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In USA Today, journalist and author Michael Wolff explained to critics of Breitbart Senior Editor MILO’s upcoming book Dangerous that “the publishing businesses is a business,” pointing out that the publication of the book was inevitable given the profits that stood to be made. [“The traditional view, at least since publishing, in the late Victorian age, became a and therefore respectable industry, is that if you publish it, you own it. You were not only legally responsible for it, but it firmly attached to your reputation,” Wolff explained. “This led to protocols about editing, fact checking, and the development of a long cannon of journalism standards and ethics. It also led to the idea of publishing brands. What you published defined you in the community and in the marketplace. ” The Yiannopoulos book is a particularly good example of the breakdown of this view. Book imprints were once the staunchest cultural gatekeepers, with issues of taste and sales closely twinned, and with the decision to publish resting, often, on a small group of editors, or even on a single shoulder. You knew who was responsible. But then a massive consolidation of the business occurred, mixing and mashing brands, and, with new financial dictates, in essence, commoditizing books. Any book that makes financial sense to publish, no matter its nature, will, practically speaking, be published by any publisher. Beyond a book’s financial bona fides, there is no real vetting, or editing, or concerns about taste. Most of the book industry is now a business focused on creating products — often novelty products connected to a celebrity — for specific market segments. A new crop of conservative publishers were suddenly making lots of money publishing conservative books. Hence, every major publisher hurried to established its own conservative imprint — the Yiannopoulos book is published by Simon Schuster’s Threshold Editions — often run by liberals. In a sense, this is an example of the media overcoming its bias. In another sense, it’s purely cynical: we believe none of this, but the money’s good. Read the full article at USA Today. | 1 |
Breitbart’s Alex Marlow interviewed House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady on reforming the tax code, the proposed border adjustment tax, and abolishing the death tax. [Brady highlighted congressional Republicans’ proposal to tax foreign imports and end taxes on products. “We’re going to end the tax on ‘Made in America,’” Brady said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. The “Made in America” tax gained its nickname from supporters of products because products in the U. S. are taxed at a lower rate than products made in the U. S. Brady and House Republicans have proposed a border adjustment tax that would impose a 20 percent tax on imports and is estimated to raise over a trillion dollars in a decade. President Trump has said that the border tax could boost U. S. jobs, but Marlow wondered whether the tax will have any consequences for small businesses that rely on imports, such as job losses. Marlow said that 97 percent of importers are small business and asked Brady whether the tax would make it harder for small businesses to conduct business. Brady said that foreign products receive a lot of special tax breaks, and “competition is best for consumers when everyone is taxed the same. ” Brady also advocated for a “fairer, simpler tax code” and said Americans will soon be able to file taxes with less paperwork. “The tax code will be so fair and so simple, nine out of 10 Americans will be able to file on a system,” Brady said. Marlow brought up the topic of media bias — which, as the of Breitbart News, was his “favorite topic. ” He asked Brady what he thought of the current “media environment” surrounding the issue of taxation. “It’s a challenge, ” Brady said. Marlow also highlighted how taxation can be viewed as a moral issue, citing “the confiscation of wealth from the American people,” and asked Brady whether the issue of taxation should be considered through a “moral lens. ” Brady replied that it should be, citing the “work, innovation, and value” American workers bring to the economy. Marlow closed the interview by asking Brady what would happen to the death tax in the future. “For the first time since the death tax was created in 1916, House Republicans propose to permanently kill the death tax,” Brady said. | 1 |
They are all "Treasonous" lying, narcissistical, sociopathic bastards!....When Trump say's they need to 'drain the swamp' or whatever?...he's not wrong, but who's going to have he's back when he's dredging the filth out of the swamp that is political Washington and all the corporate 'skid marks' along with the corrupt Bankster's and especially the FED reserve?....Who?. | 0 |
TEL AVIV — Russian tourists visiting Israel have been asked to refrain from using slurs like “schmuck” and getting drunk, a new directive from the country’s foreign ministry states. [The consular department’s guidelines claims that Israelis are “sensitive” towards criticism directed at their country and to the use of offensive Yiddish and Arabic terms including “putz” (Yiddish for “fool”) and “sharmuta” (Arabic for “prostitute. ”) Russian travelers have been instructed to refrain from using the Russian word “jid,” a derogatory term for Jews, since “it is unacceptable to any Jew, even if he does not understand Russian. ” Russian nationals have also been told not to drink in excess while in Israel and wander the streets while under the influence of alcohol. Tourists should also maintain a distance of half a meter from locals. Russians should also not be taken aback when they overhear Russian swearwords spoken in Israel, even by speakers, as they have become part of the vernacular since the beginning of the 20th century, the guidelines said. The Russian Foreign Ministry’s mission is to encourage tourists to respect local customs at any given destination. While in Turkey, Russian tourists are warned against making a V gesture with their fingers since it is the symbol of Kurdish nationalism. While in Thailand they are told to avoid “petting Thais’ heads. ” In Canada and France, they are advised against making jokes about homosexuals or other “man jokes. ” And on visits to Kenya, the guidelines state that Russians should think twice before making comparisons between Kenyans and monkeys. In Spain, Russians should say “hello” to strangers in elevators and shops. Alex Tenzer, a Russian communications expert, said he hoped Israel would follow suit and publish similar guidelines for Israeli tourists abroad. | 1 |
Abby Martin Exposes What Hillary Clinton Really Represents ‹ › Since 2011, VNN has operated as part of the Veterans Today Network ; a group that operates over 50 plus media, information and service online sites for U.S. Military Veterans. Woodward On Clinton Foundation “It’s Corrupt” By VNN on October 28, 2016 He’s correct: The Clinton Foundation is corrupt, and voters should be troubled by Clinton’s role in the unethical pay-for-play scandals.
Conservative Tribune
Voters have been concerned about Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s involvement in the scandal-ridden Clinton Foundation.
Liberal journalist Bob Woodward legitimized those concerns Sunday on Fox News by pointing to the Foundation’s “ pay-for-play ” scandals while Clinton served as secretary of state as something that should trouble voters.
Woodward, who broke the Watergate story that led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon, told host Chris Wallace in no uncertain terms that the Clinton Foundation is “corrupt” and a “scandal.”
Watch Woodward’s comments on Fox News Sunday here:
“There are allegations about the Clinton Foundation and pay-for-play,” Wallace said. “When you see what seems to be clear evidence that Clinton Foundation donors were being treated differently than non-donors in terms of access, when you see this new revelations (sic) about the $12 million deal between Hillary Clinton, the Foundation and the King of Morocco, are voters right to be troubled by this?”
“Yes,” Woodward responded. “ It’s corrupt . It’s a scandal.”
Wallace had attempted to get answers from Clinton about the issue at the final presidential debate with Republican candidate Donald Trump.
But of course Clinton ducked the moderator’s question and instead talked about the organization’s charitable donations rather than its extreme conflicts of interest — something Woodward took note of and criticized her for.
“She didn’t answer your question at all,” Woodward told Wallace. “And she turned to embrace the good work that the Clinton Foundation has done.”
Woodward apparently didn’t want to discredit the “good work” done by the organization, but pointed out that even its “good work” is compromised by the overwhelming evidence of corruption.
“(T)he mixing of speech fees, the Clinton Foundation and actions by the State Department — which she ran — are all intertwined and it’s corrupt,” he argued.
He’s correct: The Clinton Foundation is corrupt, and voters should be troubled by Clinton’s role in the unethical pay-for-play scandals.
Unfortunately Clinton has an acute ability to avoid being held accountable for her scandals, but we have faith in the American people and their desire to be led by a person with integrity and respect for the office he holds, not someone who continuously looks for ways for his political power to benefit his personal life.
Like and share on Facebook and Twitter if you agree with Bob Woodward about Hillary Clinton and her family’s scandal-ridden Clinton Foundation. What do you think about Woodward’s criticism of Clinton? Scroll down to comment below! | 0 |
When I reached Ron Katz on Monday, the first word out of his mouth was “vindication. ” He was referring to Tom Brady. “The moral issues always remain the same,” said Katz, the chairman emeritus of the Institute of Sports Law and Ethics at Santa Clara University and now a Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow at Stanford. “It’s not what you can get away with,” he said. “You’ve got to rise above that. ” Brady is one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game, and I would have him on my starting team each Sunday. But he has lost credibility that he may never regain. The Brady case — his role in improperly deflated footballs — seemed silly at first. But this molehill became a mountain that the N. F. L. was willing to die on to protect its shield. The case has been a winding road to the truth since January 2015, after the Patriots’ lopsided victory over Indianapolis in the A. F. C. championship game. The most extraordinary evidence against Brady was the Wells report, which suggested that Brady did not always play by the rules when it came to using properly inflated footballs. Based on the report, Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Brady for four games. The Patriots were also fined $1 million and lost a couple of draft picks, including this year’s No. 1. Brady argued that he was unfairly suspended. Last July, Brady’s suspension was upheld by Goodell. Last September, Judge Richard M. Berman said Goodell administered “his own brand of industrial justice“ and overturned Goodell’s ruling. That decision allowed Brady to play the entire season, a season he used as a revenge tour and one that New England fans turned into a football holy war. Monday’s ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ripped apart every shred of Berman’s decision. It reaffirmed Goodell’s broad authority to administer discipline as he pleases and it affirmed his power. This is power that the N. F. L. Players Association willingly gave up during the last collective bargaining agreement. Players who challenged Goodell’s authority — Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy — were emboldened by what they perceived as a crack in Goodell’s armor. They challenged his authority with lawsuits. But Monday’s decision was loud and clear: Goodell has the hammer again and is willing to drop it. I am all for resisting and challenging authority. But the deflation scandal was never a noble cause. Brady was caught cheating and was uncooperative, having his phone destroyed around the time league investigators wanted access to it. “I would say this goes beyond power I think it’s really about order,” Katz said. “You can’t have a league unless somebody has the authority to make decisions. Otherwise you have disorder, you have chaos. ” It’s about order and Brady’s stature. Celebrity may have gotten Brady a favorable decision from Berman, but it was ultimately not enough to keep him from being suspended. ”If this case had been brought by a journeyman quarterback, he would not have gotten beyond the line,” Katz said. He added: “The only reason it got as far as it did was because it was Tom Brady. We have a society, but when you get to court, it doesn’t matter if you’re a celebrity. ” After two years of missteps, Goodell is on a roll. Earlier this month, a court of appeals upheld a Federal District Court judge’s decision approving the N. F. L. concussion settlement agreement. Linda S. Greene, the law professor at the University of Wisconsin, draws a sharp distinction between how Goodell successfully handled the Brady case and how he mishandled the Ray Rice investigation, protecting a star player and his team in a clear case of domestic abuse. “This is a win for the commissioner,” Greene said, “but unlike in the Ray Rice case, where the decision was the byproduct of a commissioner who looked the other way at Rice’s egregious conduct, the Brady suspension was the product of a thorough investigation, a lengthy hearing over which the commissioner presided. ” The union released a statement on Monday. It was disappointed by the ruling, adding that it would “carefully review the decision, consider all of our options and continue to fight for players’ rights and for the integrity of the game. ” Katz said, “They negotiated this agreement where the commissioner had this power, and that’s the way it should have proceeded. ” The union should stop the fight for Brady. Brady’s team of legal advisers should tell him to accept the decision. The court’s decision can be appealed to the full Second Circuit Court of Appeals and to the Supreme Court. “I don’t think the Supreme Court will have any interest in this whatsoever,” Katz said. “It’s done. ” Brady should take the sack and let the sport he has soiled have its vindication. | 1 |
Chart Of The Day: Trend Growth Rate Of Real GDP Has Slumped To 0.46%/Year
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The refugees resettled by the federal government in New Hampshire produced 29 percent of all diagnosed active tuberculosis (TB) cases in the state during 2014 and 2015, says the Centers for Disease Control. [Three contagious TB cases, or “active tuberculosis,” in New Hampshire were diagnosed in refugees in 2015, and four cases were diagnosed in refugees during 2014. During that two year period, a total of 24 cases of active TB were diagnosed in New Hampshire. So seven of the 24 active cases, or 29 percent, were among refugees delivered by the federal government. The refugee population is less than one percent of the total state population. New Hampshire does, however, have a much higher per capita rate of refugee TB compared to other states. Between FY 2008 and FY 2015, 4, 368 refugees were resettled in New Hampshire by the federal government. More than 80 percent of these refugees, or 3, 497 out of 4, 368, arrived from four high TB burden countries, according to the Department of State — Bhutan (2, 239 refugees) the Democratic Republic of Congo (797 refugees) Burma (291 refugees) and Somalia (170 refugees). Only Minnesota, where 33 percent of TB cases during this period, or 99 out of 297, were diagnosed in refugees, had a higher percentage than New Hampshire’s 29 percent among all 46 states for which the CDC reports data on immigration status upon first entry data for cases of TB. (Arizona, Illinois, Virginia, and Washington do not report this data to the CDC.) The national average, 4. 5 percent, is significantly lower. “In New Hampshire, based on our most recent 2015 data, a total of 13 cases of TB were reported to the NH Department of Health Human Services, Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) 11 of these cases (85%) were among persons,” a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Health Human Services told Breitbart News in an emailed statement. New Hampshire’s percentage of cases of TB in 2015 was 19 percent higher than the national average of 66 percent. In 1986, the national average of cases of TB was only 22 percent. “NH DPHS does not distinguish among categories of because our public health interventions are not different however, based on the most recent CDC surveillance report, (table 36) only 3 of these 11 individuals diagnosed with TB in 2015 were refugees,” the spokesperson added. Only two of the 13 cases of active TB in New Hampshire in 2015 were diagnosed in U. S. residents. Three cases were diagnosed in refugees, and six cases were diagnosed in residents of New Hampshire whose immigration status upon initial arrival in the United States was something other than refugee. Three of these six residents of New Hampshire diagnosed with active TB in 2015 had an immigrant visa as their immigration status at first entry into the United States, according to the CDC publication Reported Tuberculosis in the United States, 2015. One arrived on a student visa, one arrived on an employment visa, and one arrived as an . Breitbart News asked the New Hampshire Department of Health Human Services why such a high percentage of total TB in New Hampshire is diagnosed in refugees. “When there are as few TB patients as in New Hampshire, proportions may seem high and reporting such may be misleading,” the spokesperson responded. “The total number of TB diagnoses among our refugees is very low,” the spokesperson concluded. But the pattern of high rates of active TB diagnosed among refugees in the state of New Hampshire is not a “blip,” or data outlier, experienced only in 2015. In 2014, for instance, four refugees resettled in New Hampshire were diagnosed with active TB out of a total of 11 cases diagnosed among New Hampshire residents, according to CDC data. Three U. S. residents of New Hampshire were diagnosed with active TB that year, while four residents whose initial immigration status upon arrival was something other than refugee were also diagnosed. In 2013, four out of the 15 cases of active TB diagnosed in New Hampshire, or 26 percent of all cases, were diagnosed in refugees. Ten cases were “other ” and one was U. S. . A stunning 93 percent of all cases of TB diagnosed that year in the state were . In 2012, one out of 9 cases of active TB diagnosed in New Hampshire, or 11 percent of all cases, wase diagnosed in a refugee. Nine cases were “other ” and none were U. S. . One hundred percent of all cases of TB diagnosed that year in the state were . Breitbart News asked the the New Hampshire Department of Health Human Services if “NH DPHS does not distinguish among categories of because our public health interventions are not different,” how then, did the CDC determine that “3 of these 11 individuals diagnosed with TB in 2015 were refugees” if the state of New Hampshire did not provide this data on refugees to them. The New Hampshire Department of Health Human Services has not yet responded to that inquiry. The CDC states that data used in its annual publication Reported Tuberculosis in the United States is provided directly by the states: Reporting areas (i. e. the 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC) New York City, Puerto Rico, and other U. S. jurisdictions in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea) provide information regarding tuberculosis (TB) cases to CDC’s National TB Surveillance System (NTSS) by using a standard case report form, Report of Verified Case of Tuberculosis (RVCT). When asked if the state of New Hampshire has a plan to effectively deal with this refugee TB issue, the spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Health Human Services did offer a response. “TB is an important but treatable and curable disease. NH DPHS continues to comprehensively address management of TB in accordance with national guidelines through testing for and treating of TB infections surveillance and education of healthcare providers,” the spokesperson said. “These strategies apply to all NH residents whether U. S. or ” the spokesperson added. Incoming New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, the first Republican to hold that office in twelve years, may want to consider establishing a new common sense TB control strategy: not resettling refugees from high TB burden countries in the state. | 1 |
Meet the journalist facing 45 years in jail for filming the tar sands pipeline protest in North Dakota
Thursday, October 27, 2016 by: Natural News Editors Tags: First Amendment , Dakota Pipeline , criminal journalism (NaturalNews) Are North Dakota authorities waging a war against the public's right to know about the ongoing Standing Rock pipeline protests? We are joined by documentary filmmaker Deia Schlosberg, who was charged earlier this month with three felonies for filming an act of civil disobedience in which climate activists manually turned off the safety valves to stop the flow of tar sands oil through pipelines spanning the U.S. and Canada.The actions took place in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Washington state. Schlosberg is an award-winning filmmaker and was the producer of Josh Fox's recent documentary, "How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change." She was filming the action at a valve station owned by TransCanada in Walhalla, North Dakota. She was arrested along with the activists, and her footage was confiscated. Then she was charged with a Class A felony and two Class C felonies—which combined carry a 45-year maximum sentence.(Article republished from DemocracyNow.org ) TRANSCRIPT AMY GOODMAN: But we're joined right now in Los Angeles by Democracy Now! video stream by Deia Schlosberg, the award-winning documentary filmmaker, producer, who was arrested on October 11th in a different area of North Dakota, while reporting on a climate change protest in Walhalla, North Dakota, charged with three felonies, facing 45 years in prison, if convicted. Also with us, Josh Fox. His article in The Nation, "The Arrest of Journalists and Filmmakers Covering the Dakota Pipeline is a Threat to Democracy—and the Planet." His previous documentaries include Gasland, which first exposed the harms of the fracking industry, nominated for an Academy Award, also made Gasland 2, which aired on HBO.We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Deia, describe what happened to you. DEIA SCHLOSBERG: Well, on October 11th, I was working as a climate reporter, as I've done for years and years and years, as Josh and I were doing, and the rest of the How to Let Go of the World team, when we made the film. And I was documenting people taking a stand, people on the frontlines of the fight to lessen the impacts of climate change. So, there were—there were five activists across four states that had planned to turn the emergency shutoff valves on the five pipelines that bring all Canadian oil sands into the U.S. And I was documenting this occurrence at the North Dakota site, outside of Walhalla, as you said. I was—I was filming the action. I was on public land. I was on a public road and at no point trespassed, at no point, you know, broke in or destroyed any property. I had nothing to do with the planning of the event. I was there to document it. I think it's essential for journalists to—journalists and filmmakers to go where the mainstream media is not. And there's a major hole in the coverage of climate change and people that are already dealing with the consequences of climate change and people that are fighting climate change. So, I take that responsibility very seriously. AMY GOODMAN: So when did the police come? DEIA SCHLOSBERG: The police came after—well, the activist that was doing the action, Michael, had called the company ahead of time to say that he was—he was going to shut off the valve, so they could—to give them ample time to take any emergency precautions. And then he turned the valve. And meanwhile, the company notified the local police. So, after the valve was closed, they came in probably about 15 minutes. I had my camera set up on a tripod on the public road. And they told me I was arrested for being an accessory to a crime, at which point I was brought to the local jail . I figured it would—things would just have to clear up once they realized what was— AMY GOODMAN: So, they charged you with three felonies? DEIA SCHLOSBERG: —that I was just, you know, exercising my First Amendment— AMY GOODMAN: What were the felonies? DEIA SCHLOSBERG: Conspiracy—they were all conspiracy charges: conspiracy to theft of public—theft of property, conspiracy to theft of service and conspiracy of interfering with a public—a critical public infrastructure. AMY GOODMAN: And you face 45 years in jail? What is your comment on this? DEIA SCHLOSBERG: What is my what? Sorry, the connection is— AMY GOODMAN: What do say about this? DEIA SCHLOSBERG: It's absolutely outrageous. Yeah, I mean, this is what I—this is what I do for my living. This is what I've done for years and years. There's absolutely no grounds for these charges.Read more at: DemocracyNow.org | 0 |
By Brianna Acuesta Big Pharma doesn’t want you to know about everything marijuana can do. More and more studies on the abilities of THC are being released recently, and the results are... | 0 |
Alexander Rhodes sat along a stretch of grass, looking out over the Allegheny River. The two of us were sitting in a quiet space on the outskirts of Pittsburgh where we had planned to spend the night in tents camping out. “The key thing to consider is that I am not a very good businessman,” he said. “I’m not really anything but a guy who was addicted to internet porn. ” A few years ago, Mr. Rhodes, 26, founded a website as an online space meant to help others who share his particular problem. It has about one million unique visitors each month, he said, and nearly breaks even. Mr. Rhodes, who grew up in western Pennsylvania and worked at Google until recently, is now hoping to make his site into something larger. With the help of his father and other family members, he is transforming part of an abandoned church into a base of operations for his fledgling company. “It’s one thing to look back and regret what happened in terms of growing up, being addicted to internet porn,” he said. “You might look back and be like: ‘Oh, man. I was a loser. And if I never watched it, my life would be so much better.’ And maybe that’s true. But at the same time, the fact that I was addicted to internet porn, the fact that I was so mediocre, makes me uniquely qualified to help humanity. ” In recent years, Mr. Rhodes has emerged as a spokesman against a “disease” that hasn’t been officially recognized by the medical establishment. He seemed uneasy with his new status. He was careful with every word and asked to go off the record more than a government official. He would not confirm whether he was involved with someone, saying only that, since giving up pornography “for good” in 2013, he has been able to have meaningful relationships with women. In some ways, his story is that of the digital age. His father was a computer programmer, and he was exposed to digital technology from early on. He gravitated to Nintendo Game Boy and eventually moved to the Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation. At 11 or so, he said, he clicked on a banner ad by mistake and found an image depicting rape. By the time he had reached adolescence, so had the internet, and Mr. Rhodes came to rely on pornography that was easy to find and often free. By college, he was masturbating while watching it up to 14 times a day, he said. “I would say, ‘O. K. I have to take a few days to recover from this, like physically recover,’” he said, “and I couldn’t last for even a day. ” Mr. Rhodes’s seeming dependence on porn didn’t help matters with his first girlfriend, whom he started dating when he was a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh. It was his first real chance for sustained intimacy, and he blew it. “I don’t think it was all due to internet porn,” he said. “But I can tell you that the sex life didn’t go very well. I had erectile dysfunction — a very mild form, and this is all very because doctors won’t diagnose this — but I was able to maintain an erection by fantasizing about pornography. That was the only way. ” In 2011, Mr. Rhodes was lost and in search of support. He created a discussion forum on Reddit on the topic of abstaining from masturbation and pornography. He realized he was far from alone and began his site soon after. After college, he continued to build the site while working as a contractor for Google, specializing in data analysis. He said he earned good money and was able to put a good amount into the website (called NoFap. com, from a slang term for masturbation). But he was still using the supposed vice he was railing against. It took another failed relationship to get him to quit. “I think I was relying on pornography as some kind of emotional crutch,” he said. “If anything bad would happen, you would go to porn, because it would always be there. “I knew it was bad for me,” he said. “But I also realized it was bad for women I was involved with, and that was the moment that I said: ‘I need to leave this thing behind. It is completely distorting my sexuality to the point where it could actually be harmful or at least not enjoyable for other people who I am involved with. ’” Mr. Rhodes came to believe he had a calling greater than his work in data analysis at Google. “It wasn’t an easy decision,” he said of his leaving the job last year. “But ultimately it was what was best for humanity. ” The website serves as an online umbrella for men looking to escape pornography. It has advertisements for software and online programs that promote the idea of steering clear of pornography and masturbation. The site also has discussion forums and includes testimonials by men sharing stories of their successes and failures. And it helps match men with “accountability partners” meant to serve as Alcoholics sponsors, to keep a person on the right path. The site generates revenue through subscriptions and advertising, Mr. Rhodes said. To make it into something more robust, Mr. Rhodes needed to “come out” as a spokesman of sorts. After he appeared in a New York magazine article in 2013 about men who had quit masturbating, he told his mother what was going on, much to her horror. Other interviews followed. While his family remains supportive, there are limits. When he showed his mother a recent article in Time magazine in which he was quoted, she said, joking, “I shouldn’t be reading these types of things about my son,” Mr. Rhodes said, recalling his mother’s reaction. On the first day I visited Mr. Rhodes, we climbed the stairs of the former St. Clement Church in Tarentum, Pa. The structure, built in 1906, had long since been abandoned, its pews, confessional and attached school crumbling and gathering dust. His father, Phillip Rhodes, had recently bought the sprawling complex at auction for $50, 000. While the church is likely to house other businesses, the younger Mr. Rhodes sees a future there for him and a fully staffed operation. He sat on one side of the church confessional while I sat on the other. “Tell me the last time you watched porn,” I said, joking. Despite the location, he has largely kept away from religious people, especially evangelicals wanting to team up with him, even though such a relationship could help fund his work. “I have viewpoints that don’t mesh with their viewpoints,” Mr. Rhodes said. “I’m very . I’m not a religious person. I’m not someone who supports religion. I’m not against religion, but I don’t support it. And I completely, firmly believe in premarital sex. ” Mr. Rhodes said he has also endured the wrath of those on the other end of the ideological spectrum. People have tried — and failed — to hack the site’s servers, and its forums have been bombarded with pornographic images, he said. His father received pornography in the mail, Mr. Rhodes said, and he himself has gotten death threats. “It’s just something you have to deal with and let the proper authorities follow up on anything,” he said. Soon it would grow terribly cold, making for a terrible night of sleep in spite of a tent and a supposedly insulated sleeping bag that I bought at a suburban Target. On the morning of our second day, Mr. Rhodes sat near the extinguished campfire from the night before, laptop on his knees. Soon we’d be departing the campsite, heading back to the city, to “civilization. ” But first he had to present a webinar for another outfit. During the chat, he spoke with people who asked about avoiding triggers. As the session continued, he spoke less about pornography than about the need to take care of oneself, both physically and emotionally. He talked about developing good habits and routines, about changing one’s life in general. When a health care worker asked about fatigue and how he believed it often led him to pornography, Mr. Rhodes told the man that he needed to take care of his own health as well. “It’s like if you’re on an airplane flight,” Mr. Rhodes said, “and they say, ‘Oh, you have to put your oxygen mask on before assisting others with theirs.’ It’s because you’ll pass out trying to get a mask on to somebody else. You have to make sure you’re in a balanced spot in order to best serve other people, in order to best serve the world. ” | 1 |
This magnetic storm could disrupt power grids, radio navigation systems and satellites causing problems with phone and internet networks A giant coronal hole in the sun recently sent charged particles hurtling toward Earth.
These solar winds triggered a geomagnetic storm that could disrupt power grids, radio navigation systems and satellites, which could cause problems with phone and internet networks.
This most recent event was big enough for the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center to issue a moderate geomagnetic storm watch for Wednesday.
It isn’t all bad news, though. Because of the strength of the storm, parts of the United States may get a look at the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.
Areas as far south as northern Indiana and northern Ohio could get a bit of a show overnight.
Over the next few days, the chances of any disruptions and auroras will decrease.
Images: Spaceweather.com
Source: Strange Sounds
Related: She’s back! Large coronal hole faces Earth again Sunspot Cycles and the Global Shift in Consciousness Evolution of Consciousness triggered by Solar flares Global Elite Prepare for Massive Solar Eruptions Claim Secret Space Program Whistleblower The White House Just Issued An Executive Order officially Preparing For The “Event?” | 0 |
JERUSALEM — Donald J. Trump’s stunning election victory on Tuesday night rippled way beyond the nation’s boundaries, upending an international order that prevailed for decades and raising profound questions about America’s place in the world. For the first time since before World War II, Americans chose a president who promised to reverse the internationalism practiced by predecessors of both parties and to build walls both physical and metaphorical. Mr. Trump’s win foreshadowed an America more focused on its own affairs while leaving the world to take care of itself. The outsider revolution that propelled him to power over the Washington establishment of both political parties also reflected a fundamental shift in international politics evidenced already this year by events like Britain’s referendum vote to leave the European Union. Mr. Trump’s success could fuel the populist, nativist, nationalist, movements already so evident in Europe and spreading to other parts of the world. Global markets fell after Tuesday’s election and many around the world scrambled to figure out what it might mean in parochial terms. For Mexico, it seemed to presage a new era of confrontation with its northern neighbor. For Europe and Asia, it could rewrite the rules of modern alliances, trade deals, and foreign aid. For the Middle East, it foreshadowed a possible alignment with Russia and fresh conflict with Iran. “All bets are off,” said Agustín Barrios Gómez, a former congressman in Mexico and president of the Mexico Image Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting its reputation abroad. Crispin Blunt, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Britain’s House of Commons, said, “We are plunged into uncertainty and the unknown. ” Many linked Mr. Trump’s victory to the British vote to exit the European Union and saw a broader unraveling of the modern international system. “After Brexit and this election, everything is now possible,” Gérard Araud, the French ambassador to the United States, wrote on Twitter. “A world is collapsing before our eyes. ” The election enthralled people around the world on Tuesday night: night owls watching television in a youth hostel in Tel Aviv computer technicians monitoring results on their laptops in Hong Kong and even onetime oil pipeline terrorists in Nigeria’s remote Delta creeks, who expressed concern about how Mr. Trump’s election would affect their country. It is hardly surprising that much of the world was rooting for Hillary Clinton over Mr. Trump, who characterized his foreign policy as “America First. ” He promised to build a wall along the Mexican border and temporarily bar Muslim immigrants from entering the United States. He questioned Washington’s longstanding commitment to NATO allies, called for cutting foreign aid, praised President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, vowed to rip up international trade deals, assailed China and suggested Asian allies develop nuclear weapons. Polls indicated that Mrs. Clinton was favored in many countries, with the exception of Russia. Last summer, the Pew Research Center found that people in all 15 countries it surveyed trusted Mrs. Clinton to do the right thing in foreign affairs more than Mr. Trump by ratios as high as 10 to one. Mr. Trump’s promise to pull back militarily and economically left many overseas contemplating a road ahead without an American ally. “The question is whether you will continue to be involved in international affairs as a dependable ally to your friends and allies,” said Kunihiko Miyake, a former Japanese diplomat now teaching at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. “If you stop doing that, then all the European, Middle Eastern and Asian allies to the United States will reconsider how they secure themselves. ” In Germany, where American troops have been stationed for more than seven decades, the prospect of a pullback seemed bewildering. “It would be the end of an era,” Henrik Müller, a journalism professor at the Technical University of Dortmund, wrote in Der Spiegel. “The postwar era in which Americans’ atomic weapons and its military presence in Europe shielded first the west and later the central European states would be over. Europe would have to take care of its own security. ” Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the German parliamentary committee for foreign policy and a member of the ruling party, said Mr. Trump was “completely inadequate” to his office. “That Trump’s election could lead to the worst estrangement between America and Europe since the Vietnam War would be the least of the damage,” he said. Perhaps nowhere was Mr. Trump’s win more alarming than in Mexico, which has objected to his promises to build a wall and bill America’s southern neighbor for it. “I see a clear and present danger,” said Rossana director of the Mexico Media Lab, a think tank, and a founder of the Latin American edition of Foreign Affairs. “Every moment will be a challenge. Every move or declaration will be something that will not make us comfortable in the neighborhood — and that is to everyone’s detriment. ” With about $531 billion in trade in goods last year, Mexico is America’s partner after Canada and China. Supply chains in both countries are interdependent, with American goods and parts shipped to Mexican factories to build products that are shipped back into the United States for sale. Five million American jobs directly depend on trade with Mexico, according to the Mexico Institute. The Mexican peso immediately fell 13 percent after the election, its biggest drop in decades. Mr. Barrios Gómez, the former congressman, predicted a peso devaluation of 20 percent and a Mexican recession “as supply chains across the continent become sclerotic and investments dry up. ” The business community, he said, was “freaking out. ” The economic fallout will probably reverberate farther. Izumi Kobayashi, vice chairwoman of Keizai Doyukai, a Japanese business group, predicted a drop in foreign investment in the United States as executives skeptical of Mr. Trump wait to see what he does. “He has been focusing on the negative side of the global markets and globalization,” Ms. Kobayashi said. “But at the same time it is really difficult to go back to the old business world. So how will he explain to the people that benefit and also the fact that there is no option to go back to the old model of business?” The uneasiness with Mr. Trump’s victory overseas ranged far beyond the country’s traditional partners. Abubakar Kari, a professor at the University of Abuja, said most Nigerians believed a Trump administration would not bother with issues outside the United States. “If Trump wins, God forbid,” Macharia Gaitho, one of Kenya’s most popular columnists, wrote on Tuesday before the votes came in, “then we will have to reassess our relations with the United States. ” One of the few places where Mr. Trump’s victory was greeted enthusiastically was Russia, where television has been feasting on the circuslike elements of the American election. Not since the Cold War has Russia played such a big role in a presidential election, with Mr. Trump praising Mr. Putin and American investigators concluding that Russians had hacked Democratic email messages. “Trump’s presidency will make the U. S. sink into a crisis, including an economic one,” said Vladimir Frolov, a Russian columnist and international affairs analyst. “The U. S. will be occupied with its own issues and will not bother Putin with questions. ” “As a consequence,” he added, “Moscow will have a window of opportunity in geopolitical terms. For instance, it can claim control over the former Soviet Union and a part of the Middle East. What is there not to like?” Others tried to find the upside. Mr. Blunt, the British lawmaker, said he was heartened by Mr. Trump’s selection of Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana as his running mate and thought that Britain might be the exception to the new president’s hostility toward trade deals. Israel was another place where Mr. Trump enjoyed some support, mainly because of the perception that he would give the country a freer hand in its handling of the longstanding conflict with the Palestinians. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders and commentators worried about a broader disengagement from a Middle East awash in war, terrorism and upheaval. “Decisions cannot be postponed,” said Yohanan Plesner, a former member of the Israeli Parliament now serving as president of the Israel Democracy Institute. “The situation in Syria is very chaotic. The unrest in the region is continuing. America has to decide whether it wants to play an active role in shaping the developments of the region. ” And even some countries that might expect to see some benefits from an American retreat worried about the implications. Counterintuitive as it might seem, China was concerned about Mr. Trump’s promise to pull American troops back from Asia. “If he indeed withdraws the troops from Japan, the Japanese may develop their own nuclear weapons,” said Shen Dingli, professor of international relations at Fudan University in Shanghai. “South Korea may also go nuclear if Trump cancels the missile deployment and leaves the country alone facing the North’s threats. How is that good for China?” For American voters, that was not the point. After decades of worrying about what was good for other countries, they decided it was time to worry about what was good for America. And Mr. Trump promised to do just that, even if the rest of the world might not like it. | 1 |
Google Party Over? Alphabet Cracks Down on Costs, Layoffs Ensue, Division CEOs Quit by IWB · October 27, 2016
Wolf Richter wolfstreet.com , www.amazon.com/author/wolfrichter
Third CEO of an Alphabet division to leave since June.
Five years ago, when Google announced that it would build a super-high-speed fiber-optic network in Kansas City, and then roll it out in other cities, it started an effort to own and control the data pipelines going into homes and businesses.
Given how frustrated consumers are with their ISPs, it seems people couldn’t wait for Google Fiber, now operated by Alphabet’s Access. Google then spent a fortune building out the network in select cities around the country. This could have been huge . At a huge cost.
“Amazing bet,” is what Craig Barratt, senior VP at Alphabet and CEO of Access, called Google Fiber in a blogpost yesterday. In the same breath, he also announced that they would “pause” the build-out of Google Fiber in cities where it had been planned, that there would be layoffs and reassignments, though he didn’t say how many, and that he’d “step aside” as CEO of Access.
His replacement has not been announced.
He’s the third CEO of an Alphabet division to part ways since June. He prefaced this whole debacle this way:
And thanks to the hard work of everyone on the Access team, our business is solid: our subscriber base and revenue are growing quickly, and we expect that growth to continue. I am extremely proud of what we’ve built together in five short years.
Google Fiber is one of two big entities in “Other Bets” of the Alphabet empire, whose CEO Larry Page and new-ish CFO Ruth Porat are trying to crack down on ballooning costs.
The other big entity in “Other Bets” is Nest Labs, which makes internet-connected thermostats and the like. In a brilliant move, Google had acquired it in 2014 for a breath-taking $3.2 billion. But by now, this move has become very unbrilliant.
In June, Tony Fadell, Nest co-founder and CEO, quit after internal disputes over this focus on spending. Some key Nest employees moved to Google’s new hardware division. And the entity is in turmoil.
In August, Bill Maris, CEO of Google’s venture capital arm, GV, also left.
Earlier this year, Alphabet got second thoughts about its ambitious robotics efforts and put Boston Dynamics up for sale. It had acquired the experimental robot maker in 2013 for $500 million. But tensions soon arose, and co-founder Andy Rubin bailed out in 2014. No deal yet.
Then there was, infamously, Google Glass….
So Google Fiber is in good company. It will cease efforts to install a fiber network in 10 cities where it had been planned but not fully committed, according to Ars Technica . In addition, San Francisco was supposed to get Google fiber for sure, but that has now been cancelled too.
The 11 cities where Google Fiber has been nixed: Chicago, Dallas, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Tampa.
In “this handful of cities” and also “in certain related areas of our supporting operations, we’ll be reducing our employee base,” Barratt wrote. Hence the layoffs.
Google Fiber has already been rolled out in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas), Nashville, Provo (Utah), Salt Lake City, and The Triangle (North Carolina). And it’s still publicly committed to building the network – subject to change, I suppose – in Huntsville (Alabama), Irvine (California), San Antonio, and Louisville.
In June, Google Fiber announced that it would acquire Webpass, a 13-year-old company that provides high-speed wireless internet in Boston, Chicago, Miami, San Diego, Oakland, and San Francisco. A wireless network is a lot cheaper to install in urban areas with multi-family housing than fiber-to-the-home.
About 9% of the employees at Access will lose their jobs, though some people could be reassigned to entities of Alphabet, according to Ars Technica:
The source did not say exactly how many employees that percentage represents. Access includes more than just Google Fiber, so the percentage of Google Fiber employees being laid off or reassigned is probably a little higher.
Alphabet headcounts are hard to come by, but this Bloomberg report says Access has about 1,500 employees. The Information report indicates that Google Fiber had about 1,000 employees before the layoffs. If both of those numbers are accurate, then the percentage of Google Fiber employees being laid off or reassigned to other parts of Alphabet might be around 13.5 percent.
Google Fiber apparently has not hit its subscriber goals, and fiber construction is a costly endeavor. While the company isn’t giving up on fiber entirely, it may be able to deploy Internet service at a lower cost using wireless technology.
“It’s billions of dollars a year just to maintain this stuff, and Google doesn’t want to spend that kind of money on just being another player in that market,” Jan Dawson, an analyst with Jackdaw Research, told Bloomberg .
“I think the new CFO put an end to the experiment that wasn’t really going anywhere,” Chetan Sharma, an independent wireless industry analyst, told Bloomberg .
So serving up digital ads is still Alphabet’s main business, and flourishing. Controlling the high-speed pipeline to get these ads into homes and businesses, and grabbing whatever data can be grabbed by ISPs via deep-packet inspection and other methods still seems to be part of the plan, but now through cheaper and less glamorous wireless services and no longer through the holy grail of data pipelines, optical fiber. And so goes another huge dream to diversity away from advertising. | 0 |
The Powerful Words of John Trudell Ring Out Over Standing Rock Share on Facebook Tweet The words of John Trudell, who walked on late last year, ring out in this video by filmmakers Heather Rae, Cody Lucich and Ben Dupris, who recently spent time with the water protectors near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation who are trying to stop the Dakota Access oil pipeline’s proposed route under the Missouri River. His words, delivered in the 1980 speech We Are Power, are even more... read more
The words of John Trudell, who walked on late last year, ring out in this video by filmmakers Heather Rae, Cody Lucich and Ben Dupris, who recently spent time with the water protectors near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation who are trying to stop the Dakota Access oil pipeline’s proposed route under the Missouri River. His words, delivered in the 1980 speech We Are Power , are even more prophetic in the wake of the destruction of sacred burial grounds and the use of dogs and pepper spray against those who tried to stop it.
“The brutality of the American corporate state way of life is nothing more than violence and repression, and it has nothing to do with power,” Trudell’s voice says. “It is brutality. It’s a lack of a sane balance.”
