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Donald J. Trump’s campaign has hired Bill Stepien, a former top aide to Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, whose role in the Bridgegate scandal led to his firing and denied him the central role he was expected to play in the governor’s presidential run. Mr. Stepien is expected to step in to help guide the campaign’s political operations, according to two people close to Mr. Stepien and three people close to the Trump campaign who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Mr. Stepien was hired on Thursday, and one person who confirmed the hire said his title was expected to be national field director. A campaign spokesman did not respond to an email seeking comment. But the people who confirmed the hire said that Mr. Trump’s Jared Kushner, who is heavily involved in spending and strategy decisions in the campaign, discussed it in staff briefings and pushed for it to occur. Mr. Christie is the chief of Mr. Trump’s transition committee, but he is no longer close to Mr. Stepien and was said to have been uninvolved in the discussions to hire him. Mr. Stepien is expected to help beef up a political operation that has been a work in progress for several weeks. He had initially been contacted by the Trump campaign earlier this year as Mr. Christie’s campaign for president was sputtering. When the issue was revisited after Mr. Christie dropped out of the race, both the governor and Mr. Trump’s manager, Corey Lewandowski, opposed hiring him, according to people briefed at the time. Roger Stone, an informal adviser to Mr. Trump over many years, described the move as a positive one. ‘He’s a real professional and has the kind of contacts and experience the campaign could really use,” Mr. Stone said. For Mr. Stepien, 38, it is a chance to resurrect what was once a promising career as a national political operative. He successfully ran both of Mr. Christie’s campaigns for governor. Mr. Christie had hired him as a consultant to the Republican Governor’s Association during his year as chairman of that group. In January 2014, Mr. Christie picked him to lead the New Jersey Republican party, calling Mr. Stepien “the best Republican operative in the country. ” It was widely expected that he would run Mr. Christie’s presidential campaign. Days after the appointment, Mr. Christie cut Mr. Stepien loose, when documents from a legislative subpoena revealed that a deputy chief of staff to the governor, Bridget Anne Kelly, had sent an email calling for “some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” the town gridlocked by the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge between the borough and Manhattan in September 2013. Prosecutors, who indicted Ms. Kelly and two other Christie allies in the lane closings, have said the were retaliation against the Fort Lee mayor, Mark Sokolich, a Democrat, for declining to endorse Mr. Christie for in 2013. The governor gave little reason for why he dropped Mr. Stepien other than to say he had “lost confidence in Bill’s judgment” after other emails showed Mr. Stepien referring to the mayor of Fort Lee as “an idiot” — the kind of language Mr. Christie has been known to employ publicly. Mr. Stepien was not among the three people charged by federal prosecutors in the lane closings. But earlier this month, a lawyer for one of other defendants released texts from a conversation between two Christie staffers during the news conference in which the governor denied knowing about the lane closings. “He just flat out lied about senior staff and Stepien not being involved,” one staffer wrote to the other. Mr. Stepien’s lawyer has insisted that his client was not involved in the scandal, and that the text does nothing to prove his involvement. Mr. Stepien had earlier refused to turn over documents or otherwise cooperate with a legislative committee investigating the lane closing scandals, asserting his Fifth Amendment rights against . Mr. Stepien’s career had all but hit a wall after Mr. Christie let him go. He did some work for a Republican direct mail firm and for New Jersey legislative campaigns and had discussions about working on the presidential campaign of Senator Marco Rubio of Florida as well as on Mr. Trump’s campaign in New Hampshire — all before Mr. Christie dropped out of the race. In April, the governor’s lieutenant, Kim Guadagno, named Mr. Stepien as executive director of a nonprofit set up to support her expected campaign for governor, a move Mr. Christie had opposed. The Trump campaign recently underwent a major with the ascension of both the veteran pollster Kellyanne Conway, an adviser whom Mr. Trump has known for many years and one he trusts, and of Stephen K. Bannon, the financial force behind the Breitbart News website. Since then, there has been an effort to hire another political hand, with David Bossie, the head of the conservative group, Citizens United, briefly discussed as possibility, but national Republicans expressed reservations over his lack of experience directing campaign political operations. | 1 |
TEHRAN — The scene unspooled as if in a disaster film: As firefighters fought to control a blaze in one of Tehran’s most prominent buildings, the structure suddenly collapsed on Thursday in a smoldering heap of wreckage — all while millions watched on Iranian state television. The channel PressTV said that at least 20 firefighters were confirmed dead and that dozens of people could be trapped beneath the rubble. But other local news agencies said that as many as 50 firefighters and shopkeepers could have been inside the building when it collapsed. “It was total chaos, there was dust, there were people everywhere. No one knew what to do,” said Nasim Khakpour, a Tehran resident who had gone to buy a guitar for her brother in the area. Firefighters had battled the blaze for several hours as police officers tried to shoo away shopkeepers trying to return to collect their valuables, PressTV reported. Then came the collapse. As the building fell, a television journalist reporting in front of the building suddenly raised his voice. Onlookers could be heard gasping and shrieking. Several firefighters burst into tears. “They had been trying to put out the fire for hours when suddenly the building just collapsed,” said Ibrahim Najafi, a cosmetics seller, who could see the building crashing down from his shop window. He said there were 590 stores, offices and warehouses in the building. “My friends are in there. What a horrible day. ” People at the scene were visibly upset and the police were required to control angry crowds who yelled at security forces, who they said had arrived too late. “My friend is calling me from under the rubble, help him,” one man was heard shouting. In the chaotic aftermath of the collapse, ambulances had to fight their way through onlookers drawn to the scene, some taking selfies in front of the rubble. Army conscripts were deployed to clear paths for the emergency vehicles. The the Plasco Building in the center of Tehran, housed a shopping center and garment manufacturers, and it was as familiar to most residents as the Empire State Building is in New York. Built in 1962 by Habib Elghanian, an businessman, and named for his company, it was Tehran’s first modern and long stood as a symbol of the drive for modernization during the reign of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. After the 1979 revolution, Mr. Elghanian was accused of spying for Israel and was executed. Firefighters said the blaze appeared to have started in the morning on the 11th floor before spreading to a floor below, trapping some of their colleagues inside. Firefighters on the ground stared upward as the fire advanced, apparently horrified by the predicament faced by those in the building. Two of them comforted a colleague, his face ashen, as he knelt, pointing at the building. The choreography of the structure’s collapse played out with cinematic inevitability. First, one side of the building crashed, just missing a firefighter standing on a ladder, The Associated Press reported. Then the rest came down. So dense were the plumes of smoke that Jalal Maleki, a spokesman for Tehran’s fire brigade, told The A. P. that the cloud was “visible from the southern parts of Tehran,” miles away. Masoumeh Abad, a member of the Tehran City Council, said tenants of the building had been warned “at least 20 times” that maintenance was needed, the semiofficial news agency Fars reported. But local news outlets suggested that the municipality had been lax in carrying out safety regulations. The Plasco Building had been fully stocked with garments for the Iranian New Year on March 21, for which Iranians traditionally shop for new clothes, and there were reports that the clothing had choked the hallways, impeding the work of firefighters. | 1 |
WASHINGTON — Realizing that his presidency could face potentially crippling questions over conflicts of interest, Donald J. Trump and his family are rushing to resolve potential controversies — like shuttering foundations and terminating development deals — even as the publicly maintains that no legal conflicts exist. In recent days, the and his aides have said that he intends to distribute the assets of his personal charity and then close it down, has examined a plan to hire an outside monitor to oversee the Trump Organization and has terminated some international business projects. “This is a process that my father and my family are taking incredibly seriously,” said Eric Trump, who will help oversee the Trump Organization, and who announced last week that he was terminating for his own charity, the Eric Trump Foundation. Even with these steps, Mr. Trump will enter the White House with a maze of financial holdings unlike those of any other president in American history. Many ethics experts still say the only way Mr. Trump can eliminate his most serious conflicts is to liquidate his company, and then put the money into a blind trust — a move Mr. Trump has so far rejected as impractical and unreasonable. The potential roles that his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, may play in the administration are particularly vexatious. Both have business operations that could benefit from their government roles — even if they are not involved in the businesses on a basis. Ms. Trump’s business is so tied to her name that any position she might take in the White House or informal role she might play as an adviser to her father could benefit her company, which she will still own. And because Mr. Trump refuses to release his tax returns, the extent of his potential conflicts remains unknown. “Yes, it would be hard to sell the business — there would be some personal discomfort,” said Robert Weissman, the president of Public Citizen, a liberal nonprofit group that has mocked Mr. Trump’s efforts to “drain the swamp” of Washington special interests. “But he ran for president of the United States and won, so those considerations can’t be weighted very heavily. ” The hurried effort to clean up some of the family’s potential conflicts stands in contrast to the public statements by Mr. Trump since his election that as president he would not be subject to conflict of interest laws and could eliminate most questions by turning his business operations over entirely to his children. But in recent weeks, as public scrutiny of Mr. Trump’s global business operations has intensified, Mr. Trump, his family, their executives in New York and a team of outside lawyers have been working to eliminate many of these potential flash points — a task so complicated that Mr. Trump has delayed announcing the details. The list of actions contemplated — with some already executed — is long, but the planned dissolution of the Donald J. Trump Foundation might be the most resonant, given the enormous controversies surrounding the nonprofit, which is under investigation by the New York attorney general. The Trumps must work out the terms of the foundation’s closing. A spokeswoman for the New York attorney general’s office said Saturday that any move to close the foundation required state approval, given the investigation into how it spends its money and courts donations, and the state’s order that it stop . “The Trump Foundation is still under investigation by this office and cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete,” Amy Spitalnick, the press secretary, said. Mr. Trump gave little thought to what to do with his business in the event of a victory on Election Day. But embarrassing reversals by his children highlighted concerns that access to the incoming administration could be for sale, and pressed the family to respond. A charity auction for coffee with Ivanka Trump, his daughter, was canceled, and Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. the ’s sons, pulled out of another charity event that asked donors to give as much as $1 million in return for access to their father and a hunting expedition with his sons. In interviews late last week, executives at the Trump Organization, advisers on the Trump transition team and members of Mr. Trump’s family said they were determined to move aggressively in the remaining days before the inauguration to clear as many of these potential conflicts as possible. “I certainly can’t deny there is a greater desire to sort of clear the decks as much as possible to avoid distractions,” said Alan Garten, the general counsel at the Trump Organization, in an interview, pointing to the recent $25 million settlement of fraud claims against Mr. Trump’s educational program, Trump University. Among other measures: ■ Both the Trump Organization and the Ivanka Trump brand — a line of jewelry, clothing, handbags and other items — are exploring options for an outside monitor to help oversee operations, block inappropriate contacts between the companies and the federal government, and provide independent voices for management decisions, executives involved in the efforts said. One option is a trustee who would run the business alongside Eric and his brother, Donald Jr. The Trump Organization has discussed turning to legal experts such as former Attorney General Michael Mukasey as potential trustees. ■ The Trump Organization, in some cases citing deficiencies in the work performed by some of its foreign partners or other clauses in contracts with them, is terminating pending or nearly completed hotels and apartment buildings in Brazil, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Argentina, while also forgoing other ventures in places such as India. ■ Ivanka Trump is looking at donating proceeds from a book, “Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success,” to charity. ■ A labor dispute with hundreds of workers at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas — which generated calls for a national boycott of Trump properties and protest rallies — was suddenly settled on Wednesday, with the hotel agreeing to provide pensions, health insurance, annual wage increases and other benefits that it previously refused to offer. Another agreement with employees at the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington will allow them to organize a union. ■ The Trump Organization has shelved a planned sea wall at its oceanfront golf course in Ireland after the proposal provoked angry protests from environmentalists both in Ireland and in the United States. ■ Eric Trump said he no longer intended to participate in any meetings — business or — organized by his father, as the prepared to move to the White House, and would not interact with him or anyone in his administration on government matters once he was in office. “I’ll have no role in government,” he said, describing a division of “church and state” but saying he will still talk to his father about other things. The turnaround on the labor union dispute demonstrates just how sudden the shift has been. In November, four days before Election Day, the Trump hotel filed a lawsuit in the United States Court of Appeals challenging a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that ordered his hotel in Las Vegas to recognize a labor union that workers voted for in late 2015 and to negotiate a new contract. A month later, company officials invited labor negotiators to Trump Tower for a negotiation. On Wednesday, the union ratified a deal that gave the 500 workers generous health care coverage, pensions, a guaranteed workweek and other protections, and set up a grievance system if they objected to conditions. The lawsuit was also dropped, as were outstanding matters pending before the labor relations board, which will soon be under Mr. Trump’s control. “It is everything the workers have been fighting for for over for a year,” said Bethany Khan, a spokeswoman for the Culinary Workers Union. While the family may be removing some of the most obvious problems, critics say Mr. Trump will still know what properties his family owns and which policy decisions will benefit them, no matter how careful he is. The portfolio of assets might influence his interactions with leaders in nations such as Turkey and the Philippines, where Mr. Trump has prominent marketing deals. In places where he has allowed the use of his family name and even his image, Mr. Trump will soon be confronting foreign policy decisions, such as how to confront human rights violations or fight terrorism. The family, at least so far, has not announced how it will resolve other issues, such as the lease at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, which was issued by the federal government’s General Services Administration, an agency Mr. Trump will soon oversee. hotels and golf courses across the globe could benefit from business sent to them by foreign governments or other corporate players seeking to try to influence Mr. Trump. Loans that help finance his companies and permits issued by local government or foreign entities — even on projects that are already built — could be perceived as special favors. Payments by foreign governments to his hotels — for diplomatic soirees or overnight stays — might violate the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which prohibits gifts to federal employees from foreign government entities. Representative Elijah E. Cummings, Democrat of Maryland, the ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who has called for an investigation into Mr. Trump’s potential conflicts, said he was glad to see that the Trump family appeared to have acknowledged that the conflicts issues were real. But he said much more must be done. “He is headed in the right direction, but he has to reach the right destination, which is to divest of everything like Democratic and Republican ethics experts have said he must do,” Mr. Cummings said. “The presidency is probably the most difficult job in the world. Why would you want almost every decision you make to be questioned? You have more than 111 companies operating in 18 countries. That is a minefield, and sadly it will take away from his credibility. ” | 1 |
Home / #Solutions / Two Days of Pot Raids Turns into Dog Killing Spree — Innocent Woman Shot at, Toddler Terrorized Two Days of Pot Raids Turns into Dog Killing Spree — Innocent Woman Shot at, Toddler Terrorized Matt Agorist August 4, 2016 28 Comments
Buffalo, NY — In their relentless and often violent pursuit to control what citizens can and cannot put in their bodies, the state leaves behind a trail of blood and suffering. As the Buffalo Police Department illustrated last week, this trail often contains the blood of defenseless animals.
