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Store Communists Terrorize Small Business The owner of the Blue Cat Cafe is the victim of recent terrorist attacks on her business by communists protesters based in Austin Infowars.com - October 27, 2016 Comments NEWSLETTER SIGN UP Download on your mobile device now for free. Today on the Show Get the latest breaking news & specials from Alex Jones and the Infowars crew. From the store Featured Videos FEATURED VIDEOS Donald Trump Has Won The 2016 Presidential Election - See the rest on the Alex Jones YouTube channel . BREAKING: Michael Moore Admits Trump Is Right - See the rest on the Alex Jones YouTube channel . ILLUSTRATION How much will your healthcare premiums rise in 2017? >25% © 2016 Infowars.com is a Free Speech Systems, LLC Company. All rights reserved. Digital Millennium Copyright Act Notice. 34.95 22.46 Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with Brain Force the next generation of neural activation from Infowars Life. http://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/brainforce-25-200-e1476824046577.jpg http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force Brain Force – 25% OFF 34.95 22.46 Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with Brain Force the next generation of neural activation from Infowars Life. http://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/brainforce-25-200-e1476824046577.jpg http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force Brain Force – 25% OFF 34.95 22.46 Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with Brain Force the next generation of neural activation from Infowars Life. http://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/brainforce-25-200-e1476824046577.jpg http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force Brain Force – 25% OFF 34.95 22.46 Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with Brain Force the next generation of neural activation from Infowars Life. http://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/brainforce-25-200-e1476824046577.jpg http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force Brain Force – 25% OFF 34.95 22.46 Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with Brain Force the next generation of neural activation from Infowars Life. http://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/brainforce-25-200-e1476824046577.jpg http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force Brain Force – 25% OFF 34.95 22.46 Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with Brain Force the next generation of neural activation from Infowars Life. http://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/brainforce-25-200-e1476824046577.jpg http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force http://www.infowarsstore.com/health-and-wellness/infowars-life/brain-force.html?ims=tzrwu&utm_campaign=Infowars+Placement&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=Brain+Force | 0 |
VIA Conservative Tribune
In 2000, computer programmer Clinton “Clint” Curtis was ordered to design an undetectable computer program that could flip the results of a close election, according to ClashDaily and the St. Petersburg Times, now the Tampa Bay Times .
Curtis testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee that his employer, Yang Enterprises Inc., told him, “We need to steal an election.” The program was intended for the computerized voting machines to which Florida would be transitioning starting in 2002.
You can watch the video here:
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO
This is it, folks. Despite the liberal media’s efforts to convince us all otherwise and paint naysayers as conspiracy theorists, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is right. Rigging an election has never been easier.
The left painted Clint Curtis as a nut, a conspiracy theorist, a disgruntled ex-employee. They published photoshopped images of him wearing a tinfoil hat and did everything possible to discredit one man who was standing up for the truth.
Curtis voluntarily took a polygraph test, alleging that one of the consultants at his employer was a Chinese national and convicted spy. Yang Enterprises denied ever knowing consultant Hai Lin Nee, while in fact they had been assisting him for years in repeatedly extending his U.S. Visa.
The Florida Department of Transportation inspector investigating the ballot tampering allegations, Raymond Lemme, was found dead in an apparent suicide. Both Curtis and Lemme’s family members believe he was murdered.
In 2005, computer experts demonstrated for officials in Leon County, Florida, how simple it was to flip election results while leaving no detectable trace of their efforts.
Where is the liberal media in all this? Where are the Democrats who are supposedly so concerned with our fundamental rights?
They’re in a back room, preparing to steal an election if the people’s voice isn’t heard on Election Day. On Nov. 8, be that decent person standing up for truth.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that the election is rigged?
Share us your thoughts in the comments section below. | 0 |
BERLIN — You could never palm it, flip it or plunk it into a vending machine. But apparently it can be pinched: One of the world’s largest gold coins, a Canadian monster called the Big Maple Leaf, was stolen overnight from the Bode Museum in Berlin, the police said on Monday. The coin is about 21 inches in diameter and over an inch thick. It has the head of Queen Elizabeth II on one side and a maple leaf on the other. Its face value is 1 million Canadian dollars, or about $750, 000, but by gold content alone, it is worth as much as $4. 5 million at current market prices. And though it weighs about as much as a refrigerator, somehow thieves apparently managed to lug it through the museum and up at least one floor to get it out of a window at the back of the building. The police are still trying to figure out exactly how they did it. The Bode Museum, which sits on Museum Island in the Spree River, is part of the complex belonging to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, or in German, the Preussischer Kulturbesitz. The local commuter railway runs across the island along the back of the museum. The burglars seemed to have broken in through a window above the railway tracks during the hours when the trains pause for the night. The police were alerted to the at 4 a. m. and think that it took place between 3:20 a. m. and 3:45 a. m. The window, some three to four yards above the tracks, stood ajar and appeared to have been “forcibly opened,” said Winfrid Wenzel, a police spokesman. Officers searching the crime scene found a ladder on the elevated railway’s roadbed, which is near the museum’s back wall. The police declined to give further details, including whether security cameras monitored that window, or whether the museum’s alarm systems had gone off. The Big Maple Leaf had been on display since December 2010, on a floor below the window in its own bulletproof case. It was surrounded by other, smaller gold coins. The bulletproof glass “appeared to have been violently shattered,” Mr. Wenzel said. But the thieves seemed to know what they wanted the smaller gold coins were untouched. Given the coin’s weight, the authorities said they suspected that more than one person was involved. Their theory for now is that the thieves dragged the coin through the museum, out the window and then along the railway track, possibly reaching a park on the opposite bank of the river near the Hackescher Markt, a public square in Berlin that is home to a number of bars and cafes. The police appealed for clues from anyone who had been in the area at that time. Experts said it would be difficult to sell the stolen coin, but worried that it could be melted down and the gold resold on the open market. The museum is regularly closed on Mondays and is expected to reopen as planned on Tuesday. In addition to paintings, sculptures and other works of art, the museum displays what it says is one of the largest collection of coins and medals in the world, with about 500, 000 objects. The Royal Canadian Mint created its first coin, in Canadian dollars, as a demonstration in 2007 — “because we can,” the mint says on its website — to draw attention to its series of more modestly sized, if still costly, pure gold coins. But Alex Reeves, a spokesman for the mint, said it decided to produce up to 10 copies of the Big Maple Leaf after being approached by potential buyers. Interest, however, has been limited. Only five have been produced for sale to date the last delivery was made in 2008. “We were satisfied with selling five coins we didn’t expect to sell at all,” Mr. Reeves said. A granite display stand is supplied with the coin when purchased. Mr. Reeves said that the mint, which still has the first coin “safe and sound in our high security vault,” moves it around in a trunk with casters similar to those used by traveling music acts and stage shows. Not included, however, is any sort of theft protection plan. “Customers are responsible for security of their own assets,” Mr. Reeves said. | 1 |
The Berkeley College Republicans and the Young America’s Foundation have filed a lawsuit against members of the University of California system for their role in restricting an upcoming speaking event featuring Ann Coulter. [Our lawsuit agst Berkeley filed moments ago. @thomasfullerNYT at failing NYT won’t understand it. Read it yourself https: . — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) April 24, 2017, The suit alleges that administrators unlawfully violated the student’s rights to free expression on campus by placing unusual restrictions on events that the Berkeley College Republicans organized. An event featuring renowned conservative commentator David Horowitz was canceled after the university forced students to hold the event at 3 PM when most students are in class, at a venue far from the center of campus. According to the suit, Berkeley is accused of engaging in a discriminatory practice of applying unusual time and venue restrictions on events planned by the UCB College Republicans. These restrictions have led to the cancellation of two events in the month of April 2017. Defendants engage in a pattern and practice of enforcing a recently adopted, unwritten and unpublished policy that vests in University officials the unfettered discretion to unreasonably restrict the time, place, and manner of any campus event involving “ speakers” — a term that is wholly undefined, and that has enabled Defendants to apply this policy in a discriminatory fashion, resulting in the marginalization of the expression of conservative viewpoints on campus by any notable conservative speaker. Defendants freely admit that they have permitted the demands of a faceless, rabid, mob to dictate what speech is permitted at the center of campus during prime time, and which speech may be marginalized, burdened, and regulated out of its very existence by this unlawful heckler’s veto. The suit condemns the University of California system for failing to provide an academic environment that promotes free debate and the free exchange of ideas, which students were promised at the time of their enrollment. Though UC Berkeley promises its students an environment that promotes free debate and the free exchange of ideas, it had breached this promise through the repressive actions of University administrators and campus police, who have systematically and intentionally suppressed expression by Plaintiffs (and the many UC Berkeley students whose political viewpoints align with Plaintiffs) simply because that expression may anger or offend students, UC Berkeley administators, community members who do not share Plaintiffs’ viewpoints. Read the whole lawsuit below: Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about economics and higher education for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart. com, | 0 |
If you visit a certain beach in northeastern Madagascar, don’t wear red and don’t even think of speaking French. Across most of the island nation, be very careful where you point, lest your finger accidentally find an ancestor’s grave. And in certain areas of the country, do your best not to defecate in the same place twice. Behavior in Madagascar is governed by thousands of cultural taboos, or fady (pronounced ) many of which involve food (don’t eat goat or eel) days of the week (no funerals or farming on Tuesday) and objects (don’t use shovels with firm handles to bury the dead). Specific places associated with ancestors, who are revered, also carry a lot of fady (no playing of a game similar to near a tomb). Some of these prohibitions apply only in a single community, or even to a single family, while others are followed regionally. Breaking a fady invites both social shame and even direr consequences from the ancestors believed to enforce them. The repercussions can be as specific as the taboos: Sing while eating and your teeth will grow uncomfortably long. If a fady is considered overly onerous — say, a travel restriction that interferes with a promising business opportunity — a ritual negotiation can be held with the ancestors. To outsiders, fady can seem like a long and random list of superstitious rules, some silly (don’t build verandas, and don’t pass an egg directly to another person) some environmentally beneficial (eating most species of lemurs is fady, as is fishing in certain parts of the sea, to the benefit of coral reefs) and some harmful (among the Antambahoaka, an ethnic group in the southeast, a fady against raising twins led to a practice of abandoning them in the forest, and a fady against eating dried sweet potato has contributed to malnutrition). But Sarah Osterhoudt, an anthropologist at Indiana University, said fady are crucial to the identity and worldview of the Malagasy, as the people of Madagascar are known. “To the Malagasy, the idea of bringing together all different parts of life — the past and the present, the social and the political, the spiritual and the mundane” — is very important, she said. “Fady do this beautifully. ” | 0 |
President Obama and President-Elect Donald Trump Meet at White House: Share: | 0 |
October 27, 2016 DailyStormer:
We may well win so hard on the 8th that it won't matter how much bussing they do, won't matter how many illegals vote
What worries me is we don't know yet how many dead people are going to vote Democrat. October 27, 2016
I live in Florida and I have yet to see a Hillary sign anywhere, and I see literally thousands of Trump signs. Even the blacks here are for Trump. I've only met a handful of Clinton supporters and they were all female college students. Trump will not lose Florida! | 0 |
No one does epic better than the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It brought Pergamon to New York last spring and got the balance of giant and delicate right. It flew in medieval Jerusalem, and kept its multicultural sprawl intact. Now, in the exhibition “Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 B. C. . D. 220),” it brings us China becoming China in a take as strange and warm as life. We love life, of course, all the details: sparrows in the forsythia books and lamps and coffee the voice of a friend on the phone. The ancient Chinese loved it, too, and wanted it to last forever. China’s first emperor believed it might. He viewed death as a kind of power nap, from which he’d awake refreshed in a tomb that was like an earthly home, but better, more fun. He designed his mausoleum as an underground with countless pavilions, great feng shui and a major security force. For light, there were candles, the most expensive money could buy, guaranteed to keep burning after he’d moved in — he died in 210 B. C. — and the doors had shut for the last time. Those lights are still burning in the Met’s hypnotic, exhibition of 160 objects from 32 museums in China, which opens on Monday. Of the museum’s several presentations of Chinese antiquities over the past 20 years, this one is probably the most dramatic visually and the most accessible emotionally. There’s a certain amount of the type of art the Met is too comfortable with: imperial bling. But here even this material feels purposeful, because it dates from a time in China when the idea of empire and corporate branding through art was experimental. By the third century B. C. the Zhou dynasty had run its course, and turf wars broke out among smaller regional states. One of those states, the kingdom of Qin (pronounced CHIN) overcame all rivals and brought much of China under one rule for the first time. It did this partly through armed strength, but also through a sort of management savvy taught in business schools today. The Qin ruler, born Ying Zheng, decided that the most effective means of control was to promote team spirit: Get everyone on the same civic page, and keep them there. To that end, he instituted a unified currency and a single standard of weights and measures. He decreed the use of a universal written script, which let him control the political conversation. And he initiated construction of the Great Wall, a statement of Us versus Them. The effect of all this was to create a rudimentary sense of shared identity within a diverse population a sense of or — to use a modern English word that may derive from Qin — . The M. B. A. thinking worked, or did for Ying Zheng himself. He became the first Chinese ruler to assume the title of emperor — Qin Shihuangdi, or First Emperor of Qin — and built a tomb near Xian, in northwestern China, to match its grandeur. We have only written accounts of what’s in the tomb (the pavilions, the candles it’s never been excavated). But its presence yielded one of the ’s great art historical finds when, in 1978, on a tip from local farmers, archaeologists uncovered an army of some 7, 000 figures buried nearby. Five of those figures, four standing, one kneeling, open the Met show (along with two modern reproductions of buried chariots found with them). They, or their like, have been endlessly circulated for display, but they’re still magnetic, with their blocklike bodies and personable faces, and customized. Even more striking, and less familiar, is another figure found in a different part of the tomb site, this one a beefy court entertainer, nude to the waist, with every fold of flesh and swell of muscle precisely rendered. There was no precedent in China for any of this, the scale, the naturalism. So what was the source? Historians point to a likely one: the Hellenistic art that was introduced by Alexander the Great to Asia — at Pergamon, for example — and filtered over trade routes to China. Whatever its origins, the new sculpture adds another facet to the profile of : cosmopolitan taste. But for all its innovations, or maybe because of them, Qin rule was brief, 15 years. The emperor spent a lot of time on the road, surveying his domain but also on a quest for elixirs. His sudden death unleashed an drama of assassinations, suicides and civil war, until another imperial power, called Han, took its place, and held it more than four centuries. Han artists built on Qin precedents in art, but with adjustments. For a while they maintained an interest in realism, but seemed to shift the emphasis from the human figure to the natural world. The big personalities in Han sculpture in the show are animals: horses as majestic as gods elephants, foreign to China, closely observed. Even common barnyard creatures — chickens, goats and pigs — are portrayed with empathy you can almost hear them clucking and snuffling. The Han further refined the policy of centralized imperial rule and expanded its reach outward, globally, evident in the steady increase in material richness and variety seen as you move through the show, past granulated gold work, amethyst necklaces and luxury textiles brought overland and by sea from Afghanistan, India, Persia, nomadic Eurasia and the Mediterranean. Some of the most exotic items are from China itself. An fantastically sophisticated bronze cowrie shell container, swarming with tiny figures in what looks like a raucous Bruegelesque market scene, was produced by the Dian culture in what is now Yunnan province, people that Han court records referred to as “southwestern barbarians. ” Was that imperialism or provincialism speaking? They can be the same thing. And they can equally motivate people to shape an exclusive group identity. The Han were intent on doing so, though this didn’t prevent them from borrowing heavily from other cultures, including their immediate predecessors. As with the Qin, Han society, at least at elite levels, focused on the hereafter. Most items in the Met show came from graves. Many objects were specifically for funerary use. Like much art everywhere, the underlying inspiration was political and personal. Art promoted and shored up the hierarchies on which a culture was built. It also answered to a human need to keep life going. The Han elite spared no expense to ensure their continuance. The survivors of a Han princess named Dou Wan encased her corpse in a jumpsuit made from 2, 000 jade plaques linked with gold threads, jade being a stone thought to have preservative properties. The suit is in the show, and as we approach through a passageway in Zoe Florence’s theatrical exhibition installation, it looks like a sleeping extraterrestrial, a space traveler patiently waiting to be beamed up. Yet everything in the surrounding galleries seems designed to anchor the traveler to life on earth: a little in the form of a carved jade bear a silk pillow woven with the words “extend years” a vogueing earthenware dancer with sleeves and a wine jar that, when discovered in 2003, still held Han wine. There’s even a luxury or a model of one, and lamps to light it, including one shaped like a tree sprouting ducks and dragons like spring buds. At the end of the show — organized by Zhixin Jason Sun, a curator of Chinese art at the Met, assisted by Pengliang Lu, a curatorial fellow — there’s a low closed door, carved from stone, made for a tomb, and painted with figures that could be earthly or celestial. If you passed through the door, which life would you be entering, or leaving, and is there a preference? An answer may lie in an object hanging on the exhibition’s exit wall. It’s a round mirror with an inscription embossed on its rim: “May the Central Kingdom be peaceful and secure, and prosper for generations and generations to come, by following the great law that governs all. ” Central Kingdom meant China. And for the Qin and the Han, wherever you went, in this world or the next, you were there. | 1 |
Because STUPID! NARAL created deck of ‘Gender Cards’ for Hillary; guess which card she is Posted at 11:39 am on October 27, 2016 by Sam J.
As Twitchy reported yesterday, NARAL celebrated Hillary’s birthday with a deck of Gender Cards, because ya’ know, we don’t hear enough about gender these days.
Wonder which card she is … Celebrate @HillaryClinton ’s birthday with a deck of Gender Cards—she’s the Ace of Hearts! https://t.co/sTqjAFVmh0 #ImWithHer
— NARAL (@NARAL) October 26, 2016
We thought for sure Hillary would be the Joker, because she kinda looks like him with that crazy smile and wide, vacant stare but oh no … they went with the Ace. And of course they couldn’t go with the Queen because that would likely be seen as oppressing her or something else weird with some reference to gender roles. Maybe? Dunno.
These people are lunatics.
— Deplorable Renaissan (@desertdude88012) October 26, 2016
That’s what we thought as well.
— standing on my own (@Shawn88c) October 27, 2016
Told ya’. | 0 |
William F. Weld, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, who was last seen campaigning in the 2006 Republican primary for governor of New York, now hopes to be on a national ticket as the nominee of the Libertarian Party. And he is already on the attack. In his first interview since accepting an invitation to be the running mate of former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico, Mr. Weld assailed Donald J. Trump over his call to round up and deport the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. “I can hear the glass crunching on Kristallnacht in the ghettos of Warsaw and Vienna when I hear that, honest,” Mr. Weld said Thursday. Mr. Weld, 70, was not uniformly critical of the presumptive Republican nominee. “I don’t consider myself part of the Never Trump movement,” he said, expressing admiration for Mr. Trump’s success in the primary contest. “I’m not horrified about everything Mr. Trump has done at all,” he said, adding: “I think he’s done a lot. But when I think about some of the positions, I think they’re way out there. ” Where he differs with Mr. Trump most sharply is on Mr. Trump’s call for mass deportations. Asked if he believed Mr. Trump was a fascist, Mr. Weld demurred. “My Kristallnacht analogy does evoke the Nazi period in Germany,” he said. “And that’s what I’m worried about: a slippery slope. ” After a circuitous answer, he eventually came to a conclusion. “No, I wouldn’t call Mr. Trump either a fascist or a Nazi,” Mr. Weld said. “I’m just saying, we got to watch it when we get exclusionary about people on account of their status as a member of a group. ” Mr. Weld also objected to Mr. Trump’s repeated threats to impose tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and China. “That’s a pretty good prescription to having China be the only superpower in about 10 years,” he said, leaning forward to make sure a reporter understood him. “China — not the U. S. ” Mr. Weld’s best known previous turn on the national stage was in 1997, when he resigned as governor to focus on his appointment by President Bill Clinton as ambassador to Mexico. That did not go well: He was blocked by Senator Jesse Helms and withdrew his nomination after a heated battle in which Mr. Weld, a pillar of what was left of the moderate northeastern Republican establishment, loudly assailed Mr. Helms and the archconservatives who stood behind him. A former prosecutor, Mr. Weld could appeal to some disaffected Republicans on a ticket alongside Mr. Johnson at a time when other efforts by Republicans to recruit a candidate — in part in the hopes of keeping Republican voters from staying home and costing the party’s candidates — are close to fizzling. Mr. Weld said Mr. Johnson, the Libertarian presidential candidate in 2012 who is seeking the party’s nomination again, spoke to him last weekend about running. Their hope is to amass enough support in national polls to be included in the presidential debates. If that happened, Mr. Weld said hopefully, it would not be impossible to envision a ticket winning the White House. But he also did not protest too much when asked how he would reassure those who, mindful of his willingness to roll the dice in politics, might question his level of commitment to a national run. “There’s some truth in that,” said Mr. Weld, who now works at a law firm, Mintz Levin, and its lobbying arm, ML Strategies. “I do like to climb mountains in politics, and I do enjoy running for office. ” The Libertarian Party says it already will be on the ballot in 32 states and is working on the rest. It will pick its presidential and nominees at a convention over Memorial Day weekend in Orlando, Fla. Mr. Weld suggested that the Libertarian message, which emphasizes civil liberties and small government, could appeal to younger voters. Discussing foreign policy, he spoke critically of the Iraq invasion of 2003 and of putting “boots on the ground” in the Middle East to project American strength. But he was supportive of the Obama administration on the Iran nuclear deal that Republicans frequently criticize. “I thought the game was worth the candle there, and that’s politically incorrect in almost all circles — certainly in Republican circles — but I think I do feel that way, and I followed that closely,” Mr. Weld said, adding, “I know John Kerry quite well and I saw his going back and forth, and rather admired it. ” (Mr. Weld unsuccessfully challenged Mr. Kerry in the 1996 Senate race.) Asked about Hillary Clinton, Mr. Weld noted that he had known her since they were both in their 20s. “I’ve always just thought of her as a really great kid,” he said. Mr. Weld said he possessed a deep libertarian streak, and pined for a time when that was more widespread in the Republican Party. He complained about the polarization in Congress and remembered his early days working on Capitol Hill, before law school, for Senator Jacob K. Javits, Republican of New York. “It was a totally different era and a wonderful era,” he said. “It was wonderful to be in Washington in those days. And things absolutely got done. ” | 1 |
Происшествия
С лёгкой руки итальянского режиссёра Тинто Брасса римский император Калигула стал символом самого порочного разврата и воплощением аморального поведения. Но даже у него отношения с миром братьев наших меньших, то есть животных, носили чисто платонический характер: Калигула назначил своего любимого коня сенатором, но отнюдь не любимой женой. Так что, согласно недавним сообщениям СМИ, актёр Алексей Панин, якобы занявшийся зоофилией, переплюнул самого одиозного, не считая Нерона, римского императора.
Сам Панин, разумеется, всё категорически отрицает. По его словам, на скандальном видео с собакой заснят не он, а другой мужчина, очень похожий на Панина. (Помните, человек, похожий на прокурора, с женщинами, похожими на проституток?). В раскручивании этой омерзительной истории Панин обвиняет бывшую жену, которой почему-то не нравится то, что актёр не платит алименты. Коварная женщина смонтировала видеозапись и каким-то образом воздействовала на создателей программы «Говорим и показываем», рискнувших пустить её в эфир. В общем, кругом враги, но Панин не намерен сдаваться и пойдёт в суд, чтобы доказать, что он и близко не подходил к собаке ни с какой стороны.
Тех, кто ещё не утомился следить за извилистым творческим путём Алексея Панина, разгоревшийся скандал не слишком удивляет: ведь основой своего имиджа этот актёр сознательно сделал крайний эпатаж на грани, а то и за гранью фола. То он голым по гостинице “Версаль” бегает, то публично, пардон, рукоблудием занимается, то в лифте гадит – чего, как известно, ни одна воспитанная собака себе не позволит. Что до мелких потасовок и матерных перепалок, то им уже самые преданные поклонники счёт потеряли.
В показушном мире шоу-бизнеса, где слава является смыслом жизни, каждый пытается выделиться, чем может: кто-то большим талантом, кто-то большим бюстом, а кто-то непомерным непотребством. Здесь всё ясно, и обсуждать, в общем-то, нечего. Вопрос в другом: есть ли грань, за которую СМИ не смогут зайти в погоне за сенсацией? Неважно, кто заснят на зоофильском видео: есть вещи, которые просто нельзя демонстрировать на экране телевизора. И здесь, как ни странно, хочется поддержать Панина в его планируемом иске к авторам передачи: если цензуры нравов нет, это не значит, что напоказ всё дозволено. Так что, ещё неизвестно, кто переплюнул Калигулу: актёр или режиссёр программы. | 0 |
Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Cory Booker ( ) said President Donald Trump was creating a “toxic environment” of “increased fear in our country. ” Booker said, “This is the problem, I don’t care what party you are in right now, recognize this, we are at a time of increased fear in our country. ” He added, “There is something seriously wrong when mendacity has become the norm. There is something seriously wrong when citizens are afraid to leave their homes. There is something seriously wrong when hate crimes are surging. There is something seriously wrong when this is a toxic environment being created right now. And I don’t care who you are, if you consider yourself a leader, you have an obligation to stand up and do something about it and lead with love and not appealing to people’s darker angels or exploiting that fear. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 0 |
In 1998, playing the relationship columnist Carrie Bradshaw in “Sex and the City,” Sarah Jessica Parker helped usher in HBO’s golden age and define a Manhattan gilded age. So it’s unavoidable to wonder if her new HBO series, “Divorce,” is “Sex and the City” 18 years later. It is not. It’s more like a comedy about the kind of people who once watched “Sex and the City,” 18 years later: suburbanites, pushing 50, for whom the sex (at least with their spouses) is nothing to wax literary about, and the city is a long train ride away. “Divorce” is not as as its forebear, not as fresh in its material, and in its first outings, not as consistently funny. But it can be a caustic pleasure, a chaser, heavy on the bitters, to Carrie’s fruity cosmo. Here, Ms. Parker is Frances, who, in a gender twist on the stereotypical scenario, is the one having the midlife crisis. She has a pricey house in Westchester County, two teenage kids and an office job for which she’s a dream of opening an art gallery. (In this ambition, she is more a Charlotte than a Carrie.) She also has a hunky college professor lover, Julian (Jemaine Clement, “Flight of the Conchords”). Frances’s husband, Robert (Thomas Haden Church) seems incapable of crisis, to a fault. He’s bluff and steady, predictable down to the timing of his bowel movements. His bushy, mustache makes him look mothballed and out of his time, like a man doing a Civil War of himself. Robert is no Mr. Big. He is, maybe, Mr. Medium. “Divorce” is grounded in harsh, compromised reality. In the opening shot, as Frances soberly assesses herself in the mirror — neck, chest, corners of the eyes — Ms. Parker conveys the sense of a woman who Marie Kondoed her glasses years ago. Julian gives her, besides orgasms, the chance to be at the beginning of something again. The affair is not — at first — what drives Frances and Robert to splitsville. Rather, it’s the party for her friend Diane (Molly Shannon) who gets sloppy drunk, rummages through a drawer for a gun and fires a clumsy shot at her husband, which nearly hits Robert. Instead of bringing Frances and Robert together, the scare pushes them further into themselves. He contemplates his mortality she decides she wants out: “I want to save my life while I still care about it. ” “Divorce” was created by Sharon Horgan, writer and star of “Catastrophe,” an unromanticized romantic comedy about marriage as a messy struggle. This comedy throws that rattly engine into reverse. The process of cutting entanglements, as Frances and Robert go from confrontation to mediation to litigation, is both sad and oddly invigorating. Ms. Horgan keeps the show’s sympathies complicated. Frances has fallen in love with falling out of love, and even Julian sees her decision as rash and . Robert is the spouse, but he’s no prize himself. When he learns about the affair, he glories in having the moral high ground: “You’re Jesse James,” he blusters, “and I get to be Sandra Bullock!” Neither is above using their friends and kids as leverage. Mr. Church gets the bigger comic moments, and he delightfully plays Robert as a blunderbuss whose explosions register both his pain at losing Frances and the rigidity that lost her in the first place. Ms. Parker plays the more complex role, with more mixed results. She made audiences love Carrie for years, and her inclination is to win us over to Frances. That’s important: You need to see that Frances believes that she’s the hero of a drama, not an antihero in a farce. But sometimes the role misses someone — like Ms. Horgan herself — who could own the character’s faults and the series’s acid tone. Some of the problem lies in the scripts, which swing unsteadily between lacerating the couple and empathizing with them. Ideally, “Divorce” wants to be a vicious relationship comedy that also takes its core sadness seriously. In this sense, it aims to be less like “Sex and the City” than like HBO’s naturalistic “Girls” (whose producer Paul Simms serves as a showrunner). The difference, of course, is measured in years. “Divorce” feels in its bones, from the themes to the wintry setting to the ’ soundtrack (Supertramp, Todd Rundgren, Climax Blues Band). It’s not going to reinvent the breakup comedy or the HBO comedy. Its goal is more modest and : to tell one more story of two people trying to reinvent themselves. | 1 |
WASHINGTON — A bill that would let the families of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks sue Saudi Arabia for any role in the terrorist plot passed the Senate unanimously on Tuesday, bringing Congress closer to a showdown with the White House, which has threatened to veto the legislation. The Senate’s passage of the bill, which will now be taken up in the House, is another sign of escalating tensions in a relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia that once received little scrutiny from lawmakers. Administration officials have lobbied against the bill, a view that the White House spokesman Josh Earnest reiterated after the vote. And the Saudi government has warned that if the legislation passes, it might begin selling off up to $750 billion in Treasury securities and other assets in the United States before they face a danger of being frozen by American courts. Adel the Saudi foreign minister, delivered the warning to lawmakers and the administration while in Washington in March. Many economists are skeptical that the Saudis would deliver on such a warning, saying that a would be hard to execute and would do more harm to the kingdom’s economy than to America’s. Questions about the role Saudi officials might have played in the Sept. 11 plot have lingered for more than a decade, and families of the victims have used various lawsuits to try to hold members of the Saudi royal family and charities liable for what they allege is financial support of terrorism. But these moves have been mostly blocked, in part because of a 1976 law that gives foreign nations some immunity from lawsuits in American courts. The Senate bill carves out an exception to the law if foreign countries are found culpable for terrorist attacks that kill American citizens within the United States. If the bill were to pass both houses and be signed by the president, it could clear a path for the role of the Saudi government to be examined in the Sept. 11 suits. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, a Democrat and a sponsor of the bill, said the legislation would help the families of the victims seek justice. “For the sake of the families, I want to make clear beyond the shadow of a doubt that every entity, including foreign states, will be held accountable if they are found to be sponsors of the heinous act of ” he said shortly before the bill’s passage. “If the Saudis did not participate in this terrorism, they have nothing to fear about going to court,” he said. “If they did, they should be held accountable. ” Mr. Schumer said he believed that Democrats would override a veto from Mr. Obama. He also said he believed that Saudi Arabia’s threat to pull its assets, a concern of the administration, was “hollow,” adding, “It will hurt them a lot more than it hurts us. ” Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said the legislation was written in such a way that Americans would not be subject to legal action taken by other nations. “I do believe that there’s going to be some saber rattling, some threats, but I think that they are hollow,” Mr. Cornyn said. In a move intended to address some White House concerns, the bill’s sponsors included a new provision that would allow the attorney general to put a hold on individual court cases if the administration can show that it is negotiating with the defendant government to resolve the claims. But a release on Tuesday from Mr. Schumer’s office said the administration would need to provide details about the talks and a timetable for their resolution. Mr. Earnest said on Tuesday that White House officials would seek to negotiate with Republicans and Democrats on alternatives to the legislation that might be acceptable to the president, but he added, “I don’t know if that’s possible at this point. ” Earlier this month, Mr. Jubeir said during a news conference that the proposed legislation was “stripping the principle of sovereign immunities” and turning international law “into the law of the jungle. ” The legislation is moving through Congress as the Obama administration considers whether to declassify a portion of a 2002 congressional investigation of the Sept. 11 attacks that cited some evidence that Saudi government officials and other Saudi citizens living in the United States had a hand in the terrorist plot. Those conclusions have yet to be released publicly, but recently the National Archives posted a separate document on its website that appears to offer a glimpse at what the 28 pages contain. The document, dated June 6, 2003, is a series of memos written by Sept. 11 commission staff members compiling numerous possible connections between the hijackers and Saudis in the United States. The document was first disclosed publicly by 28pages. org, an advocacy website devoted to pushing for the declassification of the redacted section of the congressional inquiry. The Sept. 11 commission, which began its work after the congressional inquiry, found “no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded” Al Qaeda or the plotters. Last month, the commission’s Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, issued a statement saying that the 28 pages “were based almost entirely on raw, unvetted material that came to the F. B. I. ” — much of it ultimately deemed inconclusive by the Sept. 11 panel. “Accusations of complicity in that mass murder from responsible authorities are a grave matter,” they wrote. “Such charges should be levied with care. ” | 1 |
DAPL Protesters Proven Right as Largest Gas Pipeline in U.S. Experiences Massive and Deadly Explosion 18 Shares Email
( ZHE ) Bloomberg reports that S.C. fuel marketers are receiving allocation notices from major suppliers after Colonial Pipeline shut its mainlines on fire in Shelby County, Alabama, according to Michael Fields, executive director of state’s Petroleum Marketers Association.
Massive plume of smoke is filling the skyline after a gas pipeline exploded in Helena, Alabama according to CBS42. Fire units are headed to the scene, according to McAdory Fire Station #2. Alagasco has stated that the fire is from a petroleum line. According to the Shelby County Sheriff’s office, the blast was on the Colonial Line, with 8-9 people injured.
For those curious about the pipeline, the EIA has a great primer found here.
The Sheriff adds that the blast happened during crew work.
The explosion took place near 334 Highway 13. At this time, a response team has been called in from Jefferson County as well as a tanker from the McAdory Fire Department. 7 victims now going to UAB: 6 people severely burned after reported gas line explosion https://t.co/TNcIGRujDA pic.twitter.com/83TyLP6Cqk | 0 |
On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” columnist Charles Krauthammer argued that filibustering Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court is a “totally illogical” move Democrats are pursuing because they’re responding to the “Trump Derangement Syndrome” of their base. Krauthammer said, “[I]t makes no sense. It’s totally illogical if you’re a Democrat. The fight is going to be over the next nominee. As you say, this nominee does not alter the balance of the court ideologically. The next very well could, whether it’s a Kennedy, or a Ginsburg, or a Breyer, it could be a radical change, a if it’s a Kennedy, and that would have an effect. And you’d expect the Democrats to want to save their ammunition, but they are expending it here. ” He added, “I think they are, in some ways, suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, in the sense that they might not be personally deranged by his presence, but they have a base that has not recovered from the election, and they insist that anybody who represents them and does not want to face a primary fight, or have a demonstration outside their house on a weekend, is — will oppose what Trump is doing. This is about Trump. It isn’t about Gorsuch. And that I think, is their motive for doing it, but it makes no sense because, if this is the first partisan filibuster, it will be the last. ” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett | 0 |
Editor’s Note Protest music alone cannot change the world. However, protest music can fuel a culture of resistance. Growing a culture of resistance is needed now more than ever.
The following are songs from 2015 and 2016 that speak to the political moment and can be seen as the soundtrack for movements fighting for social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
Now, please enjoy this mixtape — the first of many “Stop Trump” playlists we expect to feature here at Shadowproof.
“R.E.D.” by A Tribe Called Red (feat. Yasiin Bey, Narcy, and Black Bear) An anthem for the decolonization of culture and solidarity among colonized populations across all continents
“T5” by Swet Shop Boys A sardonic take on post-9/11 security culture from Riz MC and Heems, rappers of British Pakistani and Punjabi-Indian descent who have experience with racial profiling at airports “Old Man Trump” by Ryan Harvey feat. Ani DiFranco and Tom Morello The lyrics of legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie are put to music in this song about Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, and how he excluded people of color from his Beach Haven housing project “Retribution” – Tanya Tagaq Throat singing from an indigenous throat singer who crafts a foreboding warning to global citizens about their non-consensual relationship with Mother Earth. “FDT” by YG A basic message from a young black rapper to reject and not stand for any of Donald Trump’s bullshit “Blk Girl Soldier” by Jamila Woods Calls upon the tradition of strong black women who engaged in freedom fighting for dignity, justice, and human rights while at the same time praising the power of black women with “black girl magic” “MariKKKopa” – Desaparecidos Implicates disgraced Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his legion of white supremacists who promote hate of immigrants—the kind of people glomming on to a Trump administration “The Comin’ Round Is Going Through” by Bonnie Raitt A foot-stomper on what’s coming around for the corporate class who have hijacked elections “In the River: A Protest Song” by Raye Zaragoza Ode to the water protectors standing against the oil barons set on poisoning water and the future of not only indigenous people but the entire planet “We The People…” by A Tribe Called Quest Rap song that uses Trump’s exclusionary rhetoric as a hook, rejects the law and order waging war on black bodies, and preaches hard truths about the dominant culture in which we find ourselves enveloped “True Trans Soul Rebel” by Against Me! Anthem for transgender people to help them find the strength to proudly stand up for dignity, equality, justice, and human rights “Big Box (Live)” by Neil Young & The Promise of the Real An indictment of capitalism, the song pleads for resistance to the corporate takeover over all aspects of government, the rule of law, and all facets of daily life, especially through the rise of Big Box stores. “How I Feel” by A Tribe Called Red Acknowledges the pain that indigenous people can see in eyes of other indigenous people, as they struggle to maintain the fight against colonialist oppression and not burn out. The message applies to all: keep listening to others and never give up. “America Back” by Jill Sobule Requires no additional description. When they say they want their America back, what the fuck do they mean? ***
Stop Trump Mixtape on Spotify
[*Note: Missing Jill Sobule’s “America Back” because that song is not available on Spotify.]
The post Stop Trump Mixtape: A Protest Song Collection appeared first on Shadowproof .
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Here's something interesting from The Unz Review... Recipient Name Recipient Email =>
When FBI Director James Comey announced on July 5 that the Department of Justice would not seek the indictment of Hillary Clinton for failure to safeguard state secrets related to her email use while she was secretary of state, he both jumped the gun and set in motion a series of events that surely he did not intend. Was his hand forced by the behavior of FBI agents who wouldn’t take no for an answer? Did he let the FBI become a political tool?
Here is the back story.
The FBI began investigating the Clinton email scandal in the spring of 2015, when The New York Times revealed Clinton’s use of a private email address for her official governmental work and the fact that she did not preserve the emails on State Department servers, contrary to federal law. After an initial collection of evidence and a round of interviews, agents and senior managers gathered in the summer of 2015 to discuss how to proceed. It was obvious to all that a prima-facie case could be made for espionage, theft of government property and obstruction of justice charges. The consensus was to proceed with a formal criminal investigation.
Six months later, the senior FBI agent in charge of that investigation resigned from the case and retired from the FBI because he felt the case was going “sideways”; that’s law enforcement jargon for “nowhere by design.” John Giacalone had been the chief of the New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., field offices of the FBI and, at the time of his “sideways” comment, was the chief of the FBI National Security Branch.
The reason for the “sideways” comment must have been Giacalone’s realization that DOJ and FBI senior management had decided that the investigation would not work in tandem with a federal grand jury. That is nearly fatal to any government criminal case. In criminal cases, the FBI and the DOJ cannot issue subpoenas for testimony or for tangible things; only grand juries can.
Giacalone knew that without a grand jury, the FBI would be toothless, as it would have no subpoena power. He also knew that without a grand jury, the FBI would have a hard time persuading any federal judge to issue search warrants. A judge would perceive the need for search warrants to be not acute in such a case because to a judge, the absence of a grand jury can only mean a case is “sideways” and not a serious investigation.
As the investigation dragged on in secret and Donald Trump simultaneously began to rise in the Republican presidential primaries, it became more apparent to Giacalone’s successors that the goal of the FBI was to exonerate Clinton, not determine whether there was enough evidence to indict her. In late spring of this year, agents began interviewing the Clinton inner circle.
When Clinton herself was interviewed on July 2 — for only four hours, during which the interviewers seemed to some in the bureau to lack aggression, passion and determination — some FBI agents privately came to the same conclusion as their former boss: The case was going sideways.
A few determined agents were frustrated by Clinton’s professed lack of memory during her interview and her oblique reference to a recent head injury she had suffered as the probable cause of that. They sought to obtain her medical records to verify the gravity of her injury and to determine whether she had been truthful with them. They prepared the paperwork to obtain the records, only to have their request denied by Director Comey himself on July 4. Then some agents did the unthinkable; they reached out to colleagues in the intelligence community and asked them to obtain Clinton’s medical records so they could show them to Comey. We know that the National Security Agency can access anything that is stored digitally, including medical records. These communications took place late on July 4.
When Comey learned of these efforts, he headed them off the next morning with his now infamous news conference, in which he announced that Clinton would not be indicted because the FBI had determined that her behavior, though extremely careless, was not reckless, which is the legal standard in espionage cases. He then proceeded to recount the evidence against her. He did this, no doubt, to head off the agents who had sought the Clinton medical records, whom he suspected would leak evidence against her.
Three months later — and just weeks before Clinton will probably be elected president — we have learned that President Barack Obama regularly communicated with Clinton via her personal email servers about matters that the White House considered classified. That means that he lied when he told CBS News that he learned of the Clinton servers when the rest of us did.
We also learned this week that Andrew McCabe, Giacalone’s successor as head of the FBI Washington field office and presently the No. 3 person in the FBI, is married to a woman to whom the Clinton money machine in Virginia funneled about $675,000 in lawful campaign funds for a failed 2015 run for the Virginia Senate. Comey apparently saw no conflict or appearance of impropriety in having the person in charge of the Clinton investigation in such an ethically challenged space.