Rae, who produced and directed the 2005 Sundance Film Festival documentary selection Trudell , teamed up with Lucich and Dupris and posted this on the Sundance Institute’s website. They graciously shared this, their footage of the movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline, with Indian Country Today Media Network . [watch video below] | 0 |
A lot of the food that I transfer from fork to mouth is complicated. Some of it dazzles me, some doesn’t, and I write my reviews accordingly. As time passes, though, it’s the less frenetic stuff that tends to stand out in my memory. The juicy slab of roast beef, the egg on toast served Mumbai style, the île flottante that vanished on my tongue leaving behind just a memory of transient happiness — these are some of my favorite dishes from new restaurants in New York, listed here in no particular order. EGGS KEJRIWAL AT PAOWALLA It’s a fried egg on toast under melted Cheddar that stands out from all others because of a green chutney that has a glossy underpinning of coconut oil: 195 Spring Street, SoHo paowalla. com. PHEASANT AT LE COUCOU Oh, just beautifully juicy pheasant breast, a little meatball of braised pheasant leg cooked in cabbage, and enough wobbly foie gras to make you forget that the United States recently held an election: 138 Lafayette Street, SoHo lecoucou. com. HONEY MESQUITE CAKE AT PONDICHERI Flour from almonds and ground mesquite pods, seasoned purposefully with ginger, make this a morning pastry without precedent: 15 West 27th Street, NoMad pondichericafe. . FROZEN YOGURT AT OLMSTED A heap of lavender cream whipped to stiff peaks sits on and blends in with the yogurt in this wonderfully uncomplicated duet for dairy products: 659 Vanderbilt Avenue, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn olmstednyc. com. CLAM PIZZA AT PASQUALE JONES Small refinements on the New Haven favorite, like marinating littlenecks in garlic and dribbling cream on the pie, make more difference than you’d suppose: 187 Mulberry Street, Little Italy no phone pasqualejones. com. ÎLE FLOTTANTE AT LE COQ RICO A crème Anglaise made with very yellow, very dense egg yolks is the foundation for a sphere of meringue like a snowman’s head. It’s dusted with hard grains of caramel that crackle between your teeth as the meringue collapses: 30 East 20th Street, Flatiron district lecoqriconyc. com. ROAST BEEF AT MR. DONAHUE’S The flavor is less like the sandwich meat of delis and bodegas than it is like a great slab of rib roast served on your favorite holiday: 203 Mott Street, NoLIta mrdonahues. com. CLASSIC BURGER AT SALVATION BURGER This is the pure stuff of hungry roadside American daydreams, with all the most qualities singled out and amplified: 230 East 51st Street, Midtown East salvationburger. com. CACIO E PEPE FRITELLE AT LILIA Reconfiguring the great and elemental Roman pasta dish as a fried bar snack is an even more clever idea than it sounds: 567 Union Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn lilianewyork. com. BUCATINI WITH SQUID AND MUSSELS AT HIGH STREET ON HUDSON Seaweed in the noodles and orange curls of cured lobster coral on top give this pasta an oceanic pull as strong as a riptide: 637 Hudson Street, West Village highstreetonhudson. com. | 1 |
Photo by Swithun Crowe | CC BY 2.0
This fall, the U.S. agreed to provide $38 billion in military aid to Israel over the next ten years, ensuring America’s continued role in funding the occupation of Palestine. Meanwhile, my friends and colleagues here in Gaza live in fear of another significant Israeli attack in the near future.
They have every reason to fear another major escalation — violence is a daily reality in Gaza. In two recent incidents, a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel without causing damage or injuries, and in both instances Israel responded by bombing targets throughout Gaza.
In August alone, Israel bombed more than 50 locations in the small territory .
The simple story told about these events focuses on action and reaction: Palestinians attacked Israel with a rocket and Israel responded. We hear this logic after nearly every event of this sort, but it’s woefully incomplete.
In both instances, the rockets fired weren’t fired by Hamas, but rather by small radical armed groups at odds with Hamas, which governs Gaza. These groups seek to incite Israeli attacks on Hamas with the goal of destabilizing its control over Gaza, because they see Hamas as too comfortable with the status quo.
Since seizing power in 2007, Hamas has worked to control and limit violence from the territory. Outside of periods of defined military escalation — which tend to be precipitated by Israeli attacks — they have effectively stopped attacks against Israel from Gaza.
This explains why, as noted by the Israeli press, there were only 14 rockets fired from Gaza towards Israel between January and August this year. None were fired by Hamas, so Israel’s decision to target Hamas as a response makes no sense.
Of course, 14 rockets fired from Gaza is 14 too many for those of us committed to ending all violence, and none of this should be taken as an apology for other violence perpetrated by Hamas.
But, as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories reports , there were also 45 Israeli military incursions into Gaza this year, resulting in 7 Palestinian deaths and, on average, injuring five Palestinians in Gaza every week.
This is the part of the story that isn’t told.
Gaza also remains under an Israeli-imposed blockade that severely limits travel, trade, and life for Gazans. Despite assurances that restrictions would be lifted in the 2014 Hamas-Israel ceasefire agreement, the blockade remains in effect.
Israel, with support from the U.S. government, claims this decades-long blockade is in place to pressure the people of Gaza to rise up against Hamas and provide security for Israelis.
If those are Israel’s raisons d’etre, then it’s a complete failure. It hasn’t stopped violence, it hasn’t weakened Hamas, and it hasn’t brought Israelis or Palestinians security.
While the blockade hasn’t succeeded in achieving the changes Israel claims to be seeking, its impact on the civilian population of Gaza has been immense.
Over two years after the end of the last large military operation there, much of Gaza remains in ruins.
Of the 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza who were displaced during the 2014 Israeli bombardment, over 65,000 remain homeless, as 70 percent of the homes seriously damaged or destroyed haven’t been rebuilt. This is largely because reconstruction materials remain blocked from entering Gaza.
This important context is too often missing as U.S. pundits and politicians consider the situation in Gaza.
Given the blockade and regular military incursions imposed by Israel, the firing of less than 2 rockets per month by Palestinians cannot be seen as the core reason for violence.
If the U.S. is serious about promoting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, preventing future violence in Gaza, and guaranteeing security, then it must recognize the violence inherent in the Israeli occupation and end the blockade.
The next attack on Gaza, feared by my friends who live there, is an inevitable reality if nothing changes.
Mike Merryman-Lotze has worked with the American Friends Service Committee as the Palestine-Israel Program Director since 2010.
Distributed by OtherWords.org. | 0 |
Corpses of psychiatric patients were found with head injuries and unexplained bruises. Relatives were not informed of the deaths of their loved ones. The transfers of mentally ill patients were seen as business opportunities. Those were some of the findings of a South African government investigation published on Wednesday that determined that 94 psychiatric patients died of negligence last year after being moved by the authorities in Gauteng Province to facilities that were likened in some cases to concentration camps. The report prompted calls for criminal prosecutions. More than 1, 300 patients under state care were transferred last year from a unit of Life Healthcare Group, a private hospital group in South Africa, to 27 charitable organizations in an effort by the health department in the province to save money. Pretoria, the country’s administrative capital, and Johannesburg are in Gauteng. The investigation was opened last September after 36 patients were found dead after being moved to some of the facilities operated by the charitable organizations. The report, by Professor Malegapuru W. Makgoba, the South African health ombudsman, found that the death toll was nearly 100, however. Investigators found facilities that were overcrowded and “full of hungry patients,” adding that some were wearing pants held together with shoelaces. Other patients complained of rotten food and said they went weeks without medication. The decision to move the patients “was unwise and flawed,” the report said, “with inadequate planning and a chaotic and rushed or hurried implementation process. ” All 27 of the organizations operated under invalid licenses, it said, so patients who were transferred there had died in “unlawful circumstances. ” The authorities in Gauteng Province, along with some of the care centers, could not be reached for comment. “It’s remarkable that only one person has died from a mental illness,” Professor Makgoba told local new outlets on Wednesday. The others died from “things like dehydration, diarrhea, epilepsy, heart attacks, all other things except mental illness. ” None of the care centers had professional doctors, nurses, psychiatrists or other therapists that normally cared for the patients, Professor Makgoba said in a separate interview on Thursday. “You have state patients in licensed institutions and you put them into unlicensed institutions,” he said. “I was shocked. ” The families of patients, as well as activists and psychiatrists, had vigorously opposed the plan to move the patients, arguing that it was dangerous to send them to facilities that were not equipped to handle them. Christopher Archer, of the South African Society of Psychiatrists, one of the groups that opposed the transfers, said that it was clear that “precipitous action had been taken without proper planning and these patients were moved prematurely before the facilities were property vetted. ” Public health services in South Africa are under enormous strain and severe budgetary constraints, Mr. Archer said in an interview. “There are more patients than there is money and this was considered a move to try to restrain public spending,” he said. “But it turns out it was completely inappropriate. ” The head of the provincial government’s health department, Qedani Mahlangu, resigned on Tuesday, just before the report was published, and there were mounting calls for David Makhura, the premier of Gauteng Province, to do the same. President Jacob Zuma thanked Professor Makgoba for his report, noting that it would help the government “ensure that such a tragedy does not recur in the health sector,” according to The Associated Press, but many South Africans said they were unconvinced. If 94 mental patients had died from official negligence in a “normal democracy,” the entire national government would have been forced to resign, Barney Mthombothi, a former editor of Financial Mail, a South African business publication, wrote on Twitter. | 1 |
Saturday on MSNBC’s “AM Joy,” MSNBC terrorism analyst Malcolm Nance argued that President Donald Trump “never promised democracy” in the election, and instead “always promised autocracy. ” “Vladimir Putin views Donald Trump as an ally because he intends to establish a series of global autocracies and link the world through autocracy, not through the old communism that he was brought up with,” Nance said to host Joy Reid. He added, “Donald Trump never promised democracy in this election. If you go back, he’s always promised autocracy. In fact, you could argue that … Donald Trump is the closest thing we’ve ever had to King George III and they’re very, very much alike. ” Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent | 1 |
IMHO we all need to go to these web sites and and post,... not an echo chamber there as there is here. We here seem to all be on the same page, | 0 |
Training French soldiers to supervise Daesh Voltaire Network | 27 October 2016 français Español italiano Deutsch Türkçe On 22 September 2016, while cleaning around an abandoned troglodyte refuge not far from the church of Saint-Florent on the outskirts of Saumur (France), a group of workers saw three men drive away hurriedly in a white van. Entering the cave, they discovered video equipment and a generator, as well as newspapers in the Arab language and Daesh flags.
Wishing to calm not only the anxiety of the population, but also the police, the gendarmerie and the sub-prefect, General Arnaud Nicolazo de Barmon, commanding officer of the Military Schools in Saumur declared that the men were not terrorists, but students of a training exercise by the Inter-Army Centre for Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and Radiological defence (CIA NBCR).
If such were the case, in the middle of the current state of emergency, the CIA NBCR would have violated the rules of notification for this exercise, which should have been transmitted to the different local authorities before the exercise began. Apart from this, it is not easy to discern how any of the equipment discovered might be in any way useful for exercises in nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical defence.
In the same buildings as the CIA NBCR in Saumur are the schools specialised in Intelligence and Inter-Army Combat.
The presence of French forces has been noted since the very beginning of the events in Syria, in 2011. In 2012, 19 French soldiers who had been taken prisoner were handed back, at the Lebanese border, to the Army Chief of Staff, Admiral Édouard Guillaud, with other soldiers supervising Baba Amr’s Islamic Emirate. The death of French soldiers supervising the Islamist troops was certified in several places, particularly in Sannayeh in 2013. While France, in 2014, had supported Al-Qaïda against Daesh, the presence of French officers within the Caliphate itself has been attested by several witnesses in 2016.
In November 2014, the Pentagon declared that it had killed an agent of the DGSE (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure) in Samarda – the agent, David Drugeon, was working within Al-Qaïda, while the French Minister for Defence denied any link with the victim. Thereafter, the US Press confirmed that David Drugeon had trained Mohamed Mera (terrorist attacks in Toulouse and Montauban), and the Kouachi brothers (attack on Charlie Hebdo ).
France has never officially recognised that it has troops on the ground in Syria, although it has admitted that it shares common headquarters there with allied special forces .
Translation
Pete Kimberley | 0 |
The oligarchy runs our society with Problem – Reaction – Solution.
We all knew our government was disgustingly corrupt… but now it’s blatantly in-your-face written proof disgustingly corrupt at a time when most of us didn’t think it could get much worse.
If anything, these leaks have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the two-party system is an illusion and the whole construct is one huge pay-for-play corporate sham. Obamacare was always meant to destroy the private health care system and usher in single-payer, government run socialist medicine. It was designed that way… and it’s “working”. Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
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Aaron Dykes and Melissa Melton created Truthstream Media.com as an outlet to examine the news, place it in a broader context, uncover the deceptions, pierce through the fabric of illusions, grasp the underlying factors, know the real enemy, unshackle from the system, and begin to imagine the path towards taking back our lives, one step at a time, so that one day we might truly be free… | 0 |
When Capt. Humayun Khan was ordered to Iraq a dozen years ago, his father wanted to talk to him about being an American Muslim soldier sent to war in a Muslim country. His son, though, was focused only on the job at hand. “I asked him, ‘How do you feel about the whole Iraq deal?’ ” recalled Khizr Khan, who became a United States citizen after emigrating from Pakistan in 1980. “He said: ‘Look, that’s not my concern and that’s not my pay grade. My responsibility is to make sure my unit is safe.’ And that’s all he would talk about, and nothing else. ” Captain Khan, 27, died on June 8, 2004, after he told his men to take cover and then tried to stop a suicide bomber outside the gates of his base in Baquba. And on Thursday night, speaking about his son at the Democratic National Convention, Mr. Khan gave a voice to Muslim Americans outraged by the pronouncements of the Republican nominee for president, Donald J. Trump. In a speech that electrified the convention and turned Mr. Khan into a social media and cable news sensation, he waved a pocket Constitution and challenged Mr. Trump, “You have sacrificed nothing and no one. ” Mr. Trump’s call for restrictions on Muslims entering the country is acutely personal, Mr. Khan said, in an interview on Friday, adding that he had no plans to campaign for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, nor had the campaign asked him to. Mr. Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Mr. Khan’s remarks. In December Mr. Trump called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on. ” More recently, he has pledged to suspend immigration from any country “compromised by terrorism. ” If restrictions on Muslim immigration had been in place decades ago, Mr. Khan said, neither he, a lawyer with an advanced degree from Harvard Law School his wife, Ghazala, who taught Persian at a Pakistani college before raising three boys in the Washington suburbs their eldest son, Shaharyar, who was a top student at the University of Virginia and a of a biotechnology company nor Captain Khan, who posthumously earned the Bronze Star, along with a Purple Heart, for saving the lives of his men, would have been allowed to settle here. A third son, Omer, who works at his brother’s biotech company, was born in the United States. “If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America,” Mr. Khan exclaimed about his deceased son during his speech, his wife by his side. Mr. Khan said that Mr. Trump “wants to build walls and ban us from this country. ” “Let me ask you: Have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy,” Mr. Khan said, addressing Mr. Trump directly, while pulling a miniature version of the country’s founding document from his coat pocket. Mr. Khan said he admires both Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, though Thomas Jefferson is his real hero. Mr. Khan’s odyssey from lawyer and legal consultant to D. N. C. speaker began in December, when he got a phone call from a writer for Vocativ, an online publication, who wanted his thoughts on Mr. Trump’s statements about Muslims. Mr. Khan criticized Mr. Trump’s statements as in an article published by Vocativ. A few weeks later, he got a phone call from a Clinton campaign official, who had seen the article and asked if his comments could be used in a tribute for his son at the convention. “I said, ‘What a wonderful honor,’ ” he recalled in the interview. “Who am I to say, ‘No’?” Months later, the campaign asked if he and his wife would come to the convention. “The initial plan was just to go there and stand and talk to the media afterwards,” he said. “Then somebody called and said, ‘Would you like to say a word or two?’ ” Time was tight and the schedule packed, he was told. The campaign asked whether he needed speechwriting help or any coaching. “I said: ‘I really don’t, I have my thoughts in my head,” he said. “I won’t make it an hourlong speech, just let me say what I want to say. It will be . ” Nothing from the speech, he said, was the product of the campaign, including his dig at Mr. Trump’s lack of military service. It all flowed pretty easily, because he had been thinking about these things for quite a while, he said. Mr. Khan expressed great faith in the Constitution and in a political process that bolsters a belief that “an unqualified person will never get to this office. ” “I respect the Republican Party as much as the Democratic Party,” he said. But he added: “I definitely will continue to raise my voice out of concern that the Republican leadership must pay attention to what is taking place. ” Mr. Khan met his wife at Punjab University in Lahore, Pakistan. They moved to Dubai, where their two eldest sons were born, then arrived in Houston, renting a $ apartment. Eventually they settled outside Washington, where Mr. Khan worked at a mortgage company and law firms. Captain Khan attended John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Md. In his free time, he taught disabled children to swim. At the University of Virginia, he joined the R. O. T. C. program, and majored in psychology, his father said. He planned to attend law school. His last conversation with his parents was on Mother’s Day 2004. His mother said: “ ‘I don’t want you to be a hero. I want you to return back to me safely,’ ” Mr. Khan recalled. “Of course I will,” he promised her. “But Mother, you should know I have responsibility for these soldiers, and I cannot leave them unprotected. ” The bomber who took Captain Khan’s life drove an taxi toward the base. Had the captain not warned his men to take cover, “there would have been more casualties,” his brigade commander, Dana Pittard, said in an interview. Recalling the captain’s potential as he watched Mr. Khan’s speech, Mr. Pittard said, “I had to leave the room, it brought back such a flood of memories. ” After their son’s death, Mr. Khan and his wife, who had moved to Charlottesville to be close to their other sons, had the university’s R. O. T. C. cadets over for dinner once a year. Mr. Khan would give them each a copy of the Constitution, just like the one he brandished on Thursday, said Tim Leroux, who used to run the R. O. T. C. program. University officials let Mr. Khan read an application essay his son wrote for a residential college. In the essay, Captain Khan wrote of how “liberty requires vigilance and sacrifice” and that those who are “beneficiaries of liberty must always bear this in mind, and keep it safe from attacks. ” “That summed up his later life,” Mr. Khan said. | 1 |
White House economic advisor Gary Cohn made the curious comment in Sicily on Friday that President Donald Trump’s views on climate change were “evolving. ”[It was not clear exactly what that meant. “Evolution” could mean moving towards the alarmist consensus of the left — or it could also mean toward a skeptical view, one more carefully informed by scientific and economic reality. In political terms, “evolving” is usually a term used by the left, a euphemism to describe when a politician has changed his or her position. Its most significant use was in regards to President Barack Obama’s views on gay marriage, which were said to have “evolved” from outright Christian opposition to liberal embrace. Like the term “progressive,” the term “evolution” implies an improvement in moral and intellectual terms, from prejudice and ignorance to reason and enlightenment. The left, presuming that its own views are superior, and that the “long arc of history” bends in its direction, expects people to “evolve” in its direction. What was stranger were Cohn’s words explaining how Trump is said to be evolving. The president, he said, was becoming “smarter” and becoming “more knowledgeable” about the issue. Again, that could mean Trump is growing skeptical of the alarmist, view around which our public debate on climate change revolves. (In obtaining a degree in environmental science and public policy from Harvard, for instance, I became more knowledgeable about the problems in modeling climate — problems that have not improved much since then, despite the radical advances in computer technology and data analysis.) It is also possible that Cohn was shaping his assessment of the president’s views to flatter his largely European audience, which believes in climate change the way people on other continents believe in religion. That flattery may have been appropriate, for diplomatic reasons. What defies explanation is why he would imply that his boss had previously been less “smart” about the issue, or less well informed. It is the kind of comment that tends to reinforce the false narrative the media spins about every single Republican president — i. e. that he is stupid. It is also a comment that carries considerable political risk. Conservatives resent being told, usually by leftists, that their generally skeptical views on climate change are poorly informed, or “denialist. ” Often, the leftists making such accusations cannot actually explain themselves how climate change is presumed to take place, and never consider a view other than their own. For now, conservatives continue to hold out hope that the president “evolves” the U. S. out of the Paris climate agreement and toward a more sensible policy that uses innovation in energy technology to harness domestic resources of all kinds, and grow the U. S. economy while reducing emissions. Joel B. Pollak is Senior at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak. | 1 |
After the explosion in September of one of its rockets, SpaceX is now ready to get back into the business of sending payloads to space, the company announced on Monday, with its next rocket headed to orbit as soon as Sunday. In a statement, SpaceX — or more formally, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation — said that an investigation had determined the likely cause: an unexpected interplay of supercold helium and oxygen with carbon fibers and aluminum. The statement Monday added technical details about what went wrong, and the company said it had devised workarounds to prevent a recurrence. The cascade of explosions on Sept. 1 that destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida was perplexing and concerning, because it occurred during what is usually regarded as a safer portion of operations — the fueling of propellants — about eight minutes before the ignition of the engines for a planned test. (The launch had been scheduled for two days later.) The trouble appeared to start near the liquid oxygen tank on the second stage of the rocket, and in less than a tenth of a second, that section was in flames, followed by the destruction of the entire rocket and a $200 million communications satellite whose customers included Facebook, which had planned to use it to expand internet services in Africa. Under current federal laws, investigations into such explosions are led by the company that built the rocket, not by a government agency. The investigation panel included representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Air Force, NASA and the National Transportation Safety Board. Falcon 9 rockets are used to carry NASA cargo to the International Space Station and are to provide transportation for astronauts beginning in 2018. SpaceX is also competing to win contracts to launch Department of Defense spy satellites. With few obvious clues to the explosion, the company initially considered hypotheses like sabotage, that a sniper had fired a shot rupturing the oxygen tank from the roof of a competitor’s building nearby. “The accident investigation team worked systematically through an extensive fault tree analysis,” SpaceX said in its statement. The investigation narrowed in on three helium containers within the liquid oxygen tank. The containers consist of an aluminum liner with an outer layer of strong carbon fibers. During launch, as the liquid oxygen is consumed, the helium is heated and released to maintain pressure within the tank. In December 2015, SpaceX began using an upgraded Falcon 9 design that uses supercooled liquid oxygen at minus 340 degrees, 40 degrees colder than what is typically used. The lower temperature makes the oxygen denser, which improves engine thrust. But the helium was even colder. As the carbon and aluminum cool, they shrink at different rates, opening gaps into which liquid oxygen could flow. In addition, the helium may have been below the temperature at which oxygen freezes, and some of the trapped oxygen may have become solid. “Really surprising problem that’s never been encountered before in the history of rocketry,” Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX, said in an interview on CNBC in November. Both carbon and aluminum can burn, and with oxygen sandwiched in between, all of the ingredients for a conflagration were present. Friction or the breaking of fibers could have provided the energy for ignition, the company said. Tests at SpaceX’s facilities in Hawthorne, Calif. and McGregor, Tex. supported that conclusion, the company said. The configuration of the helium containers has been shifted, and the fueling procedures will change so that the helium will be warmer, SpaceX said. The next SpaceX launch is to carry a of satellites for Iridium Communications, which provides communications services including satellite telephones through a constellation of satellites. Iridium is looking to replace the surviving 65 original satellites with 70 new satellites, each about the size of a Mini Cooper car. A month ago, Iridium issued a statement saying it hoped that SpaceX would be able to launch its satellites in but less than a week later, SpaceX said it was pushing back the launch date to early January. The Iridium satellite is to be launched by SpaceX from a leased launchpad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. For launches from Florida, SpaceX hopes to complete renovations at Launchpad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, once used for space shuttle launches. SpaceX is tentatively aiming to resume cargo flights to the space station this month. | 1 |
Tuesday 22 November 2016 by Neil Tollfree Woman faces jail for dismal selection of office birthday cakes
An Essex woman is facing prison for providing a dismal selection of cakes for the office to celebrate her birthday.
The incident took place at the offices of Hadley and Kemp Solutions in Hatfield Peveral yesterday. It was Eileen Plankton’s birthday and anticipation was high as she entered the office with several Marks and Spencer bags.
“Oh yeah, everyone was really impressed,” said a colleague who wished to remain anonymous.
“I mean – Markses; I thought we were in for a real treat. They do a lovely cream horn.”
After several hours of playfully tormenting her colleagues with amusing comments like ‘these bags? No, they’re just lunch. I’m a bit peckish today,’ Mrs Plankton finally sent the following email:
21 again, and if you believe that you’ll believe anything. Some sweet treats on Len’s desk (he’s off having his prolapse sorted, so he won’t mind).
However, excitement turned to disappointment as the true nature of the cakes became clear.
“Well, she might as well have just shat all over the desk,” continued Mrs Plankton’s colleague.
“They weren’t Markses cakes at all, she’d just reused the bags. There was a box of Poundstretcher’s broken biscuits, some cheap cheese straws and six boxes of Value jam tarts.
“I mean, I didn’t know what to do with myself. This horrible silence descended as everyone saw what she’d done.
“I just ate nine jam tarts without looking at her and walked off not even bothering to say ‘Thank you’.”
Shortly afterwards the police were called, Mrs Plankton was arrested and she is expected to be sentenced to between 18-24 months for her crimes. Get the best NewsThump stories in your mailbox every Friday, for FREE! There are currently | 0 |
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© Murad Sezer / Reuters An armored police vehicle drives past by the headquarters of Cumhuriyet newspaper, an opposition secularist daily, in Istanbul, Turkey, October 31, 2016.
Turkish PM Binali Yildirim has responded to concerns expressed by Ankara’s EU partners over the situation with the freedom of expression in the country, saying that European standards apparently have no importance for Turkey.
Following Monday’s arrests of the editor-in-chief and other top staff of Turkey’s opposition Cumhuriyet daily, European Parliament President Martin Schulz harshly criticized Ankara’s actions, having called it a part of a “purge… motivated by political considerations, rather than legal and security rationale.”
Turkey has once again crossed the “red line” against freedom of expression, the politician wrote on Twitter.
“Brother, we don’t care about your red line. It’s the people who draw the red line. What importance does your line have. We draw another red line on top of yours,” Yildirim told members of his ruling AK Party in a parliament speech.
Implying that its only the people of Turkey who can hold the government “accountable” for its actions, Yildirim said Ankara would not be intimidated by EU’s “threats”.
Crowds gathered by the Cumhuriyet offices during the night, to express their support for the media, Reuters reported. According to Turkey’s journalists’ association, 170 media outlets have been shut down following the attempted coup.
“We are not going to learn from you what press freedom is. We support it all the way,” Reuters quoted Yildirim as saying.
The new wave of arrests and investigations of the Cumhuriyet staff come under accusations that the media – which has been critical of President Tayyip Erdogan, had assisted a failed military coup in July. Alleging that the journalists played their part in the coup by publishing “subliminal messages” in their columns, according to Turkish Anadolu agency, prosecutors accused them of supporting Kurdish militants and US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The latter is blamed by the government for orchestrating the coup.
“[Our European friends] always bring up press freedom when we take steps in our fight against terrorism,” the prime minister said, adding that Turkey has “no problem with press freedom.”
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Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week’s most notable new songs and videos — and anything else that strikes them as intriguing — in the Playlist. You can listen to this playlist on Spotify here. Like this format? Let us know at theplaylist@nytimes. com. Every time Dad gets control of the Sonos, he’s always trying to tell us something. Like, in the mornings, there’s this persistent thrum of good vibes. Energy so positive it makes caffeine seem like codeine. The Courtney Barnett song with the least anxiety! Nina with Aretha! That bluesy Sara Bareilles song with the hiccupping piano! Literally “Good Vibrations!” He’ll play a couple of rap songs with cursing in them — LOL — but nothing with any real teeth. Not even Kendrick! (Weirdly, no gospel, though.) Every day, it’s like this: A reminder to face the world with, like, an open heart. It’s no wonder then that, at night, all dad wants to do is chill. I mean, do you hear those songs? I mean, not even the whole song — just the first few seconds of throbby synths on that Chrisette Michele song! Or that Corinne Bailey Rae one, the one literally called “Green Aphrodisiac. ” When D’Angelo’s “Lady” comes on, it’s almost as if Dad is trolling us, but really what he’s saying is that it’s time, after a day of relentless optimism in the face of national and international trauma, for grown folks to relax. Yes, Dad. We hear you. JON CARAMANICA The next album by Green Day — “Revolution Radio,” due on Oct. 7 — returns the band to charged sociopolitical footing, and to a froth of righteous insurgence. You wouldn’t have to hear any music to recognize that this is the best possible news for Green Day, which has been mostly quiet over the last few years, and most recently released an album (three of them, actually) in 2012. “Bang Bang,” the first single from “Revolution Radio,” has all the snarl and pep you could want, mobilizing classic punk strategies with ruthless pop efficiency. But its lyrical premise is pointed and potent: Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the song in the voice of a delusional young mass shooter, dreaming of glory and infamy: It’s an unsettling chorus to picture on an arena stage, with thousands of fans belting along. But unsettling is what Mr. Armstrong wants here, and the furiously catchy qualities of the tune help his cause. NATE CHINEN No one in pop walks tightropes more elegantly than Chance the Rapper. And in this song, which is really the soundtrack for a short film advertising Nike and the United States Olympic men’s and women’s basketball teams, he manages to be a rapper, singer and poet both creatively progressive and amenably corporate and simultaneously politically radical and earnestly patriotic. He’s a gold medalist in playing to the crowds — all of them. J. C. Thursday night the Robert Glasper Experiment played a brief set on its home turf, as part of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park. From the stage, Mr. Glasper announced that the band’s new studio album, “ArtScience,” is due on Sept. 16. A lead single, “Find You,” gives some hint as to the band’s new coordinates: less simmering RB, more fusion. It features the bassist Derrick Hodge on lead vocals, singing a romantic entreaty through light electronic processing, while the band hurtles through several variations on a groove. A guest guitar solo by Michael Severson leaves no doubt as to the role that virtuosity can play here. And after the track seems to have wound down, there’s a coda with a by Mr. Glasper’s young son, Riley, who rails against police injustice: “We stand up for freedom. ” N. C. The splashiest debut in this week came from the female foursome Blackpink — Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo and Rosé — who appear to fill the hole left by the hiatus of pioneering girl group (and labelmates, on YG Entertainment) 2NE1. Of Blackpink’s first two singles, the better one is “Whistle,” which uses the Ying Yang Twins’s “Wait (The Whisper Song)” as a point for an elastic thumper. Like 2NE1, Blackpink features singers and rappers — Lisa’s rapping is the highlight here — and a sleek blend of exuberance and sass. J. C. To date, the Scranton, Pa. punk outfit the Menzingers have been happiest as brawlers — thoughtful brawlers, but rowdy all the same. The new single “Lookers” feels like a sore muscle: solid at the core, but tender at the edges. The lead singer Greg Barnett sings of the king he once was — “Lost in a picture way my body used to behave” — with both longing and residual verve. (And he applies a heavy patina of geographically specific nostalgia — “Jersey girls are always total Julie from the Wonder I still wonder where you are” — that verges on Gaslight Anthem territory.) For a band prone to upheaval, this song about the fading of the light is surprisingly meditative. Mr. Barnett never sounds rueful, only grateful for the shot he once had, and maybe missed. J. C. The and jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding has just announced a tour, kicking off this weekend at the Richmond Jazz Festival and winding across North and South America through the fall. She’s drawing from “Emily’s D+Evolution,” the album she released in the spring, signaling a firm alignment with funk, rock and soul. One of the best songs on the album is “Unconditional Love,” a ballad in which Ms. Spalding questions the need for so much turmoil in a relationship, calling for something simpler and truer. A handsome new video for the song (directed by Calmatic, who has mainly worked with artists) shows Ms. Spalding backstage at a concert venue, being primped for a performance. Then comes a sudden transformation: She’s Emily, her childlike alter ego, in street clothes and a different hairdo. Liberated, she wanders, dances and finds her romantic foil, in a series of scenes that could either be a figment of imagination or as real as it gets. N. C. The jazz pianist Fred Hersch rarely sounds better than he does at the Village Vanguard, where he’ll be in residence with his trio next week. He has an inspired new album, “Sunday at the Vanguard,” recorded in the spring, on the final night of his most recent engagement there. “Blackwing Palomino” is one of its five original compositions, a moseying tune that conveys intensity of purpose without ever breaking a sweat. It’s a strong argument for Mr. Hersch’s acutely sensitive bond with the bassist John Hébert and the drummer Eric McPherson, who have constituted his trio for the better part of a decade. Placed alongside the other originals, a songbook standard (“A Cockeyed Optimist”) a Beatles tune (“For No One”) and one by Thelonious Monk (“We See”) it becomes part of a representative picture of Mr. Hersch’s nightclub set on a good night. That’s ample reason to seek out the album, as well as a reminder to book a reservation at the club. N. C. | 1 |
TV3
Día extraordinario el de ayer en la parrilla televisiva. Por primera vez desde que hay registros, La 2 de Televisión Española consiguió ser la cadena más vista. Aprovechando el tirón de “Operación Triunfo: el Reencuentro”, emitió el documental de National Geographic titulado “La Cobra” . Gracias a esto, #ChenoaDiosa fue Trending Topic mundial.
Telecinco ocupó el segundo puesto en el ránking catódico con la emisión de un especial Sálvame Deluxe , donde Susana Díaz se sometía al polígrafo. El minuto de oro fue el momento en que la andaluza negó haber conspirado contra Pedro Sánchez y el polígrafo explotó.
El estreno del nuevo reality de Cuatro alcanzó unas cifras aceptables, constatando que el mundo del sadomasoquismo está en auge. La cadena de Mediaset ya ha confirmado que habrá segunda temporada de Sadomaso busca esposas .
No tuvo tanta suerte Antena 3, que también estrenaba un nuevo formato: Tu tara me suena . Diferentes famosos se caracterizan de gente con diferentes defectos físicos. La estrella de la noche fue Arévalo, que sacó del baúl de los recuerdos su fantástica interpretación de un gangoso.
La Sexta vivió una de sus peores jornadas desde su nacimiento. Una afonía de Ferreras dejó en cuadros a la cadena, obligándola a suspender sus emisiones y a poner en bucle el mítico desmayo de Lopetegui.
La cadena estatal menos vista ayer fue La 1 de Televisión Española. No logró convencer a la audiencia con su capítulo especial de El Ministerio del Tiempo . La trama situaba a los protagonistas en un pasado reciente, cuando Bárcenas entró de tesorero en el Partido Popular. Sin embargo, los discos duros donde se guardó el capítulo fueron formateados misteriosamente, precipitando el final del capítulo tan solo 15 minutos después de empezar.
En clave autonómica, la catalana TV3 obtuvo un espectacular 93% de “share” con el programa “Tapetes de ganchillo para tu butaca” , evidenciando el considerable envejecimiento de su audiencia.
En Euskadi, ETB tuvo unos resultados discretos con el documental “Searching for Pintxo Man” , la biografía de un vasco que, sin saberlo, es una celebridad en Sudáfrica gracias a sus pintxos de txistorra.
La Televisión de Galicia pinchó con la final de su reality “Operación Munheira” . El público debía votar al mejor concursante del programa. Como siempre que se vota, ganó el PP. | 0 |
“I feel good, not great,” Tiger Woods told chief executive of the RA, Peter Dawson. “I don’t think I’ll ever feel great again because it’s been three back surgeries and four knee operations. ”[That somewhat pessimistic characterization of his own health condition puts a dark shadow over Tiger Woods’ prospects of ever surpassing Jack Nicklaus’ 18 major championships. Woods owns 14 majors and is second to The Golden Bear on the major winners’ list. Moreover, with the field of impressive and fit young talent on the PGA tour, the question becomes whether a “good” Tiger can ever walk off the 18th hole on a Sunday afternoon resting alone at the top of the leaderboard. A back spasm last week at the Dubai Desert Classic forced Woods to pull himself from the tournament after stumbling to a 77 in the first round. The who once dominated the sport and ranked #1 in the world for over a decade, now must lower the expectations bar as he faces the reality of a failing body. “I’m always going to be a little bit sore. As long as I can function, I’m fine with that,” Tiger spoke. “It was a tough, tough road,” the beleaguered golf icon told CNN when referring to his protracted layoff to recover from his last two back surgeries. “There was a lot of dark times where I couldn’t get out of bed, couldn’t move, the pain was too great. “Anyone who’s ever had nerve pain in their back, they certainly understand what that feels like. I honestly didn’t know this time last year, I didn’t know if I’d ever play golf again. Just because of the fact that it’s nerve pain. ” Woods started his comeback in December playing at his own tournament, the Hero World Challenge, where he showed some glimpses of his old self. He fired a 65 on his Friday round and led the field with most birdies over the tournament, despite finishing 15th in a field of 18. Woods teed it up for his first tournament since his layoff, the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, two weeks ago. That ended poorly for the winner of 79 PGA tournaments, as he failed to make the cut to play on the weekend. The positive takeaway, however, was he felt strong and swung well. Unfortunately, the flat stick failed him during his Thursday and Friday rounds, where he misread greens and lipped out several putts. Woods previously won at Torrey Pines 8 times, including the US Open in 2008. Friday Woods announced on his own website “that due to ongoing back spasms, similar to what he experienced in Dubai, he will be unable to compete in the Genesis Open and The Honda Classic. ” “My doctors have advised me not to play the next two weeks, to continue my treatment and to let my back calm down,” Woods explains. “This is not what I was hoping for or expecting. I am extremely disappointed to miss the Genesis Open, a tournament that benefits my foundation, and The Honda Classic, my hometown event. I would like to thank Genesis for their support, and I know we will have an outstanding week. ” Tiger was scheduled to play both of those tournaments as key stepping stones to sharpening his game for his return to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in April. Woods’ chance to add another major victory to his distinguished career appears to be fading away once again. | 1 |
FBI Agents Must Come Forward to Confront Corruption November 07, 2016 FBI Agents Must Come Forward to Confront Corruption
We are in uncharted territory. Unfettered corruption has metastasized to the highest levels of government. FBI Director James Comey, a man once widely respected throughout all levels of law enforcement, has sadly sealed his legacy as a crooked shill for the Clinton crime family. It’s the theatre of the absurd. Based upon his Sunday announcement that he intends to put the kibosh, for now at least, on Hillary Clinton’s criminal investigations, Mr. Comey has asked the American people to believe that the FBI thoroughly reviewed 650,000 emails from Anthony Weiner’s laptop in a whopping 691,200 seconds. I suspect Comey may have come across details of his own impending “suicide” on Weiner’s hard drive. It’s little wonder that trust for government is at an all-time low, and that the FBI has become a national laughing stock.
Indeed, a preponderance of legal and political analysists agree that the level of corruption and cover-up forcing Richard Nixon to resign his presidency in disgrace in 1974, pales by comparison to the evidence behind the multiple criminal investigations surrounding Hillary Clinton – the Democratic Party’s embattled presidential nominee. Both the Clinton Foundation and Clinton email scandals represent, jointly and separately, Watergate on steroids.
While a week ago Mr. Comey sent a letter to both Republicans and Democrats in Congress advising them that, “In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear pertinent to the [ongoing Clinton] investigation,” an even greater bombshell shook the Clinton camp mid-week. “Fox News reports Wednesday night that the FBI’s Clinton Foundation probe has produced an ‘avalanche of evidence’ likely to result in indictments,” reports the Washington Times.
“Bret Baier, based on two sources, said in a tweet that ‘barring obstruction they’d likely continue 2 push to try for an indictment.’” The “obstruction” referenced, as Baier later explained, is that presently being conducted by the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) in general, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch in particular. As leaks indicate, the DOJ has placed a roadblock at every corner in an effort to obstruct the ongoing FBI investigations into Mrs. Clinton’s illicit activities. Multiple reports further indicate that said DOJ obstruction has triggered an uprising within the Bureau.
“Mr. Baier,” continues the Times, “said the probe into pay-for-play charges at the Foundation by the Bureau’s White Collar Crime division has been going on for more than a year and has involved multiple interviews with numerous individuals.”
It doesn’t take a beltway insider to recognize that if Hillary Clinton takes the White House on Tuesday, an unprecedented constitutional crisis looms large. An already divided nation will be thrown into chaos, and a hyper-partisan Washington D.C. will effectively settle, like concrete, into total gridlock.
The aforementioned criminal investigations into Secretary Clinton’s activities, though intertwined in a tangled web of deleted emails, pay-to-play shakedowns and obstruction of justice, are otherwise quite easy to understand. While serving as Secretary of State Mrs. Clinton had a private email server installed in the basement of her Chappaqua, NY home with the express, and very much illegal, purpose of leveraging her federal power and authority to both solicit Clinton Foundation donations, and to conduct official State business. The private server enabled her to avoid government oversight and accountability, and to racketeer under cover of darkness.
Mrs. Clinton then obtained and used a private email address, , to conceal her illicit activity. While soliciting bribes from foreign dignitaries, Islamic terrorist nations, and foreign corporate wheeler-dealers, she likewise transmitted highly classified government information over her unsecured network. No less than five enemy nations then hacked the account with little difficulty, gaining access to classified State secrets.
Mrs. Clinton shamelessly – treasonously – placed her own personal enrichment above national security and the lives and safety of American citizens both at home and abroad.
Thus, in the interest of both justice and the best interests of the American people, FBI agents and other government officials with direct evidence of Hillary Clinton's crimes (and the Obama DOJ’s ongoing cover-up) should immediately release that evidence to both Congress and the public at large. It’s not a “leak” when the level of systemic crime and corruption has reached critical mass, as it has within both the Obama administration and Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign. These public servants will be whistleblowers, not rouge agents – patriots, not partisans. Their oath is to the U.S. Constitution, not to a second rate community organizer, his Marxist political party, or that party’s career criminal presidential nominee.
They’d better hurry, though. Mr. Obama likely has his Clinton pardon already drafted and saved on “we the people’s” very-much-secure government server.
Matt Barber is founder and editor-in chief of BarbWire.com . He is author of “Hating Jesus: The American Left’s War on Christianity,” a columnist, a cultural analyst and an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. Having retired as an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer, Matt has taken his fight from the ring to the culture war. (Follow Matt on Twitter: @jmattbarber). Article by Doc Burkhart , Vice-President, General Manager and co-host of TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles Got a news tip? Email us at Help support the ministry of TRUNEWS with your one-time or monthly gift of financial support. DONATE NOW ! DOWNLOAD THE TRUNEWS MOBILE APP! CLICK HERE! Donate Today! Support TRUNEWS to help build a global news network that provides a credible source for world news
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A curious aspect of the Syrian conflict -- a rebellion sponsored largely by the United States and its Gulf state allies -- is the disappearance in much of the American mainstream news media of references to the prominent role played by Al Qaeda in seeking to overthrow the secular Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.
