, using language that might have been drafted by the world’s lamest crisis manager, that she was “feeling great” and that it was “a beautiful day in New York. ” To confirm that she was sick, when she had any other choice, might be to confirm all the other absurdist allegations from Trump’s team was it also irrefutable evidence that she did not have “a presidential look”? The Friday before the Sept. 11 event, Clinton made yet another misstep, saying that some portion of Trump’s supporters belonged in a “basket of deplorables. ” And given her reputation, deserved or not, for secrecy and untrustworthiness, delaying revealing the truth was a risky strategy. Her fans tried to portray it as something else: Toughing it out by showing up at the event in the first place showed incredible stamina, admirable stamina, they argued. It was just like a woman to get on with her work despite feeling ill — it’s what women do. Sontag warned against conflating physical illness with any kind of mental state. “Theories that diseases are caused by mental states … are always an index of how much is not understood about the physical terrain of a disease,” she wrote. To make a metaphor of sickness is usually to imply judgment. In the narrative of this particular, strange election cycle, Clinton’s moment of evident illness will surely come to symbolize something. What that is, exactly, depends on how crudely, how truthfully, campaigners on both sides manipulate or manage a subject that is both intimately personal and yet significant for the public. The body politic will be watching closely, knowing that its health, even more than hers, is in need of good care. | 1 |
Written by Adam Dick Friday November 11, 2016 Ron Paul, known for his promotion of the United States following a noninterventionist foreign policy, presented Thursday his take on the prospects of Donald Trump’s foreign policy as president. Paul set out his analysis in an extensive interview with host Peter Lavelle at RT. Paul started off the interview saying that he is keeping his “fingers crossed” regarding Trump’s potential foreign policy actions. Paul says he views favorably Trump’s comments in the presidential election about “being less confrontational with Russia” and criticizing some of the US wars in the Middle East. Paul, though, notes that Trump has presented “vague” foreign policy positions overall. Paul also comments that a good indication of how Trump will act on foreign policy issues will be provided by looking at who Trump appoints to positions in the executive branch and from whom Trump receives advice. Regarding Trump’s foreign policy advisors and potential appointees, Paul expresses in the interview reason for concern. Paul states: “Unfortunately, there have been several neoconservatives that are getting closer to Trump, and, if he gets his advice from them, then I don’t think that is a good sign.” Even if Trump wants to pursue a significantly more noninterventionist course than his recent predecessors in the presidency, Paul warns that the entrenched “deep state” that favors foreign intervention and war, special interests that have “sinister motivation for these wars,” and media propaganda that “builds up the war fever” can provide significant headwinds against Trump pursuing such an objective. Watch Paul’s interview here: Related | 0 |
Reports of an “exclusively gay moment” in Disney’s remake of Beauty and the Beast fueled intense speculation and sparked controversy when the details were reported last week — but now the film’s director says the controversy isn’t really a controversy at all. [“Oh, God. Can I just tell you? It’s all been overblown,” director Bill Condon said Friday in an interview with ScreenCrush. Last week, Condon told Attitude magazine that the character LeFou (Josh Gad) “wants to kiss Gaston (Luke Evans),” in what “is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie. ” Now, the film director says his comments have been wildly exaggerated. “Because it’s just this — it’s part of just what we had fun with,” Condon said. “I love the way it plays pure when people don’t know and it comes as a nice surprise. ” Last Tuesday, Disney released a promotional clip online showing a flamboyant Gad singing his ode to Gaston: “For there’s no man in town half as manly. Perfect, a pure paragon. ” Condon says he can only hope that audiences don’t “make a big deal of it. ” “Why is it a big deal?” Condon also commended Gad for being able to make “something really subtle and delicious out of” the role. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast opens in theatres March 17. The film is directed by Condon and stars Dan Stevens, Emma Watson, Luke Evans, Ewan McGregor, and Josh Gad. Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @JeromeEHudson | 1 |
¿Karma? Misteriosa criatura chupasangre ataca a un adolescente tras broma en un cementerio (VIDEOS) 22:43 GMT
El joven fue mordido por un extraño insecto un instante después de tirar un palo a una de las tumbas. Youtube / NibblerNibbels
Un adolescente australiano fue atacado por un misterioso insecto en un cementerio en Tasmania, sostiene ' The Sun '. El video, grabado por un amigo del muchacho refleja que la víctima tira un palo a una de las tumbas y un instante después sufre el ataque de un extraño animal.
En la grabación se puede ver que la criatura vuela alrededor de la cabeza de Tim (nombre de la víctima) antes de que el joven huyera gritando.
En el segundo video, filmado después del incidente, se reflejan de cerca las consecuencias de la mordida del insecto.
"Acabamos de regresar del cementerio y Tim fue mordido por un insecto raro, chupasangre o algo así", comenta el suceso el amigo del Tim.
Se desconoce qué clase de animal atacó al joven australiano, pero lo que sí parece seguro es que se lo pensará dos veces antes de acudir a un cementerio de noche para gastar bromas. | 0 |
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who commanded troops in war, delivered a powerful speech honoring fallen service members at Arlington Cemetery on Monday. [“They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them,” he began his remarks, which were followed by President Trump. “We gather here today with the shared attitude of gratitude,” he said. Mattis was also joined at the ceremony by fellow Marine commanders, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford and retired Gen. John Kelly, now currently the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Kelly lost his son, Marine 1st Lieutenant Robert Kelly, in the Afghanistan War in 2010. Mattis’s remarks held special poignance since he has recently commanded troops in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. The cemetery’s Section 60 holds many of those who have fallen in those wars. “More than a century ago, this plot of land was a plantation on the Potomac. Scenic, but hardly sacred. Now, these fields hold the greatest treasure of our nation. America’s courageous, dead. Those who today we pause to remember,” he said. Mattis, who is known as the “Warrior Monk” and is himself known for memorable sayings, borrowed from great figures, including Plato and Supreme Court justices, to pay homage to the men and women who have died protecting the country. “Not far from here lies the marker of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. a Civil War infantry veteran, who later rose to become a Supreme Court justice. Holmes said those who serve in our military have hearts that are touched with fire. Having known great things, he said, they are content with silence,” he said. “If you have ever known one of the fallen, you have known greatness. But it is hard to be content with their silence, for we miss them. The empty chair on a holiday, empty every day. The photograph that goes wherever you do. The picture fades, but the person in it does not,” he said. Mattis said their fighting spirit persists, passed down through the ranks, and echoes in those who fight on today “on the air, on land, and at sea. ” Quoting Plato, he said, “In a world awash with change, some things stand firm. Some things are as Plato said: ‘Good and true and beautiful. ’” He also urged families to turn suffering into meaning. “The kid on the line who never got a chance to grow old will always be there to teach us that suffering has meaning if it is accepted out of love for others,” he said. “To the families of the fallen, both here and at home, no words will ease your pain. But I beg you, let it have meaning. Unite your sorrow to their awesome purpose. People do grace places, but people also grace people. We are blessed by our time with those now asleep, the mighty and the gentle. ” “Let us share their story with others,” he said. “Then, like the poet, we all can say,” he added: Sleep, soldiers! still in honored rest, Your truth and valor wearing. The bravest are the tenderest, — The loving are the daring. | 1 |
Idleness is generally not something visitors to remote corners of the Caribbean need to seek out. It is forced on you. Your rental car breaks down on a Saturday morning, stranding you at a beach parking lot, for instance, and you call the number on your key to find out that a) they are closed Saturdays, and b) the person answering the line says they might — just might — be able to get you a working car sometime. Eventually, you realize that the reason your calamity is being treated as a mere inconvenience is that that is what it is. And, in my case, such inconveniences might be reminders to follow the advice of an acquaintance who has lived on St. John for more than 20 years: Slow down. St. John unfurls itself in unexpected ways if you just give it time. Slowing down was how I found a little path near a lookout point called Peace Hill that led down to a deserted beach most tourists walk right past it on the way to the main attraction, an old windmill ruin. Slowing down was how I saw sea life dart in and out of mangroves when I went snorkeling on St. John’s East End at first the crustaceans and tiny fish are invisible but if you move as little as possible and wait, they slowly come to life. It was how I discovered a great restaurant in town that was easy to miss unless you knew the way in: through a minimart, past the junk food aisle. Unless you slow down, you might miss St. John itself. There is no airport or cruise ship dock, which keeps the tourist hordes down. Many people do not even realize that it is part of the United States, as one of the country’s three major Virgin Islands. It is a short ferry ride from St. Thomas, which is accessible by several direct flights a day from major mainland cities like New York, Atlanta and Miami. What really keeps St. John feeling so remote and unhurried is the fact that it is largely off limits to developers. More than half the island is taken up by one of the parks in the national park system, Virgin Islands National Park. You won’t find the kind of garish development that chokes other parts of the Caribbean. There are no hotels, no strip malls filled with and tchotchke shops, no barking beach vendors asking to braid your hair or sell you a drink in a coconut. I was no stranger to St. John. What I always remembered about it — and what drew me back there after more than a decade since I moved back to the United States mainland from St. Thomas, where I was a reporter just out of college — was that it was the place Virgin Islanders went when they needed a little vacation. I would visit every couple of months when I was living in St. Thomas, usually for a weekend getaway or to impress my family and friends when they came down for a visit. And every time I navigated the island’s steep, serpentine roads in my Jeep and stopped at the first overlook outside town, I would take in the 180 degrees of sparkling azure water and lush virgin mountainsides and catch myself: “I can’t believe this place is part of the United States. ” When I returned there last year, I realized I’d never really taken the time to get to know St. John as well as I thought. This time, with my partner, Brendan, I would take it slow. Over four days we took our rented Jeep Wrangler on as many of the passable roads on St. John as we could, stopping at all the beaches, bars, scenic lookouts and trails we had time for. Here is everything you might otherwise miss. I should know, because I did the first time. Caneel has a reputation as one of the most luxurious resorts in the Caribbean. But it, too, is hidden from people in a rush. When passing it on a boat you have to look hard to notice its green and tan buildings, which disappear into the surrounding hillsides. There are few resorts in the Caribbean as suited to their surroundings. Everything there, it seemed, was designed to be inoffensive to the eye. The taxis that run guests around the sprawling property are painted a pale green, as are the landscaping trucks and housekeeping golf carts. The beach chairs are a sandy brown. Locals tell a story about the time the former owner of the property, Laurance Rockefeller, went sailing by and saw that the staff had set out new turquoise chairs. Horrified, he ordered them banished. The resort auctioned them off, and soon many of the homes on the island had turquoise deck chairs of their own. There is something almost intangible about how refined Caneel is, beyond those carefully golf carts, the astronomical thread counts and the sumptuous bath products. Being there feels like being a resident of an exclusive, republic. An army of staff members tends to the 166 rooms, seven beaches and 170 acres of meticulously maintained grounds. From the moment we set foot on the private dock that receives guests arriving from St. Thomas, we were free from worry. We were met by a smiling, waving welcoming committee of a workers, who handed us cool towels and whisked us off to our room on a golf cart. One morning, as we headed to the beach on one of the resort taxis, I muttered to Brendan that I had forgotten our towels. All of a sudden our taxi came to a halt and the driver hustled away. Perplexed, we watched as he ran over to a housekeeping cart and grabbed two fresh towels for us. The resort is so big that you may feel the need to be transported everywhere on one of its frequently running shuttles. But roaming on foot is far more rewarding. There are trails that run through the property, like Mary’s Trail, named for Mr. Rockefeller’s wife, which winds for a half mile over some cliffs along the water. It deposits you at my favorite of the resort’s seven beaches, Turtle Bay Beach. Tucked into a small cove book ended by rocks, the beach is a wide but fairly short strip of soft white sand with few people ever on it. There is also a swimming pool on the property. But its presence seemed purely ornamental. It is a hike from most of the rooms, and I never saw anyone in it. Caneel may not come cheap, but it’s not off limits or unwelcoming for those who have other uses for $800 a night. Virgin Islands law provides for public access to almost all beaches. So have breakfast at Caneel’s Beach Terrace one day and bring your bathing suit and towel so you can hit a beach when you’re done. Just remember: You have to know what you’re looking for. Caneel’s entrance off North Shore Road is unmarked. Only a stone gatehouse alerts you to the fact that something special lies inside. As St. John’s busiest harbor and a hub for ferries coming from St. Thomas and the British Virgin Islands, Cruz Bay is the closest thing St. John has to a city. It is easy to think that you’ve covered Cruz Bay after walking its narrow grid of streets for 20 minutes or so. But the best thing to do is to ask the locals where to go. Had we trusted our own instincts and not asked around, we never would have found lunch at the Little Olive food truck, which sells Greek dishes like chicken gyros, spanakopita and fiery feta fries — sweet potatoes dappled with Sriracha, feta and oregano. They are all generously portioned, if a bit messy. So ask for extra napkins. And make sure you get directions before you go. Little Olive can be a little difficult to find in its unassuming location — a parking lot next to the town tennis courts. Two of our best finds for food and drinks were also off the grid, though easy enough to locate by asking around. The first was the Bowery, a little respite of a bar where we stopped for happy hour one evening. It is peacefully removed from the clamor of the beachfront bars along the water in Cruz Bay, sealed off by a glass door. “It keeps the drunks out,” our bartender said, sounding quite pleased. We ordered a crisp, dry rosé and a generously sized plate that more than held us over until dinner. Another bonus our bartender took pride in: The Bowery has no blender for frozen drinks. If the Virgin Islands had an unofficial state song, it would be the rattling whir, buzz and chop of a bar blender — a bit of noise pollution that is inescapable in most bars. Our other find was a funky restaurant and bar called Rhumb Lines, inside the Bayside Mini Mart. Just walk past a few aisles of potato chips, toiletries and soft drinks, step past the cash register — and a dinner of shrimp pad thai, grilled or Sichuan tuna is waiting for you. Cruz Bay has become a little hub of culinary experimentation and innovation over the last few years. And we had great meals at other places like La Tapa, which has a nightly changing menu of seafood, meats and greens that were so fresh I asked the waiter if they were picked that day. He said they were indeed — by a woman named Josephine who provides her signature peppery arugula mixes to many of the restaurants in town. One of our favorite places was by no means hidden. The Longboard, a bar and restaurant, announces itself as the new hot spot on the block with its fresh white paint job and slick signage. In this case, I was grateful for its conspicuousness, which drew us in and rewarded us with dishes like ahi tuna poke, sliders and fish tacos, which we washed down with the restaurant’s signature gin and tonic. St. John’s north shore beaches — Hawksnest Bay, Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay and Maho Bay, among others — are its most stunning attractions, but they are often congested during high season. Some of the best, most deserted beaches require a hike. Those extra steps are an effective deterrent to large crowds. Closer to Cruz Bay are Honeymoon and Solomon beaches, which are adjacent to Caneel Bay but also accessible on the Lind Point Trail from the Virgin Islands National Park visitor center in Cruz Bay. If you want even more isolation, try to find Denis Bay. The trailhead that leads down to Denis is a little farther up North Shore Road, just past the entrance to Caneel. You have to pass Hawksnest and then look for the signs for Peace Hill, where the main attraction is a ruin on a windswept perch overlooking the water. (The vista is definitely worth the short hike up before you start your trek down to the water.) Just as you start the trail that climbs up to the mill from a small parking lot, look right. A narrow, unmarked path leads to a steep descent that flattens out closer to the water. The beach has perfect white sand that is not so fine and soft that it sticks to you everywhere like wet flour. And it’s not so coarse that it scrubs your feet raw. We hung our towels and bags on one of the trees that provide ample shade along the beach and waded in. As we were floating on our backs, we noticed a little commotion down the beach. A small crowd had gathered around a surprise visitor: a lone flamingo that had wandered onto the beach, most likely a deserter from the colony that Richard Branson maintains on his nearby private island. This bird certainly had good taste in beaches. Maho Bay, at the eastern end of North Shore Road, was quite a different beach experience. Since it’s right off the road, it tends to get crowded. The strip of sand is narrower than those of other beaches on the north shore, like Cinnamon. But the bay is more protected and the water calmer. Many visitors flock to it for the sea turtles, which use the underwater grass beds as a feeding ground. Chances are you will see plenty of them if you strap on a snorkel and mask. Most people, including many who live on St. John, never get all the way out to the East End. It’s not that far, about a ’s drive from Cruz Bay. But in a lot of ways, the East End is its own island. The last census found only 51 people who lived there, on a little finger of rock and beach close to British waters. The beaches are smaller here. The vegetation is drier, with more cactuses. The most distinctive feature is the mangroves, which line some of the bays along the south shore. From the road, they look like ordinary brush growing alongside the water. But with a snorkel and a mask, you can see an underwater forest come to life. Tip: Leave the fins in your rental car because they will just stir up sediment and cloud the water. We parked our car on the side of the road just a few steps from the water and got in. Then we made our way slowly along the shoreline, stopping every couple of feet to look closely at what was stirring inside the intricate network of roots before us: lobster, fish of different sizes and colors, fringed coral that danced in the current. It was unlike any snorkeling experience I’d ever had. After all that patient waiting and looking, we needed a drink. We had a couple of options. The first was the Shipwreck Landing in Coral Bay, a small development that doesn’t quite pass for a town. We had good fish tacos and beer for lunch there and managed to snag a table looking out onto the water. There was also a place I had heard about but never seen. And it was a little less conventional. Angel’s Rest isn’t always in the same spot, as it’s a pontoon boat. But usually you can find it and its captain, Peter, anchored somewhere in the water near Hansen Bay. We parked our car along the side of the road (there is only one road that far east) and walked through an opening in a fence onto the beach. We seemed to be crossing private property, but no one was there to hassle us. We swam up to Peter’s boat, climbed aboard and ordered. He was out of beer that day. Tequila, vodka or rum punch, or shots of Fireball were all that was on the menu. Brendan apologized to Peter as he handed him a soggy bill. “If you hand me dry money, you’re getting back wet change anyway,” Peter said. I forked over more of that wet change for a second round, and Brendan dove in the water after a sea turtle. I was still taking it slow. Caneel Bay, on North Shore Road in Cruz Bay. Expect to pay at least $650 for an room. Rooms not overlooking the water are cheaper but not ideal caneelbay. com. Rhumb Lines, in Cruz Bay. Entrees, $23 to $37 rhumblinesstjohn. com. The Longboard, in Cruz Bay. Small plates, sushi, $15 and up thelongboardstjohn. com. La Tapa, in Cruz Bay. Entrees, $36 and up latapastjohn. com. Little Olive food truck, near the tennis courts in Cruz Bay. Sandwiches, gyros, salads, $8 to $12. Angel’s Rest, floating in Hansen Bay, East End. Drinks, shots, $5. | 1 |
— Libertarian Larry (@Libertarian5000) October 28, 2016 @CNNPolitics So! Definition: A part of a city, especially a slum area, occupied by a minority group or groups.
— Patrick Driver (@PDriverKC) October 28, 2016
“Slum area” sounds pretty sketchy as well. Let’s see; the Associated Press suggests that reporters use section, district, quarter, or … slum area? Come on. @CNNPolitics Yeah, so? That's what a ghetto is. You're grasping at straws.
— Naly (@nalywid) October 28, 2016
When you’re at Starbucks they let you do it. Grasp straws by the handful. You can do anything. @CNNPolitics I guess this is more important than pay to play and government corruption which should disqualify @HillaryClinton Good work CNN
— Andrew Mack (@5MACKnIT) October 28, 2016 @CNNPolitics any email news lately to report? 🤔
— Lois Lasseigne (@LoisLasseigne) October 28, 2016 @CNNPolitics you just don't get that the rest of America is sick of your PC bullshit. #DrainTheSwamp #WikiLeaks
— Deplorable Mike (@wrenchboy) October 28, 2016
Where did Trump even pick up such a word? @CNNPolitics Maybe he heard it in a rap song.
— Nick Titan (@nicktitanmill) October 28, 2016
Chances are pretty good that Donald Trump has never heard a rap song, unlike West Coast rap aficionado Hillary Clinton . Trending Flip-flop: Vox warns of serious risk of Election Day violence, and not the good kind either
She certainly knows that ghetto is not OK in mainstream political discourse, but hopefully there’s an exception for Jay Z’s Get Out the Vote concert on her behalf in Cleveland … C-town is going to be counting on Hova to deliver classics like “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)” and “So Ghetto.”