Why did this case go sideways?
Did President Obama fear being a defense witness at Hillary Clinton’s criminal trial? Did he so fear being succeeded in office by Donald Trump that he ordered the FBI to exonerate Clinton, the rule of law be damned? Did the FBI lose its reputation for fidelity to law, bravery under stress and integrity at all times?
This is not your grandfather’s FBI — or your father’s. It is the Obama FBI.
Copyright 2016 Andrew P. Napolitano. Distributed by Creators.com. | 1 |
In 2010, the Metropolitan Museum of Art hired Erin Coburn away from the J. Paul Getty Museum, lauding her as its “first chief officer of digital media” — a role created and promoted by the Met director and chief executive, Thomas P. Campbell, as part of his efforts to move the museum into the 21st century. Two years later, Ms. Coburn quietly left, along with a confidential settlement from the Met. Though no clear explanation was given at the time, recent interviews with former and current staff members reveal that Ms. Coburn had long complained that she was unable to do her job effectively because of a close personal relationship between Mr. Campbell and a female staff member in her department. Mr. Campbell announced his resignation in February. And while the relationship was not the reason he left, staff members say that it contributed to a yearslong erosion of respect for his authority and judgment within the Met and that it reflects larger problems in how the institution is managed by top executives and the board of trustees. Despite its vaunted collection, prodigious $332 million budget and a board stocked with some of the country’s most powerful donors, the Met is largely run by a dozen or so executives and trustees, interviews show, with little transparency or accountability. The recent discovery of a looming $40 million deficit that forced the institution to cut staff, trim its exhibition schedule and postpone a heralded $600 million expansion are signs that the system is showing cracks. Now, details about how dysfunction in the digital media department was allowed to continue are revealing additional consequences of the Met’s turning a blind eye to problems. Ms. Coburn filed a formal complaint in 2012. Met executives investigated her claims but concluded they didn’t warrant action. The board’s chairman, Daniel Brodsky, and several museum executives negotiated Ms. Coburn’s departure and settlement while Mr. Campbell stayed on. Yet, for many then at the Met, the results of Mr. Campbell’s relationship with a member of Ms. Coburn’s staff were plain. The employee had a direct line to Mr. Campbell and amassed power well beyond her rank, they say, sidelining certain colleagues as well as commanding resources and hiring outside staff members for her projects, which added costs and created infrastructure complications. Leaders of the Met board and staff knew of the relationship before Ms. Coburn was hired, and at times had urged Mr. Campbell to end it, according to several people inside the museum. Mr. Campbell and the staff member “had an inappropriate relationship,” said Matthew R. Morgan, the general manager of the Met’s website from 2006 to 2012. “It was the reason I left,” he said. Mr. Campbell’s decisions favored the “vanity” of the staff member with whom he had close ties “over doing digital the right way,” Mr. Morgan added. This article is based on interviews with more than two dozen people during the past month, including Met trustees, senior executives, curators and former and current members of the digital staff. All expressed admiration for the museum and its acclaimed exhibitions, but many indicated concern that Met leaders would not take a hard look at themselves and find ways to change. “This is not just the singular responsibility of the C. E. O. ,” said Reynold Levy, the former president of Lincoln Center and an expert on nonprofits, speaking generally about the Met’s culture and recent struggles. “The board needs to hold a mirror up to itself and assess its own performance. ” As boards go, the Met’s is high end and old school. An international jewel of the art world, the museum sits atop the hierarchy of major New York cultural institutions and a spot on its board has long been considered the pinnacle of prestige. At 101 members, the board is also unusually large, which means decisions tend to be made in committees, the most important of which are the executive and finance committees. Expectations for most everyone else are relatively simple: deep pockets, attendance at five meetings a year and a willingness to let the Met’s top executives handle the details. “If you’re not on the executive committee, you don’t know anything,” said a trustee, who insisted on anonymity because board members have been warned against speaking publicly. “You’re expected to work and give, but not to question what goes on. ” Another trustee said, “Few people have spoken up in a meeting for about 40 years. ” This style appeared to work well enough, including throughout the tenure of Philippe de Montebello, who retired as director in 2008, just before the financial crisis. But the world has changed for the Met since then. Corporate and government donations to cultural institutions have declined competition from contemporary art institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art has increased and the demands to reach new audiences digitally have become urgent. It was in this environment that the board promoted Mr. Campbell, a former tapestry curator who — while erudite and elegant — had never managed an institution, let alone one with 2, 200 employees. Many inside and outside the Met describe Mr. Brodsky, a real estate executive who has been chairman since 2011, as a likable but passive leader who avoids conflict and has continued the Met tradition of informing the full board of museum developments at the last minute or, in the case of the Coburn investigation, not until he learned about the impending publication of this article. Inside the Met, several top executives knew about Ms. Coburn’s complaints, former employees say, including Emily K. Rafferty, then president Sharon H. Cott, the senior vice president, secretary and general counsel Debra A. McDowell, the vice president for human resources and Carrie Rebora Barratt, the associate director for collections and administration, all of whom declined to comment. But aside from Mr. Brodsky and Candace K. Beinecke, chairwoman of the board’s legal committee, other trustees were not made aware of the complaint. The Met said that this was to protect the confidentiality of the parties involved. Moreover, without the approval or knowledge of the entire board, the Met brought the full force of its resources to bear on the case, hiring an external management consultant as well as two law firms, which conducted a investigation. Tax records show that Ms. Coburn received $183, 000 in addition to her annual salary of $166, 000 in her final year at the museum, an unusually high payment given that she had been employed for just two years. The museum would not comment on whether the size of the payment was connected to her claim or why the terms of her departure had been kept confidential. As for the staff, no one was told the real reasons for the departure of Ms. Coburn, an executive described by former colleagues as “visionary” and “principled. ” “To drive someone like Erin Coburn out and see her undermined was very disconcerting to the whole department,” said Paco Link, the digital department’s former general manager of creative development, who had also worked with Ms. Coburn at the Getty. The exact nature of Mr. Campbell’s relationship with the staff member — whom The New York Times is not naming to protect her privacy — is not widely known, except that she became friendly with Mr. Campbell when he was chief tapestry curator and that their relationship grew closer after he became director in 2009, current and former employees say. The staff member joined the Met in 2000 and was promoted to manager of online publications in 2009. She was generally considered capable and helped develop the museum’s acclaimed online timeline, as well as website programs that feature curators and artists discussing pieces in the museum. Nevertheless, her relationship with the museum director made her “very hard” to manage, said Morgan S. Holzer, a former project manager at the Met. Neither the staff member nor Mr. Campbell responded to requests for comment. During the past seven years, newer trustees from the business world have, by many accounts, brought a more metabolism to the board — zeroing in on the Met’s financial troubles hiring a new president and chief operating officer, Daniel H. Weiss, a former president of Haverford College, in 2015 and enlisting Boston Consulting to do one of the “360 evaluations” commonly used by Fortune 500 companies to assess employees. Mr. Campbell remains director until June. Mr. Weiss, who has taken over Mr. Campbell’s role as chief executive on an interim basis, is considered a leading candidate for the next director, though the Met is planning a formal search. At a recent board meeting the Met agreed to examine the job descriptions of president and director. Mr. Brodsky, in response to detailed questions from The Times, said in a prepared statement: “The board is deeply committed to ensuring a professional workplace, and one that is free of favoritism of any kind. While we believe, in this case, that the board responded appropriately by ordering an investigation by independent, external experts — which concluded Ms. Coburn’s complaint was without merit — there is more we can do. ” Ms. Coburn was replaced by Sree Sreenivasan, who left in June, and then by Loic Tallon, under whom the female staff member was laid off, along with several others, in October. The current president, Mr. Weiss, said he was committed to establishing a very different management culture at the museum. “I know that this has been a difficult time at the Met,” he said in an email last week. “I look forward to working with my administrative and board colleagues to support a climate of candor, transparency, accountability and mutual respect. ” | 1 |
During Friday’s Weekly Address, President Trump stated, “Confidence in the American economy has reached levels not seen in many, many years. Unemployment fell to its lowest level in nearly ten years last month, and we created 211, 000 new jobs. ”[Transcript as Follows: “My fellow Americans, Confidence in the American economy has reached levels not seen in many, many years. Unemployment fell to its lowest level in nearly ten years last month, and we created 211, 000 new jobs. Our economic progress is especially good news for the millions of young Americans who, at this time of the year, are putting on a cap and gown and receiving a diploma, certificate, or commission. So important, and we are so proud of them. This weekend, I am delighted to be participating first hand in the excitement by joining the students and faculty at Liberty University to celebrate the success of their graduates. I was invited to make the commencement address at West Point, but I will be away at the G7 — and I look forward to that — and will be at West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy. Come to think about it, a few days later, I will actually travel to New London, Connecticut, to speak to the graduating cadets of the United States Coast Guard Academy about their new roles serving our country. So we’ll be with them very shortly. To young Americans at both schools, I will be bringing a message of hope and optimism about our nation’s bright future. That is a message that I want to extend to all young Americans today, especially those who are graduating this year and entering the labor force. We are also celebrating all of the Americans who learn the skills and trades that generations of workers have used to build, shape, and supply this nation. The people who construct, repair, and create with their own two hands are the people who make this nation run. And lots of those people voted for me. That’s also why, in my Administration, I am so deeply committed to technical and vocational education. I want you to know that my administration is working every single day to create new opportunities and to reverse years of stagnant growth, falling wages, and disappearing jobs. We are ending the sellout of American workers — and lifting the burdens on American industry, manufacturing, and businesses. We are rolling back the regulations that make it harder for companies to grow and hire in America. At the same time, we are unleashing American energy development to create thousands of new jobs on our soil and just off our shores. On trade, we have also taken historic action to protect American industry and bring back the kinds of jobs that can support a middle class family — and in fact, most families. As a vote of confidence in these policies, business optimism is soaring and employment is rising. These are great signs for America’s future — the future that our new graduates will play with such a critical role in shaping our world and our country. I want every young citizen — regardless of education or geography — to be able to live out their American Dreams. So to all of America’s graduates, congratulations. And to all of America’s youth: we are here to help create the jobs and future you deserve. The brightest days are ahead of you. And I just look forward to seeing you at the Coast Guard Academy, and at Liberty University. Thank you. God Bless You. And God Bless America. ” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett | 0 |
This is the biggest story not being reported.
While the world teeters on the brink of World War 3, the media is reporting on Kim Kardashian.
Meanwhile the Russians are deploying the new Satan-2 missile (designation given by NATO).
Each Satan-2 missile has the power to devastate an area the size of Texas.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/wo...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci... | 0 |
Jason Miller, who was named as White House communications director by Donald J. Trump two days ago, has informed Mr. Trump that he will not take the job, according to a statement from Mr. Miller. In the statement, Mr. Miller said he wanted to spend more time with his family. His wife is expecting their second child in January, he said. “It’s clear they need to be my top priority right now, and this is not the time to start a new job as demanding as White House communications director,” Mr. Miller wrote. A veteran of several Republican campaigns, Mr. Miller was an avid supporter of Mr. Trump, appearing regularly on television on his behalf throughout the campaign. He had been a principal spokesman during the transition period. In the statement, Mr. Miller said that Sean Spicer, who was recently named press secretary, would serve as communications director, as well. | 0 |
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, strode onto a stage a month ago looking down upon a sea of a million fans waving red Turkish flags. They were celebrating the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II, the golden moment of Turkey’s Muslim ancestors triumphing over the Christian West. “The conquest means going beyond the walls that the West thought were impervious,” Mr. Erdogan said as the crowd roared. “The conquest means a sultan bringing Byzantium to heel. ” The spectacle, complete with a sky show and a of the conquest with fireworks and strobe lights, projected an image of unity and command, of a nation marching together toward greatness, drawing on the achievements of a glorious past. But that soaring vision is being grounded by sobering realities. Mr. Erdogan, who long professed a foreign policy of “zero problems with neighbors,” now seems to be mired in disputes with just about everybody and just about everywhere. Kurdish and Islamic State militants have struck Turkey 14 times in the past year, killing 280 people and sowing new fears. The economy has suffered, too, as the violence frightens away tourists. At the same time, Mr. Erdogan has become increasingly isolated, frustrating old allies like the United States by refusing for years to take firm measures against the Islamic State. He has recently gotten serious about the militant group, but that appears to have brought new problems: Turkish officials say they believe that the Islamic State was responsible for the suicide attack that killed 44 people on Tuesday in Istanbul’s main airport, a major artery of Turkey’s strained economy. He has helped reignite war with Kurdish separatists in Turkey’s southeast, and hundreds of civilians have died in the fighting, which began last summer. He alienated Moscow last fall when Turkish forces shot down a fighter jet that he said had strayed into Turkish airspace. He had grown so alone that this past week he moved to make peace deals with Russia over the jet’s downing and with Israel over its killing of several Turkish activists on a flotilla in 2010, after railing against both countries to voters. “I think this is an indicator of how desperate they are,” said Cengiz Candar, a visiting scholar at the Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies. Where Mr. Erdogan once held up Turkey as a model of Muslim democracy, he now frequently attacks democratic institutions. The editor in chief of Turkey’s largest daily has fled the country, and another is on trial on charges of revealing state secrets. The president has grown intolerant of criticism, purging his oldest allies from his inner circle and replacing them with yes men and, in some cases, relatives. (His is the energy minister.) Mr. Erdogan hints darkly in speeches on Turkish television that foreign powers are plotting to destroy him, and he has moved from a modest house in central Ankara to a grandiose, Persian palace on the edge of the city. Brown and pink buildings for his staff dot meticulously landscaped grounds so enormous that staff members are driven around in minibuses. Now he has set his sights on a new target: transforming Turkey’s parliamentary system of government into a presidential one, a change his critics say could soon open the door to his seizing the title of president for life. On the night of the airport bombing, the Parliament, which his party controls, worked until 5:45 a. m. to pass sweeping legislation that will help pave the way by purging hundreds of judges from Turkey’s top two courts. “The ship is going very fast toward the rocks,” said Ergun Ozbudun, a liberal constitutional expert who once defended Mr. Erdogan. “Pray for us. ” The story of how Turkey, a NATO member with the economy in Europe and a population the size of Germany’s, ended up here is as much about Mr. Erdogan as it is about the country’s unlucky geography in a convulsing Middle East. While Mr. Erdogan has seemed to have nine lives, wriggling out of every crisis, he now finds himself cornered by conflicts on many fronts, including deep divisions in his own society that he has helped create. “Erdogan is still the most popular political leader, but there is unease in the population,” said Soli Ozel, a Turkish columnist and professor at Kadir Has University in Istanbul. “A lot of people are thinking this is an untenable situation. ” Mr. Erdogan, 62, is one of the most talented politicians Turkey has ever known, rising from a poor neighborhood in Istanbul to the heights of power, where he has won election after election since 2002. He succeeded where others had failed in tearing down Turkey’s rigid, classist system of government sending the meddling military back to its barracks and opening up the bureaucracy, long deeply suspicious of Turkey’s pious underclass. In his early years as prime minister, the economy soared and, as incomes rose sharply, so did his popularity. But his critics — and even some of his admirers — say he became so absorbed in battling his enemies, both real and perceived, that he lost his way. He became distracted, they say, by delusions of imperial grandeur and in the process badly damaged institutions critical for a functioning democracy. Even a former friend, who like others feared being identified, said he had known Mr. Erdogan for 40 years, but no longer recognized him. Mr. Erdogan’s advisers point out that institutions like the free press and judiciary were never all that free to begin with. They say that his government has genuinely been in danger, a claim Western officials corroborate, and that changes in the judiciary aim to fix a broken system. Ilnur Cevik, one of Mr. Erdogan’s chief advisers, said the rapprochement with Russia and Israel was part of a strategy to turn the page and might soon be followed by similar measures to quiet some of the storms Mr. Erdogan had raised, like the one with Egypt: Mr. Erdogan had a with that country in 2013 over the ouster of Egypt’s first democratically elected president. There was good news on the media front, too: On Thursday night, a journalist and a human rights activist were released from jail. “We have to kind of change gears regarding foreign policy, regarding the press, regarding many issues in Turkey, and I think Mr. Erdogan will start doing that,” said Mr. Cevik, seated in a spacious palace room recently outfitted, so it smelled like the interior of a new car. “We have to show our true face to the American public. We are completely misunderstood at the moment. ” A political outsider, Mr. Erdogan helped found the Justice and Development Party, a diverse and inclusive political machine that turned out to be very good at winning elections, not because it cheated but because its members worked hard. “He really listened to his friends,” said Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, another of the party’s founders. “He was patient. He would consult with a rich and varied spectrum of people. When he saw violence, he knew how to step back. ” To gain control of Turkey’s bureaucracy, Mr. Erdogan struck an alliance with an opaque religious group led by a Muslim preacher, Fethullah Gulen, filling the ranks of the police and the judiciary with its highly educated members. “I told him I didn’t think any part of the state should be left to the control of people with a certain ideology,” said Mr. Firat, a Kurd who has since left the party. “His answer was, ‘We will not be harmed by those who look toward Mecca.’ We were not an Islamist party — we were a democratic party. But he was already drifting away. ” That was because he could: With the military out of the picture, the major check on his power had been removed. But Islam was not his undoing. Absolute power was. As Mr. Erdogan grew more popular, winning broad pluralities and even majorities in each successive election, he began to behave with a kind of Bolshevism, believing that he was the very embodiment of the people, former officials said. Others argue that Turkey’s problems are as much about the country as they are about Mr. Erdogan. “We treat Erdogan as the cause, but in some sense, he is the consequence of Turkish society — he is our creation,” said Hakan Altinay, the director of the European School of Politics at Bogazici University in Istanbul. “We have learned that even though we have the hardware of democracy — institutions, elections — our software is not good. We are too attuned to status, too willing to submit to authority. ” Today, many say Mr. Erdogan has simply adopted the bad habits of former Turkish leaders he came to power to defeat. He needs allies, so he has struck an alliance with the military — the chief of staff was a witness at his daughter’s wedding — and extreme nationalists are now resurgent. That is deeply troubling to human rights advocates who have documented the case of a Kurdish politician from Sirnak, Hursit Kulter, the first such disappearance since 2001. “Erdogan today has been captured by the patriotic forces of Turkey,” said Dogu Perincek, the head of a nationalist political party close to the military, who was jailed for conspiring against the state but recently released. Mr. Erdogan’s Achilles’ heel is the economy. His voters, while loyal, care about their pocketbooks more. Incomes have stagnated in recent years, and foreign direct investment, a major indicator of economic direction, has been declining, not counting real estate purchases. “We have an ulcer, not cancer,” Atilla Yesilada, a financial consultant in Istanbul, said of the economy. “But all signs point toward sicker. ” | 1 |
Virginia Republican congressman Dave Brat told Breitbart News Saturday radio host Matt Boyle that the American Health Care Act bill written by Speaker Paul Ryan (R. .) is designed to save the insurance companies, not return health insurance and health care delivery to the free market. [Brat said the speaker is worried about the insurance companies, who backed the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, because the system they created cannot be sustained because of its perverse incentives, regulations, and costs. In addition to the flaws in the Obamacare legislation and buildout, the congressman said it is foolish to attempt a political solution to an economic problem that forces you to accommodate the needs and values of 300 million Americans — such as people in both California and Texas — at the same time. The RyanCare bill is not connected to the promises President Donald Trump made on the campaign trail, said the former head of the economic department at College. “We want Trump to be hugely successful, so we don’t want to handle a bill that’s going to fail in a few years,” he said. “Trump ran on and competition across state lines, getting the price down — the price is going up by 20 percent and the bill we are getting ready to vote on, once again, goes back and does too much emphasis on the coverage aspect,” he said. Focusing on coverage makes it impossible for the bill to ever work, he said. “Five percent of the people with conditions, et cetera — very serious issues that every bill deals with — but five percent of the folks will cost 50 percent of the entire health care market,” he said. A condition has nothing to do with insurance, because the person already had the problem, he said. “That is not an insurance problem. That is a health care problem, and we’ve got to fix that. For the rest of the 300 million, we’ve got to design an efficient system that follows logic, where you get to go shop. ” Obamacare has many rules and restrictions governing how the insurance companies structure policies and run their own firms, he said. Lifting the regulatory burden on the insurance industry would free them to innovate, he said, “In the current bill, I’ve asked leadership, budget committee experts: ‘Can a young person go out and buy a health care insurance product of their choosing?’ The answer is no,” he said. The reason is that the regulations on the insurance companies require certain “essential health care benefits,” so that everyone in the country is forced to buy the same coverage, whether they need it or not,” Brat said. In the RyanCare bill, the individual mandate was supposed to go away, but instead, it is reconfigured as a continuing care option tied to the condition protections, he said. Under Ryancare someone can go without insurance for 10 years and then upon learning they have cancer, sign up for “insurance. ” Brat said the only penalty would be a 30 percent surcharge upon their premiums. “It is a perverse economic system. ” The congressman said nothing makes the politics of the RyanCare bill more plain than the fact that in 2015, Republicans in the House and Senate passed a repeal of Obamacare — when everyone knew it would be vetoed by President Barack Obama. Now with real bullets, Republicans are stepping away from repeal to put forward a RyanCare bill that preserves the structure and spirit of Obamacare. The speaker’s bill is unlikely to pass the House, but even if it makes it to the Senate, it will not pass there, either, Brat said. Then, hopefully, the Republican leadership will work with Capitol Hill conservatives to craft a true repeal of Obamacare that synchs up with what Trump promised the American people, Bratt concluded. | 0 |
Paul Craig Roberts: Trump faces assasination 09.11.2016 | Source: AP Photo
Donald Trump will be the new President of the United States of America. The Republican won 276 electoral votes with the necessary minimum of 270 votes and he has made himself to the post of the head of the United States.
Pravda.Ru has turned for a comment to Paul Craig Roberts who is an American economist, journalist, blogger and former civil servant.
The US presidential election is historic, because the American people were able to defeat the oligarchs. Hillary Clinton, an agent for the oligarchy, was defeated despite the vicious media campaign against Donald Trump. This shows that both the political establishment of both political parties and the media no longer have credibility with the American people.It remains to be seen whether Trump can select and appoint a government that will serve him and his goals to restore American jobs and to establish friendly and respectful relations with Russia, China, Syria, and Iran.It also remains to be seen how the oligarchy will respond to Trump's victory. Wall Street and its agent, the Federal Reserve, can cause an economic crisis in order to put Trump on the defensive. Rogue agents in the CIA and Pentagon can cause a false flag attack that would disrupt friendly relations with Russia. Trump could make a mistake and retain neoconservatives in his government.With Trump there is at least hope. Unless Trump is obstructed by bad judgment and obstacles put in his way, we should expect an end to Washington's orchestrated conflict with Russia, the removal of the US missiles on Russia's border with Poland and Romania, the end of the conflict in Ukraine, and the end ofWashington's effort to overthrow the Syrian government. However, achievements such as these implythe total defeat of the oligarchy. Although Trump defeated Hillary, the oligarchy still exists and is stillpowerful.Trump said that he no longer sees the point of NATO 25 years after the Soviet collapse. If he sticks tohis view, it means a big political change in Washington's EU vassals. The hostility toward Russia ofthe current EU and NATO officials would have to cease.We do not know who Trump will select to serve in his government. It is likely that Trump is unfamiliarwith the various possibilities and their positions on issues. It really depends on who is advising Trump and what advice they give him. Once we see his government, we will know whether we can be hopefulfor the changes that now have a chance. If Trump is actually successful in curbing the power and budget of the military/security complex and in holding Wall Street politically accountable, he could be assassinated.
Pravda.Ru Trump’s success shocks global markets | 0 |
This article includes spoilers for the current season of “The Walking Dead. ” “The Walking Dead,” which returns from its winter break on Sunday, began its seventh season with a bludgeoning for the ages, a double murder that turned the stomachs of even longtime fans inured to the show’s splatter factor. It didn’t get any better from there, as Rick and the Gang (along with the rest of us) endured seven more weeks of misery and subjugation by the new baddie Negan and his Saviors, before finally seeming to rebound in the midseason finale. Are our heroes ready to overthrow their tormentors? Let’s consider this and several additional questions leading into Sunday’s second half premiere. Glenn and Abraham were the big ones, of course. We also lost Spencer and Olivia, but they were pretty marginal. Daryl and Eugene were taken by the Saviors, but Daryl escaped. Glenn and Abraham’s brutal deaths set a gloomy tone for the first half of the season, which was primarily about Rick and friends grieving the loss and being victimized by Negan and the Saviors. We also met some new groups, and … well, that was about it. But eventually enough was enough, and the midseason finale ended with the core good guys reuniting, determined to throw off the yoke of Savior oppression. The tagline for this half is Rise Up, so it seems like a safe bet. Perhaps the more pertinent question is, when will the revolt happen? Teasers find Rick on a diplomatic mission to bring groups like the Hilltop and the Kingdom into the effort. How long will it take to persuade them to join the fight? Hard to say. Will it all be resolved this season? Considering that Negan doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, probably not. Season 7 has kicked off a new phase of “The Walking Dead” marked by colonies that are collaborating and clashing as civilization recreates itself in a postapocalyptic dawn. So far, in addition to the Saviors and Alexandria, we’ve met the weak but industrious Hilltop, led by the sniveling Gregory the Kingdom, led by the poser King Ezekiel and Oceanside, an group, led by the Natania, who hates outsiders but has lots of guns. There are also the Wolves, a murderous gang that was a real problem last season but hasn’t been a factor in Season 7. So is that it? Or are there more introductions to come? Based on this season’s general tendencies, it seems likely. O. K. it seems very likely. The boots in question, glimpsed in the midseason finale near the pond where Rick and Aaron found supplies, could very easily belong to someone from yet another group. In the last episode, we saw Saviors tending a herd of walkers, which may or may not be the same herd the Alexandrians loosed from the quarry at the beginning of Season 6. Whatever its provenance, the swarm seems sure to come into play somehow — we all know what Chekhov said about zombie herds hanging out on the highway. Carol has been a real bummer this season, moping through her scant few scenes as people like Morgan and King Ezekiel tried to breach the antisocial cocoon she’s spun around herself. They were unsuccessful, and after she’d sufficiently healed from her gunshot wound, Carol got herself a hermit’s hut on the outskirts of the Kingdom. You’ll recall that the mousy housewife turned stone killer reached a breaking point last season, and sought to distance herself from others so she wouldn’t have to kill again. Carol would seem to be too intelligent to believe such a policy is possible in a lawless hellscape, but perhaps we’ll learn that there’s more to it. Or maybe she just needed some me time. Maybe she’ll learn about Glenn and Abraham, and emerge from that cocoon as a battling butterfly of righteous vengeance. Whatever the case, here’s hoping she returns to the center of the show somehow, as it has suffered from the absence of both Carol and Melissa McBride, who plays her with grit and grace. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is electric in his performance, which is unfortunately also full of affected mannerisms — wild exclamations, an odd move — that quickly grew tiresome. A big villain helps to give “The Walking Dead” focus, and Mr. Morgan has shown promise, so hopefully he and the writers will find the actual man behind the tics. What questions or hopes do you have for the second half of the season? Please share your thoughts in the comments. | 1 |
WASHINGTON — A lawyer who represented Florida State University in an explosive sexual assault case and another lawyer who during the 2016 presidential campaign accused Hillary Clinton of enabling sexual predators have been chosen for key roles in the Department of Education, raising fears that the agency could pull back from enforcing civil rights in schools and on college campuses. President Trump will nominate Carlos G. Muñiz, a politically connected Florida lawyer who served as deputy general counsel to former Gov. Jeb Bush, to be general counsel to the Education Department. Mr. Muñiz, a lawyer and consultant based in the Jacksonville office of McGuireWoods, is perhaps best known for representing Florida State University in a lawsuit brought by a student who accused the former star quarterback Jameis Winston of raping her in 2012. Candice E. Jackson, who represented one of the women who attended a news conference before a presidential debate in October to impugn Mrs. Clinton’s treatment of sexual assault victims, announced that she will be the acting assistant secretary for civil rights. The posts are among the most high profile in the department. Staffing in the Office for Civil Rights has been a source of concern for civil rights advocates ever since the Trump administration rescinded protections for transgender students as one of its first education policy moves. A department spokesman declined to comment on Ms. Jackson’s apparent appointment, which was announced on her personal website and in a news release from Pepperdine University School of Law, where she earned a degree in 2002. In a statement, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos praised Mr. Muñiz’s nomination, calling him a “talented legal mind. ” “He will bring a tremendous amount of experience and insight to the U. S. Department of Education,” she said. The appointments have been met with trepidation from advocates who are anxious about the future of the Office for Civil Rights, which gained a higher profile under President Barack Obama as it focused policy as much on equity in education as on achievement. In the 2016 fiscal year, the office processed almost 17, 000 civil rights complaints — a nearly 60 percent increase over the previous year, and one of the highest totals in the office’s history — and opened 4, 000 investigations, according to a report released in December. In the days after the Trump administration rescinded the guidelines allowing transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, representing 60 organizations, sent a letter to Ms. DeVos asking for the next head of the civil rights office to have a track record of upholding student rights, and fighting systemic and individual cases of discrimination. The coalition, which includes organizations like the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. and the National Women’s Law Center, called it “one of the most significant decisions you and the president will make with regard to the civil rights of the nation’s students. ” “When you put these appointments together, people have reason to pay close attention to this civil rights agenda,” said Fatima Goss Graves, senior vice president at the National Women’s Law Center. Mr. Muñiz would advise on a broad range of policies that fall under the purview of the Office for Civil Rights, including sexual harassment and violence complaints, the mistreatment of students with special needs, school discipline disparities, and discrimination based on race, ethnicity and gender. The Obama administration issued nearly three dozen policy guidance documents. The Florida State case was a flash point for mishandlings and of sexual assault on campus. The university settled with the accuser, paying $950, 000, but amid revelations that it barely conducted an investigation into the claims, the Office for Civil Rights started an investigation that is still open. John Clune, who represented the accuser in the Florida State case, called Mr. Muñiz “a strong advocate and smart lawyer,” and said the case was better for having him work on it. “One of the things I appreciated was he was approachable,” Mr. Clune said. “I felt like Carlos was somebody that we could have candid conversation with. He cared about what our positions were. ” However, Mr. Clune said Mr. Muñiz did not approve of the Office for Civil Rights’ conducting its own investigation into the matter, and he worried about a conflict of interest if Mr. Muñiz was to advise on this case. Mr. Muñiz referred all questions to the Education Department. Ms. Jackson’s apparent appointment is also complicated. Advocates say that while her track record shows a commitment to standing up for victims, those victims did not include those who accused Mr. Trump of sexual misconduct. “It’s encouraging that she has experience believing survivors,” said Sofie Karasek, director of education at End Rape on Campus, which she helped found. However, she added, “for her not to believe survivors when it’s politically expedient, that raises the question of how committed you are to this issue. ” Ms. Jackson referred questions to the Education Department because she had not started yet. In her 2005 book, “Their Lives: Women Targeted by the Clinton Machine,” Ms. Jackson also detailed stories of women, including Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Jones and Gennifer Flowers, who claimed to have had sexual encounters with Bill Clinton, some of them unwanted or violent. | 1 |
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Automation in the workplace can bring new levels of efficiency and employee happiness, but it can also mean that human workers lose their jobs in favor of robotic replacements. No matter your stance on cutting-edge technology in the office, there is no doubt that it’s a swiftly approaching reality. According to a new study released by Stanford University, Americans can expect over 50 percent of all workplace discrimination to be fully automated by 2040.
The future is coming, and it’s coming fast.
Thanks to recent advancements in computer intelligence and predictive analytics, it may not be long before you see an automated machine in your office demoting female employees for becoming pregnant. Whether humiliating subordinates with unwanted sexual comments or automatically filtering out résumés from people with Middle Eastern last names, trends in technological development suggest that an increasingly computerized workforce will soon be enforcing inequality in office environments with far greater proficiency and cost-effectiveness than human labor.
“People think that automated workplace discrimination is still far off in the future, when truthfully it’s right around the corner,” said Stanford computer scientist Dr. Oliver Thorpe, who spearheaded the new study. “We’re already at the point with facial recognition software where it can identify which genders and races should be passed up for leadership roles with far greater accuracy than humans, and technologies like this are only getting better and cheaper by the day.”
With intelligent algorithms becoming rapidly more sophisticated and capable, virtually every industry can soon expect to begin replacing humans with machines that can oppress minorities, senior citizens, and other subjugated people groups with unprecedented efficiency and accuracy. Within 10 years, market-available computers will have the ability to grossly neglect the needs of disabled workers and make them feel like burdens. Within 15 years, roving automatons will travel about open-plan offices smacking female subordinates’ buttocks with their carbon-fiber paddle attachments, adeptly wielding their power in such a way as to avoid consequences.
Some believe that machines will never be able to fully replicate the complexity and intuitiveness of human on-the-job prejudice, but employers will likely be willing to sacrifice that human touch for the sake of their bottom line. Thorpe notes that maintaining a fucked-up culture of occupational disparity is expensive, and as soon as companies realize that they can enlist semi-autonomous robots to mistreat their employees at a fraction of the cost, they’ll be lining up to install them in offices nationwide.