There's much said in the U.S. press about ISIS, the former "Al Qaeda in Iraq" which splintered off several years ago, but Al Qaeda's central role in commanding Syria's "moderate" rebels in Aleppo and elsewhere is the almost unspoken reality of the Syrian war. Even in the U.S. presidential debates, the arguing between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton has been almost exclusively about ISIS, not Al Qaeda.
Though Al Qaeda got the ball rolling on America's revenge wars in the Middle East 15 years ago by killing several thousand Americans and others in the 9/11 attacks, the terrorist group has faded into the background of U.S. attention, most likely because it messes up the preferred "good guy/bad guy" narrative regarding the Syrian war.
For instance, the conflict in Aleppo between Syrian government forces and rebels operating primarily under Al Qaeda's command is treated in the Western media as simply a case of the barbaric Assad and his evil Russian ally Vladimir Putin mercilessly bombing what is portrayed as the east Aleppo equivalent of Disney World, a place where innocent children and their families peacefully congregate until they are targeted for death by the Assad-Putin war-crime family.
The photos sent out to the world by skillful rebel propagandists are almost always of wounded children being cared for by the " White Helmet" rebel civil defense corps , which has come under growing criticism for serving as a public-relations arm of Al Qaeda and other insurgents. (There also are allegations that some of the most notable images have been staged , like a fake war scene from the 1997 dark comedy, "Wag the Dog.") - Advertisement -
Rare Glimpse of Truth
Yet, occasionally, the reality of Al Qaeda's importance in the rebellion breaks through, even in the mainstream U.S. media, although usually downplayed and deep inside the news pages, such as the A9 article in Saturday's New York Times by Hwaida Saad and Anne Barnard describing a rebel offensive in Aleppo. It acknowledges:
"The new offensive was a strong sign that rebel groups vetted by the United States were continuing their tactical alliances with groups linked to Al Qaeda, rather than distancing themselves as Russia has demanded and the Americans have urged. ... The rebels argue that they cannot afford to shun any potential allies while they are under fire, including well-armed and motivated jihadists, without more robust aid from their international backers." (You might note how the article subtly blames the rebel dependence on Al Qaeda on the lack of "robust aid" from the Obama administration and other outside countries -- even though such arms shipments violate international law.)
What the article also makes clear in a hazy kind of way is that Al Qaeda's affiliate, the recently renamed Nusra Front, and its jihadist allies, such as Ahrar al-Sham, are waging the brunt of the fighting while the CIA-vetted "moderates" are serving in mostly support roles. The Times reported:
"The insurgents have a diverse range of objectives and backers, but they issued statements of unity on Friday. Those taking part in the offensive include the Levant Conquest Front, a militant group formerly known as the Nusra Front that grew out of Al Qaeda; another hard-line Islamist faction, Ahrar al-Sham; and other rebel factions fighting Mr. Assad that have been vetted by the United States and its allies." - Advertisement -
The article cites Charles Lister, a senior fellow and Syria specialist at the Middle East Institute in Washington, and other analysts noting that "the vast majority of the American-vetted rebel factions in Aleppo were fighting inside the city itself and conducting significant bombardments against Syrian government troops in support of the Qaeda-affiliated fighters carrying out the brunt of front-line fighting."
Lister noted that 11 of the 20 or so rebel groups conducting the Aleppo "offensive have been vetted by the C.I.A. and have received arms from the agency, including anti-tank missiles. ...
"In addition to arms provided by the United States, much of the rebels' weaponry comes from regional states, like Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia," Mr. Lister said, "including truck-borne multiple-rocket launcher systems and Czech-made Grad rockets with extended ranges."
The U.S./Al Qaeda Alliance | 0 |
Last night, Donald Trump soundly won the presidential election and defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton was a problematic candidate from the beginning, and only secured the nomination because she was backed by arrogant party elites.
Trump’s victory was due in no small part to his gains in the so-called rust belt , where he pulled out victories in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania (Michigan remains too close to call currently). Trump promised to bring back manufacturing jobs to the region by renegotiating trade deals such as NAFTA. He also called for placing tariffs on foreign goods to discourage unfair competition, such as when foreign countries manipulate their currency. Usually, Trump singles out China for currency manipulation.
It is no surprise that people living in depressed areas, where manufacturing jobs were shipped overseas, found Trump’s promise appealing and abandoned the Democratic Party’s Wall Street-backed candidate.
But what about the rest of Trump’s economic program? According to the Trump campaign’s website , Trump will create 25 million new jobs by increasing GDP to 4% each year through the new trade agenda, rolling back federal regulations, repealing Obamacare, and tax reform.
4% would be a massive increase in GDP, which currently hovers around 2% . In a speech before the New York Economic Club, Trump admitted few economists agree that he can reach a 4% annual GDP growth rate, though he labeled that as “cynicism.”
Trump has also made late additions to his tax reform plan, which currently includes a new deduction for child care expenses, an initiative spearheaded by Trump’s daughter, Ivanka. Also part of the current plan is a 20% tax cut for corporations, from 35% to 15%. Trump correctly notes that corporations rarely actually pay the 35% rate anyway.
The rest of the tax code gets a makeover. Trump plans to take the current seven tax brackets down to three, with the top income tax being 33% and the top capital gains rate being 20%. Lower income Americans will arguably pay more as the lowest income rate will go from 10 to 12% and the overall burden on the wealthy will be reduced by the corporate and income tax cuts.
But more to the point, there is little evidence to support the supply-side contention that lower taxes increase economic growth. For Trump to hit his 4% GDP number, he will have to rely on deregulation, repealing Obamacare, and gains from America First trade policies to drive the largest economy in the world into historically high growth.
The post Trump’s Economic Program Set For Rough Reality appeared first on Shadowproof . | 0 |
Friday on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, when asked about a potential Democratic wave taking control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan ( ) “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah is what I say about that stuff. Look, this is what I call the white noise of media. ” Partial transcript as follows: HEWITT: Now because of President Trump’s troubles, the mainstream media is out there blocking and tackling for ranking Minority Leader Pelosi suggesting a wave election is coming your way, that your majority is at risk. What do you make of that? RYAN: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah is what I say about that stuff. Look, this is what I call the white noise of media. We’re busy doing our work. We’re busy, I mean, just this week, we moved law enforcement legislation with police week to give them the tools they need to keep us safe. We put new sanctions on Syria. We improved Will Hurd’s federal information technology reform legislation, which will streamline government. Ways and Means did hearings on tax reform. The Education Workforce Committee put a bill out to close the skills gap so that people can get technical education. Mack Thornberry is working on his 3rd installment of streamlining Pentagon bureaucracy and procurement reforms. Veterans Affairs approved 11 bills. I mean, I can keep going if you want me to, and the 14th Congressional Review Act was signed into law this week. Nobody did anything in the press about those things. This Congressional Review Act, where you rescind recent regulations, in this case, from the Obama legislation, this tool was used once in history rescinding regulations. We’ve done it 14 times in four months just this year alone. So that’s what we’re working on. ( The Hill) Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
I know this will lead to more posts about his Clinton is awful, untrustworthy, etc., and I agree with many of those sentiments. But she was one senator out of 100 and there is also a House, so despite Trump (and in the last paragraph the author's) statements she could not pass any laws by herself. If fact, in one debate she also mentioned the term "veto", which he ignored. There is a word for a politician who thinks one person makes the rules. It is dictator. | 0 |
PHILADELPHIA — Follow along with our coverage of the Democratic National Convention. For all the noise, demonstrations, walkouts and silent protests, the divisions on display here as Democrats nominated Hillary Clinton for president do not appear to present a major threat to her candidacy, paling in contrast to intramural battles that have doomed nominees in the past and that threaten Donald J. Trump today. Even as Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has sought to take advantage of the acrimony by appealing directly to the supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has methodically used the first three days of this convention to win over those supporters. Almost on the hour, the lights in the convention hall have dimmed to present “Trump in His Own Words,” a series of short video clips that show Mr. Trump offering contentious views on, for example, women and pregnancy in the workplace, advertisements clearly aimed at Sanders backers at the gathering. “I don’t think it’s going to be a permanent division,” said Gov. Jerry Brown of California, a Democrat who lost his own bitter primary campaign for president against Bill Clinton in 1992 and whose state delegation has been a hotbed of Sanders support. “The stakes are high. The issues are very sharp. There will be a real convergence around the core ideas of the campaign. ” Despite a modest walkout after the roll call and a march on the convention hall by Sanders supporters as Mr. Clinton spoke on Tuesday, the convention has offered each night a broad of the party leadership that has allied behind Mrs. Clinton: speeches of support from President Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Howard Dean, whose 2004 candidacy for president recalls the one Mr. Sanders ran. “The Sanders people walked out last night — there were less than 100 of them!” Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate minority leader, said. Mr. Sanders was given a speech to make the case to his supporters that it was time to rally behind Mrs. Clinton. At the behest of the Clinton campaign, he moved to nominate her by acclamation to make it appear unanimous, just as she had done for Barack Obama in 2008. Even before the convention began, polls showed that a substantial majority of Mr. Sanders’s backers said they would vote for Mrs. Clinton over Mr. Trump, and if history is any guide, those numbers will only grow as Election Day approaches. Todd Gitlin, a historian, said both parties have over the years faced divisions that were deeper and that festered through Election Day, including when Hubert Humphrey emerged from a Democratic primary contest with Eugene McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy to lose to Richard M. Nixon in 1968, as well as when Barry Goldwater, after a divided Republican convention four years earlier, lost to Lyndon B. Johnson. The current Republican Party may also fall into that category, given how many powerful Republicans have refused to back Mr. Trump. “In 1968, the cleavage in the party was far deeper than it is now,” Mr. Gitlin said. “The hatred in the streets between the Humphrey supporters and the supporters of Kennedy and McCarthy was so intense. People like me didn’t vote. I don’t think we are looking at anything like that today. ” Which is not to say that this is going to be an easy walk down the aisle. In interviews, Democrats said they worried less about Sanders supporters voting for Mr. Trump than about them not turning out at all, or casting votes for, say, the Libertarian Party or Green Party candidates. “I think there will be some loss of votes to candidates,” Stanley Greenberg, a Democratic pollster, said. Former President George Bush has long blamed his defeat in 1992 on the candidacy of Ross Perot. Ralph Nader, who ran for president in 2000 on a line, cost Al Gore, a Democrat, the election against Mr. Bush’s son, in the view of many party members. Mr. Sanders’s support for Mrs. Clinton crystallized only recently. Well into the summer, he was still making a vigorous case against her — on issues like trade and what he described as her sympathies to Wall Street — drawing loud cheers and hardening opposition to Mrs. Clinton at his rallies. “Long after it was clear he was not going to be a nominee, he was attacking her as an instrument of Wall Street,” Mr. Greenberg said. The reconciliation was no doubt complicated even more this week when Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, a longtime adviser to the Clintons, strongly suggested to an interviewer that Mrs. Clinton would change her position again on the Partnership Treaty and try to put it in effect once she was in the White House. Mr. Sanders has made opposition to the treaty, a pact with the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, a central part of his campaign, forcing Mrs. Clinton, who once supported the treaty, to publicly disavow it. In this context, even a plea from Mr. Sanders to his supporters to embrace Mrs. Clinton may not be enough, at least for some of them. “She really needs to do actual concrete things to show that she recognizes what a dire situation our country and world is in,” said Lisa Flythe, a Sanders delegate from Brooklyn who works as a representative. “She needs to take concrete actions to enact a progressive agenda from workers’ rights to eliminating T. P. P. ” At one point on Wednesday night, Sanders supporters, wearing green shirts and scattered across the hall, broke into loud chants of “No more war,” drowning out Leon E. Panetta, who was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the defense secretary under Mr. Obama, as he praised Mrs. Clinton’s foreign policy credentials. Still, some of Mr. Sanders’s supporters said that given the choice, they were ready to support her. “I think it’s appropriate to tell the Bernie supporters to support Hillary because of the alternative,” said Taz Tally, a Democratic delegate from Homer, Alaska, “and in my view, if you choose not to vote, it’s basically a vote for Mr. Trump, which is scary. ” Governor Brown, who endorsed Mrs. Clinton in the final days of the Democratic primary in California, said he did not think people who voted for Mr. Sanders would support Mr. Trump. “Trump is too antithetical to anything that Sanders people talk about,” he said. “There’s a similarity on trade, but immigration, the N. R. A. Trump is a real outlier. And while he picked up the nomination of the Republican Party, he’s not close to the mainstream that would make crossover likely from Democrats to Republicans. ” In the end, the party divisions appear to be, as they have been through much of the campaign, as generational as they are ideological. “There will continue to be a hard left, some of whom are naïve,” Mr. Gitlin, the historian, said, referring to Sanders backers. “They are young. This is their first crusade. They feel betrayed. They were true believers: They believed that Bernie was the man and Bernie was transformative. They were in this for victory. The feeling of betrayal is very real. ” | 1 |
In the center of Beijing’s booming commercial district, with soaring office towers, gleaming shopping malls and luxury apartment complexes, sits a shabby, building with an office that houses stupendous wealth. To get there, visitors must first pass through an unmarked entrance next to a post office, then pass through a maze of carelessly strung phone and power lines. On the fourth floor, down a hallway where black scuff marks on the walls indicate years of neglect, is the Hujialou Concentrated Office Zone, an officially sanctioned domicile for shell companies. According to government records, that office is home to two companies with a total stake that accounts for more than $15 billion in assets of one of China’s biggest financial conglomerates: the Anbang Insurance Group. Prying visitors are not welcome. A woman at the office, who did not give her name, grew angry when a journalist told her that two companies there controlled a large share of Anbang. “We’re just a private company, helping others register with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce,” she said, referring to the keepers of China’s corporate database. “It is none of our business whether they are shell companies. ” Another Anbang shareholding firm — one that controls $5. 6 billion in assets — lists its address a few blocks away from the Hujialou building, at an office tower’s empty 27th floor. Near the Temple of Heaven, the former imperial religious complex in Beijing, the listed address of yet another shareholding company turns out to be another empty office. The directory downstairs lists the former tenant: a shoe seller. A group of 39 companies control Anbang, which was once a sleepy insurance company and now has $295 billion in assets and a reputation as an ambitious global deal maker. Many of those companies are in turn owned by a welter of shell companies, many with similar names and addresses or common owners. Ultimately, as The New York Times reports, they are controlled by about 100 people, many of whom hail from a county called Pingyang on China’s east coast. Pingyang County is the home county of Anbang’s chairman, Wu Xiaohui. In any major country, the shareholders of marquee companies are often household names themselves. General Electric counts major institutional investors such as the Vanguard Group and BlackRock as top owners. Berkshire Hathaway’s biggest shareholder is its chairman, Warren E. Buffett. China is no exception. Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties, for example, led by China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, may match Anbang in the breadth of its political connections, but many of its biggest shareholders are easily recognizable Chinese companies like China Life Insurance. Anbang is different. The companies that own it, and the people who back them, are almost all obscure. Two companies that collectively own less than 2 percent of Anbang are the only exceptions. I first started writing about Chinese companies 16 years ago and have never seen a similar ownership structure at a major company. That is remarkable, given Anbang’s increasing size and prominence. Earlier this year, Anbang came close to executing what would have been the biggest takeover ever of an American company by a Chinese company, offering more than $14 billion for Starwood Hotels Resorts. In China, the company not only sells auto and life insurance, but also controls a major bank in southwestern China, is the largest shareholder of one of the country’s biggest financial conglomerates, China Minsheng Banking Corporation, and is the shareholder in another, China Merchants Bank. But China is not an offshore haven like the Cayman Islands or the British Virgin Islands. The country’s online corporate records system allows those with patience to find the names behind the holding companies, even if — as with Anbang — the corporate shareholders frequently change names, addresses and owners. After more than three months of combing through thousands of pages of records, The Times was able to piece together a corporate history for those 39 shareholders. One clear pattern emerged. At least 35 of the companies, collectively owning more than 92 percent of Anbang, can trace all or part of their ownership to relatives of Mr. Wu or to his wife, Zhuo Ran, who is the granddaughter of the former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping or to Chen Xiaolu, the son of one of China’s most famous marshals, who helped Mao’s Communists to victory in 1949. Those relatives are either current or former owners or directors of those companies, or current or former owners of predecessor firms. One example is Lin Cong, who owns a small share of the company. Mr. Lin is Mr. Wu’s cousin, the nephew of his mother, Lin Xiangmei, relatives say. Back at the Hujialou Concentrated Office Zone, one of the Anbang shareholders there, a company called Beijing Bibo Investment Management Company, controls $10. 9 billion in Anbang assets. Until Dec. 1, 2014, that stake was ultimately owned by a woman named Wu Xiaoxia, corporate records show. Relatives in Pingyang County say she is very close to Mr. Wu. She is his sister. | 1 |
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Iceland’s prime minister announced on Sunday that he would resign, as the insurgent, Pirate Party capitalized on a wave of anger over corruption to come in second place in the country’s general election. The prime minister, Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, announced his departure on national television after his Progressive Party’s share of seats in the Parliament collapsed to eight from 19 in the previous election, in 2013. Mr. Johannsson’s predecessor as prime minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, was forced from office in April amid accusations of conflicts of interest after revelations in leaked documents, known as the Panama Papers, of the hidden wealth of the country’s elite. The conservative Independence Party, which has been in a governing coalition with the Progressives, came in first with 21 seats, up from 19 in the last election. But the big winner in the election on Saturday was the Pirate Party, which took 10 seats, more than tripling its showing of three seats in the last general election. The Party also won 10 seats. The parties — the the Pirates and two allies — won 27 seats over all, just short of a majority. The liberal Regeneration Party, which is expected to play the role of kingmaker, has ruled out joining a coalition with the current governing establishment parties. This means that parties could potentially form a governing coalition. While the conservative Independence Party made gains, “it is not a return to the status quo,” said Andres Jonsson, a political consultant. To form a government, the party will have to extend its hand to smaller, more rebellious groups, he said. “The traditional party system has been disrupted,” Mr. Jonsson said. “We are not seeing big movements of people who feel that they are able to relate with the messages of the big coalition parties. Changes are going to come from the outside, not from inside the old parties. ” The election for Iceland’s Parliament, the world’s oldest, highlighted the fragmentation of the political landscape. A dozen parties fought for power over an electorate of about 260, 000, barely enough to fill three American football stadiums. Birgitta Jonsdottir, the anarchist leader of the Pirate Party, said she was satisfied with the result. “Whatever happens, we have created a wave of change in the Icelandic society,” she told a cheering crowd here early Sunday. About 40 percent of Pirate supporters are under the age of 30. They had pinned their hopes on a party that has promised to install a more inclusive and transparent government. The Pirates have pledged to enhance direct democracy by passing the world’s first “ constitution,” drafted by Icelandic civilians rather than politicians. Parliament blocked the document in 2013. The party also wants to redistribute wealth and increase the government’s anticorruption powers. (The country is already the 13th least corrupt country in the world, according to Transparency International, a watchdog group, ahead of the United States.) “We want to see ethics rather than economics,” Ms. Jonsdottir, 49, who is also a former WikiLeaks activist, said in an interview on the eve of the election. Strong feeling has swept through Iceland since the financial crisis, and has been aggravated by the Panama Papers scandal in April, which sent thousands of protesters into the streets. The Pirate Party has benefited from a wave of dissent that has swept through Europe and the United States, upending traditional politics and fracturing mainstream parties. In 2008, Iceland’s economy collapsed after its banking sector, fresh from deregulation, grew exponentially. In the years before that, Icelanders binged on credit, some becoming billionaires overnight. By 2006, the average Icelander was 300 percent wealthier than three years earlier. Cronyism became rampant. When the crisis hit, Icelanders were plunged into debt and banks racked up losses of billions of dollars, many times more than the size of Iceland’s economy. Today, the economy has recovered, partly thanks to booming tourism. But public anger still runs deep. “We are a platform for young people, for progressive people who shape and reshape our society,” Ms. Jonsdottir told Agence . “Like Robin Hood, because Robin Hood was a pirate, we want to take the power from the powerful to give it to the people. ” | 1 |
Dr. Eowyn | 2 Comments
I’ve been blogging every day, every week, every month for more than 7 years now.
Blogging for FOTM requires that I’m really “plugged in,” ear-to-the-ground on news and goings on, including conspiracy theories.
After more than 7 years of being “plugged in,” I’ve come to the conclusion that the conspiracy theories that I, who began as an innocent, had initially thought to be outlandish turn out to be credible. That’s my honest, sober observation — from a person who is a full professor, has a Ph.D., was well-trained in and had taught epistemology and the scientific method to undergraduate and graduate students. I go to where the empirical evidence leads me.
One of the most far-out conspiracy theories is that a shadowy group of élites controls governments. In the United States, those élites variously are called shadow government, secret government or deep state. (See “ Deep State: Who really rules America ”)
An even more far-out version of that conspiracy theory is that the shadowy élites are satanists.
This post is about Hillary Clinton and her close associates being satanists. Really. Exhibit A Larry Nichols in 2009
I originally reported the following more than a year ago in “ Clinton friend and assassin Larry Nichols says Hillary Clinton is a satanist “.
Larry Nichols is a former Green Beret and a longtime associate of Bill Clinton. The two men first met in Arkansas in the late 1970s when Bill was an up-and-coming politician. When Bill was elected governor of Arkansas, he inserted Nichols as the marketing director of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority , an Arkansas state agency that was one of the entities investigated by the Senate Whitewater Committee .
On the Pete Santilli radio show on September 24, 2013, Nichols admitted that he had killed people as the Clintons’ hit man or assassin-for-hire. (See “ Bombshell: Long-time Clinton associate says he killed people for Bill & Hillary “)
On June 24, 2015, interviewed by Alex Jones for InfoWars , Nichols dropped another bombshell. He said, beginning at the 28:44 mark in the audio above:
“Back when Hillary was first lady, she would go home on the weekends to California with Linda Bloodworth-Thomason * and some of the other ladies of ‘Designing Women’. And they went to a church for witches. Witches, witches, witches . . . . You know that lady that was tryin’ to run for the Senate and sometimes she’d gone to some place where they did witch stuff? Hillary went to a church and worshiped Satan . . . . What . . . I think is scaring the hell out of you: there are people that love them [Clintons], no matter what.”
* Note: Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, together with her husband Harry, was the producer of Designing Women , a popular TV sitcom (1986-1993). Exhibit B
I first reported the following in a post about two months ago, “ Hillary aide talks about animal sacrifice to demon Moloch in WikiLeaks email “.
In early August 2016, WikiLeaks released a (hacked) email from W. Lewis Amselem to Cheryl Mills, Hillary’s chief of staff. At the time of the email, Amselem served in the State Department under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as head of the U.S. delegation to the Organization of American States (OAS). (He has since retired.) In the email, Amselem made mention of “sacrificing a chicken in the backyard to Moloch” — an ancient demon.
Below is a screenshot I took of the WikiLeaks email (you can see the email for yourself here ). I painted a red bracket around the animal sacrifice phrase.
In the Old Testament , Gehenna was a valley by Jerusalem, where apostate Israelites and followers of various pagan gods sacrificed their children by fire (2 Chr. 28:3, 33:6; Jer. 7:31, 19:2–6). One of those gods was Moloch (aka Molech, Molekh, Molok, Molek, Molock, Moloc, Melech, Milcom or Molcom), an ancient Ammonite god who demanded a particular kind of propitiatory child sacrifice from parents. ( Amselem is a Sephardic Jewish surname.) Exhibit C
The latest evidence of satanism on the part of a Hillary Clinton associate is an email recently released by WikiLeaks .
The email was sent from Tony Podesta, a powerful Democrat lobbyist, to his brother John Podesta , a longtime Clinton associate who is the chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. Tony had forwarded an invitation to attend a satanic ritual called “spirit cooking dinner” from Marina Abramovic, 69, a Serbian “performance artist” who now lives in New York. Abramovic’s email says:
“Dear Tony,
I am so looking forward to the Spirit Cooking dinner at my place. Do you think you will be able to let me know if your brother is joining? “
Tony appended to Abramovic’s invitation this message to John Podesta:
“Are you in NYC Thursday July 9 Marina wants you to come to dinner. ” Here’s a screenshot of the email (you can view it on WikiLeaks here ): Paul Joseph Watson of InfoWars explains that “spirit cooking” is a “sacrament” in Thelema — a religion founded by British occultist-satanist Aleister Crowley, whose motto was “Do As Thou Wilt”— in which menstrual blood, breast milk, urine and sperm are mixed to create a “painting.” According to Abramovic, if the ritual is performed in an art gallery, it is merely art, but if the ritual is performed privately, then “spirit cooking” is a “spiritual ceremony”—“to symbolize the union between the microcosm, Man, and the macrocosm, the Divine” and “a representation of one of the prime maxims in Hermeticism ‘As Above, So Below’.” Mike Cernovich cuts (no pun intended) to the quick: Spirit cooking is an “occult practice used during sex cult rituals , as explained in the book Spirit cooking with essential aphrodisiac recipes .” So who is Marina Abramovic? Let’s begin with this disturbing image of Abramovic posing with a bloody goat’s head — a representation of Baphomet: Here’s a video of Abramovic on “spirit cooking painting”: Cassandra Fairbanks of WeAreChange.org has more information on Marina Abramovic: She is known for gory “performance art” in the name of “confronting pain and ritual.” One of Abramovic’s performances involved repeatedly stabbing herself in her hands. Another featured her throwing her nails, toenails, and hair into a flaming pentagram, then jumping inside the pentagram and fainting. Exhibit D
Many FBI agents involved in the now re-opened criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, who we would expect to know more about her than we do, regard Hillary Clinton as the antiChrist.
Spencer Ackerman reports for The Guardian , Nov. 4, 2016:
“Deep antipathy to Hillary Clinton exists within the FBI, multiple bureau sources have told the Guardian, spurring a rapid series of leaks damaging to her campaign just days before the election.
Current and former FBI officials, none of whom were willing or cleared to speak on the record, have described a chaotic internal climate that resulted from outrage over director James Comey’s July decision not to recommend an indictment over Clinton’s maintenance of a private email server on which classified information transited.
‘The FBI is Trumpland,’ said one current agent. […]
The currently serving FBI agent said Clinton is ‘the antichrist personified to a large swath of FBI personnel ,’ and that ‘the reason why they’re leaking is they’re pro-Trump.’”
H/t FOTM ‘s Anon and Will Shanley
See also: | 0 |
Cities across the country are lining up for a standoff with President Donald Trump over the issue of sanctuary city policies. Republican representatives in Congress are also lining up to put more teeth in existing law that already requires 100 percent cooperation with immigration authorities by local and state law enforcement agencies. [Border Patrol agents are reported to be on pace to apprehend nearly 600, 000 migrants crossing our border illegally. A recent report released this week by U. S. Customs and Border Protection revealed the number of apprehensions of what the Border Patrol calls Family Unit Aliens (FMUA) during the month of December rose for the sixth month in a row — up 109 percent in the first three months of this year compared to last. “They’re mobilizing because they don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but know today they can cross,” Border Patrol Agent Chris Cabrera told Fox News while acting in his capacity in the National Border Patrol Council. One of the big draws for some of these families who risk their lives to come here from Central America, is the knowledge that if they get here, they will likely not be sent home, Fox News’ William La Jeunesse reported. In sanctuary cities, even if they commit a crime, officials will ignore federal immigration detainers that would remove them from the country, and simply set them free. One of these mayors, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti went even further — creating the L. A. Justice Fund to provide millions of dollars in legal assistance to immigrants facing deportation. “The reason it was important for us to act is we will have a change in government next month,” he told La Jeunesse. “We expect there could be actions right away. ” He is likely to be correct. “These mayors, sheriffs, and state leaders are thumbing their noses at federal immigration law,” Representative Lou Barletta ( ) told Breitbart Texas on Thursday. “The only way to stop them is to hit them in their pocketbooks. ” He introduced a bill earlier this month to do exactly that. Barletta said his bill, the Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Act, H. R. 83 (attached below) strengthens the current law, 8 U. S. C. § 1373, being used to strip law enforcement grants from sanctuary jurisdictions. “My bill will enhance this by stripping all federal funds — not one cent. ” Representative John Culberson ( ) worked with the DOJ throughout 2016 to force the department to certify the sanctuary jurisdictions and use this existing law to cut off their funds for grants awarded in 2017. But this law only effects law enforcement grants. “The president can cut off their money at noon on January 20, 2017 if they do not change their sanctuary policy and hand over criminal illegal aliens in their custody to be deported,” Culberson told Fox News. Barletta’s bill, the Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Act, H. R. 83, awaits a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Rep. Bob Goodlate ( ) before it can move to the House floor for a vote. Barletta concluded. “To me, there’s no gray area here — Right is right, wrong is wrong, and illegal is illegal. ” More cities have been rushing to get on the sanctuary city bandwagon since President Trump was elected in November. Many appear to feel emboldened by the actions of other cities that were not met with repercussions. “When I originally introduced this bill in my first session, there were 80 cities that were considered sanctuary cities,” the congressman said. “Now that number has grown to more than 300 because we didn’t do anything about it when there were only 80. We’re putting the American people in danger. ” Other bills have also been introduced to attack sanctuary and force them into compliance with existing immigration law. Representative Andy Harris ( ) introduced the Federal Immigration Law Compliance Act of 2016 (FILCA) in December with “from California to New York, to Florida, the representative’s website states, Breitbart Texas reported earlier in January. The bill would require any entity, including institutions of higher learning, to comply with all lawful requests made by U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests. The bill requires the withholding of all federal funding to any entity that refuses to comply with federal immigration enforcement requests. “Congress has the responsibility to protect the rule of law in our country and provide for the safety of our citizens. We need to focus on protecting American citizens and those who are in this country legally, instead of providing shelter for those who have violated our immigration law and entered this country illegally. If any entity refuses to comply with federal immigration law, they should be denied federal money until they come into compliance,” Congressman Harris said in a written statement obtained by Breitbart Texas. Representative Duncan Hunter ( ) also introduced a bill to deal with the growing sanctuary campuses promising to shut out immigration officials. The No Funding for Sanctuary Campuses Act was introduced in late December to define “sanctuary campus” and create financial penalties for any “institutions of higher education that violates immigration laws. ” The bill, H. R. 6530, was by Representatives Tom McClintock ( ) and Lou Barletta ( ). “If a school wants federal money, an open declaration that it’s a sanctuary should disqualify it for federal support,” Hunter told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “It’s free to do that, of course, but there should be a consequence in the form of withheld federal funding — it’s that simple. ” Hunter’s and Harris’ bills were introduced in the closing days of the last session of Congress. It is likely they will be reintroduced in this session. Border security was a major campaign plank of the new President’s campaign. During his inaugural address on Friday, President Trump said, “We will bring back our borders. ” Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX. | 1 |
Jimmy Davis, the Democratic Mayor of Bayonne, New Jersey, has been embroiled in a sexting scandal with a former city worker. [According to The Jersey Journal, the messages sent from Davis include “pleas from the mayor to have the woman meet him at an Atlantic City hotel and multiple references to oral sex. ” “I didn’t tarnish Jimmy’s reputation. He did that himself,” said former city worker Stacie Percella, who was fired in December. “Mr. Mayor, again, resign from your position because my truth never changes. And I can say it inside out, backwards, forwards, every which way — how many lies did Jimmy come up with so far?” Davis, who is married, has recruited public relations firm Vision Media Marketing to oversee his public response to the incident. Vision Media Marketing’s Amit Jani claims that the scandal is “part of an orchestrated campaign to make millions of dollars off of Bayonne taxpayers and destroy Mayor Davis’ reputation. ” “Before her recent turn to this kind of unstable conduct, Mrs. Percella and Mayor Davis were longtime friends since childhood, and these text messages reflect that relationship,” continued Jani in a statement. “They are nothing but harmless, playful banter between two adults. ” Despite Vision Media Marketing’s claims that the messages were “playful banter between two adults,” Davis allegedly made “multiple references to Percella’s body parts,” and asked her “to meet him at a bar late at night. ” The Jersey Journal refused to print the exact contents of the messages “because they are too explicit for a family newspaper. ” Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook. | 1 |
Der Einfluss der USA und der NATO auf das Verhältnis der EU mit China von Manlio Dinucci Als Teilnehmer an einem internationalen Forum fasst der italienische Geograph Manlio Dinucci seine Analyse über die Waffen zusammen, die die Vereinigten Staaten aufgebaut haben, um die ganze Welt zu beherrschen. Dieser Artikel ist wichtig, weil es genau diese eindeutige gewollte Vorherrschaft, diese unipolare Organisation der Welt ist, die Syrien, Russland und China heute mit Waffen in der Hand in Frage stellt.
Voltaire Netzwerk | Rom (Italien) | 29. Oktober English Ich gehe direkt zum Kern der Sache. Ich denke, dass man nicht von den Beziehungen zwischen der EU und China sprechen kann, ohne den direkten und über die NATO ausgeübten Einfluss der Vereinigten Staaten auf die Europäische Union miteinzubeziehen.
Heute gehören 22 der 28 Länder der EU (21 von 27 nach dem Ausstieg des Vereinigten Königreichs aus der EU), mit mehr als 90 % der Bevölkerung der Union, der NATO an, die durch die EU als "Fundament der kollektiven Verteidigung" anerkannt wird. Und die NATO steht unter US-Kommando: Der alliierte Oberbefehlshaber in Europa wird immer durch den Präsidenten der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika ernannt und alle anderen wichtigen Befehle sind auch in den Händen der USA. Die Außen- und Militärpolitik der Europäischen Union ist also grundsätzlich der US-Strategie untergeordnet, auf die die europäischen Großmächte konvergieren.
Diese in offiziellen Dokumenten klargelegte Strategie, wird im historischen Moment geschrieben, als sich die Weltlage nach dem Zerfall der UdSSR ändert. Im Jahr 1991 erklärt das Weiße Haus in National Security Strategy of the United States : "Die Vereinigten Staaten bleiben der einzige wirkliche globale Staat mit einer Kraft, einem Umfang und einem Einfluss in allen Dimensionen – auf politischer, wirtschaftlicher und militärischer Ebene -." Es gibt keinen Ersatz für die amerikanische Führung." Im Jahr 1992 unterstreicht das Pentagon in der Defense Planning Guidance : "Unser erstes Ziel soll verhindern, dass irgendeine Macht eine Region dominiert, deren Ressourcen ausreichen könnten, um eine Weltmacht zu werden." Diese Regionen sind Westeuropa, Ostasien, das Gebiet der ehemaligen Sowjetunion und das südwestliche Asien." Im Jahr 2001, in dem Q uadrennial Defense Review -Bericht, der eine Woche vor dem USA/NATO Krieg in Afghanistan - von erster geostrategischer Bedeutung in Bezug auf Russland und China - veröffentlicht wurde, kündigt das Pentagon an: "Es besteht die Möglichkeit, dass in der Region eine militärische Konkurrenz mit gewaltigen Ressourcen entsteht. Unsere Streitkräfte müssen die Fähigkeit behalten, jedem möglichen Gegner, auch Staaten und nichtstaatlichen Einheiten, den Willen der Vereinigten Staaten aufzuzwingen, das Regime eines gegnerischen Staates zu ändern oder fremdes Territorium zu besetzen, bis die amerikanischen strategischen Ziele erfüllt sind."
Auf Grundlage dieser Strategie hat die NATO unter US-Kommando ihre Offensive an der Ostfront gestartet: nachdem sie durch den Krieg die Föderation Jugoslawien zerstört hatte, bemächtigte sie sich von 1999 bis heute aller Staaten des Warschauer Paktes, dreier des ehemaligen Jugoslawiens, dreier der Ex-UdSSR, und wird in Kürze andere umfassen (von Georgien bis zur Ukraine, wobei letztere de facto bereits in der NATO ist), indem sie Stützpunkte und Streitkräfte, selbst atomare, immer näher zu Russland in Stellung bringt. Zur gleichen Zeit, an der Süd Front, eng verbunden mit der östlichen Front, hat die NATO unter US-Befehl den libyschen Staat durch Krieg zerstört und versucht, das gleiche mit Syrien zu tun.
Die USA und die NATO haben die ukrainische Krise entfesselt und, unter der Beschuldigung von Russland "die europäische Sicherheit zu destabilisieren", haben sie Europa in einen neuen Kalten Krieg verwickelt, einen vor allem von Washington gewünschten (auf Kosten der europäischen Volkswirtschaften, denen die Sanktionen und Gegen-Sanktionen geschädigt haben), um die wirtschaftlichen und politischen Beziehungen zwischen der EU und Russland zu zerschlagen, die für die amerikanischen Interessen schädlich sind. Es ist die gleiche Strategie, die bei der wachsenden Verlegung von US-militärischen Kräften in die Asien-Pazifik Region, in einer anti-chinesischen Funktion, auftritt. Die US-Navy hat angekündigt, dass sie in 2020 ihren Schwerpunkt in diesen Bereich mit 60 % ihrer See- und Luftstreitkräfte verlegen werde.
Die US-Strategie konzentriert sich auf das Südchinesische Meer, für das Admiral Harris, Chef des US Pacific Command, die Bedeutung hervorhebt: „es ist da, wo der Seehandel mit einem jährlichen Wert über 5000 Milliarden US-Dollar fährt, mit 25 % des Welt-Exports von Öl und 50 % von Erdgas.“ Die USA wollen diesen Seeweg kontrollieren, im Namen jener Freiheit, die Admiral Harris für die "grundlegende Schifffahrts-Freiheit für unser Lebens-System hier in den Vereinigten Staaten" hält, indem sie China beschuldigen, "aggressive Aktionen im Südchinesischen Meer zu betreiben, ähnlich denen von Russland auf der Krim." Deshalb "patrouilliert" die US-Navy im Südchinesischen Meer. Im Kielwasser der Vereinigten Staaten kommen die europäischen Großmächte: im Juli letzten Jahres hat Frankreich die Europäische Union gebeten, "die chinesische Südsee Marine-Patrouille zu koordinieren, um eine regelmäßige und sichtbare Präsenz in diesen von China illegal beanspruchten Gewässern" zu sichern. Und während die Vereinigten Staaten in Südkorea "Raketenabwehr-Systeme“ aber auch nukleare Raketen installieren, ähnlich wie die in Rumänien und Polen gegen Russland installierten, zusätzlich zu denen, die auf Kriegsschiffen im Mittelmeer kreuzen, empfängt der Generalsekretär der NATO Jens Stoltenberg am 6. Oktober in Brüssel den südkoreanischen Minister für auswärtige Angelegenheiten Yun Byung-se, zur "Stärkung der Partnerschaft der NATO mit Seoul“.
Diese Tatsachen und andere zeigen, dass die gleiche Strategie in Europa und in Asien an der Arbeit ist. Dies ist der extreme Versuch der Vereinigten Staaten und anderer westlicher Mächte, um die wirtschaftliche, politische und militärische Vormachtstellung in einer Welt im starken Wandel beizubehalten, in der neue staatliche und gesellschaftliche Einheiten aufkommen. Die Shanghaier Organisation für Zusammenarbeit (SCO), aus dem chinesisch-russischen strategischen Abkommen entstanden, verfügt über Ressourcen und Arbeitsfähigkeit die ermöglichen, den größten integrierten Wirtschaftsraum der Welt zu schaffen. Die SCO und die BRICS-Staaten sind mit ihren Finanzinstitutionen in der Lage, die Weltbank und den Internationalen Währungsfonds weitgehend zu verdrängen, die den USA und den großen westlichen Mächte seit mehr als 70 Jahren ermöglichten, durch wuchernde Kredite an verschuldete Länder und andere Finanzinstrumente, die Weltwirtschaft zu beherrschen. Die neuen Organisationen können zur gleichen Zeit die Entdollarisierung des Handels erreichen, indem sie den Vereinigten Staaten die Möglichkeit entziehen, ihre Schulden weiterhin durch Drucken von Dollar-Papiergeld, das als internationale Währung fungiert, auf andere Länder abzuwälzen.
Um ihre immer mehr wankende Vormachtstellung zu erhalten, verwenden die Vereinigten Staaten nicht nur Waffengewalt, sondern oft wirksamere als die wirklichen Waffen.
Die erste Waffe: die so genannten "Free Trade Agreements", wie die "transatlantische Handels- und Partnerschaft" (TTIP) mit der EU und die "Trans-Pazifische Partnerschaft" (TPP), deren Zweck nicht nur wirtschaftlich, sondern geopolitisch und geostrategisch ist. Deshalb bezeichnet Hillary Clinton die USA — EU Partnerschaft als "das große strategische Ziel unserer transatlantischen Allianz", mit dem Ziel einer "NATO-Wirtschaft", die die politische und militärische Allianz integriert. Das Projekt ist klar: einen politischen, wirtschaftlichen und militärischen USA — EU Block bilden, immer unter amerikanischem Kommando, der sich dem aufkommenden eurasischen Raum, basierend auf der Zusammenarbeit zwischen China und Russland widersetzt; der sich den BRIC-Staaten widersetzt, dem Iran und anderen Ländern, die sich der Vorherrschaft des Westens entziehen. Da die Verhandlungen über die TTIP wegen der unterschiedlichen Interessen und einer weit verbreiteten Opposition in Europa schwer weiterkommen, wird das Hindernis mit dem "umfassenden Wirtschafts- und Handelsabkommen " (CETA) zwischen Kanada und der EU umgangen: eine getarnte TTIP, da Kanada mit den Vereinigten Staaten Teil der NAFTA ist. Das CETA wird wahrscheinlich, während des Besuchs vom kanadischen Premierminister Trudeau in Brüssel von der EU am 27. Oktober unterzeichnet werden.