Police incompetence coupled with deadly training came to a head last week and wreaked havoc on the residents of Buffalo. The Narcotics Division of the Buffalo Police Department executed a series of drug raids last week leading to a handful of arrests and the seizure of small quantities of drugs — mostly cannabis.
After the department released their heroic numbers to the press on how much dangerous cannabis was taken off the streets, they remained conveniently silent about the dogs they slaughtered along the way.
On Friday morning, Buffalo cops, in their search for a 170 lb 5’11” black male, raided the home of Michael Urban — a 5’11” 210 lb white male.
While police were ramming the innocent man’s face into his kitchen floor, Urban pleaded with them not to kill his dog. But it was to no avail.
Police took aim at the helpless dog who, according to Urban was simply standing there in a non-threatening manner. ‘Boom,’ one officer fired, but the bullet only injured Urban’s 18-month-old pit bull named Gotham, sending him running away frightened and crying.
As the dog is wailing in agony, another officer fires a round directly into the dog’s skull, exploding the innocent animal’s head. But, it gets worse.
Urban lives on the second floor of an apartment. When the second officer shot, that bullet went through the floor and almost killed the tenant downstairs.
“What just happened?” Urban recalls. “As the bullet hole went through the floor through the ceiling, as the dog’s blood is dripping through the downstairs apartment… who’s accountable?”
As Gotham’s blood drips from the bullet hole in Urban’s floor and out of the hole of Jami Krafchak’s ceiling in the apartment below, cops decided to go after her too.
After they nearly killed her, cops raided Krafchak’s home. She was manhandled, searched with no warrant, and humiliated as she stood there in her nightgown.
Neither Urban nor Krafchak were charged with a crime.
The night before the heroic cops of the Buffalo Narcotics Division killed an innocent man’s beloved pet, they raided the home of Cory and Cindy Meer.
According to Meer’s lawyer, Matthew Albert , Meer and his two-year-old son watched helplessly as jackboots murdered their beloved family dog, Damian, a six-year-old Pit Bull.
Meer tells Artvoice that his dog was not a threat to officers. “He is the most family friendly dog I’ve ever had… he’s never hurt anyone,” said Meer. “He would have licked the cops.”
Just like Urban, Meer lied face down as he begged the cops not to shoot Damian. Again, this was to no avail.
As Meer’s 2-year-old watched in horror, a cop blasted the family dog to death.
“My son lost his best friend right in front of him,” Meer said.
Also like Urban, Meer was not arrested. However, a friend at his house allegedly had a small amount of marijuana on him, so the raid was justified, according to police.
According to Meer’s attorney, he has 12 active cases of dogs being killed by the same squad.
“They are going to say they are going after dangerous drug dealers,” Albert said. “Out of the cases I have, they’ve hit the wrong houses numerous times , found nothing numerous times, and I think at best, they’ve found a few pills at one of these houses… charges I got dismissed because they were filed wrong.”
In 2014, the Free Thought Project reported on a Freedom of Information Act request for use of force incidents within the Buffalo police department. The information was shocking.
According to use of force reports, Buffalo Police shot 92 dogs from Jan. 1, 2011 through Sept. 2014. Seventy-three of those dogs died. Nineteen survived.
To provide a comparison, Buffalo’s numbers more than triple the amount of dog shooting incidents involving police in Cincinnati, a municipality of similar size.
“The numbers are what the numbers are,” Buffalo Police Chief of Detectives Dennis Richards said in an interview with WGRZ in 2014. “Certainly, no officer takes any satisfaction in having to dispatch a dog.”
Apparently, however, they do. It is not like Buffalo residents have more dogs than other parts of the country. This department seemingly takes satisfaction in killing people’s dogs.
When asked if the Buffalo police have undergone any special training in regards to dealing with dogs, or the handling of dogs in a non-lethal manner, Chief Richards said, “It has not come to that point in Buffalo that we’ve implemented any of those other techniques.”
Apparently killing a dog every other week, or two in a 12-hour period, is just dandy and they see no problem with it or reason to seek out training to deal with such a high rate of puppycide.
Something has to be done, however, and it is far more than just training. The most effective action that would need to be taken would be to drastically reduce the instance of no-knock search warrants. According to an ACLU report, 62 percent of SWAT raids are searches for drugs.
If we want to end puppycide, we have to end the drug war , the two are not mutually exclusive. Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Follow @MattAgorist Share Google + CousinScootie
Adam Arroyo still waiting for justice from a 2013 killing of his dog on a wrong address raid. WTF are the judges in Buffalo doing handing out no-knock search warrants for refer with the track record of Buffalo narcotics?
“no-knock search warrants”<< this is the real crime!
The words "search warrant" can't even apply in these cases. It's more like an Execution Warrant.
The only acceptable cause to conduct a raid, especially on a civilian residence, is if there is a Hostage Situation.
No Hostage, No Raid! common sense!
So a bunch of Steroid Junkies have to miss out on playing War Games with civilian lives? Well, too bad! We can call that an acceptable loss. Mike
I hope and pray that everyone of these thug cops that shot dogs, get shot themselves and left to bleed out in the gutter like the trash they truly are!!!! Gordon Klock
They clearly get some non-admitted, sense of satisfaction, by killing people’s pets in front of them, & we all are coming to know that there is absolutely no reasoning with these sadistic clowns, “the war on drugs” has always been a scam to generate prison labor, & terrorize the populace, whilst maintaining the naive illusion that it is all somehow morally responsible behavior to harm & incarcerate people over such an exaggerated “threat” (more likely to oneself, if at all), & they really seem to enjoy scaring the helpless, as they commit these acts of brutality that would’ve been illegal for them to do three or four decades ago…… katz ro
tried to twitter you a link this is all on video. personally I feel felony charges should be lodged against any lea that comes to someones home and shoots their dog for no reason | 0 |
HOLTVILLE, Ala. — In an airy, house here on Jordan Lake about 25 miles north of Montgomery and around the corner from cotton farms, there is a television on the living room wall. The TV belongs to Myra and Raymond Turner, the parents of Kevin Turner, a former Alabama fullback who played eight seasons in the N. F. L. This Sunday, that TV will be tuned to the N. F. L. playoffs, to the game that killed their son. “I know a lot of people are going to say, ‘How do you watch football knowing football had taken your son’s own life? ’” Raymond Turner said. “But it’s hard to explain, really. It’s just all so hard to explain. ” I traveled to Alabama to hear an explanation and try to understand it — and maybe even understand why they allow their two teenage grandsons to play football after Kevin, the boys’ father, suffered for six long years with a brain disease that research has linked to head trauma in football. He died last March at 46. There was no clear answer to my question, only compartmentalized memories. In the house on the lake, which Kevin helped his parents buy, reminders of him appear at every turn. On the desk in his old bedroom is one of his Alabama playbooks in the rec room are seven of his jerseys, framed in the living room, there is his Philadelphia Eagles helmet and, of course, the giant TV, which used to be his. Kevin, who played for the New England Patriots as well as the Eagles, died after being treated for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as A. L. S. and Lou Gehrig’s disease. Kevin donated his brain to researchers in Boston who have examined the brains of more than 200 former football players after they died. The researchers said Kevin Turner’s brain was “riddled” with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C. T. E. which has been tied to repeated blows to the head. When watching Sunday’s playoff games, you probably won’t think about Turner. But you should. In a life that was shortened by football, he made a wide and lasting impact on the sport. After the diagnosis in 2010, Turner became one of the main plaintiffs in a lawsuit former players brought against the N. F. L. claiming that the league hid the cognitive dangers of the game. The league agreed to a settlement for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars, and the first payouts from that litigation are expected in the coming months. Turner didn’t live to see a penny of that settlement money. The cash could have helped him when his body deteriorated and his family had to care for him. The Turners remember their son, who once weighed 235 pounds, dwindling to 100. At first, he lost strength in his left hand. And his left arm. Then his right arm and hand. Then his neck. His mother had to learn how to thicken water so he wouldn’t choke while drinking it, and how to clean his breathing and feeding tubes. By the end, Kevin couldn’t eat, drink, swallow or talk, as he fought for each breath. “It’s all been really hard,” Myra said, as she started to cry. “It’s worse than you can imagine, having to be a nurse to your son and then losing your only son. ” With the family’s cooperation, HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” has chronicled the six years of Kevin’s decline for a segment that will be televised on Tuesday. His parents think it is important to tell their story, to raise awareness about C. T. E. They take no offense at questions about why they haven’t turned their backs on football. They still watch. They just watch differently. They pay a lot more attention to college games than to the N. F. L. and they are always interested in seeing how officials treat a player who might have a concussion. They have tuned into the N. F. L. playoffs, and they plan to watch the Super Bowl. Neither is ignoring the risk of C. T. E. but Raymond said, “It’s probably too late for those guys in the N. F. L. ” As Myra Turner watched the Dallas Cowboys play the Packers last weekend, she saw a TV camera stop on the former Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, who was celebrating and grabbing his seatmate, Tony Dorsett, another Cowboys alumnus. Dorsett, who has said he has memory loss and other signs of C. T. E. didn’t look right. “He didn’t even crack a smile,” Myra said. “He was just sitting there and I thought, ‘Wow, how can he sit there with no emotion at all?’ Then I realized, oh, yeah, I do know why. ’” The Turners grew up in this state, where football is king, a rite passed from fathers to sons. Raymond played, then coached Kevin. “I’m a guy, so I love football — the hitting, the running, the scoring, the girls,” Raymond said, before Myra cut him off. “And I was a cheerleader!” she said. “I was the only girl you’re talking about, right?” By their smiles and giggles, you could tell football once brought them unquestionable joy, long before anyone had heard of C. T. E. — or even took concussions seriously. Today, their granddaughter, Natalie, 16, is a cheerleader dating a football player, just as her grandmother did. Myra won’t watch her grandsons play. Raymond watches every game. Nolan was a redshirt freshman at Clemson last season. Cole plays in middle school. “Their dad told them to think long and hard before playing football because of what it could possibly do to their brains,” Raymond said. “But the boys wanted to play. The game is much safer. What can you do? We make sure they are extra careful. ” He said: “If the boys said they didn’t want to play football anymore, I’d be pretty happy about that. But Nolan is 19 and can make his own decisions now. I can’t convince him of anything. ” As the couple talked about their bittersweet relationship with football, Raymond twisted a napkin so many times and so tightly that it became a hard, tiny paper sculpture. Myra’s eyes filled with tears. “I can’t believe my son is gone,” she said. Kevin was buried last Easter in Prattville, Ala. about four miles from his high school football field, which is now named after him. On Thursday, his grave was marked with a small white metal cross and a vase of white artificial flowers, which had fallen onto its side. The squares of sod atop his plot had yet to grow together. His bronze grave marker — which will be finished any day now — will have his name, Paul Kevin Turner, and two etchings of him in a football uniform — one from his days at Alabama, the other from when he was with the Eagles. Between his dates of birth and death, there will be a raised image of a golden football. “I didn’t think twice about putting football on there,” Myra said. “Because that was his life, our life. ” | 1 |
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Well folks, it looks like the chickens have finally come home to roost. Karma is a b*tch, ain’t it Hillary?