Only time will tell whether or not the human workers who have so dutifully carried out discriminatory business practices for decades get laid off or reassigned, but one thing is for sure: The American office is about to look way different. | 0 |
A joint militia has begun a new phase in the operation to dislodge the Islamic State from its stronghold in Raqqa, Syria, moving to encircle the city and largely cut off the resupply of arms, supplies and fighters, American military officials confirmed on Sunday. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said on Sunday that he welcomed the start of the militia’s operation. “The effort to isolate, and ultimately liberate, Raqqa marks the next step in our coalition campaign plan,” Mr. Carter said in a statement. American warplanes are flying bombing missions against the Islamic State’s “leadership, command and control, and resources” in Raqqa and outside the city in support of the militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces, said Col. John Dorrian, a military spokesman in Baghdad. Colonel Dorrian said in an email that it might be some time before the to force reached Raqqa, and that the coalition would continue to train and recruit more forces — especially Arab troops — for an eventual attack on the city. By supporting the advance on Raqqa, American officials are sweeping aside objections from Turkey and moving forward with plans to rely on a ground fighting force that includes Kurdish militia fighters in Syria. The Turkish government, which has become a complicated ally in the fight against the Islamic State, fears that aspirations for autonomy will spread among its own Kurdish population. In a move to assuage Turkish concerns, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a previously unannounced visit to Ankara, the Turkish capital, on Sunday for talks with his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, in part to consult on battle plans for Raqqa, according to General Dunford’s spokesman, Capt. Greg Hicks. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not be reached for comment on Sunday, but last month Ankara asked Washington to exclude the Syrian Kurdish militias from the operation to liberate Raqqa, saying Turkey was ready to provide military support. Last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had told President Obama in a phone call that Turkey was capable of ridding Raqqa of the Islamic State by itself. Turkey wants to start the push on Raqqa after operations in Iraq, including the offensive against Mosul, have been completed, the deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmus, said at a news conference last week. France on Sunday supported the decision to begin the battle against the Islamic State’s headquarters in Raqqa while the offensive on Mosul is underway. “I believe it will be necessary,” the defense minister, Le Drian, said on Europe 1 radio. United States military officials said the Raqqa operation was being undertaken in roughly three phases. Phase 1 is what the coalition has been doing for months: conducting scores of preparatory airstrikes in and around Raqqa to knock out and fighting positions and other assets of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. “They don’t have the ability to move large troop formations, large convoys, but they do have the ability to move into and out of the area,” Colonel Dorrian told reporters in Washington last week. “What we’ve done to try to limit that is we’ve conducted a lot of strikes on their favored supply routes and infiltration routes. ” Phase 2, which the Syrian Democratic Forces announced on Sunday, is the campaign to isolate Raqqa. The aim is to cut it off from resupply with the available forces — about of them Syrian Kurds and Syrian Arabs, Pentagon officials say. “The intent, though, is to intensify that effort, to move closer to the city, to envelop the city and then once everything is in place, to liberate it,” Colonel Dorrian said last week. Phase 3 will be a fight for Raqqa itself, which American officials say they hope will be conducted mostly by Syrian Arabs, given that the city is majority Sunni Arab. But Colonel Dorrian said that might not happen for some time. “Right now, I don’t think that all the forces that’ll be involved in that liberation campaign for Raqqa are yet trained,” he said. Colonel Dorrian said that providing additional training to militia members who had already been involved in the fighting would take about two weeks. “We’ll let that play out, and we’ll see how long that takes, and we’ll see how many forces will be generated,” he said. More than 300 members of the United States Special Operations Forces are in Syria advising the coalition forces, but Colonel Dorrian said the Syrian opposition forces would dictate the timing of the ground operations and training, and the recruitment of additional Arab troops for the recapture of Raqqa. “There is an intent to enlarge the force, and in particular the Arab contingent of the force, because we do understand that Raqqa is primarily an Arab city,” Colonel Dorrian said. “We do understand that there is a political dimension and a local acceptance dimension to this fight. ” Senior Pentagon officials have stressed for weeks that the fight to retake Raqqa should begin soon — within weeks — to disrupt planning believed to be underway there to stage terrorist attacks on the West. Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top American military commander in Iraq, has declined to name a specific threat emanating from Raqqa against Western targets but described a general “sense of urgency. ” He told reporters at the Pentagon two weeks ago that it was imperative that operations to isolate the city began soon to prevent attacks on the West that could be launched or planned from the militants’ capital. General Townsend stressed that Kurdish militia fighters would be a major part of the ground force used to isolate Raqqa, despite Turkish objections. “We’re going to go with who can go, who’s willing to go soon,” he told reporters during a video news briefing from Baghdad. “And then, once we get the initial isolation in position, we’ll look at how we prosecute the operation further. ” While the Kurdish militia will make up the bulk of the operation, General Townsend said, many of the United States Special Forces troops in Syria would help recruit, train and equip local forces in and around Raqqa, predominantly Syrian Arabs. Gen. Joseph L. Votel, the commander of American forces in the Middle East, has acknowledged the challenges of dealing with two pivotal allies in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria who essentially loathe each other — the Turks and the Syrian Kurds. One of his main goals now, he said recently, is to maintain momentum and “to keep everyone moving in the right direction. ” | 1 |
By Chris “Kikila” Perrin Like any moment of catastrophe that flitters through the mainstream media, the Flint Water Crisis cannot be boiled down to a moment. With... | 0 |
DeRay Mckesson, one of the best known voices for the Black Lives Matter movement, was among hundreds of people arrested at weekend demonstrations across the country. He spent 16 hours in a Baton Rouge jail cell until he was released Sunday afternoon, vowing to continue demonstrating because he was convinced that the authorities want activists to be “too afraid to protest. ” Mr. Mckesson, in a telephone interview shortly after his release, said he believed that his arrest was unlawful and that the police unfairly conducted mass arrests while people were peacefully assembled and out of the way of traffic along a highway. In a booking record, Baton Rouge authorities said Mr. Mckesson ignored a police officer’s order to stay out of the road and as a result was charged with simple obstruction of a highway of commerce. He was released on his own recognizance. On Sunday night, he was at the Triple S convenience store, where Mr Sterling was shot a week ago, and which on this night was distinctly devoid of police officers after tense protests downtown hours earlier. “The police want protesters to be too afraid to protest, which is why they intentionally created a context of conflict, and I’ll never be afraid to tell the truth,” he said. “What we saw in Baton Rouge was a police department that chose to provoke protesters to create, like, a context of conflict they could exploit. ” He said that officers chased several protesters and that he had retained a lawyer. He added that he and others jailed remain committed to the Black Lives Matter movement and would continue to use civil disobedience to make their points. Mr. Mckesson and several others traveled to Baton Rouge to protest the death of Alton Sterling, who was fatally shot early Tuesday. The authorities arrested more than 100 people in connection with a protest outside the city’s police headquarters, charging most of them with obstructing the road. Eight firearms were confiscated and one officer lost several teeth after he was struck by a projectile, the police said. At a news conference in Baton Rouge, law enforcement officials defended arresting people who had stepped onto a highway against police commands, saying that streets had been closed for marches elsewhere but that this was a major thoroughfare and needed to remain open. “We certainly respect the right people have to gather peacefully, to protest peacefully and we’re going to protect that right,” said Sheriff Sid J. Gautreaux III of East Baton Rouge Parish. “At the same time we’re not going to tolerate any violence, we’re not going to tolerate any lawlessness, we’re not going to tolerate any destruction of property. ” Mr. Mckesson filmed his encounter with the police using the app Periscope. On camera, he told viewers that there was no sidewalk where they were walking. An officer could be heard shouting, “You with them loud shoes, I see you in the road. If I get close to you, you’re going to jail. ” “I think he’s talking to me, y’all,” said Mr. Mckesson, who often wears red sneakers to demonstrations. Later, Mr. Mckesson said, “Watch the police, they are just literally provoking people. ” Then, about five minutes into the broadcast, the video becomes shaky and a police officer can be heard saying: “City police. You’re under arrest. Don’t fight me. Don’t fight me. ” Sunday night, Mr. Mckesson said once he was taken into custody he was put in a van with dozens of others and was able to use another person’s phone to text people about what happened. He was eventually taken to East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. There he was at times housed with some 50 other men who took turns sitting on packed benches and sleeping on the floor. “Not everybody could fit,” he said. “Some of us had to stand. I, like many other people, slept on the floor or didn’t sleep at all because there just wasn’t enough room. ” After hours, Mr. Mckesson and others were then told to change into jumpsuits and were fed a breakfast of orange juice, oatmeal and pastries. While inside, Mr. Mckesson was able to make several calls to his lawyers and friends to strategize how to be released. Mr. Mckesson, 31, a public school administrator turned activist, first gained national notice with his blunt critiques on Twitter of the police response in Ferguson, Mo. after the death of Michael Brown in 2014. He ran for mayor of Baltimore, his hometown, this year, ultimately losing the Democratic primary in April to Catherine E. Pugh. | 1 |
Carrie Fisher was the child of a family. “The daughter of famous parents,” she wrote in her memoir “Wishful Drinking,” which originated as a show. “One an icon, the other a consort to icons. ” She entered popular culture as a princess in peril and endures as something much more complicated and interesting. Many things, really: a rebel commander a witty internal critic of the celebrity machine a teller of comic tales, true and embellished an inspiring and cautionary avatar of excess and resilience an emblem of the honesty we crave (and so rarely receive) from beloved purveyors of . When I heard the news of Ms. Fisher’s death on Tuesday, what immediately popped into my mind was not “Star Wars” but “Rosemary’s Baby” — that unforgettable episode from Season 2 of “30 Rock,” in which she turns up as a legendary and colossally difficult television writer, Rosemary Howard. [ Read Carrie Fisher’’s obituary ] Liz Lemon, the television writer played (and created) by Tina Fey, idolizes Rosemary, seeing her as a pioneer and a spiritual mother. But even symbolic relationships have a way of turning dysfunctional, and Liz comes to see Rosemary less as a beacon than a warning — an image of the cynical, resentful, dingbat Liz herself might well become. Emily Nussbaum, the New Yorker’s television critic, remarked on Twitter that the episode was “the of female comedy,” which may actually be an understatement. The character of Rosemary Howard certainly embodies the glories and contradictions of feminism, and Liz’s ambivalence about her is a barbed and brilliant illustration of the anxieties of female comic influence. But the casting of Ms. Fisher — whose performance on the show is somehow at once wildly winking and completely — adds about 12 dimensions of meta. Anyone watching that episode will already know that Liz Lemon is a rabid “Star Wars” fan. Her default Halloween costume is Princess Leia Organa. Later, when she wants to get out of jury duty, Liz will coil her hair over her ears and dress in a belted linen djellaba, confident that no judge would ever impanel such a cosplaying nerd. She’s wrong about that, and also wrong to sell out her Leia devotion, treating it as a source of embarrassment rather than power and pride. The princess allows Liz — and not only Liz — to be both geek and warrior, sex symbol and samurai, free spirit and prisoner of the corporate Death Star. Liz Lemon has two mothers, both played by Carrie Fisher. That statement can stand as a fictional index of Ms. Fisher’s extensive influence. Princess Leia — now General Organa of the Rebel Alliance — will always define her as an actress, something she claimed, in a recent Rolling Stone interview, not to mind. “I like Princess Leia,” she said. “I like how she was feisty. I like how she killed Jabba the Hutt. ” That feistiness has been Leia’s principal legacy, the early sign of a shift in the understanding of female heroism — and the meanings of the word princess — that has rippled through popular culture in the past 40 years. Leia is a foremother of Hermione Granger and Katniss Everdeen and of countless Disney princesses. She also foretold the recent, somewhat belated feminist turn in the “Star Wars” cycle itself. All of a sudden, and at long last, Leia is not the only heroine in the galaxy, having been joined by Rey in “The Force Awakens” and Jyn in “Rogue One. ” Ms. Fisher’s legacy may rest at least as much on her literary voice, on the alter egos she created on the page, as on any character she played onscreen. She was hardly the first or the only Hollywood figure to spill the beans about sex, drugs and other shenanigans. Nor was she unique among writers in the way she mined her own painful history of addiction and mental illness for harrowing and humorous copy. But “Postcards From the Edge,” her 1987 roman à clef about a movie star named Suzanne Vale with a cocaine problem and a difficult mom, bristles with a bravery and candor that still feels groundbreaking. She went there, long before that was a catchphrase, and before that particular there was such a crowded piece of real estate. In her Rolling Stone interview and elsewhere, Ms. Fisher liked to cite Dorothy Parker as an inspiration. She carried that tradition forward, and the frank, funny, confessionally inclined and women who now flourish on television and in print — the list is too long they know who they are — are in her debt. “You’re my kid!” Rosemary Howard cries out to Liz Lemon. An echo of the famous assertion of paternity in the “Star Wars” saga. And also an acknowledgment of Carrie Fisher’s own undeniable status as a matriarch. | 1 |
KABUL, Afghanistan — A United States military investigation into claims of civilian casualties during a joint operation by Afghan and American forces found that 33 civilians were killed and 27 others were wounded during a firefight and airstrikes in Kunduz Province last year, American military officials said on Thursday. In early November, Afghan Special Forces, accompanied by American military advisers, came under intense fire during an operation to arrest Taliban commanders in Boz Qandahari, a village in Kunduz, the United States military command in Afghanistan said in a statement. They called in American airstrikes, which resulted in some of the civilian casualties. Two American soldiers and three Afghan commandos were killed, and four American soldiers and 11 commandos were wounded, the statement said. “Regardless of the circumstances, I deeply regret the loss of innocent lives,” said Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr. the commander of United States forces in Afghanistan. “On this occasion, the Taliban chose to hide amongst civilians and then attacked Afghan and U. S. forces. ” “I wish to assure President Ghani and the people of Afghanistan that we will take all possible measures to protect Afghan civilians,” he added, referring to Ashraf Ghani. After the battle in Kunduz, a New York Times reporter counted 22 bodies being brought into the city on the way to the hospital there. Among them were 14 children, four women, two older men and two men of fighting age. They were accompanied by a large group of protesters from Boz Qandahari, the village that was hit. Residents of Boz Qandahari, however, said that the investigation had underestimated the number of civilians killed and that the claim of Taliban firing at the forces from their homes was not true. “My father was a shopkeeper — he had a grocery shop close to our house. My brother and I were farmers. We had never had a weapon. I and no one in my family knows how to use a weapon,” said Mohammed Reza, 29, who lost seven family members in the bombing and was stuck in the rubble of their house for hours. “I lost my father, my brother, my brother’s wife, my son and three of my nephews who were between 1 and 7 years old. ” Dad Mohammed, 45, said he was aware of at least 37 killed among his own relatives. “There were no Taliban among us, there was no Taliban in our house. Except for one former Talib, who was disabled and had lost a leg and he was our cousin,” he said. “He was killed along with his father, his wife and five children. His brother was also killed. ” Mr. Mohammed said the Taliban stronghold in the area was obvious, but it was far from the areas that had been bombed. “This was an act of oppression,” he said. “We are also humans. It should be investigated by an international court, and we need to be compensated for our loss. ” Kunduz is also where a United States military gunship mistakenly targeted a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders in October 2015, killing at least 42 people and destroying much of the hospital. | 0 |
Behind the headlines - conspiracies, cover-ups, ancient mysteries and more. Real news and perspectives that you won't find in the mainstream media. Browse: Home / Top five donors to Clinton campaign are Jewish Essential Reading The Anglo-Saxon Mission Part II By wmw_admin on March 1, 2010
Former City of London insider reveals that the depopulation program would begin with a planned war between Israel and Iran. More importantly, he goes onto to describe how we can derail their plans for global dominance Coming Clean By wmw_admin on April 29, 2004
Chemtrails are not the product of some ‘Conspiracy Theory’. They are real. We get the low down from an aircraft mechanic who has done his own investigating US ‘backed plan to launch chemical weapon attack on Syria, blame it on Assad govt': Report By wmw_admin on June 15, 2013
This report appeared in January, 2013, but was subsequently removed from the Mail’s website. Fortunately some observers copied extracts, which we repost here The Advent of the Anti-Christ By Rixon Stewart on August 2, 2010
A few words on the market meltdown and how it may assist the debut of a truly sinister figure The Anglo-Saxon Mission Part I By wmw_admin on March 1, 2010
Bill Ryan talks to a former City of London insider who participated in a meeting where the elite’s plans for depopulation were discussed. The meeting, which took place in 2005, also discussed a planned financial collapse Dov Zakheim and the 9/11 Conspiracy By wmw_admin on April 23, 2010
Our web hosts were threatened with legal action after lawyers representing none other than Dov Zakheim himself claimed this article was “defamatory.” Due to an oversight the article was not fully removed so read it before Zakheim gets us shut down The Lady, The Queen and what it really means By wmw_admin on December 28, 2009
Every picture tells a story and with some photos and a few words Paul Powers shows us what was hidden in the background when Queen Elizabeth II met pop sensation Lady Gaga They Live By wmw_admin on August 19, 2012
Considered by some as prophetic, many will find eerie echoes of present day concerns in John Carpenters 24-year-old ‘They Live’. View the cult classic here The Life of an American Jew in Racist Marxist Israel Part II By wmw_admin on October 27, 2006
Written nearly twenty years ago, Jack Bernstein’s words now have a prophetic ring which he paid for with his life Al Qaeda – The Database By Wayne Madsen on May 15, 2009
Pierre-Henry Bunel, a former agent for French military intelligence, tells of the origins of Al Qaeda and its ultimate purpose | 0 |
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Americans reportedly favor expanding Social Security, while key members of the Republican Party are accused of wanting to let it wither.
An article published October 28 by the Huffington Post , citing data culled from Public Policy Polling survey, reports that 72 percent of Americans support expanding Social Security benefits.
After highlighting data that they claim prove that all Americans regardless of age and political persuasion favor increasing Social Security benefits, the article explains that this growth should be accomplished by forcing "the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share."
As an attorney, I was trained to parse phrases, breaking them down into key terms and then defining those words in careful ways so as to reveal the principles and biases upon which the statutes in question reveal.
In the case of the expansion of Social Security, the key word that jumps off the page is "wealthiest."
To me, the threshold question in the analysis of this recommendation is who is to decide what level of affluence would qualify an American as being among the "wealthiest" who are the target of the proposed revenue-raising scheme.
Of course, as is the case with most of these progressive plans to steal the fruits from the laborer and fence them to the "needy" (who, for generations, have been convinced that it is their right to receive such filched funds), there is no mention of the fairness of seizing the property of one group, which thought to prepare for their retirement, to compensate for another group's failure to do so.
Next up on the list of terms to define is "fair share."
Again, it is critical to know who is deciding what is the "fair" amount "owed" by the objects of the fleecing.
Not surprisingly, the HuffPo article provides no answers to these key questions. It does, however, indicate how these questions would be answered by the two major party candidates for president.
First up, Hillary Clinton. HuffPo explains the Democratic nominee's plan for taking more money from the "wealthy" to make up for the lack of retirement planning by the rest of us.
"Consistent with the will of the people, Hillary Clinton has pledged to expand, never cut, Social Security," the article affirms. "The Democratic Platform fully backs the same position espoused by Clinton and the American people."
The GOP nominee, on the other hand, hasn't signed on to steal the property of one group and give it to another, rewarding the latter's lack of planning and preparation for a pension. Here's the HuffPo portrayal of Donald Trump's take on the purportedly popular plan to expand Social Security: In sharp contrast to Clinton and the Democrats, the Republican Party’s 2016 platform advocates cutting and dismantling, through privatization, our Social Security system. Donald Trump publically [sic] states that he won’t touch Social Security, but his choice of advisors and running mate — not to mention his own past statements and the Platform he controlled — make it clear that, once in office, he would fall in line with Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker Paul Ryan, and other leaders of the Republican Party who claim that they want to “save” Social Security but advocate cutting it.
However despite HuffPo's claim to the contrary, over the course of the campaign for the White House, Trump has repeated many times that he would not touch Social Security -- much less privatize it -- revealing why the issue is called the "third rail" of American politics.
The "third rail" analogy comes from railroad where the third rail is the middle rail that is electrified, deadly to the touch.
In politics, then, any issue dubbed a third rail is one that is so controversial that any attempt to fiddle with it in any way would kill the politician making the ill-fated effort at change.
Trump, in his own words, has declared his plans for Social Security should he become president.
"They want to cut your social security, I'm not cutting your social security,” Trump said in Racine, Wisconsin, on April 2.
"We're gonna save your Social Security without making any cuts. Mark my words,” explained Trump on a trip to Georgia in February.
It appears, then, that neither major party candidate has any plan to eliminate this untouchable region of the soft socialism that is the economic policy of both partners in the duopoly that controls the United States.
Whence comes the authority of Congress (or any branch of the federal government) to forcibly seize the property of workers and set up a retirement savings account on their behalf? The quick answer is the Supreme Court.
In the case of Helvering v. Davis (1937), the Supreme Court determined that Social Security deductions from a person's wages was a constitutional exercise of the General Welfare Clause.
As for whether that clause was meant to endow the central government with unlimited authority to tax and spend, in 1792 Congressman James Madison warned: If Congress can apply money indefinitely to the general welfare, and are the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may establish teachers in every State, county, and parish, and pay them out of the public Treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children, establishing in like manner schools throughout the Union; they may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post roads. In short, every thing, from the highest object of State legislation, down to the most minute object of police, would be thrown under the power of Congress; for every object I have mentioned would admit the application of money, and might be called, if Congress pleased, provisions for the general welfare.
And so they have and there are few brave enough to oppose the perpetuation of the plan. Certainly neither the Democratic candidate for president, nor her Republican counterpart.
How did Americans get to a place where they will be left penniless in their old age?
The socialists, the progressives, and the politicians who pander to them, the "stagnation of wages" is to blame for the failure of "American families to save even for short-term emergencies."
What, though, of the fact that the average American carries over $15,000 in credit card debt. What if the money paid in interest on this debt was set aside for retirement, rather than spent paying interest rates on credit card-financed consumer purchases that, truth be told, have no long-term value and in fact rob the debtor of not only his current financial health, but make his future financial health on life-support, as well?
Moreover, consider all of the money that employess “contribute” to Social Security. This amount is actually twice the amount shown on pay-check stubs, since employers are required to match their employees’ “contributions” with their own “contributions” that are part of the cost of employing workers and (in the absence of Social Security) could be paid directly to the employees. Just imagine how big a nest egg workers could accumulate if all of the money now going into Social Security were available to them to save and invest!
There is another proposal for how to restore the happy retirement of an increasingly elderly American population: privatization of Social Security.
HuffPo claims that this plan would harm the poorest among us and leave them unable to support themselves in their retirement. Others insist that the poorest pensioners would be the biggest beneficiaries of the privatization of Social Security.
Here is an analysis by the Cato Institute: By providing a much higher rate of return, privatization would raise the incomes of those elderly retirees who are most in need. Although the current Social Security system is ostensibly designed to be progressive, transferring wealth to the elderly poor, the system actually contains many inequities that leave the poor at a disadvantage. For instance, the low-income elderly are much more likely than their wealthy counterparts to be dependent on Social Security benefits for most or all of their retirement income. But despite a progressive benefit structure, Social Security benefits are inadequate for the elderly poor’s retirement needs. In addition, the progressivity of Social Security is undermined by differences in life expectancy. Because the wealthy generally live longer than the poor, they receive more total Social Security payments over the course of their lifetimes. In a privatized system, an individual’s benefits would not be dependent on life expectancy. Individuals would have a property right in their benefits. Any benefits remaining at their deaths would become part of their estates, inherited by their heirs. Finally, Social Security drains capital from the poorest areas of the country, leaving less money available for new investment and job creation. Privatization would increase national savings and provide a new pool of capital for investment that would be particularly beneficial to the poor.
Financial sense of this sort would not be enough, of course, to convince the socialists to reconsider their plan to pilfer the wages of the "wealthy" and "charitably" give it to the elderly poor.
Why? Simple. Their plan is not to take care of the poor, but rather they need to keep the poor poor in order to sell economic salvation to them every election cycle.
Ultimately, for constitutionalists, the goal is to eliminate Social Security all together and divest the federal government of its role in retirement planning and any other activity over which the states did not grant it authority in the Constitution. Please review our Comment Policy before posting a comment
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Tweet Widget by Rick Sterling
Warmongers in the U.S. Congress -- Democrats and Republicans – are in a mad dash towards war with Russia in Syria. A “No Fly Zone” resolution passed the House with little debate, cloaked in “humanitarian” language that blames the besieged Syrian government for the totality of the deaths in the U.S.-backed proxy war. The bipartisan regime changers are desperate to complete their mission before the regime change that will occur in Washington, on January 20. Congressional Hawks Rush to Intensify War in Syria by Rick Sterling
This article previously appeared in Dissident Voice .
“ They are desperate to prevent the Syrian government from finally eliminating the terrorist groups which the West and allies have promoted for the past 5+ years.”
Hawks pass HR5732
Late in the day Tuesday November 15, Congress convened in special session. With normal rules suspended, they passed House Resolution 5732 the “Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.” The resolution calls for intensifying already harsh sanctions on Syria, assessing implementation of No Fly Zone in Syria and escalating efforts to press criminal charges against Syrian officials.
HR5732 claims to promote a negotiated settlement in Syria but, as analyzed by Friends Committee for National Legislation, imposes preconditions which would actually make that more difficult.
There was 40 minutes of “debate” with six representatives (Royce, Engel, Ros-Lehtinen, Kildee, Smith, and Curbelo) speaking in favor of the resolution. There were few other Congressional representatives present in Congress. The House Foreign Affairs Committee stated that the resolution was passed “unanimously” without mentioning the special conditions.
The “Non Controversial” Resolution that could lead to World War III
According to wikipedia “ Suspension of the rules is a procedure generally used to quickly pass non-controversial bills in the United States House of Representatives ….such as naming Post Offices…” In this case, the resolution calls for evaluating and developing plans for a “No Fly Zone” which is an act of war. This is obviously controversial and it seems clear the resolution should have been debated and discussed under normal rules with a normal amount of Congressional presence and debate.
The motivation for bypassing normal rules and rushing the bill through without debate was articulated by the bill’s author and ranking Democrat Eliot Engel: “We cannot delay action on Syria any further…. if we don’t get this legislation across the finish line in the next few weeks, we are back to square one.” The current urgency may be related to the election results since Trump has spoken out against “regime change” foreign policy. As much as they are critical of Obama for not doing more, Congressional neoconservatives are concerned about the prospect of a President who might move toward peace and away from war.
The Caesar Fraud
HR5732 is titled the “Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act”. Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ed Royce (R-Ca) explained that the resolution is named after “the brave Syrian defector known to the world as Caesar, who testified to us the shocking scale of torture being carried out within the prisons of Syria.”
In reality, the Caesar story was a grand deception involving the CIA with funding from Qatar to sabotage the 2014 Geneva negotiations. The 55,000 photos which were said to show 11,000 torture victims have never been publicly revealed. Only a tiny number of photos have been publicized. However, in 2015 Human Rights Watch was granted access to view the entire set. They revealed that almost one half the photos show the opposite of what was claimed: instead of victims tortured by the Syrian government, they actually show dead Syrian soldiers and civilian victims of car bombs and other terror attacks! The “Caesar” story, replete with masked ‘defector’, was one of the early propaganda hoaxes regarding Syria.
False Claims that the US has been doing nothing
One of the big lies regarding Syria is that the US has been inactive. Royce says:
The administration has decided not to decide. And that itself, unfortunately, has set a course where here we sit and watch and the violence only worsens. Mr. Speaker, America has been sitting back and watching these atrocities for far too long. Vital U.S. national security interests are at stake.
The ranking Democrat Eliot Engel said:
Four years ago I thought we should have aided the Free Syrian Army. They came to us in Washington and begged us for help… they were simply looking for weaponry. I really believe if we had given it to them, the situation in Syria would have been different today.
This is nonsense. The US was actively coordinating, training and supplying armed opposition groups beginning in late 2011. When the Qadaffi government was toppled in Fall 2011, the CIA oversaw the theft of the Libyan armories and shipment of weapons to Syrian armed opposition as documented in the Defense Intelligence Agency report of October 2012.
These weapons transfers were secret. For the public record it was acknowledged that the US was supplying communications equipment to the armed opposition while Saudi Arabia and Qatar were supplying weaponry. This is one reason that Saudi purchases of weapons skyrocketed during this time period; they were buying weapons to replace those being shipped to the armed opposition in Syria. It was very profitable for US arms manufacturers.
Huge weapons transfers to the armed opposition in Syria have continued to the present. This past Spring, Janes Defense reported the details of a U.S. delivery of 2.2 million pounds of ammunition, rocket launchers and other weaponry to the armed opposition.
“The US has done everything short of a direct attack on Syria.”
Claims that the US has been inactive are baseless. In reality the US has done everything short of a direct attack on Syria. And the US military is starting to cross that barrier. On September 17 the US air coalition did a direct attack on the Syrian Army in Deir Ezzor, killing 80 Syrian soldiers and enabling ISIS to launch an attack on the position. Claims that it was a “mistake” are highly dubious.
The claims by Congressional hawks that the US has been “inactive” in the Syrian conflict are part of the false narrative suggesting the US must “do something” which leads to a No Fly Zone and full scale war. Ironically, these calls for war are masked as “humanitarian.” And never do the proponents bring up the case of Libya where the US and NATO “did something”: destroyed the government and left chaos.
Congress as a Fact-Free House of Propaganda
With only a handful of representatives present and no debate, the six Congress members engaged in unrestrained propaganda and misinformation. The leading Democrat, Eliot Engel, said “We’re going into the New Year 2017, Assad still clings to power, at the expense of killing millions of his citizens.” That number is way off anyone’s charts.
Rep Kildee said “The world has witnessed this terrible tragedy unfold before our eyes. Nearly half a million Syrians killed. Not soldiers – men, women, children killed.”
The official text of the resolution says,
It is the sense of Congress that–
(1) Bashar al-Assad’s murderous actions against the people of Syria have caused the deaths of more than 400,000 civilians…
The above accusations – from “millions of citizens” to “half a million” to “400,000 civilians” – are all preposterous lies.
Credible estimates of casualties in the Syrian conflict range from 300,000 to 420,000. The opposition supporting Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates the documented 2011-2016 death toll as follows:
killed pro Syrian forces – 108,000
killed anti government forces – 105,000
killed civilians – 89,000
In contrast with Congressional and media claims, civilians comprise a minority of the total death count and the largest casualty group is those fighting in defense of the the Syrian state. These facts are ignored and never mentioned because they point to the reality versus the propaganda narrative which allows the USA and allies to continue funding terrorism and a war of aggression against Syria.
The Congressional speakers were in full self-righteous mode as they accused the Syrian government of “committing crimes against humanity and war crimes against civilians including murder, torture and rape. No one has been spared from this targeting, even children.” A naive listener would never know that the Syrian government is primarily fighting the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda including thousands of foreigners supplied and paid by foreign governments.
The Congressional speakers go on to accuse the Syrian military of “targeting” hospitals, schools and markets. A critical listener might ask why they would do that instead of targeting the Al Qaeda terrorists and their allies who launch dozens and sometimes hundreds of hell cannon missiles into government held Aleppo every day.
“The White Helmets actively promote US/NATO intervention through a No Fly Zone.”
The Congressional propaganda fest would not be complete without mention of the “ White Helmets “. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said:
“We (previously) heard the testimony of Raed Saleh of the Syrian White Helmets. These are the doctors, nurses and volunteers who actually, when the bombs come, run towards the areas that have been hit in order to try to get the injured civilians medical treatment…They have lost over 600 doctors and nurses.”
This is more Congressional nonsense. There are no nurses or doctors associated with the White Helmets. The organization was created by the USA and UK and heavily promoted by a “ shady PR firm .” The White Helmets operate solely in areas controlled by Nusra and associated terrorist groups. They do some rescue work in the conflict zone but their main role is in the information war manipulating public opinion. The White Helmets actively promote US/NATO intervention through a No Fly Zone. Recently the White Helmets has become a major source of claims of innocent civilian victims in east Aleppo. Given the clear history of the White Helmets, these claims should be treated with skepticism. What exactly is the evidence? The same skepticism needs to be applied to video and other reports from the Aleppo Media Center. AMC is a creation of the Syrian Expatriates Organization whose address on K Street, Washington DC indicates it is a US marketing operation.
What is really going on?
The campaign to overthrow the Syrian government is failing and there is possibility of a victory for the Syrian government and allies. The previous flood of international jihadi recruits has dried up. The Syrian Army and allies are gaining ground militarily and negotiating settlements or re-locations with “rebels” who previously terrorized Homs, Darraya (outer Damascus) and elsewhere. In Aleppo the Syrian army and allies are tightening the noose around the armed opposition in east Aleppo.
This has caused alarm among neoconservative lawmakers devoted to Israel, Saudi Arabia and U.S. empire. They are desperate to prevent the Syrian government from finally eliminating the terrorist groups which the West and allies have promoted for the past 5+ years.
“Pro Israel” groups have been major campaigners for passage of HR5732. The name of Simon Wiesenthal is even invoked in the resolution. With crocodile tears fully flowing, Rabbi Lee Bycel wrote “ Where is the Conscience of the World? ” as he questioned why the “humanitarian” HR5732 was not passed earlier.
Israeli interests are one of the primary forces sustaining and promoting the conflict. Syria is officially at war with Israel which continues to occupy the Syrian Golan Heights; Syria has been a key ally of the Lebanese resistance; and Syria has maintained its alliance with Iran. In 2010 Secretary of State Clinton urged Syria to break relations with Hezbollah, reduce relations with Iran and come to settlement with Israel. The Syrian refusal to comply with these Washington demands was instrumental in solidifying Washington’s hostility .
Congressional proponents of HR5732 make clear the international dimension of the conflict. Royce explains “It is Russia, it is Hezbollah, that are the primary movers of death and destruction…it is the IRGC fighters from Iran”. Engel echoes the same message: “Yes, we want to go after Assad’s partners in violence…along with Iranian and Hezbollah forces”.
These statements are in contrast with the analysis of some writers who believe Israel is not deeply opposed to the Damascus government. For example, Phyllis Bennis recently wrote that belief in an “arc of resistance” has been “long debunked” and that “the Syrian regime …. often plays a useful role for US and Israeli interests.”
It’s remarkable that this faulty analysis continues to be propounded. In words and deeds Israel has made its position on Syria crystal clear. Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren explained in an interview:
“We always wanted [President] Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran … the greatest danger to Israel is by the strategic arc that extends from Tehran, to Damascus to Beirut. And we saw the Assad regime as the keystone in that arc.”
These statements have been fully backed up by Israeli actions bombing Syrian positions in southern Syria and providing medical treatment for Nusra/Al Qaeda and other armed opposition fighters.
What Will Happen Now?
If the Syrian government and allies continue to advance in Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, outer Damascus and the south, the situation will come to a head. The enemies of Syria – predominately the USA, Gulf Countries, NATO and Israel – will come to a decision point. Do they intervene directly or do they allow their regime project to collapse?
HR5732 is an effort to prepare for direct intervention and aggression.
One thing is clear from the experience of Libya: Neoconservatives do not care if they leave a country in chaos. The main objective is to destabilize and overthrow a government which is too independent. If the USA and allies cannot dominate the country, then at least they can destroy the contrary authority and leave chaos.
What is at stake in Syria is whether the USA and allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, etc. are able to destroy the last secular and independent Arab country in the region and whether the US goal of being the sole superpower in the world prevails.
The rushed passing of HR5732 without debate is indicative that:
* “regime change” proponents have not given up their war on Syria
* they seek to escalate US aggression.
* the US Congress is a venue where blatant lies are said with impunity and where violent actions are advanced behind a cynical and amoral veneer of “humanitarianism” and crocodile tears. Rick Sterling is an investigative journalist and member of Syria Solidarity Movement. He can be reached at [email protected] | 1 |
Stanley Black Decker, one of the U. S. A. ’s most well known hand and power tool manufacturers, has unveiled plans to move some manufacturing back to the U. S. after the election of Donald J. Trump to the White House. [In remarks to investors during a Thursday conference call, Stanley Black Decker CEO James Loree said it just makes “business sense” to move manufacturing back to the U. S. especially given the uncertainty of trade relations with China and Mexico, USA Today reported. “It’s going to be advisable to have more manufacturing in the U. S.,” Loree added. “We believe this is an excellent opportunity to and revitalize this legendary brand,” he concluded. Stanley Black Decker has been slowly increasing jobs in the U. S. for the past several years. Its current level of some 3, 000 workers is already up 800 from 2013. It is not yet known how many more jobs the company will be bringing to the U. S. as a result of its latest announcement. The remarks come after the company announced the impending purchase of the Sears Craftsman tool line for about $900 million after Sears suffered another round of setbacks which will include the closing of at least 150 more stores. Stanley Black Decker is not alone in a sudden interest in in the U. S. since the election of Donald J. Trump. Only days ago at the start of the new year, Ford Motors announced it was canceling plans to build new manufacturing facilities in Mexico and will instead in America. But Ford is only the latest. A whole list of companies have already promised to bring investment and jobs to America since Trump’s election. Immediately after Trump’s big November win, such companies as Carrier, SoftBank, U. S. Steel, and IBM all announced major additions to the U. S. job market. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail. com. | 0 |
The Daily Sheeple
There is no doubt about it. Hillary Clinton is after your guns.
Brian Fallon, national press secretary for the Clinton campaign, wrote in an email dated October 4, 2015 that Clinton intends to stop the “gun show loophole”, meaning all private gun sales, by executive order :
Circling back around on guns as a follow up to the Friday morning discussion: the Today show has indicated they definitely plan to ask bout guns, and so to have the discussion be more of a news event than her previous times discussing guns, we are going to background reporters tonight on a few of the specific proposals she would support as President – universal background checks of course, but also closing the gun show loophole by executive order and imposing manufacturer liability .
Imposing manufacturer liability means that after Sandy Hook, Bushmaster and Remington Arms would have been prosecuted for having a hand in the murder of children and school staff members for firearms that were legally sold. When a lawsuit brought against these manufacturers was found to be frivolous, Clinton made a big fuss about it on Twitter: It's incomprehensible that our laws would protect gun makers over Sandy Hook families. We need to fix this. https://t.co/96uBe92wPi
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 15, 2016
In September 1993 during a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Hillary Clinton was asked by Senator Bill Bradley if she supported a 25% sales tax on handguns and automatic weapons. She was very clear in her support of taxing guns:
“I’m all for that. I just don’t know what else we’re going to do to try to figure out how to get some handle on this violence,” said Clinton. “I’m speaking personally, but I feel very strongly about that.”
In another email exchange dated January 14, 2016, Clinton wrote about using racial division to further her gun control agenda by selectively ignoring occurrences of gun violence that were not racially motivated. For this reason, according to the email, the Clinton campaign did not include the story of Jordan Davis in an essay on gun violence:
This is great. My edits are attached. The only flag here is that Jordan Davis was killed by a white man, so arguably – this crime was racially motivated, which takes this outside the discussion of gun violence. Was there another mother in the Chicago meeting where the shooting was NOT racially motivated? If yes, we should use that story instead of Jordan Davis.
In another email from March 17, we see an exchange about how to attack Donald Trump and a press call with Arizona locals about gun control. When asked about an anti-gun op-ed article by the Clinton Campaign, Chairman John Podesta wrote that he fears blowback from Clinton’s supporters:
Interestingly, I am worried about blowback from our supporters. Contributed by The Daily Sheeple of www.TheDailySheeple.com . Don't forget to follow the D.C. Clothesline on Facebook and Twitter. PLEASE help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks. Share this: | 0 |
« Previous - Next » Anonymous To Release The 33000 Deleted Hillary E-Mails Starting November 1st
The Internet hacking collective Anonymous are said to be behind the enormous hack of emails relating to the Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. While it has been claimed in the mainstream media that hackers from within Russia were responsible for the hack, Anonymous have declared that these suspicions are complete without merit. A source from within the group has allegedly provided proof that Anonymous are in possession of the thirty-three thousand deleted emails. It has also been said that they intend to release all of them.
It has been claimed that the choice to release emails that would force the FBI to open a serious criminal investigation was a deliberate tactic on the part of hackers involved with the shadowy cyber-network. It is believed that the emails relate to the disgraced former politician Anthony Weiner and his sexual propositioning of an underage girl. The nature of Weiner’s crime adds credence to the claims that Anonymous are behind the hack as they have a strong track record in aggressively exposing the crimes of sex offenders.
The source has claimed that the revelations will not end with Weiner. In the week leading up to the highly contentious presidential election, more emails will be released in batches, each containing sensational details supposedly relating to the criminal activity of those within Clinton’s inner circle. A sneak preview of the revelations that are to suggest that they are potential ground breaking in nature. Apparently, the group has access to documents which attest to serious criminal activities including bribes and threats to both election officials and members of the media. Sources within Anonymous have claimed that these documents will certainly lead to criminal charges being leveled against further individuals within the Democratic Party .
The group has also given a tantalizing hint about the relationship between the Clinton Foundation, the White House and the Middle Eastern country of Qatar. It is alleged that the emails will show that the Clinton Foundation made a transfer of $1.8 billion to the incredibly wealthy country. There are also allusions to a palace being built there for a ‘high-ranking White House official.' As the group has also claimed that the sitting president Barrack Obama will feature heavily in the upcoming emails, it has been speculated as to whether the president himself is this ‘high ranking White House official.'
This article (Anonymous To Release The 33000 Deleted Hillary E-Mails Starting November 1st) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with full attribution and a link to the original source on Disclose.tv Related Articles | 0 |
Washington’s meddling in foreign elections By Jacob Hornberger Posted on November 7, 2016 by Jacob Hornberger
As U.S. officials continue to accuse Russia of meddling with the U.S. presidential election, an accusation that they have provided no evidence whatsoever to support, let’s review some of the U.S. government’s history of meddling with elections in others countries.
1. In 1951, the democratically elected parliament of Iran elected a man named Mohammad Mossadegh to be Iran’s prime minister. Mossadegh angered British Empire officials by nationalizing British oil interests in the country.
British officials then turned to the CIA for assistance. In 1953, the CIA secretly fomented a violent coup in Iran, which succeeded in ousting Mossadegh from power and making the Shah of Iran the supreme unelected dictator of the country.
To fortify the Shah’s dictatorial hold on power, the CIA helped organize and train his domestic police force, the Savak, which was essentially a combination of the CIA, the NSA, and the military. Part of the CIA’s training involved teaching Savak agents the art of torture.
For the next 26 years, the Iranian people suffered under one of the most brutal and tyrannical dictatorships in the world, one that U.S. officials fully supported and called an ally and friend of the United States.
In 1979, Iranians successfully revolted against the Shah’s regime and ousted him from power. One result was not a restoration of the democratic system that had elected Mossadegh but rather another brutal dictatorship, this time a religious one. Another result is the bad relations between the Iran and U.S. governments that continue to exist today.
2. In 1951, the Guatemalan people democratically elected a man named Jacobo Arbenz to be their president. Arbenz, however, was not satisfactory to U.S. officials, especially the national-security branch of the government, specifically the Pentagon and the CIA. The reason that U.S. officials opposed Arbenz was that he was a socialist, and U.S. officials considered a socialist president of Guatemala to be a threat to “national security” here in the United States.
In 1954—one year after the coup in Iran, the CIA fomented a violent military coup that succeeded in removing Arbenz from power and replacing him with one of the most brutal unelected military dictators in Latin American history, a man named Carlos Castillo Armas. The CIA had a kill list prepared for the coup, which Arbenz was able to escape by fleeing the country before Castillo was able to get him. The CIA’s destruction of Guatemala’s democratic system threw the nation into a 30-year civil war that ended up killing millions of Guatemalan people, especially many of the poor.
3. In 1960 a man named Patrice Lumumba was elected Congo’s first prime minister after independence from Belgium. Lumumba spoke out against Western imperialism and refused to take sides in the Cold War, which caused the CIA to conclude that he was a threat to “national security.” The CIA orchestrated the assassination of Lumumba, which ended up taking place on January 17, 1961, just three days before President Kennedy, who liked Lumumba and who would have ordered the CIA to stand down, was to be sworn into office.
4. In 1970 a man named Salvador Allende received a plurality of votes in the presidential election in Chile. Pursuant to the Chilean constitution, the election was thrown into the national congress. President Richard Nixon, his national-security team, the Pentagon, and the CIA concluded that because Allende believed in communism and socialism, he posed a grave threat to “national security” here in the United States. The CIA attempted to bribe members of the congress to vote against Allende. It also orchestrated the kidnapping of the head of Chile’s armed forces, Gen Rene Schneider, who opposed a U.S. military coup in his country, especially since a coup would violate the country’s constitution. The kidnapping attempt on Schneider left him dead.
The CIA then fomented a coup that took place on 9/11 1973 that violently ousted Allende from power and left him dead. Replacing him was army Gen. Augusto Pinochet, one of the most brutal unelected military dictators in history. By the time Pinochet’s 17-year reign of military terror came to an end in 1990, he and his CIA-supported goons had incarcerated, raped, tortured, or killed tens of thousands of innocent people—that is, people whose only “crime” was believing in socialism—with the full support of the CIA, Pentagon, Nixon, and his “national security” team.
Of course, there are also the more recent support of regime-change operations that ousted democratically elected presidents that the U.S. government disapproved of, such as in Ukraine and Egypt.
And then there is the long list of countries where unelected dictators were targeted for regime change by the U.S. national security state and, where successful, replaced with a brutal unelected pro-U.S. dictator. Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, and Syria all come to mind.
U.S. officials need to keep in mind that when they point their accusatory index finger at Russia for supposedly meddling in the U.S. presidential election, U.S. officials have, at the same time, three fingers pointing back at themselves. This work by MWC News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License .
Jacob G. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. | 1 |
The Netherlands
Poland
Germany’s GM ban is significant considering that biotech industry representatives have been trying to keep their stranglehold on the genetically modified crop market in the country.
The news will likely not be taken well by DuPont Pioneer and Dow Chemical, who have been waiting for an EU executive permit for GMO cultivation in Germany and other EU countries for nearly 15 years.
Likewise, Monsanto has criticized other member states for using their ‘opt-out’ vote to ban GMOs from their countries, stating that their decisions “contradict science.”
It was just over six years ago that another EU country, Hungary, strongly enforced their GM ban by destroying 1,000 acres of GM maize that had been found growing illegally. The Hungarians were the very first to take a forceful position in the European Union in relation to the use of transgenic seeds.
Germany’s GMO ban is doubly important due to the planned merger between the Germany-based Bayer, and U.S.-based Monsanto. With ChemChina-Syngenta and DuPont-Dow Chemical forming their own multi-billion-dollar mergers, consumers and farmers still have a way to refuse genetically modified crops as they are increasingly incorporated into international treaties and trade agreements.
As agricultural companies continue to consolidate , becoming larger and larger entities with greater capacity to lobby governments in their favor of monopolizing seed markets, the German opt-out sends a clear message to the makers of these seeds. They can grow bloated and powerful but in the end, the people will decide what they eat .
Bill and Melinda Gates try to convince an EU country to embrace GMOs: | 0 |
Men Are Binded By Their Shared Realization Of Truth Men Are Binded By Their Shared Realization Of Truth
André is a young European who left his decaying country in 2012 for greener pastures. He enjoys exploring subterranean places, reading about a host of interconnected topics, and yearns for Tradition. November 18, 2016 Politics
The 9 th of November 2016 was a great day. We will remember it as well as our parents remember the first moon landing in July 1969 or the fall of the Berlin wall. Liberal mainstream media—almost a pleonasm—are either stunned or agitating. Some of these crybullies clamour to themselves how “fearful” they are, lament on the “destruction of the West”—a curious expression as it seldom appears under leftist pens—or have difficulties to acknowledge that the man they have despised and defamed every day for months will be the 45 th President of the United States.
Outside the US, The Donald’s victory is creating waves, too. So many liberals allegedly connected to the Canadian Immigration website to crash it. In France, the bourgeois bohemians who work in the media, academia and everything that constitutes the big left establishment do the same posturing than their American counterparts, whereas the petits blancs (impoverished, disenfranchised whites) and local “righters” rejoice.
In Brazil, where your humble servant lives, the official media is making some tedious comments that deliver a flabby criticism. Local leftist talking heads condemn the “ white protestants ” and reality shows in a very cliché posturing that mixes anti-white prejudice with a critique of capitalism, whereas some new traditionalists, among whom some have been avid readers and makers of Alt-Right content, are grateful .
This is our victory. Feels good, man
A pro-Pepe Facebook group has had a substantive discussion about where a red-pilled foreigner considering moving to the US after the Donald won should go. To make a long story short, some have advised potential newcomers to go live in the Midwest, in Texas as long as one stays away from Houston or Dallas, in Wyoming for the gun rights, in Pennsylvania excluding Philadelphia and the urban areas, close to the Appalachian mountains if one enjoys outdoors, while staying away from Illinois. Most of those who participated were whites, but I have spotted some Latino and Arab names. Some made jokes on these names but no fuss.
And here the following question arises. What defines us? Liberals have been shrieking about “xenophobia” or “racism” all the time. Yet, strictly national boundaries are much less relevant than before, even for us , even when we all rejoiced about Trump’s promise to make a wall. All over the world we are rejoicing around the GOP candidate’s victory.
American “Trumpists” undoubtedly feel closer to non-Americans who have been dissenting from the NWO on the Internet and wanted the Donald to pass than to American libtards. A lot of us are OK with having non-whites around: we don’t pander to arrogant, aggressive anti-whites, but that does not mean we would have to be “racists” as the liberal caricature wants us to be. To cut in more personally, I know of no genuine red-pilled or Alt-Righter who would have rejected me as a frog, although I remember some stars and stripes cucks blaming me for daring to speak about American politics without owning a US passport. The frog is green after all
So, once again, what defines us? Why are we a “we”? Race plays a role for sure. We struggle to keep the white people from getting dissolved into the acid bath of wide-scale miscegenation and dispossession. We want a right to solidarity based at least partly on race, i.e. on lineage and identity, just like all the pseudo-minority groups out there. We fight the double standard that allows them to be communitarian, tribalistic, nepotistic, without being ever responsible of what they do, whereas we are supposed to keep our heads down and be taught everything by liberal social engineers in a world where we would have no freedom, no future, no dignity.
But even then, there have been Blacks, Latinos , and many women who participated into bringing The Donald to the White House. I have a race-mixed friend who supported Trump all along. This is not to say “I’m not a racist!,” afraid cuckservative-style, but to show there are some and we know it firsthand.