Die zweite Waffe: das Eindringen in das angezielte Land, um es von innen auseinander zu nehmen. Unter Berufung auf die schwachen Punkte, das jedes Land besitzt: Korruption, Geldgier, politischer Karrierismus, durch lokale Gruppen geschürter Sezessionismus, religiöser Fanatismus, die Anfälligkeit der großen Massen zu politischer Demagogie. Sich auch manchmal auf eine Unzufriedenheit der Massen stützen, die durch die Führung ihrer Regierung gerechtfertigt ist. Instrumente der Penetration: die so genannten "nicht-Regierungsorganisationen" (NGO) die eigentlich die Hand des Department of State und der CIA sind. Diejenigen, die enorme finanzielle Mittel besitzen, organisierten die "farbigen Revolutionen" in Osteuropa, und versuchten auch die so genannte "Regenschirm-Revolution" in Hong Kong: sie versuchten auch ähnliche Bewegungen in anderen Bereichen von China zu schüren, die von nationalen Minderheiten bewohnt sind. Die gleichen Organisationen, die in Lateinamerika operieren, mit dem Ziel, die demokratischen Institutionen von Brasilien auszuheben, um die BRICS-Staaten von innen zu unterwandern. Instrumente der gleichen Strategie: Terroristen, wie die bewaffneten und in Libyen und Syrien infiltrierten Gruppen, um Chaos zu säen, indem sie zum Abriss des gesamten Staates, der gleichzeitig von außen angegriffen wird, beitragen.
Die dritte Waffe: die "Psyops" (psychologische Operationen), initiiert durch globale Medien-Ketten, die vom Pentagon definiert werden: "geplante Operationen, um durch spezifische Informationen die Emotionen und Motivationen zu beeinflussen, und damit das Verhalten der Öffentlichkeit, der Organisationen und ausländischen Regierungen, um eine verstärkte Haltung zugunsten der vorangestellten Ziele zu induzieren ". Mit diesen Operationen, die die Öffentlichkeit auf die Eskalation des Krieges vorbereiten, lässt man Russland als das für die Spannungen in Europa verantwortliche Land erscheinen und China als verantwortlich für die Spannungen in Asien, mit dem gleichzeitigen Vorwurf ihrer "Verletzung der Menschenrechte“.
Manlio Dinucci und seine Frau Carla, vor dem Geburtshaus von Mao Tsé Toung, 1965. Eine letzte Überlegung: da ich mit meiner Frau in den 60er Jahren in Peking gearbeitet habe, und wir beide an der Veröffentlichung des ersten chinesischen Magazins in italienischer Sprache mitgewirkt haben, habe ich eine prägende, grundlegende Erfahrung miterlebt zu einem Zeitpunkt, als China - kaum fünfzehn Jahre vom Kolonialsystem und halb-feudalen Staat befreit, - komplett isoliert war und von dem Westen oder den Vereinten Nationen als souveräner Staat nicht anerkannt war. Von dieser Periode bleiben mir immer noch, wie aufgedruckt, die Widerstandskraft und das Bewusstsein der Menschen, damals 600 Millionen, die unter der Führung der kommunistischen Partei zum Aufbau einer völlig neuen wirtschaftlichen und kulturellen Gesellschaft beitrugen. Ich denke, dass diese Fähigkeit auch für das derzeitige China heute notwendig ist, das sein enorme Potenzial entwickelt, um den neuen Plänen der imperialen Herrschaft zu widerstehen: der Kampf für eine Welt ohne Kriege, in der der Frieden mit sozialer Gerechtigkeit verbunden triumphiert.
Manlio Dinucci Übersetzung
Horst Frohlich | 0 |
RIO DE JANEIRO — About the same time that the future United States Olympic volleyball player Carli Lloyd was born 27 years ago, her uncle was discovered by a talent scout in a Southern California gym. Galen Tomlinson was invited to try out for a new show called “American Gladiators” for a chance to be one of the superheroes, taking on mortal contestants in an imaginative series of physical contests. Tomlinson won a role. He was rechristened Turbo and became a cult hero. But the bravest role he played was far off camera: stepping in to help raise Lloyd and mold her into an Olympic athlete. It is debatable which one is more famous, today’s United States Olympian or yesterday’s American gladiator. But it is clear how much they mean to each other. “She understood his belief in her, and it made her believe in herself, and those two went off and conquered the world,” Cindy Lloyd, Carli’s mother and Tomlinson’s half sister, said. “It was awesome to sit back and watch. ” The United States women’s volleyball team is trying to win a gold medal at the Olympics for the first time. Carli Lloyd, often confused with the American soccer star with the same name, is a backup setter. Tomlinson, still as fit as a gladiator at 55, with tiny streaks of gray in his dark hair, is a big presence in the stands. “I attribute me being here to him more than anyone else,” Lloyd said. They are practically inseparable. He was her first coach and her constant workout partner. When she moved on to other coaches and left for college, he was still there at every match, sitting in his usual spot, giving nods and signals in a language that only the two of them share. Lloyd calls him “Uncle. ” But Tomlinson is the only father figure she has ever known. Lloyd was 4 when her father committed suicide, leaving Cindy Lloyd to raise three children on her own. Tomlinson, by then a father and a star on “American Gladiators,” had time on his hands. The show taped for three weeks a year, and his only job the rest of the time was to stay fit. Tomlinson and his daughter, then 10, moved in with Cindy Lloyd and her three children in Bonsall, Calif. north of San Diego. The move was considered temporary, to help Cindy get her life reorganized. Tomlinson never left. “After a couple of months, it dawned on me, and I said after the kids went to bed, ‘Cindy, I want to talk to you,’” Tomlinson said. “I said: ‘Everyone’s getting really comfortable with this. I think it would be wise for us to either leave now, before they lose another male role model, or we’ve got to make a commitment that our extracurricular activities get put on hold until the youngest’ — Carli — ‘graduates high school. ’” Tomlinson and Cindy Lloyd, who had the same father but different mothers, still live together more than 20 years later. “I can’t get rid of him,” Lloyd said with a laugh. “Why would I leave?” Tomlinson asked. “Now the kids are all gone, she’s got the biggest one left at home. ” When Tomlinson’s daughter, Kourtney, was in fifth grade, she wanted to play volleyball. Lloyd’s oldest daughter, Coral, about a year younger, followed. Tomlinson soon decided he could do a better job than their coaches. He taught himself the intricacies of the game and studied respected coaches at tournaments. When Carli started playing the game a few years later, Tomlinson was an experienced coach. “Unfortunately for the older ones, they were the test subjects,” Tomlinson said. “By the time Carli came around, she was able to hit the ground running. ” Tomlinson also oversaw her workouts. From the beginning, he trained her in track and field, his first love among sports. Lloyd became a standout hurdler and long jumper in high school. “Through high school and into college, you could tell just by looking at her that there was a maturity in her muscles that other kids just did not have,” Tomlinson said. “It’s because she’s been lifting with me since she was 8 years old. ” There were no summers off. Eventually, Lloyd’s only request to her uncle was to do the workouts early and quickly so she could move on with her day. Hurt me as much as you want, she would tell him, but do not make me stay out there long. Tomlinson appreciated her willingness. “I said, ‘If you don’t want to put your head on the pillow when you’re 30 years old and wonder what if, then this is the stuff that has to be done now,’” he said. “And she bought into it. ” It was not always harmonious. The relationship between a child and a parent who also coaches can be fraught with frustration, disappointment and resentment. “I wouldn’t say it was perfect,” Lloyd said. “We’re both pretty sensitive and stubborn. But it works. I love him, and he loves me, and it works because we want it to. ” The biggest disagreement came when Lloyd was 15. She made a nationally ranked club team. Tomlinson became an assistant coach and asked the head coach if he thought Lloyd, now had a better future as a setter or an attacker. The coach said she could be a great college hitter but an elite setter. That was enough for Tomlinson. He told Lloyd that she would immediately devote herself to becoming a setter. It is a position not unlike point guard in basketball, or catcher in baseball — an leader controlling the pace and distributing the ball to others. “For the first month, she was really unhappy with me,” Tomlinson said. “Everyone wants to hit the ball. That’s the fun stuff. It wasn’t until the first tournament, where she was running the team as a setter, a little sophomore with these seniors out there, that she realized it was a good thing. ” When Lloyd got to Fallbrook Union High, Tomlinson left club team coaching behind to go with her. His niece was his best player, on her way to an career at the University of California, Berkeley, where Lloyd helped the Golden Bears to the best stretch in their history. There were two trips to the national quarterfinals, one to the semifinals and another to the national final. Lloyd was named national player of the year as a senior. Tomlinson saw every match from the stands (preferably down the right line at the end, eye level with the top of the net) except one, when his daughter got married. Lloyd has spent winters playing professionally in Italy, and Tomlinson has gone with her, for at least a few weeks each time, to help her settle in. His presence has not always been welcomed by coaches, but it is by Lloyd. “Galen is so honest, brutally honest,” Cindy Lloyd said of her half brother. After a match, she said, she will offer unmitigated praise. Tomlinson will offer unvarnished opinions. “And she just really appreciates that,” Cindy Lloyd said. “Just the other night against the Netherlands, I heard her say, ‘Uncle, what did you think?’ To this day, she values what he’s saying. I’ve watched this relationship develop. And it’s worked. ” There have been strains. A combination of stress fractures in her shins and struggles fitting in with the United States national team, coached by the volleyball legend Karch Kiraly, sent Carli Lloyd into a spiral of depression. Lloyd, with Tomlinson’s encouragement, had grown up setting with quick movements of her fingers and wrists. The team wanted her to adopt a method with more arm extension — a change of form not unlike asking a pitcher to alter a throwing motion or a basketball player to adjust a shot. Lloyd struggled. Her standing on the national team dropped in a couple of years, until it looked as if her longstanding Olympic aspirations had evaporated. She was in a kind of funk that Tomlinson had never seen. “I remember telling her mom: ‘I’ve lost my little girl. She’s not the same,’” Tomlinson said. But Lloyd pulled through during the past year, developing the mental toughness to match the physical prowess that she had always had. By last winter in Italy, she seemed to Tomlinson to be her old self, dedicated to trying to make the Olympic roster. “I’m going to make their decision as hard as I can,” she said. In July, Kiraly named his team. Three setters, instead of the usual two, made the squad. Lloyd was one of them. Kiraly said she represented a new breed of physical setter — fast enough to chase every ball, big enough to block and hit. Now the gym that Tomlinson hangs around is the Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro’s famous volleyball arena. People — men, mostly — still ask if he used to be Turbo. But far more attention is on today’s Olympian, not yesterday’s gladiator. Still, Tomlinson cannot help but think that Lloyd would have fit right in on the old television show. “She’d have killed it,” he said with a smile. “Killed it. ” | 1 |
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. “The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers. ” That was the Dallas police chief describing a verbal exchange with a sniper who killed these five officers and wounded seven people at a protest against police shootings late Thursday. “We’re hurting, our profession is hurting,” the police chief said. “There are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city. ” _____ 2. The shooter was identified as an Army veteran, Micah Xavier Johnson, 25. He served as a mason and carpenter in Afghanistan. On Facebook, he “liked” a black power group, the African American Defense League, whose leader often calls for violence against the police. After an hourslong standoff in Dallas, the police killed him using an explosive delivered by robot. _____ 3. President Obama, in Warsaw, interrupted his final NATO summit meeting twice to comment on the violence in the U. S. Before the Dallas attack, he addressed the police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, calling them “symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system. ” After the five officers were killed, he said there was “no possible justification” for such a “vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement. ” Here’s what we know about all three episodes, which have deepened the painful national divide over race. _____ 4. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump canceled campaign appearances and expressed concern for black citizens as well as solidarity with the police. Mrs. Clinton stressed pain and loss, while Mr. Trump issued a call for “law and order. ” He also made his first public comments about the police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota, calling them “senseless tragic deaths” that show “how much needs to be done. ” But Texas’ lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, called the Dallas protesters “hypocrites” for expecting police protection from the sniper while objecting to police shootings. _____ 5. The Labor Department delivered some positive economic news. Its monthly report said U. S. employment surged in June, with an increase of 287, 000 jobs and an uptick in wages. “Wow, this one takes my breath away,” an analyst in Chicago said. _____ 6. Roger Federer, above after a fall, lost his first Wimbledon in a rough match that sent the Canadian Milos Raonic to his first Grand Slam final. He’ll face Andy Murray on Sunday for the men’s singles title (9 a. m. Eastern, ESPN). And Serena Williams faces Angelique Kerber, who beat her in January’s Australian Open final, on Saturday in the women’s singles final. (9 a. m. Eastern, ESPN). _____ 7. Britain’s slow march away from the European Union has produced at least one point of clarity: The next prime minister will be a woman. The Conservative Party has narrowed its options to succeed David Cameron down to Theresa May, above right, the home secretary (already called “The Iron Mayden” by tabs) and Andrea Leadsom, an energy minister, above left. But it will be months before the final choice is made. _____ 8. In theaters this weekend: “Captain Fantastic. ” Our reviewer says that Viggo Mortensen’s captivating survivalist is the main reason to see the film, which follows him and his family into the the outside world. But she also says the insistence of the director, Matt Ross, “on taking your intelligence for granted is itself a great turn on. ” And here are our experts’ recommendations for streaming and TV this weekend. _____ 9. Finally, one of the fastest creatures in the ocean is the swordfish. Scientists think they have figured out why: A gland at the base of its sword secretes a grease that coats its head. “This isn’t ordinary fish slime,” the lead author of a new study said. Have a good weekend. _____ 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 |
Bombshell: Fox News Reports FBI To Move To “Likely Indictment” Of Clinton
Fox News’ Bret Baier has a bombshell of a report: Two key sources within the agency say the FBI is moving towards “likely an indictment” for Hillary Clinton.
Baier’s 7 HUGE Take-aways: “ One : The Clinton Foundation investigation is far more expansive than anybody has reported so far… Several offices separately have been doing their own investigations.” “ Two : The immunity deal that Cheryl Mills and Heather Samuelson, two top aides to Hillary Clinton, got from the Justice Department in which it was believed that the laptops they had, after a narrow review for classified materials, were going to be destroyed. We have been told that those have not been destroyed — they are at the FBI field office here on Washington and are being exploited. ” “ Three : The Clinton Foundation investigation is so expansive, they have interviewed and re-interviewed many people. They described the evidence they have as ‘a lot of it’ and said there is an ‘avalanche coming in every day.’ WikiLeaks and the new emails. ” [ Four ] “They are ‘actively and aggressively pursuing this case.’ Remember the Foundation case is about accusations of pay-for-play… They are taking the new information and some of them are going back to interview people for the third time. As opposed to what has been written about the Clinton Foundation investigation, it is expansive.” [ Five ] “The classified e-mail investigation is being run by the National Security division of the FBI. They are currently combing through Anthony Weiner’s laptop. They are having some success — finding what they believe to be new emaisls, not duplicates, that have been transported through Hillary Clinton’s server. [ Six ] “Finally, we learned there is a confidence from these sources that her server had been hacked. And that it was a 99% accuracy that it had been hacked by at least five foreign intelligence agencies , and that things had been taken from that…” [ Seven ] “There has been some angst about Attorney General Loretta Lynch — what she has done or not done. She obviously did not impanel, or go to a grand jury at the beginning. They also have a problem, these sources do, with what President Obama said today and back in October of 2015…”
[The full, forty-minute segment can be viewed here .]
BRET BAIER: Breaking news tonight — two separate sources with intimate knowledge of the FBI investigations into the Clinton emails and the Clinton Foundation tell Fox the following:
The investigation looking into possible pay-for-play interaction between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Foundation has been going on for more than a year . Led by the white collar crime division, public corruption branch of the criminal investigative division of the FBI.
The Clinton Foundation investigation is a, quote, “very high priority.” Agents have interviewed and reinterviewed multiple people about the Foundation case, and even before the WikiLeaks dumps, agents say they have collected a great deal of evidence. Pressed on that, one sources said, quote, “a lot of it,” and “there is an avalanche of new information coming every day.”
WikiLeaks played a key role:
Some of it from WikiLeaks, some of it from new emails. The agents are actively and aggressively pursuing this case. They will be going back to interview the same people again, some for the third time.
As a result of the limited immunity deals to top aides, including Cheryl Mills and Heather Samuelson, the Justice Department had tentatively agreed that the FBI would destroy those laptops after a narrow review. We are told definitively that has not happened. Those devices are currently in the FBI field office here in Washington, D.C. and are being exploited.
The source points out that any immunity deal is null and void if any subject lied at any point in the investigation.
Meantime, the classified e-mail investigation is being run by the National Security division of the FBI. They are currently combing through former Democratic Congressman Anthony Wiener’s laptop and have found e-mails that they believe came from Hillary Clinton’s server that appear to be new , as in not duplicates.
Whether they contain classified material or not is not yet known. It will likely be known soon. All of this just as we move inside one week until election day. | 0 |
Thu, 27 Oct 2016 15:25 UTC Authorities are only 'contemplating' criminal charges against an East Cleveland police officer today after he discharged his weapon sending a bullet hurling into a day care center. The staff and children at the KinderCare Learning center were likely terrified when a bullet came blasting through the fence and lodged into the wall of the school around 3:35 pm on Tuesday. Police have refused to release the name of the officer who negligently discharged his firearm. Authorities did, however, note that the officer was unloading his 9mm Glock inside his home, directly behind the daycare, when it 'accidentally' discharged. Up until that point, the staff and parents of the children at KinderCare probably thought that their children were safer being neighbors with a police officer. Despite the officer clearly admitting to committing the misdemeanor offense of discharging a firearm within city limits, police have yet to charge him. "Right now our law department has it and they are reviewing it to see if there should be any charges," Police Chief Jack Davis said Wednesday morning. "It was a very unfortunate incident for the school, as well as him," he added. Outside of skating out of the misdemeanor charge so far, this officer also seems to be avoiding the felony offense of discharging a weapon in a gun-free school zone. Imagine for a moment that you were cleaning your pistol and all of the sudden, you accidentally squeeze off a round sending the deadly projectile through the wall of a daycare center, in a gun-free zone. There are two possible scenarios that would take place; the first one being that a SWAT team responds and you are killed. The second, less lethal result would be your inevitable arrest and charges of public endangerment, unlawful discharge, illegal use of a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon, terrorism, or a myriad of other charges associated with sending a deadly projectile hurling through walls and near the heads of innocent people. You would immediately be facing fines, jail time, probation, and firearms restrictions. However, if you are a government agent who's trusted with carrying a deadly weapon into places others cannot, you needn't worry about any of those repercussions as this case will likely prove. When the Akron Beacon Journal contacted the East Cleveland police department to inquire as to what would happen to this officer, they said their department was unaware of the incident. "We're just grateful that nobody was hurt," KinderCare spokeswoman Colleen Moran told Ohio.com. So are we. As the gun controllers call for guns to be taken out of the hands of US citizens, what they really mean is they only want cops to have guns. This cop proves how silly, and dangerous, that demand actually is. | 0 |
ST. PAUL — Police officers in riot gear clashed with protesters who blocked a major highway here for hours on Saturday night, marking a tense turn for the demonstrations that have continued almost nonstop since a black man, Philando Castile, was fatally shot by a suburban police officer during a traffic stop on Wednesday. The protesters marched from the Minnesota governor’s mansion onto Interstate 94, chanting refrains such as “We’re peaceful, y’all violent” as the police urged them to leave. Officers struggled for more than four hours to disperse the crowd, at times deploying smoke and marking rounds in a standoff that stretched into early Sunday before snowplows cleared debris and the highway was reopened to traffic. The police in St. Paul said at least five officers were injured by fireworks, rocks, bricks and glass bottles that they said were thrown by protesters. None of their injuries were believed to be serious. Officers said they made arrests, but did not provide information about the number of people in custody or the charges they might be facing. The Minnesota protest was among several sizable demonstrations across the country on Saturday expressing outrage at the deaths of Mr. Castile and of Alton Sterling, another black man, who was killed by the police in Baton Rouge, La. DeRay Mckesson, a activist with a large Twitter following, was among more than 30 people arrested on Saturday outside the Baton Rouge Police Headquarters. A live stream via Twitter’s Periscope service captured his arrest after a verbal confrontation with an officer who ordered him not to walk onto a street. Protesters also blocked traffic on Saturday in New York, the local NBC station reported, and The Chicago Tribune said that a series of demonstrations in that city turned tense at times and led to arrests. In Minnesota, the contentious highway shutdown marked a change in tack for the protesters who had occupied the area outside the governor’s mansion for days but had remained almost entirely peaceful. On Friday night, the protest group had been stationary for the most part, listening to music and taking turns at the microphone outside the governor’s residence discussing state laws and calling for changes to police tactics. Earlier on Saturday, a separate group of peaceful protesters had gathered at a park in downtown Minneapolis and prepared to walk through the streets. Nekima president of the Minneapolis NAACP, said organizers scheduled that march because “people are experiencing trauma after trauma after trauma as a result of what happened. ” Ms. said many here had still been coming to terms with the fatal shooting of Jamar Clark by the Minneapolis police in 2015 and the decision not to charge the officers involved. Protesters also blocked traffic on a Minnesota highway after Mr. Clark’s death, and after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a Missouri police officer in 2014. As protests continue here, much remains unknown about Mr. Castile’s death. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating, has not said why he was pulled over or what happened during the traffic stop. A Facebook Live video of the shooting’s aftermath prompted widespread attention and outrage, with Mr. Castile’s girlfriend suggesting that he had been reaching for his identification when shot by Officer Jeronimo Yanez of the St. Anthony Police. Thomas Kelly, a lawyer for Officer Yanez, said his client had been “reacting to the presence of a gun,” though Mr. Castile’s girlfriend said in the Facebook video that he was licensed to carry a weapon. | 1 |
Rand Paul returns $620,000 to U.S. Treasury 'I promised Kentuckians I would stand for smaller, more efficient government' Published: 15 mins ago
(Global Dispatch) Following in the footsteps of his father, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul, U.S. Senator Rand Paul announced recently that he saved more than $620,000 from his official FY 2016 operating budget, bringing the total amount Dr. Paul has returned to the taxpayers to over $3,000,000 since taking office in January 2011.
“It’s easy to picture Washington’s out-of-control spending as a massive, untamable beast,” said Dr. Paul. “So I determined to show change is possible by starting in the area under my control, while working everywhere else I could to stop ‘business as usual.’
“I promised Kentuckians I would stand for smaller, more efficient government, balanced budgets, and spending restraint. I’m proud my staff and I have kept that pledge while operating one of the most active federal offices.” | 0 |
The Shadow Brokers dump more intel from the NSA's elite Equation Group
In August, anonymous hacker(s) dumped a cache of cyberweapons that appeared to originate with The Equation Group , an elite, NSA-affiliated hacking squad.
The leakers called themselves The Shadow Brokers, and they sought bTc1,000,000 for access to the remainder of The Equation Group's files. Earlier this month, arrested NSA contractor Harold Thomas Martin was accused of being the source of the leak to The Shadow Brokers, though not necessarily deliberately (he may have been hacked by The Shadow Brokers).
The Shadow Brokers have had no takers for their auction, and so they're now dumping more files, presumably to stir up interest.
The new leak purportedly reveals IP addresses of NSA controlled servers in 49 countries that are used to launch offensives against NSA targets. If the leaks are to be believed, they show that the NSA uses hacked servers in China and Russia to attack other countries.
The dump contains some 300 folders of files, all corresponding to different domains and IP addresses. Domains from Russia, China, India, Sweden, and many other countries are included. According to an analysis by the security researcher known as Hacker Fantastic, the dump contains 306 domains and 352 IP addresses relating to 49 countries in total.
If accurate, victims of the Equation Group may be able to use these files to determine if they were potentially targeted by the NSA-linked unit. The IP addresses may relate to servers the NSA has compromised and then used to deliver exploits, according to security researcher Mustafa Al-Bassam.
“So even the NSA hacks machines from compromised servers in China and Russia. This is why attribution is hard,” Al-Bassam tweeted on Monday. | 0 |
As the total number of conflict fatalities decreased around the world in 2016, the number of intentional homicides exploded in Mexico. [With 23, 000 homicides in 2016, Mexico ranked as the second deadliest country in the world, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) revealed in their Armed Conflict Survey. The report, published on Tuesday, highlighted the effect that drug cartels are having in Latin America. Leading the way are Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador: This assessment of violence in the region is based on more than numbers, although the 39, 000 people killed in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador in 2016 indicate a security crisis much more complex and serious than most other countries in the region. Mexico’s 2016 intentional homicide total, 23, 000, is second only to Syria. … In all four countries, armed forces have been deployed for many years specifically to fight criminal gangs and, in the case of Mexico, transnational cartels, with weapons and vast financial resources. In all four countries, criminal groups have ambitious territorial claims: they fight amongst themselves and use arms to challenge the state directly for local control. Unlike traditional political conflicts, these criminal conflicts are fought to establish autonomous territories, not to pursue national goals. 2016 marked the second consecutive year that the number of conflict fatalities decreased around the world, CNN noted. Despite the decrease of 10, 000 conflict fatalities from 2015 to 2016, Mexico’s homicide rate is accelerating: As the Armed Conflict Survey shows, intentional homicides jumped by 22. 8% from 2015 to 2016. Violence continues to increase. The first two months of 2017 were the most violent January and February on record, with 3, 779 homicide cases registered by the authorities. The following month was even worse: March 2017 saw 2, 020 murders. This was the highest monthly tally since June 2011, a bloody moment in the midst of Mexico’s ‘war on drugs’. In December 2006, President Felipe Calderon deployed the armed forces to the streets with the mission of crushing the cartels. But the resulting conflict brought misery to Mexico: 105, 000 people lost their lives in intentional homicides between that month and November 2012. Compounding the drug war is the corruption within the Mexican government. The organization that has the largest influence is the Sinaloa Cartel, which the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) identifies as the largest and most prolific in the world. Court documents filed by the DOJ against Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, state that corrupting government officials was the cornerstone of the cartel’s success, Breitbart Texas reported. In the 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reported, “Mexican TCOs [Drug Cartels] remain the greatest criminal drug threat to the United States no other group is currently positioned to challenge them. ” Despite the risk that Mexican drug cartels pose to the national security of U. S. many Democratic politicians, and even some Republican politicians are opposed to building walls along the U. S. Border. In April, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi ( ) said, “The president, I think, talking about this wall, is expressing a sign of weakness. He is saying I can’t control our borders, I have to build a wall. ” Not to be outdone by Pelosi, Sen. Dick Durbin ( ) said the proposed U. S. Border wall was “a political stunt. ” Ryan Saavedra is a contributor for Breitbart Texas and can be found on Twitter at @RealSaavedra. | 1 |
Thomas Frank Explores Whether Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party Will Address Inequality
By KiMi Robinson
Thomas Frank’s writing about electoral politics and and its impact on American culture has been published for decades in places like Harper’s Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and his 2004 novel, “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” In his latest book, “Listen Liberal: Whatever Happened to the Party of the People?” the journalist and political analyst tackles the question of what changed within the Democratic party to make it become a “ liberalism of the rich .”
“The Democratic Party itself has changed,” Frank told Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer during an episode of “ Scheer Intelligence ” this year. “What’s changed about them is the social class that they answer to, that they respect, that they come from.”
The trend has gotten worse.
“Democrats look at Wall Street, and they see people like themselves,” he said in an interview with Scheer during the Democratic National Convention in July.
On Tuesday night, Frank will join Scheer at the University of Southern California to discuss “Listen Liberal” and his analysis of Hillary Clinton during this election cycle, from her public views on inequality in United States to her promises to tamp down greed on Wall Street. The conversation will be live streamed on our Facebook page at around 7 p.m. PDT.
In March, Frank summarized his complex investigation of the Democratic Party and the answers he found:
And you know, we call it inequality; it is the one great problem that we have. And so my, the question in the book is […] the Democrats have been talking about inequality forever. This is why they exist as a party, is to take this on. Why haven’t they been able to do anything about it? And the answer isn’t what you think. You know, it’s not just because Republicans are so diabolically clever and stop them all the time. And it’s also not just because of the money that is sloshing around in politics, although that’s […] a huge part of the story. But the answer is because the Democrats aren’t who we think they are. You know, they talk about inequality, but their heart really isn’t in it. Income inequality is really not something that they have cared about for a very long time. You know, there are individuals here and there who do, but you talk about people like the Clintons—I mean, Hillary Clinton, her concern for inequality is, this is, I would say is almost completely feigned.
Frank also joined Scheer earlier this week to promote “Listen Liberal.” Watch a portion of the discussion below:
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July 24, 2016 Latest Radio Show | 0 |
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wants the Senate to question Attorney General Jeff Sessions next week about “his own role with Russia, his role in the Comey firing, and the ongoing investigations into ties with Russia and his recusal,” according to a statement by the organization. [Sessions will appear on Tuesday before the Committee on Appropriations to testify about the Department of Justice budget. The ACLU says that it is “asking its over 2 million supporters to contact their representatives and urge them to ask Sessions tough questions. ” Asked by Breitbart News what the relevance of the Russia investigation was for civil liberties in the United States, Christopher Anders, deputy director of the ACLU’s legislative office, said: “It’s very fundamental to civil liberties, in that it goes right to the heart of our democracy, in our ability to vote, and that our votes are counted and are meaningful. ” Russia’s hacking — or its attempt to hack — political parties and local voter databases “raises concerns about integrity of voting and integrity of our elections,” Anders said. Asked whether the ACLU had defended former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, whose telephone calls were under surveillance, and whose name was leaked illegally to the media, Anders acknowledged that the organization had not defended him specifically, adding: “We haven’t accused Michael Flynn of anything, either. ” The ACLU had, Anders pointed out, raised the general issue of surveillance, and was concerned about the of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is thought to be the provision under which Flynn’s communications were intercepted. “We have said there is a good reason to be concerned,” Anders told Breitbart News. “President Trump is raising a legitimate issue of concern about Americans’ communications being surveilled, and they shouldn’t be, absent a specific warrant. ” In recent months, the ACLU has adopted an aggressive stance against the Trump administration, one very close to the partisan positions of the Democratic Party. It has also organized “Resistance training” workshops for activists opposed to the Trump administration’s policies. Noted civil libertarian Alan Dershowitz wrote last month in the Wall Street Journal: The ACLU was once a nonpartisan organization focused on liberty and equality before the law. In recent years it has chosen its battles with an increasingly sensibility. In doing so, it has become considerably more equivocal and sometimes even hostile toward core civil liberties concerns of free speech and due process. But Anders defended the group’s record, noting that it had supported Republicans like Sen. Rand Paul ( ) on civil liberties issues, and opposed certain policies of Democratic administrations in the past. He stressed the ACLU’s commitment to defending the Constitution. “That’s what we’re here to do, regardless of who’s in power. ” Joel B. Pollak is Senior at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak. | 1 |
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A Republican election commissioner and volunteer poll watcher has been accused of voter intimidation after he tried to drive away voters from an early-voting polling place in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The man, Stu Soffer, is a prominent Trump supporter who serves on the election commission of the majority-black Jefferson County. He has been the subject of national scrutiny before, most notably when he brandished a gun at an Election Commission meeting this Spring and then followed it up with quid-pro-quo corruption over the summer.
Now, Soffer is facing suit in the local circuit court after Jefferson County Clerk Patricia Johnson and unrelated Pine Bluff voter Victor Johnson accused him of “interfering with and intimidating voters” at the Jefferson County Courthouse on October 24. According to attorney Chris Burks, who is representing Mr. Johnson, Soffer “stood in the doorway of the early voting location and told voters to ‘shut up and go home.’”
Johnson states in his filings that he was waiting in line at the polling place when Soffer entered with a TV reporting crew. When a county sheriff told Soffer that the TV crew was causing a disturbance and ordered one of its members to leave, Soffer apparently blocked the door to the voting booths and yelled at the assembled citizens to “shut up and go home.” The suit filed by Mr. Johnson states that, “as a result of the disruption caused by Stu Soffer and other Republicans I was not able to cast my ballot that day.” Dozens of other likely voters were apparently turned away in similar fashion.
Soffer resigned his position as a poll watcher in the aftermath of the incident, but the suit filed on behalf of Mr. Johnson is seeking to have him removed from his position on the county election commission as well. Soffer refused to comment when contacted by local publication Arkansas Online and a hearing date is yet to be set for the case.
This admittedly localized incident comes against a backdrop of a massive campaign of voter suppression targeting minority communities that is underway across the nation , usually justified by the chimera of voter fraud . Republican officials and commissioners, knowing that Trump’s bigoted rhetoric will cost them the election in any fair vote, are using every dirty trick in the book to suppress minority turnout in a campaign of intimidation that a federal judge in North Carolina rightly characterized as “insane” and “like something that was put together in 1901.” | 0 |
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Michael Phelps, headphones in, was listening to music on his smartphone to pump himself up for a race at the United States Olympic trials when he felt the phone vibrate in his hoodie pocket. Phelps has faced plenty of distractions in his 16 years as an Olympic swimmer, but nothing like this. Phelps’s son, Boomer, was in the stands to take in his first Olympic trials, and Phelps’s fiancée, Nicole Johnson, was sending him photographs to commemorate the occasion. She had forgotten that Phelps’s phone held his prerace playlist, a mix of songs from Eminem, Young Jeezy and a more recent addition, Eric Church. With victories in the butterfly, the individual medley and the butterfly at the trials in June and July, Phelps qualified for his fifth Olympics. His vibrating phone signified the cheer, but also the challenge, of juggling his old, proven routines and a new, unpredictable life. The five weeks after the trials in Omaha were a blur of training swims and video chats. Phelps had more on his mind than the two opportunities that he will have in Rio, in the 100 butterfly and the 200 I. M. to join the track and field Olympians Al Oerter and Carl Lewis as the only Americans to win an individual event four times. To chase the record of Oerter and Lewis, Phelps had to leave behind in Arizona his main sources of inspiration, his fiancée and their son. He had looked forward to seeing both during the designated family weekend at a training camp in San Antonio in July, but Johnson reluctantly canceled the trip after Boomer developed a fever and a nagging cough. “So now it’s like I’m always worried that he’s sleeping right, breathing right, getting enough food, getting better,” Phelps, 31, said the next day after a practice. “So it is challenging,” he added. “We just left FaceTime on yesterday, even if we weren’t saying anything. ” Johnson and Boomer made the trip to Atlanta, the site of a second training camp, a little over a week later. They were planning to rejoin Phelps in Rio de Janeiro, where they will serve as the most demonstrable proof of the transformation Phelps has undergone since his last turn as an Olympic star. “He’s just very grounded, and he’s living well,” Bob Bowman, Phelps’s longtime coach, said, adding, “The swimming is far from the only thing that he is doing. ” Phelps has won a record 23 Olympic medals, including 19 golds, through meticulous planning. In preparation for past Olympics, he counted his strokes in case his goggles filled with water and prohibited him from gauging the distance between walls, as they did in the butterfly final at the Beijing Games in 2008. In September 2013, Bowman handed him a schedule for the 1, 068 days leading up to the Rio Games. In the aftermath of Phelps’s arrest in 2014 for driving under the influence, his second such arrest, and his subsequent stint in a recovery center, he set out to apply the same detailed approach to his personal life. He contact with his father, Fred, from whom he had been estranged for several years. In February 2015, Phelps became engaged to Johnson, whom he had dated off and on since 2007, and mapped out the future: After the Olympics, the couple would get married, embark on a long and luxurious honeymoon and then start a family. The plan went awry when Johnson became pregnant in the fall. “Michael was more excited than I was,” Johnson said. “He was over the moon about having a kid. ” Phelps’s rapprochement with his father, she said, freed him to embrace the next nonswimming chapter in his life. “It relieved him of this anger that he held on to for so many years,” Johnson said. “It could have affected the way he looked at himself as a father. ” Phelps credits his personal growth, evident in his teammates’ voting him a team captain for the first time in his Olympic career, to a different reconciliation — the one he initiated with Johnson four months before his D. U. I. arrest in Baltimore in September 2014. “We’ve been through a lot,” he said. “But I love her to death. We’ve been able to grow as a couple through everything we’ve been through, the positive changes I’ve made in my life. ” The two met at the ESPYs in 2007. Phelps was presenting an award with the racecar driver Danica Patrick, and Johnson was an athlete guide who harbored dreams of becoming a Formula One racing correspondent. As such, she was not thrilled to be assigned to usher Phelps around. “I really wanted to escort Travis Pastrana,” she said, referring to the motorsports and action sports star. To Johnson’s surprise, “Michael and I just completely hit it off,” she said. They both had divorced parents, and they made each other laugh. Within days, they were a couple. Johnson chose not to attend the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where Phelps won eight gold medals to surpass Mark Spitz’s record for a single Games, because she did not want to distract Phelps from his singular pursuit of history. “My friends all thought I was crazy for not going,” said Johnson, who was around for the madness that ensued as Phelps waded into the celebrity culture and was carried out to sea by fame’s riptide. Phelps’s mother, Debbie, recalled one moment of many that had illustrated how different her son’s life had become. She was on the phone with Phelps, who was with Johnson at an outdoor shopping mall in Newport Beach, Calif. when it became obvious that she no longer had his full attention. As she recalled, he said: “Mom, I have to call you back. Kobe just pulled up. ” He meant the N. B. A. star Kobe Bryant, who had rolled down the tinted window of his car to greet Phelps. Johnson, a graduate of the University of Southern California, had her own experience with the crosscurrents of a public life. She entered beauty contests, enticed by the scholarship money. In November 2009, she won the Miss California U. S. A. pageant, held in Palm Springs. During her 2010 reign as Miss California, she gained a better understanding of the competing interests that were tugging at Phelps. “It’s hard to put your heart into things when you feel you’re being pulled in so many different directions and people are taking advantage of you,” she said. The two drifted apart, got back together again in 2012 and then broke up, presumably for good, before the London Olympics. Phelps, who had been unable to commit either to Johnson or to swimming, overcame his haphazard preparation to win six medals, including four golds. Then he retired, accelerating the downward spiral that Johnson said had begun after the 2008 Games. “He lived in a bubble for a long time,” Johnson said, adding: “It’s hard to develop as a person when you need them to perform at such a high level. He had to grow up really, really fast. ” Phelps returned to swimming in 2013. The following year, he was in Rio de Janeiro for a swimming clinic when he turned to his agent, Peter Carlisle, and started to say, “If I ever get a chance to get Nicole back. ” Before he could continue, Carlisle corrected him, saying, “No, when you get her back. ” A week after that conversation, Phelps sent Johnson a text that laid bare his feelings for her. “And here we are in 2016 with a child and going to Rio,” Phelps said. It was a little more complicated than that. Johnson was seriously involved with someone when she received Phelps’s text. She wrote him back, saying she was dating someone and would not do anything to jeopardize the relationship. But a few weeks passed, and she could not get Phelps’s words out of her mind, which she took as a sign. Johnson broke up with her boyfriend and cautiously resumed contact with Phelps. To the delight of everyone in his inner circle, they got back together and have been a team since. “It’s been a really fun journey over the last couple of years,” Phelps said, “and a journey that I think has made me the person who I am and helped me transform to me just being me. ” Allison Schmitt, a Olympian who lived with Phelps and Johnson for the past year so she could train with Bowman at Arizona State, said Phelps had met his match in Johnson, who can turn potential arguments into playful exchanges with parries like, “You can go put on your grouchy pants, Michael, because I know you had a really hard workout. ” After a workout at Arizona State in March, Phelps mentioned a round of golf that had been arranged for him at Whisper Rock, an exclusive club. When Johnson had found out about his plans, he acknowledged, she had chided him for playing at a club that did not allow women. “She is perfect for him,” Bowman said. “She’s pretty confident in her own right. She didn’t need or want his money. She is her own person. ” It is not easy being a figure’s other half, though. In April, shortly before Boomer’s birth, Phelps retrieved his phone from his pocket during an interview. He called up Johnson’s Instagram page and read a message a stranger had posted that began, “We want to see your abortion. ” It only got worse from there. “People send her those all the time,” Phelps said with a sigh. “She’ll look at it, delete it and go on with her day. ” Phelps described himself as thankful for Johnson and their sweet life together. He knows how close he came to not knowing such joy. There is a song by Eric Church, one of his favorite artists, about a man named Michael who has a boy who is “starting to look like me. ” The man is a recovering alcoholic pining for the family he lost because of his addiction. That song, Phelps said, is not on his playlist. | 1 |
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Residents in the small Russian town of Ryazan, apparently excited by the election of Donald Trump in the United States, have started a petition to have a street in their town renamed “Street of Donald Trump.” The petition was started on “ change.org ,” and, among other things, advocates for the name change because “recently elected U.S. President Donald Trump is a big friend of Russia and is a supporter of traditional values.”
Per HeatStreet , the petition has already gathered enough support to be officially reviewed by authorities which means residents are well on their way to “making Ryazan great again.”
The petition for a Trump Street has turned out to be quite popular. It’s gathered enough signatures to be officially reviewed by the authorities.