Hillary Clinton thought if there was one person in the world that she could trust, it was her “friend” Huma Abedin.
Thanks to a new drop of emails from Wikileaks, it looks like even Huma has turned on Hillary. Her and John Podest apparently sent a ton of emails right before her campaign started about Hillary Clinton’s brain damage.
The most damning of all the emails from Huma read: “She (Hillary Clinton) is still not perfect in the head.” Email from Huma Abedin
The message was sent as a warning to Hillary Clinton’s campaign staffers to stick to the notes since Hillary still couldn’t think clearly.
Now, I am no doctor, but I’ say if even your closest friends are talking behind your back about you having head problems, that is probably a sign you are sick. Too sick, in fact, to run for president.
However, I can guarantee you that the second this email got released, Hillary gave the kill order to her media goons to bury this story so deep that it will never see the light of day.
If you want the world to see how Broken Hillary Clinton really is, then do us all a favor and share this out to everyone you know on Facebook. This is our ONLY way to get the truth out there! | 0 |
by DML DAILY / November 4, 2016 / IMMIGRATION /
Illegal aliens are flooding through the border at an unprecedented pace. According to Border Patrol agents the surge is taking place because human smugglers are issuing warning that it’s now or never to get into the U.S.
If Trump wins, the illegal aliens are told there will be a giant wall keeping them out of the U.S. permanently. If Clinton wins, they are led to believe amnesty will be granted. Both incentives are driving the illegal entries to a level not seen in years, and according to agents in Texas, the Border Patrol is overwhelmed with 1,000 apprehensions per night in just one sector.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, in fiscal 2016, the Border Patrol apprehended 117,200 immigrants from Central America, almost one-third of all apprehensions border-wide — and 5,000 more than during the so-called surge of 2014. The agency also apprehended 5,000 Haitians, up from just 700 last year. The number of immigrants claiming to be from Africa and Asia also is up.
“When you stop somebody, you ask their name and the first thing they tell you is – ‘I’m here for asylum, I can’t go home because they’ll kill me.’ … When it takes a good five or six minutes just to get their name out of them, they have a rehearsed story,” said Chris Cabrera, a representative from the Border Patrol Council told Fox News. “Once they get those papers saying they can pass through our checkpoint, we’ll never see them again.”
Typically, an illegal immigrant pays a $4,000 to $6,000 smuggling fee to the drug cartels. Once here, he said the Mexican government had given each a number based on their arrival.
Sign up to get breaking news alerts from Dennis Michael Lynch. Subscribe | 0 |
La famille Erdoğan et Daesh (suite) Réseau Voltaire | 3 novembre 2016 Un groupe de hackers turcs, RedHack, a piraté les e-mails du ministre de l’Énergie. Immédiatement, un tribunal turc a interdit la publication et la reproduction de ces e-mails.
Cependant, ces 20 gigabites de données ont été analysées par le professeur Ahmed Yayla, directeur adjoint de l’ICSVE (Centre international pour l’étude de l’extrémisme violent) et ancien responsable de l’antiterrorisme turc [ 1 ]. Elles confirment des rumeurs persistantes et donnent de nouveaux détails.
Le pétrole volé par Daesh en Syrie était transporté par 8 500 camions citernes appartenant à une société ayant obtenu, sans appel d’offre, le monopole du transport du pétrole sur le territoire turc, Powertans. Elle est détenue par la très mystérieuse Grand Fortune Ventures, basée à Singapour, puis transférée aux îles Caiman. Derrière ce montage se cache, Çalık Holding, la compagnie de Berat Albayrak (photo), le gendre du président Erdoğan et son ministre de l’Énergie.
“ Hacked Emails Link Turkish Minister to Illicit Oil ”, Ahmed Yayla, World Policy , October 17, 2016. | 0 |
I recently had the opportunity to speak with the director of the Human Centipede trilogy, Tom Six, about political correctness, censorship, fashion, and his upcoming film The Onania Club. [Charlie Nash: Do you think censorship and public outrage is becoming a prominent problem again in society? Have you faced any censorship issues while trying to maintain complete creative control over your movies? Tom Six: Absolutely! Society has grown to a disgustingly mediocre and politically correct way of thinking. Like, the movie world only makes movies now. In Hollywood it is all about a producer with a calculator who wants to please everyone and is only concerned about making money. They have a system where you can type in words like “Brad Pitt” and “Action” and the computer will calculate the . I think it is the worst way to make movies, that is not what and art is all about. I believe in movies that bite, burn, shock, hurt, and are unconventional. Where a filmmaker is still a warrior fighting the mediocrity. I want audience to smell the dirty laundry. In the UK, censors cut many minutes from The Human Centipede 2 by law. It feels like I made a comedy and they cut out all the good jokes. It’s appalling. Nobody is forced to see a movie. Give audiences their own choice to watch it or not. The upside is they make great free worldwide publicity for me and they are losing their grip, like standard distribution companies lose their power because of the internet. So I’m unstoppable and I keep making the horrific movies I wanna make. CN: Your new horror flick The Onania Club is coming out soon. Will your fans be even more horrified by your new movie than they were with the Human Centipede trilogy? Have you managed to achieve the impossible by outdoing your previous films? TS: The Onania Club is a totally different movie than my human pedes. I want to stay very original, like all pede parts were totally different. I don’t consider my movies typical horror films, but they are horrific and have pitch black humor (I came up with the Vanta black genre, meaning the blackest black possible). The Onania Club will go beyond everything evil you have ever seen on a psychological level. But I don’t shock just to shock. It’s just the way I think, and trust me it will divide audiences again from intense love or intense hate. It will certainly have a huge impact and stir things up, exactly the way it should be in these awful politically correct times. It will be a bit of polluted air in fresh environment. CN: What would you say to the people who want to censor or shut down movies that try to push the envelope and shock audiences? TS: I want to Human Centipede them. My dear people, it is a fucking movie. It is all fictional. Not real. It is all . It’s art. Don’t treat like children. Let people decide for themselves whether they want to see a movie or not. Nobody is forced to watch movies. Fuck them! CN: You have an impeccable fashion taste, and have become almost as for your vintage fits as your movies. What brands are your favorite? TS: I do not care for brands. I don’t want to pay them a lot of money for free I love to shop at vintage stores or have my suits made. I love bespoke suits and when I buy a vintage suit, I will have it adjusted by my Amsterdam tailor. For me style is everything! I am decaying in style. What the hell happened? In the 40’s and 50’s people dressed great, but nowadays people walk around dressed like homeless people. I wish there was a fashion police that would execute people who wear torn denim jeans when not working in the coal mines and baseball caps backwards when not playing baseball. Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook. Read some of Charlie Nash’s previous exclusive interviews below: | 1 |
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Donald Trump’s star took a beating Wednesday morning — literally.
The reality TV host’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star was destroyed by a vandal rendering the fixture completely unreadable, according to Deadline Hollywood .
The vandal was dressed in a city construction worker, taking his sledgehammer to the five-point brass star at approximately 5:45 am.
The man reportedly said he wanted to remove the souvenir so that it could be auctioned off, with the proceeds set to go toward helping the women who have come forward in recent weeks to accuse Trump of sexual assault.
The allegations all came out after a 2005 recording surfaced of Trump claiming that his “star” status allows him to grope and kiss women whenever he wants.