* * *
Related : BIG PIMPIN’. Guess who’s headlining a concert JUST for Hillary? [hint, he raps about b*tches and ho’s] https://t.co/seRszhM4yE | 0 |
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. Will Hillary Clinton get a convention bounce? That’s what Democrats were asking Friday, as the final sprint of the presidential campaign began. Mrs. Clinton and her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, embarked on a campaign tour that will take them through Pennsylvania and Ohio. Donald Trump, who was heading to Colorado, criticized Mrs. Clinton’s acceptance speech, saying she “ ‘forgot’ to mention the many problems of our country. ” _____ 2. Email accounts connected to Mrs. Clinton’s campaign were hacked in an attack that appears to have come from Russia’s intelligence services, a federal law enforcement official said. If Russia did engineer the hack, as well as last week’s leak of emails from the Democratic National Committee, the moves may represent an escalation of the international information wars. Analysts have long said that hacking between countries is likely to expand, as the method gives states a method to meddle in one another’s affairs. As our reporter points out, though, their very appeal gives these tactics the potential to make the international arena more volatile. _____ 3. “Donald Trump, you’re asking Americans to trust you with their future. Let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution?” That question was part of an emotional speech delivered on the final night of the Democratic National Convention by Khizr Khan, the Muslim father of an Army captain who died more than a decade ago during the war in Iraq. Mr. Khan emphasized the importance of liberty and equal protection under the law, telling Mr. Trump, “You have sacrificed nothing and no one. ” _____ 4. The American economy continues to expand at a sluggish rate. From April to June, it grew only at a rate of 1. 2 percent, well below the 2. 5 percent that analysts had expected. But there is good news: Wages are beginning to rise more quickly, and consumer spending grew enormously. In Europe, a surge of terrorist attacks has hurt businesses, and Japan’s central bank decided not to take certain extreme measures to boost a flagging economy. _____ 5. A federal appeals court struck down North Carolina’s voter identification requirement The requirement, imposed as a part of changes to voting rules in 2013, has been criticized by civil rights groups as unfairly targeting and other minorities. The court’s decision, delivered only months after the requirement was upheld by a Federal District Court judge, upended voting procedures in a state that tends to be up for grabs in presidential elections. And in Wisconsin, a federal judge ruled that parts of the state’s voter ID law are unconstitutional, noting that “a preoccupation with mostly phantom election fraud leads to real incidents of disenfranchisement. ” _____ 6. Florida announced that four cases of Zika found in Miami were most likely caused by infected mosquitoes. The three men and one woman infected are the first people believed to have contracted the virus from insects in the continental United States. The news signifies a new phase in the life of an epidemic that has already spread through dozens of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, causing hundreds of birth defects. _____ 7. Houston, we have competition. Seattle is becoming fertile ground for outer as the commercial space race heats up. The city is home to two tech billionaires who are funding efforts to make space more accessible. They have been joined by a smattering of smaller companies aiming for the stars. As the head of one such effort put it, “I think we’re putting the space back into the Space Needle. ” _____ 8. Maggie Nolting has some unusual accomplishments under her belt. A actress, Ms. Nolting ran a on crutches in May after breaking a foot. She finished with a time good enough to beat 43 people who were running on both feet. She also holds the record for fastest ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro on crutches. Ms. Nolting has some tips for crutch racers: Wrap the tops with sports shirts and smear your underarms with an antichafing gel wear the thickest gloves you can find and optimize your hop. _____ 9. After all the roommate drama of your 20s, it’s nice to imagine a home of your own. But some New Yorkers, priced out of the city’s real estate game, have given up that dream, finding that pooling resources with friends can more quickly make homeownership a reality. “It’s a really good way for people to work the system,” says one real estate saleswoman. “Not everybody has that money for a down payment. _____ 10. It’s tough to find a contemporary comedian whose jokes are appropriate for kids. That’s what our comedy critic found when he took his daughter to see a show, and ended up keeping his hands over her ears for a significant part of the night. If you are set on doing the same, he suggests checking with the theater in advance — or simply buying tickets to see Jim Gaffigan, above, a comedian so that he has performed for the pope. _____ 11. It’s the weekend, and while many of you are surely excited to groove your worries away, others may be reluctant to set foot anywhere near a dance floor. Believe it or not, professional dancers have the same problem. Some worry about being treated like “show horses” others have trouble translating formal training into fun. “When I started going out, my mind was always looking to be ‘correct,’ ” one dancer says. “Eventually I saw that is completely antithetical to the vibe of a good dance party. ” _____ 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 |
Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana weighed in on Adele’s sweep of the Grammy Awards earlier this week, telling the Associated Press in Australia on Tuesday that Beyoncé should not have won the night’s most prestigious prizes because “she’s not a singer. ”[Adele took home five Grammys Sunday night, including Album of the Year for her smash hit 25, plus Song of the Year and Record of the Year for the album’s single, “Hello. ” Beyoncé, meanwhile, picked up two awards, for Best Music Video (“Formation”) and for Best Urban Contemporary Album. “I think that Adele won because she can sing, sing,” Santana told the Australian AP. “With all respect to our sister Beyoncé, Beyoncé is very beautiful to look at and it’s more like modeling kind of music — music to model a dress — she’s not a singer, singer, with all respect to her. ” Adele and Beyoncé both performed during Sunday night’s ceremony, the latter employing visual effects and a large crew of backup dancers for her songs “Love Drought” and “Sand Castles,” off of her Black Lives album Lemonade. Adele opened the show with a performance of her eventual “Hello,” and later returned to the stage to perform “Fastlove, Part 1” in a tribute to the late pop icon George Michael. “Adele can sing, sing,” Santana said. “She doesn’t bring all the dancers and props, she can just stand there and she just stood there and sang the song and that’s it, and this is why she wins. ” Not everyone was thrilled with Adele’s sweep Sunday night Beyoncé’s devoted fans, known as the “Beyhive,” were outraged that the Lemonade singer wasn’t awarded the top honor. In her acceptance speech, an emotional Adele praised Beyoncé’s album as “monumental. ” “I can’t possibly accept this award,” she said. “The Lemonade album was just so monumental, Beyoncé. It was so monumental and well and beautiful and … we appreciate that. All of us artists here adore you. You are our light. ” Beyoncé is the most nominated female artist in Grammy history, with 62 nominations, and has won 22 of those awards, but failed to claim Album of the Year in three straight nods. Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum | 1 |
.@GeraldoRivera: The symbolic hunger strike at Yale is everything that’s wrong with millennial activism. It’s activism without sacrifice. pic. twitter. Friday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox Friends,” network contributor Geraldo Rivera criticized a “symbolic hunger strike” at Yale University. According to reports, the strike involves students eating when they are hungry. “Political correctness and the symbolic hunger strike — this particular example of this symbolic hunger strike is everything wrong with the millennial generation’s activism. It’s activism without any cost. It’s activism without any sacrifice. It’s activism without a price. ” Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor | 1 |
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“Lifeline” is a thriller directed by an Academy Award winner about a man’s search for his missing girlfriend. In the film, set in Shanghai with a plot driven by corporate malfeasance, punches are thrown, shots are fired and people are killed. At one point, the actress Olivia Munn stands over a dead woman, blood on her hands. But this is no ordinary movie. It is an online advertisement for the mobile technology company Qualcomm and, in particular, its Snapdragon 820 chip set, a smartphone processor. As more people skip or block ads when streaming shows or browsing websites, advertisers are trying to find new ways to deliver their messages. The internet has long been a place where companies have tried to break out of the and ad model, but as it has become easier to present videos online — and as top directors and actors have shown a willingness to be involved — these efforts have become more sophisticated. The goal of “Lifeline” and similar ads is “to make something you want to see — and the holy grail is if people seek you out,” said Teddy Lynn, chief creative officer for content and social at Ogilvy Mather, which produced the film. “This is a piece of entertainment that can compete in a very crowded marketplace. ” “Lifeline” was released in May and pushed out on multiple social media channels in the United States and China. “Inside Lifeline,” a look at the film, is also available on the “Lifeline” website. It emphasizes the importance of the cellphone to the action in the film and the phone’s various features the film hopes to highlight, like its long battery life and improved photo capability. In many ways, “Lifeline” is just an extension of product placement and show sponsorship by advertisers that goes back to the early days of radio and television, said Lou Aversano, chief executive of Ogilvy Mather NY. “I think we continue to push, not just in terms of length, but in terms of the line between entertainment and brand message,” he said. Many companies are looking for ways to promote their brand through longer storytelling, such as Johnnie Walker, Nike and Prada. It is an impulse that dates to at least 2001 or 2002, when a series of eight films for BMW starring Clive Owen appeared online. “That was at the time the internet was still ” said Steve Golin, founder and chief executive of Anonymous Content, a multimedia development company that produced the BMW ads and “Lifeline. ” “It would take all night to download. ” “Lifeline,” which stars Ms. Munn, Leehom Wang and Joan Chen, is directed by Armando Bo, who won an Oscar for best original screenplay for “Birdman” in 2015. The film has attracted 20 million views. There have been an additional 100 million combined views of the film’s trailers and the video, Mr. Lynn said. Eighty percent of the views came from China, which was the primary market. The dialogue is 70 percent in Chinese and 30 percent in English. Mr. Lynn said Qualcomm would not disclose the cost of the ad, but noted that with less money needed to buy time on television, more was available for the production. “You can create content that is compelling and you don’t have to spend money to place it on TV,” said Mr. Golin, whose company has been involved with movies like “Spotlight” and “The Revenant” and TV shows like “Mr. Robot. ” “We think this is the direction advertising is headed. As long as sports exists, we will still do and commercials, but with most other entertainment there is a lot of resistance to watching advertising. ” Mark Crispin Miller, a professor of media studies at New York University, said the disappearing boundaries between advertising and entertainment could be troubling. Ads, by their nature, often exaggerate “the benefits or virtues of the products and, even more troubling, downplay the dangers or risk of a product,” Mr. Miller said. And using big stars “makes the commercial intent even harder to perceive and blurs the true purpose behind the work. ” Still, more advertisers are eager to experiment. Take “The Ballad of the Dreadnought,” a documentary about the distinctive guitar body originally manufactured by C. F. Martin Company. It is narrated by Jeff Daniels and includes interviews with musicians like Rosanne Cash, Stephen Stills and Steve Miller. The film appears solely on Martin’s website, but was selected to appear at several film festivals. It has received 40, 000 views since it first streamed on May 5, said Scott Byers, a managing partner at Lehigh Mining Navigation, the advertising agency that developed the film. The documentary idea developed, Mr. Byers said, when Martin came to his agency wanting to celebrate the dreadnought guitar, which was developed in the early 20th century but never trademarked, enabling many other manufacturers to copy it over the years. “They asked, ‘What can we do to reclaim ownership of the shape? ’” said Denis Aumiller, also a managing partner at the agency. “The initial thought was that we would produce a short, product video, or maybe a magazine article. ” As enticing as it may be to think of every commercial as a potential short film that could play on the festival circuit, creating something that attracts viewers and promotes a product is not easy. Entertainment, after all, is not the ultimate goal. “At some point,” Mr. Aversano said, “there’s a responsibility to deliver the message of the brand. Otherwise it’s just empty calories. ” | 1 |
The rate of beheadings and stabbings has risen in the last five years according to a major new report. Terror attacks in the UK also tripled during this period. [The report by the Henry Jackson Society examines all terror convictions and suicide attacks inspired by Islamism in the UK between 1998 and 2015. It warns “ terrorism remains the principal terrorism threat”. The report recorded 269 convictions during the period, involving 253 individuals. 72 per cent of those who committed offences (IROs) were British nationals. 16 per cent were converts to Islam. The report states: “The 269 offences (IROs) comprise 135 distinct terrorism cases. “The rate of offending increased in the period between 2011 and 2015 compared to the period between 1998 and 2010. “IROs doubled in five years (increasing from an average of 12 to 23 per year) while distinct terrorism cases almost tripled (from five per year to 14 per year). ” The most common place of arrest for IROs were ethnically diverse areas, with London accounting for 42 per cent of the total, and Birmingham 14 per cent. The 2011 census showed just 45 per cent of London’s population belonging to the white British category, whilst a 2013 report found that fewer than a third of schoolchildren in Birmingham were white. The study found “little correlation between involvement in terrorism and educational achievement and employment status” with a quarter of IROs having been committed by individuals who had some form of higher education. According to the report, 22 per cent of the people convicted had attended terrorist training camps while 44 per cent had direct links to a proscribed terror organisation, the most common of which were the (10 per cent overall) and Islamic State. Prevent, the government’s major deradicalisation program, has been attacked by activists, unions and other bodies for being “racist” and discriminatory towards Muslims. Conservative MP Lucy Allan last month reported that increasing pressure on teachers to refer children to the Prevent Strategy for reasons other than radical Islam has led to schools considering whether attendance at a fathers’ rights march or a protest against badger culls could qualify a pupil for referral. And in January, a schoolboy who thought “Muslim women shouldn’t be allowed to wear the niqab” was identified as a potential terrorist and put through the government’s strictest programme. | 1 |
At Fox Searchlight’s holiday party in New York last week, the Bagger bumped into a couple of stars from two of the studio’s splashiest 2016 productions: one of the films soared to great heights, while the other crashed to an unimagined low. The first actor was Natalie Portman, who is raking in rave reviews for her performance in the title role in “Jackie” and is expecting her second child in a few months. The Bagger asked how she was faring on the awards circuit. “While pregnant and sober?” Ms. Portman dryly replied. The other actor was Colman Domingo, who played Hark in the slave revolt film “The Birth of a Nation,” which, for the first half of this year, before controversy engulfed it, was considered one of the brightest prospects for the awards season. He said now that the uproar had subsided, he wanted to share his frustrations and disappointments about how everything played out. “You walk into these rooms, and it’s almost like a bittersweet look people give you in their eyes,” Mr. Domingo said. “I look at the work of my peers on the film, and I wish it was being celebrated. The cinematography, the music. Aja Naomi King’s is one of the best performances of this year. But we’re under the veil of the whole controversy, and people almost don’t want to touch it. ” It is hard to overstate the ebullience that met “The Birth of a Nation” at its premiere at Sundance in January. “Birth,” which tells of the slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in 1831, was the passion project of its director, writer and star, Nate Parker, who spent eight years pulling the financing together. The film arrived in Park City, Utah, just as Hollywood was fielding intense scrutiny for its roster of Oscar acting nominees, and after a bidding war “Birth” sold to Fox Searchlight for $17. 5 million, a festival record. There were projections of awards, and while other films featuring black protagonists — “Moonlight,” “Fences,” “Hidden Figures” and “Loving” — have come to dominate Oscar chatter, “Birth” was initially at the fore. “It felt like the film had an urgency,” Mr. Domingo said. Then, in the summer, after Oprah Winfrey and Spike Lee heartily endorsed the film, news articles emerged detailing harrowing rape accusations made in 1999 against Mr. Parker at Penn State, where he was a student and wrestler, and his roommate at the time, Jean McGianni Celestin (who would go on to share a story credit on the film). Mr. Parker was acquitted, and the case against the roommate, who was initially convicted, was reversed. After news broke that Mr. Parker’s accuser had killed herself in 2012, the scandal went nuclear. It all came to a head at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, when audiences responded to “Birth” with standing ovations. At a jammed news conference attended by every lead in the cast, including Mr. Domingo, Mr. Parker deflected a pointed question (asked by the Bagger). Few would doubt the importance of the film, the Bagger said, but people were having trouble separating the artist from the art. And since the film’s message was one of moral accountability, people felt Mr. Parker should offer his accuser’s family an apology. Would he now? Mr. Parker demurred, saying he was there to promote the film and celebrate the hundreds of people who made it. At that moment, Mr. Domingo, who had been sitting near Mr. Parker on the panel, said he felt the wind leave his sails. “That’s when I knew that the 45 minutes of the cast speaking in detail about the film would be eviscerated,” said Mr. Domingo, who is also a playwright and stars in television’s “Fear the Walking Dead. ” “I was disappointed,” he continued. “I would’ve handled it differently. Could he have handled it better? I don’t know what it’s like to walk in his shoes. I try to deal with things in a different way. I think I’m always trying to see the other’s point of view, dealing in a very way. It’s instead of . But it’s possible he felt embattled by the time he got to Toronto. This was something he created with the spirit of love and community, and suddenly he’s battling other forces of something he dealt with 17 years ago. ” (Mr. Parker’s acquittal came in 2001.) Over all, Mr. Domingo believed that Mr. Parker, whom he described as “deeply passionate, generous and kind,” had handled the matter “the best way he can. ” Mr. Domingo also found fault with the Bagger’s question, a criticism others have echoed. “Looking back in hindsight, I can see Nate’s point of view. Why apologize when he was vindicated?” he asked. “But I believe with the media, you must answer every question in some way. And in very, very, touchy situations, we must answer every question again and again. Even if we’ve said it before, we have to say it again. ” His shared his discomfort. Aunjanue Ellis, who played Nat Turner’s mother, wrote in Ebony that she “agonized” over how Mr. Parker handled the fallout from the accusations and that she grieved for the accuser and her family. Still, she urged people to see the film, as did the groundbreaking director Julie Dash, telling the Bagger, at the Toronto film festival: “No will always mean no. It will always be attached to that film. However, do not miss this experience of seeing that film. ” But people did miss seeing that film, in droves: according to Box Office Mojo, it has earned just $15. 8 million domestically. Its case was not helped by some middling reviews. But there is no question that the controversy dealt a death blow. (Mr. Parker’s representatives did not respond to questions for this article.) Looking back, Mr. Domingo said he felt there was “a huge takedown by any means necessary,” not just toward the film but also toward black resistance in America. After a summer, he said, of “dealing with black men on the streets and retaliation and Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter, it’s almost as if this film was too powerful,” he said. “It was like a big slap on the hand: Never try this again. Who do you think you are? If this were ‘Madea’s Halloween,’ would they try to take it down? Absolutely not. ” While opinionators, including Damon Young of the digital magazine Very Smart Brothas, have dismissed the notion of a concerted takedown, it’s hard not to compare Mr. Parker’s scandal with that of Casey Affleck, the star of the current release “Manchester by the Sea. ” Mr. Affleck, who is white, faced sexual harassment complaints from two women — neither of whom would comment — and reached a settlement with them in 2010. Different circumstances, to be sure — “Birth” also prominently featured rapes, while “Manchester” is about a family — but, still, the matter has not seemed to hurt Mr. Affleck’s Oscar chances this season. In the end, Mr. Domingo said, the controversy could be seen as a reflection of how he often sees his position in American culture. “I feel in many ways as a black man in this country, you should apologize, or feel gratitude,” he said. In recent days, Mr. Domingo said, he has discerned a shift around “Birth,” with more people being able to see it on its own merit. “This is one of the seminal moments in my career,” he said. “One of the moments I’m so proud of in every way. But you can’t feel proud of your work without the other feelings on top of it. ” | 1 |
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Generations of Ohio State and Michigan fans will debate the latest episode of one of college football’s most impassioned rivalries, a Ohio State victory in two overtimes on Saturday, the Buckeyes’ fifth straight win over the Wolverines. What if Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight — who generally played well, completing 23 of 36 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns — had not fumbled the ball away at the Ohio State line early in the second half? What if Ohio State kicker Tyler Durbin, a senior who entered the game 16 of 16 on attempts this season, had not missed two attempts, one from 37 yards and one from 21? And of course: What if, with Ohio State on a play in the second overtime, the officials had not ruled that quarterback J. T. Barrett had made a first down? In that last instance, the debatable call stood up to a video review. And on the next play, halfback Curtis Samuel ran the ball in 15 yards for the win. The upshot was that the No. 2 Buckeyes ( Big Ten) had beaten the No. 3 Wolverines ( ) on a crisp autumn afternoon — the most consequential matchup in a decade for a rivalry contested 113 times. No. 8 Penn State ( ) also won on Saturday, beating Michigan State, in State College, Pa. a result that denied Ohio State a spot in next Saturday’s Big Ten championship game versus No. 5 Wisconsin ( ). Nonetheless, the Buckeyes remain a prime candidate for the College Football Playoff. If they make it, it will be their second appearance since 2014, when the playoff format began. The loss very likely eliminated Michigan from contention for the playoff. Ohio State won, but the scoreboard is an unreliable narrator. The Wolverines outplayed Ohio State in many respects: on offense, converting 9 of 19 attempts on defense, sacking Barrett eight times and over all, keeping the game close despite a turnover margin of . And then there was that crucial rush by Barrett. Needing either a field goal to force a third overtime or a touchdown to win, Ohio State elected to go for it from the line on a . Barrett took the snap in the shotgun, faked a handoff to Samuel running right and then took off to run over the left guard. Safety Delano Hill hit Barrett well behind the 16 Barrett fell forward into a scrum and landed … somewhere. It could just as easily have been called short a replay review would most likely have upheld either call. “When I got hit, I wasn’t 100 percent certain, to be honest with you,” Barrett said. Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh held his hands about a apart and said, “My view of the first down is it was — that short. ” Harbaugh also pointed to a pass interference call on Hill (“a gift”) and one noncall on an incomplete pass to Michigan wide receiver Grant Perry, saying, “I’m bitterly disappointed with the officiating. ” Michigan committed seven penalties that cost it 59 yards Ohio State committed two that cost it 6. Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer is versus Harbaugh, a former Wolverines quarterback whose move back to Michigan before last season put many in mind of the War between Ohio State’s Woody Hayes and Michigan’s Bo Schembechler from 1969 to 1978. On Saturday, it became apparent early on that Ohio State’s offense, which entered the game averaging a 43. 8 points per game, would be stymied by Michigan’s defense, which entered the game as the best in the Football Bowl Subdivision in yards and points per game. Both teams punted four times and tried for a field goal in their first five possessions. Michigan tried to get the star linebacker Jabrill Peppers, a top Heisman Trophy candidate, involved on offense with a direct snap on the first drive. Barrett ran and scrambled. “J. T. didn’t start out very good,” Meyer said. “We had some misfires. ” Barrett finished 15 of 32 for 124 passing yards, no touchdowns and one interception, but he added 30 rushes for 125 yards and, in overtime, a touchdown. Michigan’s first touchdown came on a handoff to fullback Khalid Hill, who also scored its second touchdown, on an pass from Speight. In a game steeped in tradition, Michigan was more traditional, moving up the field with stately huddles and runs, while Ohio State’s tempo offense tried passes and runs outside the hash marks. (Michigan also wore its distinctive winged helmets while Ohio State wore relatively unfamiliar charcoal.) Ohio State’s best offense was its defense. With a little more than four minutes left in the first half, the Buckeyes had no points and 83 yards. A punt pinned Michigan at the line, and on the first snap, a delayed blitz forced Speight into a bad throw. The ball dropped into the hands of Ohio State safety Malik Hooker, who ran it 16 yards for a touchdown. Another interception, by Buckeyes linebacker Jerome Baker, put Ohio State at the Michigan line near the end of the third quarter and led to a touchdown run by Mike Weber, Ohio State’s second and final touchdown in regulation. That was all in a day’s work for the Buckeyes’ defense, which entered the game ranked fourth in the F. B. S. and whose 17 interceptions through 11 games had them ranked fifth. Ohio State’s seven interceptions returned for touchdowns are by far the best total in the F. B. S. Ohio State also forced Michigan into in its last two full possessions, giving the offense enough time to march down the field twice. The first drive resulted in a missed attempt, the second in a field goal by Durbin that tied the game at with one second left. The State series has retained its status in recent years, with the teams refusing to say each other’s names and seeming to put nearly as much stock in the outcome of this game as they do in their seasons as a whole, in spite of an indisputable dynamic: its lopsidedness. Ohio State has now won 14 of the last 16 games. Referring to a redshirt senior offensive lineman and to the small charms that Ohio State players receive for beating the program they call That Team Up North, Meyer said, “Pat Elflein just got his fifth pair of gold pants. ” | 1 |
Edmondo Burr in News , US // 0 Comments As the end of the 2016 presidential election approaches concerns about violence on election day seem to be escalating.
November 8th election day could see violence erupt between voters and police in an already divided country.
Activist Post reports:
Several schools have announced that they will not hold classes when the polls are open due to fears of potential violence.
According to a recent survey of voters, “A 51% majority of likely voters express at least some concern about the possibility of violence on Election Day; one in five are ‘very concerned.’”
Voters have been very obsessive in what’s been an emotional presidential election year. It is possible that supporters of the winning party make a public display showing off their victory to emphasize the painful fact that the other candidate has lost. Will they become easy targets? Whoever has lost may question the validity of the election and accuse of opposing side of manipulating the results. If it comes to this, should we expect civil unrest? It may be smart to stock up on a few days of extra food and water , so you can just hole up at home if need be.
More details from the aforementioned survey can be found here . Election Year Has Been Filled With Political Hostilities
It’s no surprise people are apprehensive about Election Day. Voters in the U.S. have been passionately divided when it comes to the candidates. Many are fervent to keep the worse of two evils out of office. Decisions seem to be driven more by animosity towards one candidate, rather than by inspiration or vision offered by the other.
Regardless if the voter survey offers an accurate representation of how Americans truly feel, we cannot deny that political discord has already incited violence in communities across the States . A summary here offers just a glimpse at the various incidents that have occurred during the year. Take a look below at the reception a man wearing a Trump hat received when attending a Clinton rally.
Violence isn’t exclusive to Clinton supporters. Two videos below show how Trump supporters respond to unwelcome demonstration by their opposition.
With so much hatred and hostility surrounding the election, one can reasonably expect a violent, or at least unpleasant, conclusion . And any aggression will likely be exacerbated by the news media, which will make matters worse. Confidence In The Election Process Falters
In addition to the looming question of who will be named president, another big unknown is how will U.S. citizens react? Will they accept the results of the election ? As per the previous mentioned voter survey, it seems that the confidence Americans once had in their election process is definitely floundering. Three of four say they have confidence that the United States will have the peaceful transfer of power that has marked American democracy for more than 200 years, but just 40% say they are “very confident” about that. More than four in 10 of Trump supporters say they won’t recognize the legitimacy of Clinton as president, if she prevails, because they say she wouldn’t have won fair and square. More than two-thirds of Trump voters say they worry the election returns could be manipulated. In contrast, eight in 10 of Clinton voters say the returns can be trusted to be fair and accurate. ( source ) Best Course is to Stay Prepared
The drama of the election year will likely continue after November 8. It is reasonable to expect that some communities will experience civil unrest, particularly where divisions are strong. It only makes sense to prepare, at least at the basic level, with a week’s worth of storable food and water available in your home. It might also be smart to stock up your bug-out bag . Of course, some may feel the need to be a bit more aggressive with their preparedness plans: “Since the polls are starting to shift quite a bit towards Hillary Clinton, I’ve been buying a lot more ammunition,” says Rick Darling, 69, an engineer from Harrison Township, in Michigan’s Detroit suburbs. In a follow-up phone interview after being surveyed, the Trump supporter said he fears progressives will want to “declare martial law and take our guns away” after the election. ( source ) | 0 |
Claire McCaskill ( ) sent out a misleading Tweet on Thursday claiming that she had never, “ever” met or spoken with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, while previous Tweets showed she met and spoke to the Russian official in 2013 and again in 2015. [“I’ve been on the Armed Services Committee for 10 years. No call or meeting with Russian ambassador. Ever. Ambassadors call members of the Foreign Res Com,” McCaskill tweeted on Thursday. Almost immediately following her Tweet, McCaskill’s past Tweets contradicted her claim, including two retweeted by National Review Online Editor Charles C. W. Cooke showing a Tweet in 2013 and another in 2015 that said the senator spoke and met with Kislyak. Claire McCaskill says she’s had “no call or meeting ambassador. Ever. ” But she tweeted about two. It’s easy to forget. pic. twitter. — Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) March 2, 2017, Following Cooke’s Tweet and others picking up the story, McCaskill admitted on Twitter that she and “many senators” had met with the ambassador four years ago to discuss the U. S. halt to adopting Russian children, but then falsely reiterated her original claim: “Again, as a senior member of the Armed See, never received call or request from Russian Ambassador for meeting. Never met ” McCaskill tweeted. When asked by Breitbart News why she claimed she had never met or spoken with the Russian ambassador when her Tweets showed otherwise, McCaskill’s communication director defended her by saying she had not met “ ” with him. “Attorney General Sessions met with the Russian ambassador in the midst of a Russian cyber campaign against the U. S. and then misled the Judiciary Committee under oath about that meeting,” John LaBombard told Breitbart News via email. “He then tried to excuse it by saying it was part of the normal course of his Armed Services Committee work. “Claire has never met with the ambassador, and never received a call from him,” LaBombard said. “She did attend a group meeting about adoptions with other senators, and had a brief proactive call with the ambassador amid calls to several other parties to the Iran nuclear deal. “Attorney General Sessions, on the other hand, misled the Senate under oath,” LaBombard said. | 1 |
The Dallas police ended a standoff with the gunman suspected of killing five officers with a tactic that by all accounts appears to be unprecedented: It blew him up using a robot. In doing so, it sought to protect police who had negotiated with the man for several hours and had exchanged gunfire with him. But the decision ignited a debate about the increasing militarization of police and the use of force, and raised the specter of a new era of policing. The Dallas police chief, David O. Brown, said officers had used one of the department’s “bomb robots,” attaching an explosive device to its arm that was detonated early Friday when the robot was near the gunman. “Other options would have exposed the officers to grave danger,” he said. But the decision to deliver a bomb by robot stunned some current and former law enforcement officials, who said they believed the new tactic blurred the line between policing and warfare. They said that it might have been an excessive use of force and that it set a precedent, adding that they were concerned that other departments across the country could begin using the same tactic. “The further we remove the officer from the use of force and the consequences that come with it, the easier it becomes to use that tactic,” said Rick Nelson, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former counterterrorism official on the National Security Council. “It’s what we have done with drones in warfare. ” “In warfare, your object is to kill,” he added. “Law enforcement has a different mission. ” Other law enforcement officials supported the decision, suggesting they could take a similar approach if the situation called for it. At a news conference on Friday, New York’s police commissioner, William J. Bratton, said that while he was waiting to find out precisely what the Dallas police did, “we have that capability. ” “This is an individual that killed five police officers,” he added. “So God bless ’em. ” The use of the robot and explosive device comes amid questions about whether police departments, which have bought equipment from the Pentagon that was part of efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, have become too militarized. During the turmoil in Ferguson, Mo. two years ago, local law enforcement quelled protests with equipment, angering many who said they felt intimidated. The Obama administration has declined to stop the Pentagon from selling the equipment, saying that a vast majority of it strengthens local policing. While Chief Brown offered no additional information about the use of the robot, it appeared that officers had repurposed a bomb disposal vehicle that is normally used to inspect dangerous crime scenes or pick up suspected explosive devices for detonation or dismantling. The decision to use the robot in this way left many questions unanswered, including whether a sniper could have shot the gunman. Also, it was not clear why the police did not wait him out. One expert in legal issues and robotics said he thought the use of the robot was justified, and saw little difference between its use and having a sniper shoot from a distance. “No court would find a legal problem here,” said Ryan Calo, a professor at the University of Washington law school. “When someone is an ongoing lethal danger, there isn’t an obligation on the part of officers to put themselves in harm’s way. ” There are other significant issues that arise when using an explosive device, according to current and former law enforcement officials. Explosions can destroy property and cause fires. One of the few instances in which a police force used explosives occurred in 1985, when Philadelphia officers bombed the headquarters of a black liberation group, Move. Eleven members of the group, including five children, were killed, and a fire spread through the neighborhood, destroying more than 60 homes. The Move explosives were dropped by helicopter. Using a police robot “has probably never been done before,” said Robert Louden, former chief hostage negotiator for the New York Police Department and a former professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. But bomb disposal robots have been used to deliver objects to suspects, hostages and others, or to distract or communicate with suspects. Last year, a man with a knife who threatened to jump off a bridge in San Jose, Calif. was taken into custody after the police had a robot bring him a cellphone and a pizza as part of efforts to talk him down. In November 2014, the Albuquerque police used a robot to “deploy chemical munitions,” in the words of a department report, in a motel room where a man had barricaded himself with a gun. He surrendered. Mr. Louden said he did not think the Dallas police had planned to use the robot to deliver a bomb. Rather, he said, at a point where negotiations with the suspect broke down, the officers in charge had to decide what to do about it. “Are we going to endanger an officer?” Mr. Louden said about the police officers’ thinking. “Or do we try something that’s a little bit unique, but in all probability withstands legal tests for justification of use of force?” | 1 |