“With a street named after Donald Trump we can make Ryazan great again,” said one of the supporters of the petition.
“I’m signing because I was born in Ryazan and Trump is a great person and will change everything for the better,” said another.
Here is a loosely translated version of the petition from Google translate:
Despite the enthusiasm among many, some residents were slightly less supportive of the “Street of Donald Trump” idea and suggested that the town would end up “looking like idiots” if Trump imposed sanctions against Russia.
Some commenters, however, expressed caution: “You should have waited to see Trump’s first moves. What if he will support the sanctions against Russia? You will look like idiots then.”
Despite the petition’s popularity, a city official thinks it’s unlikely the street will actually be renamed. “According to Ryazan city regulations,” the official said, “the street can be named after a famous person, Russian or foreign, only five years after the death of this person”.
Meanwhile, here in the U.S., a 15-year-old student at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland had to be rushed to the hospital after being beaten up by 4 other students for wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.
Hundreds of students from Richard Montgomery High School were carrying signs reading, “Love Trumps Hate,” and chanting near the Rockville courthouse on Maryland Avenue in a protest that began at about 10 a.m. when a 15-year-old boy wearing one of the Trump campaign’s “Make American Great Again” hats was attacked by about four students.
The group surrounded the teen, punching him repeatedly, then threw him to the ground and kicked him repeatedly in the ribs.
“They jumped him and beat him up pretty bad,” Max Stucky, a bystander who witnessed the attack, told WTOP.
The teen, who wasn’t seriously hurt, was seen clutching the back of his head in pain. He was helped to his feet by medics and taken to a hospital in an ambulance.
And still no word from Obama and Clinton on this senseless violence…we’re still waiting… Related | 0 |
National leaders are celebrating mothers and motherhood as they also reach out to women experiencing the pain of the loss of motherhood through abortion. [The March for Life is celebrating Mother’s Day by inviting its supporters to share special qualities of their moms. What makes your mother special? https: . #MothersDay pic. twitter. — March for Life (@March_for_Life) May 12, 2017, The organizers of the world’s largest demonstration — held in Washington, D. C. each year on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision — shares tributes to mothers throughout the nation. ”When I was 6 weeks old I would have the first of many brain surgeries … my mom stuck with me through it all.” — >> https: . pic. twitter. — March for Life (@March_for_Life) May 12, 2017, ”Her heart inspires me to be a better person every day, this is why I love my mom!” — Natalie: https: . #mothersday pic. twitter. — March for Life (@March_for_Life) May 11, 2017, Thanks to our moms who give us roots and wings! Let us know what makes your mother special — >> https: . . #mothersday pic. twitter. — March for Life (@March_for_Life) May 11, 2017, After this girl scheduled an abortion, her mom a lunch appointment changed her mind https: . @EmbraceGraceInc #prolife pic. twitter. — March for Life (@March_for_Life) May 11, 2017, ”My mom is one of the most amazing people I know” — Adelaide: https: . #mothersday #motherhood pic. twitter. — March for Life (@March_for_Life) May 10, 2017, leaders Family Research Council, Alveda King, and Students for Life of America tweet their Mother’s Day messages: This #MothersDay, let us thank God for the boundless blessings of all the mothers in our lives. https: . #moms, — FRC (@FRCdc) May 12, 2017, For Mothers’ Day Celebrate Life! pic. twitter. — Alveda King (@AlvedaCKing) May 12, 2017, #momsdontneed abortion. pic. twitter. — Students for Life (@Students4LifeHQ) May 11, 2017, March for Life also acknowledges that, while many families will be celebrating Mother’s Day with gifts and expressions of gratitude for the women who brought them into the world, those who are experiencing loss and pain following an abortion may need hope and healing. There is hope and healing after abortion. https: . — March for Life (@March_for_Life) May 12, 2017, A Renewed Mother’s Day: Mothers Day History and Real Meaning https: . — Fr. Frank Pavone (@frfrankpavone) May 11, 2017, Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, also serves as pastoral director of Rachel’s Vineyard — the world’s largest ministry for healing after abortion. Pavone tells Breitbart News he is in touch daily with women who mourn their lost motherhood following abortion. ”Our society must not settle for leaving women who face unplanned pregnancy no hope but abortion.” https: . — March for Life (@March_for_Life) May 10, 2017, “Mother’s Day is for so many of them a time of particular pain, but also a time of particular healing,” he explains. “There are many sentimental trappings of Mother’s Day — and these, of course are nothing bad — the cards and flowers, the hearts and greetings. But the woman who started Mother’s Day came to feel that sentimentality had obscured its original meaning. ” Pavone also provides pastoral leadership for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, an effort to mobilize those who testify to the pain they have experienced through abortion. He relates the story of Anna Jarvis, the founder of the original Mother’s Day holiday, to those who are helping others heal after abortion: After the Civil War, Anna Jarvis, an activist from West Virginia, wanted to honor her late mother for her good work in her lifetime. Anna’s mother had started mothers clubs to help lower infant mortality. Anna carried on her mother’s work. With the outbreak of the Civil War, she created mothers’ clubs that tended to wounded soldiers on both sides. These concrete and organized actions of mothers involved hard work and sustained commitment geared toward saving lives, and often marked by the pain of losing those lives. In a sense, then, the current holocaust of abortion in which we are living, and the pain of so many mothers who have lost their own children, can be an occasion to recover deeper and more original meanings of Mother’s Day. Mothers can come together — as so many do through Rachel’s Vineyard and Silent No More — to strengthen one another to face the pain abortion brings, to walk the journey of healing, and to commit themselves to save as many lives as possible from this scourge of our day. And in that sense Mother’s Day becomes a holiday for all of us to renew our commitment to defend mothers and their children from something that is taking far more lives than war or disease has ever taken. On Mother’s Day, leaders also remember women and girls who have continued an unplanned pregnancy and offered their babies for adoption. Adoption changes lives! #adoption #prolife #whywemarch pic. twitter. — March for Life (@March_for_Life) May 10, 2017, ”A birthmom’s decision has nothing to do giving up but everything to do giving life. ”https: . #BirthMothersDay #Courage pic. twitter. — Radiance Foundation (@lifehaspurpose) May 12, 2017, Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie of the Catholic Association reflects at Angelus of her own experience of the “miraculous grace of adoption”: [T]hose of us who have had the privilege of adopting feel it as a divine benediction. Sometimes we are praised for our generosity, but we know that the gift is all for the parents. Although adoption requires a trusting leap into the unknown and a conscious acceptance of any number of difficulties, the return in joy is dizzying. Often, though my daughter has been with me for nine years, I look at her and I am freshly struck with the utter unlikelihood of her person being mine to guard. What you really need to know about birth moms on Mother’s Day https: . #mothersday #chooselife @JettCallie @March_for_Life, — Catholic Association (@CatholicAssoc) May 12, 2017, | 1 |
By Gordon Duff, Senior Editor on November 2, 2016 By Gordon Duff, Senior Editor and Ian Greenhalgh, Managing Editor
Sources within the FBI have informed VT that a cabal tied to right wing extremists, in particular General Paul Vallely’s Stand Up America (advocating the violent overthrow of the American government) and the Federalist Society along with groups like St. Hubertus and Bilderberg, now run the rank and file of the FBI. The FBI is now a key component of the secret societies that John F. Kennedy warned about. When top DC insiders meet with oil and defense contractors, be it a “prayer breakfast” or “hunting society” or to dance around a fire somewhere wearing horned headgear, the FBI is there.
Calls for a special prosecutor to investigate possible FBI involvement in attempts to rig this years presidential election have more to them than meet the eye. A culture of corruption has infected the FBI to the point where they have become a danger to national security. Let’s be clear, the majority of FBI agents are not only competent and honest, they are fine people. However, this is a deeply political group, strongly right wing, with a very secretive hierarchy that has not only taken sides in the election, but has been involved in covering up terrorist acts and organized crime for years.
Recently, CNN called for a special prosecutor to investigate the FBI. There is a reason for this, which we will get into, not at some small risk. CNN also reported on “fake news” and the threat it entails. What if I told you that the majority of FBI agents, including highest level officials, were not only “birthers,” a belief even Trump now has backed away from, but openly talk about murders they believe Hillary Clinton has committed or continue to insist that President Obama is a Muslim? Worse still, many actually insist that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ.
Not only are those who run America’s most powerful law enforcement organization rooted in conspiracy theories and delusions, they are continually hoaxed by fake news stories.
Worse still, the FBI has, for years, covered for financial criminals, the payday loan scams, the mortgage “robo-signers” and more. When America’s savings and loans were crashed by fraud during the Reagan administration, costing $1.4 trillion, few went to jail. This may have been the beginning. When, in 2007, America’s investment banking system collapsed, the price of that nearing $10 trillion, all of which involved criminal fraud on an unimaginable scale, all that could be done was a “bail out,” but no prosecutions though nearly half the equity value of the entire nation had been redirected overseas by an international criminal cabal.
This is the same FBI, under the guidance of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, that got behind torture, kidnapping and illegal surveillance.
Where we are now is this, organized crime at the highest levels is free to operate in the US with impunity while the FBI runs political witch hunts under the direction of right wing extremist groups.
We are told that the FBI helped squash the 9/11 investigations, including releasing certain suspects tied to foreign intelligence services along with a series of investigations tied to voter intimidation, voting machine hacking and the death of Michael Connell , which would have brought down the Bush presidency.
Read today’s New York Times about Donald Trump’s income taxes, where the term “improper” is used when describing Trump’s taking huge tax deductions for losses by others. Even the Times is afraid of using the term “criminal.” It isn’t Trump they are afraid of. Gambling boss Sheldon Adelson just gave Trump $25m today, dirty money to bolster a flagging campaign, donated after the FBI attempt to down Clinton with a phony email scandal failed miserably due to VT investigative reporting .
VT’s allegations have now all been supported, and sources are coming forward about much more serious problems within the FBI and real threats to national security.
The Federalists
There is both a public and private version of the Federalist Society. They organize high school debates, the recruit “like minded conservatives” to go to law school or in law schools, they push “right minded” lawyers into key positions in politics, in the courts and in the FBI. There’s the rub. There is a dark side to the federalists as well, agenda drive and very “anti-government,” as much as any militia, in fact “out neoconning” the neocons hands down.
The Federalist Society is powerful, embedded everywhere and operating with a grand plan, one that involves something beyond tyranny as we know it, the full unabridged version of the corporate state where superior man is allowed his way and others, well, they learn to lie down and take it.
This is conservatism, or “neo-conservatism” as it exists, not on the news but in real life, elitism at the hands of self proclaimed elites “in their own minds,” empowered mama’s boys, ass kissers and the kids that hung around the teacher’s skirts during recess so they wouldn’t get their tiny little asses handed to them by regular children.
The Plot
What if congress were controlled by the Federalists? What if the Federalists controlled, until Scalia was killed anyway, the Supreme Court as well? What if the Federalists organized congress to block judicial appointments, in order to run the courts and control key cases around the country for paying clients, some drug cartels, defense companies but more often big polluters, drug companies and banks, the kind of banks that robo-sign mortgages and bilk customers out of their savings.
The Federalists run the FBI, having taken over after pushing aside the Mormon contingent, still alive and well but less powerful, that was put in place by Hoover.
Here’s the rub, we have seen congress do little during the Obama presidency but run investigations, some of them like Benghazi, built on “fake news” and internet conspiracies. We also mentioned that the FBI, rather than being a collection of elitist lawyers and big IQ guys, is now Fox News conspiracy junkies who, after 9/11, ate the entire donut cart of fantasy fed to the general public and have, for more than a decade, chased shadows and fought a war on terror against organization that never existed.
Where this applies now is in what we have seen over the past few days. We have established the “crying liberal goodguy” credentials of James Comey, FBI Director. We know he hates torture, fought against, for awhile at least, the surveillance state and certainly convinced President Obama that he was going to be able to clean up the FBI after its long descent into disrepute during the Bush/Gonzales period.
For years, every time Alex Jones or some other podcaster or blogger, a “fake news” generator came up with a tale about Hillary Clinton, Congress put millions on the table and began the witch hunt. The version of Benghazi that congress chases around and the one the intelligence agencies know is real are so unrelated as to share almost no facts at all. Everything about Libya was secret, including the shotgun wedding between Gaddaffi and Bush/Blair, a sick threesome involving not just arms dealing but a covert nuclear weapons program, germ warfare labs and surrogate terrorism to be blamed on others, like Syria.
Where it gets dangerous is here, we have congress controlled by the GOP, a mix of Tea Party true believers, with the wild eyed look worn down a bit and the “I am for sale, name a price” written on their fat pink little pig faces.
Mix in the usual suspects, the “Washington types,” running when told, where told, fully at the services of the lobby, Israel, big Pharma, the drug cartels who top off their Bain Capital/Cayman Islands bank accounts…
Add to that, the endless obstructionism, the endless investigations and, wait for it, an FBI now controlled by the Federalist Society, the name group that runs the congressional investigations and manages the payoffs as well.
Then Obama throws Comey into the mix. Here is what we are told; Comey killed the expected prosecution of Hillary not because the investigation showed she didn’t commit crimes but because the investigation showed very much that she had committed many crimes, but for one minor problem. The investigation itself was corrupt, fabricating evidence, intimidating witnesses and falsifying everything it touched. The Federalists expected Comey to bend over as he had so many times in the past. Instead, he simply threw it all out.
The leaders of the FBI cabal met at a contractors ranch in Montana to discuss how to get not only Hillary but Comey as well. The deal was this, take a batch of emails that were “out there,” and there were hundreds of thousands unaccounted for. Seed classified information into them, for “security’s sake” like had been done before, something Comey caught onto when he killed the FBI’s case against Hillary.
Then to do two things, crash the election and get rid of Comey. With Trump coming in, if things work out, Comey will be replaced with a puppet of choice and the Federalist run FBI will be unleashed to blackmail, torture and fabricate evidence until caught and there will be nobody left to speak up.
Working hand in hand with them will be congress and pouring money in, the drug cartels, the Israel/Saudi/Turkish lobby, big oil and maybe even the Russians as well, who knows. The sky is the limit. This is just like the good old days with Nixon.
Setting up Comey was easy. Get the emails, put them on Weiner’s computer and fail to legally gain access to them by not applying for a search warrant. Then go to Comey telling him they were just found. With his weak constitution and the abuse he got from Trump’s people, combined with the “line agent insurrection” (yes, this is the term used) for standing up against them once, Comey would fold.
Comey folded, he took the bait and ran to congress with the weeks old illegally obtained probably seeded and falsified evidence that has burned down his career.
With calls for FBI Director James Comey to step down and accusations of FBI corruption from both the Trump and Clinton campaigns, sources have begun to come forward. What we are hearing, primarily from inside the FBI but from Washington insiders of both parties, will shake the very foundations of the republic. We begin:
What We Know
James Comey has a history as a reformer and advocate of constitutional rights. In 2004, he was brought into the Bush Department of Justice but soon found much amiss and became a critic of torture, rendition and “cooked” terror cases. President Obama believed he was pulling a fast one by moving Comey, a Republican, into the slot as FBI director. Comey was tasked with reforming the Bureau, which had begun “cowboying” cases and making up the rules, widely abusing even its broadened powers under anti-terror legislation that many legal experts cite as being unconstitutional. To many in the FBI, the Patriot Acts and FISA weren’t tyrannical enough.
The FBI is overrun with factions and some of them are closely tied to extremist groups that advocate the overthrow of the United States government.
Let’s be clear, most FBI agents are lawyers, many are experienced law enforcement officers and, typically, the majority are frighteningly honest, a bit dull and very right wing. Most FBI agents are “birthers,” and still believe that President Obama is a Muslim and was born in Kenya, though there is no evidence, whatsoever, to imply that either assertion has merit.
Still they believe this. In discussions with FBI agents and ranking FBI officials, invariably they are horribly uninformed on international affairs and seem as though they get their ideas about terror threats from TV shows. Most are not rooted in reality, not by standards of an intelligence agency or military command. The FBI has developed a closed culture, almost cult-like, where influences are often extremist, sometimes religious and were the organs of oversight and control have broken down.
The FBI can’t be trusted.
The public knows that Director Comey wrote a letter to congress where he expressed an obligation to inform congress of evidence he had just received that indicated that not all emails between former Secretary of State Clinton and others, sent through a private server, had been evaluated for potential criminal elements. The letter went no further.
Comey had been warned not to send the letter, advised may be a better term, by Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other officials, making their case that he is not authorized to released such information and that the timing of this was highly suspect and this act would damage the reputation of the FBI.
Lynch was unaware that the emails had, in fact, been around for a up to a month. She was alway unaware that they had been illegally downloaded or “synced” into Anthony Weiner’s computer. She was further unaware that existing search warrants made viewing or evaluating these emails, in any way, no matter how they had been accessed, was illegal.
Thus, when Comey commented in his letter about the basic nature of the emails, information only available through a process that violated law, he moved into the area of gross misconduct, perhaps criminal misconduct and left himself open for accusations of Hatch Act violation. The basis Comey applied for rationalizing his act was predicated on these points: A valid search warrant that covered these emails was in place. It was not. These emails had been, in fact, already in the hard drive and were not placed there, “planted” or “synced” by the FBI. If Comey were told this or failed to ask or make certain, the standard for conspiracy and obstruction charges exist within his office and the case management team at the FBI. Comey based his letter on what he claimed was his belief that these emails had just been discovered. In fact they had been around for as long as five weeks, a fact that raises more questions: Why did Comey wait until just prior to an election? Who did he talk to? What transpired during this period? Why did Comey not as for a search warrant to review the emails, though we know the process, or at least a cursory and quite illegal process had already begun, until after he wrote his letter and was bombarded with criticism?
A powerful group of FBI agents, opposed to Hillary Clinton, a group that includes extremists tied to the are the force behind the bizarre letter Director James Comey wrote to Congress last Friday, which have led to calls for his resignation and even arrest.
The FBI claims it knew of the Weiner/Abedin emails as early as September 22, 2016 and had certainly accessed them, without a warrant, by October 3 or 4.
Director Comey’s letter to Congress makes reference to knowledge that could only be obtained by reviewing minimally header material but also limited text in the emails, which he makes note of, though there is no legal basis for him having any information at all, as no warrant was issued until yesterday.
Yesterday, Comey announced that the emails had been held for some time. If this is true, it was done without his knowledge, a serious breach of national security. If he did know, it is for Comey to show how he dealt with that knowledge for the past 30 days, with whom he conferred and why he waited. This is where Senator Reid finds basis for citing Comey as in criminal violation of the Hatch Act and sees likely intent on Comey’s part to rig an election.
Things in Washington are coming apart as a pattern of “cowboying,” up to and including criminal acts, planting evidence, Hatch Act violations, perjury and obstruction may well have infected the FBI. Sources indicate that “line agents” within the FBI who either support the Trump candidacy or strongly oppose Hillary Clinton, are using the Bureau to try to rig this year’s presidential election, an assertion now echoing around Washington.
The Hillary email issues, cited by Senator Harry Reid (D) Utah as a violation of the Hatch Act, Federal employees involved in rigging an election, is only the tip of the iceberg. Yesterday, FBI Director James Comey admitted that he didn’t know agents had withheld emails by Clinton aide, Huma Abedin, that he mistakenly reported to congress as a recent discovery.
In fact, not only had the agents held these emails for weeks, as early as September 22, 2016, they had failed to ask for a warrant to even view them. Moreover, the acquisition of the emails itself was, according to numerous sources, an abuse of a warrant. Worse still, as the emails weren’t actually even on the computer but were loaded to it, and then misrepresented as being “found” on the computer’s hard drive.
Practices like this were commonplace during the second Bush administration and it was James Comey that was brought in to institute reforms and end the procedural abuses that had become rampant inside the Bureau. After 9/11 sweeping changes in surveillance legislation and broadly expanded powers instilled in many agents, according to sources in the Department of Justice, a broad disrespect for constitutional guarantees.
“They went a bit nuts there, and by the time Ashcroft (Attorney General) tried to rein them in, it was too late. Ashcroft was sick and was eventually pushed out by even stronger advocates of enhanced interrogation and the rule of the day, “rounding up the usual suspects,” guilty or not, in order to make the papers and sell more terror legislation.” | 0 |
If you love Donald Trump, then you are gonna really LOVE this. Obama figured he was untouchable, but Trump just pulled out the big guns and Obama is absolutely horrified!!
Trump told his rally in Florida today that… Obama was aware that Hillary Clinton and the Democrats were hiring people to beat up Trump supporters at his rallies!
Donald Trump actually made a great point. The guy behind the violent attacks was a Democrat named Bob Creamer. Creamer, a convicted felon, admitted on tape to hiring the attackers for Hillary!
However, when more digging was done, it was discovered that Creamer visited the White House over 300 times since Obama became president.
Trump said, ‘He visited the White House, I think it was 344 times, right? But he said, “Yeah, but I only saw that president 44 times.” Oh, well that’s okay. So I’m sure the president didn’t know anything about the violence, right?’ Trump also reminded the crowd that Hillary Clinton actually paid one of the fighters $1500 and a new cell phone in return for causing a massive fight at his Chicago rally. Look, these are the exact same tactics that Hitler use. Hillary Clinton is exactly like Hitler. I call her Hitlery! If you wanna stop Hitlery, then the first step is to share this article out and make the world see Trump is way better. Step two is to get out and VOTE! | 0 |
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines will no longer accept new grants from the European Union, officials said Thursday, forgoing possibly more than 250 million euros ($ 278. 7 million) in funds for development projects in the country. [The EU delegation in Manila said the Philippine government informed it about its decision Wednesday, but it has yet to receive a written notice. Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, in a text reply to the Associated Press, said the move was “to discourage them from interfering with our internal affairs. ” President Rodrigo Duterte earlier had challenged the EU to stop its assistance after the bloc warned that the Philippines risks losing exports to Europe because of the thousands killed in the war on drugs launched by Duterte and Manila’s moves to revive the death penalty. “The President has approved the recommendation of the Department of Finance not to accept grants from the EU that may allow it to interfere with internal policies of the Philippines,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters Thursday. EU Ambassador Franz Jessen said more than 250 million euros ($278. 7 million) worth of grants could be at stake. “We are still awaiting more detailed clarification from the government,” Jessen said in an email to the AP. “The amount possibly concerned by the new decision is 250 million euro plus. For this year the amount affected could be 100 million euro. ” Development projects currently using EU assistance include a 35 million euro ($39 million) grant to support the peace process with Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines. The EU is the largest foreign investor in the Philippines, the only member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to enjoy exports under EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences + or GSP+ incentives for developing countries. The Philippine’s exports to EU was worth around 1. 6 billion euros ($1. 78 million) in 2016, according to EU delegation data. In March, the EU summoned a Philippine envoy to explain an tirade by Duterte, who threatened to hang EU officials for opposing his efforts to the death penalty. The EU’s external action service, the equivalent of a foreign office, said it hauled Charge d’Affaires Alan Deniega to its Brussels headquarters to provide “an explanation for the recent, unacceptable comments of President Duterte. ” The move highlights growing European exasperation with the president. Earlier, the EU denied his allegations that it proposed solving the Philippines’ drug problem by creating treatment clinics where illegal drugs such as methamphetamine or cocaine would be dispensed. Duterte has lashed out at the EU repeatedly for raising human rights concerns over his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs. “If you think it is high time for you to withdraw your assistance, go ahead, we will not beg for it,” Duterte said in a speech in October, referring to aid from the U. S. EU and other critics. The social development arm of the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines criticized the government’s decision. “The Duterte administration is just too fanatically engrossed on the war on drugs, hating every institution that questions it,” said the Rev. Edwin Gariguez, head of the Secretariat for Social Action. “This is echoed even in making foreign or economic policy, which is extremely detrimental to the welfare and interest of the poor, like this decision not to accept EU aid. ” | 1 |
MIAMI — The day Rodrigo told his prominent parents about his new gender identity, he did so in a letter that he left on their bed. Then he grabbed a packed bag and, unsure of whether he would be welcomed back, went to a friend’s house to see if his family would love him or leave him. His shocked parents, Representative Ileana a Miami Republican, and Dexter Lehtinen, who served as the top federal prosecutor here, did not hesitate. They grabbed the phone and told him that they loved him and that family trumped all, and asked him to come home. But as with many parents of transgender children, they were also overwhelmed by fear: The future they saw for their then whom they had named Amanda, would be pockmarked with discrimination and bullying, if not outright violence. It was this visceral reaction to want to protect her child that drove Ms. to break from her party’s skepticism or hostility on gay and transgender issues — a stance evident now in North Carolina’s battle over transgender bathroom visits — and become a conspicuous advocate in Congress and more recently in public service announcements. On Monday, Ms. her husband and her son, now 30, will appear in the latest one for SAVE, a longtime South Florida gay rights group that hopes to engage the Latino community here. “I worried about his safety and about his ” Ms. said, noting that inflammatory debates like the one about school bathrooms serve to further alienate transgender youths and subject them to more bullying and animosity. “I didn’t want him to be depressed. You think of all the parade of horribles that could happen. ” There is ample evidence that many transgender people continue to be rejected by their families, employers and society, a situation that is beginning to change as the transgender movement becomes more visible and better organized. And while Ms. profoundly disagrees with President Obama on a number of issues, especially on his approach to Cuba, she agreed with his administration’s directive Friday telling school districts to allow students to use the school facilities that match the sex they identify with, even if that conflicts with their anatomical sex. “Allowing students to use the bathroom of their authentic selves is a step forward in stopping the stigma around transgender individuals,” said Ms. 63, the first Hispanic woman elected to Congress. “Unnecessary laws only make transgender youth feel unaccepted, and can lead to depression or even worse, suicide. ” Her husband, a lawyer who as a United States attorney here supervised the prosecution of the Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega and now teaches constitutional law at the University of Miami, said the administration had sent a strong message. But he questioned the method, worrying that the president’s unilateral approach might undercut the protections he is offering. “It’s important that in this slow but necessary recognition of equality that we do it on a sound legal basis, because law and process carry great weight with the American people,” Mr. Lehtinen said. “It legitimizes what we are trying to do. ” As for the Republican Party, Ms. who has served in the House for more than 25 years, said it would come along as more Americans shared stories of how discrimination can harm the lives of gay and transgender people. “The Republican Party’s stance on the issue is lagging behind,” she added. “But folks are figuring out that there is no political harm in embracing these issues and, in fact, they see a lot of good can come out of it. ” For her family, the journey that began with Rodrigo’s letter in 2007 unfolded over five years. Rejecting their child, who had just graduated from Brown University, was unthinkable. Even so, getting entirely comfortable with the idea of a daughter who had become a son, a sister who had become a brother, was not altogether easy for the family and required adjustments, particularly outside the home. “It was an evolving conversation for the next five years,” said Mr. who will soon move back to Miami from Los Angeles, where he works as a for a gay, lesbian and transgender rights group. “Nobody expects their child to be transgender. It’s a big shift, and we often want to go back to our normal lives. ” Although he had come out as bisexual as Amanda in high school, he said he knew so little about transgender people that he did not see it in himself until he got to Brown. He trod slowly, first by wearing men’s clothing and asking friends to call him Rodrigo. “I didn’t know how comfortable a person could feel until I had tried on men’s clothes,” said Mr. who goes by Rigo, adding that he had long grown accustomed to feeling depressed or anxious. “A fog lifted. ” When the moment came to tell his family, he had no reason to think they would lash out, but he still imagined the worst. “I am about to lose everyone I love,” he told himself. He also feared that he would hurt his mother’s political career, a possibility that did not worry Ms. . A turning point came when he told his abuelo in 2010. “We were terrified to tell him,” Mr. said. Instead of becoming angry, his grandfather shrugged. At his age, he said, nothing was more important than the happiness of his grandchild. “It was an incredibly simple and loving response,” Mr. added. As time went on, he began taking testosterone, and now sports a beard. Last year, he married a man, adding Heng to his name. His father, who was badly wounded in the face in Vietnam as an Army Ranger (and still bears the scar) says one way to generate empathy is to help people understand that sexual and gender orientation do not define a person’s character — but that their work ethic, their honesty, their grit do. “I don’t mean it’s not important to the individual it’s that it should not be important to us which choice they make,” Mr. Lehtinen said. “They are the same person. It’s sometimes difficult for me to understand why anybody would think that their fundamental character would change because of their sexual orientation. ” Their son, Mr. Lehtinen added, has never been happier. As for the family, the new normal is exactly that — normal. This is exactly the message the Lehtinens hope to convey to Latinos as they sit around their kitchen table drinking coffee in the SAVE public service announcement, which will air on networks. Many Latinos are perceived as more traditional and more reluctant to embrace sexual diversity. Gay, lesbian and transgender issues were mostly taboo until recently, which meant that there was scarce media attention on the issue. Polling by the local management consultant Bendixen Amandi, which has surveyed people on these issues for years and was commissioned by SAVE, showed that the way to connect with Latinos was to present a parent talking about the importance of family. This was an easy fit for the Lehtinens, who embraced that message from the start and whose prominence here gave it extra weight. “Every transgender person is a part of someone’s family and should be treated with compassion and protected from discrimination,” Ms. said in the video. | 1 |
We know by now that various governmental institutions have spilled the beans regarding the existence of UFOs, but the Chinese want to break the ice and expose it all.
Via AlternativeNews
Because of the constant pressure posed by the people willing to know the truth of what’s really happening on this planet, they had no choice other than declassify decades of thorough investigations of unidentified flying objects.
The CIA, the FBI, the Navy, NASA, military officials, retired astronauts, ex-personnel of area 51, plus many other governments from Brazil, Russia, and recently China, are all admitting at least in part or in full that really some messed up things are happening around us, with cause probably being otherworldly.
Scroll Down For Video Although this data has been known for quite some time by those actively investigating the UFO phenomenon, there are others who are just waking up to this reality and who deserve to know the truth.
In a recent gathering of the non-profit organization known as Citizen Hearing, Shi-Li Sun, an esteemed researcher and president of the Chinese UFO Federation has stepped forward denouncing this concealed reality of UFOs.
According to him, the UFO phenomenon not only is authentic, but it stretches back tens of thousands of years, to a time when ancient China was barely shaping its culture and traits. In his acceptance, otherworldly visitors might had impacted our entire society, and for an unknown period of time contributed to the foundation of humanity before vanishing into outer space, probably to return at a later date to check on Earth’s well-being. In Chinese culture, all these otherworldly beings personified as deities were converted into a single great cosmic beast – the Dragon.
Chinese people consider ourselves as the descendant of Dragon, and Dragon is from outer space in the Chinese culture, so in the Chinese culture we are from outer space as descendant of Dragon,” Shi-Li affirmed.
To break this short, here is what he had to say on behalf of himself, and all the prominent figures involved in the Chinese UFO Organization:
Certainly, after years of research, a large number of Chinese UFO scholars, including myself, are convinced of the authenticity of UFO, the existence of UFOs and aliens…So, we believe in the existence of UFOs, we believe in the existence of aliens and extraterrestrials.”
If you want to find all the spicy details unraveled by the Chinese, make sure to watch the official statement in the video below. Oh, and don’t forget to spread the word about these groundbreaking news, everyone deserves to know about this. [Skip to 6:50 mark for the statement]
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Counselor to President Donald Trump Kellyanne Conway is firing back hard at Morning Joe hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough for baselessly claiming she does not actually support President Trump. [Conway said in a statement on Tuesday: The hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe have become virulent critics of the President and those close to him. Ignoring insults and insinuations is a valuable skill. But when sentiments are attributed to me that are not true, it is necessary to respond. My beliefs, commitments and loyalties are plain to see. The notion that I am serving for ‘the money’ or a ‘paycheck’ is absurd. As campaign manager, I made a fraction of what other consultants have made on unsuccessful presidential campaigns. Then I walked away from dozens of opportunities for millions of dollars, and instead walked into the White House. I would do it again. It is a privilege to assist President Trump in the White House, just as it was during the campaign. I know him, I respect him, I believe in him, and I am confident in his capacity to be a transformative and successful President. Taking a moment from more important matters to respond … . pic. twitter. — Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) May 16, 2017, Conway’s Tuesday statement comes after attacks from Scarborough and Brzezinski on Monday morning’s program, in which they claimed that Conway — Trump’s successful general election campaign manager — is only in it for the money. They even claimed that Conway once said she needed “a shower” after standing up for Trump when the microphones were off during the campaign, something on which they provided no proof. “This is a woman, by the way, who came on our show during the campaign and would shill for Trump in extensive fashion and then she would get off the air, the camera would be turned off, the microphone would be taken off and she would say ‘bleeech I need to take a shower’ because she disliked her candidate so much,” Brzezinski said on Monday. “Also said, that this is just, like my summer in Europe. I’m just doing this for the money, I’ll be off this soon,” Scarborough backed up his . “I don’t know that she ever said ‘I’m doing this for the money,’ but this is just my summer vacation, my summer in Europe. And basically, I’m gonna get through this. ” Brzezinski then finished Scarborough’s sentence for him. “But first I have to take a shower because it feels so dirty to be saying what I’m saying,” she said. “I guess she’s just used to it now. ” And Scarborough did the same for her: “And also, I thought it was very interesting, after the Access Hollywood tape came out, that’s when she started referring to Donald Trump as ‘my client,’” Scarborough said. Scarborough and Brzezinski have been roundly panned by most for the unsavory and unsubstantiated comments. Fox News’ Tucker Carlson ripped them on Monday for smearing Conway with such comments. “Many journalists believe it’s literally impossible to be unfair to Donald Trump or the people who work for him,” Carlson said in a segment on Monday evening criticizing the media for bias, and particularly ripping Brzezinski and Scarborough for this extreme bias against Conway and Trump. “Extremism in the pursuit of Trump is no vice. That’s the view in newsrooms and you hear it in conversations all around Washington, a city that voted 91 percent for Hillary Clinton last fall … They’ve succumbed to Trump hatred that is so intense, it has destroyed their judgment and in some cases affected their character. ” What’s more, Brzezinski’s and Scarborough’s implication that Conway was just supporting Trump for the money — as simply a client, rather than supporting somebody and something she believes in — is not backed up by the facts. In fact, a piece in The Atlantic of all places, in March, detailed how Conway has spent the better part of her adult life helping build out the intellectual framework of the ideology that propelled Trump to electoral success. Calling her the “unsung architect of Trumpism,” the Atlantic’s Molly Ball detailed how she was not just a television personality or spin artist or generic GOP strategist, but “a principal architect of the theory behind Trump’s winning campaign. ” Ball wrote: Years before Conway went to work on Trump’s campaign — when she was still a midlist conservative pollster and Steve Bannon was still running Breitbart — the two were charter members, Bannon recently told me, of the ‘cabal’ he was forming behind the scenes to upend the Republican establishment. And Conway’s ideas were the key to a major shift in the way Trump addressed immigration, which became his signature issue. One Conway poll in particular — a 2014 messaging memo commissioned by a controversial group — Bannon cited as a sort of Rosetta stone of the message that powered Trump’s victory. It was, Bannon told me, a pillar of ‘the intellectual infrastructure of the populist movement that candidate Trump galvanized’ from the moment he began his candidacy in 2015. Conway, when the rest of Republicans generally speaking were marching to the tune of amnesty in the wake of Mitt Romney’s embarrassing defeat in the 2012 presidential election, went a different route. After the Senate rammed through the “Gang of Eight” amnesty bill in 2013, and a similar push in the House was maintained through 2014, Conway — a pollster with The Polling Company — in August 2014 published a poll that proved the opposite of the open borders lobby’s arguments. “There was, she wrote, ‘strong consensus on many populist immigration policies,’ including enforcing current immigration law, limiting illegal immigrants’ access to welfare and work, and reducing legal immigrants’ ability to bring family members to the United States,” Ball wrote in the Atlantic. Ball continued: The issue, she wrote, should be framed in terms of ‘America First,’ and as a matter of ‘fairness … to workers.’ of likely voters, she pointed out, wanted more enforcement of current immigration laws. (Most economists agree that immigration displaces some workers while improving the economy and creating more net jobs overall. And while majorities of voters of both parties consistently oppose deporting the undocumented en masse, majorities generally also oppose increasing the number of legal immigrants.) Conway told me her argument was intended as an explicit rebuttal to the ‘autopsy’ report. ‘Candidates had been told after 2012, because Mitt Romney only got 27 percent of the Hispanic vote, that they had to support comprehensive immigration reform,’ she told me. ‘We were telling them, ‘That’s not true. ’’ white voters, in particular, supported the idea that illegal immigration was hurting their ability to find work, she said. So, in other words, after spending a great deal of her life working on building out the intellectual framework for the ideology that led to Trump’s victory, then personally joining his campaign and helping him across the finish line, somehow to Brzezinski and Scarborough she is not sufficiently committed to the president and his agenda? That does not pass the smell test. | 1 |
Meet Melania Trump. America’s new First Lady. It would be completely pointless to try and compare her to the eloquent Michelle Obama or any other former First Lady for that matter. The best way to get to know the wife of President-elect Donald Trump is to, well, compare her to him.
Their differences are glaring. She is an immigrant; he hates immigrants. She speaks five languages; he’s barely mastered one. But they do have a lot in common as well. Melania’s father was a Communist party member; and as Putin can attest, Donald likes Communists .
They also both really love Donald. In her speech at the Republican rally in Berwyn, Philadelphia on November 3, 2016, Melania said about Donald, “He knows how to get things done. He certainly knows how to shake things up, doesn’t he?”
You can watch her speech here:
Melania was apparently talking her husband’s approach to politics but was she really. In 1998, at the tender age of 28, the Yugoslav-born former model, Melania Knauss, met Donald Trump at a fashion party. He was still married to Marla Maples and was on a date with another woman. He sent his date to the washroom so he could get Melania’s phone number. Yep, he knows how to get ‘er done in a variety of areas.
But Melania knows how to shake things up, too. Just ask Howard Stern. In 1999, Melania participated in an on-air radio conversation with the shock jock.
“Are you naked? Are you nude?” Howard asked Melania.
“Almost,” she said.
“Ahhh, I’ve got my pants off already,” replied Howard.
Like her husband, she apparently loves getting her picture taken as well. You can check out some of the most un-First Lady like pictures here when Melania was profiled in 2000 by GQ. The photos were posted online again in March 2016. Included in the spread, which took place on Trump’s customized Boeing 727, is Melania spread out naked on the bed.
Air Force One – here they come!