While this is the first time a star has been completely defaced, Trump’s has been vandalized at least twice since he announced his presidential run a year and a half ago. | 0 |
SPARKY CAMPANELLA never heard the thrumming of a biological clock. But his “sociological clock” — his sense that he was missing out on something important in life — boomed mightily. At the age of 54, he decided to do something about it. He became a father. He was single, but so what? “I decided I could either do it myself, or wait for the right partner to come along,” said Mr. Campanella, a Los Angeles fine arts photographer whose son, Rhys, is a little over 1 year old. Over the years he had dated women who had children of their own, but he realized that he didn’t want to be a stepdad. “Why go through this life,” he asked, “and not have the experience of having my own child?” It’s a question many childless people over 50 are asking themselves. Of course, dealing with night feedings and rambunctious are not for the faint of heart. But with their finances in order and their careers in place, with their life spans extended, some older people are concluding: Why not start — or continue — raising children in later life? Stories of parenthood often make headlines. This year, the philanthropist and investor Nicolas Berggruen had two children via surrogate. Margarita the chairwoman of the global trading house Louis Dreyfus Commodities, gave birth to twin girls at age 53. Janet Jackson made headlines when she announced her pregnancy two weeks before her 50th birthday. Luciano Pavarotti had a child after he was 65 Rupert Murdoch did so when he was over 70. Older men have long had children with younger wives, of course. And giving birth after age 50 is still extremely rare (only 743 American women ages 50 to 54 gave birth in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics Report.) Most important, despite a host of health and ethical issues raised by late parenthood, the whole idea is becoming more culturally accepted, particularly in certain highly affluent circles. “More women and men who are 50 or over are pushing the envelope and taking the leap into parenthood,” said Rachel Lehmann Haupt, the author of “In Her Own Sweet Time: Egg Freezing and the New Frontiers of Family” (Nothing but the Truth, 2016). “We’re living longer, and this new middle age is becoming a time when people start to think about what they want to do with the rest of their lives. For many who haven’t had kids, they decide to reinvent themselves as parents. ” The path to parenthood comes in many ways. Beyond adoption and surrogacy, some choose fertilization, either with donor eggs or eggs they have frozen in the past. None of this is cheap. Mr. Campanella, for example, paid about $120, 000, which included legal and medical fees, and costs for the surrogate mother. “People are so much healthier today,” said Dr. Philip Chenette, a reproductive endocrinologist at the Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco. “I see routinely mountain biking in Marin County, and if you keep a good diet and keep your weight down, you can do a lot of things with your body that you couldn’t do before. If your life expectancy is longer, why wouldn’t you want to fill that time with your kid?” Some fertility clinics have extended the age of the patients they will accept. The cutoff at Pacific Reproductive is 55 for women (The combined age for a couple is 110). There is none at the New York Fertility Institute, in Manhattan. “We’ve had patient’s first baby delivered to 57,” said Dr. Majid Fateh, the founder and medical director. Steve Klein, a family formation lawyer in San Diego, is also seeing older people coming through his doors. “As surrogacy has become more mainstream, people see it as a viable way to have a child, especially for people who are beyond the optimum reproductive ages,” he said. “They have money, they can provide a comfortable life, a private education. They can have nannies assist them, or one of them could be a parent, and they’re older and wiser and more mature. They can be a better parent than if they were younger. ” Sometimes no one is more surprised by the desire to have a child in later life than the . Merle Hoffman, the founder and chief executive of Choices Women’s Medical Center, in Queens, said she had never wanted children. “I saw myself leading troops into battle,” said Ms. Hoffman, now 70. “That didn’t allow for a maternal kind of orientation. ” She was so clear on her decision that she terminated a pregnancy at age 32. But when she was in her mid 50s, her husband of more than two decades died. The emptiness was palpable. “I had experienced many facets of love: sexual, devotional, parental from myself to my mother, the love of a cause. But I had never experienced what so many people experience as being the ultimate nonconditional love,” she said. “I wanted to experience what it was to love like that. ” At 58, Ms. Hoffman adopted a girl from Russia. Friends greeted her with everything from shock to rage. “Some were like, ‘What are you, nuts? You’re too old! ’” she recalled. “Some were supportive. Others were thinking, ‘Well, where’s my position in her life going to be now? Because this child will be the most important person. ’” While some people worry about the daily logistics of having a child later in life, others worry about the ethics of it. Annie Worshoufsky MacAulay, 55, a nurse in Hartford, is planning to adopt a baby with her partner, Cindy. The couple has a son, Nate. Ms. MacAulay has four adult children from a previous marriage. Although she feels strong and vibrant, she does have some reservations. “My mind tells me — oh, my God, am I going to be going to his graduation on a wheelchair? Will I be around? Will people think I’m his grandma? My mind and body have a constant struggle. ” Doctors and lawyers also grapple with the ethical considerations of having a child. In 2013, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine revised its ethics committee report on oocyte or embryo donation to women of “advanced” age. “In view of the lack of data about maternal and fetal safety,” they concluded, “providing donor oocytes or embryos for transfer to any woman over 55 years of age, even when she has no underlying medical problems, should be discouraged. ” The risk of complications increases dramatically after 55, including diabetes and high blood pressure. There are health risks from older fatherhood, too. Sperm from an older man, researchers say, puts children at an increased risk for autism, schizophrenia and dwarfism. While no one has yet advised men to freeze their sperm to save for a later date, “it’s not a terrible idea,” said Dr. Chenette. Apart from the ethical considerations, there are practical issues to take into account. “Some lawyers will say, ‘Morally, is that really in the best interest to the child to be doing this? ’” said Mr. Klein, who also runs a surrogacy center. “I say, ‘Do you have estate plans? Do you have people willing to step in as guardians? Do you have a support system in place for this child?’ A responsible lawyer will insist on this with their clients. ” (Mr. Campanella appointed friends to be his son’s guardian). For all the questions, advocates for older parents say they can provide something special for their children — and themselves. “My father was 50 years older than me,” said Dr. Fateh. “I was in my 20s when he died, but the few years I spent with him were the best in my life. He was loving, understanding — he was mature, he’d gone through life. ” In his observations, Dr. Fateh added, “older parents are really gentle with the kids and more understanding. ” “They’re in a state of life where financially they’re more comfortable,” he added. “They spend a lot of time with the kids. In your 30s, you’re working so hard you hardly see the kid. I don’t know a single old father who regrets it. ” | 1 |
President Donald Trump is not expected to endorse the Obamacare fix proposed by Speaker Paul Ryan (R. .) in his first address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening, sources told Breitbart News. [A senior White House aide confirmed to Breitbart News that the president’s speech will highlight his promise to repeal and replace the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) but Trump will not endorse the Ryan plan or a modified version — known now on Capitol Hill as or . Politico reported the White House Press Secretary told Republican officials that there will be no endorsement of an individual proposal: “He’s going to outline the broad contours,” Spicer said about health care, explaining the president would not embrace a specific plan. Instead, Trump will make a bipartisan pitch to encourage Democrats to work with Republicans on fixing Obamacare, building infrastructure and crafting an immigration reform bill. Central to the speaker’s proposal is a negative income tax, which gives tax credits for insurance premiums, whether or not the individual pays income taxes. Ryan‘s plan is strongly opposed by the House Freedom Caucus and Sen. Rand Paul (R. .) who seek more structural reforms to the health insurance industry. Members of the House Freedom Caucus and other Capitol Hill conservatives are livid with Ryan after he presented his own Obamacare fix as the official replacement for the PPACA. Many conservatives, such as Sen. Michael Lee (R. ) are pushing the idea that Obamacare should be repealed whether or not a replacement is in place. A senior Senate aide told Breitbart News not to expect the president to endorse any specific healthcare plan. Another White House source familiar with the drafting of the president’s speech told Breitbart News that Trump insists Congress must repeal Obamacare and replace it with a system that expands choice, increases access, and lowers costs. The president is also committed to protecting Americans with conditions who must have coverage and giving governors the flexibility and resources they need to ensure no one slips through the cracks, the source said. As these speeches go, there is often into the teleprompter as a president is delivering the address to Congress. Breitbart Political Editor Matthew Boyle contributed to this report. | 1 |
Armenian genocide concert in Istanbul cancelled after reports of Erdogan being invited Published time: 26 Oct, 2016 18:31 Edited time: 26 Oct, 2016 18:46 Get short URL Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. © Murad Sezer / Reuters A concert in Istanbul by the Dresden Orchestra to mark the 1915 genocide of Armenians by the Ottomans has been cancelled by Germany. That follows reports that the musicians sent out invitations to the Turkish President and his top aides.
The concert, run by the renowned Dresden Symphony Orchestra, was scheduled to take place on November 13 in the German consulate in Istanbul. Read more German parliament acknowledges Armenian genocide amid intense Turkish pressure
Called ‘Aghet’ or ‘catastrophe’ in Armenian, the performance was to commemorate the victims of the 1915 massacre that left around 1.5 million Armenians dead and hundreds of thousands forced to flee.
Turkish President Recep Erdogan was personally invited to attend the event by the orchestra, along with other top Turkish politicians, including Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu, German T-Online news outlet reports , citing DPA news agency, which gained access to copies of the invitations.
The invitations were made despite Erdogan taking a hard stance against Germany’s recognition of the Armenian genocide – even threatening Germany with some “response measures.”
The concert was cancelled by Berlin. On Wednesday, the German Foreign Office said that “the premises in the Istanbul consulate are not available on November 13th,” according to Deutsche Welle.
Later in the day, orchestra director Markus Rindt said he received notification from the ministry with nearly the same content.
“It’s definitely been canceled. They said they wanted to reschedule at a better time, but when would that be? This has been planned for years,” Rindt told Reuters.
The piece by the Dresden Symphony Orchestra includes musicians from Turkey, Armenia, Germany, and the former Yugoslavia. It premiered last year in Berlin with additional performances scheduled in Belgrade on November 5 and in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on November 10. Read more Germany says Armenia genocide resolution ‘non-binding’ after reports Berlin keen to ‘satisfy’ Turkey
The ‘Aghet’ has become one of several stumbling blocks in troubled Turkey-Germany relations. In April, the Turkish ambassador to the EU demanded that the bloc stop funding the project which received initial support from the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Education, Audiovisual and Culture.
On June 2, 2016, the German parliament almost unanimously passed a symbolic resolution recognizing the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces as ‘genocide.’ The move was praised by Armenia and sharply criticized by Turkey, which even tried to pressure Germany ahead of the vote.
Following the move, Ankara recalled its ambassador to Germany, while Erdogan said that the government would discuss response measures.
The mass killings began on April 24, 1915, when 250 Armenian intellectuals were detained by Ottoman authorities and later executed in Constantinople, present-day Istanbul. Most of the Ottoman Empire’s Armenians were then displaced, deported, or placed in concentration camps on the pretext of rebelling and siding with Russia in World War I. Up to 1.5 million Armenians were affected by these measures.