It is no mystery why most of us are white: we are united around a civilization that was primarily built by people of European descent. But there is more, too.
And this “more” that, I think, defines and binds us; this “more” is shared awareness . On the periphery of the System centers, we managed to grow and gather
We are all aware, broadly speaking, of the same phenomena and trends. We have witnessed the break-up of families and harmonious relationships between men and women. We have been faced with the untold prohibition to make the least critic of feminism, “minority groups” aggressive identitarianism, and with the pervasive omnipresence of these leftist norms commonly referred to as political correctness. We have seen neoliberalism allowing a handful of careless, irresponsible assholes sending the jobs overseas, importing third-world immigration, then force us into a life of chronic unemployment or endless struggles against other low-wage individuals for a small place under the sun.
We saw how conservatism was a sham that never faced the genuine problems. We witnessed societies crumble, conflictual “minoritarian” group identities being crafted by the likes of Soros, and the meritorious worker or professional—whatever his race—getting exploited to the benefit of the lower and upper parasites. We saw the liberal establishment using various social categories like pawns to create horizontal struggles and depopulation .
Of course, some disagreements can be found on this or that particular issue, but we all see the same devastated landscape in lieu of the brilliant civilization the West once was.
And here is the major fault line. The leftists deny or value —they often go from the former to the latter—the replacement of native European population, the aggressive and tribalistic stance of “minority groups” towards the silent majority, the forced inclusion of individuals into sick identity politics games, the perpetual hostility and institutionalized prejudice against whites and males… Either the leftists utterly deny what we are aware of, for example when they say that whites are not under replacement, or they demonize it as a remnant of some “privilege” or “prejudice.”
All their talk about “oppressed minorities” dissimulates the very real disenfranchisement of the white majority, of non-white meritorious and integrated Westerners, and serves to deny us from our rights to public empathy, to dignity, or to even basically survive in a world of our own. They work on language and representations because their job consists in manipulating these, thus brainwashing us into seeing the world through their lenses and denying the legitimacy of any other vision.
The importance of shared awareness explains why we united on the Internet. A lot of us were closet nationalists years ago, and still are. We could not, and often still cannot, be nationalists in public, or we would have been excluded from normal social life by the local leftists and cowards. Leftist hegemony was and is still real in the mainstream. You know hegemony when you see it and spend countless hours thinking about how you can thrive even when living under it.
In the mid-2000, I found out about the information website Fdesouche (“Native French”) quote. By the standards of today, this news aggregator seems hardly interesting: it mostly collates pieces written by others. But then, it was fantastic. Here I could recognize what I already felt about the world—that something was wrong with all these non-whites thugs holding the streets and getting lavish promotion when they bragged about it. It was all concentrated before my eyes, and others were talking about what they went through daily as well. At least, others felt and saw the same as I did! I was not crazy, not bound to a life of unauthenticity or forlorn solitude among the almighty left. We were assembling. And we were on the Internet. “Fdesouche.com—The website they want to keep you from visiting”
As most of us found ourselves under attack from non-native Frenchmen, and knowing intuitively that identity goes deeper than the fleeting winds today called culture, we often despised immigration in general. But eventually things changed, thanks to Alain Soral , mostly, who emphasized how racial struggle was leading to sterile battles among disenfranchised people while letting the truly powerful off the hook. Mathias Cardet, a black journalist who worked with Soral, showed how gangsta-rap culture was injected and nurtured among non-whites by powerful interests.
After all, one can be black or Arab and wanting to live in peace as a free individual, not as an identity politics pawn who spends his life attacking another social category.
Being pro-white, pro-masculinity and pro-tradition does not require being white: I often felt closer from Muslims with good intentions, i.e. Muslims who were genuine believers and not rancorous people using Islam as a mask for anti-white tribalism, than from white liberals. The Muslims would not share my blood, but they would share some of my awareness and yearning for Tradition, two things that white liberals eagerly reject. “Faith front, warriors’ alliance against common foes”
The Internet is immaterial. It is, basically, a network where information flows. Awareness, and the will to spread it, are immaterial as well. This is why we could meet and act on the Internet. After all, the Alt Right and manosphere have been sharing ideas, media contents, memes, advises—and only later proceeded to meetups, panicking the totalitarian liberals in the process.
Trump’s victory is a major one. Regardless of what The Donald will actually do, it is an event of considerable historical magnitude. But it is only the beginning—make no mistake about that. The libtards’ establishment still holds loads of money, of institutions, of cultural territory. It has started to crumble and leak , yet it is still there.
Major battles are waiting ahead. We have to further our awareness, make thorough research on every aspect of leftism, and develop more proper cultural references.
Always remember the libtards never cared one second about us. They would have let us die off, alone, poor, childless, traumatized and demonized, had we not chosen to follow the path of the red pill.
America is a first-tier power, but it is still a battlefield among others. Wherever we are, it is time to thicken our mutual relationships and cooperate more closely. It is a battle, not between nationals and foreigners, but between workers and parasites, between those who feel the void and wrongness in the rotten core of postmodernity and those who dwell in the last liberal trend, between the realists who want freedom and responsibility in a healthy world of values and cultures against those who ravel in blue pill, media bullshit, complacency, parasitism and cucking for the empire of nothing.
We are the future. It doesn’t matter where we are. We are those with true awareness, those with genuine and healthy values, those who struggled to hone their abilities, and most importantly those who actually deserve to inherit the Western world. So, save it and conquer it, country after country, institution after institution, outlet after outlet—or there will be nothing left. | 1 |
Twitter announced on Tuesday the year’s biggest trending topics and most widely shared tweets in news and politics, and while the election loomed large, several of the most popular discussions were focused on matters of identity and safety. Race relations were at the top of people’s minds, with #BlackLivesMatter the popular subject. Alton Sterling, a black man fatally shot by the police in Baton Rouge, La. was also in the top 10. #InternationalWomensDay gathered discussion about gender in March, while #LoveIsLove — a declaration associated with equal rights for gay people that Barack Obama used as Americans held pride parades — was popular in June. Twitter users publicly mourned attacks with #PrayForOrlando and #PrayForNice, while discussion of Brexit, a coup attempt in Turkey and the Panama Papers also made the top 10. But #Election2016 was the leading discussion of the year and the subject of most of the most widely shared political tweets of the year. The most popular political tweet was a quote from Hillary Clinton’s concession speech on Nov. 9. Ms. Clinton’s tweet was the popular tweet of the year in any subject, falling behind one by a Spanish video gamer and one from Harry Styles quoting Taylor Swift. And you thought the American election was the most interesting thing that happened this year. The political tweet might require some explanation. During the campaign, Donald J. Trump posted a criticism of President Obama’s endorsement of Mrs. Clinton. In response, she (or, more likely, her staff) latched on to a common Twitter retort. If you’re still confused, we explained the meme more fully here. Other tweets on the list were more straightforward, such as Mr. Trump’s Election Day declaration, a kind word from a vice president to his pal and an actor responding in despair to the election results. This one came from an everyday user who struck a nerve with a Google search for the name of the current president. Although Mr. Obama sent the tweet below four years ago to celebrate his it got more than 236, 000 retweets in 2016, Twitter said. That was slightly more retweets than Mr. Trump got this year on an tweet after winning the election. Last on the list was a tweet that found resonance among Mr. Trump’s opponents. | 0 |
Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: • Donald J. Trump is continuing to build his cabinet. Members of his transition effort’s economic and domestic policy teams are expected to begin meeting with agency officials today. He has hinted strongly that James N. Mattis, a retired general who helped lead the 2003 invasion of Iraq, will be defense secretary. Here are the latest transition details. _____ • Mr. Trump’s meetings with business leaders since his election, including three Indian real estate executives last week, have raised questions over his conflicts of interests. The Indian business partners are building Trump Towers Pune, a luxury apartment complex south of Mumbai. _____ • Mr. Trump used Twitter to rail at his satirists and critics in the entertainment industry. But Vice Mike Pence said he was not offended when the cast of the Broadway smash “Hamilton” appealed to him from the stage to uphold the rights of a “diverse America. ” Above, Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence attended church on Sunday. Our theater critic argues that airing dissent is part of the purpose of art. _____ • World leaders are discussing trade and the incoming administration of Mr. Trump at the annual Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Lima, Peru. The death of the Trade Partnership is a triumph for China, which is embracing the possibility of an trade deal that could include Russia. On the meeting’s sidelines, President Obama spoke with Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, about Syria, where the last few hospitals in the area of Aleppo have been forced to stop providing care.. _____ • South Korea’s political crisis escalated sharply after prosecutors named President Park a “criminal suspect,” saying she acted as an accomplice to her longtime adviser in extorting tens of millions of dollars. Ms. Park is rejecting rivals’ calls to step down or be impeached, while supporters, including a former prime minister, are denouncing the case as a “witch hunt. ” _____ • Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, widely seen as one of the last pillars of Western liberalism, will run for a fourth term. Ms. Merkel, 62, faces strong challenges on the right and left, under the stresses of war in Syria, the arrival of large numbers of migrants and the euro crisis. _____ • The execution of an impoverished farmer, above, for the murder of a village chief has infuriated many ordinary Chinese. The perception that it as yet another harsh punishment meted out to the poorest and weakest members of society is undermining President Xi Jinping’s efforts to restore confidence in the courts. • India’s economy is in chaos, as citizens scramble to spend, save or launder their “black money,” stashes of cash that are mostly in the large denominations Prime Minister Narendra Modi banned. • John Paulson, a hedge fund billionaire who has advised Mr. Trump, has taken an investment stake in Didi Chuxing, the Chinese company that has backing from Alibaba Group and Apple. • The durian season is here, a month early. • Here’s a snapshot of global markets. • More than 100 people died in the derailment of India’s Express train, one of the country’s worst train accidents in years. [The New York Times] • A leader of Malaysia’s reform movement, Maria Chin Abdullah, has become the first person to be detained under the country’s controversial new security law, under which she can be held for up to 28 days without trial. [Straits Times] • Tens of thousands of people joined weekend protests organized by Ms. Abdullah’s group, Bersih, to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak. [The New York Times] • President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines continued his harsh criticism of Western powers in his first meeting with his acknowledged hero, Vladimir V. Putin. [Al Jazeera English] • An annual conference in Washington gathered many white nationalists of the movement. They celebrated Mr. Trump’s election as elevating their fight to preserve white culture. [The New York Times] • In China, a retired music professor is being groomed to be the country’s Trump impersonator. [The New York Times] • The gangs that make El Salvador the murder capital of the world are not sophisticated global cartels but mafias of the poor. [The New York Times] • The political climate in Taiwan has never been more favorable for efforts to legalize marriage. [The New York Times] • Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji Fish Market is still in operation despite being, in the words of the former official who planned to move it, “too old, too small, too dirty and too dangerous. ” [South China Morning Post] • Our Daily 360: Goat yoga is a thing. More than 600 people signed up to a waiting list before the first classes in near Portland, Ore. even started. • A stunning finish to the Macau Grand Prix: A Belgian driver, Laurens Vanthoor, emerged unscathed from a fiery, soaring wreck to find he had won the race upside down. • The Times asked 15 American families to show us the Thanksgiving holiday dishes that speak most eloquently about their heritage and traditions. Among them: Filipino bibingka, Dudhi kofta curry and Cantonese turkey. Let’s start the week traveling the world using sports team nicknames as our passport. The N. F. L. ’s Detroit Lions will continue their long tradition of playing on Thanksgiving. Regal cats aren’t native to the Motor City, but the name was meant to inspire the team to be “the monarch of the league. ” Dreams that the Midwest might one day be tropical may have inspired the team’s use of the Honolulu Blue shade for its jerseys. A more fitting nod to weather can be found at the University of Hawaii, where the teams are sometimes called the Rainbow Warriors. The colorful phenomenon supposedly appeared after a big football victory in 1923. Battle imagery is also a popular and the names aren’t always menacing. The Fighters honor the meatpacking company that owns the Japanese baseball club. In West Africa, Elephants (Ivory Coast) Sparrowhawks (Togo) and Squirrels (Benin) are some of the nicknames that have been used to represent national soccer teams. Back in Asia, Bhutan’s underdog squad has a fearsome moniker: the Dragon Boys. The mythical beast also appears on the national jersey for Wales. As for whales, they’re rarely used in sports. But 100 years ago a baseball team called itself the Whales. Their home, like lions in Detroit, was also unlikely: Chicago. Sean Alfano contributed reporting. _____ Photographs may appear out of order for some readers. Viewing this version of the briefing should help. Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings. What would you like to see here? Contact us at asiabriefing@nytimes. com. | 1 |
“Your Top 5 favorite sandwiches, in order, please. Go. ” This is a game I play in the car with my children, as if we were characters in a Nick Hornby novel. It’s a diversion to make long travel more bearable. We play it all the time. The children rush to judgment, and as is true for most of us, their answers change along with their tastes. But of late: grilled cheese on white, with tomato soup the B. L. T. from a store in Maine near their uncle’s house, on thick country bread ham and Brie with mustard on baguette a meatball sub from a local deli and — does a hamburger count? (It does not.) Dad’s turn. I count in reverse order: that B. L. T. yes, perhaps with avocado turkey with Swiss, coleslaw and Russian dressing on a kaiser roll peanut butter and gochujang (the Korean paste) on sesame toast a Reuben, on rye of course, with pastrami, Swiss, sauerkraut, more of that Russian. I know a guy who makes those as if he were building violins for Pinchas Zukerman. I pause before the No. 1 slot, as if reflecting I enjoy giving this answer. My most favorite sandwich is fried eggplant, mozzarella and roast beef on an Italian hero, with hot peppers and a slash of mayonnaise. You can find that sandwich at Defonte’s Sandwich Shop, on Columbia Street in Brooklyn, near the exit to the Hugh Carey Tunnel that leads from Red Hook to the Battery in Manhattan. It is a beautiful torpedo of food — crunchy, silken, sweet and spicy all at once. But be careful. It is huge and outrageously rich. If you consume it all at once, it can be the sort of sandwich to lay out the afternoon in stages of grief. Often I omit the roast beef from my order and tell myself I’ll eat only half. I always eat the whole thing and hate myself through my untouched dinner later in the day. Recently, in a fit of ambition, I set out to make the thing at home, both the fried eggplant and the ratio of the ingredients to make it a sandwich, the sort of meal that offers satisfaction without hurting anyone, that delivers deliciousness at a lower cost to the body that consumes it. It is still a colossal feed. It is still the best sandwich. To start, fry the eggplant. You can do this up to a day or two ahead of time. I use small Italian eggplants, eight to 10 inches in length, with dark, shiny skins, firm to the touch. You can leave the skins on, or you can peel them, as do some masters of the game, including the Franks Castronovo and Falcinelli, of the Frankies Spuntinos restaurants in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Then I cut the eggplants into thin planks and salt them awhile, not so much because they’re bitter but because the salt draws moisture from the flesh, collapsing its cell structure and reducing the amount of oil the eggplant picks up when it cooks. Blot them well with paper towels to remove the liquid and the excess salt, and you will be good to go. The frying is serial: A first run through hot olive oil cooks the eggplant and lightly browns it a second, after the cooked eggplant has been dipped in a wash of egg and Parmesan cheese, gives it a slightly puffed crust, browned in spots, salty and oily in the best possible way. (Some old recipes for fried eggplant call for a dip in bread crumbs following the egg, but I think this is overkill.) Let the eggplant drain a little, and the planks will keep, lightly covered, for a few hours on the countertop or for a few days in the fridge. They’re best at room temperature. The rest of the sandwich is shopping: Italian hero rolls, or loaves of Italian bread, as well as fresh mozzarella (though I’ve had good results even with the stuff from the supermarket just be sure to allow it to come to room temperature before assembling your meal). And while you can certainly make the roast beef yourself, let’s not overcomplicate things you’ve already fried eggplant. (Vegetarians can avoid the roast beef.) Lastly, you’ll need pickled Italian hot cherry peppers, which you can slice into rounds and apply as desired. The mayonnaise is my preference. I know some people hate it. In sandwich making, form always follows function. So wherever you come down on the question of mayonnaise, follow your decision with a small stack of fried eggplant on the sandwich’s bottom, followed by another of sliced mozzarella and another of roast beef, then top the whole with the cherry peppers. The eggplant protects the bottom of the sandwich from the moisture of the cheese, while the top absorbs the acidity and fire of the peppers. Fold the mass together, and you’ve got the best sandwich there is. For today, at least. Recipe: The Best Sandwich | 1 |
Donald J. Trump kicked around ideas for his inauguration in his office at Trump Tower on Tuesday with two of his oldest friends, Mark Burnett and Thomas Barrack Jr. The ideas spilled out from Mr. Burnett, a showman best known for producing “The Apprentice”: a parade up Fifth Avenue, a helicopter ride to Washington from New York that could hold the attention of millions of people expected to watch from around the world. Mr. Trump recalled the conversation Wednesday morning to an audience of donors, lobbyists and supporters at Cipriani 42nd Street during a to help support his transition operation. The details offered a brief glimmer of a sprawling inauguration, full of the kind of showmanship for which Mr. Trump is famous, that could shake up what has become a relatively predictable affair for recent presidents. According to some of the people overseeing the events surrounding Mr. Trump’s as the 45th president, they also bore little resemblance to reality. In fact, they said, Mr. Trump’s celebration would be a relatively subdued affair — marked by Mr. Trump’s own touches, to be sure, but in the mold of past affairs. “It’s going the opposite way,” Mr. Barrack, the private equity investor who is leading the presidential inaugural committee, said in an interview. “The wants this to be simple. He wants this to be about the people. ” “It’s not about putting on the most expensive talent and spending that kind of money to ingratiate himself,” Mr. Barrack added. In many ways, the discussion between the three men in Mr. Trump’s office tower encapsulates the dueling impulses of the a man who enjoys being at the center of attention, but who is also aware that he was elected on a strong populist message of “draining the swamp” of Washington cronyism and extravagance. In reality, Mr. Trump’s festivities are constrained by security concerns surrounding the modern presidency, making some gaudier displays impossible and other ones unrealistic. Each event under consideration must be vetted by the overlapping agencies responsible for securing the transfer of power, including the Secret Service, responsible for a president’s security, and the National Park Service, which controls the Mall in Washington. “You have five gigantic security groups that dictate what can and can’t be done,” Mr. Barrack said. For example, Mr. Barrack said that hopes to open the White House to visitors, as Andrew Jackson did during his 1829 “People’s Inauguration” (and as other presidents did afterward) had simply proven unrealistic. “Unfortunately, security concerns are different than they were in 1829,” he said. Despite the modest nature of the events under consideration, Mr. Barrack said Mr. Burnett was actively involved in producing the inauguration week festivities. He will have a large team to work with, as the committee’s staff in Washington is expected to swell to more than 300 people by Inauguration Day. “Mark is a genius, and the loves him,” Mr. Barrack said. Referring to the Tuesday meeting, he said, “This was about throwing stuff out if you are thinking in the frame of mind of what a global audience would see. ” A schedule of inaugural festivities is expected to be completed by Monday. But after the committee rolled out a series of donor packages last week aimed at enticing wealthy contributors and corporations to open their checkbooks, a rough outline of the week has begun to emerge. It will include an opening “victory reception” for donors, as well as a series of more personal events with the incoming first family, Vice Mike Pence and members of Mr. Trump’s cabinet. Donors will be invited to candlelight dinners on the eve of the inauguration, and some will be able to attend one of two official balls planned for inauguration night. Whatever Mr. Trump and the committee ultimately decide, there likely will be plenty of resources at their disposal. Mr. Trump’s team has already secured roughly $50 million in pledged donations since it began soliciting money in earnest last week, according to two people involved in the effort. The early success puts Mr. Trump in line to easily surpass President Obama’s 2009 inauguration, when his finance team raised a record $53 million to pay for the festivities. He should also easily meet or surpass the $65 million to $75 million goal set by the committee. The event at Cipriani on Wednesday was a affair, featuring some donors who had vehemently rejected Mr. Trump’s candidacy, such as the hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer, according to an attendee. Those raising money to support the inauguration said they have seen a similar pattern, securing early pledges from prominent Republican donors who did not support Mr. Trump during the campaign. Corporations, they said, have also been forthcoming. Yet, if Mr. Trump is looking forward to his presidency, he has not yet left the past behind, as was clear Wednesday morning. Another person at the said Mr. Trump delivered a kind of recollection of winning the primaries and his grim odds for the White House. Mr. Trump said that heading into Election Day, he and his wife, Melania, had planned a vacation in the expectation that they would be seeing an early night. He recalled Mr. Obama telling him privately that the president’s advisers had told him on election night, as the numbers looked grim, that North Carolina would be a firewall for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. The attendance at the spoke to Mr. Trump’s change of fortune since becoming . There were at least 850 people in the restaurant. Mr. Trump singled out those in attendance who had been part of the “Never Trump” movement, drawing a large laugh. | 1 |
A California high school basketball player has stunned the sports world with his amazing feat on Tuesday, when he scored a whopping 92 points in a single game. [Playing for Chino Hills High School, LaMelo Ball went on a tear with a drive to score nearly two thirds of all the points his team earned in its February 7 win over Los Osos, according to the Kansas City Star. The player’s father said LaMelo “went crazy” with a spree of baskets after having already scored 29 points by halftime. @MELOD1P drops 92!! (That’s a Ball Family record) in the @basketball_chhs win over Lososos final @latsondheimer @SGVNSports pic. twitter. — Tommy Kiss (@TomKiss64) February 8, 2017, Ball’s father also noted that LaMelo’s brother, LiAngelo, is usually the top scoring member of the family but LiAngelo wasn’t playing that night. Still, some folks in the district are unhappy with the amazing feat saying that the Ball brothers are ruining team efforts and turning games into star vehicles. “That’s wrong,” Los Osos coach Dave Smith said. “It goes against everything CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) stands for. The Ball boys are very talented and great players, but it’s embarrassing to high school athletics. I’ve been coaching for 35 years, and we’ve turned high school athletics into individualism. ” “It’s amazing to watch a kid score that many points. But it’s tough to say that’s what CIF athletics is about,” Smith concluded. There is still a record to beat, though. The high school scoring record is still held by Danny Heater of Burnsville (W. Va.) High School, who scored 135 points in one game back in 1960. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail. com. | 0 |
Five years after a child sex abuse scandal rocked Penn State, damaging its reputation, exposing a revered coach as a serial predator and sending him to prison, a jury on Friday convicted the former president of the university of child endangerment for failing to stop the abuse. On its second day of deliberations, the jury in Harrisburg, Pa. found Graham B. Spanier guilty of one misdemeanor count, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10, 000 fine. He was also found not guilty of two felony charges, for his handling of allegations against Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant coach. Mr. Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing 10 young boys and was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison. In 2013, Penn State agreed to pay $59. 7 million to 26 sexual abuse victims in exchange for an end to their claims against the university. The extent and nature of the abuse shocked the State College, Pa. community, upended a university that has long adored its vaunted football program and badly tarnished the reputation of the beloved head coach, Joe Paterno, who was among those suspected of turning a blind eye to his assistant’s conduct. The fallout was swift and in higher education, sports and even state politics. Mr. Paterno, an icon on campus and the most victorious coach in major college football, was dismissed, and died soon after. Much of his coaching staff was dismissed. The university commissioned an investigative report that harshly criticized Mr. Spanier and other administrators, though he disputed its findings. Mr. Spanier, once a leader who oversaw a period of expansion, was removed as president, though Penn State confirmed on Friday that he remained a tenured faculty member, on paid leave. Tim Curley, the athletic director, and Gary Schultz, a senior vice president, were forced to leave. When Kathleen G. Kane ran for state attorney general in 2012, one of her main themes was that Gov. Tom Corbett had dragged his feet on the Penn State investigation when he was attorney general, part of a male power structure that she said protected its own. But the cases against Mr. Spanier, Mr. Curley and Mr. Schultz, brought after she was elected, sputtered after legal delays, and some of the charges were dropped. Ultimately, the proceedings against the three men outlasted Ms. Kane, who fell from power in her own scandal, convicted of perjury and abuse of her office. Mr. Schultz and Mr. Curley, who pleaded guilty last week to one misdemeanor charge each, testified for the prosecution. The three men had been told of possible sexual assault, but “instead of reporting it to authorities, they consciously turned their backs and the abuse continued,” Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, said after the verdict. “These leaders endangered the welfare of children by both their actions and inactions. There are zero excuses when it comes to failing to report the abuse of children to the appropriate authorities. ” Sam Silver, Mr. Spanier’s lawyer, said, “There always have been substantial questions in this case that need to be reviewed and resolved by the appellate courts, and we fully intend to pursue an appeal. ” The scandal was one in a series of recent cases sending a message that campus crimes — particularly sex crimes — cannot be kept as quiet, or treated as lightly, as they once were. Administrators have been fired from several colleges and universities that failed to report assaults or treat them seriously, including Kenneth W. Starr, who was removed last year as president of Baylor University. “College administrators have been put on notice that if you know an employee is sexually assaulting people and you leave them in place, you could be held responsible, including legally responsible,” said John D. Foubert, a professor of higher education at Oklahoma State University who has written extensively on campus sexual assault. But the circumstances at Penn State set it far apart from most campus sexual assault cases: It involved the abuse of children, a nationally renowned sports program and the downfall of Mr. Paterno. And the criminal charges that resulted, not just against the attacker but against administrators accused of covering up his crimes, have no parallel in recent memory. The count on which Mr. Spanier was convicted was charged as a felony, but the jury instead chose to convict him of the misdemeanor version of it. The jury acquitted him of another felony count of child endangerment, and a charge of conspiracy, also a felony. “I’d be foolish to be disappointed,” said Laura Ditka, the deputy attorney general who was the lead prosecutor. Asked if she would seek jail time for Mr. Spanier, who remained free on bail, she said, “We aren’t there yet. ” Children’s advocates called the administrators’ convictions a victory for accountability. “We can no longer put institutional loyalty above protecting kids,” said Cathleen Palm, the founder of the Center for Children’s Justice, a nonprofit that pushed for changes to Pennsylvania’s child abuse policies in the wake of the scandal. Supporters of Mr. Spanier and Mr. Paterno held up the acquittal on the conspiracy charge as vindication. “The story should be that there was no conspiracy to cover up child abuse at Penn State,” said Maribeth Roman Schmidt, the executive director of Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship, an alumni group opposed to the sudden ouster of Mr. Paterno and the administrators. Mr. Spanier has long maintained that he was unaware of the seriousness of the accusations against Mr. Sandusky, who prosecutors said met his victims through his charity work, drawing them in with trips to football games and other gifts. The trial, which began with jury selection on Monday after years of legal delays, offered victims and their families the possibility of new information about what the university’s officials knew about Mr. Sandusky. Supporters of Mr. Spanier and the administration hoped it would absolve the university of some wrongdoing. “In the view of the jury, with respect to Spanier, and by their own admission, as to Curley and Schultz, these former leaders fell short,” Penn State said in a statement released after the verdict. “And while we cannot undo the past, we have rededicated ourselves and our university to act always with the highest integrity, in affirming the shared values of our community. ” Mr. Spanier sued the university, accusing it of violating their separation agreement. The university countersued, seeking to recoup more than $5 million it has paid him. Prosecutors contended that Mr. Spanier, along with Mr. Curley and Mr. Schultz, was aware of a 2001 report that Mr. Sandusky had showered with a young boy at the university, but that they failed to tell the authorities, acting instead to keep the matter quiet. That choice, prosecutors said, allowed Mr. Sandusky to keep abusing boys for years. They have often pointed to an email written by Mr. Spanier about the episode, after the decision was made to go to Mr. Sandusky directly and tell him to get counseling, rather than alerting the authorities. “The only downside for us is if the message isn’t ‘heard’ and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it,” Mr. Spanier wrote. That could be assessed later, he wrote. For now, he said, speaking to Mr. Sandusky directly was a “humane and a reasonable way to proceed. ” Prosecution witnesses included Mike McQueary, a former assistant coach who testified that he had told Mr. Paterno, Mr. Curley and Mr. Schultz that he had seen Mr. Sandusky molesting the boy in the shower. A victim of Mr. Sandusky’s who said he was abused in 2002 also testified at Mr. Spanier’s trial. Mr. Spanier’s lawyers called no witnesses in his defense, but, according to news media reports, told the jury that prosecutors had failed to provide evidence that he knew Mr. Sandusky was accused of sexual abuse. Instead, they said, he made a “judgment call” and took action about what he knew. Mr. Spanier’s lawyers have said that the charges against him were politically motivated and an attempt to distract from state prosecutors’ failures to stop Mr. Sandusky sooner. | 1 |
Via Yournewswire
Let the swamp draining begin. And when the murky stench begins to clear we all know what we will see – a bloated, slimy creature called Hillary Clinton shivering in the shallows. SPONSORED LINKS
Removed from the corridors of power, she won’t be able to say “I don’t recall” 357 times to FBI investigators and get away with it. Her people won’t be able to plead the fifth every time they are asked an incriminating question. Hillary is going down, and a lot of her cronies are going with her.
The arrogance of the Democratic establishment in thinking the country would endorse these people is staggering. Podesta, essentially a foreign agent for Saudi Arabia – with a brother, Tony, a Spirit Cooker who is actually on Saudi books as an agent. You can’t make this stuff up.
And don’t forget Huma Abedin, thrown off the the campaign in a disastrous, scandal-riddled final week, exposed as being lax with national security – and having close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Her only experience prior to employment as a Hillary State Dept aide? 10 years working at a radical Islamic journal with links to jihad. The Democrat campaign was a dumpster fire. Burn, baby, burn.
The Democratic establishment should never have nominated such a liability for president. The people wanted Bernie Sanders. The DNC should have let the primary election play out democratically, as their name suggests they would. But no, they interfered, suppressed the voice of their people, and forced a flawed, roundly disliked and distrusted candidate into the full glare of a brutal election season.
On election night the Democratic establishment got the pounding they deserve.
Never let the mainstream media’s disgraceful collusion with the Clinton campaign be forgotten. May the ignominy live forever. Funneling questions to Clinton so she could defeat her primary rival in debates, colluding with Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta – at his house – to “frame the message” and “frame the race,” lying to the American people about their first amendment rights, attempting to scare the population away from being informed.
CNN is a PR firm, the propaganda arm of the establishment, not a member of the fourth estate. They have been thoroughly exposed by WikiLeaks in 2016. RIP Clinton News Network. Go to hell.
Don’t forget about the ongoing FBI investigation into the corrupt Clinton Foundation. When Comey cleared her of wrongdoing this week, he was referring to her email scandal. The less publicized Clinton Foundation investigation is still ongoing. The probe was going to hound her into the White House, but now it’s going to throw her in the jailhouse. | 0 |
RED ALERT! BIG WIKILEAKS DEVELOPMENT! CLINTON CAMP CONSPIRED TO WITHHOLD EMAILS FROM STATE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATORS!
Jennifer Palmieri , the Director of Communications with the Hillary Clinton campaign, and top Clinton advisors conspired to withhold emails from FBI investigators.
Palmieri and top Clinton advisors committed conspiracy with campaign consultants to only turn over 55,000 emails to the State Department knowing there were more emails they were withholding.
This email was released by Wikileaks on Thursday November 3, 2016. From the email:
Re: Emails development
From:[email protected]
To: [email protected] Date: 2015-03-05 00:01 Subject: Re: Emails development
Definitely
Sent from my iPhone
> On Mar 4, 2015, at 8:01 PM, Margolis, Jim <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Yes.
> If there is a release of the 55K, are there others that are not being
> released?
>
> On 3/4/15, 7:25 PM, “Jennifer Palmier I” <[email protected]> > wrote:
>
>> Team – wanted to let you know that Cheryl is working with State to get
>> agreement on release of the 55k pages of emails she have to State. The
>> hope would be that we are able to say tonight to the press that we are
>> working with State to get emails released soon. Not sure where those
>> discussions will land, but hope is either State agrees to release on
>> timely basis or we pledge to release them ourselves in ten days/week.
>> Assume you all would agree this is right move?
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
Source
| 0 |
Country: Saudi Arabia US leaders almost always justify their foreign policy with words about “democracy” and “human rights.” Especially when talking about the Middle East, the insincerity of such words are blatantly obvious. While US leaders criticize Iran and Syria for alleged human rights violations, the entire world can see that the US allies in the region are serial human rights violators. Israel has been widely condemned for its treatment of Palestinians. Saudi Arabia is a country where even the basic notion of human rights does not exist. The Kingdom is an absolute monarchy where people can still be executed by beheading or crucifixion in the 21st century. Crimes punishable by death under the Saudi regime include “sorcery” and “insulting the King.” Under Saudi law, the people are not citizens with rights, but rather “subjects” who are essentially the King’s property. Qatar is yet another repressive regime. Like Saudi Arabia, it is an absolute monarchy, where a King serves as the unelected autocrat. Bahrain is known not only for its lack of democratic structures, but for its repression of the Shia Muslim majority who frequently take to the streets, demanding their rights. The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, and almost every other US-aligned regime in the Arab world has a primitive political system, centered on an autocratic monarchy. These regimes are known to torture, behead, flog, repress free speech, oppress religious minorities, and do all kinds of things US leaders claim to oppose. This does not prevent the United States from selling weapons to these regimes, or from purchasing their oil. This also does not prevent the USA from establishing military bases on their soil, and otherwise coddling them. In fact, the Financial Times describes how the United Arab Emirates is becoming a beloved “tax haven” for the rich and powerful in the western world. While western leaders love to talk about human rights, they have no problem with autocratic emirates handling their money . The Roots of Wahabbi Terrorism More shockingly, the involvement of these regimes in terrorism has not deterred US support. It took 15 years for the classified 28 pages of the 9/11 Commission report to be released. The pages revealed that Saudi government officials had collaborated with the 9/11 hijackers. It furthermore revealed that Saudi Arabia had been uncooperative and offered minimal support to US officials with their investigations during the aftermath of the attacks. The Saudi Royal family owes its reign to the British Empire. During the 1800s the British discovered that the House of Saud were useful allies against the Ottoman Empire, and were more than willing to sell their oil at a reasonable price. The Saudi monarchy professes a particularly conservative brand of Islam known as “Wahabbism.” While not every Wahabbi has been involved in terrorism, Al-Queda, ISIS, Al-Nusra, Osama Bin Laden, Omar Mateen, and nearly every Middle-Eastern or Central-Asian terrorist who has menaced the world in recent years has been an adherent of Wahabbism. Wahabbism is particularly anti-Western and anti-American. Opponents of the Saudi ideology it often call it “Takfirism,” a term that refers to Wahabbi’s willingness to kill other Muslims with whom they disagree. The relationship between Wahabbi fanatics and Britain’s wealthy has not ended. A recent article in the Financial Times describes how British Houses of Finance now specialize in “Islamic Banking.” While many Islamic scholars describe the very concept as fraudulent, many financial institutions are accommodating sultans, emirates, and princes who adhere to strict Wahabbi laws. Islam forbids lending money for interest, so many financial institutions have invented loopholes with hidden fees, investment returns, and other mechanisms that can accommodate strict adherents . During the 1980s, the CIA worked with the heir of a wealthy Saudi construction dynasty to build a Wahabbi army. Osama bin Laden was sent to Afghanistan to build an army of “Mujihadeen” to topple the People’s Democratic Party. The USA worked closely with the fanatical Wahabbi terrorists to battle the Marxist government of Afghanistan and their Soviet allies. Currently, the United States works with Saudi Arabia to fund a Wahabbi insurgency against the secular Syrian Arab Republic. ISIS and Al-Nusra are known to be terrorists inspired by the Saudi ideology. The Saudis have been caught directly helping them out. Among the US backed “moderate rebels,” many Wahabbis can also be found. Most of the various US-aligned autocracies in the Middle East can be linked to Wahabbi forces in Syria. Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and other regimes have made the goal of “regime change” in Syria a priority, and many ISIS fighters have emerged from their respective populations. Is The Tide Turning? While the past three presidencies of Bush, Obama, and Clinton have involved massive coddling of the Saudi regime, Donald Trump often spoke against Saudi Arabia during his Presidential campaign. Furthermore, in a recent move, the US Congress dramatically overrode Barack Obama’s veto, and passed the controversial JASTA bill, allowing victims of terrorism to sue the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in US courts. While Trump often appealed to ignorant and Islamophobic sentiments among Americans, he also appealed to an isolationist desire to stop meddling around the world. Trump made fighting ISIS, the Wahabbi extremist group unleashed amid US-Saudi regime change efforts, a key plank of his campaign. Will Trump live up to his words? Will the USA end its alliance with Pro-Wahabbi autocratic regimes that are linked to terrorism? Though Trump spoke against the Saudis and talked of fighting ISIS, his campaign included reckless denunciations of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Trump’s speeches often seemed to lump Iran in with ISIS, ignoring the fact that Iranian Revolutionary Guards are on the battlefield each and every day, risking their lives to defeat ISIS. Iran is greatly threatened by ISIS terrorism. ISIS and most Wahabbis consider the Islamic Republic of Iran to be led by “Shia Apostates.” ISIS and other anti-government forces in Syria have recruited fighters from around the world on the basis of toppling Syrian President Bashar Assad because of his Alawi faith, which Wahabbis consider to be a variation of Shia apostasy.