Polls are not accurate quantifiers of public opinion when leftists savagely attack voters for supporting President Donald Trump, New York author Ann Coulter told Breitbart News on Sunday. [CNN had unveiled a push poll on Friday claiming voters support amnesty for illegal aliens and oppose President Donald Trump’s enforcement of immigration law in a blatant attempt to warp public opinion. One of the poll’s “findings” showed allegedly 90 percent want to give illegal aliens citizenship if they agree to hypothetical requirements. “I only read through the first 3 or 4 poll questions and noticed that the percentage of poll respondents opposed to enforcing our immigration laws has SKYROCKETED in the last year,” Coulter said. “In that same time period, the hysteria and violence on the left has reached epic proportions. ” “We just had a presidential election where the polls were useless because poll respondents were afraid to admit — even to computerized telephone polls! — that they were voting for Trump,” she continued. In a poll surveying 1, 025 adults from Mar. 1 to Mar. 4 (margin of error plus or minus three percentage points) pollsters asked which of three options should be the government’s top priority: 1) “Deporting immigrants already in the U. S. illegally,” 2) “Developing a plan to stop immigrants from entering the U. S. illegally,” or 3) “Developing a plan to allow those in the U. S. illegally who have jobs to become legal residents. ” Sixty percent chose amnesty, while 26 percent said the government should work to halt illegal immigration, and 13 percent said the government should deport all illegals. In a attempt to manipulate public opinion, pollsters asked: “Do you think the government should attempt to deport all people currently living in the country illegally or should the government not attempt to do that?” Given the choice of rounding up tens of millions of illegals at gunpoint and loading them into the back of black SUVs heading to the Mexican border or not, 71 percent said they would not like the government to do that. ( percent are open to the idea after years of violent mayhem and suppressed wages.) CNN used this false dichotomy to blast the headline: “ poll: Americans break with Trump on immigration policy. ” But no one will honestly answer pollsters as long as leftists are beating, egging, and terrorizing anyone open to the idea of enforcing immigration laws, Coulter told Breitbart News. “As long as we live in a country where liberals are going to violently attack anyone who disagrees with them, what is the point of polling?” Coulter asked. “The left’s recent eruptions of rage, lies and fascistic violence has resulted in a populace where no one wants to upset the little darlings. We may as well admit that in the current environment, public policy polls are useless. ” “The big announcement of the meaningless results are intended to make people think they must be nuts if they disagree with La Raza (‘the race! ’) and the NYT editorial page. Which is weird, since DONALD TRUMP WAS JUST ELECTED PRESIDENT,” she said. Indeed, the open borders lobby and its media allies seized on the poll and began spreading CNN’s headline on Twitter: New poll: Americans break with Trump on immigration policy: https: . — Tal Kopan (@TalKopan) March 17, 2017, NEW: poll: 71% say government should NOT attempt to deport all people currently living in the U. S. illegally https: . https: . — David Wright (@DavidWright_CNN) March 17, 2017, NEW: poll: 60% say top priority in dealing with illegal immigration should be plan to allow legal residency https: . pic. twitter. — David Wright (@DavidWright_CNN) March 17, 2017, Democratic and Republican voters agree: Mass deportation doesn’t make sense. #HeretoStay https: . — Nat’l Imm Law Center (@NILC_org) March 17, 2017, 90% of Americans support pathway to citizenship for immigrants who have long ties to U. S. have a job and pay taxes: https: . — FWD. us (@FWD_us) March 17, 2017, Poll: 60% say US government’s top priority should be plan to legalize undocumented immigrants: https: . #twill #p2 pic. twitter. — Luis V. Gutierrez (@RepGutierrez) March 17, 2017, Poll: 90% overall (87% of GOPers) support bill to allow certain undocumented immigrants to become citizens: https: . pic. twitter. — Luis V. Gutierrez (@RepGutierrez) March 17, 2017, While one side of the debate is quite literally beaten into submission and silence, the other side pretends they have won. Coulter said that the Left explodes with violence as soon as the slightest limits on immigration are proposed: Who could have imagined that a temporary travel ban on immigrants from 7 countries would incite liberals to engage in nationwide protests — and then celebrate when courts intervene to continue the flow of immigrants from 7 countries. Apparently the only answer that won’t get you punched or your business burnt down is: YES PLEASE DESTROY AMERICA ASAP! I ALWAYS WANTED TO LIVE IN GUADALAJARA — AND ALSO UNDER SHARIA LAW! DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH! “And yes, the [CNN poll] Qs are silly, but still, the recent alleged change in public opinion, and the complete failure of polls having anything to do with Trump, is even more striking,” she said. | 1 |
When Donald J. Trump hosted a foreign leader for the first time as the guest list included a curious entry: Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who looked on last month while he and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan chatted on a white couch high above Manhattan. Some 6, 700 miles from Trump Tower, in Tokyo, another exclusive gathering was already underway: a private viewing of Ivanka Trump products, teeming with treasures like a sample of the pale pink dress Ms. Trump wore to introduce her father at the Republican National Convention. Ms. Trump is nearing a licensing deal with the Japanese apparel giant Sanei International, both parties told The New York Times. The largest shareholder of Sanei’s parent company is the Development Bank of Japan, which is wholly owned by the Japanese government. Discussions for the deal have been active for about two years, Ms. Trump’s company said. In that time, she has become something of a local fascination. “At the moment,” said Sayumi Gunji, a editor who attended the viewing, “Ivanka is even more popular here than Mr. Trump. ” The circumstances highlight the remarkable tangle awaiting the Trump family, its sprawling business empire and those who have interacted with the family at home and abroad — a web of complications that seems certain to persist even if Mr. Trump makes good on his promise to remove himself from his company’s business operations. Since his election, Mr. Trump has chafed at the suggestion that keeping his business in the family could create problems, despite several episodes during his transition that seemed to mix business and diplomacy. While he has insisted that he faces no legal requirement to turn over the company, the Trump Organization has said it is preparing an “immediate transfer of management” to Mr. Trump’s three eldest children — Donald Jr. 38 Ivanka, 35 and Eric, 32 — along with a team of executives. Last week, the said on Twitter that he would make an announcement with the children on Dec. 15 about “leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country. ” Doing so is “visually important,” he wrote, “to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses. ” Yet an examination of the professional histories of the three children — who also serve on the presidential transition team — shows how deeply the Trump family, Trump business and Trump politics are interwoven, raising significant doubts about how meaningful a wall can ever be erected between Mr. Trump and his heirs at the Trump Organization. For years, the three siblings have operated with few rigid dividing lines in their international travels as ambassadors of the Trump brand, allowing them to lean heavily on the reputation and financial backing of their father while establishing their own credibility in business. It is not merely that the Trumps are at peace commingling family and business. They have known no other way. Officially, all three siblings are executive vice presidents for development and acquisitions. Practically, they have served as their father’s advance guard: the polished public faces of the next Trump generation, conducting initial meetings with prospective partners and reporting back to Mr. Trump. “We don’t take titles particularly seriously at the Trump Organization,” Ms. Trump said in a deposition this year. In depositions in 2011, both brothers likened the company to a “mom and pop” operation. Since the three joined the business, shortly after each graduated from college, lines have had a way of blurring. When Donald Trump Jr. ’s investment in a concrete paneling business in South Carolina faltered in recent years, leaving him personally responsible for a loan of more than $3 million, the Trump Organization helped bail him out. Before Eric Trump, who oversees Trump golf courses and a Virginia winery, faced questioning in a lawsuit from aggrieved club members in Florida, his father signed a letter saying that unhappy patrons would be “out. ” Ms. Trump, the only sibling to match her father’s instinct for has used the Trump Organization’s payroll, information technology and human resources for her separate brand. Her website’s domain was registered by Trump Organization lawyers. “It is, of course, an advantage to be my father’s daughter,” Ms. Trump told an audience in Malaysia, via videoconference, in 2008. “I think it has afforded me many great opportunities. ” All three children declined to be interviewed for this article and did not respond to written questions sent to the Trump Organization about their outside business ties. In its statement about the transfer of management, the Trump Organization said that “the structure that is ultimately selected will comply with all applicable rules and regulations. ” Still, for an enterprise premised in large measure on the relentless marketing of a surname, the most famous Trump cannot help looming largest in perpetuity, experts in government ethics say, opening the door to conflicts inside and outside the United States. “Giving to the Trump family would be seen by many foreign leaders as the way to get in with the Trump administration,” said Meredith McGehee, an adviser to the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit group, who worried that companies might be tempted to direct business to the Trump children to curry favor with their father. Already, complications abound. The children each hold a stake in the lease that allows the organization to operate the Trump International Hotel out of the federal government’s Old Post Office Building in Washington. Mr. Trump, as president, will appoint the head of the General Services Administration, which manages the property, while his children oversee a hotel with millions of dollars in ties to the agency. During the transition — in which Ms. Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, is also a key player — diplomatic standards have sometimes been muddied, assuming the freewheeling feel of Mr. Trump’s campaign and business life. In addition to attending the meeting with Mr. Abe, Ms. Trump was present for her father’s initial conversation with President Mauricio Macri of Argentina. The children also met recently with Jose E. B. Antonio, a Philippine developer who is collaborating with the Trumps on a tower in Manila and who in October was named a special envoy to the United States by the Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte. The business partnership grew out of a friendship between Mr. Antonio’s son Robbie and Ms. Trump. Eric Trump is also listed on an advisory committee for one of the younger Mr. Antonio’s ventures: a company making luxury modular homes. Even nonbusiness expeditions have grown more tense since Election Day. Over Thanksgiving weekend, Donald Trump Jr. traveled to hunt wild goats in Turkey, where the elder Mr. Trump has “a little conflict of interest,” he acknowledged in a radio interview last year, because of “a major, major building in Istanbul” — actually twin Trump Towers. Security for the hunt was high, with private guards and Turkish intelligence officers, according to an official involved in the trip who was not authorized to discuss it. Long before their father’s election, the Trump children’s international trips often included audiences with heads of state. “Met with the president,” Donald Jr. said after an outing in Colombia, describing his work life as part of a video in 2011. “Did a bunch of other stuff. ” At times, the has grown incredulous when pressed on the specter of conflicts. In an interview last month with The Times, he wondered aloud what harm might come from, say, taking a picture with business partners for a project his children were leading. He suggested some critics would prefer that he “never, ever see my daughter Ivanka again. ” He allowed, though, that his election had changed at least one thing. “The brand is certainly a hotter brand than it was before,” he said. “I can’t help that, but I don’t care. ” Grooming began early in the Trump family. For as long as they can remember, the children visited job sites, as Mr. Trump had done as a boy with his father, Fred. They sat in on meetings with executives and government officials, where, between fits of Mr. Trump held forth on his daughter’s progress in school. They came to learn that the surest way to reach Mr. Trump was to call the office. “I always joke, I have been working in the company for 37 years,” Donald Jr. said in a Fox News special, “Meet the Trumps,” this year, “because we had that kind of level of access and because he was always there with us. ” His first job, as a teenager, was at the Trump Castle marina in Atlantic City, where he earned minimum wage, plus tips, as a dock attendant. One of Ivanka Trump’s earliest architectural feats came when she was 6, according to family lore: She stole her younger brother’s Lego set, she recalled in 2007, and built a model of Trump Tower in his room. Four days later, she said, her father scolded her — for rendering the structure with five setbacks instead of four. Despite this lengthy tutelage, Mr. Trump resisted a presidential run in 2012 in part because he did not believe his children were ready to succeed him. (The also has a daughter Tiffany, 23, from his second marriage, and a son Barron, 10, with his current wife, Melania.) While the eldest three have been presented, with Trumpian gusto, as business successes of the highest order, there have been some stumbles — cushioned often by the advantages of being a Trump. The succession plan itself has not always been smooth. For a time, Donald Jr. who did not speak to his father for a year after his parents’ divorce, was ambivalent about joining the business, spending a year after college in Colorado working in a bar and hunting in his spare time. Since joining the Trump Organization in 2001, moving quickly to learn the intricacies of financing and construction, he has said repeatedly that he does not expect preferential treatment. “He puts on zero in the way of airs,” said Mel M. Immergut, a lawyer in New York who has long known the younger Mr. Trump and said he did not support the elder’s candidacy, or anyone else’s. But as Donald Jr. has sought to establish his own business identity, he has borrowed from his father’s playbook — and, occasionally, his payroll. He and Ivanka were paid speakers at a “creating wealth” forum that was described as free but featured event promoters seeking to enlist attendees for expensive courses on how to get rich. He has positioned himself as a spokesman for a hodgepodge of companies, including Cambridge Who’s Who, a publisher that produces a registry in which consumers pay to be listed. The younger Mr. Trump spoke about the company during interviews on Fox Business Network and TheStreet. com. Cambridge, which has drawn hundreds of complaints from customers who say they were misled by its promises, said it had benefited from its partnership with Donald Jr. through “leveraging relationships built by the Trump empire. ” In 2011, Donald Jr. also became the public face of a Tulsa, Okla. company, MacroSolve, that primarily sued other companies, like Facebook and Walmart, over claims that they had infringed on its patent for a mobile device application. After several setbacks in court, the company has changed its focus. Yet it is his foray into South Carolina manufacturing that offers perhaps the most unfiltered view of Donald Jr. ’s independent business dealings. In 2010, the younger Mr. Trump helped found a company in the depressed suburb North Charleston called Titan Atlas Manufacturing, which made cast panels for prefabricated houses. Titan Atlas’s chief executive was an old friend named Jeremy Blackburn, who, before the company’s formation, acknowledged while settling a lawsuit that he had been part of a scheme to defraud a businessman who claimed he had lost $1 million. In an email, Mr. Blackburn said he had done nothing wrong. Along with the North Charleston project, Mr. Trump and Mr. Blackburn sought business deals in Mexico and Colombia, traveling with executives of the Trump Organization and Yun Capital, an investment firm involved in Trump Organization projects abroad. In 2011, Yun Capital registered the trademark JB Development on Mr. Blackburn’s behalf, filings show. By 2012, Titan Atlas was mired in debt, prompting a suit from a Philadelphia law firm it had hired to represent it. The firm claimed it was owed $400, 000 in unpaid fees. After Mr. Blackburn filed for personal bankruptcy, the law firm turned its attention to Donald Jr. issuing a subpoena for him to testify about Titan Atlas’s assets. The Trump Organization jumped to his defense. In a letter on company letterhead, Alan Garten, the organization’s general counsel, threatened to file a disciplinary complaint about a lawyer at the firm if he sought to bring Donald Jr. into the case. In an interview, Mr. Garten said he had been “asked to assist” in resolving the matter even though it fell outside the purview of the Trump Organization. “If Don makes an investment in a company and legal assistance is needed, I’m happy to get involved,” Mr. Garten said, adding, “I have always viewed my role as representing not just the company but its principals. ” The firm in Philadelphia pressed ahead with its suit despite the threat. On the eve of Donald Jr. ’s testimony, though, a confidential settlement was reached. Separately, in late 2014, the Trump Organization formed an entity that took over a $3. 65 million loan made by Deutsche Bank in 2011 to Titan Atlas. The younger Mr. Trump had been a on the loan. A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank, which is a major lender to the Trump Organization, declined to disclose the details of that transaction. Mr. Garten described Donald Jr. as a “passive” investor in Titan Atlas. Asked why the Trump Organization had taken over an unrelated business loan to the younger Mr. Trump, Mr. Garten said he “can’t speak to that. ” “This was an investment made by Don,” Mr. Garten said. “Ultimately, it was not successful. ” The siblings occupy neighboring offices on Trump Tower’s 25th floor, one level below their father. They often gather for a breakfast meeting at the Trump Grill. They hold equivalent titles at the Trump Organization. There is little doubt, though, whom Mr. Trump admires most. Ivanka Trump was often her father’s most potent surrogate during the campaign, an essential bridge to female voters who might have been dismayed by Mr. Trump’s disparaging comments about women and the allegations of sexual assault against him. Ms. Trump’s image as a stylish businesswoman, and now mother, has long lifted her brand, steering Ivanka Trump products into stores from Alabama to Kuwait and establishing her as the famous Trump. Department stores throughout the country sell Ivanka Trump shoes, Ivanka Trump clothes, Ivanka Trump handbags. She has traveled widely — sometimes with her father or brothers, often without them — as a fresher face of the family brand, at times convening with foreign dignitaries: an adviser to the Ukrainian president a governor of Rio de Janeiro Queen Rania of Jordan. Often wearing the kinds of heels and sheath dresses sold under her name, Ms. Trump stars in an impeccably curated Instagram feed, filled with product placement, pictures of her children and the promotion of a hashtag: #womenwhowork. With Mr. Trump’s election, at least one licensing partner quickly sensed an opportunity. After Ms. Trump appeared with her father on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” reporters received an email promoting the bracelet she had worn on the program: a $10, 800 bangle from her own line. Amid criticism that Ms. Trump was using her father’s victory for financial gain, her company announced that it was “proactively discussing new policies and procedures. ” Ms. Trump has also said she will separate her personal Twitter and Instagram accounts from those of her brand, which she wholly owns. Given its international renown, that brand is likely to flourish under a Trump administration regardless of social media strategy. In 2013, before the debut of a major clothing partnership, about $75 million worth of handbags, shoes and other products bearing Ms. Trump’s name sold at wholesale, according to a company document reviewed by The Times. Of that, Ms. Trump’s company would have received roughly $4 million to $6 million, according to people familiar with the business’s financial data who were not authorized to speak publicly. The company declined to comment on the figures but pointed to public statements from the company that makes Ivanka Trump clothing, which estimated the line’s revenue at $100 million in the past fiscal year. In Japan, where news of her inclusion in the meeting with Mr. Abe inspired a media frenzy, she has become an object of intrigue for her glamorous image and powerful position in the Trump orbit. Japanese news reports often refer to her as Mr. Trump’s “beloved” and “beautiful” daughter. The expected deal with Sanei, the Japanese apparel company, is the result of a longstanding relationship between Sanei and Abigail Klem, an executive for Ms. Trump’s company who previously worked for Diane von Furstenberg, a label that Sanei licenses in Japan, according to Ms. Trump’s team. Her company said the terms of the agreement had been decided before the election. To date, Ivanka Trump apparel and jewelry have been available to Japanese shoppers through a small number of independent import sites. One of them, waja. co. jp, has reported a increase in sales since the election, according to the local news media. On the home front, one of Ms. Trump’s ventures was less successful. In 2007, Ms. Trump opened Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry on Madison Avenue, a short walk from Trump Tower. Her brothers had offered guidance, at least briefly, during a tour before the opening, flagging a structural misalignment in a bathroom. Like many other Trump family endeavors, the jewelry business was a licensing deal. Rings and necklaces in the Ivanka Trump line came through a partnership with a diamond wholesaler based in New York. In 2011, as Ms. Trump’s store migrated to a space in SoHo, troubles mounted. Ms. Trump’s partner, Madison Avenue Diamonds, which operated Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry, was sued by a former supplier, KGK, which claimed to be owed more than $2 million. The partner’s lawyers accused KGK of incorporating fake stones into jewelry, saying that some gold pieces had “at times turned wearers’ skin green. ” By the time the problem was discovered, the lawyers wrote, Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry had already sold 119 of the more than 250 problematic pieces, “potentially creating a public relations disaster” that would endanger the business. KGK won its suit for reasons unrelated to the stones, whose authenticity was never proved or disproved in court. The supplier denied the allegations in court documents. Y. David Scharf, a lawyer for Madison Avenue Diamonds, said that “extensive efforts were taken to remove the nonconforming items from the market” and that all requests for exchanges had been honored. There was an attempt to contact anyone who had purchased the products in question, Mr. Scharf added, but not every customer could be reached. The licensing arrangement has allowed Ms. Trump to maintain a safe distance from any turmoil, and Ivanka Trump jewelry is still sold worldwide. But the SoHo store closed without fanfare last year. There is not, at least so far, much of an Eric Trump brand to license. By most accounts, though, the youngest child of Donald J. Trump and Ivana Trump has been an effective steward of the Trump Winery in Virginia, which has won local acclaim for its sparkling and still wines. Eric Trump, who oversees the family’s golf courses, has also shown that he is comfortable with conflict. Shortly after the Trump Organization bought a luxury spa and golf course in Jupiter, Fla. in 2012, some club members filed a lawsuit claiming that the company had violated their rights by barring them from the facility, among other matters. The Trump Organization has said it did nothing wrong, and the case remains undecided. The legal dispute centered on the contracts signed by members with the Jupiter facility’s previous owner, . To join, members paid initiation fees ranging from $35, 000 to $210, 000, deposits that were refundable when they resigned. But that process could take years, and under rules, those on the resignation list could still use the club if they paid annual fees and other costs like food and beverage minimums. When the Trump Organization acquired the club, it also assumed liability for those refunds, a pool of deposits totaling $41 million. But the company was eager to convert deposits into cash that could be used to improve the club. Soon, a letter arrived, signed by Donald J. Trump. It offered to reduce members’ annual fees if they agreed to convert refundable deposits into nonrefundable ones and suggested that members who wanted to resign were “out. ” “I do not want to them to utilize the club, nor do I want their dues,” the note read. But Mr. Trump testified in a deposition last year that although he had signed the letter, Eric Trump was in charge. “Eric is much more familiar with this club,” his father said. “He runs it. ” Eric Trump contended in his pretrial testimony that members seeking to resign had been allowed to use the club so long as they paid annual dues. “The status quo was maintained,” he said in a 2015 deposition. During a trial in August, he was forced to backtrack. Members and club employees testified that those on the resignation list had been barred from using the club even while they received bills. Presented with this evidence, Eric Trump acknowledged that his earlier statements had been mistaken. Juggling different policies at the family’s assorted clubs was difficult, he explained. But on balance, the younger Mr. Trump testified, the estate had thrived on the family’s watch. “We took something that had gone really bad,” he said, “and we made it great again. ” | 1 |
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday reaffirmed and strengthened constitutional protections for abortion rights, striking down parts of a restrictive Texas law that could have drastically reduced the number of abortion clinics in the state, leaving them only in the largest metropolitan areas. The decision was the court’s most sweeping statement on abortion since Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992, which reaffirmed the constitutional right to abortion established in 1973 in Roe v. Wade. It found that Texas’ restrictions — requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and clinics to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers — violated Casey’s prohibition on placing an “undue burden” on the ability to obtain an abortion. If Casey limited the right established in Roe, allowing states to regulate abortion in ways Roe had barred, Monday’s decision effectively expanded that right. It means that similar requirements in other states are most likely also unconstitutional, and it imperils many other kinds of restrictions on abortion. It is also sure to energize forces and make abortion a central issue in the presidential campaign. The decision concerned two parts of a law that imposed strict requirements on abortion providers in Texas signed into law in July 2013 by Rick Perry, the governor at the time. One required all clinics in the state to meet the standards for ambulatory surgical centers, including regulations concerning buildings, equipment and staffing. The other required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. “We conclude,” Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote for the majority, “that neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes. Each places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a previability abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access, and each violates the federal Constitution. ” Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined the majority opinion. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented. Justice Kennedy’s vote was the crucial one, and it came as a relief to abortion rights groups, which have long viewed his thinking on the issue as a contradictory muddle. In the Casey decision, he joined Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and David H. Souter in a joint opinion that reaffirmed the core of Roe v. Wade. But Justice Kennedy’s reputation as an abortion rights champion had otherwise been undeserved, said David S. Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University, as Casey was the only case in which he had found an abortion restriction unconstitutional in his 28 years on the Supreme Court. Professor Cohen said Justice Kennedy’s vote in Monday’s case was a puzzle. He may have been swayed by the burdens placed on women having to drive hundreds of miles to obtain abortions, Professor Cohen said, or by the lack of medical evidence justifying the restrictions — or both. Many states have enacted restrictions in recent years that test the limits of the constitutional right to abortion, and the ruling in the new case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, No. enunciated principles that will apply to all of the ones said to be justified by a concern for women’s health. In a message posted on Twitter, President Obama said he was “pleased to see the Supreme Court reaffirm” that “every woman has a constitutional right to make her own reproductive choices. ” Ken Paxton, Texas’ attorney general, said, “The court is becoming a default medical board for the nation, with no deference being given to state law. ” The Texas law was passed in 2013 by the Texas Legislature and turned a Democratic state senator, Wendy Davis, who conducted an filibuster against the law, into a national political star. Last June, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, largely upheld the contested provisions of the Texas law, saying it had to accept lawmakers’ assertions about the health benefits of abortion restrictions. The appeals court ruled that the law, with minor exceptions, did not place an undue burden on the right to abortion. Justice Breyer said the appeals court’s approach was at odds with the proper application of the standard. The Casey decision, he said, “requires that courts consider the burdens a law imposes on abortion access together with the benefits those laws confer. ” In dissent, Justice Thomas said the majority opinion “reimagines the standard,” creating a “ balancing test. ” He said courts should resolve conflicting positions by deferring to legislatures. “Today’s opinion,” Justice Thomas wrote, “does resemble Casey in one respect: After disregarding significant aspects of the court’s prior jurisprudence, the majority applies the standard in a way that will surely mystify lower courts for years to come. ” The majority opinion considered whether the claimed benefits of the restrictions outweighed the burdens they placed on a constitutional right. Justice Breyer wrote that there was no evidence that the requirement “would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment. ” At the same time, he wrote, there was good evidence that the requirement caused the number of abortion clinics in Texas to drop from 40 to 20. In a second dissent, Justice Alito, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Thomas, said the causal link between the law and the closings was unproven. Withdrawal of state funds, a decline in the demand for abortions and doctors’ retirements may have played a role, Justice Alito wrote. Justice Breyer wrote that the requirement that abortion clinics meet the demanding and elaborate standards for ambulatory surgical centers also did more harm than good. “Abortions taking place in an abortion facility are safe — indeed, safer than numerous procedures that take place outside hospitals and to which Texas does not apply its requirements,” he wrote, reviewing the evidence. “Nationwide, childbirth is 14 times more likely than abortion to result in death, but Texas law allows a midwife to oversee childbirth in the patient’s own home. ” In dissent, Justice Alito said there was good reason to think that the restrictions were meant to protect women. “The law was one of many enacted by states in the wake of the Kermit Gosnell scandal, in which a physician who ran an abortion clinic in Philadelphia was convicted for the first degree murder of three infants who were born alive and for the manslaughter of a patient,” he wrote. Justice Breyer acknowledged that “Gosnell’s behavior was terribly wrong. ” “But,” he added, “there is no reason to believe that an extra layer of regulation would have affected that behavior. ” The clinics challenging the law said it had already caused about half the state’s 41 abortion clinics to close. If the contested provisions had taken full effect, they said, the number of clinics would again be cut in half. The Supreme Court’s decision rippled through the presidential campaign, with Democrats and Republicans looking to rally voters with reminders that the future of the court is at stake. The next president will have at least one and potentially several vacancies to fill, and Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump have both warned that the fate of laws on immigration, guns and abortion will most likely be determined by who gets to fill those openings. Mrs. Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, seized on the court’s ruling to warn that Mr. Trump, her Republican opponent, poses a threat to women. She recalled his suggestion this year that abortion should be banned and that women who violate that ban should be penalized. She also said that with other states also seeking to restrict access to abortions and with Republicans seeking to defund Planned Parenthood, proponents of abortions rights could not afford to let up. “We’ve seen a concerted, persistent attack on women’s health and rights at the federal level,” Mrs. Clinton said in a statement. “Meanwhile, Donald Trump has said women should be punished for having abortions. ” Mr. Trump has since retracted his assertion that women should be punished for having abortions, but the of the issue is likely to put him on the defensive because of his previous support of abortion rights. Mr. Trump made no direct public comments on Monday’s decision. Still, for many Republicans, the decision added urgency to their desire to keep Mrs. Clinton from winning the presidency. “Today’s disappointing decision is another reminder of what’s at stake in this election and why we can’t afford to let Hillary Clinton win,” Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, said. | 1 |
BARCELONA (AFP) — The leader of Spain’s Catalonia region, where a separatist movement is in full swing, on Friday announced an independence referendum for October 1 in defiance of Madrid. [People will be asked to vote on the question: “Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a republic,” Carles Puigdemont said in Barcelona. If Catalonia’s authorities win, they have said they will immediately start proceedings to separate from Spain. But the central government in Madrid insists the procedure is not valid and the Catalan authorities face significant challenges to even hold the referendum. Catalonia, a wealthy, 7. region with its own language and customs, has long demanded greater autonomy. For years separatist politicians in the northeastern region have tried to win approval from Spain’s central government to hold a vote similar to Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum from Britain, which resulted in a “no” vote. And while Catalans are divided on the issue, with 48. 5 percent against independence and 44. 3 percent in favour according to the latest poll by the regional government, close to support holding a referendum. — ‘I don’t want it’ — Catalan authorities have repeatedly been thwarted in their attempts to hold such a vote by the central government, which argues it goes against the constitution and would threaten the unity of Spain. In 2014, Catalonia held a vote under then president Artur Mas, in which more than 80 percent of those who cast a ballot chose independence, although just 2. 3 million out of 6. 3 million eligible voters took part. But in holding the symbolic referendum, Mas went against Spain’s Constitutional Court, which had outlawed the vote — even if it was . He was later put on trial and banned from holding office for two years. Puigdemont, though, still wants to go ahead, and he wants his referendum to be binding this time — even though Madrid has pledged to be just as tough this time round. “I don’t want it, I don’t believe in it, and as long as I am prime minister, it won’t happen,” Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in May. In February, the Constitutional Court ruled against the referendum and warned Catalan leaders they faced repercussions if they continued with their project. Catalonia’s officials have had little luck pushing their project abroad either. — Challenges to organise vote — Regional authorities also face a host of challenges just to hold the referendum without Madrid’s consent. Civil servants such as the police or the heads of schools where polling stations could be set up, for instance, will be for the organisation of such a vote. But they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Regardless of what they support, they would have to choose between obeying their immediate superiors and facing possible sanctions for disobeying Spanish law, or sticking by the Constitution. Aside from that, none of the usual, necessary accessories of an election would be available, such as an official campaign or an independent authority to oversee the vote. And the central government has ways to stop the referendum from going ahead. It can ask the Constitutional Court to suspend Puigdemont for disobedience, or it could take temporary control of key Catalan functions such as the police. | 1 |
— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) October 26, 2016 Clinton up by just 3pts., Trump helped by increased support amng indies — new @FoxNews #Poll More: https://t.co/zUfPgBLZfQ pic.twitter.com/lMsIDo9naJ
— Fox News Poll (@foxnewspoll) October 26, 2016
At 41-28 Trump should be leading the over all poll. Over sampling is happening somewhere.
Here’s the thing: Bernie voters and black Americans were already Democrats. (Even if she gets 100% of them (which she won’t) she’s not broadening her numbers beyond her own party . . . which is a mere 29% of the electorate.)
Let’s recap: 29% of the country are Democrats, 29% are Republicans and 42% are Independents. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAopWX9Mzgs
Whoever wins Independents wins the election.
Trump is more than doubling Hillary’s position with Independents. He’s leading in the single largest voting bloc in the country . . . yet all the mainstream media propaganda polls are pretending like Hillary’s ahead.