Turkey, the successor of the Ottoman Empire, concedes that many Armenians were mistreated at the time, but maintains that the number of victims has been grossly exaggerated. | 0 |
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Thursday to scrap a deal with the European Union to readmit migrants who have crossed illegally into Europe, amid a standoff with European nations over their reluctance to allow Turkish ministers to hold campaign rallies in their countries. [In a feisty campaign speech in northwest Turkey, Erdogan said the EU could “forget about” the deal, in which Ankara agreed to readmit migrants that had reached Greece illegally via Turkey — a key transit country for tens of thousands trying to flee fighting and poverty and enter Europe. In return, the EU was to grant Turkish citizens the right to travel to many European countries . The comments were the latest in Turkey’s bitter diplomatic spat with Germany and the Netherlands, which last week prevented two Turkish ministers from addressing Turkish citizens in Rotterdam in the to a referendum on constitutional reforms that would increase Erdogan’s powers. One minister was escorted out to the country, while the other was denied permission to land. Some German authorities have also blocked appearances by Turkish ministers trying to attend similar rallies. On Thursday, Erdogan reiterated angry criticism of the ban. He also accused the EU of not sticking to a promise to grant Turkish nationals the right to travel in Europe. “Now they’re talking about the readmission agreement. What readmission? Forget about it,” he said, referring to the migrant deal. The agreement, which was initially reached in 2013, was revived last year, when Turkey agreed to help keep migrants from crossing into the EU in return for funds to help it deal with some 3 million refugees. “You bar my minister from entering the Netherlands … and then you expect us to grant access (to migrants)? There can be no such thing,” he added. In Greece, officials did not immediately react to Erdogan’s comments. But responding to a similar threat by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier, Greece’s deputy defense minister said it was unclear whether Turkey was really proposing to end the deal. “The refugee issue is a matter of international law, international solidarity and a humanitarian concern,” Dimitris Vitsas told the private Alpha radio Thursday. “When it is used at a level of rhetoric, and much more at a practical level, as a negotiating weapon, then we are no longer talking about the refugee issue. ” “But I must point out that many things are being said right now ahead of the forthcoming referendum in Turkey,” he added. Erdogan also sharply criticized a European court ruling in favor of curbs on wearing Islamic headscarves, renewed accusations of “ ” against the Netherlands, and remarked that the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had lost Turkey’s friendship despite winning elections there. “What happened to your freedom to faith and religion,” Erdogan said. “They have started a ( ) war. There can be no other explanation. I say this very openly, Europe is heading toward its War II days. ” Erdogan ruled out any possibility of reconciliation with a new Dutch government to be headed by Rutte. “Oh Rutte, you may have come out (of the elections) as the first party, but you should know that you have lost a friend like Turkey,” he said. Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office said the German leader discussed the tensions between EU nations and Turkey with French President Francois Hollande in a phone call Thursday. The two reiterated that Erdogan’s insulting comments about Germany and other European countries — including “Nazi” comparisons — were unacceptable. Hollande stressed France’s solidarity with Germany and other EU partners that Turkey has assailed, a German government statement said. The two leaders agreed that appearances by Turkish politicians in Germany and France can be approved — but only if they are “registered in good time and transparently, and adhere strictly to German or French law. ” | 1 |
WASHINGTON — Maybe it was the unexpected warmth of the gesture, the sheer enveloping display of affection. Maybe it was his response, the beatific expression on his face, eyes almost closed, head tilted toward her shoulder. Maybe it was the moment: tenderness at a time when presidential politics has become a festival of cruelty. But when Michelle Obama hugged former President George W. Bush on Saturday, at a ceremony to open the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the image quickly took flight online. However one chose to interpret it — and overinterpretation is a hazard in such exercises — it became an instant metaphor. Some saw the lost virtue of civility in politics others, the unlikely friendships that blossom at the rarefied heights of public life. To critics on the left, it was a shameful case of political amnesia by the wife of a president who spent years cleaning up the mess left by his predecessor. Mrs. Obama and Mr. Bush have had a few such memorable moments. In July in Dallas at a memorial service for five police officers killed by an Army veteran, the two held hands while singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic. ” When Mr. Bush began swaying to the music, Mrs. Obama gamely let him swing her arm back and forth. At one point, as the choir sang “glory, glory hallelujah,” he turned to her in a burst of enthusiasm, causing the first lady to crack up, despite the solemnity of the occasion. In June 2012, when Mr. Bush returned to the White House for the unveiling of his official portrait, he aimed a few wisecracks at President Obama. But he saved his best material for Mrs. Obama, reminding her that when British soldiers set fire to the White House in 1814, another first lady, Dolley Madison, rescued the portrait of the first George W. — as in Washington. “Now, Michelle,” he said, gesturing to his own painting, “if anything happens, there’s your man. ” Some of these encounters are explained by proximity. When the Obamas and the Bushes appear in public together, protocol dictates that Mrs. Obama stand next to Mr. Bush. Some of it is a function of the former president’s playful manner, which by all accounts has become more playful in his retirement. But some of it also has to do with the relationship between the couples, which current and former officials say has deepened over the past seven and a half years, both because of the shared bond of living in the White House and because of Mr. Bush’s decorum as an . “President Bush was very gracious to us during the transition, and he has been unfailingly gracious and respectful since,” said David Axelrod, a former adviser to Mr. Obama. He recalled the president telling him that the Bushes “had taught him lessons in how to be a former president. ” Mr. Bush has studiously avoided criticizing Mr. Obama or his policies. And Mr. Bush has lent his presence to occasions that meant a lot to the president, like the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march in Selma, Ala. when Mr. Obama delivered what some believe was the finest speech of his presidency, on race relations in the United States. Mrs. Obama sat next to Mr. Bush on that day, too, frequently leaning over to talk or share a laugh with him. Mrs. Obama’s rapport with Laura Bush is less playful, but Mrs. Obama’s aides say it is no less genuine. In early 2009, Mrs. Bush invited Mrs. Obama to visit the White House with her daughters, Malia and Sasha, for a private tour before her husband’s inauguration. Mrs. Bush’s daughters, Barbara and Jenna, showed the girls their new home, including good hiding places and banisters made for sliding. The two first ladies have appeared together regularly since, including this month at a conference at the National Archives to promote support for families of service members. In 2013, in Tanzania, Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Bush bonded during a conference on education for women and girls. “I like this woman,” the first lady said of Mrs. Bush. Mrs. Obama added that “it’s hard to find people who know what you’re going through, who understand the burdens and the fears and the challenges. ” “It’s sort of a club,” Mrs. Bush replied. “A sorority, I guess. ” The fraternity of presidents is well documented, though some members are closer than others. Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush became famously chummy, with Mr. Bush inviting the man who defeated him to the family compound in Kennebunkport, Me. to “play golf, spend the night” and “hurdle the waves at breakneck speed,” according to the book “The President’s Club,” by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy. Mr. Clinton’s relationship with Mr. Obama took longer to thaw, largely as a consequence of the bitter 2008 primary race between Mr. Obama and Hillary Clinton. There were a few golf games, an lunch at an Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village, and, above all, Mr. Clinton’s memorable speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2012 defending the president’s economic record, after which Mr. Obama took to calling Mr. Clinton his “secretary of explaining stuff. ” Now, Mr. Obama is campaigning vigorously for Mrs. Clinton to succeed him, cementing the political alliance between them. Paradoxically, Mr. Obama’s relationship with the younger Mr. Bush has always seemed less complicated. Though Mr. Obama ran on his opposition to the war in Iraq — and has never stopped deploring that war — he appears to have an easy rapport with his predecessor. After the ceremony at the museum on Saturday, Mr. Bush was trying to take a photograph of himself with a family, only to find he could not fit everyone in the frame. The solution? He tapped Mr. Obama on the back, handed him the phone, and asked him to take the picture. As Mr. Obama was wrapping up his speech, he could not resist a gentle poke at his predecessor, who is known for his restlessness, laying odds on the length of his own remarks. “Enough talk,” Mr. Obama said. “President Bush was timing me. He had the at 25” minutes. | 1 |
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Donald Trump has ended all campaigning and fundraising events meant to help the Republican party and their get-out-the-vote campaign in the final two weeks.
Aides to the GOP candidate told Fox News that “Trump Victory,” the fundraising committee for the campaign and the party, held its last fundraiser on Oct. 19 – and that was the last one.
The move cuts off a key financial source for Republican candidates hoping to retain control of both the House and the Senate, Fox News is reporting .
“We’ve kind of wound down,” Trump’s finance chairman Steven Mnuchin said. “But the online fundraising continues to be strong.”
By contrast, The Washington Post is reporting that the Clinton campaign has held no fewer than 41 fundraising events between now and election day .
Mnuchin said that Trump was focusing on making a final pitch to voters at events and rallies rather than directly soliciting for money.
“We have minimized his fundraising schedule over the last month to emphasize his focus on political [events],” Mnuchin said of the candidate. “Unlike Hillary, who has been fundraising and not out and about, he has constantly been out and about.”
The Post reports the RNC has collected about $40 million from “Trump Victory” since Sept. 30.
RNC spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said the organization “[continues] to fundraise for the entire GOP ticket.”
Meanwhile, Politico reported Tuesday that the Senate Leadership Fund, a Super PAC with ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was putting $25 million into seven Senate races deemed crucial in determining the balance of power on Capitol Hill.
The Trump campaign has largely written off the GOP establishment for much support, and it appears this is a little bit of “payback.” Trump has said he doesn’t need the party to win, and if the polls are any indication, he might be right. The IBD poll – often considered the most reliable presidential poll in the country, shows Donald Trump up by two percentage points nationwide. | 0 |
Online streaming service Netflix now counts more paid subscribers than the largest American cable television providers put together, a report has revealed. [According to the Daily Mail, a study conducted by the Leichtman Research Group has found that in the first quarter of 2017, Netflix had 50. 9 million paying subscribers, compared to 48. 6 million subscribers to America’s largest cable providers, which together comprise approximately 95 percent of the market. Since 2012, subscriptions to cable television have reportedly fallen from 52. 6 million to 48. 6 million, while Netflix subscriptions have more than doubled in the same time period, from 23. 4 million to 50. 85 million. “The market lost about 410, 000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2017. This marked the first time that the industry has ever had net subscriber losses in the first quarter of a year,” Bruce Leichtman, principal analyst at the Leichtman Research Group, told the Daily Mail. The shift toward streaming comes amidst rising prices for cable television, with some packages costing upwards of $200 per month. Meanwhile, Netflix has consolidated its customer base with the release of popular exclusive series such as Orange is the New Black, House of Cards and 13 Reasons Why. The streaming giant has also shelled out gigantic sums to acquire buzzy, films, including the Brad War Machine and the Will Smith thriller Bright. Netflix reportedly spent $90 million to acquire the latter film, which is directed by End of Watch and Suicide Squad helmer David Ayer. Currently, 9 out of the 10 most online television series are reportedly produced by Netflix, while one is produced by the streaming service Hulu. Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Facebook is considering entering the online streaming market, with plans to revive the series MTV Loosely Exactly Nicole, which was canceled after one season for low ratings. You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart. com | 1 |
During an interview with author, “Stone Cold Truth” host, and Trump adviser Roger Stone Jr. on Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” host and comedian Bill Maher argued that it appears that President Donald Trump “and his crime family” were “installed” by the Russians “to loot and destroy” the United States of America. Maher said, “It looks like Donald Trump and his crime family were installed by Russia to loot and destroy America. ” Maher also asked Stone if it bothered him that “we’re so in touch with the Evil Empire these days?” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett | 1 |
This article was written by Alice Salles and originally published at The Anti-Media.org .
Editor’s Comment: Is it really any wonder that the most dangerous leaders in society, and their cadre of supporters, are always urging everyone to vote? Democracy has been sanctified because of its symbolic indication that the will and the voice of the people is being considered. Grand sweeping sentiments, “democracy,” the “American way” and so forth. But perhaps it is a model that never could live up to the needs of society… if voting just means picking the personality of your dictator, then there is noting to vote for.
Not sure all the things asserted in this article should be implemented either, but it is worth keeping mind that the population and size of the societies that first instituted democracy in Ancient Greece, etc. have little in common with the easily divided, multi-dimensional population base in the United States – with a whopping 315,000,000+ people being represented by 1-of-2 presidential candidates, and 535 people in Congress.
The most populous state in the U.S., California, is represented by 2 Senators – at a ratio of about 1 to 19 million, and each of its 53 representatives in Congress theoretically represent the views of more than 700,000 people. In Wyoming, the least populous U.S. state, 1 House member represents about a half million people, and each of their 2 senators represent about 232,00o people. Anyway you slice it, no matter what system or values you believe in, that’s a lot of people being represented by a very few… and almost none of those representatives are able to resist corruption, avoid tainted lobbyist money or uphold their promises to voters. So you tell me what the solution is?
Mathematicians Prove Society is Way Too Complex to Have A President
by Alice Salles
Mathematics, a report published by Vice ’s Motherboard prior to Election Day suggests, proves society is so complex that democracies have been rendered irrelevant.
According to a study carried out by mathematicians at the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI), it is difficult for government entities or single individuals to debate what these mathematicians call “social policy” if the goal is to find something that works for everyone. Once we consider that members of any society are simply too complex, the study suggests, we are able to understand that the systems of government currently available fail to meet our expectations.
While the implications of this complexity are myriad, one of the issues more broadly discussed in the study revolves around government’s own inability to address this complexity, no matter how you slice it.
“ [T]he concept of civilization as a complex organism ,” mathematicians concluded , “ is qualitatively different than either [democracy or communism] .”
Why Complexity Matters
According to NECSI’s director, Yaneer Bar-Yam, “ [t]here’s a natural process of increasing complexity in the world ” that at some point will “ run into the complexity of the individual .” Once we reach that point, Bar-Yam added, “ hierarchical organizations will fail .”
Bar-Yam’s team seems to have learned that concentrating the power to organize society in the hands of a few individuals is absurd. After all, optimal decisions targeting society cannot be made by a group of individuals detached from it. This is precisely because issues are better dealt with by those who are affected by it.
“ We were raised to believe that democracy, and even the democracy that we have, is a system that has somehow inherent good to it ,” Bar-Yam told Motherboard . But democracies alone are not the only problem, he added. All hierarchical organizations fail “ [to respond] to decision-making challenges. And this is true whether we’re talking about dictatorships, or communism that had very centralized control processes, and for representative democracies today. ”
Because representative democracies “ focus power in one or few individuals ,” Bar-Yam concluded , “ those systems [are] ineffective .”
Human Complexity, ‘Human Action,’ and How They Relate
While this analysis may sound like common sense, it becomes increasingly interesting as researchers discuss a more nuclear element of this complexity: the individual.
“ An individual human is made up of atoms, which make up cells, which make up organs, and so on ,” writes Jason Koebler of Motherboard . “ Describing the behavior of each individual atom is incredibly difficult ,” he added. But describing “ collective behaviors ,” Koebler added, “ [is] inherently more ‘simple’ than individual ones, … Describing the behavior of atoms is more complex than describing the collective behavior of the many atoms that make up a human being .” With this analogy, Koebler adds that “ [p]redicting the specific behavior of a car factory worker in his day to day life is much harder than predicting that he and a collective of other people will produce cars at the factory .”