Contradictory Middle East Positions For too long, the USA has been targeting secular, nationalist governments like the Baathist regimes of Iraq and Syria, the Islamic Republic of Iran, or Gaddafi’s Libya. In doing so they have been passively helping and strengthening the bloodthirsty Wahabbi fanatics who these regimes have held back, and whose ideological foundation is promoted by Saudi Arabia. If Trump is serious about stopping ISIS and the surrounding wave of Wahabbi terrorism, he will immediately end the US financial and military relationship with the Saudi regime, as well as the nearby, pro-Wahabbi autocracies. Furthermore, Trump will need to end his irresponsible demonization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and join with the Iranians, the Russians, the Syrian government, and China in the fight against ISIS terrorism. If Trump were to do this, it would be one of the most dramatic shifts ever seen in US foreign policy. During his campaign, Trump has taken two somewhat contradictory positions in relation to the Middle East. While he has denounced Saudi Arabia and talked about how US “regime change” policies have strengthened terrorism, he has also repeated the anti-Iranian talking points of Netanyahu, and spoken with great admiration for Israel. Israel has been the greatest direct beneficiary of the US policy in the Middle East. Each regime the US has targeted in the region–Syria, Iraq, and Iran–have been outspoken opponents of Israel who directly support Palestinian resistance. Meanwhile, the Wahabbi-linked autocrats denounce Israel in words, but do very little to threaten its existence or strength. Israel’s primary enemies, Iran and Syria, are also the primary target of the Wahabbi fanatics and the Saudi monarchy. Israeli and Saudi Arabia may denounce each other, but their foreign policies both center on hostility to what the Saudis call “the Shia crescent.” Regarding the Middle East, the new President will be forced to decide whether he seeks to continue aligning US and Israel foreign policies, and targeting Iran and Syria, or whether he wants to end Wahabbi terrorism, and stop cooperating with the regimes actively linked to it. Trump is often perceived as quite unpredictable. Whichever choice he makes, it is likely to surprise many people. Caleb Maupin is a political analyst and activist based in New York. He studied political science at Baldwin-Wallace College and was inspired and involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook” . Popular Articles | 1 |
Galápagos penguin chicks have it good. Even when they are old enough to hunt on their own, they beg their parents for food — and the parents give in. Recently researchers in the Galápagos watched as fully fledged birds squeaked and pleaded until their parents turned to them and regurgitated a meal into their mouths. One big young bird, recorded on video, was fed, then followed his parent squeaking for more until the besieged adult escaped by diving into the water. The study is online in The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. In the Galápagos, food supplies vary. When times are good and there is plenty of food, one way of assuring the survival of the species is for parents to help their adult children with some extra nourishment. Galápagos penguins forage just offshore, close to their nests, and return to the nest site after the young fledge, so parents and fledglings are likely to encounter one another frequently. Only one other of the 18 species of penguins is known to do this: the Gentoo penguins. These birds, which inhabit Antarctica and nearby islands, feed their young after they have fledged for about 12 days, probably to give them time to learn how to hunt for themselves. The Galápagos penguins, the only penguins that live north of the Equator, are endangered, with fewer than 2, 000 left in the world. They are not always so . “When conditions are good, they can raise two chicks in a season and continue to feed them,” said Dee Boersma, a professor of biology at the University of Washington and the lead author of the study. “When there’s little food around,” Professor Boersma continued, “they save themselves, forgetting about both eggs and chicks. ” | 0 |
Bruna Gomes has made the holiday rounds in New York City. The glittering windows at Macy’s. The Radio City Rockettes with Santa. The pilgrimage to the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. Her new tradition? Staying home. “I promised myself I’d never go back because it’s so crowded,” Ms. Gomes, 22, said. It is supposed to be a festive time of year. But tell that to all the New Yorkers confronted by the crush of humanity at many of their cherished holiday destinations. Moms strategize about the best times to visit department store Santas with the precision of a military campaign. At Macy’s Santaland, desperate dads have tried to bribe the elves to skip past the long lines. The throngs of ice skaters and shoppers descending on Bryant Park’s Winter Village have taken up all the seats, choked walkways and brought foot traffic to a shuffle. The famed window displays along Fifth Avenue get so many admirers that just catching a glimpse can be hard, let alone taking a family photo. When Ms. Gomes broke her promise and recently took a friend to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, she found herself stranded in the middle of an intersection on Fifth Avenue. “I got stuck there,” she said. “I was literally standing in the crowd. ’’ As if New York City did not already have plenty of people, the holidays draw more each year as surely as children make wish lists and doormen count on tips. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s, the city attracts five million visitors — seemingly undeterred by security concerns — who provide a boon to businesses and the city’s bottom line but who also overrun subways, streets and attractions. The annual “Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes” plays to an audience of more than a million, or roughly the population of San Jose, Calif. each season. Every day, about 800, 000 people pass through Rockefeller Center, where the outsize tree draws crowds to match. Macy’s Christmas windows attract, on average, 8, 000 to 10, 000 people an hour, up from 5, 000 to 7, 000 a few years ago, according to the store. Upstairs, on the eighth floor, inch through a maze of Christmas trees, stuffed reindeer and caroling snowmen in a painted village. For those who know to make reservations ahead of time, there is an express similar to the used at Disney’s theme parks, guarded by elves who have been offered a $20 or $50 bill by line skippers. The are not just piling into Manhattan. At the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, an annual holiday train show with model rail cars whirring past miniature replicas of city landmarks — new this year, the Queensboro Bridge and the Coney Island Cyclone and Wonder Wheel — brought out a record 266, 000 visitors last year, up from 165, 000 in 2010. Of course, what would New York City be without crowds? Want peace and quiet? Try the North Pole. Gregory Holmes, 32, who was visiting last week from Nashville, said he did not come to New York for serenity. “I love big crowds of people enjoying themselves that’s what New York is about, the hustle and bustle,” said Mr. Holmes, who was power shopping — spending more than $1, 500 on clothes and shoes at stores including Macy’s, HM and Uniqlo — in between taking in the sights. “More money is coming out of my pocket in the past three days than in the past two months. ” But even New Yorkers used to crowds are finding more visitors under foot and in the way. Kimberly Charles, a stylist from Brooklyn, says the window displays are so beautiful that she wants to stop and look. Yet, whenever she takes five steps toward them, she finds everyone else has the same idea. In recent years, she has mostly stayed away from the windows, though she cannot completely avoid the who block the sidewalks. “It’s not road rage, it’s foot rage,” she said. “You’re just trying to get around everybody and keep going. ” Near the Holland Tunnel the other evening, Ms. Charles stopped short for another reason. Oshun Brown, 20, an was turning pirouettes on Varick Street, handing out free candy canes, and posing with pedestrians for “elfies. ” Ms. Charles walked past him and then turned around to get a candy cane. The holiday congestion had inspired a local group, Hudson Square Connection, which runs a business improvement district in the neighborhood, to start a new tradition: dispatching eight prancing and caroling elves along with traffic managers to keep the peace at heavily congested intersections. “There’s only so much you can do about congestion, so we thought, ‘Let’s make it fun,’” said Ellen Baer, the president of the Hudson Square Connection. Some holiday destinations have taken steps to reduce lines. At Bryant Park’s Winter Village, nestled among Midtown Manhattan skyscrapers, the free ice rink drew 247, 989 skaters last winter, more than double the number from a decade earlier. Hundreds used to wait two or three hours in lines that wrapped around the park. This year, the park streamlined the process and introduced a system that sends skaters text messages when it is their turn. The New York Botanical Garden accommodated the growing numbers at its train show by increasing the exhibit space by half, to 12, 800 square feet, last year. It has also added more night hours where alcohol is served, with 11 “bar car nights” this year, up from three in 2011. And it has timed tickets so visitors do not have to wait in line. “Every year, it’s more popular,” said Henry Cabrera, the botanical garden’s associate vice president for visitor experience. “It’s a great problem to have. Probably in five years we’ll be thinking of what to do next. ” Along Fifth Avenue, the holiday sightseers have been joined this year by political aficionados and gawkers hoping for a glimpse of Donald J. Trump, who lives and works at Trump Tower. Lloyd Kemp, 59, a Brooklyn resident who collects donations for the homeless, said he usually sets up outside Bergdorf Goodman, a block from Trump Tower, but was asked to move by the police as part of tighter security. So there was Mr. Kemp on the sidewalk in front of Saks Fifth Avenue, tucked in between the windows and the metal barricades lining the street. One tourist after another stopped to ask him directions. The nearest subway? A good restaurant? He answered cheerfully in a booming voice. One woman, leaning back to take a photograph, tripped and fell against a barricade. He caught her arm. Another asked who had the best windows this year. Mr. Kemp’s money was on Saks, his new home. “This is more crowded than Trump Tower,” he said. “And this is more pleasant because people come here to uplift their spirits. ” As Christmas approaches, some of the biggest crowds can be found outside Macy’s Herald Square. It can be chaos, said Crosby Reynolds, 27, a street cleaner. People are crammed together. Some are yelling at others to get out of the way. They step on the litter he is trying to pick up. “I kind of wait until it loosens up a little and then I sneak in,” he said. Mr. Reynolds has yet to bring his son to see the Macy’s windows. “It’s too much,” he said. “I see enough when I’m here. ” | 1 |
MILAN — Didn’t Isabelle Huppert look great? And Viola Davis? What about that peachy color on Nicole Kidman? Such were the whispers going around at the Giorgio Armani show on Monday, the morning after the night before — which is to say, in the bleachers of the Armani Theater just a few hours after Mr. Armani had dressed those nominees for what is arguably the biggest fashion show of them all, the Academy Awards. Perhaps acknowledging that it’s almost impossible for the runway to compete with the red carpet these days — no one, after all, understands the power of Hollywood, and how it can be harnessed for fashion, better than Mr. Armani — the designer kept the gowns in Milan to a minimum (one final showstopper in a rainbow of swirling crystals, a black velvet column twinkling stars) and instead concentrated on a multiplicity of fluid trousers and natty jackets in jewel tones and tactile fabrications. Plus a somewhat new idea: skinny pants with an insert of pleated silk chiffon attached in the front or back in a contrasting color to create a . A skant? A pirt? It was one way to startle people away from the slide shows on their cellphones and into attention. In one of the more unfortunate coincidences of timing, the Milan women’s wear season draws to a close in the long shadow of the Oscars. It tends to make for a pretty anticlimactic ending. Everyone is focused on the clothes over there, when they are supposed to be focused over here. What’s a designer to do? Take a cue from the movies, apparently. Arthur Arbesser, for one, part of the fresh crop of names in the city, started with Wim Wenders’s 1987 film “Wings of Desire,” set in the Berlin circus scene, and then embraced — well, not gold, but bronze, in the form of gleaming vinyl, as well as a kaleidoscopic mix in knits and cotton shirting, vinyl and latex. The multiple stripes and squares tumbled together in a not entirely successful mix of clownish proportions. Stella Jean, meanwhile, another also went Eastern bloc, though even more literally, upping the narrative by weaving a tale of the Cold War and Siberia (and Syria, too) full of military memorabilia and folkloric fantasy. Think with velvet epaulets, gold fringe and rows of decorative medals paired with skirts depicting village scenes in winter, babushka headgear and leopard print, patchworks of silk and brocade. Less dramatic, however, was Salvatore Ferragamo, where Fulvio Rigoni, making his official debut as design director for women’s wear, beat a strategic retreat toward the long, lean and mostly neutral. Dresses were sleeveless and patched together from abstracted animal prints, sometimes with a trompe l’oeil cape of a sweater hanging off the back, as if the model had just shrugged out of her cardigan outerwear came complete with curving double portrait collars (including on a long sleeveless puffer coat, one of the weirder ideas) and trousers were . Paired with Paul Andrew’s towering stacked heels on bootees, the collection looked like the beginning of an idea that had not yet burst into bloom. For posies, as well as leopard print, ruched sheaths, velvet trouser suits, robot appliqués, chubbies (don’t be a cuddly puma, wear one instead!) elaborately embroidered denim, prints, puppy prints, tuxes of all types, corsetry, and a gold Lurex crocheted minidress with hearts all over, there was Dolce Gabbana. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana had what seemed like an of their own, but instead of golden statuettes, there were golden tiaras. On almost everyone. I know this, not because I was at the show (The New York Times, as we have pointed out before, is not invited to attend the collection, for reasons rooted in history that began long before I arrived at the newspaper) but because it became a social media sensation thanks to the digital reach of the millennials, children of and influencers who walked in the show (alongside a few models and many very good customers) — a combined total of approximately 65 million followers on Instagram, according to the website fashionunfiltered. com. As a result, I could watch it. So I did! Given the emphasis the brand has placed on its relationship with the digital generation over the last year or so, it seemed the appropriate thing to do. The livestream (and related coverage) wasn’t quite as long as a feature, but almost. Seemingly pitched as a celebration of family — the family the brand has made, and literal family, as relatives of all generations walked — it came complete with celebrity front row (see: Rene Russo, Christie Brinkley, Jamie Foxx, Pamela Anderson) attracted by the fact their children were strutting in the show. Between that and the frenzy generated by a from the teen idol Austin Mahone (10 million Instagram followers) no one seemed to pay much attention to the clothes. Though that could also be because — save, perhaps, for the Justin Bieber — they looked like they had come straight from the Dolce archive of greatest hits. There’s something for everyone inside. But then, the collection was almost beside the point. Which could be summed up fairly simply: If you can’t beat ’em, and don’t want to join ’em, go viral on ’em. Now to Paris. | 1 |
A Washington, DC bar will give away free drinks every time President Donald Trump tweets about former FBI Director James Comey during Comey’s Thursday testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The mainstream media are covering Comey’s testimony like the Super Bowl, and multiple D. C. bars will open in the morning to host viewing parties. D. C.’s Union Pub announced on its Facebook page that it will open its doors at 9:30 a. m. and buy “a round of drinks for the house every time Trump Tweets about Comey during his testimony!” The “special” offer will run “til Comey’s testimony is over, or 4pm, whichever is earlier. ” The Washington Post’s Robert Costa reported that Trump “does not plan to put down Twitter on Thursday” and may even “live tweet if he feels the need to respond. ” I’m told by two WH sources that Pres. Trump does not plan to put down Twitter on Thursday. May live tweet if he feels the need to respond. — Robert Costa (@costareports) June 6, 2017, | 0 |
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OAKLAND, Calif. — She fired none of the shots, she was nowhere near the bloody scene, and none of the evidence made public so far hints that she shared her husband’s violent jihadist ideology. Yet Noor Zahi Salman, the widow of the gunman who massacred revelers at an Orlando nightclub, stood before a federal judge on Tuesday as the only person charged in the attack. In the early hours of June 12, Ms. Salman’s husband, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people at Pulse, a gay nightclub, and wounded 53 others in one of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil. Before being fatally shot by the police, Mr. Mateen, a security guard, declared his allegiance to the Islamic State. Though suspicion and scrutiny naturally fall on people close to someone who commits terrorism or mass murder, it is rare for a wife or a girlfriend to end up facing charges. But in a brief hearing in federal court in Oakland, a federal prosecutor, Roger Handberg, explained why the authorities considered Ms. Salman an exception. “She knew he was going to conduct the attack,” Mr. Handberg said. An indictment unsealed on Tuesday accused Ms. Salman, 30, of “aiding and abetting the attempted provision and provision of material support to a foreign terrorist organization,” a charge that can carry a sentence of life in prison. She was also charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly misleading police officers and federal agents, who interviewed her for 12 hours on the day of the shooting. Ms. Salman went with her husband to buy ammunition, drove him to Orlando when he apparently scouted his target, and knew that he watched jihadist propaganda videos. Those could be innocent acts or indications of criminal culpability, depending on her own intent and what she knew of his. Her fate could turn on evidence about her frame of mind, including how much she was controlled by her husband, who she has said abused her. “We’ve seen the government trying to widen the definition of ‘material support,’ and the increased visibility of women being involved in jihadist movements” makes it easier to imagine charging them with terrorism, said Nimmi Gowrinathan, a visiting professor at the City College of New York who studies women in violent situations around the world. In an interview last fall with The New York Times, her only public statement since the attack, Ms. Salman said she had not known what her husband planned to do, a claim that her uncle, Al Salman, made repeatedly outside the courthouse on Tuesday. Prosecutors, who plan to pursue the case in a federal court in Florida, gave little new information, leaving unclear what evidence they had or why seven months had passed before charges were filed. Ms. Salman, who was arrested on Monday and has a young son fathered by Mr. Mateen, has been living with relatives in Rodeo, Calif. northeast of San Francisco. Visibly shaking in a and gray jail uniform, Ms. Salman stood in court Tuesday and, in a barely audible voice, told Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu, who had to ask her to speak up, that she understood the charges against her. Only when she was led from the courtroom did she raise her head and let her eyes search the packed gallery. On Wednesday, the judge will consider whether to grant bail. The married couple who fatally shot 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif. in 2015 provide the clearest case of a wife as accomplice, but examples remain rare. A study of more than 100 terrorists in Western countries who acted alone or in pairs found that most of them were single. percent confided in someone about their plans, the authors found, but research showed that only 4 percent told a spouse, a girlfriend or a boyfriend. The closest parallel to Ms. Salman may be Katherine Russell, the widow of one of the Boston Marathon bombers, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and the mother of his child. The bombs detonated at the race in 2013 were made in the home she and her husband shared, and testimony at the trial of the surviving bomber — Ms. Russell’s Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — indicated that her computer had been used for a search on the rewards that come to the widow of a martyr for Islam. Ms. Russell talked to investigators but refused to testify before a grand jury without immunity from prosecution. Federal agents investigating the case were eager to bring charges against her, but prosecutors decided not to. Ms. Salman and Mr. Mateen’s former wife, Sitora Yusufiy, have both said that he beat them severely and tried to control every aspect of their lives. Citing that abuse, a lawyer for Ms. Salman, Linda Moreno, said recently that it was “misguided and wrong to prosecute her. ” Experts say that domestic violence is a common trait among mass killers and terrorists, and that close relatives are often among their victims. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was also accused of domestic violence by a previous girlfriend. “Misogyny and extremism work together very often, so abuse is entrenched in these cases,” Dr. Gowrinathan, the City College professor, said. But, she added, sympathy for women as victims of abuse tends to evaporate in terrorism cases. At the time of the Pulse shooting, Ms. Salman was at home in Fort Pierce, Fla. a drive from Orlando, but the indictment charged that she had been abetting her husband’s plans since at least late April. Prosecutors say she knowingly misled the F. B. I. agents and Fort Pierce police officers who interviewed her. The indictment also says the government wants her to forfeit more than $30, 000, which may be connected to the jewelry she has said her husband lavished on her in the final days of his life. In interviews last year, friends and acquaintances described Ms. Salman as a relatively naïve young woman, a doting mother who could have unwittingly witnessed the buildup to her husband’s attack. The daughter of Palestinian immigrants, she struggled in high school, they said, but earned an associate degree at a community college before meeting Mr. Mateen, a son of Afghan immigrants, on an Arab dating website. “I was unaware of everything,” Ms. Salman said in the Times interview last year. “I don’t condone what he has done. I am very sorry for what has happened. He has hurt a lot of people. ” She said that she had known her husband was viewing jihadist videos, but that she had disapproved and forced him to turn them off so that their son would not see them. She said that the drive to Orlando had seemed innocent, and that the ammunition purchase was unremarkable for a security guard who practiced at a shooting range. The F. B. I. questioned Mr. Mateen after he told in 2013 that he had ties to terrorist groups like Hezbollah, and again in 2014, when his name came up in another terrorism case. But agents never found evidence that he was plotting an attack. In the Times interview, Ms. Salman said she had thought that if her husband had been a danger, the F. B. I. would have arrested him. | 1 |
When one of the tiniest pension funds imaginable — for Citrus Pest Control District No. 2, serving just six people in California — decided last year to convert itself to a 401( k) plan, it seemed like a . After all, the little fund held far more money than it needed, according to its official numbers from California’s renowned public pension system, Calpers. Except it really didn’t. In fact, it was significantly underfunded. Suddenly Calpers began demanding a payment of more than half a million dollars. “My board was somewhat shocked,” said Larry Houser, the general manager of the pest control district, whose workers tame the bugs and blights that threaten their corner of California citrus country. It is just a few miles down the road from Joshua Tree National Park. It turns out that Calpers, which managed the little pension plan, keeps two sets of books: the officially stated numbers, and another set that reflects the “market value” of the pensions that people have earned. The second number is not publicly disclosed. And it typically paints a much more troubling picture, according to people who follow the money. The crisis at Citrus Pest Control District No. 2 illuminates a profound debate now sweeping the American public pension system. It is pitting specialist against specialist — this year in the rarefied confines of the American Academy of Actuaries, not far from the White House, the elite professionals who crunch pension numbers for a living came close to blows over this very issue. But more important, it raises serious concerns that governments nationwide do not know the true condition of the pension funds they are responsible for. That exposes millions of people, including retired public workers, local taxpayers and municipal bond buyers — who are often retirees themselves — to risks they have no way of knowing about. “One of the first things I think you should do is publish that number for every city,” said William F. Sharpe, professor emeritus of finance at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business who won the Nobel in economic science in 1990 for his work on how the markets price financial instruments. He is also a California resident who voluntarily helped his city, crack the secret pension code — figuring out the market value of its debt to its retirees in 2011 before Calpers resolved to start divulging the information later that year. “We just about nailed it, which made us feel very good for ourselves — but very bad for the city,” Professor Sharpe said. On a market basis, the city turned out to be $48 million short of what it owed retirees, or four times what the official numbers showed. The two competing ways of valuing a pension fund are often called the actuarial approach (which is geared toward helping employers plan stable annual budgets, as opposed to measuring assets and liabilities) and the market approach, which reflects more math. The market value of a pension reflects the full cost today of providing a steady, guaranteed income for life — and it’s large. Alarmingly large, in fact. This is one reason most states and cities don’t let the market numbers see the light of day. But in recent years, even the more modest actuarial numbers have been growing, as populations age and many public workers retire. In California, some struggling local governments now doubt they can really afford their pension plans, and have told Calpers they want out. In response, Calpers has calculated the heretofore unknown market value of their pension promises — and told them that’s the price of leaving, payable immediately. Few have that much cash, so it’s welcome to the Hotel California: You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. Calpers says it must bill departing governments for every penny their pensions could possibly cost because once they cash out, Calpers has no way of going back and getting more money from them if something goes wrong. Calpers keeps that money in a separate “termination pool. ” Things went differently for Citrus Pest Control District No. 2. It withdrew first, before realizing the shortfall. Then, four months later, it got the unexpected bill from Calpers. “I was opening the mail and thinking, ‘Can this be right?’ I thought they put an extra zero on it,” said Tim Hoesterey, one of the district’s two employees. The bill came just as the district was building up a war chest to fight a virulent new citrus blight, a disease that had already devastated groves in Florida. The directors had armed themselves by raising a growers’ tax per acre fivefold. Suddenly, paying Calpers would wipe out the whole citrus blight reserve. Some wondered if they should just declare bankruptcy. “There are people selling their farms, trying to get out of the business, because they can’t make a profit anymore,” Mr. Hoesterey said. He called Calpers to see if the district could get a break, an extended due date, or even stay with Calpers after all. Calpers said no. It was a done deal. A Calpers spokeswoman, Amy Morgan, said such questions suggested “a misunderstanding of the purpose of Calpers. ” “Calpers does not exist to make money,” she said. “Calpers exists to fully pay out benefits that are promised to its members. ” She said the law required Calpers to perform a complete valuation after the termination date had passed, and to recover all the money needed to ensure that the retirees would be paid in full. Today in California, both the market values and the actuarial pension values for many places are available on a website run by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. But for the 49 other states, the market numbers remain unknown. The numbers are “close to the truth of the liability,” Professor Sharpe said. But most elected officials want the smaller numbers, and actuaries provide what their clients want. “Somebody just should have stopped this whole charade,” he said. For years, people have been trying to do just that. In 2003, the Society of Actuaries, a respected professional body, devoted most of its annual meeting to what was called “the Great Controversy” — the notion that the actuarial standards for pensions were fundamentally flawed, causing systemic underfunding and setting up a train wreck when baby boomers retired. It drew a crowd. The problem reaches far beyond pensions, and into the $3. 7 trillion municipal bond market. The reason is that municipal bond ratings take into account the strength (or weakness) of government pension plans. If those numbers have been consistently wrong, as dissidents argued, then actuaries were helping mislead the investors buying municipal bonds. Arguably, the flawed standards worsened the problem with each passing year: Actuarial values determine the annual contributions that states and local governments make to their pension plans, so if the target numbers are too low, the contributions will always be too small. Shortfalls will be compounding, invisibly. Much of the debate surrounded the routine practice of translating future pension payments into today’s dollars, which is called discounting. The tiny pension plan at Citrus Pest Control District No. 2 shows clearly what the problem is. With everybody either retired, or about to be (Mr. Houser will retire later this year) there is no guesswork in determining everybody’s pensions. The actuaries at Calpers project each of the future monthly payments due to Mr. Houser and the other five retirees, assuming they will live to age 90. (Mr. Hoesterey is not included because his retirement benefit is the new 401( k) plan.) Then, they translate all those future payments into today’s dollars with a rate — often called a discount rate. This is exactly how a lender would calculate a home mortgage. The problem is, which rate should be used? An economist would say the right rate for Calpers is the one for a bond, like a Treasury bond, because public pensions in California are guaranteed by the state and therefore . And that’s what Calpers does when it calculates market values. It used 2. 56 percent when it calculated the bill for the pest control district, producing a $447, 000 shortfall. But the rest of the time, Calpers and virtually all other public pension funds use their assumed annual rate of return on assets, now generally around 7. 5 percent. Presto: This makes a pension appear to have a much smaller liability — or even a surplus. That was the case with the pest control district for years. And since there seemed to be a surplus, Calpers said the district owed no annual contributions. Calpers’s numbers hid it, but the six members’ pensions were going unfunded. “Every economist who has looked at this has said, ‘It’s crazy to use what you expect to earn on assets to discount a guaranteed promise you have made. That’s nuts! ’” Professor Sharpe said. But what he calls crazy is enshrined in the actuarial standards. And since adhering to the standards makes public pensions look affordable, there is a powerful incentive to preserve those standards. “Actuaries shamelessly, although often in good faith, understate pension obligations by as much as 50 percent,” said Jeremy Gold, an actuary and economist, in a speech last year at the M. I. T. Center for Finance and Policy. “Their clients want them to. ” Mr. Gold was also a ringleader of that stormy professional meeting in 2003. Since then, there have been more conferences, monographs, speeches, panels and recommendations — to say nothing of an unusual spate of municipal bankruptcies and insolvencies in which ailing pension plans have played starring roles. And yet little has changed. Even as Citrus Pest Control District No. 2 was scrambling to find the cash to pay its unexpected bill this year, another fight broke out within the American Academy of Actuaries, which represents the profession in Washington, over the same issues. An academy task force had commissioned a paper on how financial economists would measure public pensions. But during the peer review process, the opus was spiked, the task force disbanded and the four authors — Mr. Gold among them — barred from publishing the work elsewhere. Accusations of censorship flew. The four authors said the academy’s copyright claims were false. The academy’s president, Thomas F. Wildsmith IV, said in a statement to members on the academy’s website that the paper “could not meet the academy’s publication standards. ” In a separate email message to The New York Times he said the academy was committed to helping the public understand the different measurements, and provided a position paper concluding that both measures are useful, but for different purposes. Then the Society of Actuaries, which handles the education and testing of actuaries, joined the fray. It posted the suppressed paper on its own website, albeit with the authors’ names removed. It claimed to hold the copyright jointly with the academy. It also added a statement that the paper did not reflect the position “of any group that speaks for the profession” but called the authors “knowledgeable. ” The society’s president, Craig W. Reynolds, sent an email message citing other efforts “to develop strong funding programs that are responsive to a rapidly changing environment. ” The four authors then issued a revised version of their paper, with their names on the front — and a claim that they held the copyright. The paper, which runs 19 pages, says in brief: Use market values for public pensions. Professor Sharpe noted that Calpers’s method was “virtually the precise approach advocated in this paper. ” Almost, but not entirely. At Citrus Pest Control District No. 2, Mr. Hoesterey said Calpers added a final twist. It took so long to calculate the district’s final payment that the bill arrived four months after the district’s withdrawal date — and then it charged four months’ interest, at 7. 5 percent, on the late payment. Ms. Morgan, the spokeswoman, said the lag was “unfortunate but unavoidable. ” Mr. Hoesterey said Calpers should have warned the district well in advance how big the bill might be, to give it time to find the money. “I kept asking: ‘Does this seem fair to you? What other organization conducts business like this? ’” he said. Seeing no way out, the district paid the whole thing. | 1 |
Sometimes going home for the holidays is hard (there’s a reason liquor sales swell during these occasions!). Often, Thanksgiving dinners bring far-flung family members together at a single table under one roof, and that, even in the best of circumstances, can lead to stress and awkward conversations. Add in the fact that this is an election year and you’re bound to encounter some strain while you pass those mashed potatoes across vastly different ideologies. I’ve heard from more than one friend or family member that they won’t be attending holiday dinners this year, and I think that’s really a shame.
I’d encourage anyone thinking about going that route to reconsider; the following tips can help to make your Thanksgiving dinner manageable and enjoyable and can help you focus on your families’ similarities, rather than differences.
Remember the Golden Rule of Polite Conversation If you’re an activist of any sort this may be difficult to adhere to, but the two topics that are best to leave on the coat hook are your religious and political views. Remember last year when Uncle Joe successfully convinced everyone at the table to convert to his exact religious and political beliefs? Yeah, that didn’t happen. No matter how zealous your convictions, if you truly want to make the two hours of Thanksgiving dinner comfortable, you need to skip that kind of talk. Now is no time to be passive-aggressive either: leave the political-themed hats and t-shirts at home. Focus instead on the personal: how people are doing in their jobs, what hobbies they are participating in, how their kids are doing.
If someone tries to bait or lead you into a conversation that approaches one of the two danger zones, be nice but don’t engage. I once escaped a horrible conversation with a distant cousin by complimenting her earrings. Really, this is no different than abstaining from talk about your digestive issues or the road kill you saw on the drive over—it’s just plain rude to go there. And if your family happens to all hold the exact same beliefs and convictions, well, how nice for you! (Though you should know that for years my family assumed I shared their same political opinions when I absolutely did not—consider this might be the case for the person next to you at the table.)
Thankful for Place Settings When I host Thanksgiving dinner at my house, each place setting has a little piece of paper with the subject heading “I am thankful for:” and 5 blank lines. I also give out fountain pens like these as a little gift to my guests. As everyone is seated, they fill out their lists. We take turns over the course of the dinner reading our lists. This is a great way to focus on what really matters to us and to help us share in our gratitude.
Do Your Part Preparation is key in all situations, so having a couple of talking points in your conversation arsenal is smart. Avoid lulls in conversation by contributing. Think about something positive or meaningful that happened to you recently—a beautiful place that you visited or a great (non-political!) book or movie that you saw—and have an anecdote ready.
When all else fails, you can always talk about the food: what your favorite part of the meal is, how certain dishes were prepared, and how good the wine is (but go easy on the wine!).
Pamela Bofferding is a native Texan who now lives with her husband and sons in New York City. She enjoys hiking, traveling, and playing with her dogs.
This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition
Originally published November 17th, 2016 Southern Girl’s Survival Guide to Thanksgiving – The Thanksgiving Club Sandwich Negotiate Like a Pro With These 5 Powerful Tips How to Spot the Sociopath in Your Midst What to Do If Your Partner Thinks Prepared = Paranoid | 0 |
With attention squarely focused on the criminality of politicians, particularly that of the US presidential candidates, it’s easy to overlook the people really responsible for all this chaos.... | 0 |
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department told a federal appeals court on Thursday that it would not seek a rehearing of a decision that shut down President Trump’s targeted travel ban. Instead, the administration will start from scratch, issuing a new executive order, the department said. Last Thursday, a unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, blocked the key parts of the original executive order, which suspended the nation’s refugee program as well as travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The panel said the original ban was unlikely to survive constitutional scrutiny. The Justice Department said that the panel’s decision was riddled with errors but that the flaws it noted would be addressed in the new executive order. “Rather than continuing this litigation,” the Justice Department’s brief said, “the president intends in the near future to rescind the order and replace it with a new, substantially revised executive order to eliminate what the panel erroneously thought were constitutional concerns. ” “In so doing,” the brief said, “the president will clear the way for immediately protecting the country rather than pursuing further, potentially litigation. ” In a news conference on Thursday, Mr. Trump said the new executive order would be issued next week. In its brief, the Justice Department urged the appeals court to await the new order and then vacate last Thursday’s decision. It is not clear that the issuance of a new and narrower executive order will make the case before the Ninth Circuit moot or that the court will agree to vacate the decision even if it did. The Supreme Court has said the “voluntary cessation” of a government action does not usually make a case moot if the government remains free to resume the conduct after the case is dismissed. In calling for a legal the Justice Department avoided a Supreme Court test of the original executive order. A tie on the Supreme Court would have left the panel’s decision in place. Mr. Trump’s travel ban, issued Jan. 27, caused confusion and protests at airports nationwide and was immediately challenged in court. Many federal judges blocked aspects of the order. The broadest injunction was issued on Feb. 3 by Judge James L. Robart of the Federal District Court in Seattle, acting in a lawsuit filed by the states of Washington and Minnesota. Judge Robart required the administration to roll back the key aspects of the order, and travel from the affected countries resumed almost immediately. The next day, the Justice Department filed an emergency appeal, saying that national security concerns required immediate action from the appeals court. The panel heard arguments a few days later, and in a unanimous decision last Thursday, it refused to reinstate the ban. Many legal scholars, including ones who disapproved of the ban, have criticized the reasoning in the panel’s ruling. The Justice Department’s brief tracked many of those critiques, saying the panel’s decision was plagued by misunderstandings about the scope of the original executive order and the president’s authority to address immigration. “In other circumstances,” the brief said, “the panel’s multiple errors in sustaining a substantially overbroad injunction, and thereby prohibiting enforcement of a lawful executive order designed to protect the nation’s security, would warrant” review by a larger panel of the Ninth Circuit. “Such review is not called for at this time,” the brief said, given the forthcoming executive order. In their own brief filed Thursday, Washington and Minnesota agreed with the administration on one thing: that no rehearing of the panel’s decision was warranted. But the states argued that the panel’s ruling had been careful and correct. “The panel’s order thoroughly considered the legal precedent and the parties’ arguments and neither overlooked nor misunderstood a point of law or fact,” the brief said. The briefs came in response to a request from the appeals court. Last Friday, an unidentified appeals court judge called for a vote on whether the panel’s ruling should be reheard by a larger panel of the Ninth Circuit. If a majority of the court’s active judges vote to rehear the case, it would typically be considered by an panel made up of the circuit’s chief judge and 10 judges chosen at random. Rehearing motions filed by parties and requests for votes on rehearings requested by judges are not particularly unusual. The Ninth Circuit rehears decisions issued by panels 15 to 25 times a year, the court said. The Ninth Circuit has 25 active judges 18 were appointed by Democratic presidents. Even if the Ninth Circuit agrees to vacate the panel’s decision, challenges to the original executive order will continue in other courts. And the new executive order may draw fresh legal challenges. | 1 |
CAIRO — Egypt’s top appeals court cleared former President Hosni Mubarak of any responsibility for the killing of hundreds of people during the 2011 protests that ended his rule, sweeping away the final legal hurdle to Mr. Mubarak’s release from detention. The ruling drew cheers from Mr. Mubarak’s supporters, who have in recent years cast off the stigma once associated with his name to air increasingly vocal demands for his release. But it represented a bitter landmark for the millions of Egyptians who risked their lives to oust Mr. Mubarak and his circle during the heady, uprising in early 2011. None of the figures who grew rich and influential during his time in power are still in jail. The sole exception is Mr. Mubarak himself, who has been under guard for years at the Maadi Military Hospital in Cairo, at a room overlooking the Nile. But the decision to keep him in detention is widely seen here as a political matter rather than a legal one — constructed to avoid any embarrassment to Egypt’s current leader, President Abdel Fattah who sometimes praises the 2011 revolution. In contrast, thousands of Egyptians who rose against him in 2011 are stuck in prison, in many cases after mass trials that drew stinging international criticism. The prisoners include supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, but also activists, lawyers and journalists who dared to challenge Mr. Sisi. “It’s pretty telling that Mubarak, who ran the country into the ground, gets acquitted, and people who gave their everything to try and do something for the country are sitting in prison,” said Ahdaf Soueif, an author whose nephew, the activist and blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah, is in jail. Some Egyptian prisoners have been held without trial for years, often in terrible conditions, in stark contrast with the relatively gilded conditions enjoyed by Mr. Mubarak. According to supporters who have visited him, Mr. Mubarak gets regular deliveries of flowers, newspapers and takeout restaurant meals, as well as a constant stream of visitors. Occasionally, Mr. Mubarak emerges onto the balcony to wave at cheering supporters gathered at the hospital gates. His sons Alaa and Gamal, who were convicted on charges of embezzling millions of dollars of state money, were released from prison in 2015 and are often sighted in restaurants and shops in upscale Cairo neighborhoods. In the past six years, Mr. Mubarak has faced a slew of criminal charges for corruption and misrule. He was often seen glowering with anger when he appeared in court and was forced to sit inside a cage. But he has been convicted in just one corruption case, which concluded in 2015 when an appeals court upheld a sentence. The judge allowed Mr. Mubarak to count time served against the sentence. Alternately defiant or embittered, Mr. Mubarak never publicly displayed much contrition for his actions during his three decades in power. On Thursday he was flown by helicopter to the courtroom, where he sat in a wheelchair and smiled at supporters from the defendant’s cage. Among those watching from the public gallery was his son Gamal, once groomed as his successor. Yousri Abdelraziq, a lawyer and Mubarak supporter who was present in court, said the former president was in a buoyant mood after his acquittal. “He fully intends to go home, perhaps in a month or two,” he said. He suggested that Mr. Mubarak might want to go to his palatial villa at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh, which was the subject of a different, failed corruption case. The final case against Mr. Mubarak centered on accusations that he ordered shootings by security forces that led to the deaths of 239 people during the 2011 uprising. In 2012, a court sentenced Mr. Mubarak to life in prison, but an appeals court ordered a retrial, which resulted in his initial acquittal in 2014. Thursday’s ruling confirmed that acquittal, prompting renewed speculation that Mr. Sisi might release Mr. Mubarak from detention, though it could prove politically awkward. In speeches, Mr. Sisi regularly pays tribute to the 2011 uprising, which was supported by the Egyptian military. “If they let Mubarak out, what does that say about 2011 — that the military got it wrong?” said Hisham A. Hellyer, author of “A Revolution Undone: Egypt’s Road Beyond Revolt. ” Still, Mr. Sisi’s tenure is more strongly defined by the tumultuous events that brought him to power, when the military he led toppled the democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, in 2013. Since then Mr. Sisi has cracked down hard on the Brotherhood, while his supporters have sought to portray the events of 2011 as a result of foreign interference in Egypt. Some Egyptians believe that Mr. Sisi might want to free Mr. Mubarak before the presidential election set to take place next year, as a means of drawing a line under the 2011 uprising. Mr. Sisi himself has yet to make his views clear. Mr. Mubarak, for his part, has always insisted he did nothing wrong. After a list of charges against the former president was read aloud in court on Thursday — quite possibly for the last time — he responded curtly: “It did not happen. ” | 1 |
MOSCOW — Russian lawmakers on Wednesday moved to decriminalize some forms of domestic battery for offenders who do not do serious physical harm to their victims. Members of the State Duma passed the controversial amendment to the Russian criminal code in its second reading, which essentially assures it will go to President Vladimir V. Putin for his signature. The amendment treats a first conviction for domestic battery as an administrative offense, carrying a penalty of a $500 fine or 15 days in jail. If Mr. Putin signs the measure into law, only injuries like concussions or broken bones, or repeated offenses committed in a family setting, would lead to criminal charges. Defenders of the measure say it will protect parents’ rights to discipline their children and generally reduce the state’s role in domestic life. “In the traditional Russian family culture, relations between ‘fathers and sons’ are built upon the authority of parents’ power, mutual love and personal indispensability as the basis for children’s upbringing,” said Yelena B. Mizulina, one of the initiators of the new legislation and author of a law that banned “gay propaganda” aimed at minors. Opponents called it a step back to medieval times and a license for violent behavior by domestic tyrants. “It is clear that lawmakers recognized violence as a norm of family life,” said Svetlana G. Aivazova, a Russian specialist in gender studies. “This shows that Duma deputies are not simply conservative or traditional, it shows that they are archaic. ” Ms. Aivazova and other experts say that Russia has a serious problem with domestic violence. Citing data provided by Russia’s Interior Ministry, Ms. Aivazova told Mr. Putin in 2015 that “40 percent of all grave violent crimes are committed in families. ” In 2013, she said, more than 9, 000 women died in criminal assaults and more than 11, 000 were badly injured. In 2014, she said, “more than 25 percent of all murders were committed in families. ” In the United States, by comparison, 11, 766 women were killed by a husband or boyfriend in the years 2001 to 2012, an average of about 1, 000 a year in a country with about twice the population of Russia. Ms. Aivazova asked Mr. Putin to support a special law on the prevention of domestic violence that had already been passed in 143 countries, including Russia’s neighbors Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Mr. Putin thanked her, but the law remained in the State Duma, and Ms. Aivazova said she was not optimistic about its prospects. In the past, Mr. Putin has expressed concern about domestic violence, even in the absence of serious injury. “I think we should not slap children and justify it based on some old traditions,” he told journalists at his last news conference in December. “There is a short distance from slaps to beating. ” The new legislation was pushed by conservative members of the Russian parliament and the Russian Orthodox Church, who were incensed last summer when lawmakers criminalized domestic violence, acting upon a recommendation by the Supreme Court. The Russian Orthodox Church, which has steadily increased its influence in social policy in recent years, said in a statement last year that physical punishment was a Russian tradition and thus should be protected as “an essential right given to parents by God. ” “There is absolutely no doubt that children should be defended against true criminal activities,” the church said. “But you cannot equate such criminal assaults with rational and moderate use of physical punishment by loving parents. ” Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, said the new legislation was a sign of the state’s determination to “make conditions for strong families to emerge. ” | 0 |
What feminists can learn from Melania Trump. October 28, 2016 Ilana Mercer
In recent interviews, Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, observed wryly that almost every malicious, lie-filled article about herself or he husband was written by a … female. Indeed, women seem to have a particular stake in bringing Mr. Trump down.
The contrast between Mrs. Trump and the many histrionic shrews prosecuting her husband is stark. In both her interviews with CNN's condescending Anderson Cooper and Fox News's Ainsley Earhardt, Mrs. Trump was the embodiment of "strength."
When a liberal woman declares she's a strong woman (usually uttered in a tart-like, staccato inflection), she's using a cliché. Look at her actions. You'll see that "strong" to liberal distaff means kicking and screaming until she brings others into compliance with her worldview and ways.
A "strong" liberal woman is one who hammers you about your obligation to fork-out for her Trojans and her Trivora. And if birth control fails our liberated libertine, then you're on the hook for her abortions and abortifacients. And don't dare doubt any of the intemperate charges leveled by this prototype liberal succubus against a man, any man. To doubt her is to harm her.
It was not without significance that Hillary Clinton’s first general election speech, in June, was before Planned Parenthood. At the time, media buried the story of one named Rajiv K. Fernando , who had donated to the Clinton Foundation and was given a seat as Hillary’s nuclear weapons advisor. Watching this, I was thinking endemic corruption, the $19 trillion debt, the dire jobs report, the terrifying prospect of negative interest rates and the fate of savers. But Hillary and her gyno-brigade in media and across the country were cheering for a universal right to taxpayer-paid dilation and curettage (D&C).
Melania Trump, on the other hand, is authentically strong.
In her refusal to impart salacious tell-all tidbits to interviewers, in the way she guards her privacy and that of her family; in her serene, gracious, and beautiful manners and bearing—Mrs. Trump exemplifies a European woman's good breeding. She's a class act. Her enemies are the cultural underclass.
Nor does Mrs. Trump display any of the histrionics about men exhibited by her American counterparts. There are images on the Internet of presidents being inappropriate with women. In particular, you can watch a grainy YouTube clip of Barack Obama appearing to be showing off his crotch to giggling female reporters. In another, the president, with France's Nicolas Sarkozy, is eying the shapely behind of a young woman passing by. Much to media chagrin, Melania refused to get worked up about the 2005 Access Hollywood tape in which her husband engaged in locker-room talk.
Men will be men. If they're not saying it; they're thinking it.
More material than her mien were Melania Trump's words of reason. On the Soviet-style witch-hunt launched against her husband with media mediation, she said this: “All sexual assault allegations should be handled in a court of law. To accuse someone, man or woman, without evidence is damaging and unfair.” This was the exact verdict of famed defense attorney Tom Mesereau, about the Bill Cosby pile-on. Quit the feeding frenzy. Give the man his due process. Investigate the women, counseled Mesereau, Esq., at the time.
The very embodiment of the malevolent liberal matriarchy rising is the sainted Michelle Obama. The First Lady was lauded for an unhinged anti-Trump address to the nation's women. In a world where Americans have been beheaded on camera, women raped en masse on Europe's streets, and Christians exterminated in the Middle East—the First Lady bewailed being "shaken" to her shallow core by raunchy words. "I can't stop thinking about it," groaned Michelle about Mr. Trump's Access Hollywood indiscretion. It "has shaken me to my core in a way I could not have predicted."
The ritualistic decapitation on the altar of a Catholic priest by Muslim migrants in France: That's something "I can't stop thinking about." The machine-gunning of five Macy's shoppers and employees by a Turkish Muslim immigrant (Arcan Cetin), in my neck of the woods: That "has shaken me to my core in a way I could not have predicted." Again, Mrs. Obama's pitiful case against Mr. Trump has strengthened nothing but her drama-queen credentials.
Candidate Clinton crowed that Mrs. Obama's long whinge for women was a "compelling and strong case about the stakes in the election, about who we are as Americans." Indeed, the implicit case Michelle put to women is this: a mammoth national debt, a shrinking job market, rising lawlessness and racial strife, an annual intake of mostly Third-World immigrants exceeding 3 million, the dangers to life and limb of importing more Islam: fuhgeddaboudit. What counts, whimpered Michelle Obama, voice trembling—yes, Mrs. Obama almost brought herself to tears—was to ferret out microaggression, and find a safe-place to hunker down.