(Of course she isn’t. She’s been losing this entire cycle–with the media grossly oversampling Democrats and undersampling Independents to create a synthetic paper advantage for her.)
But things get worse for Hillary than the ass-kicking she’s getting [as a Status Quo candidate] in a Change election, vis-a-vis Independents: For a Democrat to win a national election, they have to carry 92% of the black vote. Trump is now polling between 25-30% of the black vote. (Meaning that Hillary isn’t even coming remotely close to the benchmark she’d need to win.)
So you have Hillary hemorrhaging African-Americans, Independents and blue collar workers.
Yet every mainstream media poll is lying to you and telling you she’s winning.
The math doesn’t work.
(Turn off the TV. They’re lying to you.) | 0 |
The North Pole wasn’t always a winter wonderland. Rewind 90 million years, and scientists think it was probably as warm as parts of Florida. A new clue supporting that idea is a fossilized wing bone belonging to a newly discovered prehistoric bird found in the Canadian Arctic. The creature looked like a cross between a sea gull and a cormorant, but with a beak full of teeth. It could both fly and dive, and it most likely lived alongside turtles, crocodilelike reptiles and a whole lot of fish. “This was a hyperwarm period, a real spike in temperatures where we think even during the winter there wasn’t freezing water,” said John Tarduno, a geophysicist from the University of Rochester. “Tingmiatornis arctica adds to this picture that we have of this incredibly warm Arctic 90 million years ago. ” Dr. Tarduno and his team published their findings on Monday in the journal Scientific Reports. Scientists aren’t sure why Earth was stifling hot for several million years during the Cretaceous period, but according to Dr. Tarduno, the prevailing hypothesis is that the atmosphere was filled with carbon dioxide, most likely the result of extraordinary volcanic activity. The resulting greenhouse effect would have transformed the polar ecosystem into a place where Tingmiatornis arctica and its prey could thrive. The warming period, known as the Turonian age, is estimated to have lasted from 93. 9 million to 89. 8 million years ago. At its coldest, it is estimated that the Arctic got around 57 degrees Fahrenheit. In his time exploring the snowcapped brown hills and thick glaciers of Nunavut, in the Canadian Arctic, Dr. Tarduno has come across two wing bones belonging to this species of bird. He uncovered the first humerus in 1999. It was relatively small and he didn’t pay it much mind until he found a second, larger bone a few years later. But even the second humerus didn’t catch his attention at first. Instead, he and his team were preoccupied with a large turtle shell that was on the other side of the same rock. “We took it back to camp and went, ‘Oh, wait a minute, there’s another spectacular fossil on the other side,’ ” Dr. Tarduno said. After finding the bones, they turned to their colleague Julia Clarke, a paleontologist from the University of Texas at Austin, for further analysis. She knew the bones belonged to a group of birds called ornithurines, which includes all living birds and their closest extinct relatives. But by studying the unique marks on the points on the bone where it was once attached to muscle, she was able to determine that the fossil belonged to a prehistoric bird unlike any that had previously been discovered. Dr. Clarke was also able to determine that the bird was a capable flier because of the size and shape of the bone, and that the bird most likely dove in the water because of the thickness of the outermost layer, known as the cortical bone. She said the finding might help paleontologists understand an even bigger mystery. “We can’t explain why some flying dinosaurs, which we call birds, went extinct right alongside all the other dinosaurs,” she said, “and why only parts of the ornithurines survived to the present day. ” By collecting more fossils of ornithurine birds like Tingmiatornis arctica, paleontologists can better understand what helped this lineage of birds survive the extinction event 66 million years ago when of all animal and plant life perished. | 1 |
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Orly Levy – Have you ever been around or noticed someone that made you feel good? They weren’t intentionally trying to, there was just something about their energy that allowed you to relax and enjoy yourself more. Most likely, this person had a high vibration and that’s why you were attracted to them and felt good being around them. Similarly, have you ever heard someone say “there was a good vibe” describing a situation? That person must have experienced a positive interaction and described it in terms of the energy felt.
You might be wondering what having a high vibration means. As humans we are all energy in motion and we vibrate a frequency out to the universe. People who have a high vibration often feel lighter, open, stable and loving. While feelings of heaviness, denseness, darkness and fear are found in the lower vibration zone. Just like radio stations have different frequencies and you can tune into whatever you want to listen to, people can raise their vibration (change their frequency) in order to feel better.
After learning about energy in tai chi and yoga, I began to become aware of my own vibes. When I was moody or upset about something, I noticed I felt heavy and people avoided me. When I was happy and felt good about life, I felt open and people seemed attracted to me. I also became aware of how I disliked feeling this low vibration and that around certain people I either felt better or worst. I realized that rather than being at the mercy of my mood and other people’s energy field , I could do activities that raised my vibration and made me feel better. The key here is that anything the makes you feel authentically good raises your vibrations.
Here is a list of 12 ways you can naturally raise your vibration and feel better: 1. Breathe.
Breathing is the best way to clear your energy and create openness in your heart. When you breathe deeply your belly expands on the inhale and contracts on the exhale. Put your hand on your belly to check that you are breathing fully and deeply. 2. Exercise.
Any form of exercise the gets your heart rate going and feels fun (not forced), raises your vibrations. 3. Laugh.
Laughter is a fun and easy way to feel good. Find a way to add some laughter into your daily routine and you will feel the difference. 4. Watch cartoons.
Cartoons feel light and cozy. They remind you a being a kid and feeling safe. Cartoons often carry messages of love and protection. 5. Say Affirmations.
By reciting affirmations you are reminding your conscious mind that what you desire is here and now. Anything is possible and you are shining light on truth. 6. Pray.
Prayer doesn’t have to be something you practice in a religious setting. You can connect, ask for guidance, and give thanks to God or the universe at any time and at any place. 7. Dress up.
Sometimes putting on a nice dress and red lip stick feels good. It reminds us of how sexy, feminine and fun we can be. 8. Count your blessings.
What are you grateful for? Gratitude for all the love, support and abundance that is already present in your life is the fastest way to feel good. 9. Give.
Do something nice for someone else for no reason at all. Not because you want something in return or you owe them, but because you want to share your love. 10. Say “I love you.”
Tell the people you love, “I love you unconditionally no matter what.” Say it out loud even if you think they already know and then close your eyes and feel it. 11. Tell yourself the same.
Every ounce of love you give out starts with you. Remember to show yourself the love and receive it! 12. Spoil yourself with something you’ve been desiring but saving for when you felt worthy.
Do something fun and exciting. Your life is now, the time is now and feel your vibration raise tenfold.
Raising your vibration leads to feeling good, free and loved. When you follow your feelings and raise your vibration you are not only helping yourself feel better but you are positively impacting everyone around you. Your energy doesn’t stop with you, it radiates out in the universe and touches the entire planet. Once you raise your vibrations you will also be less likely to get sucked into someone else’s low energy vibration. Imagine being around someone you love that is struggling and helping them by just being yourself and radiating your energy out.
In the comments below I’d love to hear from you. What are your favorite ways to raise your vibration?
Orly Levy is an Intuitive Life Coach and Writer based in Southern California. She guides women to turn inside and rediscover “that which they already are.” Through her signature coaching programs, she works with her clients to release past blockages and reconnect with their intuition so that they can live their happiest life! To learn more about Orly visit www.orlyslight.com or Follow her on Facebook . SF Source Dreamcatcher Reality | 0 |
My patient and I both knew he was dying. Not the long kind of dying that stretches on for months or years. He would die today. Maybe tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, the next day. Was there someone I should call? Someone he wanted to see? Not a one, he told me. No immediate family. No close friends. He had a niece down South, maybe, but they hadn’t spoken in years. For me, the sadness of his death was surpassed only by the sadness of his solitude. I wondered whether his isolation was a driving force of his premature death, not just an unhappy circumstance. Every day I see variations at both the beginning and end of life: a young man abandoned by friends as he struggles with opioid addiction an older woman getting by on tea and toast, living in filth, no longer able to clean her cluttered apartment. In these moments, it seems the only thing worse than suffering a serious illness is suffering it alone. Social isolation is a growing epidemic — one that’s increasingly recognized as having dire physical, mental and emotional consequences. Since the 1980s, the percentage of American adults who say they’re lonely has doubled from 20 percent to 40 percent. About of Americans older than 65 now live alone, and half of those over 85 do. People in poorer health — especially those with mood disorders like anxiety and depression — are more likely to feel lonely. Those without a college education are the least likely to have someone they can talk to about important personal matters. A wave of new research suggests social separation is bad for us. Individuals with less social connection have disrupted sleep patterns, altered immune systems, more inflammation and higher levels of stress hormones. One recent study found that isolation increases the risk of heart disease by 29 percent and stroke by 32 percent. Another analysis that pooled data from 70 studies and 3. 4 million people found that socially isolated individuals had a 30 percent higher risk of dying in the next seven years, and that this effect was largest in middle age. Loneliness can accelerate cognitive decline in older adults, and isolated individuals are twice as likely to die prematurely as those with more robust social interactions. These effects start early: Socially isolated children have significantly poorer health 20 years later, even after controlling for other factors. All told, loneliness is as important a risk factor for early death as obesity and smoking. The evidence on social isolation is clear. What to do about it is less so. Loneliness is an especially tricky problem because accepting and declaring our loneliness carries profound stigma. Admitting we’re lonely can feel as if we’re admitting we’ve failed in life’s most fundamental domains: belonging, love, attachment. It attacks our basic instincts to save face, and makes it hard to ask for help. I see this most acutely during the holidays when I care for hospitalized patients, some connected to I. V. poles in barren rooms devoid of family or friends — their aloneness amplified by cheerful Christmas movies playing on televisions. And hospitalized or not, many people report feeling lonelier, more depressed and less satisfied with life during the holiday season. New research suggests that loneliness is not necessarily the result of poor social skills or lack of social support, but can be caused in part by unusual sensitivity to social cues. Lonely people are more likely to perceive ambiguous social cues negatively, and enter a — worsening the problem. In this way, loneliness can be contagious: When one person becomes lonely, he withdraws from his social circle and causes others to do the same. Dr. John Cacioppo, a psychology professor at the University of Chicago, has tested various approaches to treat loneliness. His work has found that the most effective interventions focus on addressing “maladaptive social cognition” — that is, helping people how they interact with others and perceive social cues. He is collaborating with the United States military to explore how social cognition training can help soldiers feel less isolated while deployed and after returning home. The loneliness of older adults has different roots — often resulting from family members moving away and close friends passing away. As one senior put it, “Your world dies before you do. ” Ideally, experts say, neighborhoods and communities would keep an eye out for such older people and take steps to reduce social isolation. Ensuring they have easy access to transportation, through discounted bus passes or special transport services, can help maintain social connections. Religious older people should be encouraged to continue regular attendance at services and may benefit from a sense of spirituality and community, as well as the watchful eye of fellow churchgoers. Those capable of caring for an animal might enjoy the companionship of a pet. And loved ones living far away from a parent or grandparent could ask a neighbor to check in periodically. But more structured programs are arising, too. For example, Dr. Paul Tang of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation started a program called linkAges, a service exchange inspired by the idea that everyone has something to offer. The program works by allowing members to post online something they want help with: guitar lessons, a Scrabble partner, a ride to the doctor’s office. Others can then volunteer their time and skills to fill these needs and “bank” hours for when they need something themselves. “In America, you almost need an excuse for knocking on a neighbor’s door,” Dr. Tang told me. “We want to break down those barriers. ” For example, a college student might see a post from an older man who needs help gardening. She helps him plant a row of flowers and “banks” two hours in the process. A few months later, when she wants to cook a Malaysian meal for her boyfriend, a retired chef comes by to give her cooking lessons. “You don’t need a playmate every day,” Dr. Tang said. “But knowing you’re valued and a contributing member of society is incredibly reaffirming. ” The program now has hundreds of members in California and plans to expand to other areas of the country. “We in the medical community have to ask ourselves: Are we controlling blood pressure or improving health and ?” Dr. Tang said. “I think you have to do the latter to do the former. ” A great paradox of our digital age is that we seem to be drifting apart. Increasingly, however, research confirms our deepest intuition: Human connection lies at the heart of human . It’s up to all of us — doctors, patients, neighborhoods and communities — to maintain bonds where they’re fading, and create ones where they haven’t existed. | 1 |
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump has selected George T. Conway III, the husband of his counselor Kellyanne Conway, to head the civil division of the Justice Department, people familiar with the decision said on Saturday, placing him in charge of a crucial office charged with defending Mr. Trump’s contentious travel ban and lawsuits alleging that his business activities violate the Constitution. Mr. Conway, 53, would lead a department of about 1, 000 lawyers that has vast reach across the government, handling issues like national security and consumer protection and enforcing federal programs and the actions of the president himself. A White House spokeswoman declined to comment on a personnel matter, and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests. The people familiar with Mr. Trump’s decision confirmed it on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to an impending announcement. The choice was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. If confirmed, Mr. Conway would immediately be in charge of representing Mr. Trump in the legal challenges — which are widely expected to reach the Supreme Court — over his executive order barring people from six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. The White House narrowed the directive after its original version was blocked last month by judges who said it did not advance national security interests and violated the due process rights of lawful permanent residents, people holding visas and refugees. But last week, two other federal judges — one in Hawaii and one in Maryland — moved to block the revised order, suggesting that it probably constituted religious discrimination and was in essence a backdoor Muslim ban of the sort that Mr. Trump promised during his presidential campaign. It would also fall to Mr. Conway to oversee Mr. Trump’s defense in a pending lawsuit charging him with violations of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which bans federal officeholders from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments, because of the profits his hotels and resorts receive from foreign officials who are customers. Before he was inaugurated, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers argued that the clause did not bar “ transactions,” like paying for hotel rooms. But the lawsuit, filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog group on government corruption, contends that the clause does bar such transactions. It is likely that Mr. Trump will face additional legal challenges regarding possible conflicts of interest stemming from his vast real estate and business empire, from which he has refused to divest. Installing Mr. Conway to lead the civil division means that defending the president from such challenges will become a family affair for the Conways. Ms. Conway, a staunch loyalist who ran the final months of Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign, has been a frequent presence on television news programs promoting the president’s agenda and dismissing criticism of his style and record. Her zeal on Mr. Trump’s behalf has sometimes landed her at the center of controversy, such as when she claimed that the White House was entitled to put forward “alternative facts” about the crowd size at his inauguration, and in a separate interview a few weeks later, referred to a terrorist attack in Bowling Green that never occurred. Last week, she appeared to suggest that President Barack Obama might have spied on Mr. Trump through a microwave. Ms. Conway later clarified that she was speaking in general about possible means of surveillance, not about Mr. Obama, and Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said she had been joking. Mr. Conway had been a contender for the job of solicitor general for the Trump administration, but Mr. Trump announced this month that the job would go to Noel J. Francisco. Mr. Conway is a partner at the New York City firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen Katz. He specializes in securities, contract and antitrust litigation, as well as mergers and acquisitions, according to his biography on the firm’s website. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the Yale Law School. While there is a law against nepotism in government, it would not affect the Conways. It says that no public official can hire a family member — including one related by marriage — to serve in an agency or office over which he or she has authority. Ms. Conway would have no direct authority over her husband were he to be confirmed, nor would the reverse be true. | 1 |
A McDonald’s drive through worker is being praised for jumping right out of the serving window to rescue a police officer who was seen lying unconscious in her car after suffering a medical emergency. [Store surveillance video shows McDonald’s employee Pedro Viloria jumping right out of the window after noticing that an police officer was lying in her personal car, CBS Miami reports. ONLY ON 10: Surveillance video shows a McDonalds worker jump from the drive thru window to save an unconscious police officer. More at 6pm. pic. twitter. — Derek Shore (@DerekShore) March 14, 2017, Viloria apparently saw that the officer’s SUV was rolling uncontrolled in the drive through line and that the officer’s children were inside yelling and acting very frightened. The employee quickly jumped out the window, ran to the car, and put the car in park to stop its roll. “In that moment, I thought, I’d rather save that woman’s life,” Viloria told WPLG. “I see she’s like inflating her neck, like trying to breathe, like ‘ahh,’ and basically I thought something was going wrong. ” “I thought, ‘If those kids lose their mother today, that’s going to be tragic,’” Viloria told the media. “Her kids were screaming, ‘Mother, mother, stop it, Mother what are you doing? ’” Viloria added. Even as the valorous employee jumped into action, a firefighter paramedic happened to be walking onto the Doral, Florida, restaurant and after learning of the situation, quickly ran outside to give aide to the driver. Viloria was celebrated by local news and his employers, but the McDonald’s employee waved off all the accolades saying that it was the paramedic and other first responders who arrived a short time later who gave the real aid. The restaurant’s owner released a statement congratulating Viloria. “First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the officer and her family during this difficult time. I think I speak for our McDonald’s family when I say how proud we are of Pedro. He is an excellent employee, so it didn’t surprise me that he took immediate action and jumped through a window to help save this woman. And he was not the only member of the team that played a pivotal role in ensuring she received the medical attention she needed. A second employee, who asked to remain unnamed, assisted with CPR. Their quick thinking and action were everything in that moment. ” Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail. com. | 1 |
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s education minister wants to ban classes after last year’s public outcry after a Muslim school was allowed to separate boys and girls for gym classes. [Gustav Fridolin says “if there are problems by having boys and girls together, you should take care of the problem, not avoid it simply by separating the sexes. ” Fridolin, a member of Sweden’s minority government, told Swedish Radio Saturday that too many schools “have been given temporary permission to have boys and girls apart for several years. ” | 1 |
Its a sad day when they have no more aloha snack bars to give. | 0 |
No more than a few hundred American children have a rare disease characterized by ultrahigh levels of bad cholesterol. Yet to the giant drug maker AstraZeneca, this small group could be worth billions of dollars. The company is making a bold attempt to fend off impending generic competition to its drug, the pill Crestor, by getting it approved to treat the rare disease. In an unusual legal argument, the company says Crestor is entitled to seven years of additional market exclusivity under the Orphan Drug Act, a law that encourages pharmaceutical companies to develop treatments for rare diseases. Critics say AstraZeneca is trying to abuse the law, since the overwhelming use of Crestor is for treating adults with high cholesterol, not children with the rare disease. “This represents a deviation from the intent of the Orphan Drug Act,” said Dr. Martin A. Makary, a professor of health policy at Johns Hopkins Medical School. “It is now being used to dominate the market with retrofitted indications. ” Crestor, a statin, was prescribed 20. 3 million times in the United States last year, the of any drug after Synthroid, a thyroid medicine, according to the prescription tracker IMS Health. The drug, also known as rosuvastatin calcium, is scheduled to lose patent protection on July 8, potentially exposing it to an onslaught of generic competition. The introduction of generics would weigh heavily on AstraZeneca’s bottom line. Crestor is the company’s drug, accounting for $5 billion of its $23. 6 billion in product sales last year. About $2. 8 billion in sales were in the United States, where the retail price is about $260 a month, according to GoodRx. com. The chain of events leading up to the current controversy began in late May, when AstraZeneca won approval of Crestor to treat children with the rare disease, homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, or HoFH. That approval gave Crestor market exclusivity for seven years, though it applies only to that disease. One implication is that detailed prescribing information about using the drug for the rare disease cannot be included on the label of generic versions for seven years. However, the Food and Drug Administration can in theory allow generics on the market for other uses, such as treating high cholesterol in adults. Yet AstraZeneca immediately petitioned the F. D. A. arguing that if the correct dose for children with HoFH could not be on the generic label, then it would be illegal and dangerous to approve any generic versions for any use at all. That is because doctors might still prescribe the generic for children with HoFH and choose the wrong dose, posing “substantial safety and efficacy risks. ” Michele Meixell, a spokeswoman for AstraZeneca, said the company pursued the new use of Crestor as “part of our standard practice to address unmet needs. ” She said the Orphan Drug Act “provides exclusivity as an incentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop products to help address the needs of an underserved patient population. ” It is far from certain that AstraZeneca’s argument will succeed, and it is not known when the F. D. A. will decide. One response might be for the agency to approve generic versions of Crestor on schedule, on July 8. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals lost a lawsuit this month after trying in a similar way to protect its cancer drug Fusilev from generic competition. Otsuka Pharmaceutical recently tried a similar tactic to shield its antipsychotic, Abilify, from generic competition by getting it approved for a rare disease. The F. D. A. approved generics in April and its decision was upheld in court. Perhaps the most famous case was when Squibb tried for three extra years of protection from generics for Glucophage, its drug for diabetes, by getting it approved to treat the relatively few children with that disease. Outraged members of Congress, calling the move an abuse of the system, amended the law in 2002 to eliminate what came to be called the Glucophage loophole. But Otsuka, in its recent court case, argued that lawmakers at that time did not explicitly mention orphan exclusivity as a loophole to be closed. The United States District judge hearing the case in Maryland, George J. Hazel, dismissed that argument. “It would defy logic,” he wrote, “to believe that in enacting this measure to prevent a exclusivity from becoming a ‘fundamental abuse of the system’ that harmed consumers, Congress nonetheless intended to permit the exclusivity Otsuka seeks here. ” In its petition to the F. D. A. AstraZeneca argues that the F. D. A. was legally incorrect in the Otsuka case. Kurt R. Karst, a director of the Washington law firm Hyman, Phelps McNamara and principal author of the FDA Law Blog said, “Given the Otsuka precedent, it’s going to be an uphill battle” for AstraZeneca. He predicted that the company would sue the F. D. A. if its request were denied. While AstraZeneca has been studying use of Crestor for pediatric conditions for some years, it began a clinical trial for children 6 to 17 years old with HoFH only in 2014. About 300 to 1, 000 people in the United States have the disease, which involves two deleterious mutations, one from each parent, said Katherine Wilemon, president of the FH Foundation, an advocacy group. She said some people with the disease suffer heart attacks when they are only 5 years old. Michelle Watts of Hagerstown, Md. said that she and her husband, Jason, both have high cholesterol, but, “We had no idea that we could both carry a gene and there’s the possibility of us giving it to our children. ” Their daughter, Avery, has HoFH and already has some narrowing of the arteries. She takes a generic statin and Zetia, another pill. Every two weeks, the family drives three hours each way for a treatment similar to dialysis, in which Avery’s blood is run through a machine that cleanses it of cholesterol. Mr. and Ms. Watts, who both use Crestor to treat their own high cholesterol, declined to comment on AstraZeneca’s move, saying they did not know enough about it. AstraZeneca’s trial involved only 14 children and tested a single dose of Crestor, according to the company’s petition. After six weeks of treatment, those who took Crestor had a bigger decline in LDL, or bad cholesterol, than those receiving a placebo. This result was expected, in that statins like Crestor are already a cornerstone of treatment for such children. Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, founder and senior adviser of the Public Citizen health research group, said that if AstraZeneca was interested in that rare disease, “They could have done it a long time ago, not right before midnight when it is about to turn into a pumpkin. ” One generic version of Crestor, sold by Allergan, reached the market in May under a patent litigation settlement with AstraZeneca. But drug prices do not typically plummet until there multiple generics are on the market. The issue of using orphan diseases to give drugs extended protection from generic competition is playing out on a bigger stage as well. A broad pharmaceutical policy bill passed by the House of Representatives last year, called the 21st Century Cures Act, would give six extra months of protection from generic competition if an already marketed drug gets approved for an orphan disease. Max G. Bronstein, a senior director at the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases, an advocacy group, said the measure was backed by dozens of patient groups because “repurposing” existing drugs is a quicker and less costly way to get medicines approved for rare diseases than is developing totally new drugs. But Public Citizen predicted that the provision could add up to $12 billion to the nation’s drug bill over 10 years because “cheaper generic versions of drugs will be inaccessible to patients with much more common, nonorphan diseases for an additional six months. ” The measure has not been passed by the Senate. Advocates hope it will be added as an amendment to the Senate counterpart of the broader legislation. | 1 |