Featured image via Win McNamee/Getty Images Share this Article! | 0 |
Actor Ashton Kutcher sent a little love to Sen. John McCain ( ) Wednesday during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing focused on ending modern slavery and child sexual exploitation. [“You were in the movies,” McCain joked to Kutcher, before The Ranch star blew back a kiss in response. Appreciate @aplusk @thorn @ecmassimino @humanrights1st’s commitment to the #enditmovement support of #EndSlaveryAct pic. twitter. — John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 15, 2017, During the hearing Wednesday, the actor — who the technology company Thorn, which builds software tools to combat child sexual exploitation and human trafficking — delivered a speech detailing how technology can play a role in ending the vicious practices of rape and modern slavery. “This is about the time, when I start talking about politics, that the Internet trolls start telling me to stick to my day job,” Kutcher told the panel, chaired by Sen. Bob Corker ( ). But Kutcher said his day job comprised of working at Thorn to fight child sex crimes, and of being a father to two children. “I’ve been on FBI raids where I’ve seen things that no person should ever see,” he said, appearing to choke up. “I’ve seen video content of a child that’s the same age as mine, being raped by an American man that was a sex tourist in Cambodia, and this child was so conditioned by her environment that she thought she was engaging in play. ” Kutcher said his company had once received a call from the Department of Homeland Security asking for help in locating a serial sex abuser. “We were the last line of defense, an actor and his foundation, we were the potential last line of defense,” he said. “That’s my day job, and I’m sticking to it. ” Kutcher also discussed a tool that his company built called Spotlight, which allows law enforcement officers the ability to prioritize their case load. He said the program was already being used by more than 4, 000 law enforcement officials in over 900 agencies. “There’s often a misconception about technology that in some way, it is the generator of some evil, that it’s creating job displacement and that it enables violence and malice acts,” he continued. “But as an entrepreneur and as a venture capitalist in the technology field, I see technology as simply a tool. A tool without will. The will is the user of that technology, and I think it’s an important distinction. ” “Technology can be used to enable slavery, but it can also be used to disable slavery, and that’s what we’re doing,” he added. Watch Kutcher’s full speech above. Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum | 1 |
It has been six years since Renée Zellweger appeared on a big screen, and twice as long since she has channeled Bridget Jones, the British heroine who made charming sport of cataloging her romantic foibles. The gap was by design: Ms. Zellweger, 47, an Oscar nominee for the first “Bridget” movie and a winner in 2004 for “Cold Mountain,” stepped away from the Hollywood “cycle,” as she called it, to take stock of her life. “I had a lot of promises that I made to myself, years ago, about things that I wanted to learn and try,” she said. She traveled, studied screenwriting — “I feel like I’m more articulate with my pen” — and helped created a TV pilot about female musicians in 1960s and ’70s Los Angeles. No networks have bitten so far, she said, miming a tear. Still, it seems to have her to perform. She returns in the third Bridget installment, “Bridget Jones’s Baby,” out Friday, Sept. 16, with a script written by Helen Fielding, the novelist who created the character, along with the “Borat” Dan Mazer, and Emma Thompson, who also stars. “It was time” to return, Ms. Zellweger said in an interview in Santa Monica, Calif. near her home. And doing another Bridget “was a . I was just so happy to be back in her world. ” But sightings of Ms. Zellweger over the last few years also stirred up intense scrutiny of her appearance, including stunned reactions to her seemingly changed look on a red carpet in 2014. A slew of think pieces, about the undue pressure on women’s beauty standards in Hollywood and beyond, and some less charitable commentary, followed. Ms. Zellweger eventually responded, in an August essay for The Huffington Post. “Not that it’s anyone’s business,” she wrote, “but I did not make a decision to alter my face and have surgery on my eyes. ” And she insisted that she did not follow the brouhaha over her looks, until she had to. She has no public presence on social media. “I don’t participate in it, and I don’t know what’s being said about me or other people until someone makes me aware of it,” she said. “And usually it’s an email, ‘I’m so sorry about — — ’” In person, Ms. Zellweger was and thoughtful, if reticent about discussing some of the latest turns in her career. But she remains dedicated to the work: She watched hours of birthing videos to prepare to play a pregnant Bridget. The character is now a television news producer, so Ms. Zellweger also trailed a British producer for research. That made her realize “how important it is that the actor is not verbose,” she said, laughing. “I promised myself I would be very concise and quick with my answers from now on. ” These are edited excerpts from the conversation. Did stepping into Bridget’s shoes again feel familiar, or like a challenge because so much time has passed? Both. Familiar because the process is similar, and I feel like I know her pretty well, and a different kind of challenge because I’ve never had to show the ways in which a person evolves in her life and the ways in which she doesn’t. That’s my favorite stuff, by the way — that she just can’t help herself sometimes. She puts her foot in it, right? I love that she hasn’t refined her social graces I love that she still goes for it — even if she’s uncertain what the outcome might be. I love that she’s hopelessly romantic and optimistic. There were interesting conversations with Sharon Maguire, the director, about how [Bridget] might have gotten her life together — she’s a little bit more mature, she’s progressed professionally, moved into property ownership in London and has achieved her ideal weight. And still her life is a relative mess. I like the message in that: that we can tick off the boxes, and yet we still don’t quite have it together. And that’s pretty much the truth of growing up, isn’t it? You had that experience a bit. When did you realize that you wanted out of the Hollywood circuit? I don’t think anybody is born with the faculties to know how to navigate what comes with it. One of the things that I learned is that I didn’t know how to establish a healthy balance. I felt an obligation to say yes, whenever I was asked to do something on behalf of my work. And the years go by, and your family and friends understand that you have responsibilities, but they’re going to have the barbecue anyway, and the wedding anyway, and the baby’s having a birthday anyway. I just missed out on a lot of things. I needed to stop so I could reassess and figure out how to allow for myself in my own life. I needed to grow as a person in ways that didn’t revolve around my work. Were you nervous making that leap, taking a break? I think not doing it was more frightening. One thing that changed in your time away is that there is now a bigger platform for both criticism and support, via social media. A male critic for Variety wrote a review of the trailer for “Bridget Jones’s Baby,” in which he talked about your looks in a way that many people felt was sexist, and they didn’t hesitate to call him out for it. Did that response feel helpful or empowering? I’m grateful for that experience and that he chose to do what he did, because it brought me to a place where it was necessary that I stand up for myself. Which is not me. It’s not in my nature to publicly explain myself. And it was probably time. Were you surprised at the level of scrutiny your appearance received in the last few years? Was that a consideration in coming back? It’s always part of the equation — that’s been going on since 2000 [when she was cast as Bridget, a role for which she famously gained weight]. Too fat, and then I was too skinny and then … But I’m not alone in it it’s just part of the reality of this experience now. I’m not going to make my [career] decisions based on whether or not I’m going to have to tolerate that. Did you find, as many actresses do, that as you got older, the roles got more ? I don’t think that’s specific to aging. There’s always been “the girlfriend,” “the indiscretion” — that’s always been in the mix. Is it something that I saw in the industry before I turned 40? Yeah. It’s rare to read a great story that a woman my age would find relatable anyway. But now it seems that there’s something else going on as well. There’s really an unprecedented reset happening in our business — a little bit of an identity crisis. Another thing that’s changed is a focus on pay equity in the business. Is that something that crossed your radar when working on any of the other Bridgets, versus now, getting paid as much as your male ? I don’t think it occurred to me that that would be an issue — isn’t that sad? But in this instance, I don’t think it was an issue. In your Huffington Post essay, you talked about “doing better. ” What did you mean by that? It’s not about onscreen or famous people, it’s more about the precedent that we set, and I don’t speak about it from the perspective of an actress who has had certain experiences that aren’t necessarily fun, but as an observer, as part of society. You read about bullying and how we can stop kids from this bullying and the catastrophic effects that it has, but we set the example. How can we ask them to make better choices when they’re just emulating what they see coming from us? Now that you’re back on this circuit, are there parts of it you’re going to treat differently, given your past experiences? It’s much easier for me to say no, because I understand that there are no consequences for saying no. “No” is an empowering word. I know that now. | 1 |
BREAKING : Mike Pence DEMANDS the FBI RELEASE ALL EMAILS BEFORE ELECTION DAY BREAKING : Mike Pence DEMANDS the FBI RELEASE ALL EMAILS BEFORE ELECTION DAY Breaking News By Amy Moreno October 28, 2016
On Friday the FBI announced they were reopening the email investigation into Hillary’s mishandling of classified information.
In a statement, the FBI said that they discovered “new emails” pertinent to the earlier investigation on “several devices.”
Reports indicate that one phone device belongs to Anthony Weiner and the other phone device belongs to his estranged wife Huma Abedin.
Mike Pence tweeted out a demand, calling on FBI officials to release ALL EMAILS before election day. We call on the FBI to immediately release all emails pertinent to their investigation. Americans have the right to know before Election Day.
— Mike Pence (@mike_pence) October 28, 2016 This is a movement – we are the political OUTSIDERS fighting against the FAILED GLOBAL ESTABLISHMENT! Join the resistance and help us fight to put America First! Amy Moreno is a Published Author , Pug Lover & Game of Thrones Nerd. You can follow her on Twitter here and Facebook here . Support the Trump Movement and help us fight Liberal Media Bias. Please LIKE and SHARE this story on Facebook or Twitter. | 0 |
The international “March for Science” appears to have Earth Day, casting “social justice” as “science. ”[The Earth Day Network that owns the international rights to the annual — and celebration of Vladimir Lenin’s birth — artfully sought to rebrand its messaging by having protestors in 610 locations around the planet swap their shirts for the patina of scientific truth associated with white lab coats. The festivities began in the wee hours of April 22 in New Zealand, then followed the sun to circumnavigate the globe. The event’s blog reported 50 celebrants showed up at Antarctic research stations, and 2 very intrepid souls showed up in degree weather at the North Pole. Although it seemed that the media in many locations outnumbered the demonstrators, San Francisco and Washinton, D. C. both produced about 5, 000 marchers. The March for Science website in January trumpeted, under “Diversity and Inclusion Principles“: “Colonization, racism, native rights, sexism, ableism, econ justice are scientific rights. ” But as the event neared, the scientific communism of Marx and Engle’s Das Capital morphed into Principals and Goals: “Our wealth of personal experiences and perspectives is our greatest strength. In putting the people who do science at the forefront of this discussion, we can show that scientists come from all cultural backgrounds, belief systems, orientations, genders, and abilities. ” Honorary Bill Nye the Science Guy said, “We march forward to ensure a better world for people all over the world. ” But he and Senator Bernie Sanders ( ) made it clear in their February Facebook Live “Conversation on Climate Change” that they believe all skeptics of climate change are suffering from cognitive dissonance. The most interesting coverage of the event came from Science magazine, which the events with about 60 posts over 24 hours. Demonstrating the tenuous connection between the “March for Science” and actual scientists, the first April 22 speaker at the New Zealand event was leftist Green Party James Shaw, who is a former accountant with no science background. Shaw said, “When politicians use their belief systems to override the facts, the scientific facts, we are all in for a whole world of hurt. ” Shaw then droned on about his social justice belief system that New Zealanders needed to stand up against the U. S. political discourse questioning climate change. | 1 |
Share on Facebook Australia has made become the first entire continent to legalise marijuana, after their Parliament took a vote on Wednesday. Australia, with a population of around 23 million has followed several states in the U.S. and decided to decriminalise the use of marijuana. The amendments were made to their Narcotic Drugs Act,which means legal cannabis farms and the distribution of marijuana products will have to governments go-ahead. Sussan Ley, the Minister of Health , said in a statement “This is a historic day for Australia and the many advocates who have fought long and hard to challenge the stigma around medicinal cannabis products so genuine patients are no longer treated as criminals," she went on “This is the missing piece in a patient's treatment journey, and [we] will now see seamless access to locally produced medicinal cannabis products from farm to pharmacy.” The details have not been finalised just yet, but it is thought within the next few months patients with a prescription for medical marijuana will be allowed to start growing their crops. This is a huge leap for supporters of legalised marijuana across the world, and hopefully now other continents such as North America and Europe will do the same. Related: | 0 |
PHILADELPHIA — Jason Colston Sr. went to the emergency room at Temple University Hospital last month with his calf swollen to twice its normal size. A bacterial infection had entered his bloodstream, requiring him to spend nine days at Temple, where patients are overwhelmingly poor. Mr. Colston, 36, had no insurance through his job at a but it turned out he was eligible for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Temple helped him enroll as soon as he was admitted, and Medicaid paid for his stay and continuing treatment. Before the health law, the hospital had to absorb the cost of caring for many uninsured patients like Mr. Colston. Now, with Donald J. Trump and the Congress vowing to dismantle the law, Temple and other hospitals serving the poor are bracing for harsh financial consequences that could have a serious effect on the care they provide. Since the election, hospitals have been among the loudest voices against wholesale repeal of the health law. In a letter to Mr. Trump and congressional leaders this month, the two biggest hospital trade groups warned of “an unprecedented public health crisis” and said hospitals stood to lose $165 billion through 2026 if more than 20 million people lose the insurance they gained under the law. They predicted widespread layoffs, cuts in outpatient care and services for the mentally ill, and even hospital closings. Here in Pennsylvania, where the health law has brightened the financial outlook of hospitals statewide, many are scrambling to assess how repeal would affect their bottom line and the patients they serve. The stakes are particularly high for hospitals like Temple, but even more prosperous hospitals face uncertainty after investing in new ways to deliver care under the law. Temple executives estimate their system could lose as much as $45 million a year if the law were entirely repealed, which would return it to the losses it posted for years before the health law took effect. “We are the de facto community hospital in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country,” said Robert Lux, the senior vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer of Temple University Health System, which includes two general hospitals and a cancer center. “Any kind of change like this would not only push Temple University Hospital into financial extremis, it would do the same thing for our entire system. ” Not far from Temple, Main Line Health, a nonprofit hospital system in the affluent Philadelphia suburbs, is far better positioned to weather the financial impact of repeal. While Temple has one of the poorest patient populations in the state — about half of its patients are on Medicaid — Main Line, which has an outpatient clinic in an upscale mall and another with a fitness center outfitted with filtered saltwater pools, has few Medicaid patients. Still, even hospitals serving affluent populations have reason to be nervous about a future without the health law. Main Line has invested substantially in response to the law’s push to base hospital pay on patient outcomes instead of the amount of medical services provided. Repealing the law would create uncertainty about the future of this new paradigm, which has forced hospitals to rethink how they deliver care. “I’m dreading the unpredictability,” said John J. Lynch III, Main Line’s president and chief executive. Over all, the health law has improved the financial outlook of Pennsylvania hospitals significantly, even though the state was a year late in expanding Medicaid. The former governor, Tom Corbett, a Republican, initially balked, and the program did not expand here until 2015. Still, hospital operating margins statewide increased to about 5. 5 percent on average in 2015, from 4. 25 percent in 2014, according to the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. The amount of care provided to patients who cannot pay dropped by 8. 6 percent on average. North Philadelphia, where Temple is based, is among the poorest neighborhoods in the nation. Many of its residents live in deep poverty, a census designation that means their income is less than half the federal poverty level of $24, 300 for a family of four. That helps explain why Temple is so dependent on Medicaid revenue, and the high stakes of repeal here. Under the health law, hospitals that served a large number of poor and uninsured patients agreed to a series of funding cuts in exchange for getting far more patients with insurance coverage. Temple has lost about $11 million so far in these federal funds, known as disproportionate share payments, Mr. Lux said. But like other hospitals in the 31 states that expanded Medicaid under the law, it has made up that revenue in part through the Medicaid expansion. It recorded about 13, 000 more visits from patients with Medicaid coverage in 2015, the first year Pennsylvania expanded Medicaid eligibility, and at least as many this year. Still, Temple is barely turning a profit: It had operating income of $3. 6 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, despite revenue of $1. 7 billion. “You still have a pretty fragile enterprise,” Mr. Lux said, noting that Medicaid pays hospitals and doctors far less than Medicare and private insurance. “Our current state of stability could be broken pretty quickly. ” So, too, could Temple’s efforts to connect its newly insured patients with preventive care instead of waiting until they show up in the emergency room with advanced, expensive illnesses. Dr. Robert McNamara, chairman of emergency medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, said he had seen more than a few uninsured people arrive in the emergency room with kidney failure, needing costly dialysis for the rest of their lives because they had lived with high blood pressure for so long. Main Line Health’s financial picture is much stronger, and will most likely remain so even if the health law is repealed and replaced with a program that leaves far fewer people insured. Main Line ended the 2016 fiscal year with $106. 8 million in operating income and a 6. 5 percent operating margin, compared with Temple’s margin of 0. 2 percent. Still, Main Line has invested substantially in efforts to improve the care it provides its patients while lowering the cost, as the Affordable Care Act encourages. As with many hospitals across the country, these efforts — like preventing readmissions and focusing more heavily on primary care, especially for patients with chronic diseases — have caused the system’s inpatient population to drop. “As we decrease our volume, looking at providing care differently, that’s financially impacting us,” Mr. Lynch said. He added that over time, the law’s slowing of Medicare payment increases added up to “real money. ” The study commissioned by the hospital associations found that unless the annual increase in Medicare reimbursements is restored to what it was before the health law passed, hospitals will face additional losses of about $290 billion by 2026. In the end, though, Main Line’s far more robust revenue, because of its large number of commercially insured patients, all but guarantee it will not have to worry — for now — about cutting programs or plans. It is installing a new electronic records system and has spent $700 million renovating its hospitals over the last few years. “If you don’t have a strong payer mix or a healthy bottom line,” Mr. Lynch said, “it’s very difficult to do those things. ” One major question for Temple and other hospitals is whether states would restore supplemental funds or programs that defrayed the cost of caring for the uninsured before the health law took effect. Pennsylvania, for example, paid for emergency medical care for certain people who did not qualify for Medicaid. This allowed Temple to be paid for their inpatient care, but often not for the care they needed after being discharged. “We don’t know that that program would come back,” Mr. Lux said, adding that the program used to pay for about $23 million a year worth of care provided at Temple University Hospital. Mr. Colston, who was still returning daily to Temple for intravenous antibiotics a month after his discharge, would have qualified to have most of his inpatient costs met under the old program. Paul Fabian, who received a double lung transplant at Temple last year after getting a subsidized private insurance policy from the Affordable Care Act marketplace, would not have qualified at all. Mr. Fabian, who suffered from emphysema and chronic lung failure, said he sold his truck to afford his $262 monthly premiums. “If you walk into the E. R. they have to help you,” Mr. Fabian, 61, said. “But if you have a condition like I had, what’s the hospital’s obligation?” Temple officials said that without insurance, Mr. Fabian would have had to endure a waiting period to qualify for Medicare coverage for his disability. “We were finally in a situation where for most of our patients there was a coverage option,” said Anita Colon, Temple’s director of patient financial services, already speaking about the health law in the past tense. “Now there’s just a total unknown about what will be left. ” | 1 |
Actress Talulah Riley has criticized feminist activist Emma Watson for leading a ‘confusing’ campaign on gender equality that seeks to eliminate differences between the sexes. [Riley, who rose to fame in the 2007 remake of St. Trinians, criticized Watson’s brand of feminism in conversation with The Daily Mail. “Men and women should have equal rights, of course, but [they] are also different and there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said. “We don’t have to start unifying gender in order to establish political equality. ” The actress, who is twice divorced from the business magnate Elon Musk, then took aim at Watson’s HeForShe campaign, claiming it promotes the idea of both genders being the same. “The HeForShe campaign creates a lot of confusion when it comes to gender equality, because people are getting stuck in a semantic argument, rather than addressing the actual issue. People are associating gender equality with being exactly the same and, of course, that’s not what it means,” she continued. The campaign, which was launched by Watson in 2014 following her speech on gender equality at the United Nations, seeks to eliminate gender equality by involving men in the feminist movement. Last week, Watson praised MTV for scrapping the channel’s yearly ‘Best Actress’ award in favor of a gender “ ” honor, describing it as “the first acting award in history that doesn’t separate nominees based on their sex. ” In March, Watson hit back at critics accusing her of promoting the objectification of women after she posed for a racy photo shoot in lifestyle magazine Vanity Fair. “Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with,” Watson told Reuters. “It’s about freedom. It’s about liberation. It’s about equality. I really don’t know what my t*ts have to do with it. It’s very confusing. I’m confused. Most people are confused. ” You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart. com | 1 |
SOUTH AND WEST: FROM A NOTEBOOKBy Joan DidionForeword by Nathaniel Rich126 pages. Alfred A. Knopf. $21. In two dazzling collections of essays, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” and “The White Album,” Joan Didion used her own experiences — and observations and anxieties — as a kind of index to the times, as America lurched through the convulsions of the 1960s and ’70s. The political pieces she later wrote for The New York Review of Books — beginning with the 1988 presidential campaign, on through the impeachment of Bill Clinton and the high drama of the 2000 in Florida — were less original, less idiosyncratic, but reading them in retrospect, they are oddly prophetic about the growing gap between the electorate and the political elites, and the growing dysfunction of the entire system. Her slender 2003 book, “Fixed Ideas: America Since 9. 11,” would be even more explicit about a “disconnect between the government and the citizens,” about how our political process not only spurns consensus but works by “turning the angers and fears and energy of the few” against “the rest of the country. ” No doubt Didion has now decided to publish “South and West,” two excerpts from her notebooks — written in the 1970s — because they similarly shed light on the current political moment. At a remove of more than four decades, she maps the divisions splintering America today, and uncannily anticipates some of the dynamics that led to the election of Donald J. Trump and caught so many political and media insiders unawares. The shorter entry is a meditation on California, the place Didion grew up and long called home. The more substantial piece is an account of a monthlong trip that she and her husband, John Gregory Dunne, took through the Deep South for a assignment that her editors at Life magazine came to refer to as “The Mind of the White South. ” As bookends to each other, the pieces in this book give us two Americas, two ways of looking at history: the South, deep in the grip of the past — a place where many people are invested in holding onto ancient prerogatives of race and class and California, insistently focused on the future and the horizon — a place where the frontier ethos of shucking off roots is the one real tradition. It’s 1970, when the nation is being rocked by seismic cultural and political shifts, and yet Didion has the strange intuition here that the South, not California, would exert a gravitational pull over the rest of the country. She had “some dim and unformed sense,” which she could not explain coherently, “that for some years the South and particularly the Gulf Coast had been for America what people were still saying California was, and what California seemed to me not to be: the future, the secret source of malevolent and benevolent energy, the psychic center. ” Didion’s account of her travels from New Orleans and Biloxi, Miss. to Meridian, Miss. and Tuscaloosa, Ala. and onto Faulkner’s hometown, Oxford, Miss. makes it clear that she feels like an outsider there. Her notes lack the depth and understanding of J. D. Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which depicts the frustrations and anger of poor white communities from within. And while Didion’s estrangement sharpens her reportorial eye, it can curdle, at times, into condescension. Writing about high school gymnasiums in small Southern towns, she says she has “the sense of sports being the opiate of the people. ” And writing about a visit to two small towns in Alabama, she observes: “It seemed a good and hopeful place to live, and yet the pretty girls, if they stayed around Guin, would end up in the laundromat in Winfield, or in a trailer with the on all night. ” What Didion does capture, powerfully, in this book is the insularity of many places in the South, and, by implication, how insular the elites (like herself) are in places like California and New York and Washington — a thought she would develop further in her essays in The New York Review of Books (collected in the 2001 volume “Political Fictions”) and in “Fixed Ideas. ” Here, she writes of Southerners: “The isolation of these people from the currents of American life in 1970 was startling and bewildering to behold. All their information was and mythicized in the handing down. Does it matter where Taos is, after all, if Taos is not in Mississippi?” There was a kind of “time warp” there, she says: “The Civil War was yesterday but 1960 is spoken of as if it were about 300 years ago. ” The people Didion interviewed or tried to interview tended to greet her questions with defensive remarks about the pace of change in the South, or with nostalgic and what can only be called racist talk about old ways of life. Although it was 1970, the attitudes Didion encountered can sometimes sound like those described by Harper Lee in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” set in 1930s Alabama. The chilling thing is, some of the attitudes about race and outsiders that Didion chronicles here also sound a lot like attitudes expressed by some Trump supporters during the 2016 campaign. The other reason that readers will find this volume so fascinating is that it shows Didion at work, as a writer and reporter, gathering details, jotting them down and running her observations through the typewriter of her mind. Even these hurriedly written notes shine with her trademark ability to capture mood and place. Of New Orleans in June, she writes: “The place is physically dark, dark like the negative of a photograph, dark like an : The atmosphere absorbs its own light, never reflects light but sucks it in until random objects glow with a morbid luminescence. ” More than that, this book illuminates Didion’s later work, containing the seeds of both “Political Fictions” and her elliptical 2003 book on California and the West, “Where I Was From. ” It is weirdly prescient — pointing the way not only to where she would go as a writer but also a path the country would take in the years to come. | 1 |
SAN FRANCISCO — A security loophole that would allow someone to add extra steps to the counter on your Fitbit monitor might seem harmless. But researchers say it points to the broader risks that come with technology’s embedding into the nooks of our lives. On Tuesday, a group of computer security researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of South Carolina will demonstrate that they have found a vulnerability that allows them to take control of or surreptitiously influence devices through the tiny accelerometers that are standard components in consumer products like smartphones, fitness monitors and even automobiles. In their paper, the researchers describe how they added fake steps to a Fitbit fitness monitor and played a “malicious” music file from the speaker of a smartphone to control the phone’s accelerometer. That allowed them to interfere with software that relies on the smartphone, like an app used to pilot a toy car. “It’s like the opera singer who hits the note to break a wine glass, only in our case, we can spell out words” and enter commands rather than just shut down the phone, said Kevin Fu, an author of the paper, who is also an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan and the chief executive of Virta Labs, a company that focuses on cybersecurity in health care. “You can think of it as a musical virus. ” The flaw, which the researchers found in more than half of the 20 commercial brands from five chip makers they tested, illustrates the security challenges that have emerged as robots and other kinds of digital appliances have begun to move around in the world. With dozens of and large transportation companies pushing to develop cars and trucks, undetected vulnerabilities that might allow an attacker to remotely control vehicles are an unnerving possibility. Still, computer security researchers said the discovery was not a bug but rather a revealing window into the cybersecurity challenges inherent in complex systems in which analog and digital components can interact in unexpected ways. “The whole world of security is about unintended interactions,” said Paul Kocher, a cryptographer and a former executive at the chip company Rambus. Accelerometers are instruments that measure acceleration and are frequently manufactured as silicon devices known as microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS. Accelerometers are used for navigating, for determining the orientation of a tablet computer and for measuring distance traveled in fitness monitors such as Fitbits. In the case of the toy car, the researchers did not actually compromise the car’s microprocessor, but they controlled the car by forcing the accelerometer to produce false readings. They exploited the fact that a smartphone application relies on the accelerometer to control the car. While toy cars might seem like trivial examples, there are other, darker possibilities. If an accelerometer was designed to control the automation of insulin dosage in a diabetic patient, for example, that might make it possible to tamper with the system that controlled the correct dosage. Dr. Fu has researched the cybersecurity risks of medical devices, including a demonstration of the potential to wirelessly introduce fatal heart rhythms into a pacemaker. He said the current research was inspired by a discussion in his group about a previous study in which drones were disabled with music. He added that earlier research demonstrated attacks that used sound to disable accelerometers. In 2014, security researchers at Stanford University demonstrated how an accelerometer could be used surreptitiously as a rudimentary microphone, for example. And in 2011, a group from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology demonstrated the use of an accelerometer in a smartphone to decode roughly 80 percent of the words being typed on a nearby computer keyboard by capturing vibrations from the keyboard. In the case of the research by the University of Michigan and the University of South Carolina, scientists stopped the accelerometer from functioning and changed its behavior. In testing 20 accelerometer models from five manufacturers, they affected the information or output from 75 percent of the devices tested and controlled the output in 65 percent of the devices. The Department of Homeland Security was expected to issue a security advisory alert Tuesday for chips produced by the semiconductor companies documented in the paper, Dr. Fu said. The five chip makers were Analog Devices, Bosch, InvenSense, Murata Manufacturing and STMicroelectronics. The paper, which will be presented at the IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy in Paris next month, also documents hardware and software changes manufacturers could make to protect against the flaws the researchers discovered. | 1 |
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This is one out of several cases raising concerns about the health consequences of using regular talcum powder use. Approximately 1,000 more cases have been filed in Missouri state court, and another 200 in New Jersey, but this may well be the tip of the iceberg.
As Global News reports: “The jury ruling ended the trial that began Sept. 26 in the case brought by Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. The suit accused Johnson & Johnson of “negligent conduct” in making and marketing its baby powder.”
Unfortunately, a statement from Carol Goodrich, a spokeswoman with Johnson & Johnson, said in the statement to Global: “We deeply sympathize with the woman and families impacted by ovarian cancer…We will appeal today’s verdict because we are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.” advertisement - learn more Obviously, if these are the decisions being made by a court of law, there is ample amounts of science and evidence suggesting the baby powder was indeed the cause. Earlier in the year, a decision was made last by a Missouri state jury that awarded the family of Jacqueline Fox $10-million of actual damages and $62 million of punitive damages. In this case, we saw the exact same response from the company as the case noted above. These cases show how people are using something they thought was perfectly safe, but clearly wasn’t. One of the most painful revelations, as Bloomberg notes, is that: In the 1990s, even as the company acknowledged concerns in the health community, it considered increasing its marketing efforts to black and Hispanic women, who were already buying the product in high numbers. Fox was black. The jury foreman, Krista Smith, says internal documents provided the most incriminating evidence: ‘It was really clear they were hiding something.’ She wanted to award the Fox family even more. Imerys Talc America, the biggest talc supplier in the country and the sole source of the powder for J&J, was also named as a defendant. The company wasn’t found liable. The ‘scientific evidence’ to which she refers clearly have not withstood the scrutiny of either this trial or concerned members of the public; it also fails to account for who funded the research. Her remark also makes plain a disturbing trend amongst big corporations, which is the blind trust of their employees. Many clearly believe what they are told about the products they represent, without questioning or doing their own independent research. Scientific fraud induced by major corporations in this field is no secret, and various medical experts around the world have been speaking out against it for decades. Dr. Richard Horton, current Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet , one of the largest medical journals in the world, has publicly and unequivocally called out the scientific community for this negligence and outright fraud: The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue. Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflicts of interest, together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance, science has taken a turn towards darkness. ( source ) The sheer volume of statements from very credible people, along with the documents and evidence, attesting to this disturbing trend, is simply overwhelming. (You can find more information and view more examples/statements in an article we recently published about anti-depressant drugs here .) Yet the unfortunate reality is that employees of these big corporations stand behind their products, working under the assurances of corporately-funded science which, obviously, has profit in mind rather than safety. This is a widespread and alarming problem, and it’s great to see more people raise their voice against these shady practices. Dr. Marcia Angell, a physician and longtime Editor-in-Chief of the New England Medical Journal (NEMJ), is another such professional to do so: It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of the New England Journal of Medicine. ( source ) It’s no secret that many household products are toxic to our health. Science has been confirming their dangers for years now (not that many of us needed this confirmation); these products are literally littered with a number of hazardous harmful chemicals. Researchers in the UK, for example, found that domestic products such as anti-insect sprays, deodorants, cleaning products, cosmetics, and more contain a number of cancer causing chemicals. The researchers, from the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, who concluded that these types of everyday household products maybe be contributing to 100,000 deaths every single year in Europe, warn that the public remains unaware of these risks. Another example of an insider speaking out against the industry is Foster Gamble, the direct descendant of one of the founders of Procter & Gamble (a company similar to Johnson & Johnson). He himself explains that he was groomed for the establishment, but his ethical concerns prompted him to change direction. To the left you will see a picture of him with Gerald Ford. Foster decided to leave the business and instead raise awareness about many issues, including the hazards associated with everyday household products that the corporations like his father’s manufacture. He’s had an interesting life to say the least, and you can watch a documentary he released a few years ago here .
The Sacred Science follows eight people from around the world, with varying physical and psychological illnesses, as they embark on a one-month healing journey into the heart of the Amazon jungle.
You can watch this documentary film FREE for 10 days by clicking here.
"If “Survivor” was actually real and had stakes worth caring about, it would be what happens here, and “The Sacred Science” hopefully is merely one in a long line of exciting endeavors from this group." - Billy Okeefe, McClatchy Tribune | 0 |
Thu, 27 Oct 2016 16:35 UTC © UPI.com Successful eurobond sale in September, credit upgrade by Fitch, and sharp improvement in World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking, all confirm effectiveness of Russian government's economic policies, amidst strengthening recovery. As economic recovery in Russia continues to gain hold, Russia has received authoritative endorsement both for its successful macroeconomic policies and for its rapidly improving business conditions. The US credit rating agency Fitch on 14th October 2016 upgraded Russia's rating from BBB- (negative) to BBB- (stable). Normally I pay no attention to ratings decisions by US credit rating agencies, which have been proved repeatedly wrong, and which in Russia's case are blatantly politicised. Back in 2015, during the worst period of the recession, I pointed out how obviously and completely wrong the decisions of the US credit rating agencies to downgrade Russia's credit rating at that time were. The market clearly agrees with me. Fitch's Russia rating is only just investment grade, whilst those of S&P and Moody's actually give Russia a junk rating. In spite of this - and as I predicted - Russia's last eurobond issue in September was six times oversubscribed, with almost the entirety of the issue on this occasion sold to US investors . Even the Western financial media has been finally forced to admit that Russia's latest eurobond issue was a success . If I refer to Fitch's latest upgrade of Russia's rating, it is not because I agree with Fitch's rating of Russia (I don't) but because of what Fitch has to say about Russia's economic policy "Russia has implemented a coherent and credible policy response to the sharp fall in oil prices. A flexible exchange rate, inflation targeting, fiscal consolidation and financial sector support have allowed the economy to adjust and domestic confidence to return gradually. The strength and quality of the policy response stands out relative to those of other oil producers similarly affected by the oil price shock. (bold italics added) In other words Russia has responded to the oil price fall intelligently and successfully - more so than have the other oil producers. In his State of the Union address of 20th January 2015 US President Obama famously gloated "today, it is America that stands strong and united with our allies, while Russia is isolated with its economy in tatters." Judging by the success of its latest eurobond issue, and the credit upgrade Russia has just been given by Fitch, neither the market nor even Fitch agree with him. Meanwhile Russia's World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking continues its rapid rise. In 2011 Russia's ranking was 123 in the survey out of 183. By 2014 it had risen to 62 out of 189, by 2015 to 51 out of 189, and in this year's survey it has risen again to 40 out of 190. When I discussed last year's survey I made the point that the dramatic improvement in Russia's World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking is simply incompatible with Russia being the corrupt kleptocracy of the West's imagination "In corrupt kleptocratic oligarchies courts do not function efficiently, contracts are not performed and enforced, rights of minority shareholders are not protected, and people are not able to register their property easily and do not pay their taxes." Comment: Putin's record for fighting corruption is world-class but the Western media will never tell you I also pointed out that the rapid improvement of Russia's World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking proves that the claim that Russia is not "reforming" its economy is quite simply wrong. Russia is not only continuously reforming its economy, but it is doing so successfully " the demand for more and more "reforms" simply ignores the fact that reforms are in fact being carried out. Anyone who reads through the World Bank's annual surveys will see that they are all about "reforms". It is precisely because Russia is carrying out "reforms" that its ranking is rising so fast. To be clear, modernising the court system, introducing a new bankruptcy law, simplifying procedures for connecting to the electricity supply, and passing laws on registering property and on administering bankruptcy, are reforms. They may lack the drama of breaking up Gazprom, but academic research, historical experience and the World Bank all say the same thing: it is these sort of unexciting reforms that in the end are the ones that make a difference and which produce results. In other words Russia is reforming, and it is doing so successfully, in a methodical and purposeful way. Doing so requires hard work and unremitting attention to detail. The Russian authorities deserve credit for successfully doing it, not the criticism for doing nothing that they normally get." I also made an extended point about what Russia's ranking in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business survey says about the overall level of Russia's society and economy. The continued advance in Russia's ranking to 40th in the world shows that this point remains valid, so I reproduce it here in full "The second point is that if one looks at what sort of countries now outrank Russia in the survey, it turns out that they are - broadly speaking - the three Asian industrial giants: Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, the two Asian city states of Hong Kong and Singapore, and the traditional and well established industrialised societies of the West: the US, the three rich countries of the British commonwealth (Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and most (though not all) the states of the EU - in sum what was once called "the first world". If one removes the one indicator where Russia scores especially badly, Trading Across Borders - for which there are special reasons (see above) - Russia becomes even more clearly aligned with these "first world" countries rather than with those countries that make up what used to be called "the third world". The Russian government's target is to achieve 20th place in the World Bank's ease of doing business survey by 2018. That may be too optimistic, though it is worth pointing out that the target for this year was 50th, which Russia only missed by one place. If Russia does achieve a ranking of 20th in the world by 2018 then it will be right in the middle of the "first world" group of countries rather than just outside it. At that point it will also have one of the best business climates in the world. Even if Russia does not achieve 20th position by 2018, the pace of improvement in the rankings is so fast it suggests Russia will break in fully in terms of quality of its business climate into the list of "first world" countries before long." Inevitably, as Russia's position in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business survey has rapidly improved, some commentators both in the West and Russia have cast doubt on the survey, even though its methodology is rigorous (originating apparently with Harvard University) and even though it is based on thorough field work. Needless to say these are the same commentators who regularly cited the survey when Russia's ranking in it was poor. There is in fact no reason to think the rapid rise in Russia's position in the survey does not reflect actual business conditions. As I said in my discussion of last year's survey, its results were anecdotally confirmed to me in a meeting I had with a group of local businessmen in Perm. A far more authoritative person has now come forward and said the same thing. This is German Gref, the single individual who is perhaps best informed about conditions for businesses in Russia because he is the CEO of Sberbank, Russia's biggest bank, which is the national (as opposed to local) bank that small businesses in Russia are most likely to look to for credit. Gref stands politically at the farthest liberal end of the spectrum of Russia's political and economic establishment, and he is far from shy about criticising the government, which he does frequently. Yet in a meeting with Putin on 4th August 2016 he confirmed the improvement in business conditions in Russia "I think that the environment that we will have in place by the end of 2016, when all of the legal amendments take effect, will mean that Russia will be offering one of the most interesting and technologically convenient environments for small businesses. " (bold italics added) Because of the extremely poor relations between the West and Russia, Russia's economy and its economic management are continuously and relentlessly criticised in a way which plays well to Western prejudice but which grossly distorts understanding of the country and its government. Russia's highly conservative macroeconomic policies emphasising tight budget discipline (the federal budget deficit at the peak of the recession was 3% of GDP, roughly the same as that of the US and below that of Britain during their 'recoveries', with the Russian government planning to cut the deficit by 1% of GDP over each coming year), low taxes (income tax is levied at a flat rate of 13%), high real interest rates (currently around 4% above inflation), open financial markets, low debt (government debt in Russia is 17.7% of GDP compared to 104% in the US, 229% in Japan, 89% in Britain, 96% in France and 71% in Germany), low external debt (roughly 20% of Russia's GDP, compared to 114% of the US's, 570% of Britain's, 220% of France's, 145% of Germany's and 60% of Japan's) and floating exchange rate, have in reality enabled Russia - as Fitch says - to adjust rapidly and very successfully to the fall in oil prices. At the same time the rapid improvement in business conditions shown by the rapid rise of Russia's ranking in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business survey shows that Russia is also working hard and successfully at getting its microeconomic conditions right. In other words the people who run Russia's economy know their job and by and large they do it well. That does not mean they are infallible. In my opinion interest rates are far too high, with the 4% inflation target for next year in danger of becoming a fetish. However compared to the appalling mismanagement one sees elsewhere, far from being the collapsing kleptocratic empire of Western fancy, Russia looks like an island of stability and good sense. | 0 |
Christine Sabo had three decades of experience behind her when, three years ago, she was hired as the vice president for major giving at a nonprofit in South Florida. But right about the time Ms. Sabo came aboard, the chief executive had accepted a new position elsewhere. The replacement in the top slot: a . “The way he operated was classic for that age group: I would get texts and emails any time day and night,” recalled Ms. Sabo, now 59. “If I said I had 30 years in the profession, he hated that. He would say: ‘I don’t want to hear how long you’ve been in the field. I don’t care how long you’ve done this or that. ’” The new boss seemed to be sending the message that the way Ms. Sabo approached and development was out of date. “At the end of the day, it felt like, ‘You need to come into the new millennium,’’’ she said. “I used to chuckle and wonder what kind of relationship he had with his mother. ” Despite her growing discomfort, she tried to do her job and avoid conversation or confrontation with the boss — who first demoted her, then fired her. “He told me that I wasn’t hitting my goals, but that’s not true,” said Ms. Sabo, who has a new job and an older boss. “I think it was that we butted heads. Some of it was style, but some of it was generational. ” Companies these days are looking to fill the management ranks with people who are “digital natives,” which frequently translates to millennials and Gen . Meanwhile, more baby boomers are staying on the job longer, and some retirees, looking for a second act, are rejoining the ranks of the employed, at least part time. Consequently, the odds are increasing that older workers will be answering to managers young enough to be their children. A 2014 Harris Interactive survey on behalf of CareerBuilder, a job recruitment website, found that 38 percent of American workers had a younger boss, up from 34 percent in 2012. “Obviously, there have always been younger people in the work force, but in the past, younger workers were on the lower floors and older workers were executives on the upper floors and in the executive dining room,” said Jill Chapman, a senior performance consultant with Insperity, a personnel management firm. But because younger workers now have the advantage in sheer numbers, “there are more opportunities for them to move into management roles,” Ms. Chapman continued. “They’re in their 30s, and they’ve had lots of experience because of internships we older workers gave them when they were in high school and college. They had those experiences, and they had the chops for exec positions at an earlier age. ” If older workers have difficulty adjusting, there’s a good reason: It goes against the natural order that the subordinate would have several decades on the supervisor. “Research shows that older workers are not as responsive to that younger boss, because they feel he or she shouldn’t be in that position,” said Orlando Richard, an associate professor of management at the University of Texas at Dallas, who recently completed a study on status incongruence. There are implications for the organization, too. “The older workers with younger bosses are less committed to the company,” Professor Richard said. “They’re not as engaged in the job. If they’re close to retirement, they may not leave, but they may not work as hard. ” Of course, there are plenty of older workers who continue to give the job their all, even though they now report to someone who thinks of Nirvana as an oldies band. The way they see it, though, that younger boss sure doesn’t make it easy. Faye Keller, a public affairs specialist in the health care field in Salt Lake City, was 60 when she got a boss who was half her age. “At the beginning, I wasn’t too concerned — I was ready to look for his strengths,” Ms. Keller said But then she started being excluded from certain meetings. At those meetings she did attend, “I’d say something, and my boss would respond ‘yeah, ’ and move on to another topic. ” Colleagues closer to her boss’s age were invited to hang out in his office. “I felt ostracized,” said Ms. Keller, who is now 64. She also felt micromanaged. “I would go out of the building to meet with prospective clients, and when I explained that I was trying to develop relationships, he would tell me I could do it over the phone and through email,” Ms. Keller said. “I don’t believe I’m old school in my ideas, but I think face to face is essential in building successful relationships, and he didn’t value that. ” The boss stayed she went. There are challenges on both sides of the workplace divide. Older workers may feel they’ve lost their shot at running the show, and younger workers may feel their older subordinates just can’t wait for them to mess up, said David Stillman, an author of the new book “Gen Z @ Work. ” The : his son, Jonah, 17, perhaps a future younger boss. Further, older workers, accustomed to the parental role, may reflexively offer advice to younger bosses who chafe at the effrontery. “They’ll say, ‘In my day … ’ implying ‘your day is wrong,’” Mr. Stillman said. For their part, some younger bosses act as though the world began only when they arrived on the scene, “which makes older workers feel that their own considerable experience doesn’t matter,” Mr. Stillman added. Older workers may be made to feel that they’re dinosaurs. Younger bosses may think that, yeah, the older worker is kind of a dinosaur. “My social media skills and computer skills weren’t up to par,” Ms. Keller said. “I’m willing to admit that. ” Some companies are making efforts to address the issue. ATT, for example, offers supervisors a course, “Managing the Workforce,” which “helps prepare them to effectively communicate with and motivate their direct reports,” said Jan Rasmussen, a company spokeswoman. And not every older worker feels marginalized or unappreciated, nor does every younger boss feel disdainful and misunderstood. “I don’t look at age — I look at business intelligence,” said Valentino Lanoce, 54, the regional director of operations for the restaurant chain Verts Mediterranean Grill, who reports to the company’s founders, Dominik Stein, 29, and Michael Heyne, 32. “Dominik and Michael respect my experience in the industry, and they’ll ask for my opinion and advice. It’s very collaborative. ” Mr. Lanoce said that his interview with Mr. Stein and Mr. Heyne “was like sitting with mature officers of a company. ” He said: “They’re disciplined and professional. Otherwise, I never would have left where I was to come and work with them. ” When talking about her tour of duty at O’Connell Goldberg, a public relations firm in Hollywood, Fla. Karen Dennis, 60, likes to invoke “The Intern,” the 2015 comedy that starred Robert De Niro as an unpaid septuagenarian assistant to a much younger chief executive. Ms. Dennis, a former administrative social worker and marketing consultant, had always wanted to work for a P. R. agency — badly enough to work without pay. Nine years ago, through a connection, she got her chance at O’Connell Goldberg. “Social media was starting to emerge, and I was so lacking in skills,” Ms. Dennis said. She clearly learned quickly. After nine months, she was offered a paid position her boss, Barbara Goldberg, a founder of the company, was 10 years her junior. “There’s a great work ethic with older workers,” Ms. Goldberg said. “They come on time, and they stay, and they’re . They also avoid petty drama, because this isn’t their first time at the rodeo. ” Ms. Goldberg said that Ms. Dennis filled an important role: “Karen was so nurturing and motherly to the younger employees — she had the time and patience, and I didn’t. ” But there were some tensions. “As a I tended to step back and assess a situation,” Ms. Dennis said. “When you’re that age, you don’t see jumping in as being to your best advantage, because you haven’t yet seen the whole picture. ” Her boss’s philosophy, on the other hand, was “jump in. ” Ms. Dennis remembers being part of a conference call with a new client. She was silent throughout the conversation, and afterward, was yanked into Ms. Goldberg’s office. “Barbara told me, ‘I need to hear from you,’” Ms. Dennis said. “And I responded, ‘I didn’t have anything to say.’ I wanted to understand the dynamics of the other team before I spoke. I promised that on the next call, I would be more forceful and part of the conversation — and I was. ” “It’s a dance you do,” added Ms. Dennis, who was with the firm for more than six years before leaving to freelance she remains close to Ms. Goldberg. “It’s like marriage,” Ms. Dennis said. “My boss would say, ‘This is what I want,’ and I would say, ‘This is what I can do. ’” As in many new relationships, there’s a struggle to find a way. Diversity issues have long been a part of the terrain, and “there are all these hangups at first,” said Ms. Chapman of Insperity. It was a similar dynamic, she said, when women were coming into the work force. “It’s something we have to work through, and we have to figure out how to make it work,” Ms. Chapman said. | 1 |
October 27, 2016
Ivy Pollard, 73, from the backend of Brighton was all set for a binge-watching session of her favourite TV series when the tradesman who said he would arrive between 7am and Midday arrived between 7am and Midday.