As I write, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has stormed a stage somewhere for Hillary Clinton. Phony Pocahontas is hollering about the power of "nasty women" to immiserate. Clinton and Warren make for a resentful, domineering, power-hungry pair, who’ve made it big in life through the use of state power. The human backdrop to their displays of female force invariably looks the same.
Whereas Trump rallies are packed with hope-filled, beaming faces; a Clinton-Warren affair is festooned with malevolent-looking, aggrieved women and their frightened, low-T houseboys. The background music: enfeebled squeaking courtesy of a female pop “singer” like Katy Perry, whose out-of-tune yelps and bedroom whispers would be unheard, if not for the marvel of Auto-Tune. (Auto-Tune is the “holy grail of recording” that “corrects intonation problems in vocals or solo instruments, in real time, without distortion or artifacts.” It was invented by a male engineer.)
Shudder.
If this melodramatic, neurotic message is the voice of America's women—and legions of Republican women have seconded it—then count me with HER, with Melania. | 1 |
Leave a reply Notes toward a theory of overlapping universes “If everything is already connected to everything, as we’re told, the universe would be one dead hot dog, long past its expiration date. We should, instead, be considering a universe of separated forces, and when they come in contact, they can produce sparks of surprise, novelty, spontaneous energy, and synchronous possibilities…” (The Magician Awakes, Jon Rappoport) “The 19th French Impressionist painters were all dedicated to revealing light in nature. They made all their subjects bathe in it. But each painter pursued that goal in a different way, as if he were describing a different universe. Perhaps they were also showing the collision of several universes…” (The Magician Awakes)
Jon Rappoport – Consider a different way of looking at things: The life we are living has an invisible characteristic which is massively important.
This characteristic is the meeting and overlapping of separate universes.
When this phenomenon occurs, it produces what some people call synchronicity. The important thing is: this synchronicity is spontaneous in the moment and alive and vital and brimming with possibility. If we recognize it, it “fills the cup to the brim” and spills over. It is abundant.
Some physicists claim that, in order to make sense out of quantum theory, in order to track its implications, you need to accept multiple universes.
If you wanted to move into even deeper waters, you would consider the proposition that such universes interconnect and overlap.
During roughly the same period that quantum theory appeared, painters were exploring simultaneous universes. Cubism and Collage (Picasso, Braque), Surrealism (Dali, Max Ernst, Roberto Matta). Writers were moving that direction (Rimbaud, Andre Breton, Apollinaire, Jarry).
Conceiving of this universe as one space-time continuum would naturally lead to the question, “Why not more than one continuum?”
Dreams, in their episodic unfolding, shift radically from one scene to another, and the dreamer isn’t jolted out of sleep by the changes. He goes on the ride. He’s absorbed in the action. He’s a kind of explorer, on a search, and if the voyage takes him from one universe to another, so be it.
But in waking time, we want our experience to be serial, to follow the rules. We want our language to bolster the rules. Subject, verb, object. And so we ask, as well, that our problems lead to solutions in a straight line.
Occasionally, we might wonder whether there is an entirely different way to effect solutions, particularly when we’re dealing with a stubborn or chronic problem.
In a way, that was my impetus for developing what I call Magic Theater, based on Psychodrama, in which people would improvise roles in dialogue with each other.
For example, when faced with Problem X, the person plays the role of “the person who has already solved X.” And in this role, he speaks with “someone who is struggling with X.”
A new situation is invented, where two separate universes, so to speak, collide and overlap.
Or a person plays the role of Problem X itself and speaks as that problem, to someone who is playing the role of “an inhabitant of a universe in which Problem X could never exist.”
In a general sense, you simply have two people play the roles of inhabitants of vastly different kinds of universes. They sit and talk to each other.
In approaching the subject of simultaneous overlapping universes, the notion of synchronicity pops up. Thirty years ago, I used to walk around Los Angeles with my camera snapping hundreds of pictures. At the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, on a Saturday afternoon, I was standing outside the main building taking pictures of Rodin’s large sculpture, The Burghers of Calais. A heavy-set woman wearing a long coat suddenly stepped into the scene and looked up at one of the Burghers. I caught her in the frame and snapped the shot. Later, when the black-and-white photo was developed, it turned out that her overhanging hair-do was nearly identical to the piled up arrangement of hair on the Burgher she was staring at. Her head was the same wedge shape as the Burgher’s. The similarity and the dissonance (a metal man, a flesh-and-blood woman, from two different epochs) were startling.
A few minutes later, inside the Museum, I was focusing my camera on a very large painting of several 18th-century courtesans reclining on a couch in a luxurious chamber hung with rich heavy curtains. This was just the kind of painting I would ordinarily pass without a second glance. Two girls stepped in front of the painting and looked up at it. I snapped several shots. Later, after developing them, I saw that the girls were wearing all sorts of costume bracelets and rings. The contrast between the girls’ and the courtesans’ jewelry, and between the young fresh faces of the girls and the opulent experienced faces of the courtesans, was quite marvelous—and the photo diminished the distance and separateness between the girls and the painting. The universe of the girls and universe of the painting suddenly met and overlapped.
As a wandering photographer in Los Angeles, I experienced many of these spontaneous synchronicities.
This was a different order of reality. I would never have found it, had I not been carrying a camera and taking pictures. It would have been invisible. But there it was, on film.
I was prompted to think that the reality of the street is much more than we usually believe it to be. That “more” is actually there, all the time. But we stumble past it.
The “more” is multiple universes. We ignore them, because we’re trained to.
Suppose we are actually living in multiple universes all the time, and the gist of it, all the time, is the spontaneity and surprise and novelty that imparts life and vitality to the whole operation. If we could see it.
And we don’t see it, because every time we experience a glimpse of it, we discount it as “fantasy,” and we stash those moments, as memories, in the place where they seem to belong, THE IMAGINATION.
And then, by living with imagination, we re-discover simultaneous overlapping universes….
We expect and insist on a flow of cause and effect in space. That’s the way we conceive of events. A to B to C to D.
This is the story of investigation in this universe. And it works, of course. It works brilliantly.
What happens in an engine? Trace the flow of energy through the working parts and out into another mechanical framework where the energy gets something done. A to B to C.
I’m simply proposing an additional way of looking at events.
As an analogy, take this odd view of magnetism. The piece of iron is already “attract-able.” It has that quality. And the quality involves vibration, motion, a reaching out. And then we have the magnet, which already has the quality called “capable of attracting something.” And the magnet and the piece of iron are separate and simultaneous worlds. And it is this fact that gives strength to the overall attraction. The magnet and the piece of iron could forever exist as separate. They could never meet. They are self-contained worlds. They aren’t inherently connected because of their “attitudes” toward attraction. They are whole and separate. Then, when they come near each other, there is an explosion, an overlapping, which stems from what they already are.
And in the same way, separate but simultaneous percolating of different processes in the body meet and overlap. Side by side “worlds” operating in their own ways, in the body, create a condition of health.
Imagine that each “world” in the body exudes energy radiations, its own particular DIFFERENT radiations. The neurotransmitters do. The hormones do. The blood system does. The digestive system does. The immune system does. And so on. And when all these distinct and different energy outputs, as multiple universes, meet and overlap, you get health.
We are tuned to say, “Well, health is expected and understood when everything is working well. We know about health. We’re very familiar with it.” But suppose the situation I described above—separate universes in the body simultaneously existing side by side—IS REALLY A SYNCHRONICITY, in the sense that its nature is surprise. A thing that wasn’t predicted and isn’t blandly familiar at all. Just as people you never expected to be walking on the street at the same moment are showing up on the same street at the same moment, and you never notice that surprise because you’re trained to expect the category called “people walking on the same street”—in that same sense, these worlds of operation in the body are all about surprise and novelty and are really of a fantastic nature—and THAT is somehow why health appears.
Spontaneity, over and over and over again.
And suppose we are actually living in multiple universes all the time, and the gist of it, all the time, is the spontaneity and surprise and novelty of the overlappings.
And we don’t see it, because every time we experience a glimpse of it, we discount it as “fantasy,” and we stash those moments in the place where they seem to belong, THE IMAGINATION.
Many people, these days, want to say “TOGETHER, not SEPARATE.” They have their reasons, which are too tiresome to rehash. I’m suggesting that separate can be brilliant, can imply simultaneity, spontaneity, the juice of life, multiple universes.
After all, when physicists say “multiple universes,” do you immediately jump in and say, “Well, they’re just one really big universe”? Do you? Or do you admit the fascination of OTHER universes not inextricably bound to the same laws as this one? Other places, other events, other people, different, thrilling.
When you dream, do you tell yourself all dreams are actually one big glob of dreaming, or do you jump in and explore the unique landscape in front of you in the dream you’re in? And isn’t it exciting when one dream collides with the next one, and you make the jump—from one universe to another?
So…what makes the life we know interesting and intriguing and thrilling and worth living is actually: the collision of multiple universes that naturally deliver spontaneity, surprise, novelty, and synchronicities that give us the chance of discovering new paths and roads and futures.
And along those roads, we can invent greater futures than we had previously imagined…
Jon Rappoport is t h e author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED , EXIT FROM THE MATRIX , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29 th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free emails at NoMoreFakeNews.com or OutsideTheRealityMachine . SF Source Jon Rappoport | 1 |
(Reuters) The Trump administration has offered the job of White House national security adviser, vacated by former U. S. intelligence official Michael Flynn, to Vice Admiral Robert Harward, said two U. S. officials familiar with the matter on Wednesday. [It was not immediately clear if Harward, a former deputy commander of U. S. Central Command who has Navy SEAL combat experience, had accepted the offer, according to sources. A White House spokesperson had no immediate comment. Flynn resigned on Monday after revelations that he had discussed U. S. sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador to the United States before President Donald Trump took office. Read the full story at Reuters. | 0 |
Former GOP Representative Calls For Armed Insurrection (VIDEO) By Carrie MacDonald on October 27, 2016
Former Representative Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) has called for armed insurrection if Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wins the election. Walsh: ‘I’m Grabbing My Musket’
Joe Walsh is a stain on the history of my little part of the country. He served for a blessedly short time before being demolished by Representative Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) in the 2012 election, but he still has ardent supporters around here. He’s relatively well-known for his outrageous tweets, but this one, posted on October 26, made some real waves: On November 8th, I'm voting for Trump.
On November 9th, if Trump loses, I'm grabbing my musket.
You in?
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) October 26, 2016
Wow.
I will grant that a musket is not going to do you much good these days. So perhaps, PERHAPS, it was a metaphor.
But what does this say to the droves of Trump supporters, armed with much more than a musket, who believe the election will be stolen from their anointed one?
Walsh, facing both harsh criticism and hilarious jabs on Twitter for his comment, did not back down: I'm serious. I don't think a musket would do much good these days, but it's time for civil disobedience on the right. https://t.co/ThJPEbALWZ
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) October 26, 2016
Yahoo! News interviewed Walsh about the comment, and he said : “I’m not talking about inciting violence. I’m saying, ‘If Trump loses, man, game on, grab your musket. We’re going to protest. We’re going to boycott. We’re going to picket. We’re going to march on Washington. We’re going to stop paying taxes. We’re going to practice civil disobedience.’ Whatever it takes.”
This has become the standard operating procedure of Republicans, particularly Trump-supporting Republicans. Make veiled threats and then walk them back (“Aww, c’mon, I was kidding! Can’t you guys take a joke?”), but make sure the knuckle-draggers who support them get wind of it. It’s disgusting.
This morning, Walsh tweeted: I told Thomas Jefferson gov forced a baker out of biz for defending her religious beliefs.
"Can't happen here" he said. "Grab your musket!"
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) October 27, 2016
While this tweet is asinine on so many levels, it also suggests that he wasn’t speaking metaphorically in his initial tweet. After all, in Jefferson’s time, muskets were one of the weapons of choice. Walsh Is A Disgrace
Language like this has no place in political discourse. If Walsh were nothing more than the radio host he currently is, it would be disgusting. Given that he used to be a representative in the United States Congress, it is downright abhorrent.
It’s also not the first time Walsh has suggested violence.
After the shooting of several police officers in Dallas this summer, Walsh tweeted — and later deleted — the following: Screenshot via Chicago Tribune
So it’s really not out of the question to think he’s actually looking to incite violence with his “grabbing my musket” comment.
I’m just happy his Congressional office is no longer sullying the quaint town square.
Watch Don Lemon take Walsh to task for his Dallas tweet here:
Featured image via screenshot from YouTube video About Carrie MacDonald
Carrie is a progressive mom and wife living in the upper Midwest. Connect | 0 |
What is the point, really, of historical comparison? How do you measure a basketball mutation, which is what the Golden State Warriors have become, with their dialing that makes comparing them with storied N. B. A. teams of yore like distinguishing between a smartphone and a land line? You watched Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson dishearten and finally defeat a resolute Oklahoma City team on Monday night in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. You watched them make shots over the outstretched arms of men much taller, and you found yourself saying the unbelievable, ridiculous, stupefied words you mouth when you can’t quite believe what you’re seeing. It is practically a reinvented game these Splash Brothers are playing, having drastically extended the standard scoring range, the acceptable area from which to consistently unload and succeed. After the Warriors had finally moved on to an N. B. A. finals rematch with LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers with a victory over the Thunder, someone asked the Russell Westbrook what Curry had showed him late in the series that was missing earlier. Westbrook said, impassively: “Our bigs on the switches came out, and he made some tough shots over the top of them. ” Westbrook should have added that there was nothing negligent, or lazy, about the Thunder’s defensive resolve in Game 7. The high screens forced Steven Adams and Serge Ibaka to the perimeter time and again to cover Curry or Thompson. Adams is a weighing 255 pounds Ibaka is listed at 245. Big men are typically at a disadvantage in isolation against smaller, more creative players, but Adams and Ibaka are earnest, athletic defenders who contested and occasionally deflected a Curry or Thompson launch earlier in the series. Is it easy shooting over an aggressive, skyscraping wingspan, sidestepping, creating just enough space to release with accuracy from that far away? Try it sometime. See how it goes. Curry hit seven in Game 7. Thompson, coming off a playoff record of 11 3s (on 18 attempts) in the crucial Game 6 in Oklahoma City, nailed six. In the fourth quarter, they were daggers to the heart of a team more than holding its own from inside the line. Curry and Thompson each surpassed the previous individual high of 28 (held by Ray Allen and Dennis Scott) made in a single N. B. A. playoff series, Curry with 32, Thompson with 30. Amid it all, Bill Simmons posted on Twitter that 30 years ago, in the 1986 finals, Boston and Houston combined to hit 17 shots in an entire series won by the Celtics. Those familiar with Simmons, late of ESPN and now with HBO, will know that he is an unapologetic Celtics fan. And that Boston team, anchored by Larry Bird, won 67 games in losing once at home, and certainly staked its claim as one of the greatest in N. B. A. history. Many of us who covered sports in that decade have argued that it was the N. B. A. ’s best blend of fundamentals combined with the arrival of a athleticism that would manifest itself in the 1990s marketing miracle that became Michael Jordan. The Lakers of the to late 1980s — a team that included Mychal Thompson, Klay’s father — belong in any conversation, given the prime of Magic Johnson’s career, the Kareem and the Hall of Fame gifts of James Worthy. But it was Jordan’s Chicago Bulls team of that won 72 games and the fourth of six championships in eight seasons that these Warriors are running a mythical race against. Make no mistake: A generation of Jordan worshipers was poised to gloat had the Thunder been able to close out the Warriors. It will be again if James can deliver a championship to Cleveland. For all their titles, perhaps the true appraisal of the Bulls came in the season, when Jordan walked away to flail at minor league breaking balls. Scottie Pippen and a cast unintentionally derided as “supporting” won 55 games. They proved to be much more than a backup band, the Jordanaires, when they came within one highly questionable foul call on Pippen of going home with a chance to finish off the Knicks and advance to the Eastern Conference finals. But what they lacked without Jordan was another closer, or coldblooded scorer, to achieve what Thompson did when he dropped 41 points on the Thunder in Game 6. A year ago, on the Warriors’ way to the franchise’s first title since 1975, all four of their opponents dealt with manpower shortages. This time around, they had to push on in the first two rounds against Houston and Portland without the injured Curry, the league’s most valuable player. Against the Thunder, the Warriors had to deal with Draymond Green slumping and flirting with suspension while they fell into a hole. With the confidence of Westbrook and Kevin Durant soaring, with Curry struggling to reclaim his rhythm, the Warriors still rallied for three straight victories against a long and talented team that had taken out the San Antonio Spurs. Now the Warriors’ reward is James, a champion with Miami and an N. B. A. finalist for the sixth straight season, and a Cavaliers team at full strength. “I think any time you go through a long postseason, you grow,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said. “Now that we’ve been through this together for two years, going deep in the playoffs, I guess we played 21, 22 playoff games last year, and now we’re at 16, maybe 17. I haven’t really kept track, but that’s a lot of playoff games. That’s a lot of pressure, a lot of circumstances that come your way. ” And that may be our truest basis for comparing teams from different eras, rules and styles: What and whom must a champion endure and overcome? The Warriors made 73 wins look almost too easy, tempting those commonly referred to as haters to question or deride the quality of the competition, in the interests of historical context. Forget all that now. Extreme playoff adversity has been met and surmounted, and here comes LeBron. This Warriors title defense has taken on a degree of difficulty as formidable as the nightly audacity of their marksmen. If Curry and Thompson continue making them, even the haters may have to mimic Joe Lacob, the Warriors’ owner, who, upon spotting Thompson after Game 6, went down on one knee and bowed. | 1 |
WASHINGTON — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia directed a vast cyberattack aimed at denying Hillary Clinton the presidency and installing Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office, the nation’s top intelligence agencies said in an extraordinary report they delivered on Friday to Mr. Trump. The officials presented their unanimous conclusions to Mr. Trump in a briefing at Trump Tower in New York that brought the leaders of America’s intelligence agencies face to face with their most vocal skeptic, the who has repeatedly cast doubt on Russia’s role. The meeting came just two weeks before Mr. Trump’s inauguration and was underway even as the electoral votes from his victory were being formally counted in a joint session of Congress. Soon after leaving the meeting, intelligence officials released the declassified, damning report that described the sophisticated cybercampaign as part of a continuing Russian effort to weaken the United States government and its democratic institutions. The report — a virtually revelation by the American intelligence agencies that undermined the legitimacy of the president who is about to direct them — made the case that Mr. Trump was the favored candidate of Mr. Putin. The Russian leader, the report said, sought to denigrate Mrs. Clinton, and the report detailed what the officials had revealed to President Obama a day earlier: Mr. Trump’s victory followed a complicated, multipart cyberinformation attack whose goal had evolved to help the Republican win. The report did not conclude that Russian involvement tipped the election to Mr. Trump. The public report lacked the evidence that intelligence officials said was included in a classified version, which they described as information on the sources and methods used to collect the information about Mr. Putin and his associates. Those would include intercepts of conversations and the harvesting of computer data from “implants” that the United States and its allies have put in Russian computer networks. Much of the unclassified report focused instead on an overt Kremlin propaganda campaign that would be unlikely to convince skeptics of the report’s more serious conclusions. The report may be a political blow to Mr. Trump. But it is also a risky moment for the intelligence agencies that have become more powerful since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but have had to fend off allegations that they exaggerated intelligence during the buildup to the Iraq war. The declassified report did describe in detail the efforts of Mr. Putin and his security services, including the creation of the online Guccifer 2. 0 persona and DCLeaks. com to release information gained from the hacks to the public. “Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him,” the report by the nation’s intelligence agencies concluded. Mr. Trump, whose resistance to that very conclusion has led him to repeatedly mock the country’s intelligence services on Twitter since Election Day, issued a written statement that appeared to concede some Russian involvement. But Mr. Trump said nothing about the conclusion that Mr. Putin had sought to aid his candidacy, other than insisting that he still believes the Russian attacks had no effect on the outcome. The ’s written statement came just hours after Mr. Trump told The New York Times in an interview that the storm surrounding Russian hacking was nothing more than a “political witch hunt” carried out by his adversaries, who he said were embarrassed by their loss to him in the 2016 election. Speaking by telephone three hours before the intelligence briefing, Mr. Trump repeatedly criticized the intense focus on Russia. “China, relatively recently, hacked 20 million government names,” he said, referring to the breach of computers at the Office of Personnel Management in late 2014 and early 2015. “How come nobody even talks about that? This is a political witch hunt. ” Later, Mr. Trump sought to blame the Democrats for any cyberattacks that might have occurred. “Gross negligence by the Democratic National Committee allowed hacking to take place,” he said in a Twitter message posted about 11 p. m. “The Republican National Committee had strong defense!” Vice Mike Pence told reporters that he and Mr. Trump had “appreciated the presentation” by the intelligence officials and described the conversation as “respectful. ” Mr. Pence said the new administration would take aggressive action “to combat cyberattacks and protect the security of the American people from this type of intrusion in the future. ” Mr. Trump, who has consistently questioned the evidence of Russian hacking during the election, did so again Friday before he met with the intelligence officials. Asked why he thought there was so much attention on the Russian cyberattacks, the said the motivation was political. He also repeated his criticism of the American intelligence agencies, saying that “a lot of mistakes were made” in the past, noting in particular the attacks on the World Trade Center and saying, as he has repeatedly, that “weapons of mass destruction was one of the great mistakes of all time. ” But after meeting with the intelligence officials, Mr. Trump appeared to moderate his position, conceding that “Russia, China, other countries, outside groups and people are consistently trying to break through the cyberinfrastructure of our governmental institutions, businesses and organizations, including the Democrat National Committee. ” The report described a broad campaign of covert operations, including the “trolling” on the internet of people who were viewed as opponents of Russia’s effort. While it accused Russian intelligence agencies of obtaining and maintaining “access to elements of multiple U. S. state or local electoral boards,” it concluded — as officials have publicly — that there was no evidence of tampering with the tallying of the vote on Nov. 8. The report, reflecting the assessments of the C. I. A. the F. B. I. and the National Security Agency, stopped short of backing up Mr. Trump on his declaration that the hacking activity had no effect on the election. “We did not make an assessment of the impact that Russian activities had on the outcome of the 2016 election,” the report concluded, saying it was beyond its responsibility to analyze American “political processes” or public opinion. The intelligence agencies also concluded “with high confidence” that Russia’s main military intelligence unit, the G. R. U. created a “persona” called Guccifer 2. 0 and a website, DCLeaks. com, to release the emails of the Democratic National Committee and of the chairman of the Clinton campaign, John D. Podesta. When those disclosures received what was seen as insufficient attention, the report said, the G. R. U. “relayed material it acquired from the D. N. C. and senior Democratic officials to WikiLeaks. ” The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has denied that Russia was the source of the emails it published. The role of RT — the Russian news organization that American intelligence says is a Kremlin propaganda operation — in the Kremlin’s effort to influence the election is covered in far more detail by the report than any other aspect of the Russian campaign. An annex in the report on RT, which was first written in 2012 but not previously made public, takes up eight pages of the report’s main section. The report’s unequivocal assessment of RT presents an awkward development for Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, who is Mr. Trump’s choice to serve as national security adviser. Mr. Flynn has appeared repeatedly on RT’s news programs and in December 2015 was paid by the network to give a speech in Russia and attend its lavish anniversary party, where he sat at the elbow of Mr. Putin. Mr. Flynn has since defended his speech, insisting that RT is no different from CNN or MSNBC. The report also stated that Russia collected data “on some targets,” but did not disclose the contents of whatever it harvested. Intelligence officials who prepared the classified report have concluded that British intelligence was among the first to raise an alarm that Moscow hacked into the Democratic National Committee’s computer servers, and alerted their American counterparts, according to two people familiar with the conclusions. The British role, which has been closely held, is a critical part of the timeline because it suggests that some of the first tipoffs, in fall 2015, came from voice intercepts, computer traffic or informants outside the United States, as emails and other data from the Democratic National Committee flowed out of the country. The conclusions in the report were described on Thursday to President Obama and on Friday to Mr. Trump by James R. Clapper Jr. the director of national intelligence John O. Brennan, the director of the C. I. A. Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency and James B. Comey, the director of the F. B. I. The key to the public report’s assessment is that Russia’s motives “evolved over the course of the campaign. ” When it appeared that Mrs. Clinton was more likely to win, it concluded, the Russian effort focused “on undermining her future presidency,” with bloggers preparing a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #DemocracyRIP. It noted that Mr. Putin had a particular animus for Mrs. Clinton because he believed she had incited protests against him in 2011. Yet the attacks, the report said, began long before anyone could have known that Mr. Trump, considered a dark horse, would win the Republican nomination. It said the attacks began as early as July 2015, when Russian intelligence operatives first gained access to the Democratic National Committee’s networks. Russia maintained that access for 11 months, until “at least June 2016,” the report concludes, leaving open the possibility that Russian cyberattackers may have had access even after the firm CrowdStrike believed that it had kicked them off the networks. | 1 |
This article was written by Michael Snyder and originally published at his Economic Collapse blog .
Editor’s Comment: The past many months have carried a lot of noise about the coming crash, about a tipping point that may be fast approaching. The economics are simply giving way, and they can’t hold the illusion forever. Now that Donald Trump will be calling the shots, the money powers can usher in collapse if they wish, and have ready their scapegoat. It won’t just be Trump the man or the president, but the people who elected him, who backed Brexit and who gave up on their system. They people who let loose the chaos that now consumes us.
Their rage, their anger and their desperation is brewing unrest. The ascent of populism in the political arena has put the establishment in retreat, and revealed, at last, a most dangerous atmosphere, from which collapse can properly precipitate … one in which all regulatory steadiness on the part of the system has been thrown off balance and out of whack by popular revolt. By the time the hammer falls, and the markets fall to the ground, the people rioting in the streets and losing their civility when ATMs stop working and store shelves go empty – these people will become the face of the disaster. The banks have been planning the next rise and fall for sometime; the next phase is all digital, and tightly monitored and controlled.
We Are Being Set Up For Higher Interest Rates, A Major Recession And A Giant Stock Market Crash
by Michael Snyder
Since Donald Trump’s victory on election night we have seen the worst bond crash in 15 years . Global bond investors have seen trillions of dollars of wealth wiped out since November 8th, and analysts are warning of another tough week ahead. The general consensus in the investing community is that a Trump administration will mean much higher inflation, and as a result investors are already starting to demand higher interest rates. Unfortunately for all of us, history has shown that higher interest rates always cause an economic slowdown. And this makes perfect sense, because economic activity naturally slows down when it becomes more expensive to borrow money. The Obama administration had already set up the next president for a major recession anyway, but now this bond crash threatens to bring it on sooner rather than later.
For those that are not familiar with the bond market, when yields go up bond prices go down. And when bond prices go down, that is bad news for economic growth.
So we generally don’t want yields to go up.
Unfortunately, yields have been absolutely soaring over the past couple of weeks, and the yield on 10 year Treasury notes has now jumped “one full percentage point since July” …
The 10-year Treasury yield jumped to 2.36% in late trading on Friday, the highest since December 2015, up 66 basis point since the election, and up one full percentage point since July!
The 10-year yield is at a critical juncture. In terms of reality, the first thing that might happen is a rate increase by the Fed in December, after a year of flip-flopping. A slew of post-election pronouncements by Fed heads – including Yellen’s “relatively soon” – have pushed the odds of a rate hike to 98%.
As I noted the other day , so many things in our financial system are tied to yields on U.S. Treasury notes. Just look at what is happening to mortgages. As Wolf Richter has noted , the average rate on 30 year mortgages is shooting into the stratosphere…
The carnage in bonds has consequences. The average interest rate of the a conforming 30-year fixed mortgage as of Friday was quoted at 4.125% for top credit scores. That’s up about 0.5 percentage point from just before the election, according to Mortgage News Daily . It put the month “on a short list of 4 worst months in more than a decade.”
If mortgage rates continue to shoot higher, there will be another housing crash.
Rates on auto loans, credit cards and student loans will also be affected. Throughout our economic system it will become much more costly to borrow money, and that will inevitably slow the overall economy down.
Why bond investors are so on edge these days is because of statements such as this one from Steve Bannon …
In a nascent administration that seems, at best, random in its beliefs, Bannon can seem to be not just a focused voice, but almost a messianic one:
“Like [Andrew] Jackson’s populism, we’re going to build an entirely new political movement,” he says. “It’s everything related to jobs. The conservatives are going to go crazy. I’m the guy pushing a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. With negative interest rates throughout the world, it’s the greatest opportunity to rebuild everything. Ship yards, iron works, get them all jacked up. We’re just going to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. It will be as exciting as the 1930s, greater than the Reagan revolution — conservatives, plus populists, in an economic nationalist movement.”
Steve Bannon is going to be one of the most influential voices in the new Trump administration, and he is absolutely determined to get this “trillion dollar infrastructure plan” through Congress.
And that is going to mean a lot more borrowing and a lot more spending for a government that is already on pace to add 2.4 trillion dollars to the national debt this fiscal year.
Sadly, all of this comes at a time when the U.S. economy is already starting to show significant signs of slowing down. It is being projected that we will see a sixth straight decline in year-over-year earnings for the S&P 500, and industrial production has now contracted for 14 months in a row .
The truth is that the economy has been barely treading water for quite some time now, and it isn’t going to take much to push us over the edge. The following comes from Lance Roberts …
With an economy running at below 2%, consumers already heavily indebted, wage growth weak for the bulk of American’s, there is not a lot of wiggle room for policy mistakes.
Combine weak economics with higher interest rates, which negatively impacts consumption, and a stronger dollar, which weighs on exports, and you have a real potential of a recession occurring sooner rather than later.
Yes, the stock market soared immediately following Trump’s election, but it wasn’t because economic conditions actually improved.
If you look at history, a stock market crash almost always follows a major bond crash. So if bond prices keep declining rapidly that is going to be a very ominous sign for stock traders.
And history has also shown us that no bull market can survive a major recession. If the economy suffers a major downturn early in the Trump administration, it is inevitable that stock prices will follow.
The waning days of the Obama administration have set us up perfectly for higher interest rates, a major recession and a giant stock market crash.
Of course any problems that occur after January 20th, 2017 will be blamed on Trump, but the truth is that Obama will be far more responsible for what happens than Trump will be.
Right now so many people have been lulled into a sense of complacency because Donald Trump won the election.
That is an enormous mistake.
A shaking has already begun in the financial world, and this shaking could easily become an avalanche.
Now is not a time to party. Rather, it is time to batten down the hatches and to prepare for very rough seas ahead.
All of the things that so many experts warned were coming may have been delayed slightly, but without a doubt they are still on the way.
So get prepared while you still can, because time is running out.
This article was written by Michael Snyder and originally published at his Economic Collapse blog .
Michael T. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Florida law school and he worked as an attorney in the heart of Washington D.C. for a number of years.
Today, Michael is best known for his work as the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and The American Dream .
If you want to know what is coming and what you can do to prepare, read his latest book Get Prepared Now!: Why A Great Crisis Is Coming .
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MILL VALLEY, Calif. — “Remind me again why we bought this house?” my husband asked. He was standing on the front porch a few days after we finally moved into our cottage here, after the odyssey of buying it, renting it out while an architect drew plans for an addition and, finally, living like nomads with various friends as the promised four months of construction stretched into six. “For the garden,” I said. “What garden?” he asked, not unkindly. He was genuinely perplexed. I love him, but he is not a gardener. He did not see that this garden was a rare find in our hilly town. For one thing, it had a flat, sunny backyard, which would enable an outdoor living room to connect seamlessly with the kitchen, creating a bonus room during the nine months of the year when the weather is pleasant. And the house was set unusually far back from the street, producing privacy and an illusion that a small, gently sloped front garden was actually large. Where my husband saw a recently active construction zone with souvenir dirt piles, I could imagine a landscape of rosemary and daphnes in a boxwood maze. Where he saw sad remnants of the contractors’ orange mesh safety fencing, I envisioned a silvery hedge of pittosporum. Where he saw a broken concrete path churned up by the roots of an angry cedar tree (“a lawsuit waiting to happen”) I pictured a neat redbrick walkway marching up to a tiled front stoop. Also, that cedar tree, the one aspect of the landscape that still looked alive? I saw the tree surgeon coming on Monday with a chain saw. Creating a garden is a leap of faith because, unlike an interior renovation, a landscape is alive, and that makes it fragile. I have always been a gardener. But as recently as four years ago, when this conversation with my husband occurred, I was very much a dabbler. The three other houses we had owned had a garden, but previous tenants had designed them. I was just the caretaker. The situation at hand would require more. I had to start from scratch. Despite clues that a occupant had been a gardener, the property had fallen into neglect even before the renovation. And now the pitiless blades of the backhoes that dug a new foundation had created a Mad Max hellscape of dirt. A landscape is not uncommon after a major renovation. Neither is a tight budget. But lucky for me and my garden, as we moved into this house, I also became the editor of a new gardening website called Gardenista. (Our new book, “Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Outdoor Spaces,” is out this month.) I am actually supposed to spend my workdays learning how to improve my own garden. I figured I’d take it slow to avoid making expensive mistakes. But my dogs had other plans. My two tiny papillons, Sticky and Larry, spent their days prancing around the dust field formerly known as the backyard and leaving paw prints all over the newly refinished wood floors. An emergency bluestone patio put an end to the paw prints by creating a buffer zone between the backyard and house. After agonizing over how to lay the stone, I chose a running bond pattern — simple offset rows of pavers — instead of herringbone, and making that first design decision emboldened me. So now what? Every garden designer needs a plan for hardscape ( fixed elements like patios, paths and retaining walls) softscape (the plants) and furnishings — and some inspiration. My plan was to work in stages to keep the budget under control, addressing separately the backyard, front garden and driveway of my small lot. A main consideration was the water shortage in California: My garden needed to be as well as beautiful. For inspiration, I had the gardener who once had lived in my house. As we began to clear vines and underbrush from the perimeter of the property, we uncovered gifts she had left behind, including an ornate metal trellis we transformed into a gate and an old concrete birdbath. First I tackled the small back garden. With a bluestone patio in place, we had the beginnings of an outdoor living room. I needed to furnish it (a teak daybed came to the rescue) and turn the rest of the landscape into a serene, calming backdrop. To cover the fence, my husband and I planted espaliered olive trees and white climbing roses in deep garden beds. We limited the use of turf grass to a patch. By then, I had become obsessed with the Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf’s environmentally conscious meadows of flowering perennials and grasses. When it came time to work on our front garden (where the sudden demise of the cedar tree had opened up a sunny spot) I laid out a miniature meadow inspired by Mr. Oudolf’s planting scheme for the High Line in New York City. With space roughly the size of two football fields, Mr. Oudolf had to create a coherent narrative along a route from the West Village to the edge of Hell’s Kitchen. In my front garden, roughly the size of a badminton court, the square footage presented a different challenge: How do you make a small space with a brick path running through the middle of it look like a meadow instead of a muddle? The solution was to divide the space and to plant the meadow on only one side of the path. In the other half of the front garden is a quieter space where a low hedge of rosemary surrounds a square of boxwood, which encloses a ring of daphnes planted at the base of an olive tree. I think the reason this juxtaposition of wildness and formality works instead of looking like the crazy experiments of a mad scientist is that the front garden slopes gently up from the street. The change in elevation as you move through the space makes you feel as if you are on a journey, and your eye is drawn to what’s ahead in the distance. Finally, we annexed our driveway as garden space. When we bought the house, the narrow gravel driveway was long enough to park a row of six cars. So we cut it into three roughly equal sections, paving with brick, for our two cars and paving another third with brick that has a planting bed of creeping thyme in the center, so two more cars can be parked, if need be, without hurting the thyme. The final section of the driveway is still gravel, blocked by a gate. And in the center, my kitchen garden, where the crops change seasonally. Herbs, strawberries and lettuce are growing this month. Four years later, the garden is not finished, but happily a garden never is. Some plants get too big and others fail to thrive. Landscaping is tricky. Half our rosemary hedges died, and if I had to do it over, I would not grout the patio but would lay the bluestone pavers in a permeable base of decomposed granite because there’s less rainwater runoff if it can percolate into the ground. But these days, I don’t have to remind my husband why we bought this house. I often find him sitting contentedly and playing his guitar on the front porch, overlooking the meadow. He has not mentioned the cedar tree in weeks. | 1 |
Posted: Nov 10th, 2016 by Adrian Bamforth Adrian Bamforth Ticker | 0 |
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Recently, I was asked a question about Kill Anything That Moves , my history of civilian suffering during the Vietnam War. An interviewer wanted to know how I responded to veterans who took offense at the (supposed) implication that every American who served in Vietnam committed atrocities.
I think I softly snorted and slowly shook my head.
Already two books behind me, Kill Anything That Moves might as well have been written by someone else in another lifetime. In some sense, it was.
It takes effort for me to dredge up the faded memories of that work, a Kodachrome-hued swirl of hundreds of interviews on two continents over the course of a decade. But this particular question was easy enough to answer. Almost all the Americans I interviewed had seen combat, but most American veterans of the war hadn’t. Many had little or no real opportunity to commit war crimes. Case closed.
But that question caused me to recall a host of related queries that churned around the book. Questions by skeptics, atrocity-deniers, fair-minded interviewers attempting to play devil’s advocate. A favorite was whether the book was “anti-veteran.” That, too, was a head-shaker for me.
“How could that be?” I would respond. After all, the book owed its genesis to veterans. Veterans were key sources for it. Veterans provided the evidence. Veterans provided the quotes. Veterans even supplied the title. The book was, to a great extent, the history of the war as described to me by veterans. The story I told was their story. How could that in any way be anti-veteran?
Many of the vets I spoke with viewed their truth-telling as a form of patriotism, of continuing service to country. Nate Terani’s inaugural TomDispatch essay follows in the same American tradition. His eyes were opened to the abuse of military power while living in Iran as a boy. Later he would join the U.S. Navy and wear the stars and stripes with particular pride. September 11th and all that came after — notably the demonization of his Muslim faith in his homeland — imbued him with a new mission, one he now views as no less sacred than his military service.
From Smedley Butler to Andrew Bacevich , Daniel Ellsberg to Chelsea Manning , Vietnam Veterans Against the War to Iraq Veterans Against the War , the U.S. armed forces have produced a steady stream of truth-tellers and whistleblowers, men and women willing to serve their country in profound ways during trying times. There’s no bronze star for activism, no Navy Cross for unpopular or contrarian opinions, no Purple Heart for the hard knocks involved in speaking out against war crimes or Islamophobia or laying bare information vital to the American public. Veterans who dare to do so have sometimes walked a cold, lonely road far from the warm glow enjoyed by summer soldiers and sunshine patriots. Those who do so exhibit a special form of courage that may even exceed the bravery of the battlefield, the courage to stand tall and make oneself a target, a courage deserving ( with a nod to Thomas Paine ) of the love and thanks of man and woman. | 0 |
Admiral Mike Mullen served the United States with the greatest distinction, serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. [His attack in Monday’s New York Times on White House adviser (and former Breitbart News chair) Steve Bannon, however, does a disservice to the public policy debate about national security strategy. Adm. Mullen objects to Bannon’s appointment to the National Security Council (NSC). He admits, however, that President Bush’s NSC “was arranged similarly to Mr. Trump’s,” albeit with the exclusion of political guru Karl Rove. He also admits President Obama included his own political adviser, David Axelrod, in NSC meetings — even though Axelrod had no military or foreign policy experience whatsoever (and close ties to the left and Chicago’s corrupt Democratic machine). In addition, Adm. Mullen complains about “Mr. Bannon’s troubling public positions. ” Adm. does not list which positions he means — hoping, perhaps, that the false innuendos of mainstream media attacks will fill in the blanks for the Times‘ readers. USA Today recently reviewed hundreds of hours of Bannon’s radio commentaries and found none of the racism, antisemitism or “white nationalism” that the Times, among others, falsely ascribed to him. All it found was that Bannon worried about the threats posed by Islam and China. Those are threats most Americans also take seriously — and which, presumably, Adm. Mullen did as well. Where Adm. Mullen’s argument really begins to take on water is when he worries that Bannon’s presence would disrupt what is supposed to be a “nonpartisan” institution. It is hard to imagine a more partisan security apparatus than that which emerged on Adm. Mullen’s watch, when the military undertook changes such as the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. ” And though generals asked for more troops in Afghanistan, the president gave them less than they needed — along with a timeline that ended, conveniently, in time Obama’s . And the disastrous 2011 pullout from Iraq flew in the face of Adm. Mullen’s own recommendation to Congress, in 2007, that success required a commitment there. Bannon’s official job title is not political adviser, but “Chief Strategist. ” That undoubtedly involves some political advice, but it also points to a role in maintaining the coherence of Trump administration policies. That is crucial in a White House led by a political outsider with a mandate for change. Bannon’s own naval experience, and his immersion in history and foreign policy, qualify him for the role. And speaking as his former colleague at Breitbart News, I can testify to his in moments of crisis. I feel more secure knowing Steve is advising our president — and I believe others should, as well. In a “disruptive” presidency, he is a stabilizing influence, as he was on the campaign trail. President Trump seems to agree. Adm. Mullen says he worries about “a blurring of presidential responsibilities — Republican Party leader and commander in chief. ” But the Constitution recognizes no such distinction, and the time for worrying about that began in January 2009, when for the first time, the U. S. military was led by a who placed his own political fortunes ahead of the safety and security of the American people. The morning after the Benghazi attacks in 2012, for example, President Obama flew to Las Vegas for a political fundraiser. None of his predecessors — not even President Jimmy Carter — would have done that. President Trump, like his predecessors, deserves to choose his team, and a leader of Adm. Mullen’s stature should not lend his name to partisan and evidently misinformed attacks. Joel B. Pollak is Senior at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak. | 0 |
Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( ) used her time at the podium giving a commencement speech at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to slam the Trump administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions regarding President Donald’s Trump decision to fire James Comey as FBI director and the Department of Justice’s effort to replace him.[ Warren asked the graduates to become activists for causes and named a few, including animal rescue, care and “bullying. ” Then she attacked her political opponents, saying, “I can’t help myself. ” “And I have one more: the principle that no one in this country is above the law — and we need a justice department not an obstruction of justice department,” Warren said. Warren also told the graduates that big corporations and the wealthy are trying to “fundamentally change” the country and it is up to them to stop it. “Your elected officials are increasingly working only for the few — the very wealthy few,” Warren said. “And they are setting policies only to benefit the few — the very wealthy few. And if that doesn’t change then this country will fundamentally change. “It is your world, your future that is on the line,” Warren said. Warren also made several references to drinking alcohol during her speech, including mentioning a drinking game named for her, during her speech. “I understand that every extra minute I speak is that much longer before you can hit the bars,” Warren said. Fortune magazine previewed Warren’s speech by noting that she was on TIME magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world this year and included the statement by the university’s Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy, who called the senator “a strong role model for students. ” “We are inspired by her staunch advocacy for equitable access to education, environmental resource conservation and support for economic justice,” Subbaswamy said in a statement. “These issues are in alignment with our campus’s core values and our long history of activism in pursuit of social justice. ” “At UMass Amherst we stand for the hopes, the ambitions, the bold experiments and the innovative solutions of the people of Massachusetts and the world beyond,” Subbaswamy said. “We share Sen. Warren’s commitment to making a profound, transformative contribution to the common good. ” | 0 |
Billionaire Charles Koch, who is a frequent conservative political donor, has made a massive contribution to historically black colleges across the United States. [Through the Koch Foundation, Charles Koch donated $25. 6 million to historically black colleges for the purpose of conducting research on criminal justice and entrepreneurship in cities plagued by high crime. “Education transformed my life, and I’ve committed to do all I can to give others that same opportunity,” Koch said in a statement Wednesday evening. The Marshall fund has made that same commitment, he said, “giving students and scholars the chance to discover new ways to overcome barriers holding too many people back. As they succeed, so does our society. ” The donation was made to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which benefits students at 47 universities including Howard University, the University of the District of Columbia, Bowie State, and Morgan State, all of which are historically black institutions. Liberals in academia are concerned about Koch money flowing to their universities. Ralph Wilson of Tallahassee, of a group called UnKoch My Campus, claims that these donations were made so that the Koch brothers can have more control over curriculum and activism at the receiving institutions. “When they give the donor control, the is academic freedom,” Wilson argued. Despite these claims, Brian Hooks, the president of the Koch foundation, maintains that the donations are not political in nature. “Our commitment across the board with all of our grants … is to open inquiry,” Hooks said in an interview Tuesday. “We’re looking to support great scholars. ” Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about social justice and libertarian issues for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart. com | 0 |
Democratic Congressman Threatens Violence If GOP Tries To Defund Planned Parenthood By: Hank Berrien November 21, 2016
The Democratic congressman who is challenging House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, threatened a “Youngstown street fight” if Donald Trump attempts to defund Planned Parenthood.