01 UTC Verraad op hoog niveau: Bernhard, de Bilderberger had contacten met de CIA en Gladio Heel Nederland mocht zien dat koningin Juliana onhandig was. Het paste bij een staatshoofd dat vooral gewoon wilde zijn, terwijl dat helemaal niet kon. Haar hofhouding werd getypeerd als ,een lieflijke chaos." Commentaar: Onlangs werd bekend dat de Oranjes al decennialang compensatie krijgen voor de belasting die zij moeten betalen. Het heeft lang geduurd, maar nu is dr. Jolande Withuis' biografie van koningin Juliana er dan toch. Na zes jaar noeste vlijt presenteren uitgeverij Bezige Bij en Withuis' vroegere werkgever, het Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (NIOD), woensdag het resultaat, 863 pagina's dik. Met veel nieuwe verhalen, die toch vooral het beeld bevestigen dat zich in de loop der jaren van Juliana heeft gevormd. Dat die 863 pagina's geen ogenblik vervelen, is een compliment voor Withuis' schrijfstijl. Met vaart beschrijft ze Juliana's levensgang, waar het predikaat "chaos" vaak beter bij paste dan de typering "lieflijk". Toegang tot het Koninklijk Huisarchief kreeg de onderzoekster niet , maar ook daarbuiten was er genoeg materiaal. Commentaar: Wat hebben ze te verbergen? Huwelijk Zoals Wilhelmina de koningin van de oorlog was, zo was haar enige dochter de koningin van de wederopbouw, de vernieuwing en de democratisering. De sociale Juliana, monarch van 1948 tot 1980, gedijde goed in de decennia van groeiende welvaart. Koningin tegen wil en dank? Het is een van de vele fabels die de ronde deden. De werkelijkheid was volgens Withuis anders. Juliana ,koesterde na haar aantreden geruime tijd de ambitie een der grootste vorstinnen op aarde te worden." Dat werd ze niet. Privé was het soms bijzonder weinig rozengeur en maneschijn. Veel details over haar ongelukkige huwelijk kwamen pas later naar buiten, toen 'oorlogsheld' - dat was hij allerminst - Bernhard steeds meer werd ontmaskerd als schuinsmarcheerder. Zelfs minderjarige jongedames die in het paleis op bezoek kwamen, waren voor hem niet veilig . In plaats van Juliana's steunpilaar werd hij haar achilleshiel, die haar soms diep vernederde , schrijft Withuis. Het was Juliana's ,man van haar dromen" vooral om een goede positie te doen . Dit boek verbloemt de misère niet, zoals dat vroeger wel gebeurde. Commentaar: Macht werkt als een magneet op psychopaten. Vliegende schotels Koningin Juliana had veel belangstelling voor religie. ,Dat is een van de weinige constanten in haar overigens tamelijk grillige leven", stelt Withuis vast. ,Haar geloof behelsde geen traditioneel christendom, maar een diffuse religiositeit, waarin hel en verdoemenis ontbraken en 'alternatieve' en oosterse invloeden alle ruimte kregen. Juliana hechtte eraan onconventioneel te zijn, ook in geloofszaken." Dat bleek toen ze zich aan gebedsgenezeres Greet Hofmans vastklampte en later toen ze - reeds dementerend - in de huwelijksdienst van prins Maurits ter communie ging. Van Hofmans moest ze afstand nemen, en dat ging allerminst van harte. ,Ze poogde, hoewel ze niet meer meedeed, toch contact te houden. Haar vroegere vrienden behandelden haar echter zoals elke sekte uittreders behandelt: als een minne deserteur, tevens verdoemde." Met Hofmans was de zweverigheid overigens niet weggejaagd. De koningin ging zich nu bezighouden met vliegende schotels en buitenaardse wezens, en hield decennialang aan die denkbeelden vast. Commentaar: Wat wist Juliana werkelijk? Moederlijk Nieuwe crises volgden rond de partnerkeuze van de prinsessen Irene en Beatrix. Juliana vond de ophef over Irenes overgang naar de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk maar moeilijk: ,Wij mogen ons toch allen Gods kinderen weten en dat is de onverbrekelijke band onder de mensen", sprak ze voor de radio. Prinses Juliana werd na haar overlijden in 2004 vooral herdacht als een sociaal betrokken, moederlijke vrouw. Ze werd een geliefd vorstin, en daaraan deed het Lockheedschandaal - haar man had steekpenningen aangenomen van een vliegtuigfabrikant - geen afbreuk. Niet zonder reden koos dochter Beatrix voor een totaal andere regeerstijl. Commentaar: Ook was hij betrokken bij illegale wapenleveranties aan Indonesië . Citaten van biografe Withuis over koningin Juliana - Juliana riep veeleer mededogen op dan woede: die onbetrouwbare man, die dominante moeder, die zelfbewuste dochter en dan zelf zo verlegen... Dat aan dit beeld een flinke dosis theater te pas kwam, werd niet beseft. - Juliana was warrig en chaotisch. Er is overigens geen reden die verwardheid al toe te schrijven aan haar latere dementie. Het was veeleer haar manier van werken. Voor veel Haagse politici en ambtenaren was de komst van de nieuwe vorstin (Beatrix) een verademing. - Beatrix had uit het jarenlang aanzien van wat zij zag als het disfunctioneren van haar moeder de conclusie getrokken dat 'gewoon' en 'koningin' niet samengaan. - (Over de inhuldiging van koningin Beatrix in 1980:) Toen zijn hoofdcommissaris hem telefonisch toestemming vroeg om te schieten, omdat de horden dreigden de Dam te bereiken, antwoordde de Amsterdamse burgemeester W. Polak vanuit de Nieuwe Kerk met een vastberaden: Nee. - (Personeelsleden op Soestdijk:) Als je een foutje maakte, zag ze dat zogenaamd niet. Ze zou dan niet naar de intendant gaan om te klagen. Bernhard wel. Bij hem moest alles perfect tot in de puntjes zijn. Was het zwembad 30 graden in plaats van 31, dan belde hij de huismeester. - Haar steun ten tijde van de Lockheed-ontmaskering had de liefde van haar echtgenoot niet doen groeien. (...) Het is niet waar dat Juliana en Bernhard gescheiden van elkaar in een Baarnse en een Soestervleugel van het paleis leefden. Wel was het personeel verdeeld: men was óf op haar óf op zijn hand. (...) De verhouding met Bernhard was en bleef kil. Ze zat vaak tot diep in de nacht alleen tv te kijken in de bibliotheek. Samen eten deden ze zelden. (...) Bezoekers van Bernhard maakten regelmatig mee dat Juliana gesprekken van haar man trachtte te verstoren. (...) Toch bleef Bernhard Juliana's grote liefde. Haar liefste wens was dat het tussen hen nog goed zou komen. Haar slaapkamer stond vol met zijn foto's. Soms viel ze in slaap met zijn foto tegen haar borst gedrukt. - Geestelijk was en bleef Juliana een alleseter. Ze ging bijna wekelijks naar de kerk, maar wel steeds naar een andere. Vanaf ongeveer 1996 keek ze, in plaats van een kerk te bezoeken, naar Hour of Power met een populaire tv-dominee van de Amerikaanse megakerk Crystal Cathedral of naar Nederland Zingt van de EO. (...) Juliana bleef haar inspiratie opdoen bij hele en halve kwakzalvers, auteurs die zich vooral manifesteerden buiten de wetenschap en de gangbare theologie. - Tussen 1987 en 1997 ging Juliana's geheugen achteruit. Bernhard kon daar niet tegen. Als ze hem iets voor een tweede keer vroeg, reageerde hij grof en ongeduldig, waarna zij tranen met tuiten huilde. Amnestie of slagroomtaart Sommigen geloven nog steeds in de sprookjes van het koningshuis, maar achter het masker ziet men de beerput Voor Van Agt was het die eerste vrijdag van het jaar ( 1980 ) een verrassing geweest dat de koningin wilde aftreden; het onderwerp was in hun gesprekken nooit eerder aan de orde geweest. Naar hij vermoedt had ze dit moment mede gekozen, omdat het kabinet net voor het kerstreces een debat in de Tweede Kamer had doorstaan over de heftigste controverse uit die jaren: de kruisraket, en dus ondanks de economische crisis en de onrustbarend stijgende werkloosheid , stevig in het zadel leek te zitten. Dat bleek niet helemaal het geval: drie weken na Juliana's aankondiging van haar troonsafstand trad minister van Financiën mr. F. H. J. J. Andriessen (CDA) af, omdat er zijns inziens te weinig werd bezuinigd. Niettemin vond Van Agt het verstandig dat de koningin haar functie neerlegde. Haar laatste jaren waren, zoals hij het uitdrukt, ,niet haar meest glorieuze." Juliana was vaak ,verward." Zo ook de dag dat ze via de televisie haar abdicatie aankondigde. Op de ochtend van 31 januari gaf de minister-president persoonlijk de voorzitter van de NOS, mr. E. Jurgens, opdracht alles in gereedheid te brengen voor een opname die namiddag en een uitzending diezelfde avond. Toen hij in de vroege avond zelf op Soestdijk arriveerde, bleek het daar een chaos. De koningin had het, haar traditie getrouw, aan de stok met de televisiemensen. Zij wilde dat haar hondje Zara terwijl zij sprak bij haar op schoot zou liggen en dat haar papegaaienkooi op de achtergrond stond, zodat ze haar 'landgenoten' vanuit een huiselijke sfeer zou toespreken. De geluids- en cameramensen daarentegen, die haar lastige gedrag toeschreven aan het feit dat er vanaf de ochtend sherry was geschonken, leek gekrijs en geblaf tijdens zo'n officieel gebeuren geen goed idee. Maar het was haar huis, dus zij ,deed nou eens waar ze zin in had", verklaarde ze. Ze vond dat de technici te weinig opschoten en te veel rommel maakten. Het door haarzelf bepaalde tijdstip van haar proclamatie kwam bij nader inzien slecht uit. Personeel en apparatuur moesten voor achten weg zijn, liet ze NOS-directeur Enkelaar weten, want dan begon in diezelfde kamer het verjaardagsfeestje van haar dochter. Zara, waarvoor hij toch al weinig warme gevoelens koesterde, moest op gezag van de minister-president weg. Lorre bleef; de cameraman koos voor zijn opname een hoek vanwaaruit hij niet in beeld kwam. Mocht de vogel vreemde geluiden gaan voortbrengen, dan zou hij de lens alsnog op hem richten, opdat het publiek geen ongewenste conclusies zou trekken over de gezondheidstoestand van de vorstin. (...) In haar laatste maanden als vorstin probeerde Juliana nog haar zin te krijgen in een oude kwestie. Een van de categorieën 'zielige mensen' voor wie zij zich graag inzette waren gedetineerden. Al was het vanuit verschillende motieven, inzake de Drie van Breda hadden Juliana en Van Agt, toen nog minister van Justitie, in 1972 op één lijn gezeten. Dat had haar hoop gegeven toen ze hem een jaar later had voorgesteld om ter gelegenheid van haar vijfentwintigjarig ambtsjubileum gratie te verlenen aan gedetineerden. Als archaïsch prerogatief uit de tijd dat vorsten als dragers van de absolute macht ook rechtspraken , staat amnestie haaks op de constitutionele monarchie. Van Agt had dan ook getracht Juliana van het idee af te brengen. Het concept "jubileumgratie", had hij haar uitgelegd, paste vanwege de willekeur niet in het moderne strafrecht; voorts zou haar voorstel waarschijnlijk leiden tot hernieuwde discussies over de Drie. Commentaar: Aangezien leden van deze familie met regelmaat Bilderbergconferenties bezoeken moeten we hun macht niet onderschatten. Zeven jaar na dato trachtte Juliana haar oude wens buiten Van Agt om alsnog te verwezenlijken. Een internationale verplichting van de minister-president kwam daarbij goed van pas. In overleg met de koningin besloot Van Agt een reis naar Indonesië en Japan, die al gepland stond voor hij wist van de aanstaande troonswisseling, goeddeels te handhaven. Juliana maakte van zijn afwezigheid prompt gebruik om de amnestie opnieuw aan te kaarten, maar ook zonder premier willigde het kabinet dit verlangen natuurlijk niet in. Vicepremier en minister van Binnenlandse Zaken Wiegel en raadadviseur Van der Voet moesten haar daarvan overtuigen, wat nog niet meeviel. Na veel heen-en-weergepraat stelde de koningin als compromis voor om dan maar alle gedetineerden op Koninginnedag op slagroomtaart te trakteren. Naar het verhaal wil (se non è vero...), antwoordde Wiegel: ,Een uitstekend idee, majesteit, en dan spuiten we op elk van die taarten: ,Nog vele jaren!"" Juliana had voldoende humor om mét beide heren in lachen uit te barsten. De amnestie was van de baan." Uit: " Juliana, vorstin in een mannenwereld", door Jolande Withuis. Uitg. De Bezige Bij, Amsterdam/Antwerpen 2016; ISBN 978 90 234 3523 5; 863 pag.; € 39,99. Lees ook in Digibron Juliana's oorlog : Voorpublicatie van een nog te verschijnen biografie van Jolande Withuis (Protestants Nederland, 01-04-2015 ) Juliana als ambassadrice (Reformatorisch Dagblad, 03-03-2014 ) De eeuw van vorstin Juliana : Hervormd, maar vooral oecumenisch en spiritueel (Protestants Nederland, 01-04-2009 ) Juliana, vrouw met warm en sociaal hart : Koningschap staat vooral in het teken van de wederopbouw van Nederland (Reformatorisch Dagblad, 20-03-2004 ) Commentaar: Bernhard was ook betrokken bij de Gladio/Stay Behind Networks en waarschijnlijk zeer chantabel vanwege zijn misbruik van 'minderjarige jongedames'. | 0 |
Read in Chinese 点击查看本文中文版] Despite promises to cut steel overcapacity, China actually brought more steel production online last year, resulting in a surge in air pollution in northern China, especially around Beijing, according to a report released this week by Greenpeace East Asia. The growth in operating capacity was more than twice the total steel making capacity of Britain, the report said. The increase in steel production, which is powered by the burning of coal, also means that levels of greenhouse gas emissions from that sector almost certainly grew last year, compared with 2015 levels. Greenhouse gases are the main factor behind the acceleration of climate change. The steel industry is the second biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas the first is power generation, which also relies mostly on coal. China is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, ahead of the United States. The report, released Monday, shows how powerful enterprises and local officials have acted to keep steel companies operating out of economic despite a serious overcapacity problem in the industry. And as China’s economic growth slows, local governments feel rising pressure to support factory jobs to avoid domestic unrest. The report said 10 Chinese provinces increased their operating steel production capacity. The greatest increases were in Shanxi and Hebei, which are close to Beijing and have some of the most toxic air in the world. Only six provinces had a net decrease, the report said. The Chinese consulting firm Custeel, under commission from Greenpeace East Asia, did the main research for the report. The firm based its calculations on surveys and official documents, including ones from local governments. Growth in steel demand across China has been slowing since 2011, leading to pledges by officials to cut capacity. Officials said that efforts last year to cut capacity had exceeded targets set for the year. But the research by Custeel showed that officials pulled a sleight of hand in making that declaration — many of the cuts were to plants that had already been idle. As a result, only 23 million metric tons of capacity was actually closed, the report said. Those closures curtailed supply at the same time that government stimulus led to a uptick in demand. Officials and companies restarted some plants that had previously been suspended, the report said. That production capacity was equal to 49 million metric tons, about the same as Germany’s total steel making capacity. China also added 12 million metric tons of new capacity. As a result, the net increase in operating steel capacity for 2016 was 36. 5 million metric tons, the report said. Eighty percent of that increase came from just three provinces: Hebei, Shanxi and Tianjin. Some government policies have gone against the stated goal of cutting overcapacity. From 2013 to 2015, bank lending and government subsidies to the steel industry increased. In 2016, stimulus policies “created a miniboom in construction, artificially inflating steel demand and steel prices. ” The report said most of the capacity that was cut came from closures of plants that were privately owned or owned by central state enterprises, which suggested that local enterprises and governments were protecting their own interests. A Greenpeace analysis of Beijing air quality data showed that steady progress in curbing air pollution in Beijing stalled last year. In some months late in the year, air quality worsened over 2015. In the first five weeks of 2017, the concentration of PM2. 5, or particulate matter of a size deemed especially harmful, was almost twice as much as the same period in 2016. In 2013, the central government announced goals to cut coal use in three major population centers in China, including in the large region around Beijing, to try to bring down levels of air pollution, among the worst in the world. Stimulus policies last year also led to an increase in coal prices during one period, though climate change researchers say they expect data to show that overall coal consumption in China declined in 2016 compared with 2015. | 1 |
Am I missing something here???? I take it to be saying that Sheriff Joe is ENFORCING the law?? And ENFORCING the law is criminal!!??!! Oh, I get it!....Just like the way Trump breaks the law when applying our TAX LAWS to his tax return!!???!! Hmmm, so now they squabble abt whether or not ENFORCING the law should be a felony or misdemeanor. Whew! See, both Sheriff Joe and Donald should have done something that wouldn't have even turned one head in the Justice system....u know, like for instance getting caught with a secret email server, destroying over 35,000 emails, destroying BlackBerry ie...all electronic devices etc.... Here's a good one....lying under oath!... and the list could go on! Yes, if only they had not committed these vile acts of legal actions! | 0 |
I have had guns pointed at me, slept in a shipping container and walked past the corpses of shelling victims since the separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine began two years ago. But I had never been blacklisted as a terrorist before. So when my name recently appeared on a “terrorist” list of journalists published by a website with close ties to the Ukrainian government, I viewed it with a mix of trepidation and sarcasm. Trepidation because it suggested powerful people in Ukraine, a democracy that aspires to the free flow of information, were going after me and others on the list for simply doing our jobs: reporting both sides of the war, including the rebel side. And sarcasm because, this being Ukraine, the list was not likely to have much credibility elsewhere. I have not, for example, had any trouble flying after appearing on what may be the world’s first list of terrorist journalists. It is also not a secret that I and other reporters have reported from rebel territory our publications and broadcast outlets regularly use our names and note where we are. The list, published by a Ukrainian nationalist website called Myrotvorets, or the Peacemaker, appeared to have been born out of a simmering frustration. in Ukraine have been furious at the foreign press for some time now, arguing that any coverage of the rebels from their home base in the east played into Russia’s powerful propaganda machine. Russia has portrayed residents in the breakaway regions as victims of an unjustified Ukrainian military assault by a “fascist” government in Kiev. The list is a compilation of reporters and others who applied for press passes to work in territory controlled by the Donetsk People’s Republic, Ukraine’s main enemy in the war in the east. Applying for accreditation from rebels, according to the website, was enough to be branded a “terrorist accomplice. ” The website said it had obtained the list of names, and personal information including emails, from hackers who had stolen the rebels’ data. Groups supporting journalists quickly condemned the publication of the names — and in some cases home addresses — for seeming to invite violence against reporters. A commentator living in Kiev, Oles Buzina, whose home address was publicized in a Myrotvorets post last year, was shot and killed on a street not far from his home days later. But this time, the site was publishing names and contact details for 5, 412 journalists, drivers, fixers, soundmen and translators. Not all of us can be rubbed out. Why were so many reporters accredited to cover the war in Donetsk? Because it served the media strategy of the rebels. About of the journalists and support staff on the list were Russian nationals or locals from eastern Ukraine, who might be expected to be sympathetic to the rebels. In addition, 1, 816 foreign reporters showed up over the two years and were accredited, according to the list. The ease of accrediting ensured, for example, broad coverage of stray Ukrainian artillery strikes hitting the city and sometimes killing civilians, helping discredit Ukraine’s actions to win back territory. The media strategy seems right out of Russia’s media playbook Western military analysts have noted Russia’s savvy at what they have called “hybrid wars” that blend lethal force with aggressive (and positive) press coverage. For reporters, press passes to travel in territory were invaluable for avoiding arrest, hands or detention in a basement. To get the coveted slips of paper, journalists visited Angela, a witty woman known as the “accreditation queen. ” Angela worked in a office of the separatist headquarters in central Donetsk. Reaching her space meant trekking up a dark stairwell festooned with coarse propaganda for the cause: One drawing showed President Obama’s head on the body of a monkey another showed a Ukrainian politician, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, dressed in a Nazi uniform. With few exceptions, Angela cheerily printed out press passes for anyone who asked — other than reporters from Ukraine. Many Ukrainians remain outraged that, as they see it, the groups have been able to deftly amplify their message with the megaphone of the Western media — despite the rebels’ virulently agenda. The war has now killed more than 10, 000 people. Still, Ukraine’s ombudsman, Valeria Lutkovska, condemned the release of the journalists’ names and urged the authorities to shut down the website for revealing personal information. President Petro O. Poroshenko on Friday called the release a “big mistake. ” Western ambassadors voiced concern. In the face of criticism, the Myrotvorets website has doubled down, posting a sarcastic rejoinder. “Many journalists demanded an apology from us, and now we understand the reason for this,” the site wrote on May 20, two weeks after publishing the list of “terrorist accomplices” in the media. “The staff offer their sincere apologies in regards to the list not being fresh. ” It then added new names. And the interior minister, Arsen B. Avakov, appeared to endorse the leak, or at least did not condemn it. “War is like war,” he wrote on Facebook. “A friend sincerely fighting is more important for me than opinions of liberals and latent separatists who think too much of themselves. ” | 1 |
What Is Operation Bluebeam? Will It Derail the Election?
More rumors are surfacing on Operation Bluebeam. Are the globalists desperate enough to unleash a fake alien invasion. Operation Bluebeam is real and it has been around since the 1970’s in operation form. However, I first giggled when I heard this rumor. I tracked down some of the rumor. This is a real possibility if the globalists think that Clinton will not win the election.
Here is what we know. | 0 |
Sen. Joe Manchin ( ) announced he would skip President Obama’s Capitol Hill meeting with Democrats on defending Obamacare. [“In good conscience, I can’t do it,” Manchin said Wednesday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, according to the Hill. He added: If anyone listened and paid attention to what the American people said when they voted, they want this place to work. Can you imagine in here … we have the outgoing president coming up here today to talk to only Democrats. We have the incoming vice president coming up to talk only to Republicans. Manchin then stated that this is not what “makes this place work. ” Obama met congressional Democrats on Capitol Hill to discuss how to prevent Republicans from repealing Obamacare. Vice Mike Pence also addressed Obamacare in a meeting on Capitol Hill with Republicans Wednesday, the Washington Times reported. Manchin said that 172, 000 West Virginians gained health care under Obamacare for the first time, but he also said that Obamacare could use a lot of “repairing. ” “I’m willing to look at replacing, repairing, doing anything that we can to make it better. But put something on the table,” he said. “I just can’t believe the Republicans would go down this path and just throw it out and say, ‘Trust us, in two or three years, we’ll fix it. ’” | 1 |
hattip to Sinnick & Theresa May Share this story...
Posted: Nov 16th, 2016 by apepper Click for more article by apepper .. More Stories about: Ticker | 0 |
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has moved forward with plans for a identification card specifically designed to ensure illegal aliens in the city can receive welfare benefits with minimal risk of repatriation. [The new program was unveiled at a Chicago City Council meeting on Wednesday, and it protects illegal aliens from federal oversight by not collecting any copies of identification documents presented when illegals apply for the identification card. “Applicants bring in the documents to prove someone’s identity. They hand them over to specially trained individual who can review the documents and then hand them back … It’s going to capture just the name and the date of birth. It’s not going to capture an address,” a source close to those officials told the Chicago . Emanuel, once President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff, has been one of the loudest voices decrying Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s efforts to cut off federal funding for sanctuary cities like Chicago that refuse to cooperate in the enforcement of immigration laws. The “Municipal ID” plan is Emanuel’s latest bid to resist the effort of the Justice Department and remain what he has called a “welcoming city. ” Emanuel’s new City Clerk Anna Valencia’s website describes the Municipal ID as “an optional, valid, ID that they can then use to access a range of services from both the private and public sectors. ” In addition to ensuring access for illegals to government programs, the Clerk’s Office also claims to be “working with cultural institutions, sports teams, pharmacies, local chambers of commerce and community organizations to explore potential discounts and partnerships. ” The scheme is specifically designed not only to allow illegals to obtain the cards, but to avoid collecting data that could be used by U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to discover aliens in the country illegally. Chicago is apparently looking to a model pioneered in San Francisco to frustrate ICE efforts. “Applicants bring in the documents to prove someone’s identity. They hand them over to specially trained individual who can review the documents and then hand them back … It’s going to capture just the name and the date of birth. It’s not going to capture an address,” a source close to those officials told the Chicago . While city officials will make no effort to ascertain if recipients of the new ID are committing a crime by being in the United States, they will ensure that the gender with which they most strongly identify will be properly documented. “Applicants will also be able to their gender, which will be huge to the transgender and LGBTQ community. And it’s not just for undocumented individuals,” the same source said. The also reported that the Municipal ID program itself will cost Chicago taxpayers $1 million in its first year of implementation. | 1 |
HOUSTON — The first half of a ferocious game ended with bodies sprawled all over the place. At one end of the floor, Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors rolled onto his stomach after a punishing fall so he could watch mayhem unfold at the other end: players scrambling at the buzzer, and then Stephen Curry emerging with a limp. Game 4 of the Warriors’ playoff series against the Houston Rockets on Sunday afternoon was a basketball mudslide, and Curry got the worst of it. In his return from a right ankle sprain, Curry injured his right knee on the final play of the first half, appearing to have slipped on a wet spot while defending the Rockets’ Trevor Ariza. The Warriors played the rest of the game without him, escaping from the muck with a victory that gave them a lead in their series. But Curry’s latest injury cast a pall on the visiting locker room — and any lingering effects could make the Warriors’ pursuit of another championship that much more challenging. The Warriors assessed the injury as a sprain, but Coach Steve Kerr said Curry would have a magnetic resonance imaging test Monday. Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday night in Oakland, Calif. The Warriors were subdued in the wake of Sunday’s game. They mulled the possibility of postseason life without Curry, the league’s reigning most valuable player. “The one thing we all hate in life is uncertainty,” said Draymond Green, who had 18 points and 8 rebounds. “Whether that’s in a relationship, whether that’s in school, whether that’s knowing what’s being cooked — we hate uncertainty in life as humans. So the uncertainty with him of not knowing what’s going on — like, obviously, ‘Oh, he sprained his knee.’ But that’s what we think. That’s not what we know until he gets it scanned tomorrow. ” Curry struggled in 19 minutes of playing time, collecting 6 points and 5 assists while shooting 2 of 9 from the field. He also committed five turnovers, his rhythm jagged after he had missed the previous two games with his ankle injury. Kerr had wanted to exercise great caution with Curry. But in the closing seconds of the first half, there was a confluence of bad events: Donatas Motiejunas of the Rockets tripped and fell, leaving a slick spot on the court, and Curry had the misfortune of wading into it as he defended Ariza. Curry’s right leg gave out, and he tumbled. He hobbled off the court with his teammates. Curry briefly returned to the bench before the start of the second half. He tried to assure Kerr that he felt well enough to play. Kerr asked him to be honest. “He just put his head down,” Kerr said. Before Curry left again for the locker room, Green leaned in and said, “We got you. ” Sure enough, the Warriors surged in Curry’s absence, breaking open a tie game by outscoring the Rockets, in the third quarter. The Warriors went on to smash an N. B. A. playoff record by making 21 in the game. They also had 38 assists on 46 field goals. Klay Thompson scored 23 points, and Iguodala added 22. “It didn’t surprise me one bit that we played so well in the second half,” Kerr said. “Our guys play for each other. ” Curry did not address the news media after the game. All day, though, he was the center of attention. At 1 p. m. about an hour and a half before the tip, the doors to Toyota Center opened to fans, and many congregated in a section of the lower bowl closest to the visiting locker room. Five minutes later, Curry walked across the court and laced up his sneakers. He proceeded to go about his familiar pregame routine. Five television cameras filmed his every move: the dribbling drills, the layups, the running bank shots and the heaves from 35 feet. Everything looked smooth and effortless, an ordinary afternoon at the office. There was nothing to indicate that his ankle was giving him any trouble. After 21 minutes, Curry left the court and entered the locker room, where he grabbed a foam roller and stretched his legs. He sang a bit of the theme music to the basketball telecasts: “ !” His teammates laughed. At 1:50 p. m. the Warriors made official what everyone already knew: Curry was available to play. Until Sunday, fans had been limited to 20 minutes of the Steph Curry Experience in the postseason, all of them in Game 1 before he injured his ankle attempting to change directions. But they were 20 minutes of his usual exploits: 24 points on shooting, including 5 of 7 from range. On Sunday, Curry got off to a halting start. He missed his first three shots, all attempts. But he connected on his fourth shot, a driving layup off a steal. “It looked like his conditioning was fine,” Kerr said. “He just couldn’t get his rhythm, and I thought he was trying to do too much. ” Curry was also stuck with a most unpleasant companion. The Rockets’ Patrick Beverley made himself a nuisance — swatting at shots after the whistle, barking at Iguodala, breathing on Curry. But after Beverley left the game in the second quarter with a strained right leg, Curry soon followed — his immediate future unknown. “I just feel so bad for him,” Kerr said. | 1 |
Brilliant! | 0 |
Take on the Santa Blanca Cartel as elite special forces operators in the Wildlands of Bolivia in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands. [Developed by Ubisoft Paris, Wildlands brings the tactical action of the Ghost Recon series into a massive open world, where players can either team up cooperatively or play solo as they fight to dismantle the created by a brutal cartel. “Journey through Ubisoft’s largest open world and discover the diverse landscapes of the most beautiful (and dangerous) place on Earth, from the arid mountains to the lush jungles,” Ubisoft declares. “Explore Bolivia on and off road, in the air, on land, and at sea with over 60 different vehicles. ” Wildlands features a Faction Influence System, where the player’s actions will impact the game world around them: “Turn each dangerous situation into an advantage by seizing control of the cartel’s traffic patterns, patrols, and movements. ” Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is available now for Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC. | 1 |
WASHINGTON — It didn’t happen after a congresswoman was shot in the head at an official event. It didn’t happen after 20 children were gunned down in their elementary school classrooms. It didn’t happen after terrorists fired on a holiday party at an agency that provided services for people with disabilities in Southern California. Now, after the worst mass shooting in American history, major new gun control legislation is still not likely to pass in Congress. Senate Republicans are clearly feeling pressure to address the fact that people whose names surface on terrorist watchlists can easily buy guns. But they do not like a bill that Democrats intend to offer next week that would give the Department of Justice the authority to stop people on the watchlist and other terrorism suspects from buying a gun. A Republican bill would require the government to delay the purchase of a gun for 72 hours by anyone who is a terrorism suspect, or has been the subject of a terrorism investigation within the last five years, while a review takes place. “If Democrats are actually serious about getting a solution on that issue, they’d join us,” said Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader. Democrats have argued that the measure, which is approved by the National Rifle Association, is too onerous to have any impact. Even less likely to pass is a measure that would extend background checks on gun buyers — largely because of hotly contested Senate races in a bitter election year. It seems possible that even Republicans who have supported a background check measure in the past will abandon it this time around. But unlike in December, when both measures were defeated, some Republicans have been more eager to find a compromise with Democrats. So far, those efforts have not produced a bill both sides can support. “We have to be serious about this,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, said Thursday. “We have to pass a real measure that actually keeps guns out of terrorists’ hands, not something that just makes it look like we’re addressing the problem. ” In Orlando on Thursday, President Obama made yet another strongly worded public call — his third this week — for tightening gun restrictions, arguing that the latest mass violence should change the debate. During a private mourning session with families and friends of the victims at an arena, Mr. Obama said, “they pleaded that we do more to stop” gun violence. “Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families,” Mr. Obama said, calling on senators to “rise to the moment and do the right thing. ” While Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said he would like it to be harder for those on a watchlist to get guns, it was unclear this week which measure he was endorsing, though most Republicans and Democrats said they assumed it was the Republican version. politics will make a bill to expand background checks an uphill climb. After the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Senators Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, proposed legislation to extend federal background check laws to internet sales and gun shows. That bill failed, 54 to 46, with five Democrats opposing and four Republicans — Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, John McCain of Arizona and Mr. Toomey — voting yes. After the deaths of 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif. in December, the Senate again voted down the bipartisan bill 48 to 50. A measure to stop people on terror watchlists was also defeated. But Democrats have decided to scrap that background check measure in favor of one sponsored by Senator Christopher S. Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat who led a filibuster of an appropriations bill Wednesday night, that would expand background checks to all gun sales except loans and gifts between family members. Some prominent Democrats have told fellow party members not to work with Mr. Toomey, who is in a tough fight, said three Republicans with knowledge of the conversations. Indeed, Mr. Toomey and other Republicans could end up even voting against Mr. Murphy’s bill. Democrats lost interest in working with Mr. Toomey on proposals to close the terror gap in gun laws when he proposed legislation that gun safety groups did not support. Mr. Toomey will always have his old bill to run on, and the fact that he is now working with Everytown for Gun Safety — a group affiliated with former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York — on legislation to prevent terrorists from obtaining guns. On Thursday, Republicans came out with their own background check measure, which was sponsored by Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and included a mental health component. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, also plans to offer an amendment to prevent terrorists from getting guns. Votes on all the measures are scheduled for Monday. Gun politics infect much of what Congress tries to do bills to advance changes to the nation’s mental health system are held up over the issue, and that is unlikely to stop. But bipartisan solutions will almost certainly have to wait until the election is over. | 1 |
What is Hillary Clinton hiding in her e-mails: Deleted, undeleted, attempted deleted, bleached and unbleached?