‘I’d just finished skinning up the first spliff of the day when the miracle took place’ she said. ‘There was this unexpected knock at the door which I was hoping would be the new clown costume and accessories that I ordered 3 weeks ago!’
‘But it wasn’t! It was the guy from Swirlpool! The one thing I wasn’t expecting! Someone actually doing what they said they were going to do! The only time I experience that level of follow-through is on the toilet, or in my pull-ups, but even that doesn’t happen all that often.’
‘It was all a bit embarrassing actually, because there wasn’t anything wrong with the oven yet. The warranty had just expired so I knew it was only a matter of time. I thought I was being clever by booking an engineer straight away, confident that by the time he turned up, there would be something wrong with it.’
‘Mind you, he didn’t mind. It turns out he’s a big Game of Thrones fan as well. So we had a smoke and cracked on with the show. We had a jolly old day in the end, much to the chagrin of the other customers he was scheduled to see that day, but, then again, that’s tradesmen for you.’ Jodster | 0 |
During CBS’ coverage of the shooting at a Congressional baseball practice, anchor Charlie Rose stated, “people talk about things like ‘lock her up,’ and we saw some of the most crude political language that we’d heard. … This has been a season of sort of coarse political rhetoric. ” Rose said, “[W]e saw during the time that members went back home, because of some of the debates in Congress, they were particularly raucous town meetings, not about threats to their lives, but clearly, the level in combativeness was more apparent than ever. ” He later added, after Congressional Correspondent Nancy Cordes said that it can be difficult for members of Congress to tell who is merely exercising their free speech rights and someone who has the intent of committing violence, “Clearly, we saw that during the campaign, which people talk about things like ‘lock her up,’ and we saw some of the most crude political language that we’d heard, even though there’s a long history of political attacks in American politics since the Founding Fathers. We did see expressions that we had not heard before. This has been a season of sort of coarse political rhetoric. ” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett | 1 |
Tesco Bank cyber raid ‘unprecedented’, says financial regulator Guardian (Bill B)
2016. A big round of applause for Lambert and those of you who participated in our live blog last evening and into the AM.
I’m leaving some of the links I assembled earlier yesterday as reminders of the punditocracy misreading of the public’s mood. And for the historically minded, today is the anniversary of 18 Brumaire .
Donald Trump is moving to the White House, and liberals put him there Guardian. Circulate this widely (although Trump has actually said he won’t live in the White House, he’ll live in a Trump property. There’s precedent in NYC. Bloomberg never occupied Gracie Mansion and made sure it was regularly rented out for parties). Plutonium Kun:
Check out the hilarious tone deafness of the Guardian putting a plea at the bottom of Frank’s article for readers to help its journalism, after they inflicted 12 months of Clinton hackism on its readers (and anyone following comments btw knows that its readers overwhelmingly saw what was coming). | 0 |
'The Others' Alliances , Balkans , Hybrid Wars By Andrew KORYBKO (USA) We are publishing the exclusive English source of the interview given by the American political analyst Andrew Korybko to the Macedonian NetPress agency. He speaks about the forthcoming early parliamentary elections to be held in Macedonia on 11 December 2016 which are likely to be won by the ruling VMRO party of Nikola Gruevski, the effective defeat and demoralization of the globalist agents in the Balkans, and geoeconomic implications of the new political landscape in the region:
Less than one month before the early parliamentary elections in Macedonia, the polls indicate a clear victory for the ruling party of VMRO-DPMNE lead by Nikola Gruevski. This on the other hand represents a mayor failure for the Western elements and their NGO/media machinery that in the past 2 years have been trying to overthrow the democratically elected Macedonian government together with the opposition lead by SDSMs Zoran Zaev, using methods such as Color Revolutions, public broadcasting of illegally wiretapped conversations, violent opposition protests, terrorist attacks, the formation of the so-called “special” prosecution, fabricating false scandals with alleged phantom voters and fake IDs, etc. What can we expect to be happening in Macedonia ahead of after the 11 December elections?
It’s clear that VMRO will be handed a resounding victory by the people, but voters still need to go to the polls in order to make this the largest success that it can be and give Gruevski the unquestionable mandate that he will need to govern the post-crisis country. All surveys indicate that this will be the case, but people mustn’t become apathetic and assume that it’ll be a landslide just because everyone else is supposedly going to vote and instead choose to stay home. Everyone needs to go to the polls and make this election the crowning achievement of the patriotic counter-Color Revolution movement. If VMRO can clinch an overwhelming majority of the votes, then the rest of the world will see once and for all that the people have spoken and democratically expressed both their support for the legitimate government and their rejection of the Western-orchestrated Color Revolution. Nikola Gruevski
In the run-up to the vote, there were clear signs that efforts were made by SDSM to unite the opposition into a solid bloc, but this failed because nobody really trusts Zaev. If a man will betray the entire country by becoming the figurehead of a Western regime change operation, then he’ll surely sell out any of his “political allies” if given the opportune chance to do so. Most patriotic opposition members recognize this and thus don’t want to contaminate their political brand, which is why the effort has thus far been a failure. Similarly, Zaev’s shameless pandering to Albanian voters has also been a dud. The demographic is aware that they’re being exploited, and while some admittedly find it flattering, many of them don’t want to be part of his international political games and know that the doesn’t truly have their best interests at heart.
By and large, there’s no reason to second guess that VMRO and Gruevski are headed for an historic win in this election. Should this come to pass as expected, then Macedonians can look forward to a new era of stability and prosperity, with their country working equally with the West and East (Russia, China, BRICS) in order to maximize its geostrategic position as the prime infrastructural gateway to Europe. Russia is moving ahead with the Balkan Stream gas pipeline while China is making progress on the Balkan Silk Road high-speed rail system which will eventually link Budapest to Piraeus. Western investment, while having likely been impacted to an extent by the manufactured political crisis, hasn’t fled the country like it ordinarily would have in many other cases. Businessmen understand that Macedonia is growing and is an attractive place to set up shop because of its irreplaceable mainland location at the civilizational crossroads of Afro-Eurasia.
All of this is indeed possible so long as the US pulls back from its recent history of destabilizing the Republic of Macedonia. Washington and its conspirators have already been beaten back twice – something which no other country has managed to do – and are slated for at third defeat during the December elections. The US’ behavior during this time will be contingent on how it’s “deep state” (the permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies) decides to response. The US is undergoing the most transformational phased regime change event that it has ever experienced in history with Obama’s government giving way to President-elect Trump’s, so it remains to be seen if the “deep state’s” subjectively determined cost-benefit calculation will continue to lean in favor of asymmetrical destabilization.
A reasonably confident argument can be made that won’t. Commencing yet another wave of failed Color Revolutions would be a waste of time, money, and resources if Trump simply decides to stop it once he enters office. On the other hand, Obama and his neoconservative “deep state” backers might be conspiratorially vengeful enough that they’d want to sabotage Trump’s incoming presidency by forcing him to inherit a legacy of conflict. Even if that’s the case, however, it doesn’t seem likely that this would succeed, since it’s obvious to all observers that the Macedonian people have repeatedly proven that all foreign-concocted plots against their statehood are determined to fail. Because of this, the US probably won’t opt to continue with this failed plan any longer, and will attempt to ‘save face’ by recognizing VMRO and Gruevski’s imminent victory, hoping that this can allow them to earn back some of the goodwill that they needlessly squandered over the years.
Seen from this perspective, one can definitely conclude that the western sponsored wing together with their patrons, failed in Macedonia big time. What are the main factors that according to you helped Macedonia deal with these foreign sponsored crises, which can be used as an example for other countries that are or will be fighting these kinds of Western sponsored crises?
Macedonians were able to withstand and repel the US’ Hybrid War pressure because they came to master the art of what I call the Resistance Circle, which is a counter-Color Revolution innovation which must absolutely be applied to all countries that are experiencing this form of aggression. Here’s an illustration of this concept, and then I’ll explain what each part of it means in practice: Media:
Macedonians were already an educated and aware even before the Hybrid War started, and this can be attributed to the prevalence of patriotic media outlets in the country, both mainstream and alternative. They kept the public informed of the US’ various regime change machinations across the world before Washington inevitably came to victimizing their homeland. Once the destabilization began, the media kept the people up to date on what was really going on and the larger forward-looking reasons behind it, which had the effect of heightening the already strong sense of patriotism that most Macedonians feel. Patriotism:
Macedonian patriots formed the core of the counter-Color Revolution movement. They were inspired by the media and what they saw happening all around them and conveyed the extent of the regime change plot to the rest of their fellow citizens. They knew that this wasn’t just an operation targeting Gruevski personally, but a far-reaching scheme that affects all Macedonians through its goals of changing the constitutional name, “federalizing” (internally partitioning) the country, and thus advancing a dangerous and treasonous scenario which could result in the dismantlement of Macedonia’s hard-fought statehood. Organizing:
The patriots utilized reverse-Color Revolution technology by applying some “traditional” models of large-scale crowd organizing through their skillful employment of social media and allied NGOS. This produced attention-grabbing demonstrations in support of the government and culminated most spectacularly in the May 2015 demonstrations that decisively dealt a death blow to the first failed Color Revolution. The external manifestation of the Macedonian people’s patriotism and their backing of the democratically elected and legitimate government sent a powerful normative message all across the world, especially since it came on the heels of Zaev’s comparably much smaller rally. International Networking:
Macedonia’s patriots networked with foreign friends and journalists to spread the truth about the regime change operation underway in their country, particularly relying on the influential power of Russian mass media, experts, and think tanks to champion their resistance.
This propelled heavy alternative media coverage of the events and put pressure on the plotters by exposing their links with the US and Soros, thus discrediting the false narrative that this was an ‘indigenous democratic uprising’ and revealing it as the Western Color Revolution that it always was.
At this point, the multipolar media coverage, analysis, and investigations into the unrest were channeled back into Macedonia’s patriotic mainstream and alternative media outlets for domestic consumption, which fuelled the patriotism and encouraged even more counter-Color Revolution demonstrations and related activity.
It’s quite interesting to see the shock of the fifth column in Macedonia after Donald Trump won the USA elections, which was quite similar to their reaction to the Brexit as well. Why is there such despair among the Western mercenaries in Macedonia and what does Trump’s victory mean for the Western-sponsored crises and Color revolutions elsewhere?
The reason why they’re so upset is because they realize that Trump’s election will likely herald in a sea change of American policy in some (operative word) vectors, notably how it relates to Soros and Color Revolutions . Trump’s campaign team and alternative media surrogates such as Breitbart made a point of emphasizing the disruptive role that Soros has been playing in the US, such as shedding light on his support for pro-Clinton Super PACs, funding the urban extremist group known as “Black Lives Matter”, and even indirectly being connected to some electronic voting machine companies. In fact, one of the least-discussed but most important aspects of Trump’s election is how it affects Soros and his worldwide network now that the billionaire Color Revolution financier’s chief foe will be in the Oval Office. Trump and his base are antipathetic to Soros in all ways, even more so nowadays because of the shadowy figure’s role in organizing the nationwide riots against the President-elect. To put it bluntly, Soros has declared war on Trump, and the incoming President is expected to push back in all ways in order to safeguard his Presidency.
There’s a lot that can be written about the dynamics of this struggle and the widespread influence that Soros commands among The Establishment and its “academia’, pop culture, media, and social elites, but explaining all of that would require a lot more time and a broader scope than is presently available. How all of this relates to the Balkans, and specifically to Macedonia, is rather simple, in fact. Soros, preoccupied with tackling Trump, will probably direct a lot less time and energy towards his traditional stomping grounds, especially considering that he’s already failed two times in trying to topple the Macedonian government. Furthermore, Soros won’t have the incoming Trump Administration’s foreign policy and covert support to back him up. Remember, Trump disdains Soros, and the feeling is mutual. They’re not going to cooperate on any major schemes together, or at least not right away, but here’s where the possible scenarios get rather interesting. Trump and Soros want to destroy one another, but it’s possible that they could reach a ‘ceasefire’ arrangement between themselves in putting their mutual differences aside and focusing on areas of ‘shared interest’.
What this means in practice is that the neoconservative elements of the American “deep state” (the permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies) might be able to influence Trump and his team to the point where they come to appreciate the covert foreign policy utility of the worldwide Soros network. If this happens, and provided that Soros is on the retreat due to the Trump Administration’s relentless hounding of him, then it’s possible for the President to reach a deal with the Color Revolution architect whereby Soros would stop or lessen his anti-Trump attacks in exchange for the new American government being able to utilize his global regime change ‘services’ again. On the other hand, however, it’s also possible that Trump defeats Soros and takes over his organization, investing time and resources to ‘retool’ it from a “far-left/hyper-liberal” group to something more aligned with the global conservative and “right-wing” zeitgeist in order to make it more attractive and operationally effective in this day and age. It’s still too early to tell which way things may or may not go, but these are reasonable ideas to countenance given the existing state of affairs.
The point in bringing this all up is to emphasize the very real split between Soros and his American governmental facilitators/criminals-in-arms. Trump’s Administration will be the first time when the US won’t blindly support Soros in all of his endeavors, and is ironically one of the mastermind’s targets this time around. This paramount asymmetrical conflict can’t help but interfere with Soros’ other operations all across the world, which, to get back to answering the main part of the question, is why the fifth column is so distraught at Trump’s victory. They also know that the “politically incorrect” President-elect doesn’t support their wild post-modern “liberal” views such as attacking conservative societies through the weaponization of homosexuality and destabilizing their centuries-old value systems. It’s indeed possible that Trump might be convinced by the CIA and some other “deep state” actors to tolerate the mild continuance of this campaign in some key geostrategic states, but seeing as how it’s so spectacularly failed in Macedonia, the Balkan country probably won’t be a top priority for him like it was for Obama.
Iran, however, will be, since several high-profile voices around Trump and a few of the people who he’s rumored to be considering for crucial Cabinet positions have openly declared that the US must foment regime change in the Islamic Republic, but of course, the specifics of this could be discussed at another time. It’s just important to know that Color Revolutions won’t become an outdated weapon of the past just because of the Trump-Soros War, and everyone should always remember that the President of the US is still the leader of the world’s pioneer in unconventional destabilizations. The US still wants to retain and strengthen its hegemony, but Trump and his team feel that some fundamental tweaking must be made to the system in order for it to become much more effective. Most of the substance will remain the same, but it’s just that some of the style will change. I explored some of the details pertaining to this in my Sputnik article titled “ Here’s What Trump’s Foreign Policy Will Look Like ”, and I welcome all interested readers to check it out if they want to have a more comprehensive forecast about the future nature of American behavior abroad.
I must say, however, that no one should get their hopes up that Trump’s rule will herald in the US’ retreat from abroad – he’s been very clear from the start that his guiding mantra is “America First”, and while opposed to some of Obama’s foreign policy platforms, he’ll probably end up retaining some of them even if he rebrands them with his own style. He’s a pragmatic businessman who knows how to make deals, which is why the Great Powers of Russia and China have cautiously optimistic hopes that he’ll usher in a period (however brief) of New Détente in the New Cold War, but just because Trump might ease up the US’ pressure on one or both of these Eurasian anchors doesn’t mean that he won’t up the ante against Iran, Pakistan, and perhaps some other unforeseen targets of Washington’s wrath.
Greek diplomatic sources have briefed Greek media that the implementation of the Turkish stream is now moving faster than expected and the projections are that the construction will begin this year, while ending in 2019. Some information says that Gazprom and the EC are now getting close to agreement. What does your information say?
I don’t have any exclusive information about this project, but my analysis about its progress is that things have been moving along quite well ever since the game-changing Russian-Turkish rapprochement over the summer, which, to remind everyone, was the reason why the US hastened to clumsily arrange a failed coup attempt against President Erdogan. I discussed the specifics of this more thoroughly in my Oriental Review article about “ Reassessing The Reasons For The Failed Turkish Coup Attempt ”, and just like with my Sputnik piece which I reference in my last answer, this article might also be interesting for some readers to go through if they have the time and inclination to do so. I bring up the failed pro-US coup attempt in Turkey because it was hatched with the motivation of reversing the strategic gains that Russia and Turkey were poised to make, one of which is obviously Balkan Stream.
With Ankara back on board with this Russian megaproject, the only other actor left which needs to fall in line is the EU, which – regardless of its US-ordered and politically driven rhetoric – desperately needs to secure reliable energy sources in the future, and will more than likely end up reaching some agreement with Russia around the time that the first part of the pipeline is completed. The anti-Russian sanctions regime has been cracking for the past year and many Eastern European countries want to ease the restrictions and work with their Russian partners in order to spearhead creative workarounds that would be mutually beneficial for both sides. Sooner or later, the EU will probably give in to its natural self-interested desire to restore relations with Russia and end up hashing out a deal for Balkan Stream. The major impediment to this, however, will remain the Third Energy Package, which Bulgaria clung to as its excuse two years ago in pathetically pretending that it was just “following the law” and wasn’t under any American pressure to obstruct South Stream.
This totalitarian piece of legislation decrees that a company is not allowed to own both the pipeline and the gas which transits through it. Gazprom argued that this law entered into effect after it had already concluded negotiations on the project and should thus be exempt from its restrictions, but the EU didn’t accept this and said that the Russian company must “play by the rules”. Since Bulgaria was supposed to be the terminal point for the project and the first EU country through which South Stream was planned to pass, it took the vanguard role in stopping the pipeline and thus sacrificed billions of dollars of transit revenue as a result. The same problem could predictably repeat itself with Greece, but I think that Russia preparing a handful of possible solutions for dealing with this. The most realistic one would be to partner up with trusted companies and jointly own either all of the pipeline or each national section that it’s supposed to transit through, even if Gazprom gets 49% and its ally has a 51% controlling stake.
Since Balkan Stream will pass through a bunch of countries, it’s more realistic for each leg to be jointly owned by a different national partner, so for example, this could be DEPA in Greece, just like it’s Botas for Turkey. The model of working with individual partner companies in each transit state could be replicated all throughout the line’s forecasted route, but the liability is that unexpected disputes with one or another partner could lead to downstream disruptions if a national actor decided to “pull a Ukraine”, though there’s nothing at this time to suggest that such a scenario will happen. Likewise, being overly dependent on one or two major regional companies which could jointly operate the entire line with Russia could create a situation where the said company feels overly empowered and tries to push Russia around one day (whether on its own initiative or under pressure from the US). Therefore, having multipole stakeholders all along the route could ironically be a much more stable alternative because it means that everyone else would put pressure on the disruptive actor in the event that they ‘go rogue’ and do the US geostrategic bidding.
What we need to look forward to now is the business diplomacy that will inevitably commence sometime in the future and monitor this to the best of our abilities in order to get a clearer picture of Balkan Stream’s technical-administrative aspects. Gazprom will obviously look to enter into deals with its partners in order to get around the Third Energy Package, but knowing the Russian giant, it’ll probably conduct a lot of these in secret in order to keep the details under wraps so it might be difficult to find out what’s really happening. This is why it’s so useful to use models such as the joint ownership one which I just explained in order to have an initial framework for testing hypotheses and seeing how well they correlate to the unfolding reality. I don’t have any idea about the timeframe for these negotiations, but it’s safe to say that the ones with Greece will definitely be concluded by the time that the first part of the pipeline is completed with Turkey, and Russia might also by that time line up agreements with Macedonia, Serbia, and Hungary in order to move as fast as possible from that point onwards in pairing Balkan Stream’s logical northwards expansion with China’s Balkan Silk Road high-speed rail project.
Andrew Korybko is the American political commentator currently working for the Sputnik agency. He is the author of the monograph “ Hybrid Wars: The Indirect Adaptive Approach To Regime Change ” (2015). RELATED POSTS | 0 |
Europe is cucked AND fucked.. Time to airlift in cases of Vaseline. | 0 |
Laurence M. Vance https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/clinton-lead-us-ww3/
Because most members of the military will go anywhere and fight for any reason no matter who orders them to do so. 3:25 pm on October 30, 2016 | 0 |
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In the final 11 days leading up to the monumental 2016 presidential election, reports have filtered in that thousands of immigrants are headed for the U.S.-Mexico border to illegally enter the United States. Their motivation is crystal clear, according to CBS News York , which explains the sudden influx:
“The smugglers are telling [the masses of illegal] if Hillary [Clinton] gets elected, that there’ll be some sort of amnesty, that they need to get here by a certain date,” [Border Patrol Agent Chris] Cabrera said. “They’re also being told that if [Donald] Trump gets elected, there’s going to be some magical wall that pops up overnight and once that wall gets up, nobody will ever get in again.”
Cabrera added that they’ve encountered up to 1,000 immigrants along [the Texas city of] McAllen’s stretch of the border some days.
It’s not just Donald Trump’s imagination that Democrats are manipulating the immigration process to register as many Hillary Clinton voters as possible. Bloomberg notes independently that a number of American cities are opening allowing illegals to vote. In some cases, an ad hoc workaround is being impemented to give the process an air of respectability. | 0 |
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Rebutting the Justice Department’s assertion that the government can dictate where people can engage in religious activity, attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to reject the government’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit challenging the Supreme Court’s prohibition on First Amendment activities on its own front porch.
The lawsuit, Payden-Travers v. Talkin , contends that the government’s restrictions on expressive activity in the plaza fronting the U.S. Supreme Court violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Supreme Court issued the ban on expressive activity in response to a June 2013 ruling in another lawsuit, Hodge v. Talkin , also filed by Rutherford Institute attorneys, challenging a 60-year-old statute banning expressive activities on the Supreme Court plaza. The federal district court declared the 60-year-old statute to be “unreasonable, substantially overbroad, and irreconcilable with the First Amendment.” In May 2016, the Supreme Court upheld its own ban on expressive activity in Hodge .
In challenging the Court’s prohibitions on expressive activity as they relate to religious expression, Rutherford Institute attorneys argue the plaza prohibition violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which says the government must have a compelling interest in order to intrude on someone’s religious liberty, and it must do so in the least restrictive way. Affiliate attorney Jeffrey Light is assisting The Rutherford Institute with the First Amendment lawsuit.
“There are a good many things that are repugnant to the Constitution right now: mass surveillance of Americans, roadside strip searches, forcible DNA extractions, SWAT team raids, civil commitments for criticizing the government, etc.,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People . “However, for the U.S. Supreme Court to overtly prohibit expressive activity on its grounds shows exactly how perverse our so-called system of justice has become.”
The plaza area in front of the Supreme Court is oval in shape and approximately 252 feet in length, is open 24-hours a day and is no different than other traditional public fora such as parks and sidewalks. The plaza has historically been used for First Amendment activities, including press conferences, tourists conversations, and filming of scenes for movies. Nevertheless, a 60-year-old statute broadly made it unlawful to display any flag, banner, or device designed to bring into public notice a party, organization, or movement while on the grounds of the U.S. Supreme Court, thereby banning expressive activity on the Supreme Court plaza.
In January 2012, The Rutherford Institute filed a lawsuit, Hodge v. Talkin , on behalf of a political activist who was charged with violating the statute by silently standing on the plaza with a sign protesting police brutality. In June 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl L. Howell ruled that the statute was unconstitutionally overbroad, facially unconstitutional and void. Just two days after this ruling, the Supreme Court adopted Regulation 7, which attempts to reinstate the restrictions struck down by Judge Howell by banning any “demonstration” on the Supreme Court grounds, which is broadly defined by Regulation 7 to include all forms of conduct communicating views or grievances that might draw onlookers.
Article reposted with permission from The Rutherford Institute Don't forget to Like Freedom Outpost on Facebook , Google Plus , & Twitter . You can also get Freedom Outpost delivered to your Amazon Kindle device here . | 0 |
Iran has announced that it will prevent United States citizens from entering the country in retaliation against President Donald Trump’s visa ban against Tehran and six other countries. [In a statement issued Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry stated, “Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive U. S. limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted. ” The statement made a distinction between “the American people and the hostile policies of the U. S. government. ” It continued to suggest that the restrictions against Muslims traveling to America “are an open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation in particular and will be known as a great gift to extremists. ” Trump’s ban on travelers from seven volatile countries, including Iran, targets radical Islamic extremism but does not ban travelers simply for their Islamic faith. It is, however, a direct reaction to the rise in extremism throughout much of the Western world. Iran remains one of the foremost abusers of human rights, and sponsors of terrorism, in the world. Trump signed the executive order on Friday, temporarily banning individuals from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia from entering the United States. The order also lowered the ceiling of refugees allowed to enter the United States to 50, 000 during FY 2017. Further, the executive order includes a temporary block on visas for 90 days for “immigrants and ” from the aforementioned nations, and specifically directs the Secretary of State to “request all foreign governments that do not supply such information [regarding refugee vetting] to start providing such information regarding their nationals within 60 days of notification. ” There are more than 1 million living in the United States, with the largest concentration of them living in Los Angeles, California. This ban imposed by the Iranian government would prevent them from traveling back to to Iran. A senior Trump administration official pushed back against the notion that Friday’s executive order was a Muslim ban. The official “listed off several predominantly Muslim countries that the order does not apply to. The official said that the United States still took in more foreigners than any other country in the history of civilization and said that the number of people impacted by Friday’s executive order was relatively small,” as reported by the New York Time‘s Michael Schmidt. Regarding Iran, the official “said that the White House is aware of reports that Iran plans reciprocal steps in response to Friday’s executive order, adding that if those measures are indeed reciprocal, it means that the Iranians will review each individual on a case by case basis. ” Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani criticized Trump’s intended wall across the U. S. border. In a speech that was broadcast on Iran’s TV network, Rouhani said, “Today is not the time to erect walls between nations. They have forgotten that the Berlin wall fell years ago. ” He echoed that statement on Twitter, writing, “Let’s help neighboring cultures, not build walls between nations. Let’s not forget what happened to the #BerlinWall. ” Let’s help neighboring cultures, not build walls between nations. Let’s not forget what happened to the #BerlinWall. — Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 28, 2017, Following former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani’s death earlier this month, Rouhani similarly wrote, “Today all people came to bid farewell to a man who made history Let us use this mood to build a bridge instead of a wall. ” امروز برای وداع با آن مرد تاریخساز همه آمده بودند؛ بیاییم از این فضا برای دوستی، #آشتی و وحدت ملی استفاده کنیم. بجای #دیوار، #پل بسازیم. pic. twitter. — حسن روحانی (@Rouhani_ir) January 10, 2017, According to Reuters, Rouhani also took aim at Trump’s withdrawal of the U. S. from the Partnership (TPP) trade deal on Monday, while speaking to a tourism conference in Tehran. “To annul world trade accords does not help their economy and does not serve the development and blooming of the world economy,” Rouhani said. “This is the day for the world to get closer through trade. ” Rouhani is facing a tough reelection fight in May. Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter and Periscope @AdelleNaz | 1 |
The Other October Surprise---An Eruption In The Bond Pits By David Stockman. Even as the FBI's probe of Huma/Weiner's laptop was happening behind the scenes during the last several weeks, an even more important eruption was quietly gathering steam in the world's bond markets. To wit, the casino gamblers who have made a killing front-running the central banks have begun to fade the trade. You need to login to view this content.
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David believes the world -- certainly the United States -- is at a great inflection point in human history. The massive credit inflation of the last three decades has reached its apogee and is now going to splatter spectacularly.
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David Stockman's Contra Corner is the only place where mainstream delusions and cant about the Warfare State, the Bailout State, Bubble Finance and Beltway Banditry are ripped, refuted and rebuked. Subscribe now to receive David Stockman’s latest posts by email each day as well as his model portfolio, Lee Adler’s Daily Data Dive and David’s personally curated insights and analysis from leading contrarian thinkers. | 0 |
“ Justifying the Saudi Slaughter in Yemen ” by Gareth Porter, Oct. 31, 2016
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First Lady Melania Trump turned to her favorite designer, Dolce Gabbana, for a visit to the U. S. Supreme Court Thursday, where she and President Donald Trump attended the investiture ceremony for Justice Neil Gorsuch. [Paired with a subdued black pencil skirt and black, stilettos, Melania was fashion forward in a more than $2, 300 sleeveless wool jacket with a bejeweled buckle in the back by Dolce Gabbana, the First Lady’s favorite Italian fashion house. The jacket is from DG’s 2017 collection and can be seen in the photo Melania posted of the ceremony on her Instagram account: Congratulations to Justice Neil Gorsuch on today’s official investiture ceremony! It was an honor to witness unforgettable moment! A post shared by First Lady Melania Trump (@flotus) on Jun 15, 2017 at 7:32pm PDT, Dolce Gabbana has been Melania’s design house for custom outfits and luxury, looks. The designer duo’s more outspoken half, Stefano Gabbana, usually celebrates on his Instagram when the First Lady wears one of the brands’ creations, thanking her for being a “DG Woman. ” Most recently, Breitbart News reported how Dolce Gabbana launched a “#Boycott Dolce Gabbana” ad campaign to mock critics who continue to demand that they stop dressing Melania. Gabbana posted a screenshot of the Breitbart News story on his Instagram account Thursday, accompanied with heart and laughing emojis and the hashtags “#boycottdolceandgabbana” and “#allthelovers. ” ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ #boycottdolcegabbana ❤️❤️❤️❤️😂😂😂😂😂🌏🌍🌎 #allthelovers ❤️ A post shared by stefanogabbana (@stefanogabbana) on Jun 16, 2017 at 3:44am PDT, John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder. | 1 |
TEL AVIV — The timing of today’s deadly terrorist attack in Jerusalem may be instructive. [The attack, carried out in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv, also known as Eastern Talpiot, comes less than three weeks after the United Nations Security Council declared eastern Jerusalem to be “occupied Palestinian territory. ” It follows Secretary of State John Kerry’s Mideast policy speech in which he largely blamed Israel for the absence of negotiations (while the Palestinians have refused multiple statehood offers as well as attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to jumpstart talks) and he repeatedly slammed Israeli settlement construction, including in eastern Jerusalem. Notably, the State Department’s condemnation of today’s attack referred to the location of the terrorist onslaught as “Jerusalem” instead of “East Jerusalem. ” Today’s eastern Jerusalem truck terror comes one week before the Palestinians are scheduled to attend a farcical Paris “peace” conference at which the international community, minus Israel, is slated to get together to set the future parameters of a Palestinian state. Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely was right to link today’s carnage to the Paris summit. “The world has received a clear answer from the Palestinians to the peace conference coming up in Paris: More terror,” Hotovely said. “I again call on the international community to demand an end to terror and the industry of education toward it. ” The Palestinians have a long and sordid history of responding to peace talks or international pressure on Israel with a terror campaign targeting Israelis. Arch Terrorist Yasser Arafat personified that tactic when he responded to generous Israeli statehood offers in September 2000 by launching the deadly Second Intifada instead of accepting a Palestinian state or even making a counter offer. Within less than hours of last month’s UN resolution, I noticed an immediate uptick in Palestinian terrorist attacks targeting Jews in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, the very areas where Israeli construction was singled out in the UN document. I wrote at the time it was too early to tell whether the violence represented a spike in Palestinian terrorism following the UN vote or whether the incidents were part of the trend known as the Palestinian wave of terror that seems to escalate and then slow down. With today’s truck terror, we may be more clearly seeing the Palestinian response to the mounting international pressure on Israel. Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio. ” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook. | 1 |
There’s more than one way for the establishment to yield power from this election.
The first path is obvious, direct and potentially deadly. A Hillary presidency will be surrounded by bitter people, and overt uses of power, along with war, increased taxes and thinly-veiled pay-for-play politics benefiting the billionaires who’ve bankrolled her rise to power.
The other path is less predictable, but possible just the perfect “magic formula” they need to get things flowing again.
The Brexit vote, a by-product of populist anger against economic stagnation and political angst, was secretly a win for those who wield power from the financial sector.
In the end, the disquiet of the people has proven to be the secret ingredient to stirring something up in an economy otherwise stymied by quantitative easing and dismal economic returns.
As Zero Hedge explains , it just may be, particularly in light of some of the statements that have been made by significant figures on Wall Street:
So yes, inflation is possible, it just can’t coexist with political stability, which may explain why – according to some more conspiratorial elements – a “surprising” Trump victory on Tuesday may be assured : after all, what better way to unleash political instability than to inaugurate the candidate who promises a full break with the establishment as we know it. If in the process, it leads to a surge in much needed inflation, now that QE has tried and failed, it’s a price the establishment, reeling under the weight of record global debt, is willing to pay.
One River Asset Management’s Eric Peters laying out his inflationary “revelation”:
“British spenders have entirely looked through post-Brexit uncertainty,” said Mark Carney [governor of the Bank of England]. … So the Bank of England forecast its biggest inflation overshoot since 1997; expecting 2018 price gains to peak at +2.8%.
What’s it tell us?
A populist uprising, compromised free trade, immigration restrictions, a 15% currency devaluation, 0.50% interest rates combined with aggressive QE is today’s magic formula for modestly exceeding a 2% inflation target 2yrs hence.
[…]we live in the 2010s, and inflationary expectations have succumbed to decades of independent central banking. Economic volatility is remarkably muted too. With it has come a long period of political stability. […] And we also know that a long period of political stability is drawing to a close.
But we can’t be sure that political volatility will increase inflation volatility. Nor can we be sure that it won’t. It all depends on time and place. And today’s time and place is something new.
Is this proof that the elite are secretly planning to make lemonade from the lemons of American discontent and the wild card candidacy of Donald Trump?
That is a difficult call to make, but it is worth noting that there is clearly an advantage to be held if this outcome does occur.
As Tumelar notes, the fix is in either way:
It’s either inflation by Trump’s victory or by WW3 started by Hillary Clinton.
A hard choice for the banksters.
Of course, the situation is much more complicated than just inflation, or any one factor. There is a great deal of speculation that the end of QE, known to be no longer effective at stimulating the economy has made a stock market collapse inevitable, subject to the Fed raises rates.
It appears that Yellen has been waiting for the outcome of the election, and one way or another, will dump the next crisis on the next president. If that proves to be Trump, he will be blamed for the downfall… meanwhile, there will be those waiting in the shadows to profit from disaster.
For his part, astute columnist Brandon Smith has consistently argued that the elite have chosen Trump and will allow him to take the presidency – only to use the unpredictability as a catalyst for order out of chaos, and the institution of great political and economic controls over the country:
The vast majority of analysts in the mainstream and in the alternative media refused to acknowledge the possibility that a successful Brexit actually works in FAVOR of the globalists, because it provides them a perfect scapegoat for a financial crisis that has been broiling for years and is now ready to burst into flames.
[…]
I argue that the globalists want Trump in office, just as they wanted the passage of the Brexit. I argue that they need conservative movements to feel as though we have won, so that they can pull the rug out from under us in the near future. I argue that we are being set up.
Again, the elites are openly telling us what is about to happen. They are telling us that if “populists” (conservatives) gain political power, the system will effectively collapse. To what extent is hard to say, but let’s assume that the situation will be ugly enough to influence the masses to reconsider the ideal of globalism as a possible solution. The elites are fond of the Hegelian dialectic and the philosophy of “order out of chaos,” after all.
Again, the reasons parallel the reasons that Brexit was able to succeed in spite of fierce establishment opposition.
The master manipulators are adaptive to any market conditions, and their influence runs deeper than the electorate of any given political season. Its agents and officers instruct the candidates and make demands, not the other way around.
In a puppeteer’s world, must we always argue for the existence of puppets on every stage?