Speaking with Jake Tapper on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Ryan intimated that defunding Planned Parenthood wasn’t the only stimulus he would need to launch violence. He stated, “If he tries to defund Planned Parenthood, if he tries to kick people off their health insurance, if they try to privatize Medicare or cut taxes for the wealthy, you know, we are going to have a Youngstown street fight in the Capitol.”
Youngstown has been plagued by violent street fights in the recent past; last May and August violence erupted on the streets of the city.
Ryan called Trump’s infrastructure plan “a bunch of smoke and mirrors.” He added that he didn’t blame Pelosi for focusing any specific economic issues: “I can’t in good conscience hang this election around Nancy Pelosi’s neck, of course. But, moving forward, we have to win congressional seats in areas of the country that voted for Donald Trump, even in my district, where they voted for me and they voted for Donald Trump.”
Ryan’s campaign to replace Pelsoi is picking up steam; on Sunday, New York Rep. Kathleen Rice endorsed him, stating, "He has a lot of good ideas, but maybe most importantly, he also isn’t suggesting he has all the answers — he has stressed that he wants these conversations to be ongoing, that he wants more voices in the conversation so that we can work together to craft our message and forge a winning strategy," Rice said in a statement.
Rice tweeted: Excited to announce my support for @RepTimRyan to serve as our next Democratic Leader. Full statement: https://t.co/LiwFUAxzxa #Dems4Change — Kathleen Rice (@RepKathleenRice) November 20, 2016 Tags | 0 |
Despite Dutch migration politician Geert Wilders coming second in the Dutch national elections this week, French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen called the result “extremely positive”. [Earlier this week, the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) under the leadership of politician Geert Wilders came second in the national elections. Many in politics including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the media claimed Wilders coming second means the end of the populist movement sweeping Europe. French migration presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has firmly disagreed, Tiroler Tageszeitung reports. Ms. Le Pen called the result which saw the PVV increase its seats in the parliament “extremely positive”. The vote also led to the total collapse of the Dutch Labour party which went from 25 per cent of the vote in 2012 to only 6 per cent, losing the majority of its seats in the parliament. “I would have been disappointed if he had slipped or stagnated, but he has risen and the parties in power have fallen heavily,” Le Pen noted. Le Pen, who leads the French Front National, is also an MEP and a member of the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group along with the PVV and several other populist parties across Europe. “For Wilders this is extremely positive, which is the proof of the reach of our joint ideas in the different European countries,” she added. In six weeks, Marine Le Pen will head to her own election fight as the first round of the French presidential elections approaches. Le Pen has maintained a steady lead in polling for weeks for the first round and is currently at around 28 per cent according to polls released Friday. France, Opinion Way poll: Le Pen ( ): 28% ↑Macron ( *): 25%Fillon ( ): 20% ↑Hamon ( ): 13% … https: . — Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) March 17, 2017, Le Pen is running on a platform of migration, and has said that she will pursue a course that would see the French leave the euro and reinstate the Franc as well as potentially leave the European Union altogether. The Front National leader is expected to face Emmanuel Macron in the second round in May as conservative Republican candidate François Fillon has been tarred by financial scandals involving fake jobs for his family members. Initially, Macron was seen as easily defeating Le Pen as early polls gave him a substantial lead. Since then, Le Pen has been closing the gap between her and Macron with latest polling showing that the difference is approaching single digits. France: Presidential election ( ) Opinion Way poll: Macron ( *): 59% ( )Le Pen ( ): 41% (+1) — Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) March 17, 2017, Despite the media and political establishment claiming the Durch elections have hurt the populist movement, the polling results show a clear pattern of increased support for Le Pen and the movement labelled the “Patriotic Spring” by Geert Wilders. Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson@breitbart. com | 0 |
Jeff Stein | VOX
Hillary Clinton found herself in a no-win dilemma as she moved to launch her presidential run while also aiding her husband’s globe-trotting philanthropy — and her team knew it.
Sometime before announcing her candidacy, Clinton had agreed to go to a Clinton Global Initiative fundraiser in Morocco planned for May 2015. The king of Morocco had personally pledged to give $12 million with the understanding she’d attend, according to emails released last week by WikiLeaks.
But then there was the awkward fact that Clinton would be running for president by then. That set up a bind: Go to the event, and Clinton would be appearing to indulge a foreign government known for egregious human right abuses to help her family’s private charity. Pull out, and Clinton would be going back on her word to the Moroccan king.
“The King has personally committed approx $12 million both for the endowment and to support the meeting. It will break a lot of china to back out now when we had so many opportunities to do it in the past few months,” Clinton aide Huma Abedin wrote in an email in November 2014, several months before Clinton declared her candidacy. “She created this mess.”
Hillary Clinton ultimately decided against attending, and Chelsea Clinton and Bill Clinton went instead. (Politico has reported a Moroccan phosphate export firm gave “at least” $1 million, but it’s not clear if the other $11 million came through. The foundation doesn’t have to disclose the gift and has declined to confirm one way or another to reporters.)
But since this story broke late last week, Clinton has been getting attacked for it far and wide. And this time it’s not just Donald Trump and Fox News: Even mainstream outlets like the Atlantic and the Associated Press have published tough pieces about the controversy. (The Huffington Post said it amounted to a “brutal, clean hit” on the Democratic nominee.)
This controversy has stoked wildly misleading allegations implying that Clinton is corrupt, even in some leading news outlets. But while those claims are overblown, the story still illustrates how the foundation helped put wealthy donors into Clinton’s orbit — and allowed them to buy a rare chance to shape her perspective that few average Americans will ever get. | 0 |
GAZA CITY (PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES) (AFP) — A Hamas military court on Sunday sentenced two Palestinians to death for drug smuggling in the Gaza Strip, in the first punishment of its kind in the enclave. [“The Gaza military court announced the death penalty for two civilians from Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, for selling narcotics,” the interior ministry said in a statement. It said a third suspect was sentenced to hard labour. Authorities have seized drugs with a street value of around $1 million (900, 000 euros) over the past few months, the ministry said. They seized 1, 250 packets of cannabis and 400 pills of Tramadol — a powerful painkiller — in January alone, it said. Until Sunday, only people guilty of spying for Israel or murder had received the death penalty in Gaza, controlled by Islamist Hamas since 2007. All Palestinian death sentences in theory have to be approved by president Mahmoud Abbas, but Hamas has long refused to accept his legitimacy. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) said Sunday’s sentences were a “serious precedent” and that bringing civilians before a military court was a breach of Palestinian law. It said that one of the two men was condemned to death by hanging and the other was to hang. The PCHR said in an statement that to carry out the sentences would be “ killing, and those (who) participated or contributed to issuing them should be held accountable on grounds of killing and abuse of power”. “Applying this penalty in drugs cases is very dangerous, particularly in absence of fair trial guarantees and presence of many reports exposing widespread use of torture during the interrogation period, especially in drugs crimes,” it added. The centre said that around a dozen death sentences have been passed down in Gaza since the start of 2017. | 0 |
Anthony Weiner’s Alleged Teenaged Sexting Victim Pens SCATHING Open Letter To FBI Director Comey 786 Google Pinterest Digg Linkedin Reddit Stumbleupon Print Delicious Pocket Tumblr
With just a little over a week to go before election day, FBI Director James Comey took it upon himself to blatantly interfere with the process.
During a probe into Anthony Weiner’s sexting scandal, the FBI supposedly uncovered emails that may or may not (probably not) have something to do with Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, for which she has already been exonerated. Comey sent a vague letter to congress which he KNEW would start a shit-storm in the media, and now the race is closer than ever. And here Trump complains about a “rigged” election!
Unfortunately, while attempting to sway voters, Comey didn’t consider that there was someone else at the center of this — Anthony Weiner’s victim, who is only 16 years old.
She was understandably upset and had a few words to say to the FBI director. You can read the entire letter on BuzzFeed , but here are a few excerpts:
I am the 15-year-old (now 16) who was the victim of Anthony Weiner. I now add you to the list of people who have victimized me. I told my story originally to protect other young girls that might be a victim of online predators.
Your letter to Congress has now brought this whole matter back into the media spotlight. Not even 10 minutes after being forensically interviewed with the FBI for seven hours, I received a phone call from a REPORTER asking for a statement. Why didn’t you communicate with the local FBI agents that I had just spoken to? They could have scheduled our interview sooner or scheduled a time to interview me later, or change locations of the interview. My neighborhood has been canvassed by reporters asking for details about me.
…
I thought your job as FBI Director was to protect me. I thought if I cooperated with your investigation, my identity as a minor would be kept secret. That is no longer the case. My family and I are barraged by reporters’ phone calls and emails. I have been even been blamed in a newspaper for causing Donald Trump to now be leading in some polls and costing Hillary the election.
Anthony Weiner is the abuser. Your letter helped that abuse to continue. How can I rebuild my life when you have made finding out my “story” the goal of every reporter?
She signs the letter with, “Girl that lost faith in America.”
And that coming from a girl who is barely starting her life, but who is also approaching voting age is heartbreaking.
Featured Image via Alex Wong/Getty Images Share this Article! | 0 |
As a kid, I was in awe of my grandmother’s ability to stretch a dollar when it came to food. She always knew the price differentials at the local Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern and white American markets. And she strategized for trips to McDonald’s. For instance, she realized that the two of us — a child and a senior, both petite females — added up to one appetite, so ordering a Big Breakfast to share made better sense than ordering separate, smaller meals. We shared quite a few of these over the years. There was a McDonald’s on the way to my elementary school, where she would walk me some mornings. She’d sit with her coffee (the best in America, she always said) and me with my juice. And we’d attack the Big Breakfast from either side. The eggs in one corner, the sausage in another, and the biscuit, hash brown and condiments all in their own place: It’s not surprising that the compartmentalization of the different food items should have appealed to her sense of food order. She was Korean, and the assortment of separate little dishes known as banchan is central to Korean food. Grandma had moved to the United States from her native South Korea in midlife, to be closer to her two daughters in Southern California. She needed to figure out both a new language and a new social landscape. These were more complicated than she’d anticipated, because she ended up living in a predominantly Mexican neighborhood. So the move wasn’t just about adapting to a majority white and majority culture. She needed the basics of both English and Spanish, for one thing. She might have been disoriented by racial distinctions, but class differences she understood. She’d been married to a man when she was young, and over the decades of their marriage had gotten used to an ascending level of luxury: cars, servants, status. Wealth insulated her from certain kinds of discomfort but didn’t guard against her husband’s steady stream of infidelities. It bought her luxuries like breast implants, at a time when this was a bizarre purchase for a Korean woman. I was almost morbidly fascinated by those implants later on. I knew her as an old woman, and there was a sharp contrast between the rocks on her chest and the softness and slackness of the rest of her body. When she moved to the United States she suddenly had to work for a living. As she had no practical skills, she found work deboning chickens by hand. She tore apart chickens during the day, and went to her cramped apartment at night. And yet, improbably, she was happy. She smoked with abandon. She ate whatever she wanted. She had female friends at the factory, as well as male Korean friends she gathered with to play the Korean card game hwatu. Gambling with men would have been unthinkable in her previous life. She’d traded opulence for independence, and she was better off. But her earnings put her under the poverty line, making her eligible for housing. While her daughters helped her out where they could, she had to scrimp. Her bedroom became a kind of monument to her earlier life, packed with artworks, jewelry and expensive clothing — things to gradually sell off. It is astonishing that my grandmother had any appetite for fast food after working on a chicken disassembly line. She may have had a greater appreciation for food after spending her days among its raw ingredients. Or maybe it’s telling that she generally avoided chicken at McDonald’s. Grandma kept a mental calendar of McDonald’s promotions. When hamburgers were on sale for 29 cents each, she bought 10 at a time and kept a supply in the freezer. As a treat, she sometimes splurged on the cheeseburger. My grandmother also looked forward to each McDonald’s Monopoly period, that marvel of synergistic marketing that turned every McDonald’s purchase into a prize opportunity. This allowed her to scratch the gambling itch in a socially accepted way. For a brief period I, along with every other person I knew, went temporarily deranged over going to McDonald’s as frequently as our wallets and waistbands would allow. I don’t know how much money eating at McDonald’s actually saved. Arguably it could have been cheaper to cook at home, but my grandmother never really learned to cook. She’d never had to in Korea, what with the professional cooks in her house. Cooking American food, especially, would have been daunting. My grandmother loved McDonald’s in a way that only someone who hadn’t grown up with it could. So after she died, as my family was preparing for the Korean grave site ritual of bringing food loved by the deceased, I thought about collecting a burger, fries and America’s best coffee. I was overruled, so we ended up leaving Korean takeaway noodles — jjamppong — on her grave instead. The broth leaked out of the package, leaving a fishy smell and a mess on our hands. My grandmother is buried in the notoriously Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif. which strives for grandeur in its massive statues and chapels that are reproductions of the European originals. The grave sites become more elaborate and expensive the higher you go up the hill, suggesting that in Los Angeles, inequality persists even after death. But Grandma was proud of the spot she’d secured midway up. For decades, she’d saved money for her own grave and two others, for other women in the family to use eventually. Status after death somehow mattered to her, even though she’d given up on it in life. As I placed the leaky package of noodles on her grave, I wondered, in my very unspiritual way, what would happen to the food. It would be wasted, I imagined. That seemed inappropriate for my grandmother, who held on to frozen fast food for years, and didn’t throw anything away. I’ve stepped inside a McDonald’s only a few times since Grandma died, and it just isn’t the same. It will never be as special to me as it was to her, as a shining symbol of American culture. But its ubiquity is strangely comforting. Seeing this chain restaurant everywhere is a bit like seeing her everywhere. You don’t need a fancy grave site to honor a relative, after all. A chain restaurant that triggers a flood of memories can be enough. | 1 |
Amid a haze of grief after her son’s unsolved murder last year, Marcia faced an endless list of tasks — helping the police gain access to Kevin’s phone and email canceling his subscriptions, credit cards and bank accounts and arranging his burial in New Jersey. And then there were the college loans. When Ms. called about his federal loans, an administrator offered condolences and assured her the balance would be written off. But she got a far different response from a New Jersey state agency that had also lent her son money. “Please accept our condolences on your loss,” a letter from that agency, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, said. “After careful consideration of the information you provided, the authority has determined that your request does not meet the threshold for loan forgiveness. Monthly bill statements will continue to be sent to you. ” Ms. who on the loans, was shocked and confused. But her experience with the authority, which runs by far the largest student loan program in the country, is hardly an isolated one, an investigation by ProPublica, in collaboration with The New York Times, found. New Jersey’s loans, which currently total $1. 9 billion, are unlike those of any other government lending program for students in the country. They come with extraordinarily stringent rules that can easily lead to financial ruin. Repayments cannot be adjusted based on income, and borrowers who are unemployed or facing other financial hardships are given few breaks. The loans also carry higher interest rates than similar federal programs. Most significant, New Jersey’s loans come with a cudgel that even the most predatory players cannot wield: the power of the state. New Jersey can garnish wages, rescind state income tax refunds, revoke professional licenses, even take away lottery winnings — all without having to get court approval. “It’s ” Daniel Frischberg, a bankruptcy lawyer, said. “The New Jersey program is set up so that you fail. ” The authority, which boasts in brochures that its “singular focus has always been to benefit the students we serve,” has become even more aggressive in recent years. Interviews with dozens of borrowers, who were among the tens of thousands who have turned to the program, show how the loans have unraveled lives. The program’s regulations have destroyed families’ credit and forced them to forfeit their salaries. One college graduate declared bankruptcy at age 26 after struggling to repay his debt. The agency filed four simultaneous lawsuits against a paralegal after she fell behind on her payments. Another borrower, Chris Gonzalez, could not keep up with his loans after he got ’s lymphoma and was laid off by Goldman Sachs. While the federal government allowed him to suspend his payments because of hardship, New Jersey sued him, seeking $266, 000 in payments, and seized a state tax refund he was owed. One reason for the aggressive tactics is that the state depends on Wall Street investors to finance student loans through bonds and needs to satisfy those investors by keeping losses to a minimum. Loan revenues also cover about half of the agency’s administrative budget. In 2010, the agency filed fewer than 100 suits against borrowers and their families. Last year, it filed over 1, 600. (Some could result from federal loans handled by New Jersey, though such loans make up just 4 percent of the agency’s portfolio.) The cases are handled by debt collectors, who can tack on another 30 percent in fees on top of the outstanding debt. Marcia Karrow, the authority’s chief of staff, said that “the vast majority of these borrowers are happy with the program. ” She added that New Jersey’s loans had “some of the lowest default rates” in the country. But when asked to produce the annual default rates, the agency sent ProPublica and The Times data only for students with strong credit scores, making it impossible to calculate the overall rate. A spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie said the governor did not control the authority and declined to respond to questions about the loan program. But Mr. Christie, a Republican, appointed its executive director, Gabrielle Charette he also has the power to appoint at least 12 of the agency’s 18 board members and can veto any action taken by the board. Besides administering the loan program, the authority provides financial aid counseling, conducting hundreds of financial aid nights at New Jersey high schools, where it offers advice about paying for college, including pitching its own loans. Ms. who emigrated from Brazil and had long worked as a nanny while raising her son as a single mother, always knew that paying for his college education would be a challenge. Even after marrying her husband when Kevin DeOliveira was in middle school, she knew that their combined income would not be enough to cover the costs. A friend told her about New Jersey’s program. That, along with a combination of scholarships, grants and other loans, allowed Mr. DeOliveira to enroll at the University of Vermont. Since her son was fatally shot, Ms. has made 18 payments to New Jersey. Paying $180 per month, she has about 92 to go. “We’re not going to be poor because of this,” she said. “But every time I have to pay this thing, I think in my head, this is so unfair. ” For decades, states served as middlemen for federal student loans. Most of the loans were made by banks and were handled and backed by regional and agencies as well as by the federal government. The arrangement was unwieldy, expensive and marked by scandal. After Pennsylvania’s student loan agency lost a public records lawsuit in 2007, documents revealed that the agency had spent nearly $1 million on things like facials and falconry lessons. That same year, New Jersey’s agency was caught in what amounted to a kickback scheme. The state attorney general found that the agency had improperly pushed one company’s loans in exchange for annual payments of $2. 2 million. A subsequent investigation by the state’s inspector general found that the agency was in “disarray. ” In 2010, Congress and the Obama administration decided to effectively eliminate the role of state agencies by having only the federal government lend directly to students. Some states, like California, decided to downsize and transferred their federal loan portfolios. Others, such as Pennsylvania, won contracts from the federal government to service debt from the federal loan program. New Jersey chose a different path. In the years leading up to the end of the federal program, New Jersey sharply expanded its loan program, slowly replacing the federal loans it once handled with state loans. From 2005 to 2010, loans from the agency nearly tripled, to $343 million per year. Since then, the agency has reduced its loans by half, but its outstanding portfolio has remained roughly the same, about $2 billion. Ms. Karrow said the growth of New Jersey’s program was simply a result of both the increasing number of students and the rising cost of tuition. But in fact, college enrollment and tuition have not grown as rapidly as the program’s size. While other states have similar loan programs, New Jersey’s stands apart, for both its size and its onerous terms. Massachusetts, running the program, with $1. 3 billion in outstanding loans, automatically cancels debt if a borrower dies or becomes disabled, something many other states also do. The program of the state lender, Texas, is half the size of New Jersey’s. And Texas offers a flat interest rate, a modest 4. 5 percent, while New Jersey’s rates can reach nearly 8 percent. Some other state loan programs have more flexible repayment options — Rhode Island, for example, offers repayment. New Jersey, meanwhile, encourages students to buy life insurance in case they die to help repay. As an agency pamphlet cautions, “Are you prepared for the unthinkable?” The agency, Ms. Karrow said, treats each instance of a deceased borrower case by case and tries to be compassionate, but, she added, “we must also meet our fiduciary duty to our bondholders. ” When consumer lawyers protested the program’s onerous conditions at a 2014 agency meeting, the agency, according to minutes from the session, said that giving borrowers a break would make the bonds sold to finance loans “less attractive to the ratings agencies and investors. ” Indeed, in a recent bond assessment, the credit rating agency Moody’s cited the authority’s “administrative wage garnishing, which it uses aggressively,” for “significantly higher collections” compared with other programs. A New Jersey rule adopted in 1998 allows the authority to give borrowers in default a second chance by allowing them to become current on their account through payments. But the agency has never granted a reprieve and instead cuts off contact with borrowers, leaving them at the mercy of collection firms. Ms. Karrow said federal regulations prohibited the agency from offering such relief, but student loan experts disputed that assertion. “There is nothing in the federal law or regulations that prohibits them from offering private loan rehabilitation, ” Mark Kantrowitz, a expert, said. The combination of a lack of flexibility, an unwillingness to discharge loans and the state’s power to seize wages has resulted in even “more intractable problems for our clients than predatory mortgages, deceptive car loans or illegal internet payday lending,” said David McMillin, a lawyer with Legal Services of New Jersey, a nonprofit that provides free legal assistance to state residents. “Many borrowers and find themselves facing a lifetime of debt problems. ” Given the lack of options, some New Jersey borrowers have resorted to declaring bankruptcy, even though, as is true of all student loans, their debt is rarely canceled. Declaring bankruptcy also makes it virtually impossible to secure a mortgage, lease a car or even use credit cards for years. But for New Jersey borrowers, such an extreme step at least offers a way to gain manageable monthly payment terms. As a Tracey Timony struggled to help pay off her daughter’s $140, 000 in loans. Though the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority can seize wages or tax returns without court approval, it must secure a judgment to dip into borrowers’ bank accounts or place liens on their property. Instead of garnishing Ms. Timony’s wages, New Jersey sued her after her daughter defaulted. “The agency is looking to put as much pressure on the borrower and be as aggressive as possible, and the way that you do that is you go after everybody that is liable,” Jennifer Weil, a New Jersey student debt lawyer, said. “In case the garnishment doesn’t work, a judgment will help put pressure on the parents. ” Ms. Timony declared bankruptcy and got monthly debt payments that will rise no higher than about $1, 000 a month, far less than what the agency had demanded. “I never thought that sending my daughter to college would ruin our lives,” Ms. Timony said. Few have felt the weight of the agency’s powers more than Mr. Gonzalez, the college graduate who was sued after receiving a diagnosis of cancer and losing his job. He had borrowed the maximum he could in federal loans — a total of about $30, 000 for five years — and paid for most of his tuition with loans from New Jersey. “I felt so comfortable because it was the State of New Jersey,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “It’s the state, my government, trying to help me out and achieve my American dream. It turns out they were the worst ones. ” Over five years, he took out over $180, 000 in state loans. Unlike most other states, New Jersey does not impose a strict cap on loans to discourage overborrowing. One family, according to a recent state audit of the agency, took out over $800, 000 in loans, more than five times the value of its home. Mr. Gonzalez’s loans had a relatively high interest rate — on average about 7. 5 percent. At the time it seemed like a good investment. He graduated with an engineering degree from Aeronautical University in Florida and landed a job on Wall Street working as a programmer for Goldman Sachs. But a few months after he started, unusual rashes began to appear on his legs and underarms. He learned he had ’s lymphoma and started radiation therapy. After three years of cancer treatments, Mr. Gonzalez was also laid off. He needed to take care of his student loans. The federal government and his private lenders all deferred his debt for at least six months. Mr. Gonzalez expected New Jersey to do the same, but the agency refused, requiring him to pay at least $500 a month. With unemployment checks as his only income and burdened by continuing health expenses, it was too much for him. He made no payments while the agency reviewed his case. In June 2014, Mr. Gonzalez moved to Florida to lower his cost of living. His health slowly improved and he started his own company, developing technology for small businesses. In his first year, he made just $26, 000, but he started to pay back his federal and private bank loans. On May 8, 2015, after months of hearing nothing, he received an email from New Jersey: His deferral request had been denied and his loan was being sent to a collection agency. “Unfortunately, because of how the loan originated, the authority is not in a position to offer forbearance or relief,” Robert Laird, a program officer at the loan agency, said in the email. Terrified by what a default would mean for his credit rating, Mr. Gonzalez told the agency that he would stop paying for health insurance and use the money — $200 per month — to repay the loans. The agency rejected the offer. “In the event that your doctor declares you total and permanently disabled, please keep me posted,” Mr. Laird told Mr. Gonzalez in an email. One day in April, a stranger rang Mr. Gonzalez’s doorbell. “Chris Gonzalez?” he asked. Mr. Gonzalez nodded. “You’ve been served with a lawsuit from the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. ” The suit demanded over $260, 000 — about $188, 000 for the original loans, $34, 000 in interest, and $44, 000 to cover the fees of a collection agency’s lawyer. Even if his business improves, Mr. Gonzalez has no idea how he will afford his ballooning payments. “I don’t have money,” he said. “I am spending it all on my debt. ” | 1 |
If you’ve ever wondered how much social media can actually impact someone’s life, just think about the innumerable amount of animals that have found their home, thanks to social... | 0 |
LOS ANGELES — With the of “Moana” over the holiday weekend, the reinvigorated Walt Disney Animation Studios cemented its status as ’s reigning powerhouse for films. “Moana,” one of the wide releases of the year, collected about $81. 1 million at domestic theaters over the holiday weekend, enough to rank as the Thanksgiving opening on record, behind only “Frozen,” which took in $93. 6 million for Disney in 2013. (Disney Animation Studios and its corporate sibling, Pixar, now hold the top six spots on that Thanksgiving records list.) Costing at least $300 million to make and market worldwide, “Moana” took in an additional $16. 3 million in limited overseas release, including in China, where the response was muted. “Moana,” which navigated various controversies en route to theaters, including one over an Halloween and one over an oversize male character, is a musical Miranda, the virtuoso behind the Broadway smash “Hamilton,” contributed to the score. After a fallow period in the 2000s, when Pixar reigned supreme, Disney Animation Studios has delivered one successful original film after another, including “Tangled,” “Frozen,” “ Ralph” and, earlier this year, “Zootopia. ” Pixar, lately focused more intently on sequels, has recently had an uneven track record with originals, finding a blockbuster in “Inside Out” but fizzling with “The Good Dinosaur. ” Among other new offerings, Robert Zemeckis’s period spy drama, “Allied” (Paramount) did the best, collecting about $18 million, according to comScore, which compiles box office data. Had the film not cost a hefty $85 million to make — not including marketing expenses — that sales total would have been fine. As it is, “Allied,” which drew soft reviews, will likely go down as another misfire for Mr. Zemeckis and Paramount. The studio is counting on foreign audiences to pick up the slack in partial overseas release, “Allied,” starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, took in $9. 4 million. “Bad Santa 2” (Broad Green) fared poorly. Costing an estimated $26 million to make, it sold about $9 million in tickets. The original “Bad Santa,” now considered a crude comedy classic, arrived to $22 million in Thanksgiving ticket sales in 2003, after adjusting for inflation. Bombing outright was Warren Beatty’s “Rules Don’t Apply,” a romantic comedic drama set in the late 1950s. Independently financed for $27 million and distributed by 20th Century Fox, “Rules Don’t Apply” collected a breathtakingly bad $2. 2 million for the period. The movie likely suffered from mixed reviews, Mr. Beatty’s absence from movie screens and marketing materials that failed to make the film seem relevant to contemporary . Even so, it was a strong weekend over all for Hollywood, as a broad array of movies, including the arrival of the Weinstein Company’s “Lion,” and sizzling holdovers, including “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” generated wide audience interest. For the year to date, total ticket sales in North America stand at $10. 1 billion, a 4. 5 percent increase from the same period a year ago. | 0 |
The news media has been reporting on plans by a coalition of activist groups to hold a massive Tax March in Washington and at least 60 other locations on April 15. [Unreported by the news media is that most of the listed partners and support organizers of the march are openly financed by George Soros or have close links to Soros financing. The website for the march, which is slated for the deadline for Americans to file their tax returns, claims that its mission is to get Trump to release his tax returns and more. The site relates: President Trump needs to be straight with the American people. To whom does he owe favors? Who are his policies really intended to benefit? Who will he put first? Working families are struggling to make ends meet, but we pay our fair share in taxes — does Donald Trump pay any at all? Organizers of the march claim to be “ordinary Americans, community organizers, advocates, and people from all walks of life and all backgrounds joining together to raise our voices and send a bold message to this administration. ” Leaders from January’s Women’s March coalition are reportedly helping to organize the Tax March, which USA Today described as a “sequel” to the massive women’s march. Buzzfeed took note of the comparison to the women’s march in a piece titled, “Progressives Want Tax Day To Be The Next Women’s March Protest. ” Soros reportedly has ties to more than 50 “partners” of that march. Also, this journalist first reported on the march leaders’ close associations with Soros. In a section titled “Who is organizing it?” the website for the Tax March lists the following eight groups, six of which are either funded by Soros or tied to Soros financing. The Tax March is grateful to have the support of the following organizations: American Federation of Teachers, Americans for Tax Fairness, Center for Popular Democracy, Indivisible Project, MoveOn. Org, Our Revolution, and The Working Families Party. Americans for Tax Fairness is the recipient of a grant from Soros’s Open Society Foundations’ U. S. Programs. MoveOn. Org is financed by Soros. The American Federation of Teachers’ Educational Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the American Federation of Teachers, was financed by the Strategic Opportunities Fund of Soros’s Open Society Foundations, leaked Open Society documents show. The Center for Popular Democracy is led by activists. In 2013, Marbre Stahly, a policy advocate at the Center, became a Soros Justice Fellow, which comes with a stipend of $58, 700 to $110, 250 to fund activism projects that last between months. The Center was listed as Stahly’s “host” for the grant. According to her bio, the Center’s research analyst, Maggie Corser, “spent four years at the Open Society Foundations where she conducted research on the future of work, conservative political infrastructure, and a range of economic justice issue. ” Shawn Sebastian, the Center’s field director for its Fed Up Campaign, was a fellow at the so called Unit of the Open Society Foundations’ Justice Initiative. Another Tax March organizer is the Indivisible Project. Earlier this week, Breitbart News extensively reported that Indivisible leaders are openly associated with groups financed by Soros. Politico last week profiled Indivisible in an article titled, “Inside the protest movement that has Republicans reeling. ” The news agency not only left out the Soros links, but failed to note that the organizations cited in its article as helping to amplify Indivisible’s message are either financed directly by Soros or have close ties to groups funded by the billionaire, as Breitbart News documented. 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. With research by Joshua Klein. | 0 |
Janet Reno, who rose from a rustic life on the edge of the Everglades to become attorney general of the United States — the first woman to hold the job — and whose eight years in that office placed her in the middle of some of the most divisive episodes of the Clinton presidency, died on Monday at her home in County, Fla. She was 78. Her sister, Margaret Hurchalla, said the cause was complications of Parkinson’s disease, which was diagnosed in November 1995, while Ms. Reno was still in office. Ms. Reno’s tenure as attorney general was bracketed by two explosive events: a deadly federal raid on the compound of a religious cult in Waco, Tex. in 1993, and in 2000 the government’s seizing of Elián González, a young Cuban refugee who was at the center of an international custody battle and a political tug of war. In those moments and others, Ms. Reno was applauded for displaying integrity and a willingness to accept responsibility, but she was also fiercely criticized. Republicans accused her of protecting President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore when, in 1997, she refused to allow an independent counsel to investigate allegations of improprieties in the White House. After leaving office, she mounted a surprise though unsuccessful bid in Florida in 2002 to unseat Gov. Jeb Bush, the brother of President George W. Bush, amid the resentment of in South Florida over her negotiating for the return of Elián to Cuba. Ms. Reno was never part of the Clinton inner circle, even though she served in the Clinton cabinet for two terms, longer than any attorney general in the previous 150 years. She was a latecomer to the team, and her political and personal style clashed with the president’s, particularly as she sought to maintain some independence from the White House. Her relations with the president were further strained by her decision to let an independent inquiry into a failed Clinton land deal in Arkansas, the Whitewater investigation, expand to encompass Mr. Clinton’s sexual relationship with the White House intern Monica Lewinsky, an episode that led to his impeachment. Mr. Clinton and his allies thought that Ms. Reno was too quick to refer to special counsels in the Lewinsky matter and other cases of suspect administration behavior. The president let her dangle in the public eye for weeks before announcing in December 1996, after his resounding that she would remain for his second term. Ms. Reno was never a natural fit in Washington’s backslapping, competitive culture. At weekly news conferences, held in the conference room outside her office in the Justice Department building on Pennsylvania Avenue, she was fond of telling reporters that she would “do the right thing” on legal issues and judge them according to “the law and the facts. ” Imposing at awkward in manner and blunt in her probity, she became a regular foil for comics and a running gag on “Saturday Night Live. ” But she got the joke, proving it by gamely appearing on the show to lampoon her image. The comedy could not obscure her accomplishments. Ms. Reno presided over the Justice Department in a time of economic growth, falling crime rates and mounting security threats to the nation by forces both foreign and domestic. Under Ms. Reno, the agency initiated prosecutions in the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and in the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, helping to lay the groundwork for the pursuit of terrorists in the 21st century. The Reno Justice Department also prosecuted spies like the C. I. A. mole Aldrich H. Ames it filed an antitrust suit against Microsoft, a milestone in the era and it sued the tobacco industry to reclaim federal health care dollars spent on treating illnesses caused by smoking. Ms. Reno was a strong advocate of guaranteeing federal protection to women seeking abortions and safeguarding abortion clinics that were under threat. But in some areas she seemed conflicted about the law. She opposed the death penalty, for example, but repeatedly authorized her prosecutors to ask juries to impose it. When she took office, she endorsed the use of independent counsels to investigate administration figures. But she later testified against renewing the law governing their use, saying it did nothing to take politics out of the inquiries. Before becoming attorney general, Ms. Reno was the Dade County state attorney for 14 years, when the Miami area was growing rapidly and experiencing rising crime, widening racial divisions, demoralizing police corruption and waves of immigration from Cuba. Mr. Clinton, committed to appointing a woman as attorney general, settled on Ms. Reno after his first two choices — the corporate lawyer Zoë Baird and the federal judge Kimba Wood — withdrew their names in the face of criticism after it was disclosed that they had employed undocumented immigrants as nannies. “I’m just delighted to be here, and I’m going to try my level best,” Ms. Reno said at the Rose Garden ceremony at which Mr. Clinton announced her nomination on Feb. 11, 1993. Two months later, she gained the nation’s full attention in a dramatic televised news conference in which she took full responsibility for a botched federal raid of the Waco compound of the Branch Davidians, an offshoot of the Adventists. The assault, after a long siege involving close to 900 military and personnel and a dozen tanks, left the compound in flames and the group’s charismatic leader, David Koresh, and about 75 others dead. A third of the dead were children. Ms. Reno’s candor was viewed as refreshing in a city where blame shifting is the norm, and it gave her sudden celebrity status in the new administration. The luster faded quickly. Within weeks, Ms. Reno faced tough questions about the raid and her claim that children were being abused at the compound. She was also faulted for failing to influence an important crime bill. By the end of her first year in office, she was facing mounting scrutiny in the news media. With Mr. Clinton’s and his decision to keep Ms. Reno at her post, Republicans began questioning her independence when she resisted their calls for a special counsel to look into allegations that Mr. Clinton and Mr. Gore had broken campaign laws in 1996. The clamor, led by the House speaker, Newt Gingrich, and Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, grew when it was disclosed that Louis J. Freeh, the head of the F. B. I. also favored a special counsel. Ms. Reno would not budge, saying her stance had nothing to do with protecting the president. A review of the evidence, she said, convinced her that a special counsel was not warranted. “Let me be absolutely clear,” Ms. Reno told hostile Republican questioners during one of several hearings on Capitol Hill about the call for a special counsel. “I’m not going to violate my oath in this matter because of pressure from any quarter, not from the media, not from Congress, nor from anywhere else. ” Questions about her handling of the Waco raid resurfaced in 1999, when new evidence suggested that the F. B. I. might have started the fire that destroyed the compound. The disclosure further soured her dealings with Mr. Freeh — a relationship that had been close early in her tenure but had grown tortured by 1999. He let it be known that he favored a special counsel in the case and a new inquiry into Waco. She sent marshals to F. B. I. headquarters to seize a tape of communications made the day of the assault. Her final and perhaps most personal crisis as head of the Justice Department was the case involving Elián González, the Cuban boy who was found floating on an inner tube off the coast of Florida after his mother and 10 others had drowned in a failed crossing from Cuba by small boat. The boy became a unifying figure among Cuban exiles in South Florida, who were determined to see him remain in the United States in defiance of the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro. Ms. Reno favored returning Elián to his father in Cuba, and she became immersed in negotiations over his fate because of her ties to Miami. Ms. Reno was on the phone almost up to the moment agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service burst into the Miami home of Elián’s relatives and took him away at gunpoint. Congressional Republicans and many Cuban exiles were outraged. Some in Miami said Ms. Reno would be in danger if she returned there after her service in Washington. Early in 2001, however, she did go home, her service finished. She said she was excited about a red pickup truck she had bought. Janet Reno was born in Miami, on the edge of the Everglades, on July 21, 1938, to Henry Olaf Reno and the former Jane Wood. Her father, born Henry Rasmussen in Denmark, came to the United States in 1913 with his own mother and father, who chose the name Reno off a map, believing it sounded more American. Henry Reno was a police reporter in Dade County for more than 40 years. Jane Reno, born in Georgia, was an eccentric naturalist who would have a profound effect on Ms. Reno. “Outspoken, outrageous, absolutely indifferent to others’ opinions, Jane Reno was truly one of a kind,” Paul Anderson, a former Miami Herald reporter, wrote in his biography of Janet Reno. It was her mother who had wrestled small alligators, though the stunt was sometimes erroneously ascribed to the daughter. Ms. Reno, the eldest of four siblings, was about 8 when her parents bought 21 acres bordering the Everglades and moved there. Her mother, who had no construction experience, built the family home. “She dug the foundation with her own hands, with a pick and shovel,” Ms. Reno told senators at her confirmation hearing in 1993. It was a rustic life peacocks and other creatures roamed the property, and Janet and her siblings — Robert, Mark and Margaret — cavorted barefoot. But she also glimpsed a more sophisticated world: After junior high school, she traveled to Europe to stay with an uncle, a military judge, as he presided over a spy trial. Besides her sister, who is known as Maggy, Ms. Reno is survived by seven nieces and nephews. Her brother Robert, a former columnist for Newsday on Long Island, died in 2012 at 72. Her brother Mark had an adventurer’s life: game warden, boat and oil supply ship captain, alligator wrestler, scuba diver, paratrooper as well as carpenter and bailiff at the Justice Building. He died in 2014, also at 72. After finishing high school in Miami, Ms. Reno attended Cornell University, graduating in 1960 with a degree in chemistry. She won admission to Harvard Law School and graduated in 1963, one of a handful of women in her class of more than 500. Seeking to practice law in South Florida, Ms. Reno was turned down by one of the state’s law firms, Steel Hector Davis, and went to work for a smaller firm instead. She became active in local Democratic politics and met a fellow Harvard graduate, Gerald Lewis, a lawyer with electoral aspirations. Ms. Reno helped him win a State House seat in 1966, and the two opened a law firm together. Ms. Reno entered government service in 1971 as general counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the Florida House of Representatives, where she worked on a difficult overhaul of Florida’s courts. Her work in Tallahassee, the capital, whetted her appetite for public office, and she campaigned for a state legislative seat of her own the next year. She lost in an upset to a Republican candidate helped by the landslide victory of President Richard M. Nixon. Ms. Reno did not wait long for her next opportunity. The day after her defeat, Richard Gerstein, the state attorney for Dade County, offered her a job on his staff. As she told The Miami Herald, she expressed reservations in her characteristically straightforward manner. “My father was always convinced you were a crook,” she said she told Mr. Gerstein. “And I’ve always been a critic of yours. ” Mr. Gerstein replied that those were the reasons he wanted to hire her. Within a few years, she was Mr. Gerstein’s chief assistant. Ms. Reno left the prosecutor’s office in May 1976 to join Steel Hector Davis, the firm that had rejected her out of law school. But her tenure there was short. After Mr. Gerstein announced that he would resign in early 1978, after 21 years in the office, Gov. Reubin Askew appointed Ms. Reno interim state attorney, choosing her from about 50 candidates. She was the first woman to hold the title of state attorney in Florida and one of the few in the nation’s history to be responsible for such a large jurisdiction. Ms. Reno retained the post through a thicket of drug, murder and corruption cases. In one, she was accused of being antipolice when she prosecuted five Miami officers in the beating death of a black insurance executive after a traffic stop the officers, she said, had tried to make it look like an accident. The officers were acquitted — one by the presiding judge in the trial, held in Tampa, and the others by an jury — provoking criticism of her legal strategy and four days of deadly riots in Miami’s predominantly black Liberty City neighborhood. To quell the furor, Ms. Reno undertook an outreach effort that restored some support among Miami’s black citizens. She remained state attorney through five election campaigns — until February 1993, when the White House called. Ms. Reno was formally nominated to be attorney general that month, just a few weeks after the death of her mother, Jane, the guiding influence in her life. She invoked her mother’s memory in her remarks that day at the Rose Garden ceremony with Mr. Clinton. “My mother always told me to do my best,” she said, “to think my best and to do right. ” | 1 |
BERLIN — The German government proposed a broad range of measures on Thursday to bolster security and combat terrorism, its strongest official response so far to two recent attacks by terrorists pledging loyalty to the Islamic State and a deadly shooting rampage in Munich. Many of the measures, which include closer monitoring of refugees and enhanced surveillance, seem likely to win legislative approval but prompted concerns in a country that is deeply protective of privacy and civil liberties. The package of proposals is the most comprehensive from the German government since Europe became a consistent target of terrorist attacks by the Islamic State, other radical groups and their followers. They were unveiled at a time when Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing accusations that the welcome she gave last year to migrants streaming to the Continent from Syria and other nations in the Middle East has compromised security. The German plan, and the response to it, reflected a broader tension in the West over how to balance steps to combat terrorism against civil liberties and political realities amid a resurgence in populism, nationalism and sentiment. The proposals announced by the interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, call for hiring more federal police officers making it a crime to express sympathy for terrorism greater sharing of intelligence data across Europe closer watching of the “dark web,” the part of the internet that is invisible to ordinary users stripping dual citizens of their German citizenship if they fight for extremist groups and making it easier to deport foreigners deemed to be dangerous. Strengthening the federal government’s powers is particularly fraught for a country where the legacies of Nazi and Communist control have left a deep suspicion of centralized authority and official surveillance, and where the powers of the central government remain limited because of the history of totalitarian control. Ralf Stegner, a leading Social Democrat, said that the plan was the clear result of “public pressure in the last few weeks,” which made terrorism more a reality than an abstraction. In a phone interview, Mr. Stegner said his party supported hiring additional police officers, upgrading technology, investigating the dark web and improving cooperation with other European countries, but was more skeptical of a proposal by Mr. de Maizière to restrict certain rights of migrants whose asylum applications have been denied but who cannot easily be deported. Mr. Stegner noted that France — despite a state of emergency in place since terrorist attacks in and around Paris last November — has not managed to halt further attacks, and that “the mood there, and the situation, are quite different” from Germany. Last year, 1. 1 million foreigners migrated to Germany — a record — and the country received 442, 000 asylum applications. Ms. Merkel has insisted that Germany can successfully assimilate the newcomers, but the recent attacks have strained the coalition government she leads. With elections in two states in September and a national vote next year, Ms. Merkel’s Christian Democrats and their coalition partners, the Social Democrats, worry that the populist, Alternative for Germany party could make strong gains. In announcing the measures on Thursday, Mr. de Maizière emphasized that Germany “must change” in the face of new threats, by showing enhanced vigilance, deploying new technologies and even, in some cases, overriding strong War II concerns about privacy. He said he wanted to install sophisticated video equipment in about 20 significant railroad stations, and to improve the sharing of surveillance footage among law enforcement agencies, adding that the shooting rampage in Munich, at a shopping mall, showed that public spaces were potential “soft targets” for terrorists. The Munich rampage, which killed nine people, was the work of a teenager, Ali Sonboly, who had been in psychiatric treatment and was fascinated by previous mass shootings. The pistol he used, a Glock 17, was a former theater weapon, apparently bought on the internet, that had been restored to be able to shoot live rounds. Mr. de Maizière proposed much tighter European regulations to register such weapon conversions and to crack down on internet arms sales. Similarly, his proposals to monitor newly arrived refugees and people susceptible to radicalization seemed aimed at preventing terrorist attacks like the two by Islamic State adherents last month. The first, on July 18, was carried out by a person identified only as a Afghan who was living with a foster family in Bavaria. He wounded four people on a train with an ax and a knife, and then attacked a woman walking her dog he was later shot by the police. Six days later, in Germany’s first Islamist suicide attack, a Syrian blew himself up outside a music festival in the Bavarian town of Ansbach and wounded 15. The authorities had previously ordered him deported, and, on Thursday, Mr. de Maizière announced further measures to make it easier to deport foreign criminals. “Nobody can guarantee absolute security,” Mr. de Maizière said. “But we must do everything in our power” to try to ensure safety. “One thing is sure,” he added, “our country will not respond to the violence of the perpetrators with hate and division. We will not allow the terrorists that triumph. ” Mr. de Maizière reiterated publicly concerns previously voiced privately by senior intelligence officials that Germany — and Europe — does not always know enough about migrants. He noted that the recent decision to register air travelers in and out of Europe was an improvement, and he urged that all of Germany’s federal and state law enforcement and intelligence officials should have access to that information. “We see in recent months that these offices must know exactly who is coming to Europe, and who is leaving it,” he said. Other measures he proposed included combing the social media profiles of refugees and other migrants to look out for signs of radicalization, as the authorities in the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have done. In a statement, Mr. de Maizière said that officials could have gleaned more information after a bomb threat at a mall in Dortmund if officials had had access to surveillance footage, which he said had been restricted by data protection officials. “Overall, we must extend and optimize our use of I. T. ” he said, referring to information technology. Mr. de Maizière said that the government had approved adding 4, 600 security jobs, 3, 250 of them in the federal police force, which, under the structure largely set up by the Allies after World War II, has traditionally taken a back seat to the police in the country’s 16 states. The German press had speculated that the government would propose punishing doctors who failed to inform the authorities if they suspected patients of potentially committing violent acts. But patient confidentiality is taken very seriously in Germany, given the involvement of doctors in the crimes of the Nazi era doctors can be punished for breaching patient privacy, with certain exceptions. Mr. de Maizière said on Thursday that the government would not change the principle of protecting patients, but he urged doctors to contact the government if they believe a patient is dangerous or about to commit a crime. Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery, the president of the German Medical Association, said in a statement that he was relieved “that medical confidentiality is not to be called into question. ” Mr. de Maizière also rejected as “constitutionally problematic” other ideas that some conservative lawmakers have floated, including a ban on burqas. | 1 |
Select Page Dakota Excess Pipeline? Standing Rock Protectors Strip-Searched, Jailed for Days on Minor Charges – Video, Links, and Commentary Democracy Now!