Here’s a checklist of general possibilities.
Her role and knowledge concerning Benghazi. Her role and knowledge concerning arms shipments to Syria from Libya. Her health condition. Her access to debate questions before the debate. Her access to electronic devices during the debates. Her role and knowledge in sabotaging the Sanders campaign. Her role and knowledge in handling the Democratic convention. Her role and knowledge in attacks upon Trump, including linking him to Russia. Her dealings with donors to the Clinton Foundation. Her attempts to derail the FBI investigation and charges, including her husband meeting with the Attorney General. Her actual state of knowledge and attitude about using a personal server. Anything that would contradict her sworn testimony. Her relationship with Huma Abedin and the latter’s husband, both personal and official. The methods by which Bill Clinton and she benefited monetarily and personally while she was Secretary of State, especially through the Clinton Foundation. Her involvement in having e-mails deleted and bleached. Anything that might reveal her level of incompetence. Anything that might reveal the negatives of her personality. Her methods and involvement in soliciting political contributions. 5:39 pm on October 31, 2016 | 0 |
New York sports radio talker Mike Francesa is still taking heat for insisting that it would be nothing but a publicity stunt if any pro sports team hired a female head coach. [Last week the WFAN 66 AM talk show host raised eyebrows with his claim that it might be a task too difficult for a woman to manage men. “Do you know how difficult it would be on a female to manage 25 men? Or 50 men? Do you know how impossible that would be? … It wouldn’t be tough. It would be impossible,” Francesa said in response to a question from a caller. “You’re going to tell me that you would think a woman could walk into an NFL team and coach as a head coach 15 assistants and men?” Naturally, as soon as he said it, he was slammed as a “sexist” and “misogynist. ” Mike Francesa with an unfathomable display of sexism. Women shouldn’t be anywhere near men’s sports! (Except for cheerleaders, presumably.) pic. twitter. — Funhouse (@SportsFunhouse) March 2, 2017, The controversy over his remarks didn’t end with the weekend, though, and as the week began Francesa doubled down on his stance that it would be “impossible” for a woman to become a head coach in pro sports. On Monday, the radio talker added more to his position saying, “You want to thrust a woman into that kind of vacuum where she’s going to have to deal with that kind of scrutiny? How is she going to stand up to that? How would you find a résumé to stand up to that. ” He continued talking about how hard it would be for a woman to control an entire team of rowdy young men. “It would be so difficult to run that room. It’s difficult for men to run these rooms now,” he said. Liberals were still unhappy with the comments, of course. Mike Francesa responds to the backlash over his sexist comments from last week. It didn’t get much better today. https: . — Funhouse (@SportsFunhouse) March 6, 2017, Ty Duffy of TheBigLead. com was critical of the comments and relayed the liberal line against Francesa’s comments. While admitting that the task would be very difficult, Duffy went on to attack the commonly held idea that women just can’t control all those men. “Couching women not being able to do things such as controlling men as ‘practical,’ ‘reasonable,’ and ‘common sense’ wisdom is a ploy to not have to dive into the assumptions that underly [sic] them, which probably sound pretty sexist if uttered,” he wrote. “There are very few women in leadership positions in men’s professional sports. There isn’t a real objective reason for that. If a team thinks Becky Hammon, Nancy Lieberman, or someone else who comes along would make a great head coach, they should hire them. That hire, as with any other, would come under scrutiny and be judged by subsequent performance,” Duffy concluded. But Francesa is probably only voicing the same thought a large number of sports fans hold on the topic. How likely is it that a large group of young men would bow to the demands of a woman is certainly the question. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail. com. | 1 |
« Reply #406 on: October 01, 2016, 10:33:18 AM » WHERES THERE A CRASH? WORLD ECONOMY COLLAPSING!!!HEADLINES SEPTEMBER 2016 OECD Trims Global Growth Forecasts Citing Low-growth TrapOECD Warns Of Weak Trade, Financial Distortions As Low-growth Trap DeepensWTO Cuts Global Trade Growth Outlook ASIA India's Industrial Production Falls Unexpectedly In JulyChina Factory Activity Stagnates In AugustChina Private Sector Growth Eases In AugustChina Exports Fall In AugustHong Kong Private Sector Contracts In JulyHong Kong Retail Sales Fall More Than Expected In August Japan Unemployment Rate Rises In August Japan Monetary Base Jumps 24.2% In AugustJapan Service Sector Contracts In AugustJapan's Leading Index Drops In JulyJapan GDP Revised Up To 0.2% On Quarter In Q2Japan Tertiary Activity Index Rises Less Than Expected In JulyJapan Revised July Industrial Production Data Reveals DeclineJapanese Exports Decline for 11th Straight Month in AugustJapan August Trade Deficit Y18.711 BillionJapan Has Y18.711 Billion Trade Deficit In AugustJapan All Industry Activity Growth Eases In JulyJapan Household Spending Falls 4.6% In AugustJapan Retail Sales Slide 1.1% In AugustJapan Aug Housng Starts Climb Less Than ForecastJapan Jul Leading Index Unrevised South Korea Jobless Rate Rises In August South Korea's Exports Dip 6% y/y In SeptemberSouth Korea Money Supply Growth Eases In JulySouth Korea Industrial Production Dips 2.4% In AugustSouth Korea Manufacturing PMI Hits 14-Year LowSouth Korea Consumer Confidence Slows In September Singapore Q2 Jobless Rate Rises Singapore GDP Growth Likely To Stay At 1.8% In 2017Singapore NODX Registers Flat Growth In August Malaysia Jobless Rate Rises In July Malaysia Exports Fall Unexpectedly In JulyMalaysia Industrial Production Growth Eases More Than ForecastMalaysia Manufacturing PMI Continues To ContractAustralia's Service Sector Contracts Sharply In August - AiGAustralia Has A$15.535 Billion Current Account DeficitAustralia Construction Sector Contracts In August - AiGAustralia GDP Expands 0.5% On Quarter In Q2Australia Has A$2.410 Billion Trade DeficitAustralia Keeps Key Interest Rate UnchangedAustralia Home Loans Slide 4.2% In JulyAustralia Leading Index Unchanged In August - WestpacNew Zealand August Credit Card Spending Falls 0.8%New Zealand Credit Card Spending Falls In AugustNew Zealand Q2 Current Account Deficit NZ$1.826 BillionNew Zealand Building Permits Dip 1.0% In AugustNew Zealand Has NZ$1.265 Billion Trade Deficit U.S. U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Up In AugustU.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Rise In September U.S. Job Growth Falls Short Of Estimates In AugustU.S. Employment Increases By Less Than Expected In AugustU.S. Labor Productivity Falls More Than Initially Estimated In Q2U.S. Manufacturing Activity Unexpectedly Contracts In AugustU.S. Construction Spending Holds Unchanged In JulyChicago Business Barometer Drops Much More Than Expected In AugustU.S. Service Sector Growth Slows To Six-Year Low In AugustU.S. Wholesale Inventories Virtually Unchanged In JulyU.S. Consumer Sentiment Unexpectedly Unchanged In SeptemberU.S. Retail Sales Drop 0.3% In August, More Than ExpectedU.S. Business Inventories Come In Flat In JulyU.S. Industrial Production Falls More Than Expected In AugustNew York Manufacturing Remains WeakAtlanta Fed Downgrades U.S. Third-Quarter GDP View To 2.9%U.S. Housing Starts Slump Much More Than Expected In AugustU.S. Home Refinancing Activity Falls To Lowest Since JuneU.S. Housing Starts Pull Back More Than Expected In August U.S. Leading Economic Index Unexpectedly Edges Lower In AugustU.S. Existing Home Sales Unexpectedly Fall 0.9% In AugustU.S. Pending Home Sales Pull Back Sharply In AugustU.S. Durable Goods Orders Unexpectedly Come In Flat In AugustU.S. Home Price Growth Continues To Slow In JulyU.S. New Home Sales Pull Back Sharply In August BRAZIL Brazil Industrial Production Declines In JulyBrazil Retail Sales Decline In July SOUTH AFRICA South Africa Manufacturing Production Rises Less Than ExpectedSouth Africa's Leading Index Continues To Fall In JulySouth Africa's Trade Balance Swings To Deficit EURO ZONE Eurozone Factory Growth At 3-Month LowEurozone Private Sector Growth At 19-Month LowEurozone Industrial Production Declines In JulyEurozone Trade Surplus Falls Unexpectedly In JulyEurozone Current Account Surplus Shrinks In JulyEurozone Private Sector Growth Weakens On ServicesEurozone Private Sector Growth At 20-Month LowEurozone Q2 GDP Weakened From Q1Eurozone Q2 Growth Confirmed At 0.3% German Unemployment Rises Unexpectedly In September German Industrial Production Falls UnexpectedlyGerman Industrial Output Falls Most In Nearly 2 YearsGerman Exports Fall Unexpectedly In JulyGerman Economic Sentiment Unchanged In SeptemberGermany Private Sector Growth Weakens In SeptemberGerman Construction Orders Decline In JulyGerman Retail Sales Fall More Than Expected In AugustLeading Think Tanks Cuts Germany's Growth Outlook Swiss Jobless Rate Rises In August Swiss Watch Exports Decline In AugustAustria Production Index Drops In JulyBelgium Consumer Confidence Plunges In SeptemberDenmark Retail Sales Fall For Second MonthDenmark Consumer Confidence Weakens In SeptemberDenmark Revises Q2 Growth Lower Norway's Jobless Rate Rises In July Norway Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall In JulyNorway Trade Surplus Declines In August As Exports Fell And Imports Surged Sweden Jobless Rate Climbs Unexpectedly In August Sweden Manufacturing Growth Eases Sharply In AugustNIER Trims Sweden's 2016 Growth ForecastSweden Current Account Surplus Declines Notably In Q2Sweden's Services Sector Growth Eases Notably In AugustSweden's Finmin Proposes Expenditure Cuts In 2017 BudgetFinland June Trade Surplus Revised DownFinland Economy Stagnates In Q2Finland Trade Deficit Widens In JulyFinland Retail Sales Fall In JulyFinland Q2 General Government Surplus FallsFinland Trade Deficit Widens More Than EstimatedFrench Consumer Spending Falls Unexpectedly In JulyFrance Current Account Deficit Widens In JulyFrench July Trade Deficit Widens More Than ExpectedFrench Industrial Output Falls Unexpectedly In JulyFrance GDP Contracts In Q2France Q2 Maastricht Debt RisesU.K. Construction Sector Contracts In AugustU.K. Manufacturing Output Logs Biggest Fall In A YearU.K. Halifax House Price Inflation Eases More Than ForecastBCC Trims U.K. Growth OutlookU.K. House Price Inflation Eases In JulyU.K. Construction Output Stagnates In JulyU.K. Retail Sales Fall In AugustFinancial Fraud Happened Once In Every 15 Secs In UK In H1: StudyU.K. Budget Deficit Exceeds ForecastU.K. Mortgage Approvals Lowest Since Late 2014U.K. House Price Inflation Slows Less Than ExpectedU.K. Q2 GDP Growth Rev Up To 0.7%Ireland Trade Surplus Shrinks In JulyIrish Retail Sales Fall In August Spain Unemployment Rises In August Spain's Industrial Production Falls Notably In JulySpain July Home Mortgages Fall 14.9%Spain Retail Sales Fall For First Time In 3 MonthsItaly Economy Stagnated In Q2Italy Factory PMI At 20-month LowItaly's Trade Surplus At 1-Year High As Decline In Imports Eceeded Fall In ExportsItaly Consumer Confidence At 14-month LowItaly's Economy Set To Remain Weak In Months Ahead: IstatCroatia Industrial Production Growth Slows SharplyCzech Retail Sales Sales Growth Slows In JulyCzech Industrial Production Plummets In JulyCzech Trade Balance Turns To Deficit In JulySlovakia Exports Decline For First Time In 4 MonthsHungary June Trade Surplus Revised DownHungary Retail Sales Growth Eases Unexpectedly In JulyHungary Industrial Production Falls For Second MonthRomania Retail Sales Growth Slows For Fourth MonthRomania Industrial Production Unchanged In JulyEstonia Q2 GDP Growth EasesEstonia Trade Deficit Widens In JulyLatvia July Industrial Production Growth Eases SharplyLatvia Retail Sales Growth Eases In AugustLithuania Industrial Production Drops In August Turkey Jobless Rate At 4-Month High In June Turkey's Industrial Production Declines Sharply In JulyTurkey Q2 GDP Growth Eases More Than ForecastTurkey's Consumer Confidence Weakens In SeptemberLebanon Private Sector Downturn Continues In August Logged | 0 |
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — A man from Kyrgyzstan who had a Russian passport was responsible for the deadly subway blast in St. Petersburg, the Russian and Kyrgyz authorities said Tuesday, as the toll from the attack rose to 14 dead and more than 60 wounded. The Investigative Committee of Russia, the main federal law enforcement agency, identified the bomber as Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, 22. Kyrgyz officials said he was a member of the Uzbek minority in the southern city of Osh who received Russian citizenship in 2011, around the time he moved to St. Petersburg. Russian forensic experts found his DNA on a bag left at the Vosstaniya Square subway station, the agency’s statement said. A more powerful bomb was discovered there and defused, soon after the explosion on Monday afternoon, on a train that had just departed another station, Sennaya Square. The DNA evidence, as well as television footage, led investigators to believe that Mr. Dzhalilov had blown himself up and had wanted to bomb the Vosstaniya Square station, the statement said. There was some indication that Mr. Dzhalilov had not acted alone. Russian investigators were seeking a young man and woman from Central Asia, according to some news reports, but there was no official confirmation. In addition to killing 14 people, the blast on Monday wounded 64 others, a St. Petersburg official, Aleksandr Rzhanenkov, said at a news briefing. Some of the survivors who were being treated at City Hospital No. 26 in St. Petersburg described a gruesome interruption to their routine commute when the bomb went off. “Children were torn into pieces,” recalled Konstantin Y. Kolodkin, 40, who boarded the subway just before the blast at 2:40 p. m. on Monday. He said flying shards of metal sprayed the passengers aboard his subway car. “I don’t know what it was, metal balls, screws,” he said. “There were bits of skin. ” Mikhail A. Veprentsev, an college student who was riding in a subway car adjacent to the one that ferried the bomber, said he saw victims “with screws sticking out their heads like bullets. ” There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, or any information linking the suicide bomber to Islamist extremists. Investigators were trying to piece together where and when Mr. Dzhalilov might have become radicalized. One unidentified source told the Interfax news agency that after a trip home in February, Mr. Dzhalilov, a car mechanic, returned to St. Petersburg sullen and withdrawn. They say he might have been recruited then. The authorities in the Central Asian states of the former Soviet Union, which are predominantly Muslim, have said that the Islamic State has recruited hundreds of fighters from the region. The Islamist insurgency in the northern Caucasus has also provided thousands of fighters. Members of the Islamic State have periodically threatened to carry out attacks in Russia in retaliation for its intervention in the Syrian conflict, among other reasons. Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia, while not confirming any details of the investigation, said it was wrong to portray the attack as a result of his country’s intervention in Syria. “As far as the discussions by several media outlets that the terrorist act is a revenge for our Syria policy, this is cynical and despicable,” he said during a news conference with his Kyrgyz counterpart. Erlan B. Abdyldaev, the Kyrgyz foreign minister, said the investigation would reveal whether the suspect had any ties to radical Islamist movements. Photographs on Mr. Dzhalilov’s page on the social media network VKontakte, the last of which was posted 18 months ago, show a slim teenager growing into a muscular young man with a beard. The last photograph shows him wearing a baseball cap, a green hoodie and a black Adidas puffer vest. There is a link on his page to the Islamic website Tawba, or Repentance, which posted automatic messages about the faith every few hours. The photographs indicated that Mr. Dzhalilov had an interest in martial arts as well as fast cars, and they included souvenir shots taken around St. Petersburg with a few friends. “He wasn’t a very advanced fighter,” said Salam Khudoerzoda, who said he vaguely remembered encountering Mr. Dzhalilov more than four years ago at a martial arts gym. “He came, had a few fights and then left. ” Mr. Khudoerzoda said, “If he was a big fighter, I would know him. ” In Osh, a representative of the security services said Mr. Dzhalilov’s family had been questioned, Interfax reported. According to Russian news reports, the man’s father, who had been working in Russia, brought him to St. Petersburg as a teenager to start working to help pay for a new house after their old neighborhood in Osh had been devastated by ethnic riots. The Russian authorities have long feared that radicalized militants from the former Soviet states, who can travel freely to Russia, might carry out attacks. Many Russian nationalists have argued for introducing visa requirements for those countries, but Russia’s government has sought to avoid doing so, in the interest of preserving good relations. Neighbors and others interviewed by Russian news organizations said Mr. Dzhalilov thrived in Russia, starting as a metal worker in an auto repair shop and becoming an accomplished mechanic. He went home once or twice a year to visit his mother and younger brother and sister. He did not come to the attention of law enforcement officials except for some unpaid traffic tickets, according to the Interfax report. It is still not clear how he might have been recruited. His father also went home in February, but stayed, the reports said, and he was still there when law enforcement officials showed up after the attack to question the family. On Tuesday morning, Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of the region that surrounds St. Petersburg, rode the subway to try to reassure a jittery population that the system was safe. The blast occurred just as the train departed the Sennaya Square station, one of the busiest transportation hubs in central St. Petersburg, Russia’s city. The train was able to reach the next station, the Technology Institute, where the full extent of the carnage became clear. The toll could have been much higher if the second bomb, disguised as a fire extinguisher, had not been disarmed. Security was increased at major transportation facilities across Russia, including on the Moscow Metro. The driver of the train, Alexander Kaverin, said he had no time to be afraid after the blast. “I couldn’t think about fear at that moment I had to work,” he said at a news conference. “According to standard instructions, I had to move the train to the next station. ” | 1 |
The concept of owning backyard homesteading has been steadily increasing in popularity over the last decade. As people–particularly those in urban areas–have become more knowledgeable about sustainability and ecological living, backyard chickens in particular have become a kind of mascot for the particular lifestyle. It’s affordable, funky, and fun to raise chickens, but this practice is not without some risks.
Live poultry, such as chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys, often carry harmful germs. This year there have been several reported cases of Salmonella spreading via backyard chickens by the CDC . Eight different states are reporting Salmonella outbreaks linked to backyard chickens.
These germs naturally live in the intestines of poultry (and many other animals). Salmonella germs therefore exist in their droppings and on their bodies (feathers, feet, and beaks) even when the birds appear healthy and clean. The germs can then easily get on cages, coops, food dishes, hay, plants, and soil in the area where the birds live and roam. Germs can then pass onto the hands, shoes, and clothes of people who handle the birds or their eggs. While it usually doesn’t cause the birds to be sick or show signs of infection, Salmonella causes serious issues when it is passed on to people. It’s not a matter of keeping your chicken coops clean or purchasing “healthy” chickens. Even organically fed poultry in spotless coops can have Salmonella and there is really no way of knowing which birds have it.
Is Salmonella Serious? Salmonella infection is no joke: it can cause serious intestinal distress with symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and abdominal cramping. If the symptoms are severe enough, an infected person will require hospitalization. Babies and children under the age of five, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with immune deficiencies are more likely to have serious symptoms. If the infection goes untreated, Salmonella can even spread from the intestines to the bloodstream, which leads to the infection traveling rapidly to other places in the body. A course of strong antibiotics and observation by a doctor is then necessary. In rare cases, if left untreated Salmonella can even lead to death.
How To Avoid Salmonella infection The number one way to avoid Salmonella infection is to always wash your hands with soap and warm water after handling a chicken or anything that may have been in contact with chicken droppings. You should also cook any collected eggs thoroughly and be present when small children are around poultry to ensure they do not touch their hands to their mouths without hand washing, etc. In fact, if your children are under five years of age, they should not handle chickens or their eggs at all (the same goes for anyone over 65 or anyone with a compromised immune system).
It should go without saying, but never let the chickens into your home, especially not into your kitchen or areas where food is prepared. You also don’t want to eat or drink anything near the areas where you are minding your chicken coop. And chickens are adorable, but limit cuddling and never kiss them.
How to Treat Salmonella If you do contract Salmonella and you are an adult with an otherwise healthy immune system, you should be fine in a week or two, though you will feel pretty miserable while the infection runs its course. (If you are in the compromised immune system category, your doctor might prescribe antibiotics and keep you in the hospital where you can be observed.) Make sure to contact your doctor if your symptoms seem to be worsening or if you have a high fever.
Pamela Bofferding is a native Texan who now lives with her husband and sons in New York City. She enjoys hiking, traveling, and playing with her dogs.
This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition
Originally published November 1st, 2016 How – and Why – You Should Make Your Own Peanut… Oh, Nuts! Another Nut Butter Recall – This Time, in… Sustainable Essentials: 8 Necessary Items for Raising Baby… Upcoming Health Crisis? 4th Incident of Superbug Gene Found… Shocking Photos: This is the Chicken That You Feed Your… | 0 |
South Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Sanford told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday that in the spirit of President Donald Trump’s legacy as a businessman, he is treating the Obamacare bill supported by Speaker Paul Ryan (R. .) as the beginning of the process, not the end. [“In as much as President Trump views many things as a negotiation, I’m quite sure he would rarely take any party’s opening bid,” said Sanford, flanked by other members of the House Freedom Caucus, as well as Sen. Rand Paul (R. .) and Sen. Mike Lee (R. ) — all of whom consider the RyanCare bill a weak attempt to repeal and replace the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. “With regard to a healthcare bill moving forward, I see leadership’s healthcare plan as an opening proposal,” he said. “The debate that is forming will allow conservatives to enhance and improve what has been proposed, and I think this could represent a win for patients, healthcare providers, and the taxpayer alike,” the congressman said. “In the case of the Affordable Care Act, it’s important that we not lower the bar on what we believe simply because a Republican is now in the White House,” he said. Sanford said he and other Capitol Hill conservatives do not understand how every House and Senate Republican voted for the 2015 repeal and replace bill, but the 2015 bill is no longer supported by the Republican leadership. The 2015 Obamacare repeal and replace bill was authored by Rep. Tom Price (R. .) who is now Heath and Human Services Secretary. “We have a repeal bill that was fully supported by House and Senate Republicans and made its way to President Obama’s desk,” he said. “As Republicans, we decried the fact that he would veto it,” he said. “Why would we now water down this same bill and send a new and weaker bill to President Trump?” | 1 |
The Velocity Of Money In The U.S. Falls To An All-Time Record Low By Michael Snyder, on June 1st, 2014
When an economy is healthy, there is lots of buying and selling and money tends to move around quite rapidly. Unfortunately, the U.S. economy is the exact opposite of that right now. In fact, as I will document below, the velocity of M2 has fallen to an all-time record low. This is a very powerful indicator that we have entered a deflationary era, and the Federal Reserve has been attempting to combat this by absolutely flooding the financial system with more money. This has created some absolutely massive financial bubbles, but it has not fixed what is fundamentally wrong with our economy. On a very basic level, the amount of economic activity that we are witnessing is not anywhere near where it should be and the flow of money through our economy is very stagnant. They can try to mask our problems with happy talk for as long as they want, but in the end it will be clearly evident that none of the long-term trends that are destroying our economy have been addressed.
Discussions about the money supply can get very complicated, and that can cause people to tune out, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
To put it very basically, when there is lots of economic activity, there is lots of money changing hands.
When there is not very much economic activity, the pace at which money circulates through our system slows down.
That is why what is happening in the U.S. right now is so troubling.
First, let’s look at M1, which is a fairly narrow definition of the money supply. The following is how Investopedia defines M1…
A measure of the money supply that includes all physical money, such as coins and currency, as well as demand deposits, checking accounts and Negotiable Order of Withdrawal (NOW) accounts. M1 measures the most liquid components of the money supply, as it contains cash and assets that can quickly be converted to currency. It does not contain “near money” or “near, near money” as M2 and M3 do.
As you can see from the chart posted below, the velocity of M1 normally declines during a recession. Just look at the shaded areas in the chart. But a funny thing has happened since the end of the last recession. The velocity of M1 has just kept falling and it is now at a nearly 20 year low…
Next, let’s take a look at M2. It includes more things in the money supply. The following is how Investopedia defines M2…
A measure of money supply that includes cash and checking deposits (M1) as well as near money. “Near money” in M2 includes savings deposits, money market mutual funds and other time deposits, which are less liquid and not as suitable as exchange mediums but can be quickly converted into cash or checking deposits.
In the chart posted below, we can once again see that the velocity of M2 normally slows down during a recession. And we can also see that the velocity of M2 has continued to slow down in the “post-recession era” and has now dropped to the lowest level ever recorded …
This is a highly deflationary chart.
It clearly indicates that economic activity in the U.S. has been steadily slowing down.
And if we are honest, we have to admit that we are seeing signs of this all around us. Major retailers are closing down stores at the fastest pace since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, consumer confidence is down , trading revenues at the big Wall Street banks are way down , and the steady decline in home sales is more than just a little bit alarming .
In addition, the employment situation in this country is much less promising than we have been led to believe. According to a report put out by the Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee, an all-time record one out of every eight men in their prime working years are not in the labor force …
“There are currently 61.1 million American men in their prime working years, age 25–54. A staggering 1 in 8 such men are not in the labor force at all, meaning they are neither working nor looking for work. This is an all-time high dating back to when records were first kept in 1955. An additional 2.9 million men are in the labor force but not employed (i.e., they would work if they could find a job). A total of 10.2 million individuals in this cohort, therefore, are not holding jobs in the U.S. economy today. There are also nearly 3 million more men in this age group not working today than there were before the recession began.”
Never before has such a high percentage of men in their prime years been so idle.
But since they are not counted as part of “the labor force”, the government bureaucrats can keep the “unemployment rate” looking nice and pretty.
Of course if we were actually using honest numbers, the unemployment rate would be in the double digits , our economy would be considered to have been in a recession since about 2005 , and everyone would be crying out for an end to “the depression”.
And now we are rapidly approaching another downturn. In my recent articles entitled “ Has The Next Recession Already Begun For America’s Middle Class? ” and “ 27 Huge Red Flags For The U.S. Economy “, I detailed much of the evidence for why this is true.
And those that run the Federal Reserve know all of this.
That is one of the reasons for all of the “quantitative easing” that they have been doing. The folks at the Fed know that the U.S. economy would probably drift into a deflationary depression if they just sat back and did nothing. So they flooded the system with money in a desperate attempt to revive economic activity. But instead, most of the new money just ended up in the pockets of the very wealthy and further increased the divide between those at the top and those at the bottom in this country.