Read more:
“Trump Will Be ALLOWED To Win,” Only to Be Blamed For The Coming Financial Crash
The Bubble Will Burst, But Fed Is Waiting For Politics “With Trump Lurking Around”
Trump Accuses Fed of Not Raising Rates Because Obama “Doesn’t Want a Bubble Burst” Until He Leaves
Ron Paul: Unless the Fed is Stopped, America Will “Soon Experience Major Economic Crisis”
“Fed Risks Triggering Panic and Turmoil”: World Bank Warns Against Raising Rates
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Russia’s unprecedented intervention in the United States election came amid more than United tension and Donald J. Trump’s praise of Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president. It also coincided with a growing belief, in Moscow, that Russia faced an imminent threat in Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. Mrs. Clinton is viewed in Moscow as innately hostile to Russia. Widely held conspiracy theories portray her as seeking to foment unrest that will return Russia to the chaos and depression of the 1990s. Even many government technocrats view her with suspicion that at times verges on paranoia. She referred to these views at an event on Thursday, telling donors that Mr. Putin’s “personal beef” with her had driven Russia’s intervention in the American election. Mark Galeotti, a Russia expert at the Institute of International Relations, based in Prague, said the Kremlin was consumed by something more urgent than petty revenge: . “It’s not just they didn’t like Clinton, but they actually thought that she represented a threat,” he said, describing Russia’s actions as a matter of “policy, not pique. ” No one factor can fully explain Russia’s decision to hack and pass on Democratic emails, analysts say, and intelligence agencies appear divided on assessing Russian motives. But, in Moscow, fear of Mrs. Clinton has loomed as large or larger than any warmth for Mr. Trump. Mr. Putin accused Mrs. Clinton of instigating protests against him in late 2011. “She set the tone for some actors in our country and gave them a signal,” he said, reflecting a widespread view in Moscow that Mrs. Clinton, then secretary of state, had sought to topple Russia’s government. Mr. Putin returned to the presidency a few months later, appearing to believe that the United States had engineered the Middle East’s descent into chaos and was targeting his country to be next. He put Mrs. Clinton at the center of these plots. Mrs. Clinton is indeed more hawkish than other Democrats, including toward Russia. In 2008, while a senator, she mocked President George W. Bush’s claim that he had looked into Mr. Putin’s soul. “I could have told him — he was a K. G. B. agent. By definition, he doesn’t have a soul,” Mrs. Clinton joked. The line is still remembered in Moscow. But the Kremlin’s views of Mrs. Clinton go beyond defining her as hawkish. They are also layered with a Russian belief that American democracy promotion is a ploy to unseat unfriendly governments, that the United States remains bent on Russia’s destabilization or even destruction, and that there is an American hand behind nearly every Russian misfortune. These suspicions go back decades. But, since Mrs. Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state, popular telling has cast her as the culprit responsible for America’s misdeeds and, therefore, Russia’s setbacks. In the summer of 2015, when Russian hacking groups first infiltrated Democratic National Committee servers, I happened to be reporting in Moscow. The American name on everyone’s lips was not Mr. Trump’s, who was already praising Mr. Putin, but rather Mrs. Clinton’s. Fyodor Lukyanov, a prominent Russian foreign policy commentator, told me at the time that there was a widespread view in his country’s government that Mrs. Clinton, as president, would take “a very hostile approach” toward Russia. Consensus in Moscow, Mr. Lukyanov said, was that “Hillary is the worst option of any president, maybe worse than any Republican. ” It was conventional wisdom, he added, that Mrs. Clinton considered her husband’s efforts to reform Russia in the 1990s an unfinished project, and that she would seek to finish it by encouraging efforts that would culminate with regime change. This summer, when Russian hacking groups began releasing Democratic emails through third parties such as WikiLeaks, many Americans suspected an effort to help Mr. Trump, who had promised to realign the United States with Russia. But Mr. Galeotti, the Russian expert, said that, in all his time in Moscow, “I didn’t speak to anyone who thought a Trump presidency was possible. ” Rather, conversation there followed the same polls that dominated the discussion in America, and which all projected a landslide for Mrs. Clinton. Even as Mr. Putin deemed Mr. Trump “colorful” and suggested they might get along, officials in Moscow “were absolutely working from the assumption that Clinton was going to get it,” Mr. Galeotti said. This belief may have informed Russia’s actions during the campaign, which a number of analysts still suspect were aimed at weakening, rather then preventing, Mrs. Clinton’s presumedly imminent presidency. But if Moscow does gain an ally in Mr. Trump, it will lose a foil in Mrs. Clinton — something that has been politically useful for Mr. Putin as his country’s economy has sunk and its isolation deepened. | 1 |
Julian Assange was in classic didactic form, holding forth on the topic that consumes him — the perfidy of big government and especially of the United States. Mr. Assange, the editor of WikiLeaks, rose to global fame in 2010 for releasing huge caches of highly classified American government communications that exposed the underbelly of its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and its sometimes cynical diplomatic maneuvering around the world. But in a televised interview last September, it was clear that he still had plenty to say about “The World According to US Empire,” the subtitle of his latest book, “The WikiLeaks Files. ” From the cramped confines of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he was granted asylum four years ago amid a legal imbroglio, Mr. Assange proffered a vision of America as superbully: a nation that has achieved imperial power by proclaiming allegiance to principles of human rights while deploying its apparatus in “pincer” formation to “push” countries into doing its bidding, and punishing people like him who dare to speak the truth. Notably absent from Mr. Assange’s analysis, however, was criticism of another world power, Russia, or its president, Vladimir V. Putin, who has hardly lived up to WikiLeaks’ ideal of transparency. Mr. Putin’s government has cracked down hard on dissent — spying on, jailing, and, critics charge, sometimes assassinating opponents while consolidating control over the news media and internet. If Mr. Assange appreciated the irony of the moment — denouncing censorship in an interview on Russia Today, the propaganda channel — it was not readily apparent. Now, Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks are back in the spotlight, roiling the geopolitical landscape with new disclosures and a promise of more to come. In July, the organization released nearly 20, 000 Democratic National Committee emails suggesting that the party had conspired with Hillary Clinton’s campaign to undermine her primary opponent, Senator Bernie Sanders. Mr. Assange — who has been openly critical of Mrs. Clinton — has promised further disclosures that could upend her campaign against the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump. Separately, WikiLeaks announced that it would soon release some of the crown jewels of American intelligence: a “pristine” set of cyberspying codes. United States officials say they believe with a high degree of confidence that the Democratic Party material was hacked by the Russian government, and suspect that the codes may have been stolen by the Russians as well. That raises a question: Has WikiLeaks become a laundering machine for compromising material gathered by Russian spies? And more broadly, what precisely is the relationship between Mr. Assange and Mr. Putin’s Kremlin? Those questions are made all the more pointed by Russia’s prominent place in the American presidential election campaign. Mr. Putin, who clashed repeatedly with Mrs. Clinton when she was secretary of state, has publicly praised Mr. Trump, who has returned the compliment, calling for closer ties to Russia and speaking favorably of Mr. Putin’s annexation of Crimea. From the outset of WikiLeaks, Mr. Assange said he was motivated by a desire to use “cryptography to protect human rights,” and would focus on authoritarian governments like Russia’s. But a New York Times examination of WikiLeaks’ activities during Mr. Assange’s years in exile found a different pattern: Whether by conviction, convenience or coincidence, WikiLeaks’ document releases, along with many of Mr. Assange’s statements, have often benefited Russia, at the expense of the West. Among United States officials, the emerging consensus is that Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks probably have no direct ties to Russian intelligence services. But they say that, at least in the case of the Democrats’ emails, Moscow knew it had a sympathetic outlet in WikiLeaks, where intermediaries could drop pilfered documents in the group’s anonymized digital inbox. In an interview on Wednesday with The Times, Mr. Assange said Mrs. Clinton and the Democrats were “whipping up a hysteria about Russia. ” There is “no concrete evidence” that what WikiLeaks publishes comes from intelligence agencies, he said, even as he indicated that he would happily accept such material. WikiLeaks neither targets nor spares any particular nation, he added, but rather works to verify whatever material it is given in service of the public, which “loves it when they get a glimpse into the corrupt machinery that is attempting to rule them. ” But given WikiLeaks’ limited resources and the hurdles of translation, Mr. Assange said, why focus on Russia, which he described as a “bit player on the world stage,” compared with countries like China and the United States? In any event, he said, Kremlin corruption is an old story. “Every man and his dog is criticizing Russia,” he said. “It’s a bit boring, isn’t it?” Since its inception, WikiLeaks has succeeded spectacularly on some fronts, uncovering indiscriminate killing, hypocrisy and corruption, and helping spark the Arab Spring. To Gavin MacFadyen, a WikiLeaks supporter who runs the Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of London, the question for Mr. Assange is not where the material comes from, but whether it is true and in the public interest. He noted that intelligence services had a long history of using news organizations to plant stories, and that Western news outlets often published “material that comes from the C. I. A. uncritically. ” Recent events, though, have left some transparency advocates wondering if WikiLeaks has lost its way. There is a big difference between publishing materials from a like Chelsea Manning — the soldier who gave WikiLeaks its war log and diplomatic cable scoops — and accepting information, even indirectly, from a foreign intelligence service seeking to advance its own powerful interests, said John Wonderlich, the executive director of the Sunlight Foundation, a group devoted to government transparency. “They’re just aligning themselves with whoever gives them information to get attention or revenge against their enemies,” Mr. Wonderlich said. “They’re welcoming governments to hack into each other and disrupt each other’s democratic processes, all on a pretty weak case for the public interest. ” Others see Mr. Assange assuming an increasingly blinkered approach to the world that, coupled with his own secrecy, has left them disillusioned. “The battle for transparency was supposed to be global at least Assange claimed that at the beginning,” said Andrei A. Soldatov, an investigative journalist who has written extensively about Russia’s security services. “It is strange that this principle is not being applied to Assange himself and his dealings with one particular country, and that is Russia,” Mr. Soldatov said. “He seems to think that one may compromise a lot fighting a bigger evil. ” WikiLeaks was just getting started in 2006 when Mr. Assange, an Australian national, sent a mission statement to potential collaborators. One of his goals, he said, was to help expose “illegal or immoral” behavior by governments in the West. Mr. Assange made clear, though, that his main focus lay elsewhere. “Our primary targets are those highly oppressive regimes in China, Russia and Central Eurasia,” he wrote. Shortly after releasing the war logs in 2010, Mr. Assange threatened to make good on that promise. WikiLeaks, he told a Moscow newspaper, had obtained compromising materials “about Russia, about your government and your businessmen. ” But Mr. Assange’s life was soon upended. On Nov. 20 of that year, an international warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with allegations of sexual assault in Sweden, which he denies. Eight days later, WikiLeaks’ release of a cache of State Department cables cast unvarnished — and unwelcome — light on the United States’ diplomatic relationships. As Mr. Assange pointed out in the interview with The Times, many of the cables involved blunt judgments on Russia one called it a “mafia state. ” But the documents proved far more damaging to the United States’ interests than to Russia’s, and officials in Moscow seemed unperturbed. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, dismissed Mr. Assange as a “petty thief running around on the internet. ” Mr. Assange, asked soon after by Time magazine whether he still planned to expose the secret dealings of the Kremlin, reiterated his earlier vow. “Yes indeed,” he said. But that promised assault would not materialize. Instead, with Mr. Assange’s legal troubles mounting, Mr. Putin would come to his defense. In late November 2010, United States officials announced an investigation of WikiLeaks Mrs. Clinton, whose State Department was scrambled by what became known as “Cablegate,” vowed to take “aggressive” steps to hold those responsible to account. The next month, Mr. Assange was arrested by the London police to face questioning by the Swedes, who he feared would turn him over to the Americans. Out on bail, he holed up and fought extradition at a Georgian country house owned by a supporter, Vaughan Smith, who said in an interview that he believed Mr. Assange to be the victim of an “intense online bullying and disinformation” campaign. One day after Mr. Assange’s arrest, the Russian president appeared at a news conference with the French prime minister. Brushing off a questioner who suggested that the diplomatic cables portrayed Russia as undemocratic, Mr. Putin used the opportunity to bash the West. “As far as democracy goes, it should be a complete democracy. Why then did they put Mr. Assange behind bars?” he asked. “There’s an American saying: He who lives in a glass house shouldn’t throw stones. ” It was the first of several times that Mr. Putin would take up Mr. Assange’s cause. He has called the charges against Mr. Assange “politically motivated” and declared that the WikiLeaks founder is being “persecuted for spreading the information he received from the U. S. military regarding the actions of the U. S. A. in the Middle East, including Iraq. ” In January 2011, the Kremlin issued Mr. Assange a visa, and one Russian official suggested that he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. Then, in April 2012, with WikiLeaks’ funding drying up — under American pressure, Visa and MasterCard had stopped accepting donations — Russia Today began broadcasting a show called “The World Tomorrow” with Mr. Assange as the host. How much he or WikiLeaks was paid for the 12 episodes remains unclear. In a written statement, Sunshine Press, which works as his spokesman, said Russia Today “was among a dozen broadcasters that purchased a broadcasting license for his show. ” But on June 19, 2012, Mr. Assange’s narrative quickly took a different turn. He broke bail after losing an appeal against extradition to Sweden and was granted asylum in the tiny embassy of Ecuador in London, overlooking the back of Harrods department store. One year later, a man who would soon eclipse Mr. Assange in terms of fame boarded a plane in Hong Kong. His name was Edward J. Snowden, and he was a National Security Agency having stunned the world and strained American alliances by leaking documents that revealed a United network of global surveillance programs. Mr. Snowden had not given his thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks. Still, it was at the suggestion of Mr. Assange that the flight Mr. Snowden boarded on June 23, 2013, accompanied by his WikiLeaks colleague Sarah Harrison, was bound for Moscow, where Mr. Snowden remains today after the United States canceled his passport en route. In fact, worried that he would be seen as a spy, Mr. Snowden had hoped merely to pass through Russia on his way to South America, Mr. Assange later recounted, a plan he had not fully endorsed. Russia, he believed, could best protect Mr. Snowden from a C. I. A. kidnapping, or worse. “Now I thought, and in fact advised Edward Snowden, that he would be safest in Moscow,” Mr. Assange told the news program Democracy Now. Years earlier, during a November 2010 meeting with New York Times journalists negotiating for access to the diplomatic cables, Mr. Assange had mused about seeking refuge in Russia. Anticipating the likely fallout from the cables’ release, Mr. Assange spoke of relocating to Russia and setting up WikiLeaks there. His associates were openly skeptical of the idea, given the Kremlin’s ruthless surveillance apparatus and tight control over the news media. That Mr. Assange would now advise Mr. Snowden to travel that path is a measure not just of his worldview, but also of his circumstances and personality, friends and former colleagues say. Suelette Dreyfus, a longtime friend of Mr. Assange’s and an academic who studies says his sole motivation is a belief that governments and other large and powerful institutions must be held in check to safeguard the rights of individuals. “This is not an fight,” she said, though “it is being presented as such by people with an agenda. But even as other longtime supporters continue to see Mr. Assange as a courageous crusader — “a moral individual in a world of mass societies,” as one put it — they say he can be vain and childlike, with a tendency to see the world as divided into those who support him and those who do not. During his time isolated in the Ecuadorean Embassy, under constant surveillance, his instinctive mistrust of the West hardened even as he became increasingly numb to the abuses of the Kremlin, which he viewed as a “bulwark against Western imperialism,” said one supporter, who like many others asked for anonymity for fear of angering Mr. Assange. Another person who collaborated with WikiLeaks in the past added: “He views everything through the prism of how he’s treated. America and Hillary Clinton have caused him trouble, and Russia never has. ” The result has been a “ confrontation with the U. S. A. ,” Daniel who before quitting WikiLeaks in 2010 was one of Mr. Assange’s closest partners, has said. And the beneficiary of that confrontation, played out in a series of public statements by Mr. Assange and strategically timed document releases by WikiLeaks, has often been Mr. Putin. While the release of the Democratic Party documents appears to be the first time WikiLeaks has published material that United States officials assert was stolen by Russian intelligence, the agendas of WikiLeaks and Mr. Putin have repeatedly dovetailed since Mr. Assange fled to the embassy. Mr. Assange has at times offered mild criticisms of the Putin government. In a 2011 interview, for instance, he spoke of the “Putinization” of Russia. On Twitter, he has also called attention to Pussy Riot, the punk band whose members were jailed after taking on Mr. Putin. But for the most part, Mr. Assange has remained silent about some of the Russian president’s harshest moves. It was Mr. Snowden, for instance, not Mr. Assange, who took to Twitter in July to denounce a law giving the Kremlin sweeping new surveillance powers. Mr. Assange, asked during Wednesday’s interview about the new law and others like it, acknowledged that Russia had undergone “creeping authoritarianism. ” But he suggested that “that same development” had occurred in the United States. Mr. Assange has also taken a decidedly view of hostilities in Ukraine, where the Obama administration has accused Mr. Putin of supporting the separatists. The United States, Mr. Assange told an Argentine newspaper in March of last year, has been the one meddling there, fomenting unrest by “trying to draw Ukraine into the Western orbit, to pluck it out of Russia’s sphere of influence. ” After the annexation of Crimea, he said Washington and its intelligence allies had “annexed the whole world” through global surveillance. Like Mr. Trump, who stood to gain from the Democratic Party leak, Mr. Assange supported Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, and he has repeatedly gone after NATO — taking on two organizations that Mr. Putin would like nothing more than to defang or dismantle. In September 2014, for instance, Mr. Assange wrote on Twitter about what he called the “corrupt deal” that Turkey engineered to force the suppression of a television station in Denmark in return for allowing that country’s prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, to take the helm of NATO. The timing of his Twitter post was curious on two fronts. It relied on a diplomatic cable that had garnered headlines when WikiLeaks released it four years earlier. And it followed a monthslong tit for tat between Mr. Rasmussen and Mr. Putin, with the Russian president taking the NATO chief to task for secretly recording their private conversation, and Mr. Rasmussen accusing Mr. Putin of playing a “double game” in Ukraine by issuing conciliatory statements while massing troops on the border and shipping weapons to the separatists. Mr. Assange again recycled the story this past June — days after President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine named Mr. Rasmussen a special adviser — this time via a video appearance at a Russian media forum attended by Mr. Putin and timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Information Bureau. Then there are the leaks themselves. Some, such as hacked Church of Scientology documents, are of no obvious benefit to the Russians. But many are. The organization has published leaks of material from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which are United States allies, but also to varying degrees from authoritarian regimes. The leaks came during times of heightened tension between those countries and Russia. The Saudi documents, for instance, which highlighted efforts to manipulate world opinion about the kingdom, were published months after Mr. Putin accused the Saudis of holding down oil prices to harm the economies of Russia and its allies Iran and Venezuela. Another set of leaks indirectly benefited Rosatom, Russia’s atomic energy company. Those documents detailed a “corrupt war by Western and Chinese companies” — including Rosatom’s chief competitors — to obtain uranium and other mining rights in the Central African Republic. WikiLeaks seems aware of a perception problem when it comes to Russia. When Russia Today began broadcasting Mr. Assange’s television program, he joked in a statement that it would be used to “smear” him: “Assange is a hopeless Kremlin stooge!” And Sunshine Press, the group’s public relations voice, pointed out that in 2012 WikiLeaks also published an archive it called the Syria files — more than two million emails from and about the government of President Bashar whom Russia is supporting in Syria’s civil war. Yet at the time of the release, Mr. Assange’s associate, Ms. Harrison, characterized the material as “embarrassing to Syria, but it is also embarrassing to Syria’s opponents. ” Since then, Mr. Assange has accused the United States of deliberately destabilizing Syria, but has not publicly criticized human rights abuses by Mr. Assad and Russian forces fighting there. Many of the documents WikiLeaks has published are classified, such as a C. I. A. tutorial on how to maintain cover in foreign airports. But what may be WikiLeaks’ most intriguing release of secret documents involved what is, on the surface, a less sensational topic: trade negotiations. From November 2013 to May 2016, WikiLeaks published documents describing internal deliberations on two trade pacts: the Partnership, which would liberalize trade between the United States, Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim countries, and the Trade in Services Agreement, an accord between the United States, 21 other countries and the European Union. Russia, which was excluded, has been the most vocal opponent of the pacts, with Mr. Putin portraying them as an effort to give the United States an unfair leg up in the global economy. The drafts released by WikiLeaks stirred controversy among environmentalists, advocates of internet freedom and privacy, labor leaders and corporate governance watchdogs, among others. They also stoked populist resentment against free trade that has become an important factor in American and European politics. The material was released at critical moments, with the apparent aim of thwarting negotiations, American trade officials said. WikiLeaks highlighted the domestic and international discord on its Twitter accounts. American negotiators assumed that the leaks had come from a party at the table seeking leverage. Then in July 2015, on the day American and Japanese negotiators were working out the final details of the Partnership, came what WikiLeaks dubbed its “Target Tokyo” release. Relying on N. S. A. documents, the release highlighted 35 American espionage targets in Japan, including cabinet members and trade negotiators, as well as companies like Mitsubishi. The trade accord was finally agreed on — though it has not been ratified by the United States Senate — but the document release threw a wrench into the talks. “The lesson for Japan is this: Do not expect a global surveillance superpower to act with honor or respect,” Mr. Assange said in a news release at the time. “There is only one rule: There are no rules. ” Because of the files’ provenance, United States intelligence officials assumed that Mr. Assange had gotten his hands on some of the N. S. A. documents copied by Mr. Snowden. But in an interview, Glenn Greenwald, one of the two journalists entrusted with the full Snowden archive, said that Mr. Snowden had not given his documents to WikiLeaks and that the “Target Tokyo” documents were not even among those Mr. Snowden had taken. The same is true, Mr. Greenwald said, of another set of N. S. A. intercepts released by WikiLeaks that showed that the United States bugged conversations of United Nations officials and European allies, including private talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and the United Nations secretary general, Ban . On Wednesday, Mr. Assange said he had his own separate sources for N. S. A. material. That raises the question of whether another, N. S. A. is leaking documents to WikiLeaks, or whether the files were obtained from the outside via a sophisticated cyberespionage operation, possibly sponsored by a state actor. That question was underscored by Mr. Assange’s statement a few weeks ago that he would release the codes that the United States uses to hack others. And that has some former collaborators questioning just who is giving Mr. Assange his information these days. “It’s not in his temperament to be a cat’s paw, and I don’t think he would take anything overtly from the F. S. B. ,” said one, referring to the Russian intelligence agency. “He wouldn’t trust them enough. But if someone could plausibly be seen as a hacker group, he’d be fine. He was never too thorough about checking out sources or motivations. ” In April of this year, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists unleashed a torrent of articles that reverberated around the world. Based on 11. 5 million leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm that specialized in creating secretive offshore companies, the “Panama Papers” offered a look inside a shadowy world in which banks, law firms and asset management companies help the world’s rich and powerful hide wealth and avoid taxes. It was the largest archive of leaked documents that journalists had ever handled, and so it was no surprise that WikiLeaks initially linked to the consortium’s work on Twitter. But what shocked some of the journalists involved was what WikiLeaks did next. Among the biggest stories was one showing how billions of dollars had wound up in shell companies controlled by one of Mr. Putin’s closest friends, a cellist named Sergei P. Roldugin. Nearly a dozen news organizations, including two of Russia’s last independent newspapers, Vedomosti and Novaya Gazeta, had collaborated in tracing the money. But WikiLeaks seized on the contribution of just one: the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. In a series of Twitter posts after the revelations about Mr. Roldugin, WikiLeaks questioned the integrity of the reporting, noting that the project had received grants from the Soros Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development. Mr. Assange, in an interview with Al Jazeera, reiterated the suggestion that the consortium, with a agenda, had the documents it chose to release. “There was clearly a conscious effort to go with the Putin bashing, North Korea bashing, sanctions bashing, etc. ,” he said. In fact, the consortium’s opening salvo featured many articles with Western targets, including one on the use of offshore companies in tax havens by the father of Minister David Cameron of Britain. Another focused on an offshore company set up by the Ukrainian president, Mr. Poroshenko, a Putin enemy. Nevertheless, Mr. Putin seized on WikiLeaks’ take on the controversy to defend himself. He declared that while the articles suggested that “there is this friend of the Russian president, and they say he has done something, probably in fact there is no corruption involved at all. ” “Besides,” he added, “we now know from WikiLeaks that officials and state agencies in the United States are behind all this. ” Gerard Ryle, the consortium’s director, chalked Mr. Assange’s actions up to professional jealousy. The leaker, who remains anonymous, said in a manifesto in May that the Panama Papers had first been offered to WikiLeaks, but that multiple attempts to contact the organization had gone unanswered. (Mr. Assange said he had no knowledge of that.) But Mr. Soldatov, the Russian investigative journalist, was so furious that he confronted Ms. Harrison, Mr. Assange’s associate, at a journalism conference in Italy the next day. “Many journalists at Novaya Gazeta were killed” after reporting on Mr. Putin’s Russia, he told her, “and now their integrity is questioned by WikiLeaks?” It is striking, Mr. Soldatov said in an interview, that Mr. Snowden, who is stuck in Moscow, is far more willing to criticize Mr. Putin than is Mr. Assange, whom he sees as an apologist. Roman Shleynov, who worked on the project first at Vedmosti and then as an editor at the Organized Crime and Reporting Project, said that he, too, was “at a loss” to explain Mr. Assange’s attack on the Panama Papers. “For me it was a surprise that Mr. Assange was repeating the same excuse that our officials, even back in Soviet days, used to say — that it’s all some conspiracy from abroad,” Mr. Shleynov said. “I understand his struggle with the United States,” he added, “but I never thought he’d use our work, the work of Russian journalists, to make such a statement. I respected and still respect what Julian Assange has done, but I have changed my opinion of him as a person. ” Mr. Assange has always insisted, “I am WikiLeaks,” and it seems truer now than ever. Four years into his time at the Ecuadorean Embassy, he is increasingly isolated. Now 45, he lives in two small rooms: an office equipped with a bed, sunlamp, phone, computer, kitchenette, shower, treadmill and bookshelves, and a conference room where he can meet with visitors and oversee the operation with the help of a few dozen employees, mostly in Berlin. One person familiar with the setup called it “a gas station with two attendants. ” Melinda Taylor, one of Mr. Assange’s lawyers, said that he needed dental work and a magnetic resonance imaging scan for a painful shoulder, but that those procedures could not be done inside the embassy for practical and insurance reasons. He also has a vitamin D deficiency from a lack of sunlight, she said, and “severe depression exacerbated” by his legal travails. Mr. Smith, who still supports and visits Mr. Assange, said, “Julian’s a big bloke, with big bones, and he fills the room physically and intellectually. ” “It’s a tiny embassy with a tiny balcony,” he added, “small, hot and with not great air flow, and it must be jolly difficult for everyone there. ” And public spats with allies are not uncommon. One involves Mr. Assange’s insistence that document troves should be published in their entirety, not curated by journalists who might have agendas. In his interview with The Times on Wednesday, Mr. Assange criticized the Panama Papers consortium for not making all the documents in its possession public, calling it censorship. “It is not the WikiLeaks model,” he said. “In fact, it is the model. ” WikiLeaks did collaborate with journalists on the war logs and diplomatic cables. But Mr. Assange’s decision to abandon that approach in the name of total transparency is what led Mr. Snowden to work with Mr. Greenwald and another journalist on the N. S. A. revelations. Mr. Snowden felt openness should be balanced with concern for people’s privacy and safety. After the release of the Democratic Party documents this summer, Mr. Snowden criticized WikiLeaks on Twitter for not redacting the Social Security numbers and credit card information of private individuals named in the trove. WikiLeaks shot back on Twitter: “Opportunism won’t earn you a pardon from Clinton curation is not censorship of ruling party cash flows. ” Mr. Greenwald said of Mr. Assange, “He’s alienated a lot of people. ” “It’s often hard for me to separate my personal views of Julian with my views of WikiLeaks” he added. “I do think on balance WikiLeaks is a force for good. ” Friends can differ, Mr. Assange said in the interview. Still, some of his staunchest supporters, like the heiress Jemima Goldsmith Khan, have turned on him, troubled by what they see as a double standard. In an opinion piece for the New Statesman, Ms. Khan wrote that WikiLeaks, which was created to produce a more just society, “has been guilty of the same obfuscation and misinformation as those it sought to expose. ” In February, Mr. Assange received legal news that he hoped would be a game changer. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled that he was being arbitrarily detained and should be released freely and with compensation for the violation of his rights. But the opinion was nonbinding and has been rejected by British and Swedish courts. “The U. S. and the West will hold out a U. N. working group decision when it is in their favor,” said Jennifer Robinson, one of his lawyers. “But when it’s about Julian Assange, they criticize and undermine. ” A few weeks ago came a possible breakthrough: an agreement for Swedish prosecutors to question Mr. Assange about the rape allegations. But Ms. Taylor said that even if the Swedes declined to prosecute, Mr. Assange still feared being held by Britain on charges and turned over to the United States, where an investigation into his leak activities remains open. “The uncertainty gets to him,” she said. Mr. Assange tries to keep his mind off his troubles with his guitar and a cat given to him by his children, but what really lifts his spirits is publishing new leaks like the Democrats’ files. “The work keeps him going,” said his colleague, Ms. Harrison. Is there an October surprise in his back pocket? “Julian loves misinformation it’s his passion,” Mr. Greenwald said. “He’d likely say this just to make the Clintons uncomfortable. ” For his part, Mr. Assange is looking a bit further on. “Let’s leap forward a couple of years,” he said in the interview. “Let’s imagine that rival intelligence services — in the U. S. in China — went to settle their conflicts about who is right, who’s the good actor, who’s the bad actor, on a particular situation by presenting the public the truth. “That’s the most amazing advance I can think of. ” | 1 |
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. A new plot twist in a Washington drama: Two White House officials helped Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, view the secret reports that showed incidental surveillance of the Trump campaign. Several U. S. officials identified the pair as Ezra the senior director for intelligence at the National Security Council, and Michael Ellis, who works at the White House Counsel’s Office. In the evening, we learned that Michael Flynn, the national security adviser, had offered to talk to congressional investigators, if he is granted immunity. _____ 2. President Trump spent part of the day inciting fellow Republicans. “The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, fast,” he wrote on Twitter. The bloc’s foiling of the health care bill has rekindled the civil war between the party’s establishment and conservatives like Representative Dave Brat of Virginia, above. In the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence cast the deciding “yea” vote on a measure to allow states to block funding to clinics that perform abortions. _____ 3. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is heading to his first NATO meeting, after meeting with the Turkish president. Mr. Tillerson showered praise on the Turkish government, which has been accused of authoritarian tactics. But he got an earful over U. S. support for Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria. _____ 4. Just two months into the Trump presidency, the U. S. military is becoming more involved in a string of complex wars that lack clear endgames — and often endanger civilians. In the latest case, Mr. Trump relaxed engagement rules for counterterrorism strikes in Somalia, preparing to escalate the campaign against the Islamist group Shabab. Above, a child in a cholera center in Baidoa, Somalia, just a few miles from Shabab territory. _____ 5. Uproar on opposite sides of the world. In South Korea, the ousted president, Park was arrested on criminal charges of bribery and abuse of power. And in Venezuela, there was a big step toward rule under the leftist president, Nicolás Maduro, as his loyalists on the Supreme Court effectively dissolved the elected legislature. _____ 6. North Carolina’s legislature passed a bill to repeal its “bathroom bill,” and the governor immediately signed it. The repeal, ending public bathroom rules aimed at transgender people, does not satisfy many critics. And it’s not yet clear whether it will reverse a national backlash from companies, entertainers and sports leagues — most notably the N. C. A. A. — that boycotted the state, calling the law discriminatory. _____ 7. “Sometimes I think they’ll come again, even here. I have nightmares — they’re coming to kill me, they’re coming to kill me. ” That girl is one of 130, 000 people who fled the Islamist militants of Boko Haram, only to find themselves stuck along a barren desert highway in Niger, near the Nigerian border. It’s a literal road to nowhere. Begun by a Chinese oil company, construction stopped two years ago after attacks spiked. _____ 8. A vanguard of prosecutors across the country has jettisoned the traditional ’ approach and embraced alternatives to harsh punishment. Some are facing a backlash from law enforcement groups and more conservative politicians. Among them is Aramis Ayala, the new chief prosecutor in Orlando, who announced this month that she would no longer seek the death penalty. _____ 9. A first for the space industry: SpaceX launched a commercial satellite into space with the boost of a partly used rocket, a feat that may open an era of cheaper space travel. And it might be able to be used again, because the rocket returned in one piece, landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic. _____ 10. A revival of the 1978 musical “Zoot Suit” is a smash hit in Los Angeles, where fans have been showing up decked out in vintage gear. The production, which was also adapted for film, is a fantastical reimagining of the Sleepy Lagoon murder case in 1942, in which youths were unjustly convicted by a biased judge. “We still have some of the same problems,” said Leka Im, above left with her twin sister Lekit. “This is something we all need to see to understand L. A. ” _____ 11. Finally, dive into a futuristic whodunit: “Ghost in the Shell,” a movie adaptation of a Japanese comic book, in theaters this weekend. The director, Rupert Sanders, discusses a scene featuring Scarlett Johansson, who plays a character who physically walks through a geisha robot’s digital memories to figure out how the robot was hacked. Have a great night. Photographs may appear out of order for some readers. Viewing this version of the briefing should help. Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p. m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a. m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a. m. Sundays. Want to look back? Here’s last night’s briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 1 |
In Washington, D. C. teachers at child care centers will soon join preschool teachers in needing college degrees — one of a series of policies nationwide requiring higher education for the people who take care of young children. Advocates say it’s a way to ensure that teachers are qualified to nurture children at a crucial phase of development. They cite evidence that early childhood education helps children, especially disadvantaged ones, for the rest of their lives — but that preschool can hurt more than none at all. Critics, meanwhile, say there is nothing about taking care of young children that requires a college education. Mandating such credentials, they say, only makes child care even less affordable and reduces the supply and diversity of people able to do the job. The debate has become more urgent as researchers have discovered that children develop wide achievement gaps well before kindergarten, which fuels inequality. Yet teaching and caring for young children is still considered a job. So what does the data show? Teachers’ level of education is associated with care and teaching, and there is no evidence that it doesn’t matter. However, there is also no clear evidence that it’s necessary, or sufficient on its own, without being combined with other policies — particularly paying teachers higher wages. “Is it just that teachers have degrees? No, it’s all this other stuff,” said Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers. “But by the same token, there’s no evidence that excellent quality would happen if the teachers don’t receive the education and the compensation that goes with it. ” In 2015, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine called for all preschool teachers to have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood development or education, but added, “A policy requirement for a degree implemented in isolation, without addressing other workforce development considerations, would be insufficient to yield these improvements. ” Of the 57 programs (some states have more than one) 33 require that lead teachers have a bachelor’s degree, according to the Rutgers institute. And of teachers in Head Start, a federal program, now have college degrees, exceeding a requirement introduced 10 years ago that half of the program’s teachers have such a credential. The new policy in Washington expands the rules beyond programs, requiring that directors of licensed child care centers or preschools have bachelor’s degrees and that teachers have associate degrees. One of the challenges in assessing the policies is that there has never been a large study, like a controlled trial that randomly placed children in a classroom with a teacher or not — and that also controlled for other variables that influence quality. Many studies have looked at whether teacher education is correlated with quality programs, and they have mostly found that it is. Still, it’s impossible to disentangle whether the teachers’ degrees caused the quality to improve or, more likely, whether it was a combination of factors, including compensation, class size, ratios, classroom atmosphere, curriculum, leadership and continuing education. The studies have also not answered whether a teacher’s major makes a difference, or if a degree is more helpful than a one. “You can have the best degree in the world, but you get into a program that has high turnover or a bad director, and you can’t necessarily apply what you know,” said Marcy Whitebook, director of the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of California, Berkeley, and a former preschool teacher. Studies of public early childhood programs, including in New Jersey and Oklahoma, have found positive outcomes for children when the teachers had college degrees. But since they all had degrees, it’s unclear whether the degree is what helped, something else or a combination. Several by different researchers analyzing dozens of studies have found positive and statistically significant relationships between teachers’ education and the quality of care and children’s outcomes. But each of the researchers emphasized that the studies could not determine that education caused the difference. “The professionalization of the early childhood sector through more qualified staff may lead to significant gains for children and their families,” Matthew Manning of Australian National University and his wrote in an analysis, published in January, of 48 studies from various countries. “However, the evidence is from correlational studies, so evidence is needed from studies with designs which can assess causal effects. ” One of seven studies did not find an overall positive relationship: In two of the studies, it found that quality was higher when the teacher had a bachelor’s degree, but in one study the quality was lower, and in four it was unaffected. Yet the researchers, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said there was no way to measure the quality of education the teachers received, which in some cases happened three decades earlier, or whether the schools in which they taught had the resources for them to implement what they learned. Because preschool and child care teachers are paid so little, if people working in or entering the field get college degrees, they eventually take jobs in elementary schools instead, several analyses have found. The average salary for an early childhood teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $27, 200 to $42, 800, depending on the setting and children’s age, while the average salary for an elementary teacher with the same education is $56, 100, according to the Berkeley center. Access to child care is already insufficient, experts say, and researchers fear that requiring a degree would turn away potential teachers, particularly those who are not white or at a time when the student population is diversifying. Yet if preschools raise wages enough to make a college degree worth it, the cost could get passed on to parents, possibly making it unaffordable for families and widening the gap in access, according to Pamela Kelley and Gregory Camilli of Rutgers. There are some efforts to provide scholarships and raise wages. But ultimately, it would probably require something the United States has long resisted: universal public financing of early childhood education. “Compensation policy has to go along with this,” Mr. Barnett said. “If it doesn’t, then really there isn’t any reason to do it. ” | 1 |
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. Donald Trump vowed to “defeat radical Islamic terrorism” in a speech to enthusiastic supporters in Ohio. He said President Obama and Hillary Clinton had failed to protect the country, and he called for “extreme vetting” of potential immigrants and alliances with any nation willing to fight the Islamic State. At the same time, there was new scrutiny of Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, after investigators in Ukraine found secret ledgers designating more than $12 million in payments to him from a party. Mr. Manafort’s lawyer said no such payments were received. _____ 2. Vice President Joe Biden received a warm welcome as he campaigned with Hillary Clinton in Scranton, Pa. his hometown and that of her father. He warned bluntly that Mr. Trump was a threat to national security and the NATO alliance, saying, “This guy’s shame has no limits. ” _____ 3. The mother of an American Olympian described how the Brazilian authorities blew up her suitcase, fearing a bomb: “Some of the clothes were salvageable, but some were melted. Some had holes. My American flag was melted. ” Despite such screenings and the surge of tens of thousands of agents in Rio, the Games have seen an unusually high number of crimes, including the gunpoint robbery of Ryan Lochte and several other swimmers. Brazilians fear violence in the troubled city will explode when the competition ends and the extra officers go home. _____ 4. American gymnasts won two more medals: Laurie Hernandez, the youngest member of the U. S. team, took the silver medal on the balance beam, and Simone Biles earned bronze, her fourth medal. The running world marveled at Usain Bolt’s third consecutive Olympic gold in the dash. And the Games crowned a new superstar: Ans Botha, above center, the who coaches Wayde van Niekerk, the South African runner to the left above, who smashed a record in the 400 meters. Our full coverage of the Games is here. _____ 5. Good news: Scientists discovered that a coral reef they’d given up for dead had returned to vibrant life. “Everything looked just magnificent,” said a scientist who led an expedition to the reef this month. The reef’s recovery offers hope for other reefs damaged by warming ocean temperatures. _____ 6. Firefighters, the National Guard, the Coast Guard and ordinary citizens joined forces with rescuers in southern Louisiana, racing to pluck people to safety before flooding worsened. The death toll rose to at least six and four parishes have been declared disaster areas. More than 20, 000 people have been evacuated, 11, 000 are in shelters and the authorities say the numbers will grow. Rain continues to pelt the area. _____ 7. Milwaukee plans to aggressively enforce a curfew of 10 p. m. for teenagers under 17, and the National Guard remains on standby. The city is struggling to quell a burst of unrest in the neighborhood of Sherman Park after a armed suspect was fatally shot by a police officer, both black. “We’re going to make sure that there is peace and order restored to this neighborhood,” said the mayor, Tom Barrett. Above, a prayer vigil. _____ 8. Comedy Central canceled the “Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore. ” That’s the latest in two years of shakeouts in television set off by the loss of David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart and “The Colbert Report. ” Mr. Wilmore said he was saddened not to be covering the election and surprised that what he calls “The Unblackening” of the White House would be “happening to my time slot as well. ” _____ 9. There were more pleas for help for some two million people trapped in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo, above. Russian officials offered hope for greater aid access, saying they were near an agreement with the U. S. to combine forces against the Islamic State. U. S. officials made no comment. In Yemen, where a Saudi bombing campaign against Houthi militias has resumed, Doctors Without Borders said an airstrike on one of its hospitals had left at least 15 people dead. _____ 10. The bidding is over and we should know soon who will own Gawker Media. The company filed for bankruptcy and put itself up for sale after being hit with a $140 million legal judgment in an lawsuit by the former wrestler Hulk Hogan. Among the likeliest top bidders: Ziff Davis, Univision, New York magazine, Penske Media and Vox Media. _____ 11. Finally, “Young people are not interested in becoming indebted in the way that their parents are or were. ” So says an expert on the payment industry, commenting on Federal Reserve data showing a more than in the percentage of Americans under 35 with credit card debt. _____ Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p. m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a. m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a. m. Sundays. Want to look back? Here’s the Weekend Briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 1 |
We Are Change
In this video Luke Rudkowski interviews Matt a computer programmer who’s allowing everyone to run there own election polls. Already 800,000 people in the U.S were independently polled and the findings contradict the main stream media polls.
https://www.callforamerica.com/
The post THE POLLS CAN NO LONGER BE RIGGED THIS ELECTION appeared first on We Are Change .
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for “free and fair” trade deals in Asia, echoing Donald Trump’s promise to America when he campaigned against the Partnership (TPP). [Abe, of course, was an active supporter of the deal drafted by former President Obama, but he signaled a different approach during his visit. “Free and fair common set of rules should be created for the free trade in the region,” Abe said, according to a translator during a press conference at the White House with Trump on Friday. The prime minister appeared optimistic that he could discuss the possibility of a bilateral trade deal with Trump. Trump hinted that he wanted to do something about China’s devalued currency to bring about a more level playing field, especially on trade issues. “That’s the only way that you can fairly compete in trade and other things,” he said. “And we will be on that field, and we will all be working very hard to do great for our country. But it has to be fair, and we will make it fair. ” After the press conference, the two leaders released a statement noting that they would continue discussing “a bilateral framework” as well as regional economic stability. Abe said he was looking forward to his weekend at with Trump and commented about golf. “We will play golf together,” he said. “My scores in golf are not up to the level of Donald at all. ” | 1 |
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Google 'Discovery of Peculiar Periodic Spectral Modulations in a Small Fraction of Solar-type Stars' to find the paper.
On October 10, 2016 a paper titled 'Discovery of peculiar periodic spectral modulations in a small fraction of solar type stars' was submitted by E.F. Borra and E. Trottier. The paper discusses signals from under 300 stars that directly point to extraterrestrial intelligence. Since the release of the paper it has been rarely discussed in the media although it's huge news. If you enjoy this video please like, share and subscribe to QUFOSR. Tags | 0 |
Home › SOCIETY | US NEWS › NATIONAL ANTHEM PROTESTS LEADING CAUSE FOR NFL RATINGS DROP NATIONAL ANTHEM PROTESTS LEADING CAUSE FOR NFL RATINGS DROP 0 SHARES [10/18/16] There are many reasons why the NFL’s ratings are down in 2016. You may be dismissive of the very idea that the backlash to the national anthem protests, sparked by the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick, has played a role in the NFL’s TV ratings, which have dropped by about 12 percent year-over-year. To continue to dismiss that is to blatantly ignore legitimate data on the subject.
A fresh poll from Seton Hall surveyed 841 adults across the U.S. Each respondent was asked to identify seven separate factors as a reason for the NFL ratings drop, allowing them to answer “yes” or “no” for each of them. The leading factor, according to the poll, was the national anthem protests, which scored “yes” at a rate of 56 percent.
Other answers also scored “yes” at a high rate, including 50 percent of “yeses” for coverage of the presidential election, 47 percent for the league’s handling of domestic violence cases, 44 percent for the over-saturation of the market, 39 percent for increased interest in postseason baseball, and 33 percent for controversy over head injuries and player safety.
Interestingly enough, the lowest score, tied with player safety at 33 percent, was “a decline in quality of play on the field.” Many would cite this as the overriding factor to all of this, and it certainly is factoring in. Post navigation | 0 |
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