Because a “ control hierarchy is designed to enable a single individual to control the collective behavior ,” governments are not the answer. Instead, Bar-Yam explained , “ coordination occurs because individuals influence each other’s’ behavior .”
Government, then, is an “ attempt to organize the behavior of many individually complex humans into something simpler and more coherent ,” Koebler observes — and it’s incredibly bad at it.
Despite the incredible “discoveries” made by Bar-Yam and his team of mathematicians, the complexity of human individuality has already been deeply explored in the past.
Praxeology is the study of purposeful behavior , or “human action.”
In 1949, economist Ludwig von Mises wrote a treatise on this scientific study, simply naming it Human Action . In his book, Mises argues that the individual acts in order to achieve an end he or she subjectively values, making human action an intentional act. While not all human behavior is purposeful, praxeology’s core axiom is that human beings exist and act for a reason. In other words :
“Action is will put into operation and transformed into an agency, is aiming at ends and goals, is the ego’s meaningful response to stimuli and to the conditions of its environment, is a person’s conscious adjustment to the state of the universe that determines his life.”
Because action is speculative, Mises adds , outsiders are incapable of knowing what will happen. And while natural sciences are capable of predicting the results of specific actions, the future cannot be predicted as a whole.
Whether you’re looking at a group of people with common traits or an event that has similar elements from other events of the past, Mises explains , decisions are always made with incomplete knowledge. Since economics deals with the action of humans attempting to satisfy their desires through the exchange of goods and services — making this social science a study in human action — we can safely say Mises understood human complexity long before Bar-Yam discussed this growing problem with Motherboard .
Despite what many think of nowadays when discussing liberalism , Mises explains in his book that the “ social philosophy of eighteenth-century [known then as] rationalism and liberalism … does not resort to any miraculous interference of superhuman powers .”
Instead, Mises writes in another book, Epistemological Problems of Economics , classical liberalism hopes to “lead to lasting well-being [for all] ” by never resorting to government intervention of any kind.
After all, Mises writes in Human Action , government always “ means … coercion and compulsion and is by necessity the opposite of liberty .”
Combining his insight with what mathematicians have now proven, it’s safe to say societies rely on individuals to succeed. When governments act on behalf of society, groups of individuals in power may believe they know the answers to society’s problems. But acting without firsthand knowledge means acting without the goals of every single individual in mind.
As Bar-Yam concluded in his study, complexities make it difficult for centralized governments to act efficiently. And Mises agreed with that conclusion over 60 years ago. But Mises also offered a very different solution.
While Bar-Yam wants to see a “ more laterally-organized system of governance in which tons of small teams specialize in certain policies, and then those teams work together to ultimately make decisions ,” Mises argues for the absence of government interference, leaving all decisions to society.
As the majority of Americans get tired of politics, choosing not to vote in record numbers and allowing the minority to pick the commander-in-chief , it’s clear that Americans understand — even if subconsciously — that picking leaders doesn’t matter.
Living life as an individual and being allowed to navigate its risks and successes without government interference, on the other hand, does.
This article was written by Alice Salles and originally published at The Anti-Media.org . | 0 |
Symone Sanders, a former spokeswoman for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, said that nobody needs “white people leading the Democratic… Latest | 0 |
John Pilger: Inside The Invisible Government: War, Propaganda, Clinton And Trump
The American journalist, Edward Bernays, is often described as the man who invented modern propaganda.
The nephew of Sigmund Freud, the pioneer of psycho-analysis, it was Bernays who coined the term “public relations” as a euphemism for spin and its deceptions.
In 1929, he persuaded feminists to promote cigarettes for women by smoking in the New York Easter Parade – behaviour then considered outlandish. One feminist, Ruth Booth, declared, “Women! Light another torch of freedom! Fight another sex taboo!”
Bernays’ influence extended far beyond advertising. His greatest success was his role in convincing the American public to join the slaughter of the First World War. The secret, he said, was “engineering the consent” of people in order to “control and regiment [them] according to our will without their knowing about it”.
He described this as “the true ruling power in our society” and called it an “invisible government”.
Freud had a cousin called Edward Bernays, who has since earned the title “father of Public Relations”. Bernays took Freud’s idea and applied it to consumers. If desire is our driving force, then appealing to emotions is the most powerful way to persuade consumers to act. The idea was to short circuit their rational conscious and get them where they were most vulnerable – the unconscious
Today, the invisible government has never been more powerful and less understood. In my career as a journalist and film-maker, I have never known propaganda to insinuate our lives and as it does now and to go unchallenged.
Imagine two cities. Both are under siege by the forces of the government of that country. Both cities are occupied by fanatics, who commit terrible atrocities, such as beheading people. But there is a vital difference. In one siege, the government soldiers are described as liberators by Western reporters embedded with them, who enthusiastically report their battles and air strikes. There are front page pictures of these heroic soldiers giving a V-sign for victory. There is scant mention of civilian casualties.
In the second city – in another country nearby – almost exactly the same is happening. Government forces are laying siege to a city controlled by the same breed of fanatics.
The difference is that these fanatics are supported, supplied and armed by “us”– by the United States and Britain. They even have a media centre that is funded by Britain and America.
Another difference is that the government soldiers laying siege to this city are the bad guys, condemned for assaulting and bombing the city – which is exactly what the good soldiers do in the first city.
Confusing? Not really. Such is the basic double standard that is the essence of propaganda. I am referring, of course, to the current siege of the city of Mosul by the government forces of Iraq, who are backed by the United States and Britain and to the siege of Aleppo by the government forces of Syria, backed by Russia. One is good; the other is bad.
Iraq War as portrayed on two popular American news magazines. Terrorists and hero savours are typical propaganda images
What is seldom reported is that both cities would not be occupied by fanatics and ravaged by war if Britain and the United States had not invaded Iraq in 2003. That criminal enterprise was launched on lies strikingly similar to the propaganda that now distorts our understanding of the civil war in Syria.
Without this drumbeat of propaganda dressed up as news, the monstrous ISIS and Al-Qaida and al-Nusra and the rest of the jihadist gang might not exist, and the people of Syria might not be fighting for their lives today.
Some may remember in 2003 a succession of BBC reporters turning to the camera and telling us that Blair was “vindicated” for what turned out to be the crime of the century. The US television networks produced the same validation for George W. Bush. Fox News brought on Henry Kissinger to effuse over Colin Powell’s fabrications.The same year, soon after the invasion, I filmed an interview in Washington with Charles Lewis, the renowned American investigative journalist. I asked him, “What would have happened if the freest media in the world had seriously challenged what turned out to be crude propaganda?”
He replied that if journalists had done their job, “there is a very, very good chance we would not have gone to war in Iraq”.
It was a shocking statement, and one supported by other famous journalists to whom I put the same question — Dan Rather of CBS, David Rose of the Observer and journalists and producers in the BBC, who wished to remain anonymous.
In other words, had journalists done their job, had they challenged and investigated the propaganda instead of amplifying it, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children would be alive today, and there would be no ISIS and no siege of Aleppo or Mosul.
There would have been no atrocity on the London Underground on 7th July 2005. There would have been no flight of millions of refugees; there would be no miserable camps.
When the terrorist atrocity happened in Paris last November, President Francoise Hollande immediately sent planes to bomb Syria – and more terrorism followed, predictably, the product of Hollande’s bombast about France being “at war” and “showing no mercy”. That state violence and jihadist violence feed off each other is the truth that no national leader has the courage to speak.
“When the truth is replaced by silence,” said the Soviet dissident Yevtushenko, “the silence is a lie.”
The attack on Iraq, the attack on Libya, the attack on Syria happened because the leader in each of these countries was not a puppet of the West. The human rights record of a Saddam or a Gaddafi was irrelevant. They did not obey orders and surrender control of their country.
The same fate awaited Slobodan Milosevic once he had refused to sign an “agreement” that demanded the occupation of Serbia and its conversion to a market economy. His people were bombed, and he was prosecuted in The Hague. Independence of this kind is intolerable.
As WikLeaks has revealed, it was only when the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in 2009 rejected an oil pipeline, running through his country from Qatar to Europe, that he was attacked.
From that moment, the CIA planned to destroy the government of Syria with jihadist fanatics – the same fanatics currently holding the people of Mosul and eastern Aleppo hostage.
Why is this not news? The former British Foreign Office official Carne Ross, who was responsible for operating sanctions against Iraq, told me: “We would feed journalists factoids of sanitised intelligence, or we would freeze them out. That is how it worked.”
Propaganda is most effective when our consent is engineered by those with a fine education – Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Columbia — and with careers on the BBC, the Guardian, the New York Times, the Washington Post.
These organisations are known as the liberal media. They present themselves as enlightened, progressive tribunes of the moral zeitgeist. They are anti-racist, pro-feminist and pro-LGBT.
And they love war.
While they speak up for feminism, they support rapacious wars that deny the rights of countless women, including the right to life.
Daily Mail 25 Oct 2011: reports that “A Libyan revolutionary fighter has bragged in a leaked video that he was the man who killed Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, that country’s despotic former ruler. The young man, who is pictured but has not yet been identified, said he killed the fallen dictator because he could not bear the thought of taking him alive.”
In 2011, Libya, then a modern state, was destroyed on the pretext that Muammar Gaddafi was about to commit genocide on his own people. That was the incessant news; and there was no evidence. It was a lie.
In fact, Britain, Europe and the United States wanted what they like to call “regime change” in Libya, the biggest oil producer in Africa. Gaddafi’s influence in the continent and, above all, his independence were intolerable.
So he was murdered with a knife in his rear by fanatics, backed by America, Britain and France. Hillary Clinton cheered his gruesome death for the camera, declaring, “We came, we saw, he died!”
The destruction of Libya was a media triumph. As the war drums were beaten, Jonathan Freedland wrote in the Guardian: “Though the risks are very real, the case for intervention remains strong.”
Intervention – what a polite, benign, Guardian word, whose real meaning, for Libya, was death and destruction.
According to its own records, Nato launched 9,700 “strike sorties” against Libya, of which more than a third were aimed at civilian targets. They included missiles with uranium warheads. Look at the photographs of the rubble of Misurata and Sirte, and the mass graves identified by the Red Cross. The Unicef report on the children killed says, “most [of them] under the age of ten”.
As a direct consequence, Sirte became the capital of ISIS. Ukraine is another media triumph. Respectable liberal newspapers such as the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Guardian, and mainstream broadcasters such as the BBC, NBC, CBS, CNN have played a critical role in conditioning their viewers to accept a new and dangerous cold war.
All have misrepresented events in Ukraine as a malign act by Russia when, in fact, the coup in Ukraine in 2014 was the work of the United States, aided by Germany and Nato.
This inversion of reality is so pervasive that Washington’s military intimidation of Russia is not news; it is suppressed behind a smear and scare campaign of the kind I grew up with during the first cold war. Once again, the Ruskies are coming to get us, led by another Stalin, whom The Economist depicts as the devil.
The suppression of the truth about Ukraine is one of the most complete news blackouts I can remember. The fascists who engineered the coup in Kiev are the same breed that backed the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Of all the scares about the rise of fascist anti-Semitism in Europe, no leader ever mentions the fascists in Ukraine – except Vladimir Putin, but he does not count.
Many in the Western media have worked hard to present the ethnic Russian-speaking population of Ukraine as outsiders in their own country, as agents of Moscow, almost never as Ukrainians seeking a federation within Ukraine and as Ukrainian citizens resisting a foreign-orchestrated coup against their elected government.
There is almost the joie d’esprit of a class reunion of warmongers. The drum-beaters of the Washington Post inciting war with Russia are the very same editorial writers who published the lie that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
To most of us, the American presidential campaign is a media freak show, in which Donald Trump is the arch villain. But Trump is loathed by those with power in the United States for reasons that have little to do with his obnoxious behaviour and opinions. To the invisible government in Washington, the unpredictable Trump is an obstacle to America’s design for the 21st century.