And now Fed officials are slowly scaling back quantitative easing because they apparently believe that the economy is getting “back to normal”.
We shall see.
Many are not quite so optimistic.
For example, the chief market analyst at the Lindsey Group, Peter Boockvar, believes that the S&P 500 could plummet 15 to 20 percent when quantitative easing finally ends.
Others believe that it will be much worse than that.
Since 2008, the size of the Fed balance sheet has grown from less than a trillion dollars to more than four trillion dollars . This unprecedented intervention was able to successfully delay the coming deflationary depression, but it has also made our long-term problems far worse.
So when the inevitable crash does arrive, it will be much, much worse than it could have been.
Sadly, most Americans do not understand these things. Most Americans simply trust that our “leaders” know what they are doing. And so in the end, most Americans will be completely blindsided by what is coming.
hey gary, break out the kyj Rodster
Well the Fed essentially paid Banks not to loan out money. Banks NOW have a higher requirement to lend out money so that is part of the problem which doesn’t circulate to the consumer.
But don’t worry Federal Reserve because all those cashed out Treasuries from Russia and China are coming back to the US. Yikes, what a mess. JailBanksters
The US has been Pumped, now it’s time to be Dumped. Ouch Baby, very Ouch Guest
“Since 2008, the size of the Fed balance sheet has grown from less than a trillion dollars to more than four trillion dollars.”
We hear the MSM talk about the Federal Reserve’s “Exit Plan” or its plans to “unwind” its balance sheet. That is utter nonsense. Who or what is going to buy all the Treasury bonds the Fed has monetized over the past 6 years, let alone the nearly worthless mortgage-back securities the Fed has bought? Maybe they’ll just print more dollars, give them to some foreign nation and have that foreign nation take those Treasuries off the Fed’s balance sheet? At this point nothing would surprise me. Bob Porter
Like Belgium? quercus454
Simply put you can’t have any kind of a healthy stable economy with massive unemployment. People need to work and be able to support themselves. If that happens everything else sorts itself out. FDominicus
Won’t happen. It’s way to fine for the bureaucrats to hinder someone going for work. Because it’s their job that would be in danger tacoma
Can a country of 330 million people, whose economy is 70% service-based, and 80% consumer-consumption based, create or sustain a first-world standard of living?
No. Hell NO!
It’s a wonder it’s even happening to begin with. Demonocracy
My question would be, where the heck are all of these so-called service jobs? How did offshoring jobs create them? I don’t recall when NAFTA and other free trade treaties where being negotiated that it was mentioned at all by these planners, “Well since we’re taking this many jobs out of America, we have this plan ? to replace them with service jobs, so that way there is not a resultant shortage.”
Does anyone recall such a plan implemented? T C
Ross Perot gave warnings and even had flip charts showing exactly what would happen. Of course, everyone laughed and thought he was crazy. Semiore Butts
Have you noticed our rotting,pot hole infested roadways in the US? The interstate was once a national treasure. Houtex77
I remember when I-10 opened in my old neck of the woods, Lake Charles, Louisiana. It was impressive. I have to give the highway department credit because much of it has been widened between Houston and L.C. recently. Bridges have even been repaired. John
Infrastructure and other domestic needs have been neglected, while trillions have been spent on wars and defending an empire that has become increasingly expensive to defend. The USA needs to re-focus on what it made it a world power in the first place. Priszilla
There’s more profit in selling ammo and bombs to the taxpayer.
Just tell them there is a bogeyman, toothfairy, communist around the corner, and they will sell their last shirt to fill the pockets of the Industrial Military Complex.. Gay Veteran
indeed, too bad we spent $TRILLIONS in Iraq Hammerstrike
At least it will make the governement control over a whole continent much more difficult.
When all the roads, railways and bridges to Washington are shia, going to be hard for Homeland Security and the IRS to properly loot the populations.
Oh yeah, Homeland Security SWAT teams have hugh, heavy armored vehicules that are able to withstand mines but are not at all that great at crossing a river or dealing with thousands and thousands of pot holes. Mondobeyondo
This…. this is Scary. Hammerstrike
This loss of velocity is happening in spite of all the billions being printed every single day by the federal reserve to its network of cronies. Mondobeyondo
Well…
No. The overall answer, is no. Sure, prices for goods and services and stuff will be cheaper. What about the overall cost? Don’t forget, deflation affects all aspects of the economy. Which means that the price of pork bellies on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (oh, my poor aching pork belly) will affect the price of bacon at your supermarket. steve
Yes I do have it. $15k in small bills on my property plus 6 mo. of food. Got to plan for deflation and inflation. Rick Green
After the SHTF don’t come to me with FRNs looking to buy anything. Plus, most modern change will be accepted at intrinsic value. You’d be better of with $15k in nickels. death
The thorn in the rose that is QE…Diminishing Returns. The Fed has set us up Weimar Republic style, preparing to either raise interest rates or go negative with them (in-your-face confiscation of your bank account). Why do you think they’re holding all these meetings? They have to accelerate plans on all fronts; people are waking up too quickly. Prepare for all that Michael warns of…only worse, sooner, and faster than we can imagine. Hammerstrike
The Weimar republic at least had people who were able to fix the financial system, even if only temporary, like Gustav Stressman.
No Gustav or Hjalmar Schacht, only Janet Yellen. Mondobeyondo
In an irrational society, the statistics mentioned in the above article would be best described as “rational”.
Yikes!
Best thing to do…. ummm…some V-8 juice? Dawes
I sometimes wonder how much economic activity goes on “under the table.” If workers are doing cash only jobs without tax withholding or reporting, then does that sort of thing get measured by these M1 and M2 reports? Whenever an economy is over-regulated then the activity tends to go underground. I think that we’ll see this happen more and more in the US as time goes by. It might actually be a good thing, except for the fact that it’s illegal… K2
Good point about the under the table economy.
But even in lightly regulated countries, it happens a lot. For eg: Developing countries. K2
Infact it is even bigger in those countries. JulietteofOhio
My husband and I are expecting the economy to collapse, in the true meaning of the word “collapse”, and I just wish it would hurry up and get it over with. We’re getting older by the second and I’d rather deal with this while we still have jobs, some energy, fairly good health and aren’t so old that the government will try to kill us to get us out of the way. I don’t know how long social security or pensions will be available, so we can’t count on them. Yes, I do think the government will take everything left in bank accounts so I want to have the house paid for (then see what taxes do to us) and supplies stored. Old age is going to be a bitch, but so is every age. What a crying shame the U.S. has come to this end! K2
You’d deal with this, but waht about otehr people? JulietteofOhio
Well, first I’d learn to type. Nobody is going to take care of you which is the point. If you’re not married, find a good group of friends and lean on each other. We’re entering a hostile world and we have no guarantees. Neither will you. Do the best you can to prepare for collapse, work with other people and plan to make it through. Collapse doesn’t last forever, either, and if you come out on the other side alive and healthy, you’re going to be better off than most. It will be a different world, so you need to learn how to do some useful things. Think 1870s-80s pioneers and learn how to do what they did. That’s what I do and that’s how we prepare. You sound young and if you’re spending your days texting, listening to music and just hanging out with friends, your chances are very low. Take these friends out camping, without any technology, and see what you need to learn and what you need to get. Go from there. Good luck. Mondobeyondo
Learning to type is almost essential in today’s society. And I’m not saying that because I was a former typesetter (ahem).
We are entering a brave, um, strange new world. A world addicted to technology of every kind. Nearly all of it runs on electricity. The only thing a terrorist has to do is attack and disable the electrical grid, and this country will be brought to its knees. I’m not saying something they don’t already know. JulietteofOhio
I agree. I read (somewhere) that if the U.S. suffered an EMP, that up to 90 million people would die which I found incredible at first. ??? How? Food poisoning? Heat stroke? Hypothermia? Teens offing themselves because they couldn’t text, or what? I’m sure that sitting under a shade tree in summer and reading a book could become tedious, but I doubt it would kill us. There are definite benefits to being born in the late 1940s. TheRequimen
Depends on the scale of the EMP. It really won’t matter if truck’s and trains make it. Anyway, no electricity means no refrigeration, no communication ( ham radios and satellite phones might work, but they won’t do anyone but the military and government much good) and no running water. 90 million dead is really conservative. Try 1 in 10 surviving a year, unless your in the farm belt. Our whole economy runs on last minute deliveries, so expect mass starvation, anarchy, and epidemics within the first month. How much food is in your pantry? How much is in your refrigerator? How long would Walmart shelves last your city? Think about how much would rot. How far is your nearest source of fresh water? Do you have the firewood to boil it? How much wood would it take for a city? Lots of interesting questions, and it only takes 5 nukes, and the missiles to carry them to wipe out us and all of our major allies… North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan don’t seem so insignificant anymore…. JulietteofOhio
Have to admit I hadn’t factored in the nuke plants. Ohio’s plant in the northwest part of the state already glows in the dark. We live in the farm belt, have our own hand-pumped well and raise most of our own food. On purpose, but also because that’s the way we were raised. SE Okla-homa didn’t have electricity until I was ten and my spouse was fourteen and our families weren’t poor. It’s just the way it was. It wasn’t fun, it wasn’t pretty and it didn’t always smell good, but you can live through it, ASSUMING you aren’t besieged by morons or gangs or grifters or filth/disease, our dreadful government or nuclear waste. That’s why we prepare so steadily. bob cratchette
FORGOT to mention nuclear plants melting down Priszilla
Fertilizers are made in plants, controlled by electronics.
Hospitals rely on electronics.
All cars and trucks and harvesters now run on electronics. K2
You are a mean old arent you? K2
Or a sarcastic old . Whichever makes sense. English isnt my first langauge. K2
You wish for a collapse and when somebody asks what about other people? you say that they should lean on friends and plan and prepare?
Thats your response. What are you smoking? Or drinking?
This is not a movie. This is the real world with seven billion people in it. A ‘collapse’ will be catastrophic for a lot of people in reality. Livelihoods will be lost, lives will be lost, people will be scarred for life. Families and generations of people will be affected. No amount of planning and preparing will be enough for a lot of people.
So wishing for a collapse, just because you want to get it over with it, is absurd. You are old, but not wise.
And..that was a typo. I hope you know what that means. Hammerstrike
You are the one being absurd and get it butt-backward (unless you want as few survivors as possible).
What you forget is that every day the collapse is delayed is going to make that collapse worst when it does happen.
Most people are not winning time for preparations, they are becoming more vulnerable and less able to prepare due to the growing lack of jobs and inflation. Prepping is going to become more and more difficult. Circa 10 000 reach age 65 in the US alone every single, so there is sort of a major health factor too. The *** are they going to do, dweeb?
Sooner it gets over, the more people can hope to survive, especially as far as the +50 are concerned. K2
Collapse is delayed because if a collapse happens it is not reversible (remember we are not talking about recessions like the 2008 one. Collapse means the 1930s great depression kind of event). And it will be even worse this time because the global economy has to support 7 billion as opposed to 1or 2 billion at that time. So if it happens there is no coming out of it, for the majority. Extra jobs wont magically appear after the collapse. But most of the existing jobs will disappear for ever.
dweeb! Hammerstrike
Oh it is reversible, once the root causes, which you are unaware of, of it has been removed.
That part may look difficult now but certainly won´t be impossible after the collapse. When New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are like Detroit today, a police state will become unaffordable.
It ain´t the collapse of the world, it is the collapse of what was once the west.
No more FR dollar as an international trade currency. World economy won´t have to support the current living standards of the US and the european union anymore. K2
Why dont you enlighten me what the root causes are then? Hammerstrike
Have you ever asked yourself who benefits from inflation?
youtube. co m /watch?v=tGk5ioEXlIM K2
Inflation is not the only thing that is causing the collapse. Hammerstrike
The Collapse have already started.
Only way to stop another 2008 before 2016 is raising quantitative easing even further, which would increase an inflation rate in the 8-10% range.
Prices of everything increase, pensions and social security does not keep up, fewer jobs available and % of jobs that are well-paying and full-time will StefanaRapsondeu
my Aunty Allison recently got a nice 6 month old Jaguar by working from a macbook.this website Cashduties.COM DhannaReaderaci
Peyton . true that Jessica `s blurb is shocking, last monday I got a gorgeous Peugeot 205 GTi after having earned $6860 this past 4 weeks an would you believe ten-k this past-month . with-out a doubt this is the easiest-job I’ve ever had . I actually started six months/ago and pretty much immediately started to bring in minimum $84… p/h . Read More Here Fiscalpost.COM Kent Harris
Do not be surprise if the government knocks on your door and says we need collateral and we need to confiscate your home. That is next phase we will get if the economy goes south. JulietteofOhio
I’m afraid you’re right, and we worry about that more than anything else. Justin
What would the government do with all the confiscated homes? I cant’ think of a logical thing they could do with it. Tear it apart? Scrap the copper and raw materials? Mondobeyondo
They won’t knock. They’ll just come in and take it.
“But isn’t that unconstitutional??”
Heh heh. Heh. Hahahaha!! Elaine Perkins
There is a Plan for that already. It is in the “Agenda 21″ UN PLan. Below is two Quotes from that Plan.
“Current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the affluent middle class – involving high meat intake, use of fossil fuels, appliances, home and work air conditioning, and suburban housing are not sustainable.” Maurice Strong, Secretary General of the UN’s Earth Summit, 1992. –
“We must make this place an insecure and inhospitable place for Capitalists and their projects – we must reclaim the roads and plowed lands, halt dam construction, tear down existing dams, free shackled rivers and return to wilderness millions of tens of millions of acres or presently settled land.” Dave Foreman, Earth First.
Hide Agenda 21’s UN roots from the people “Participating in a UN advocated planning process would very likely bring out many of the conspiracy- fixated groups and individuals in our society… This segment of our society who fear ‘one-world government’ and a UN invasion of the United States through which our individual freedom would be stripped away would actively work to defeat any elected official who joined ‘the conspiracy’ by undertaking LA21. So we call our process something else, such as comprehensive planning, growth management or smart growth.” J. Gary Lawrence, advisor to President Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development. laura m.
Agree Ohio, we are ten years into retirement in Ala. and know if executive orders are declared anything can happen to incl money stolen by gov. from banks. Here is what someone wrote on Dave Hodge’s site. If you have money in CD’s when they expire, move them into a money mkt checking and withdraw it over time, paying off debt if you have any and buy needed preps. Stocks and bonds bring income, so keep up with these and maybe cash out at the high’s. One lady bought her child a car and helped with a down payment on grandchild’s house, etc. Trade cars more often, etc. America has been derailed over a cliff into the abyss and the hammer could drop at any time. I have studied globalism and ag. 21 (called land use in the 70’s ) for almost forty yrs. We chose not to have kids knowing our gov was hijacked since appr. 1913. An older couple gave me books and tapes- full of info. yrs ago. I learned all 20th century wars were for corp. profit, the Fed Res. hoax, central banks, 501c3 agendas etc. We have a small group in my area but feel they’re few patriots to stand up when we go under martial law. We got rid of useless stuff and passed on all our books dvd’s to younger folks. No one cares or wants to learn. Only a handful of 30 to 50 yr olds are tuned in. Time is running out. kbed
I’m 25 and tuned in, have been ever since I learned about money creation when I was 19. There are exceptions to your rule. I would say about 5% of people in my age bracket are awake to the coming collapse. Guest
I’m glad to hear that, kbed. laura m.
If younger people know the basics they have computers to forward info out to friends, relatives. This is the best way to get out info. anyone can do further research online for free. The internet is spreading info, unlike before it was mail, giving out books, tapes and speakers mtgs. which produced very little results. You will get rejections from some who prefer to stay in denial, as any age group incl mine. If community leaders and church leaders took a stand en masse, decades ago, things would be different. Many are intimidated by the 501c3 IRS control freaks and only care about running churches as a business- social club. Business/community leaders are only interested in their image and making money and greed for gov. grants and higher taxes pushing ag. 21.. The Creator and Destroyer
Lately I find almost every “shooting the breeze” conversation with friends and family can easily be directed to observable symptoms of the evolving collapse under way. I recommend finding opportunities to challenge their thoughts on a face-to-face is ALWAYS better than virtual.
(BUT make sure to never go into a patriarchal or “sky is falling” diatribe”, rather just use socratic method of questioning in order to reason) TAG
Study Stefan Molynieux and the Non-Aggression Principle… Murray Rothbard’s good reading… Make your own reality I’ve got two your age and a Grandson. Life is for living while you make your way. kbed
Oh I’m deep down the rabbit hole my friend. Stefan is a good listen. Freedom talk radio, x-22 report, drudge, trends journal….I like to keep my options open but the more I’ve learned the more pessimistic I have become. Sometimes I just need to tune it all out and find a good looking girl to distract me for a while 😉 That or take the rod down to the fishing hole. Thanks guys. xman
please don’t associate the gifted Murray Rothbard with the hypocritical Molyneux Kristen Marie Embler
I’m almost 21 and I most certainly agree, kbed. Almost no one my age has a clue what’s going on other than knowing who got eliminated on “America’s Next Top Model.” kbed
I’m still a kid at heart. I don’t watch that kinda crap TV but I will occasionally go to the bar and drown my soul to watch my Red Sox lose. Most of my friends think I’m nuts but damn if I haven’t changed a few of their minds…and they most certainly have changed mine as well, to enjoy this paradigm while we have it because its not going to last forever. Killervirus
I’m 38 and many in my age group have no clue. It isn’t an age issue, it’s just most Americans walk around with their head stuck up where the sun don’t shine. Skully69er
Im 45 and no one my age group has a clue. Sometimes they ask me what I think of the economy and are in disbelief at the answers I provide…even after I explain the Austrian business cycle to them their eyes just glaze over. Austrian economics has become my passion ever since I first read Mises and am still amazed at how he, and other Austrians, have been so accurate about everything! Carlos Casten
Your post is hilarious…. Sheeple will get what they deserve, eventually. ArkJean
I’m 29 and also know we cant keep this false for much longer. jsmith
Good for you! I wish I had learned when I was in my thirties. Slowly but surely the public is first wondering why things are getting so bad for us peasants in the middle class, while the elite are getting richer. Just try to enlighten as many of your peers as possible. It’s a start! Mondobeyondo
Unfortunately, 95% of those people are in for a very rude awakening. Fannie
My son is 37. His friends, along with him, have no kids. In this economy, the struggle to care for them properly is difficult. I was surprised to see that all of them have no children. I do believe that they know what is coming. Priszilla
Usually families with kids have families with kids as friends.
And singles have singles as friends. Hammerstrike
It is simple, if there is ever to be a retirement system following the collapse and overthrow/collapse of the current system, it will only be for people who contribute to the post-collapse society with children… farmerfloyd
Dont rely on anybody taking care of you. Get your OWN nest egg and save and buy gold or silver. I have 13 house rentals , all paid for because my day taught me to do your own lively hood and don’t plan on ANY retirement ! Plus gold and silver and it will come to that with no records . Hammerstrike
What are the retired folks who never had children going to do when the gubbermint seizes everything?
What will be the policies of a sustainable post-collapse society? Those who have children gets priority over those that does not, simple common sense. TAG
Stay strong! We feel the same way here in Tennessee but I’m going to be a personal example of mean old man! ~Peace~ JulietteofOhio
Good for you! My post, four above this one, was meant as a response to your post, and I don’t know what happened that it appeared above. Any ideas you may have are welcome and most appreciated! squashpants
Juliette, you sound a lot like us (my wife and me). I retired a couple of years ago and we moved to a small college town in Minnesota. We now own our residence outright (no mortgage), our car, and have no debts. We have been prepping for over a year, storing food, household items, and toiletries. I have a short list of items yet to get to be ready (including a shotgun). Our income is a combination of pensions and social security, and we can live quite comfortably on that, and actually save money. However, we are planning for the loss of those things, and are working to become as self-sufficient as possible (accumulating and filtering our own water, growing vegetables in the garden, etc.), so that money is a low necessity. And specific to that need, we are buying physical gold and silver. The only thing that really concerns me regarding readying for a collapse is sanitary — when the electricity goes off globally, running water, and sewer service will fail. Think about your bathroom habits in such a situation. BIG challenge, folks, and something that pioneering preppers need to put their brains to and share with the rest of us non-engineering types.
Bottom line: use the dwindling time, and prepare as hard and fast as you can. The rest of problems can be solved after the fall. JulietteofOhio
Thanks for your input. It’s nice to know we’re not alone. I’ve been studying everything I can find on elementary sanitation. We have ten acres, three of which are wooded, and there was an old out house about 200 feet away from our house and 400 feet away from the well. My husband and our youngest son are digging it out this summer and we’re putting up a new privacy building. Of course in winter or in case of looters, or the EPA, it won’t be safe and never pleasant to make that trip. I’ve been making our laundry soap out of borax, Fels Naptha bar soap, washing soda and well water. It does a good job on everything but a human. We have a five gallon cast iron pot and a winch to move it over a small fire so I’ll have hot water. We have a well to make this feasible and I bought a washing plunger from Lehman’s in Kidron, Ohio. I’ve practiced, and while my Maytag is superior, this does a passable job. The sun drying the clothes should make the laundry sweet and clean. Thus my desire that if it’s going to collapse (and I think it’s going to…) get it over while I can still do all of this high-energy work. I can do it at 62, but probably not at 82. Same with gardening, canning, animal husbandry, etc. For personal cleanliness, I bought fifty bars of hand-milled French soap (not as expensive as it sounds) and dried them in the sun. The bars shrink and become hard as a rock which makes them last a lot longer. We have about five years worth of toliet paper in the attic and twenty cases of “Baby Wipes”. I have no idea how long those will last, so let’s get it on! Martin R.
As long as the U.S. Dollar retains its world reserve currency status, and executive order 11615 remains unchanged (hint: “Nixon Shock”), they can literally print as many U.S. dollars as they want / need, including enough to cover all bank deposits. It’s irrelevant how many dollars people have in the bank, under their mattress, etc. since there is metaphorically nothing backing it. SonyAD
It’s not the government robbing you blind, simpleton.
It’s who you’ve handed it over to. The capitalists. DJohn1
The trouble is the very foundations of our economic system are being trashed in front of our eyes. The money system has been systematically disabled over a long period of time. Mr. Clinton signed international trade agreements that betrayed the American Worker. Mr. Bush has destroyed the labor board by stuffing it with rich people over about ten years. There is no justice at the labor board. Why does anyone think that senior discrimination and layoffs will be punished by anyone in government? How it used to be . . . a savings account increased by getting interest on the money. No more. We have seen a vast migration of our jobs being sent to countries that do not pay income taxes here. So who pays the freight to run government? Inflation or counterfeit money pays the bills. It is only a matter of time before this change in systems will destroy the entire money system and I think the people in government are well aware of this. So arm all the lazy people against the workers. That is what arming bureaucrats is. They live well in these bureaucracies. There will come a time when that is all gone. Right now we are seeing the dismantling of the American FInancial Empire. It is only a matter of time. Nothing you or I can do will change any of this. But be warned. When America is not there then you will have to fight your own battles. When America is not there, the dictators will swoop down and get the rest of you. When Europe stands alone, they will die alone because the nations of Asia will have succeeded in bringing the entire circus down. Then in steps the Chinese and Russians to divide the spoils. Then we are looking at another kind of world where there is no hope of advancing yourself. Where politics dictate how you are treated for sickness. Where euphanising people is the norm, not the exception. Just don’t get sick. The alternative is to change things back to what actually worked. No entangling foreign affairs. Tariffs protecting our jobs from those people overseas. Encouraging christian values and marriage instead of illegitimate children in one parent homes. Clean up the mess that our court rooms have become and change the way we do things. About 99% of the congress are lawyers. What does that tell you about our leadership? It is impossible to get disability or workman’s comp in this country without a lawyer. They want a third of the first check which is usually a back payment. I think the first thing that needs to change is the thievery in our courts favoring lawyers over ordinary citizens. The second thing that needs to change is to put all the laws in plain English. I think the people in charge have a lot to answer for. But that too will come with time and change. Jack Harper
The single reason Americans have enjoyed the lifestyle over the past 40 years is they have been raking the pot at the poker table. Americans are the dealer at the table and get a cut of every purchase made and settled with U.S. funds. This is rapidly ending. Many non-NATO members are switching to a basket of currency’s in settling trade deals including oil purchases. XSANDIEGOCA
The wily Putin is swapping his gas for Yuan, which will be backed by gold within ten years. Mondobeyondo
China and Russia are already discussing using their currencies in place of the U.S. dollar for international transactions. Many other countries are contemplating the same.
They’re not stupid. They see our fiscal situation. What do you expect them to do? Folks, this is serious, and we are in serious trouble.
“We love America! We will throw another $20 billion down the rat hole because we love your country”?? Nuh-un. Doesn’t work that way. FirstGarden
“Dear God, make me a bird. So I could fly far. Far far away from here.” Mike
I think there will be a collapse; I thought it would have already happened by now. We need to get it done so we can start all over again. peace angel
Micheal check this out.
At Before It’s News “THE Theft of Your Retirement Accounts Will Accompany the Seizure of Bank Accounts”
THIS is very telling. Andy Sloan
It is deflationary; but when the US$ collapses that is inflationary; when the debt default contagion takes hold, the money supply will shrink and with the productive capacity of the US economy greatly reduced and substantively held in the hands of giant corporations, you have a recipe for an inflationary depression. Andy Sloan
“I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people, until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the republic destroyed.” Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States XSANDIEGOCA Andy Sloan
John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly. XSANDIEGOCA
Spot on, Andy. Elaine Perkins
This is the Last Days. All Prophecy is merging together getting the world ready for Jesus Christ to return. America is gone. The only “Hope” we have is in Jesus. Those who are denying Him are in for a sad time; seven years of pure Hell on Earth and then…ETERNITY and TOTAL Separation from GOD forever and forever. What’s FINAL is FINAL. Andy Sloan
“The purpose of this financial crisis is to take down the U.S. dollar as the stable datum of planetary finance and, in the midst of the resulting confusion, put in its place a Global Monetary Authority [GMA – run directly by international bankers freed of any government control] -a planetary financial control organization”- Bruce Wiseman XSANDIEGOCA
Hard, bitter times ahead. Andy Sloan
The sorry truth is everyone, that the coming collapse is the terminal phase of a long-term plan to destroy the US economy, so it may be merged into the New World Order XSANDIEGOCA
The posts here clearly show that people here understand what is going on. I would only add this. QE is the greatest bank robbery of all time. The wealthy are reaping huge but the lower orders are going to be stuck with the inflationary bill. If gas costs 15$/gallon the well to do would be very happy to see less traffic congestion. The rest of us will sleep in our cars at work. You already see it in the grocery store as one witnesses the incredibly shrinking containers of favorite foods. An oz here and oz there… The Obama Administration has declared war on coal! The price of electricity will soar. Someone told me that 70% of all electric power is devoted to moving one item, water. Our traditional way of life will rapidly become even more unaffordable than it is now. Can you hear the Bell Tolling? Johnny Palestine
Sir, your website is always worth reading and memorizing.