We discuss the crackdown on the resistance to the Dakota Access pipeline with Winona LaDuke, a Native American activist and executive director of the group Honor the Earth who lives and works on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota, and Tara Houska, national campaigns director for Honor the Earth. Police have begun deploying military-grade equipment, including armored personnel carriers, surveillance helicopters, planes and drones. North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple activated the National Guard in late September. Roughly 140 people have been arrested. Some report being strip-searched in custody at the Morton County jail and being held for days without bond, even when they are facing minor misdemeanor charges. TRANSCRIPT This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now! , democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report . We’re broadcasting live from outside the courthouse and jail in Mandan, North Dakota. Water and land protectors, as they call themselves, report facing increasing repression amidst the ongoing resistance to the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. Police have begun deploying military-grade equipment, including armored personnel carriers, surveillance helicopters, planes and drones. North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple activated the National Guard in late September. Roughly 140 people have been arrested. Some report being strip-searched in custody at the Morton County jail, even when they’re facing minor misdemeanor charges. This is Dr. Sara Jumping Eagle, a pediatrician on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
DR. SARA JUMPING EAGLE : When I was taken to the jail, first I was taken by a corrections officer, transported from the protest site to the Morton County jail. And then, when they took me in there, you know, they had to take some basic information. And then, one of the things that they do is have you go into a small room, and there was a female officer there, and we had to—I had to take my clothes off, and then, I don’t know, basically—
AMY GOODMAN : Cavity search?
DR. SARA JUMPING EAGLE : No, not a cavity search, but I had to squat and cough. That’s what she said. I had to squat and cough and then put the orange suit on.
AMY GOODMAN : So you were put in an orange jumpsuit?
DR. SARA JUMPING EAGLE : Yeah, I was put in an orange jumpsuit. And then I was held there for several hours. And initially, you know, my family didn’t know where I was or didn’t—you know, they heard about it pretty quickly and were able to come and bond me out or bail me out. I don’t know what you call it. But I was in there for several hours.
AMY GOODMAN : How did it make you feel?
DR. SARA JUMPING EAGLE : It made me feel—you know, it made me think about my ancestors and what had they gone through. And this was in no way a comparison to what we’ve survived before, so just made me feel more determined about what I’m doing and why I’m here.
AMY GOODMAN : That’s Dr. Sara Jumping Eagle, a pediatrician, member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. She was charged with disorderly conduct. LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, who founded the first resistance camp, the Sacred Stone Camp, on her own land April 1st, says her daughter was recently arrested, taken into custody at the Morton County jail, strip-searched in front of multiple male officers, then left for hours in her cell, naked and freezing, before the guards finally gave her clothes to wear. LaDonna Allard says her daughter was repeatedly asked by guards, “Who is your mother?” which Allard sees as an indication that her daughter was targeted because of who she is. Cody Hall from Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota says he was also strip-searched after he was arrested Friday, September 9th, held for three days without bail or bond, and then charged with two misdemeanors.
CODY HALL : As I exited out of the vehicles and entered Morton County, I came up an elevator, and as the elevator opened up, I was met with state police. And then, you know, of course, Morton County people were there to book people, but—and then, from there, started the process of the booking, and then, again, you know, went into a private room, where they ask you to, you know, get naked. You know, they had my arms. They, you know, kind of like extend your arms out. And you’re fully naked. And they have you, you know, lift up your genitals and bend over, you know, cough. And so, it’s really one of those tactics that they try to break down your mentalness of everyday life, because not every day do you wake up and say, “Hey, I’m going to get, you know, naked and have somebody search me today,” you know? That’s a private—you know, that’s a private feeling for you, when you get naked, so…
AMY GOODMAN : And four days later, when you were finally released—they hadn’t allowed you to go out on bail or bond for those four days—you came before a judge in the orange jumpsuit?
CODY HALL : Yes, yes, I sat in the court office in my orange jumpsuit, locked, you know, still handcuffed, exited out of the courtroom. And as I left the courtroom, there were 20 or so state police all in their bullet-proof vests, everything just looking, you know, like—you know, like they’re going into action of some sort. And then they literally had a line from the courtroom to the door that connects you to the county jail. And my mother walked out with me. And as we got to the door, they were opening the door up. And as I looked behind me, my mother and I, all of the cops then proceeded to kind of swarm, you know, like make, you know, that big wall as I entered in, which was, again, an overkill, you know, but that, too, though, to show a dominant force.
AMY GOODMAN : That was Cody Hall, who was arrested on two misdemeanors, held for four days, strip-searched here at the Morton County jail just behind us.
Well, for more on the resistance to the Dakota Access pipeline and the police crackdown, we’re joined by two guests. Winona LaDuke, Native American activist, executive director of the group Honor the Earth, she lives and works on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota. And we’re joined by Tara Houska, national campaigns director for Honor the Earth. She is Ojibwe from the Couchiching First Nation.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Winona, let’s start with you. We have spoken to you intermittently through this resistance. Where does it stand now?
WINONA LADUKE : Well, as far as we are in—I mean, I’m just looking at the big picture. Right now there is about 900,000 barrels per day of oil coming out of this state, and they project that into 2019. And so, what I’m trying to understand is, is that if that’s all they have and it’s already going out, why do they need another pipeline of 570,000 barrels of oil per day? In other words, they’re already meeting all their demand. For the next two years, that’s all the oil that’s in there. And this is really—what we call this is the Dakota Excess pipeline.
AMY GOODMAN : The Dakota Excess.
WINONA LADUKE : Dakota Excess pipeline. This is really about spites. It’s really about spite.
AMY GOODMAN : What do you mean?
WINONA LADUKE : It’s just really about hating. You know, it’s just really about trying to put something in across these tribes. It’s exactly what the chairman and you said before: If they wanted this pipeline so damn bad, they should have put it north of Bismarck, you know, and they should have—they should not have violated the law. The whole pipeline was approved through something called the Nationwide Permit number 12, which means they could it into a lot of little pieces and never do an EIS , and pretend like—you know, that’s intended for like if you have like a pipeline from a school to the water service center or something like that. It’s not intended for a 1,600-mile pipeline. Total misuse of the law, you know, and the president really needs to intervene and uphold the law…Read more and watch video at Democracy Now! | 1 |
By Christina Sarich Nestlé, the food corporation known for illegally contributing more than $1.75 million to the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association slush fund meant to prevent labeling of food... | 0 |
A new robot preacher allows users to receive automated blessings in different languages before it beams light from its hands. [“ ” is currently on display in Wittenberg, Germany, a town which has close ties to Protestant figure Martin Luther, and was created by the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau, according to the Mirror. “It consists of a metal box with a touch screen, two arms on the side, a head with eyes and a digital mouth at the top,” the Mirror explained. “After the robot wishes users a ‘warm welcome,’ it asks them if they want to be blessed by a male or female voice. It then asks the believer ‘what blessing do you want,’ which results in the robot making a mechanical sound as it raises its arms to the heavens and starts to smile. ” “Lights then start to flash in the robot’s arms as it says ‘God bless and protect you’ and recites a biblical verse,” the Mirror continued. “After the blessing, the user has the possibility to print the dictum,” similar to a fortune teller machine. The robot can communicate with users in five different languages, and the blessing can be printed out for them to take with them as well. Church spokesman Sebastian von Gehren claims that the new machine has attracted those who have very little in common with the church, but now routinely visit “every morning and evening” to receive an automated blessing. “It is an experiment that is supposed to inspire discussion,” he declared. “One half thinks it’s great … the other cannot imagine a blessing from a machine. ” Despite his praise of the robot, von Gehren added, “The machine should not replace the blessing of a pastor. ” “In the future, there will not be a blessing robot in every church,” he concluded. Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook. | 0 |
Homeless woman protecting Trump’s Hollywood Star gets attacked by big fat guy Fat man assaults homeless woman over politics By Lexi Morgan - October 29, 2016 HOLLYWOOD, Calif. ( INTELLIHUB ) — A local homeless woman was captured on video defending Donald Trump’s Hollywood Star , before being attacked by a big fat guy .
The overweight man man could be seen on video pushing the woman while yelling, “Get out of here bitch.”
A split second later the woman was pushed to the ground while clinging to a cart containing her belongings.
Another bystander could be heard asking the victim, “Hey, where’s Donald Trump at?”
“He still ain’t here,” the man said.
This is disgraceful behavior for any American to engage in. Why would a big fat guy roughhouse a woman over politics?
If this is what we are looking at now, what will we be looking at on Election Night or the days following? | 0 |
21st Century Wire says…
Organized efforts are underway by Democratic Party affiliated NGO’s to try and somehow delegitimize the results of this week’s US Presidential Election.
On the eve of the US Election before voters went to the polls, 21WIRE political affairs analyst Patrick Henningsen accurately predicted this week’s unrest when he said :
“If Trump wins, expect the likes of Soros and MoveOn.org to unleash wave after wave of flash mobs, who will protest, riot, smash and burn their way on to CNN’s 24 hour news rotation. Expect Occupy 2.0, and #BlackLivesMatter to rage.”
On Friday, Henningsen talked to RT International about the post-elections protests that were coordinated in part by Democratic Party ‘community organizing’ online platform MoveOn.org . Watch:
. Not surprisingly, MoveOn.org have also launched a national ‘activist’ campaign to “ Abolish the Electoral College ” after Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton came up short with 232 (including New Hampshire) to Donald Trump’s 306 (including Arizona and Michigan). Final totals are not yet in, but thus far 2016 would be the fifth time in U.S. history that a presidential candidate has won the White House while losing the total popular vote.
SEE ALSO: (VIDEO) Female College Students Protesting Because ‘Trump is a Rapist’
21WIRE Associate Editor Shawn Helton recently revealed more details about how the near exact same methods used in CIA and Soros-funded ‘color revolutions’ overseas – are now being deployed on US domestic shores by similar NGO front organizations: has been the driving force behind nationwide protests against the election of Donald Trump.
“Overseas, Washington tends to use the same cast of NGO fronts to build-up pro-US political opposition groups, as well as plan and generate civil unrest. They include the Albert Einstein Institute (AEI), National Endowment for Democracy (NED), International Republican Institute (IRI), National Democratic Institute (NDI), Freedom House and later the International Center for Non-Violent Conflict (ICNC), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the financial and contractor arm of the Department of State. Inside the US, deep state actors in Washington generally work through Democratic Party affiliated organizations like MoveOn.org, as well as through labor union organizations like AFL-CIO , and UNITE HERE . These, along with many other similar organizations have been involved in organizing this week’s protests,” says Helton.
Helton also raised the question as to why President Obama has stayed silent in the face of street protests, opting instead to “lead from behind.” He explains:
“Certainly, judging by President Obama and Hillary Clinton’s total silence over their own party’s role in fomenting this week’s unrest – one can only conclude that both party leaders approve of the protests and riots. The political motivation is undeniable – to help delegitimize a new Trump presidency.”
Stay tuned for more updates here at 21WIRE.
READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 Files
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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Crowned with spiky feathered headdresses and daubed with face paint, scores of protesters gathered outside the Jakarta offices of an American mining giant last week, chanting, waving signs and throwing uncertainty into global commodities markets. The traditional garb was meant to make it clear whom they represented: the people of West Papua, site of ’s Grasberg mine — one of the world’s largest sources of gold and copper. Their shouted slogans made it equally clear what they wanted. “Freeport must be shut down!” the crowd chanted. It was a refrain that, in recent months, has resonated throughout Indonesia. Less than a week earlier, dozens of students from a different organization — dressed in red and white, Indonesia’s national colors — gathered outside the same office, calling for the government to take a firm hand with the company. “Freeport hasn’t brought prosperity. It’s just destroyed the natural environment,” said Surya Anta, national coordinator for the Indonesian People’s Front for West Papua. His organization helped organize protests in 17 cities around the country. Billions of dollars’ worth of metal is produced at the mighty Grasberg mine, which provides jobs in a province with few other prospects. The problem? The mine is — to the frustration of Indonesians watching their country’s economic growth begin to sputter as commodity prices sag — American owned and operated. To address that, the government has in recent years passed regulations intended to exert greater control over mine operators. Freeport says those requirements violate the company’s 1991 contract, which lasts until 2021 and which it wants to renew. The dispute has put the brakes on production at the mine and slammed Freeport directly into Indonesian politics. The company, which counts as a major investor the billionaire Carl Icahn, a major backer of President Trump, has brought it to the attention of the United States government. “It is disingenuous and insulting that Indonesia would violate a contract by hiding behind politically motivated laws that were enacted after the contract was signed,” Mr. Icahn said. Jakarta is already in the midst of a tough race for governor that has engulfed the capital in demonstrations against Gov. Basuki Purnama, an ally of President Joko Widodo. Considered Mr. Joko faces pressure to push back against an unpopular company at a time of declining exports, relatively slow economic growth and high political tension. The contract fight exemplifies Indonesia’s often fraught transition from a country exploited by colonial powers to one with the political clout to control its own resources, which are worth billions of dollars. For many Indonesians, Freeport, the biggest mining operation here, puts a face on that struggle. “We are hoping that if Freeport is nationalized, the revenue from Freeport will be distributed to ordinary people, to subsidize basic needs and education,” said Ahmad Hedar, a student activist. Freeport has operated Grasberg since the early 1970s, the crown jewel in what a former chief executive called its global “trove of treasures. ” Indonesia, however, sees the mine as a national resource whose riches are being spirited away to foreign owners. “Freeport pays only 8 trillion rupiah in taxes,” but complains about unfair treatment, Ignasius Jonan, the minister of energy and natural resources, told the youth wing of a prominent Muslim organization in February. That figure, about $600 million, compares with about $3. 1 billion worth of gold and copper mined in 2015. But the company says that from 1992 to 2015, about 60 percent of its profit was returned to Indonesia in taxes, royalties, fees and stock dividends. Both sides have threatened to take the contract disagreement to international arbitration. Until the dispute is resolved, the Grasberg mine will run at about 40 percent capacity without a licensing deal, the Indonesian government will not allow Freeport to export unprocessed minerals. The price of copper has been stable since a sharp rise in November, but the company’s shares have dropped nearly 20 percent in the last two months. “It is in the best interests of all stakeholders to receive a resolution in these matters,” Richard Adkerson, the chief executive of Freeport, said in a written statement to The New York Times. The Indonesian government faces extraordinary pressure from its citizens and national media to be firm with Freeport. This is driven by a perception that the company has consistently taken advantage of the Indonesian government since it entered the country in 1967 as one of its first big foreign investors. That year, Indonesia’s strongman leader, Suharto, granted Freeport a tax holiday, as well as a reprieve from paying royalties, though Indonesia’s terms improved over the decades as the country’s economy developed. Some Indonesian media reports have called Freeport a “monument” to the Suharto era. “Indonesians have always been educated that they have resources that are the envy of the entire world, but that over the years Western colonial powers have hatched schemes to take over Indonesia to exploit those resources,” said Matthew Busch, a research fellow in the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute for International Policy. Indonesia’s largest Muslim civic organizations have aggressively opposed foreign control over the country’s resources, including calling for a “constitutional jihad” to challenge Indonesian laws that allow foreign companies to control domestic resources. The resulting friction has made Indonesia one of the world’s least attractive mining investment environments, according to the Fraser Institute, a Canadian research organization, which ranked it the 99th most difficult out of 104 nations, states and regions in 2016. Eve Warburton, a researcher at Australian National University who studies Indonesian resource nationalism, said that over the last decade Indonesian politicians had consistently been more assertive toward foreign mining companies. “Now it seems many people in government believe that Indonesia can afford to stay the nationalist path in the resources sectors,” she said. The conditions may be scaring off business. Last year Newmont, an American miner, sold its stake in Indonesia’s Batu Hijau copper mine after struggling to adjust to Indonesian regulations. Rio Tinto, the company, has a deal to develop Grasberg with Freeport, but its chief executive suggested in February that the company might back out over the new rules. International analysts say Freeport’s contract might not be as as many Indonesian government officials make it out to be. And despite the uncompromising statements from both sides, they say, a deal remains in reach. “I see this as smoke and mirrors,” said Bill Sullivan, a lawyer and mining analyst in Jakarta. “The government has no incentive whatsoever to make things so difficult for metal mineral producers that they won’t reach an agreement. Because of the government’s need for deep political cover, however, it has to relax the export ban in a way that does not make it look as though the government is caving in to metal mineral producers. ” Papua Province, where the Grasberg mine is, is Indonesia’s most restive and least developed, with a small independence movement that clashes with the military. Freeport pays about $20 million annually to the Indonesian government for security, including payments to Indonesia’s military, which has been linked to human rights abuses in the province. The payments have periodically drawn the scrutiny of human rights organizations as well as pension funds that invest in the company. But with Vice President Mike Pence scheduled to visit Indonesia in April, politicians here are unconcerned about effects on international relations. “I’m someone who is very happy with Donald Trump’s brilliant ideas and was glad to see him elected president,” said Mukhtar Tompo, an Indonesian legislator who has called for Freeport to be expelled from Indonesia. “As long as Donald Trump looks at things from every perspective, he will agree with our side. ” | 1 |
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PORTOVIEJO, Ecuador — The rumbling had ended and the rubble had settled, and Manuel Zambrano, 21, took stock of his situation: Somehow, he was alive. Moments earlier, he had been at his job in a pharmacy on the ground floor of a building. Suddenly, the building began to shake and finally collapsed around him. He found himself trapped in a pocket within the debris. It was dark. He heard sirens, shouts, crying. “I thought it was the end,” he recalled, standing near a mound of concrete and plaster that had once been the building. “But I remembered the 33 trapped miners in the mine in Chile, and thought that if they could survive so many days, I could do it, too. ” At least 410 people were reported killed and more than 2, 000 were injured in the 7. earthquake that struck Ecuador this weekend, the biggest to hit the country in decades, leaving a stretch of ruin through provinces bordering the Pacific Coast. The tremors flattened buildings, fractured highways and knocked out electricity to much of the region. On Monday, residents were still digging through the rubble for survivors and victims, the government was scrambling to find shelter for thousands of people left homeless and rescue crews from around the world had begun arriving in this Andean nation to help. This city of nearly 300, 000, the provincial capital of Manabí Province, was hit particularly hard, with officials reporting more than 100 deaths and at least 370 buildings destroyed. Survivors described how the earthquake, from one moment to the next, turned a normal, placid Saturday night into a disaster zone. Mr. Zambrano said that when the earthquake began, he and a friend, Diana Suárez, pressed themselves against a pillar for safety. He described it as “a scene that I could only imagine but never ever saw. ” But two hours after the collapse, they heard knocks on the walls and people shouting. “A person I now consider my hero was searching for people to help and he found us,” Mr. Zambrano recalled. “He opened a hole and went to find help to get us out. ” Mr. Zambrano managed to escape with only scrapes on his arms, face and legs. “I am 21 years old, but beginning today I’m counting from 1 because I was reborn,” he said, tears in his eyes. “Believe me, I was reborn. ” Not everyone in the building was so fortunate. Four other occupants died in the collapse, including another pharmacy employee, Vicky Chávez, 31. Her father, Carlos Chávez, and a group of neighbors were still removing the rubble, piece by piece, on Monday morning to free her body. By early afternoon, they had taken her corpse away. The other three victims were a couple and their young son who had stopped by the pharmacy to buy some medicine, witnesses said. Rescuers who dug out their bodies from under the debris found the child and mother still holding each other. The office of President Rafael Correa reported that rescue crews were flying in from around Latin America as well as from Europe. Hundreds of aid workers from abroad were already in the disaster zone by Monday morning, with the largest contingents so far including 120 from Mexico, 80 from Spain and 49 from Chile, officials said. In some of the areas, like sections of Portoviejo, the Ecuadorean military set up cordons to restrict traffic and to allow rescue personnel to work more easily. The authorities were also concerned about further collapses in the event of aftershocks. Indeed, at 1:30 p. m. local time Monday, a 4. tremor registered here, sowing panic, including among the rescue workers, who feared that the vibrations might topple structures that had already been compromised by Saturday’s earthquake. On Monday evening, a Colombian rescue team pulled a man from the wreckage of the Hotel El Gato here. The man, Pablo Cordoba, 38, the administrator of the hotel, told the rescuers that there may be another person alive in the wreckage. Mr. Cordoba said that for more than half a day after the earthquake, he carried on a conversation with another person who was trapped elsewhere in the wreckage the two could hear but not see each other. The other victim had gone silent around noon on Monday, Mr. Cordoba said. The Colombian rescue team — using tools, hands and an excavator, and working in near total darkness — started pushing deeper into the debris hoping to find another survivor. Fabiola Carreño, 35, her clothes covered in dust and her face wrought with anxiety, spent Monday searching likely locations for her cousin Jenny Carreño, 24, and for Jenny’s daughter, Kiara Villafuerte. At one point on Monday afternoon, Ms. Carreño was unsuccessfully trying to convince soldiers at a blockade to let her pass so that she could search for her relatives in the wreckage of a collapsed building. She held a photo of her cousin in her hand. “We have to look for them,” she insisted. “We have to identify them, but they aren’t letting us. ” The soldiers were unmoved. “We know that we aren’t going to find them alive,” she said of her relatives. “But we want to bury their bodies. ” Meanwhile, the Ecuadorean military began distributing food rations around the affected region of the country, including water and cooking oil. Fausto Ortega, 58, rode for more than an hour on his bicycle around Portoviejo and into the city’s suburbs looking for some bread for his family’s breakfast on Monday. “The situation is very anxious because we have to look for ways to survive during these next few days,” he said. “My wife is scared to enter the house and prefers to sleep in the street because the house can fall. ” “We are poor and need help, but nobody has come to bring us even a glass of water or a grain of rice,” he continued. “We’ve been told to go to the shelter but we’re not going to leave the little that we have unguarded. ” The Spanish Red Cross, which is helping its counterpart in Ecuador, estimated that between 3, 000 and 5, 000 people were left homeless by the earthquake and would need temporary shelter, the group said in a statement. The United Nations refugee agency announced Monday that it was preparing an airlift to help those displaced by the earthquake. The first supply plane was being loaded in Copenhagen, the agency’s global logistics hub, with 900 tents, 15, 000 sleeping mats, kitchen sets and, mindful of the Zika virus threat, 18, 000 mosquito nets. “The aim is to rapidly provide essential shelter and other aid material over the next days for some 40, 000 people — refugees, asylum seekers and locals alike — in communities,” the agency said in a statement, adding that it had already sent emergency supplies by truck from its Ecuadorean warehouses to the worst affected areas. Ecuador has the largest refugee population of any country in Latin America, the agency said, having welcomed over 200, 000 Colombian migrants and others, many of whom live where the earthquake hit hardest. For one group of people living in Manabí Province, however, the earthquake turned out to be a fortuitous event. Amid the tremors on Saturday, a wall at the El Rodeo state prison fell down, giving prisoners an escape route. According to local news reports, about 180 inmates fled through the hole and into the night, though by Monday about 30 had been recaptured. | 1 |
November 10, 2016
Snapchat, the final evolutionary stage before society gives up on sentences altogether and we start communicating in a series of emotive grunts, has seen a steep fall in share prices after proper adults figure out how to use the application successfully. Observers have described the phenomenon, ‘Abnormal’, ‘Chilling’ and ‘Like watching a dog doing the hoovering – not something that should be in a sane world.’
The photographic bants-platform first believed adult use of Snapchat was an anomaly caused by over-protective parents rooting through their teenager’s belongings in search for evidence of pre-marital sex and ‘The Reefer’. However, pattern analysis of messages suggests the missives were sent intentionally as part of a deliberate campaign to be seen as, ‘Not hurtling inexorably towards the grave’. Company bosses are reported to be, ‘Gutted’.
‘It’s a death knell’ said CEO Michaela Hodgkinson. ‘This will just about wipe out our user base. And we tried so hard. We made it so counter-intuitive to people who didn’t grow up with access to enough pixilated tits and ass to wrap multiple times round the Milky Way like an erotic flesh sausage. God, I wish it were the good old days, when adults treated innovation with the sort of suspicion usually reserved for men called ‘Mohammed’ walking into a small town Texan airport.’
‘It is a well-known fact that adolescents instinctively recoil from in shame, disgust and loathing to anything enjoyed by the over 30’s,’ explained youth-guru Samuel Cook. ‘Look at Michael Bolton. Once upon a time, the mere Herbal-Essence-esque swoosh of his flowing easy-listening locks could obliterate juvenile knickers like the oncoming of a Biblical flood; now, I’ve seen a teenager to projectile vomit the words, ‘Cock-nugget’ just by hearing the opening bars to ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’.
Experts suggest that teenagers’ influence over what is cool acts as compensation for a future without the possibility of jobs, savings, or affordable housing, at least until their parents pop their clogs and they can wrench a decent standard of living out of their elder’s hoary baby-boomer claws. Teenagers are expected to flee the social media site like rats aboard a sinking over-60s cruise ship and seek pastures even more disorientating and obtuse. Prospective new digital street-corners-outside-the-offie include, ‘Bluster’, ‘Waffle’ and a messaging service where users communicate entirely using quotes from the 1988 film Beetlejuice. S-Bahn | 0 |
immigration campaigner Tommy Robinson was verbally and physically abused by demonstrators on a march on Saturday, after approaching them and attempting to engage in conversation. Police detained him and ordered him off the streets, saying this was “easier” than “taking on” the aggressive protestors.[ activist Tommy Robinson was joined by Rebel Media reporter Caolan Robertson, approaching demonstrators to ask their views on issues such as female genital mutilation and sexual grooming. Within five minutes of arriving at the protest, according to Robertson, the pair were surrounded by people shouting “Nazi, white supremacist!” resulting in attending police officers detaining Robinson. Footage shows Robinson approaching a man screaming “Nazi scum!” and asking for him to explain why he is a Nazi. A policewoman quickly removes Robinson from the scene, asking him to “respect that these people don’t want to talk to you”. A subsequent attempt by Robinson to engage a student protestor about her views on Islam is terminated by an aggressive older male, who pushes him away shouting: “We don’t want a Nazi on this demo. Get off!” Robinson tries to mollify the man by explaining that he is just trying to have a “polite conversation” but the male begins screaming about losing family in the Holocaust and whips up unruly chants of “Nazi scum, off our streets!” It is at this point that Robinson is dragged away by the police, who attempt to separate him from Robertson and his camera. When Robinson asks why he is the one being manhandled when it is the demonstrators who are being aggressive, a female officer explains bluntly that “it’s easier to remove you” than to “take on” the angry crowd. She also claims Robinson is the one causing the violence “by his sheer presence”. Footage shot at another point on the march shows Robinson attempting to ask demonstrators their view on the oppression of women under Shariah, and being told “You’re a racist” repeatedly. “Is that all you’ve got?” Robinson finally asks. “Yes it is!” the demonstrator replies. Elsewhere, a protestor tells Robinson she is on the march because it feels as though years of leislation has been for nothing. “What if I told you that, statistically, white people are the biggest victims of racism in the UK?” Robinson asks. “White people can’t be victims of racism,” she scoffs. In fact, the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) found that most victims of racism in England and Wales were white as long ago as 1999, in a report titled “Racial Attacks and Harassment”. Scottish statistics published in 2015 show that “White Britons” are also the most common victims of race hate crimes north of the border. Scotland’s first ever murder victim was a white schoolboy named Kriss Donald, who was kidnapped, stabbed 13 times, and burned alive by a Pakistani gang in an unprovoked attack in 2004. Finally, a figure Robinson identified as Unite Against Fascism leader Raymond Bennett begins abusing Robinson and has the police remove him a second time. “They don’t want to debate their issues because they’re so blinkered, so fascist,” Robinson tells Robertson. “These people’s views have never been challenged … they’ve been indoctrinated. ” | 0 |
Fox News’s parent company spent $20 million on Tuesday to settle a lawsuit brought by a former anchor, Gretchen Carlson, whose allegations of sexual harassment toppled the network’s powerful chairman, Roger Ailes, and engulfed the company in crisis. But if the settlement was meant to signal the close of a damaging chapter for the network, it fell short. Fox’s newsroom was hit minutes later by a new shock wave: Greta Van Susteren, one of the channel’s and hosts, was leaving, effective immediately. Network officials insisted that the timing was coincidental. But the settlement, combined with Ms. Van Susteren’s abrupt departure, underscored the continuing tumult inside Fox News, whose newsroom, once proudly defiant, has been besieged this summer by new allegations of harassment and persistent rumors about turnover in the and executive ranks. These days, it seems, the end of one Fox drama is only the start of another. Stars like Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly have contracts that expire next year, and Ms. Van Susteren’s exit on Tuesday was taken as an unsettling sign of change. It is unclear whether Fox News, without Mr. Ailes at the helm, can maintain its political clout in a disruptive election season. The uproar is somewhat puzzling for Rupert Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, who control Fox News’s owner, 21st Century Fox. They say they have taken extraordinary steps to address problems at the network, which is still the cable news network in the country, beginning with their swift removal of Mr. Ailes. Specialists in employment law described the $20 million payout to Ms. Carlson — a figure confirmed by a person briefed on the agreement — as among the settlements for a sexual harassment suit. (Mr. Ailes, who received $40 million from Fox as part of his exit agreement, is not paying any portion of the settlement.) Fox has also settled with at least two other women who came forward with complaints about Mr. Ailes, the person said. And the company issued a rare public apology to Ms. Carlson, “for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve. ” But tensions remain among the network . Mr. Murdoch, who now presides over Fox News as executive chairman, kept in place several of Mr. Ailes’s most loyal deputies and recently promoted them to leadership roles, troubling employees who had hoped for a clean slate. The reasons behind Ms. Van Susteren’s departure remained murky, but people on both sides of the negotiations pointed to an icy meeting in July between Ms. Van Susteren and Rupert Murdoch as a turning point in her tenure. Days after Mr. Ailes’s exit, Ms. Van Susteren met with Mr. Murdoch in his office inside Fox’s Manhattan headquarters. The anchor, accompanied by her husband and agent, John P. Coale, requested more favorable terms to her contract — which was not immediately up for renewal — and cited an exit clause that allowed her to leave the network in the event that Mr. Ailes was no longer chairman. Mr. Murdoch was not impressed, both sides say. “It was tense,” Mr. Coale recalled in a telephone interview on Tuesday. Late last week, Ms. Van Susteren informed Fox that she planned to invoke her exit clause. But she woke up on Tuesday fully expecting to tape her show, “On the Record,” that evening. Instead, Mr. Coale said, “someone came to our house and delivered two letters” from the network. The message: “She’s out. ” It was so abrupt that a poster of Ms. Van Susteren, who routinely beat the cable competition in her 7 p. m. time slot, was still displayed outside Fox’s Manhattan building when the announcement went out. (The poster was removed later on Tuesday.) Inside the channel’s Washington bureau, newspapers sat untouched outside Ms. Van Susteren’s office. Ms. Van Susteren had initially defended Mr. Ailes, calling Ms. Carlson “disgruntled” and saying that the timing of her lawsuit “is very suspicious. ” But on Tuesday, in a farewell post on Facebook, Ms. Van Susteren wrote: “Fox has not felt like home to me for a few years. ” Mr. Coale, in the interview, echoed that sentiment. “There’s so much chaos” at Fox, he said. “It’s very hard to work there. ” Asked why his wife had exercised the exit clause, Mr. Coale said, “There’s more than meets the eye,” adding that there “might be litigation in the future. ” But he provided no further details. Ms. Van Susteren, on Facebook, wrote that she had to leave the network now because of a time limit on her exit clause. Brit Hume, a veteran Fox political anchor, took over hosting duties for Ms. Van Susteren’s show on Tuesday and is expected to continue through the election. “I count Greta a friend and I’m sorry to see her go,” Mr. Hume said at the conclusion of Tuesday’s broadcast. Although she has been a Fox fixture since 2002, Ms. Van Susteren does not command the same star power as Ms. Kelly or Mr. O’Reilly. Fox News executives on Tuesday dismissed the notion that her departure signaled tough times ahead, noting that the channel has scored record ratings this year. “Fox News has never been stronger,” the network’s Jack Abernethy and Bill Shine, said in a statement. Ms. Van Susteren’s exit was viewed by Fox officials as a less consequential development than the company’s settlement with Ms. Carlson, whose suit initially faced a legal challenge from Mr. Ailes. The evidence that Ms. Carlson had against Mr. Ailes was damning, according to another person with knowledge of the settlement: For a year and a half, she had recorded her meetings with Mr. Ailes on her mobile phone. (In an interview with The New York Times in July, Ms. Carlson said she recalled “between six and 10” conversations with Mr. Ailes when the chairman made provocative comments.) Most of the remarks that she attributed to Mr. Ailes in her lawsuit — including lines like, “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago, and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better” — were taken straight from those recordings, the person said. Officials at 21st Century Fox became aware of the recordings about three weeks after Ms. Carlson filed her lawsuit, the person said, after Ms. Carlson’s lawyers spoke to investigators from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton Garrison, the law firm hired to look into the accusations against Mr. Ailes. (About 20 women at Fox have come forward during the firm’s inquiry to describe inappropriate behavior by Mr. Ailes.) Settlement talks started shortly thereafter, and a deal was reached in the person said. Ms. Carlson sued Mr. Ailes alone, but 21st Century Fox, which acts as Mr. Ailes’s corporate indemnifier, will pay the settlement. As part of the arrangement, which was first reported on Tuesday by Vanity Fair, Ms. Carlson signed a confidentiality agreement. In a sign that Ms. Carlson is not going to shrink from the spotlight, she recently hired the power publicist Cindi Berger of PMK BNC to represent her. She issued a statement on Tuesday saying she was “ready to move on to the next chapter of my life, in which I will redouble my efforts to empower women in the workplace. ” | 1 |
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