This is to maintain the dominance of the United States and to subjugate Russia, and, if possible, China.
To the militarists in Washington, the real problem with Trump is that, in his lucid moments, he seems not to want a war with Russia; he wants to talk with the Russian president, not fight him; he says he wants to talk with the president of China.
In the first debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump promised not to be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into a conflict. He said, “I would certainly not do first strike. Once the nuclear alternative happens, it’s over.” That was not news.
Did he really mean it? Who knows? He often contradicts himself. But what is clear is that Trump is considered a serious threat to the status quo maintained by the vast national security machine that runs the United States, regardless of who is in the White House.
Anti-Trump Boston Globe Sunday Edition Crosses the Line From News into Propaganda
The CIA wants him beaten. The Pentagon wants him beaten. The media wants him beaten. Even his own party wants him beaten. He is a threat to the rulers of the world – unlike Clinton who has left no doubt she is prepared to go to war with nuclear-armed Russia and China.
Clinton has the form, as she often boasts. Indeed, her record is proven. As a senator, she backed the bloodbath in Iraq. When she ran against Obama in 2008, she threatened to “totally obliterate” Iran. As Secretary of State, she colluded in the destruction of governments in Libya and Honduras and set in train the baiting of China.
She has now pledged to support a No Fly Zone in Syria – a direct provocation for war with Russia. Clinton may well become the most dangerous president of the United States in my lifetime – a distinction for which the competition is fierce.
Without a shred of evidence, she has accused Russia of supporting Trump and hacking her emails. Released by WikiLeaks, these emails tell us that what Clinton says in private, in speeches to the rich and powerful, is the opposite of what she says in public.
That is why silencing and threatening Julian Assange is so important. As the editor of WikiLeaks, Assange knows the truth. And let me assure those who are concerned, he is well, and WikiLeaks is operating on all cylinders.
Today, the greatest build-up of American-led forces since World War Two is under way – in the Caucasus and eastern Europe, on the border with Russia, and in Asia and the Pacific, where China is the target.
Keep that in mind when the presidential election circus reaches its finale on November 8th, If the winner is Clinton, a Greek chorus of witless commentators will celebrate her coronation as a great step forward for women. None will mention Clinton’s victims: the women of Syria, the women of Iraq, the women of Libya. None will mention the civil defence drills being conducted in Russia. None will recall Edward Bernays’“torches of freedom”.
George Bush’s press spokesman once called the media “complicit enablers”.
Coming from a senior official in an administration whose lies, enabled by the media, caused such suffering, that description is a warning from history.
In 1946, the Nuremberg Tribunal prosecutor said of the German media: “Before every major aggression, they initiated a press campaign calculated to weaken their victims and to prepare the German people psychologically for the attack. In the propaganda system, it was the daily press and the radio that were the most important weapons.”
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WASHINGTON — K. T. McFarland, the former Fox News commentator appointed by President Trump as deputy national security adviser, is expected to leave that position soon and may be nominated to be the United States ambassador to Singapore, according to officials briefed on the matter. Ms. McFarland’s departure had been seen as likely since the forced resignation of Michael T. Flynn, the retired general who was Mr. Trump’s first national security adviser. Mr. Flynn’s successor, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, has been moving to put a more traditionally professional stamp on the operations of the National Security Council. Last week, Mr. Trump signed an order restructuring the council’s “principals committee” along more traditional lines than the version he had initially put in place. It removed Stephen K. Bannon, the White House’s chief strategist and a former chairman of the conservative website Breitbart, while adding several officials Mr. Trump’s original order had left off, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the directors of national intelligence and the C. I. A. Administration officials briefed on the matter confirmed Ms. McFarland was stepping down, but said her departure would not be immediate. The officials also said her possible nomination for the ambassadorship to Singapore, while likely, had not been finalized. CNN reported on April 1 that Ms. McFarland was being offered the diplomatic post in Singapore, and Bloomberg News reported on Sunday that she had been asked to step down. Ms. McFarland’s style had grated against some of the professional staff members on the National Security Council, which sees itself as apolitical. For example, while addressing the staff at a meeting after Mr. Flynn’s ouster, Ms. McFarland noted that she was wearing shoes from Ivanka Trump’s brand, according to an official who was present. At an earlier meeting about two weeks into the administration, Ms. McFarland invoked Mr. Trump’s campaign slogan, telling the assembled group of career staff members, most of whom had been in the same roles during the Obama administration, that they needed to “make America great again. ” It was not clear whether Dina Powell, whom General McMaster brought in as deputy national security adviser for strategy, would succeed Ms. McFarland as the principal deputy. The official in that role leads interagency “deputies committee” meetings in the Situation Room involving the No. 2 officials from national security agencies and government departments. Ms. Powell, an assistant secretary of state for education and cultural affairs in the Bush administration, is fluent in Arabic and was previously the president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation. She was the only woman in the widely distributed photograph of Mr. Trump and his aides receiving a briefing about the recent airstrike on Syria at his resort in Florida. Ms. McFarland, 65, worked as an aide on the National Security Council in the Nixon and Ford administrations, and served as a Pentagon speechwriter and spokeswoman in the Reagan administration. In more recent years, she was known for her criticism on Fox News of President Barack Obama’s handling of national security policy. In September 2014, after the Islamic State swept out of Syria to conquer swaths of Iraq and killing two kidnapped Americans, she said on Fox News that Mr. Obama was guilty of “dereliction of duty” because he “was playing a lot of golf this summer, but he was clearly not attending to the defense of the United States. ” At the same meeting where Ms. McFarland told staff members to “make America great again,” Mr. Flynn talked to them about using their time at the council to gain experience to help them in other parts of the government. He then asked for a show of hands to see how many expected to be working at the White House in a year. Mr. Flynn, according to people present, then turned to Ms. McFarland and, in an apparent joke, said, “I wonder if we’ll be here a year from now?” | 1 |
BEIJING — A trip to Sun Xun’s studio involved clambering — suitcase and all — onto the back of his friend’s moped in the dusty outskirts of this city. The scooter puttered through Heiqiaocun, or Black Bridge Village, before stopping at the vast industrial space used by Mr. Sun. The area is outside 798, the district that in the 2000s transformed a cluster of abandoned factories into one of Asia’s art hot spots. Black Bridge Village, for now, is right on the cusp of that gentrification. Pi Animation, which Mr. Sun founded in 2006 when he was a new graduate, is at once grungy and . Upstairs, studio staff members used powerful computers to create two monumental works that took more than a year: “Mythological Time” (2016) a multimedia piece unveiled Nov. 4 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and “Reconstruction of the Universe,” a commission by the luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet, which can be seen now at Art Basel Miami Beach. The Audemars project — a digital film made of tens of thousands of woodblocks — used the work of more than 100 assistants, including students working . It is being shown at a pavilion Mr. Sun planned for Miami Beach, with a swooping bamboo roof and short films projected onto glowing spheres. But, at least in his studio, Mr. Sun’s reality was a world away from international museums and beachside art fairs. With two major deadlines in front of him, he worked furiously, sitting on a sagging old sofa surrounded by overflowing ashtrays and empty beverage containers. There were no luxuries in his workspace — just a weight bench and a few stalls of squat toilets in the back. Mr. Sun, the son of factory workers, said there was no point in cleaning up. “A new rail will be built right through my studio — not anyone else’s, mine,” he said wryly, thrusting two beefy arms out to show where the government planned to construct its next big project. He shrugged. “My studio will be destroyed, and I will move. ” Mr. Sun, 36, is preoccupied with the idea of inevitable change. The themes of time, impermanence and shifting views of history come up repeatedly in his work, which is filled with beautifully drawn Chinese dragons and tigers, as well as dystopian images like menacing Red Guards or factories belching smoke. In his view, everything — the news on television, governments, art studios — is temporary. Even his studio is named for π, an “irrational number” that could be calculated for infinity without coming to a finite conclusion. Mr. Sun’s “Mythological Time” depicts his hometown, Fuxin in Liaoning, a frigid province wedged between North Korea and Inner Mongolia. It is part of the Guggenheim’s “Tales of our Time” exhibit featuring artists from greater China. “It is a very, very, very poor area,” Mr. Sun said of Fuxin. “It used to be important and had one of China’s biggest mines of its type, but not anymore. It’s almost like there is a ring around the northern part of the world — that goes through Fuxin, through parts of Russia, through parts of America — where coal has left people poor. ” Mr. Sun sometimes travels to Fuxin, where he sits outside with a pad of paper “to draw its factories, its mountains, its backyards. ” (Like a filial Chinese son, he helped move his family to a more temperate climate.) Xiaoyu Weng, a curator of Chinese art at the Guggenheim, explained how Mr. Sun used two works to depict Fuxin as just a blip over the course of millenniums. “It’s an animated history of his hometown, overlaid with mythological figures and animals,” Ms. Weng said by telephone from New York. “He imagines how coal mining was originally formed. ” “Sun Xun is unique among his generation of artists in that he has a very profound and complex interest in history,” Ms. Weng said. “He has the ability to take a Chinese issue and make it relevant to the global condition. He’s talking about changing landscapes, urban environments, energy sources — all controversial topics — and expressing it artistically. ” Mr. Sun seems to have little nostalgia for his hometown, but he is obsessed with his own family’s sad history, especially because the family’s own telling of it is so different from the history he was taught in school. “The story of my family is the story of China over the past 100 years,” he said. Mr. Sun comes from a military family. His fought for China’s Qing dynasty against the Japanese empire. His grandfather fought for the Kuomintang, the forces that later fled to set up the Republic of China in Taiwan, a democracy that still has tense ties with Beijing. “He had a ticket to Taiwan, but decided to stay in China,” Mr. Sun said of his grandfather, showing how one decision shaped his family for generations. His grandfather fell on the wrong side of history when the Communists took power, and Mr. Sun’s parents were punished for it. “My father experienced the Cultural Revolution,” he said. “Because his own father was involved in the Kuomintang, he could not go into the military and was sent to a factory. He was frightened of the Red Guards. He slept with an ax under his pillow. ” Mr. Sun then stopped, abrupt and . “I’ve said too much,” he said, waving his hand dismissively at the recording of our interview. “The revolution was just one small point in time. ” Much of Mr. Sun’s work has to do with the way politics and history are distorted. “I don’t believe in history books. I don’t believe in the news, whether it’s from America or Taiwan or Japan or Korea. This is why I travel so much,” he said. “I only believe what I see with my own two eyes. My art asks questions, and I just keep looking. ” Mr. Sun is only the second artist to be given an Audemars Piguet Art Commission, a project the Swiss watchmaking company started in 2014. (The first was Robin Meier, a Swiss artist and musician.) Mr. Sun’s latest work, “Reconstruction of the Universe,” was originally to have its premiere at Art Basel Hong Kong in 2015, but its production was too unwieldy to finish in time. Mr. Sun drew original illustrations, and then had student helpers carve them into soft basswood — a process that required an enormous amount of time and skill. Tens of thousands of woodblocks were carved, printed and then scanned each woodblock made up one frame of a film. The final product plods along at 15 to 18 frames per second, or about the rate of a silent film. There is no direct narrative or story, just images like a flying violin with wings or the Great Wall of China surrounded by crumbling towers. What at first looked to be a haunted house turned out to be the Audemars Piguet Museum in Switzerland. (The idea of “a museum for time” in some distant, alpine land seemed particularly interesting to Mr. Sun). Winka Angelrath, Audemars’s art exhibitions manager, explained the choice of Mr. Sun. “We liked that he was using traditional techniques, like ink painting and woodcutting, and turning them into digital animations,” Ms. Angelrath said. “He is making something new out of something old. “There are shared themes: complexity, precision, time. ” Ms. Angelrath had flown from Geneva to Beijing to check on Mr. Sun’s progress. She walked around his vast space, admiring the enormous amount of artwork he had created. After she left for her luxury hotel downtown, Mr. Sun packed up for the day. He walked through an unlit warehouse to his black car and then careened down an unlit street to eat at the kind of restaurant where you sit on the floor, drink cold beer and eat chicken skins on sticks. He noted, while driving past sushi joints and fitness centers, how quickly his neighborhood was changing, but said that was not necessarily a bad thing. “They will tear it down, but I will just make a more beautiful studio,” he said. “This is what they call development. ” “Reconstruction of the Universe,” Art Basel Miami Beach, through Sunday. “Tales of Our Time,” Guggenheim Museum, New York, through March 10. | 1 |