The ” federal reserve”; not federal nor a reserve of anything but ink, toilet paper, fleet of printing press and steel plates. the FR is printing rough toilet paper with numbers and masonic images. brimp
I’m out of debt, no mortgage, have some gold and silver, have a gun with ammo, have 2 months of food that I cycle through, but still have significant funds in US banks. I’m not sure where to put those funds. Are the bank “safe”? Is the dollar safe? Putting all of it into metal seems risky. Speculating in real estate seems risky. The stock market looks risky. Any suggestions? John Doe
40% gold 40% silver 10% cash 10% bitcoin Guest
The way I see it is that gold and silver are money, have intrinsic value and will always be worth something . Don’t look at precious metals as an investment. I know, I know, most people who buy gold and silver want them to go up in fiat terms. I certainly do. But I have tried to stop looking at them that way and instead consider them a hedge against inflation and insurance in the event of a collapse of the dollar. Will the dollar eventually become worthless? I don’t know. It’s certainly possible. I don’t know of any fiat currency in history that didn’t eventually fail. But, as you know, the advantage that the dollar has over other fiat currencies is that the dollar is the world reserve currency. The foreign demand for the dollar is what is keeping this game going. But foreign nations are moving away from using the dollar for trade purposes. How long will it be before that starts to affect the value of the dollar? Again, I don’t know. For me, the hardest part about all of this is the uncertainty. MstrJames
maybe not a complete solution. But I might suggest stocks in wholesale foods companies. Their system is fairly genius. No matter what food cost, they just add some profit and deliver it to convenience stores etc. For instance SYSCO foods once had profits for over 30 quarters straight. Literally profited through two or more recessions. During deflation they still profit. Inflation they just profit a bit more. No matter what the economy does everyone will still eat. They just buy whatever food beer cigarettes that is available and distribute it. For a hefty profit. Also Obama, Pelosi and every repub and dem. are buying natural gas royalties. America will always need some energy and the liberal dems are pretty much outlawing energy sources that compete with their Nat. gas. With royalties you don’t have to own the land and are not responsible for any expenses. You just get a percent of actual sales for owning the rights. Its how Obama makes 72,000k per month without any headaches or expense. Its why Pelosi is hell bent on taking out coal and limiting other energy sources. This no expense. profit system has been around for about 100 years. NoFoolHere
Excellent article of what has been happening for the past 14 years. Meanwhile your fiat doolar buys less and your taxes and regulations are higher and your standard of living is shrinking all under survellance with the police state. All working perfectly according to plan. Keep it up NWO guys the sheepeople are toatlly hoodwinked. Bigger bonuses are ontheir way. Congrats!!! docbooks1
has never been a “free lunch” since the dawn of man thousands of years ago until the United States came along and created the most wealth ever know to man through FREE ENTERPRISE conducted by FREE MEN. Then came along the bleeding hearts and so began the “War on Poverty”. That war not only has been lost, the GOVERNMENT | 0 |
Pop songs in the modern era are the products of collaboration — singers, writers, producers, engineers and many more all have a part to play. That arrangement engenders a perennial anxiety: Is it the songs that have fans, or the singer? And can the singer go it alone detached from the ecosystem that laid the foundation for her success? Kesha tested these questions in real time on Thursday night, when she played a show at Warsaw, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, as part of her first proper tour in three years. That time has been tumultuous: In lawsuits seeking release from her contracts, she accused the producer Dr. Luke, her longtime collaborator and the chief of the label imprint to which she is signed, of sexual improprieties, including rape. He countersued, asserting defamation and breach of contract. As a result, she has released no original music since 2013 and has only recently begun performing her old songs live. But old songs are old memories, and as was clear at this show, Kesha was hoping to perform them in the most distanced manner possible, by completely reworking the arrangements from pop to, well, unfriendly rock. Throughout the night, she dismantled her old hits — “We R Who We R,” “Take It Off,” “Your Love Is My Drug” — and rebuilt them, backed by her band (the Creepies) as blowzy with light touches of psychedelia. Kesha was dressed in rockabilly chic — a outfit, including a jacket with rainbow fringe dangling from the sleeves — and the title of the tour, which includes an expletive, was spelled out in huge letters at the back of the stage. She sprinkled theatrics throughout the show, fighting off a pair of comrades in dinosaur masks during “Dinosaur” and attacking one on the floor of the stage during “Cannibal,” coming up for air with blood dripping from her mouth. The effect was carnivalesque, a presentation indebted to the Dr. Demento era of stylistic novelty and excessive quirk. Though it was awkward and rarely effective, Kesha’s taste for the outré wasn’t unexpected. For a time in the early part of the decade, she promised to be a different sort of pop star — stylistically limber, as comfortable rapping as singing, seemingly uninterested in the seamlessness megapop typically promises. Back then, it was never clear just how seriously Kesha took herself, or her music, an attitude that played well against the indestructibility of her records. Both of her albums — “Animal,” from 2010,” and “Warrior,” from 2012 — were excellent. But those songs, while still the currency that gained her entry into the pop stratosphere, have become albatrosses. Her performances of them here felt like rejections. When Kesha delivered her breakout hit “Tik Tok” at the end of her main set using essentially its original arrangement, it was like a sunbeam breaking through clouds. It was also a needling reminder of what made her songs so effective in the first place — the interplay of Kesha’s salacious abandon and the ecstatic drive of the production, by Dr. Luke and others. In recent months, Kesha’s battles have made her a cause célèbre countless other performers have offered their public support, and Taylor Swift said she would give her $250, 000 (“to help with any of her financial needs during this trying time,” a representative for Ms. Swift said in a statement). After “Dinosaur,” Kesha addressed the eager crowd of about 1, 000. “It’s been way, way, way too long,” she said, meeting a roar of nourishing cheers. “I honestly don’t know if I would have made it the past three years without you guys. ” The audience replied with encouraging chants. When they screamed “Free Kesha” over and again, she went to the side of the stage and retrieved a phone, so that she could film the moment. Though most of her claims against Dr. Luke have been rejected by a judge, her legal situation remains complicated. She played no new music here. In addition to the hits of her own, she filled out her set with covers, a necessary strategy but also a problematic one. Performing someone else’s music lays you bare and reveals what you can add to a conversation that’s long been settled. There was a lumpy cover of Iggy Pop’s “Nightclubbing” and a disjointed take on Britney Spears’s “Till The World Ends” (a song written in part by Kesha). During her unwelcome encore, she gnawed at the chorus of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” for a few melancholy minutes, then sang “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You,” a country standard written in part by her mother, closing out the tepid rendition by asserting, “I’m sick and tired of hearing people say I can’t sing, so there!” She was better when using songs to make statements: Lesley Gore’s defiant “You Don’t Own Me,” or Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released,” which closed the show. “Always have hope in your heart,” Kesha told the crowd, before shouting her way through the song, using it as a diary and a cudgel. | 1 |
Allegations of sexual harassment, theft, and assault by migrants on New Year’s Eve have emerged, more than a month after Frankfurt police announced that the night had passed off peacefully. [Angered by official reports that no incidents had occurred, one of the victims, backed by a bar owner and his staff, has come forward to tell Bild newspaper they were attacked in the early hours of New Year’s Day by a large group of Arab migrants on the Fressgass, an upmarket commercial street in the city centre. The alleged victim, Irina A. 27, told the paper: “I’m thankful I wore sheer tights. They grabbed me under the skirt, between my legs, my breasts, everywhere. “Me and my girlfriends. More and more of these guys came. Their hands were everywhere. ” The girls say they asked staff for help, but by 1 am the situation had spiralled out of control. Jan May, 49, owner of the First In bar where the attack occurred, said: “When I came in, the whole place was full with a group of around 50 Arabs. They did not speak German, drank our guests’ drinks and danced towards them. The women asked me for help because they were being attacked. The mood changed completely. ” May quickly called staff at his restaurant around the corner to help with the situation, including a Moroccan employee who tried to talk to the men. “They were highly aggressive, there was shouting and hand gestures,” he recounted. Police were called but by the time they arrived the group had moved on to another bar. May said tensions flared up again at 3 am. “The men had pushed their way into the Garibaldi and other bars — with pyrotechnics,” he said. “I was just in the Gibson when I was called and told ‘We’ve got problems with crowds of migrants’ again. I ran with three bouncers to the Fressgass. ” In a nearby café, “drunk North Africans threw bottles and chairs on guests and staff from the gallery” severely injuring owner Thomas A. who was beaten by a gang. Back in May’s bar “one of them grabbed a knife from the counter, wanting to go for us”. Again, the police were called but the migrants disappeared into the throngs of revellers. The police say they had no knowledge of the incidents, but are now looking into them. According to local paper the Frankfurter Neue Presse (FNP) the official line in early January was that the night had passed off peacefully with crowd numbers well down on previous years, in part thanks to stringent security measures including 600 officers — twice as many as in 2016. Concrete bollards and secure zones were also deployed to control the crowds. Reports at the time noted that a total of 114 people were stopped by Frankfurt police on New Year’s Eve, 57 were searched, and 18 were taken into custody. investigations were opened, including violations of the law on narcotics or weapons, but also bodily harm. Just one case of sexual harassment was reported — a young woman who was grabbed by an unknown assailant on the Iron Bridge, a popular spot for partygoers that evening. The immediately alerted a policeman, causing the suspect and four companions to be arrested while still on the bridge. Hundreds of migrants are said to have travelled into the city by train for the evening’s festivities, although precisely how many is unknown. Bild puts the figure at 900 and says they travelled in by train from Mittelhessen. The FNP puts it much higher, at 1, 900, “mostly North Africans”. Frankfurter Rundschau reported the gathered migrants as a “flashmob” and cited the federal police to put the number at 1, 860. May and his fellow who wanted to remain anonymous, say that they were moved to go public because they were angered at the way local politicians were claiming the security measures were a success. A waiter, Pedro, said: “I have not experienced anything like that. ” A colleague, Tony, said: “It was just bad. ” The named victim, Irina, added: “I did not dare go home alone. I was traumatised. ” | 1 |
Britain, U.S. sending planes, troops to deter Russia in the east 10/26/2016
REUTERS
Britain said on Wednesday it will send fighter jets to Romania next year and the United States promised troops, tanks and artillery to Poland in NATO’s biggest military build-up on Russia’s borders since the Cold War.
Germany, Canada and other NATO allies also pledged forces at a defense ministers meeting in Brussels on the same day two Russian warships armed with cruise missiles entered the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Denmark, underscoring East-West tensions.
In Madrid, the foreign ministry said Russia had withdrawn a request to refuel three warships in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta after NATO allies said they could be used to target civilians in Syria.
The ships were part of an eight-ship carrier battle group – including Russia’s sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov – that is expected to join around 10 other Russian vessels already off the Syrian coast, diplomats said.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the troop contributions to a new 4,000-strong force in the Baltics and eastern Europe were a measured response to what the alliance believes are some 330,000 Russian troops stationed on Russia’s western flank near Moscow.
“This month alone, Russia has deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad and suspended a weapons-grade plutonium agreement with the United States,” Stoltenberg said, also accusing Russia of continued support for rebels in Ukraine.
Those ballistic missiles can hit targets across Poland and the Baltics, although NATO officials declined to say if Russia had moved nuclear warheads to Kaliningrad.
NATO’s aim is to make good on a July promise by NATO leaders to deter Russia in Europe’s ex-Soviet states, after Moscow orchestrated the annexation of the Crimea peninsula in 2014.
NATO’s plan is to set up four battle groups with a total of some 4,000 troops from early next year, backed by a 40,000-strong rapid-reaction force, and if need be, follow-on forces.
As part of that, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced a “battle-ready battalion task force” of about 900 soldiers would be sent to eastern Poland, as well as another, separate force equipped with tanks and other heavy equipment to move across eastern Europe.
“It’s a major sign of the U.S. commitment to strengthening deterrence here,” Carter said.
Britain’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said Britain would send an 800-strong battalion to Estonia, supported by French and Danish troops, starting from May. The United States wants its troops in position by June.
London is also sending Typhoon fighter aircraft to Romania to patrol around the Black Sea, partly in support of Turkey.
“Although we are leaving the European Union, we will be doing more to help secure the eastern and southern flanks of NATO,” Fallon said.
SYRIAN SHADOW
Others NATO allies joined the four battle groups led by the United States, Germany, Britain and Canada to go to Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Canada said it was sending 450 troops to Latvia, joined by 140 military personnel from Italy.
Germany said it was sending between 400 and 600 troops to Lithuania, with additional forces from the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Croatia and Luxembourg.
Stoltenberg said allies’ commitments would be “a clear demonstration of our transatlantic bond.” Diplomats said it would also send a message to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has complained that European allies do not pay their way in the alliance.
For the Kremlin, the U.S.-led alliance’s plans are already too much given Russia’s grievances at NATO’s expansion eastwards, although Stoltenberg denied going too far.
But NATO’s troop announcements in the Baltic states and Poland were partly overshadowed by the dispute about whether Spain should refuel the Russian warships, which was later resolved by Moscow’s decision to withdraw its request.
NATO’s tensions with Russia have been building since Crimea and the West’s decision to impose retaliatory sanctions.
But the breakdown of a U.S-Russia brokered ceasefire in Syria on Oct. 3, followed by U.S. accusations that Russia has used cyber attacks to disrupt the presidential election, have signaled a worsening of ties.
Even before the break down of the Syrian ceasefire, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended a treaty with Washington on cleaning up weapons-grade plutonium, signaling he was willing to use nuclear disarmament as a new bargaining chip in disputes with the United States over Ukraine and Syria.
(Additional reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Tom Heneghan) | 0 |
VATICAN CITY — The Roman Catholic Church will allow priests throughout the world to grant absolution for abortion, the Vatican said on Monday, making permanent a policy that Pope Francis announced a year ago. In a document marking the conclusion of the church’s yearlong Jubilee of Mercy, the pope extended a policy of allowing priests — and not only bishops or special confessors — to grant forgiveness for abortion, which the church considers a sin. The announcement was a signal of the pope’s vision of a more welcoming, merciful and inclusive church. While firmly restating his opposition to abortion as “a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life,” the pope affirmed that “there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father. ” The document, an apostolic letter, was signed on Sunday after a Mass denoting the end of the jubilee year. It was made public on Monday. Pope Francis’ decision last year, at the start of the jubilee, followed in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II, who granted priests the same right during the previous holy year, in 2000. Under canon law, abortion brings automatic excommunication unless the person receiving or performing it confesses and receives absolution. Abortion is considered a “reserved sin,” meaning that permission to grant forgiveness usually must come from a bishop. Bishops could already delegate the authority to grant absolution to parish priests — and many bishops in the United States had done so — but the practice varied widely by country and even by diocese. In parts of the world, observant Catholics who have sought absolution for abortions have faced delays at times, or even rejection. In some places, priests have been delegated the power to absolve abortions during certain times of year, like Lent, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, said at a news conference at the Vatican on Monday. “Now that right is extended to all priests,” he said, noting that changes would have to be made to canon law to reflect the new practice. The decision underscores the pope’s idea of a church that leaves nobody outside its doors, and the apostolic letter calls on the clergy and the world’s 1. 2 billion Catholics to reflect, and to act, upon the message at the heart of the yearlong meditation on mercy. In the document, a blend of religious teachings and acute social commentary, “Pope Francis delineates the path of the future life of the church so that it can always be an instrument of mercy toward everyone, without ever excluding anyone,” Archbishop Fisichella said. The archbishop said that the apostolic letter offered guidelines to priests who were called on to exercise forgiveness, referring to an April proclamation on family life that, among other things, created a path for divorced and remarried Catholics to receive holy communion. Francis’ letter also noted that the church would celebrate a World Day of the Poor every November “to help communities and each of the baptized to reflect on how poverty is at the very heart of the Gospel. ” He also called on the faithful to “promote a culture of mercy based on the rediscovery of encounter with others, a culture in which no one looks at another with indifference or turns away from the suffering of our brothers and sisters. ” At a ceremony naming 17 new cardinals on Saturday, the pope warned against what he described as a “virus of polarization and animosity. ” He said that “in God’s heart there are no enemies,” and chided those who “raise walls, build barriers and label people. ” The comments were seen by some Vatican observers as a rebuke to calls by Donald J. Trump to build a border wall and to restrict Muslims from entering the United States. Pope Francis did not single out any country, but he has expressed dismay over the harsh tone on immigration that Mr. Trump has taken. In February, the pope suggested that Mr. Trump was “not Christian” because of the campaign promise to build a wall on the United border. (Mr. Trump, who is not Catholic, called the pope’s admonishments “disgraceful. ”) The pope on Saturday denounced the tendency to treat “a stranger, an immigrant or a refugee” as the enemy, warning that such thinking invited hatred. “Little by little, our differences turn into symptoms of hostility, threats and violence,” he said. Harassment and violence against immigrants and other marginalized groups surged after Election Day in the United States, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate crimes and domestic extremist groups. | 1 |
At least two police officers turned in their badges today after acknowledging that attacking peaceful protesters is not what they signed up for.
Via TrueActivist
It should be evident if you’re following news concerning the Standing Rock protests in North Dakota that tension continues to escalate between protesters supporting the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and riot police. The big deal? A four-state Dakota Access Pipeline which threatens to uproot sacred burial ground, poison the Missouri river, and make null an 1881 treaty ensuring the property belongs to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
In addition to being maced and beaten with batons, activists have been tased and even shot with rubber bullets. Despite the violence taking place, tribal leaders continue to ask all “water protectors” to maintain peaceful relations and rely on prayer as the only weapon used to halt construction of the DAPL.
After watching videos of the mass arrests and beating that have taken place, many have asked how those employed by the State can continue to terrorize weaponless protesters. Surely, some form of cognitive dissonance must be taking place? For some, most likely, and that’s undoubtedly what inspired at least two officers to turn in their badges today. According to an activist named Redhawk, there have been reports of at least two officers turning in their badges after acknowledging that the battle against the American people is not what they signed up for.
On Facebook, the activist wrote:
“You can see it in some of them, that they do not support the police actions. We must keep reminding them they are welcome to put down their weapons and badge and take a stand against this pipeline as well.
Some are waking up.”
The comments on the ordeal have been quite positive. Charlotte Holywater Vincent wrote,
“Brave to stand up for what is right ! To hand over years of training and service in a little metal badge and then stand on the side of humanity.”
Ron Hemming, who reportedly is a retired deputy in Washington, shared his thoughts:
“As a retired deputy in Washington state, I would have refused to go on a detail such as this. As I am also part native blood, I stand with my relatives on the front line protecting the water from the black snake. Be safe, stay strong.”
| 0 |
Dylan Might Have Gone Electric, But That Doesn't Cut It With Today's Teens.
New York, NY - After being announced as the winner of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for groovy songs, sources close to legendary songwriter, Bob Dylan, say that all he really wants is a surfboard trophy from the Teen Choice Awards.
"Mr. Dylan couldn't care less about the Nobel Peace Prize," told a music industry rep, who is close with the singer. "That's why he hasn't said anything about it. He'll probably just use the million dollars that comes with the medal to wipe his ass with. What he really wants, is to join the elite ranks of musicology, and take his place along side band's like New Kids and Wrong Direction."
But the teens we talked to on the streets of New York say that it's very unlikely that one of America's most beloved icons will ever achieve his lofty goals. His music, somehow, just doesn't resonate with them, the way it did for their great-grandparents. "The answer isn't blowing in the wind anymore, Bob," snorted fourteen-year-old, Jackson Drake, while repeatedly trying to land an annoying skateboard flip. "You can just Google any answer you want now. Somebody should tell him that. Oh, and a man playing the tambourine... that's totally gay. Nobody wants to hear a song about that, either. Write a song about exploding hover-boards, or getting zonked on bath-salts, then you've got something!" explained our youth, who surmised that a man would have to walk down about 30 roads... before you can call him a man.
Editor's Note: After Jackson skated away, we did Google the answer, and found out that the actual number was 43. So there you go Bob Dylan. Make Paul Blake's | 0 |
WASHINGTON — On a late summer day in 1963, 200, 000 Americans made the Washington Monument the compass needle for a new direction in history, up and forward, when they gathered at its base, then marched a mile or so on to hear the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preach — sing, really — a sermon on racism and a dream of change. On an early autumn day this Saturday, just yards from the monument, the compass itself will, symbolically speaking, become fully visible, when the National Museum of African American History and Culture opens to the public. To paraphrase the preacher: It’s here at last, here at last. And it’s more than just impressive. It’s a engrossing, . Rising in three low, tiers, the building occupies what had been the last undeveloped museum site on the National Mall. Its design, by the British architect David Adjaye, is unlike any of the others. They are of white or buff stone or concrete this one, covered in metal panels, is a deep . The other museums reflect light this one absorbs it, making it look, despite its size, discreet and recessive, about silhouette rather than bulk. That may not have been the intended effect. The initial plan was to cast the facade panels, perforated with decorated patterns, in bronze. When that proved too costly, painted aluminum was substituted, with a loss of reflective sheen. In midday sunlight, the building looks rusted and a little shaggy, like a giant magnet bristling with metal filings. The reward comes in repeated viewing. Most Mall museums are squat blocks, rooted in tradition: Timeless grandeur and stability are their messages, and you barely look at them twice. The new museum seems to change texture at every encounter, giving it visual intrigue and also implying a more contemporary understanding of culture’s fleet, contingent, ’ dynamics. Importantly, it also carries significant references. The silhouette, and a deep porch over the side, draw on features in African architecture and sculpture. (The museum’s insistence that the building is in the form of a Yoruba crown is however. The motif is more likely derived from the stepped capitals on figurative veranda posts carved for Yoruba courts.) The filigree of the facade panels was inspired by grillwork in South Carolina and Louisiana, which had West African roots. (A piece in the inaugural collection display, of a tracery cross made by the great Southern ironworker Solomon Williams to mark the grave of his wife, Laide, suggests how gorgeous such work could be.) All these references are subtle, glancing, maybe strategically vague. Race is one of the things that kept plans for this partly museum stalled in Congress for decades. Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum cost $540 million, with $270 million raised privately and the rest from federal funds. Some politicians claimed it would draw far too narrow and marginal an audience to earn its keep. Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, a staunch nonsupporter, warned that approving an museum would only open floodgates to demands by other groups. Given the resistance, it’s easy to see why the museum’s founding director, Lonnie G. Bunch III, has been at pains to emphasize the Americanness of the museum. The emphasis is clear on the institution’s website (nmaahc. org) where, of four “pillars upon which the NMAAHC stands,” one is the mandate “to explore what it means to be an American and share how American values like resiliency, optimism, and spirituality are reflected in African American history and culture. ” This is a plausible statement. But it’s also too close to being a piece of . And taken as such, it rings hollow to many at a time when violence is hammering . And it is to the credit of Mr. Bunch and his curators that, despite diplomatic words, they have made history of that violence clear in the opening display of some 3, 500 objects, selected from the 40, 000 in the museum’s collection. The extremely complex narrative, with uplift and tragedy seemingly on a fixed collision course, spreads over five floors of galleries, three below ground, two above, with public spaces — a vast reception area an atrium with a theater and cafe — in between. The “History” section underground — on broad themes of slavery, segregation and the pivotal year 1968 — is reached by elevator or a spiraling ramp, and holds some of the oldest and most disturbing material. The story starts with slavery in Africa (though its long presence there is brushed by quickly) and then in the Americas. The most relic of it here is an intact 1800s slave cabin from a plantation on Edisto Island in South Carolina but the most piercing one is a lockable iron so small that it could have fit only a child. Words speak loudly, too. A handwritten receipt confirms the sale of a teenage girl and “her future issue. ” A modern sculpture of Thomas Jefferson stands before a wall listing some of the slaves he owned, most identified by one name: Jenny, Orange, Tomo, Phoebe, Unknown. The section alternates its presentation of slavery with more subjects, like the role played by black patriots in the American Revolution. This pattern, which is probably the only way to go to create an impression of telling a balanced story — it’s certainly the standard museum way — continues throughout the “History” section, with often powerfully jarring results. Its second level, “The Segregation Era,” gives valuable attention to the topic of black entrepreneurship, about which many Americans probably know little. But what stops you in your tracks is the sight of a white satin Ku Klux Klan hood, shimmery and soiled, sitting in a case with photographs of lynchings on display nearby. It’s great that the museum mixes everything together: It means you can’t just select a comfortable version of history. At the same time, you’re given some warnings. The museum frames certain things — lynching photographs, for example — within red lines, alerting viewers to their emotionally loaded content. The potentially most upsetting object of all, the windowed coffin that once held the mutilated body of Emmett Till, the murdered in Mississippi in 1955 for supposedly flirting with a white woman, is isolated in a room of its own. Another space, empty of objects, has been set aside as a kind of viewer recovery station, and the museum has a grief counselor on call. (On my final preview visit recently, neither space was finished and viewable, and the history section overall remained a work in progress.) On the third and uppermost history level, called “1968 to Today,” the atmosphere changes, feels less funereal. Maybe this is because we’re now closer to our own time, and personalities and events are more familiar. Or because the installation is suddenly buzzy with multimedia information. History starts moving at a breathless but measurable clip, hero by hero — Angela Davis, Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisholm, Anita Hill — and movement by movement, from Black Is Beautiful, to Black Panthers, to Black Lives Matter. Politics and pop culture merge they did in earlier material too, but here you can really see it happening: a mural for Resurrection City, created by protesters occupying the Mall during the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, is on view around the corner from a reconstructed “Oprah” set. (Ms. Winfrey contributed $21 million to the museum the atrium theater is named for her.) The effect is confusing, but history is confusing. If it isn’t, it’s not history it’s fiction, as in the case of the narrative account of Modernism propagated by most of our art museums. Mr. Bunch and his curators understand this and they keep the story complicated, lobbing more topics and words in our direction than you can possibly hope to catch, never mind absorb, in one visit. (Even so, important things are all but left out. Maybe I missed something, but the subject of AIDS, which has taken so many lives, receives scant mention, and identity struggles surrounding sexual orientation and gender are played down.) The buzz intensifies further in the “Community” galleries upstairs on the third floor, which include large sections devoted to the black presence in the military and in sports. The Tuskegee Airmen rightly get attention one of their World War II biplanes is prominently displayed elsewhere on the premises. At the same time, the glorification of patriotism is neatly checked by the presence, printed large on a wall, of a 1943 wartime poem that Langston Hughes addressed to his American homeland: “Everything that mussolini get the from you. ” White America, the message is — or one message is — repeatedly forces black America into a stance of resistance and dissent. Among sports treasures, there is a rack of medals earned by the star Carl Lewis and a leotard worn by the gymnast Gabby Douglas in her first competitive season. And there’s a sculptural tableau in which the 1968 Mexico Olympic runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos greet the “ Banner” with raised fists. (Mr. Carlos, then 23, and Mr. Smith, 24, were quickly expelled from the Olympic Village and sent home.) Politics, exactly what opponents of the museum wanted to suppress, is everywhere: It’s the story, and it’s told in many ways, as you see in the “Culture” galleries on the fourth floor. The museum’s art curators, Jacquelyn D. Serwer and Tuliza Fleming, have assembled a modest collection of modern and contemporary works that combine figures with textbook stars and usefully confuse any pigeonholing definition of what “ art” — and by extension, identity — means. Some paintings — by McArthur Binion, Mavis Pusey and William T. Williams — are entirely abstract others overtly topical. In still others, political references reveal themselves slowly, increasing their impact. If you look carefully at a 1956 Crucifixion scene by David C. Driskell, you’ll find a ghostly image of Mr. Till’s coffin in the background. If you could crawl under the witty, jazzy sculpture “Mothership (Capsule),” by the Washington artist Jefferson Pinder, you’d find supports made of wood salvaged from President Obama’s 2009 Inauguration Day platform. There’s another Mothership on view for the opening, too, this one a aluminum stage prop with flashing lights once used in the 1990s by the musician George Clinton and his band. It’s in the “Music” galleries, which are pure heaven. If nothing else draws crowds into the museum, they will come to see Chuck Berry’s Cadillac, Jimi Hendrix’s vest and Michael Jackson’s fedora, and to hear, in an old film, Mahalia Jackson sing “His Eye Is on the Sparrow. ” Ms. Jackson performed at the 1963 march. When Dr. King’s prepared speech was winding down, she called out, “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” And he did. When I was in the “Music” galleries a week or so ago, with the installation still very much underway, a group of young women, possibly docents in training, came through on a tour. One woman stopped in front of a music video, stared for a minute, and burst out, “That’s my grandfather. ” Everyone gathered around. The performer was the jazz pianist Fats Waller (born Thomas Wright Waller). “I think I’m going to cry!” she said. But didn’t. She beamed, and took cellphone pictures to show her family. I suspect there are going to be a lot of recognitions and reunions, smiles and tears, in this museum in the days and years ahead, right across the American spectrum. I also suspect — hope, actually — that the museum will never be finished, or consider itself so that its take on history, which is American history, stays fluid, critical and richly confused: real, in other words. | 1 |
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