I once received a lot of blowback for an Upshot article in which I showed (with evidence) that exercise is not the key to weight loss. Diet is. Many, many readers cannot wrap their head around the notion that adding physical activity, and therefore burning more calories, doesn’t necessarily translate into results on the scale. Well, here we go again because some of those folks also believe that fitness devices — Fitbit, Vivosmart, Apple Watch — must be helpful in losing weight. Unfortunately, evidence doesn’t support this belief either. For some time, people have been trying to prove devices like these succeed in promoting weight loss. In 2011, a study compared four groups getting a mixture of behavioral weight loss programs and use of an armband that measured activity and energy expenditure. All the intervention groups lost weight, but those with behavioral programs and technology lost the most. The sample size of each group (fewer than 50) and the large dropout rate of the study should temper enthusiasm, though. The sample was also mostly female, and more than of them had college degrees, so the results may not be entirely generalizable. In 2015, another study, the trial, was also inconclusive. Researchers randomly assigned 250 people ages 60 to 75 to one of two groups. The first group received four physical activity consultations from primary care nurses over three months a pedometer and a physical activity diary. The other received “usual care. ” All patients were given accelerometers to measure their activity, although only the control group saw the results. One year later, those in the pedometer group were taking an average of about 600 more steps per day, and had about 40 more minutes of activity a week. But it’s hard in a trial like this to know how much of that was because of the pedometer and the feedback, and how much was because of the nurse visits and coaching. What was needed was a large, study that truly teased out the contribution of wearable tech to weight loss programs. Last year, the results of such a study, the IDEA trial, were published. The trial took place at the University of Pittsburgh between 2010 and 2012, and it involved more than 470 adults between the ages of 18 and 35. All of them were put on a diet, had group counseling sessions and were advised to increase their physical activity. Six months into the intervention, all were given telephone counseling sessions, prompts and study materials online. At that time, though, half were also given wearable tech devices that monitored their activity and connected to a website to help provide feedback. All participants were followed for 18 more months. At the end of the two years, which is pretty long for a weight loss study, those without access to the wearable technology lost an average of 13 pounds. Those with the wearable tech lost an average of 7. 7 pounds. It’s hard for many to accept, so I’m going to state the results again: Those people who used the wearable tech for 18 months lost significantly less weight than those who didn’t. You may rightfully point out that the primary reason to wear the devices isn’t to lose weight — it’s to be more active. But even in this respect, it didn’t work nearly as well as we might hope. In the IDEA trial, those who employed the technology were no more physically active than those who didn’t. They also weren’t more fit. Many new technologies, and dietary supplements and new diets, are sold to the public with little actual research behind them. Wearable technology to encourage fitness is no different. Somehow, in the past few years, it has become collectively understood that we need to take 10, 000 steps a day. But there’s no magic behind that number. There’s no reason to believe that hitting this arbitrary goal is somehow . Exercise is worthwhile for its own sake. Of course, many people can enjoy using wearable tech without tying it to weight loss goals. I have owned a Fitbit, a Nike FuelBand and an Apple Watch. I still wear the watch because I like many of its features. When I first bought it, I liked how it tracked my daily 30 minutes of physical activity and reminded me to stand up every so often. But I realized over time that I didn’t really need it. After some months, getting 30 minutes of activity a day (the recommended amount) became part of my routine. I learned to be more mobile and less sedentary. I didn’t need the precision or the reminders anymore. It’s possible that the devices helped me make physical activity part of my regular routine. It’s possible that they provided a benefit. But my experience is just an anecdote, and there’s no counterfactual to help figure out whether I’d have become more active without the devices. For that, we’d need a trial. The ones that exist (like the IDEA trial) argue that the devices don’t make people exercise more. They don’t seem to hurt, though. Other than costing money, there’s no harm in seeing if it might improve your activity over time. But if your goal is weight loss, then you might think twice about using such a device. The evidence suggests that you may do better without one. | 1 |
No wonder they’re so confident!
Dominion Voting Systems brags on its home page that “Together with our customers, we strive to change elections for the better!”
Wikipedia currently reports that Dominion provides voting machines to 22 states.
If you hit the link to this statement, however, the supporting post has now been taken down.
Dominion Voting Systems is owned by George Soros an internationalist billionaire who is openly supporting Hillary Clinton and donated to her campaign dozens of millions of dollars.
We now know that the machines are already flipping out votes from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton in Texas, Illinois, North Carolina and other states. The people working at the voting boots always find out some WHATEVER excuses while so far there hasn’t been a single vote switched from Hillary to Trump.
Soros is also said to control a British company called Smartmatic, which had something to do with election fraud in Venezuela. Thanks to the Smartmatic machines, communists “won” the elections over and over again.
Smartmatic is tied to Soros’ Open Road Foundation and it used to have a subsidiary called Sequoia. Sequoia electronic voting machines are used in the US general election. Sequoia was eventually sold to Dominion Voting Systems.
How do you like that people? The man in charge of counting your votes happens to have a favorite.
This is exactly like Joseph Stalin’s famous quote: “The people who cast the votes don’t decide an election, the people who count the votes do.”
It does’t matter that you go out and vote for Trump, what matters is that Soros is gonna count votes the way he wants to and that’s just not right to have a private person in charge of the elections basically.
Soros needs to have his entire fortune confiscated by the US government, nationalized and included in the state budget and have him locked up for the rest of his miserable life. Remember how those commie SJWs call for equality and taking from the rich and giving to the poor? Sure lets start with this high-profile thief right here.
The system is rigged people and Trump is right! Voting should only be on paper not on machines which can be manipulated easily!
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The signing of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement with Canada (CETA) on the 30th of October marks the beginning of North America's annexation of Europe. The negotiations for the treaty were carried out behind closed doors. For over 751 deputies in the European Parliament, there are more than 30 thousands lobbyists. The Society for European Affairs Professionals (SEAP) - the organisation which lobbying on behalf of multinational corporations – this is the real power block in Europe. The European worker has absolutely no say and henceforth he will lose the right to form join unions. Multinational corporations will have unlimited power over European workers, who will see the destruction of what is left of social gains won from over a century of class struggle.
Will European workers lie down and accept this imposture? What concrete policies would weaken the stranglehold of corporations over European workers? Which parties in the current political landscape hold policies which, if implemented, would weaken the transatlantic stranglehold?
There are currently no political parties running in the major European elections with candidates who genuinely represent workers' interests. But there are some political movements which threaten the corporate 'power-elite'. We will mention them below.
There are two important geopolitical processes to consider here. The first is the East-West corporate , geopolitical axis. America is pulling the European peninsula away from the Eurasian continent. With the installation of a neo-Nazi regime in Kiev, Washington attempted to re-create an 'Intermarium' from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea and down to the Eastern Mediterranean - driving a permanent wedge between Russia and Germany.
In order to facilitate the social transformation of Europe into a 'America Minor', millions of 'pilgrims' are necessary. Hence, the deployment of coercive engineered migration as a tool to replace class- conscious European workers with deracine youths - in some instances educated enough to do the low-paid work assigned to them and acculturated enough to pose no problem to the 'Power-Elite'.
In the new Trotskyite language of this imperial order, any leader who attempts to stem the tide of globalisation through populist appeals to tradition and national identity is 'fascist'. Fascist is a loaded term which generally connotes evil in the public mind. In each European country there is a ready-made army of youths from wealthy families whose job is to don hoddies, attack police and scream 'fascist' and 'racist' at working-class people desperately trying to find a way out of this nightmare. These 'antifa' are the modern equivalent to Oswald Mosley's fascist gangs in the 1930s; they represent the same class interests .Petty-bourgeois leftism is the New World Order's avant-garde.
A favourite passtime of the 'Antifa' mob is throwing stones at police officers. One can only gain acceptance in the anti-fascist gang by showing how much one hates the 'pigs'. So, police officers from honest working-class families get burned alive while the anti-fa mob chants slogans from the Spanish Civil War. Such violence is now a regular occurrence in demonstrations. The agents provocateurs often receive help from the intelligence services. French police are finding it hard to cope with the chaos developing all over French suburbs. They complain that they are not sufficiently equipped and do not have the powers necessary to deal with the growing violence from delinquents. They have been demonstrating in Paris. They have been calling for an end to the control of the French police by free masonry. Exacerbating the problem is the deep-seated racism of many police officers who target Black youths with spot-checksm – very often without reason.
The recent demonstrations by French police in France against poor working conditions and low pay strongly suggests that there is the possibility that the rank and file of the French police could be waking up to the reality that France is government by a criminal gang. After the Magnanville terrorist attack in June where two police officers were killed, a police officer at the funeral of the deceased refused to shake the hand of President Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls. It was a highly significant act of insubordination.
The police, who in capitalist societies are the guardians of the ruling class, are beginning to realise the criminality of the people they are protecting; they are perhaps beginning to understand that the role of the state is to impose the dictatorship of one class over another - that of the minority of super wealthy over the labouring masses.
Many of these dissident police officers are linked to Le Pen's National Front. A reliable source in French intelligence informed me that the secret services spend more time watching the far-right than the so-called 'far left'. They see the far right as a real potential danger to the ruling order, whereas the far left present no danger but are in fact a key component of ruling class ideology. From the 'Arab Spring' to Nuit Debout, the far-left are the life-blood of capitalism. The potential of a major split between the national and compradore bourgeoise of imperial states for prospects of working-class gains is something that needs more study.
What should we make of all this in the context of CETA? As I have said on numerous occasions, the far right in France are and always have been political opportunists who exploit the despair of the masses; they serve the interests of the national bourgeoisie. But the National Front are regularly denounced by the media, not for being right wing. Rather, they are dismissed as being closer to the far left. The prospect of raising worker's salaries, nationalisation of key industries and a halt on the importation of cheap labour appeal to working-class families.
As I have pointed out before, looking at a debate between the Trotskyist Jean-Luc Melanchon and Marine Le Pen in 2011, one would have thought that Le Pen was was the leftist and Melanchon the right-wing militarist. Melanchon shamelessly defended the NATO bombing campaign of Libya, while Le Pen opposed it!
Civil war on the horizon
The right-wing presidential candidate Philippe de Villiers has said there are plans afoot to divide the French territory between Muslims and non-Muslims. He Quote: s Francois Hollande's own writings to back up his claims. Everyone is talking about an imminent civil war. In the bars and cafes of Paris one can hear more and more disgruntled French citizens talking about media disinformation, the demonisation of Russia, the homogenisation of thought and the criminality of the ruling class.
The scene has never been more propitious to a populist take over of French politics. But one should not have illusions about the National Front; they are following the menacious Zionist narrative on the war on terror: Muslims are the problem. The party's vice-president Forian Philippot is close to the ultra-Zionist lawyer Gilles-William Goldnagel, a friend of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Philippot recently condemned the comments of presidential candidate Jean- Frédéric Poisson who said Hillary Clinton presented the greatest threat for the world as she is in the pay of the Zionists. Poisson was subsequently forced to kneel before the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) where he sought forgiveness. He was told he would be forgiven but they they would never forget! In spite of the National Front's anti-Muslim bias, an increasing number of Muslims are voting for the party. Many Muslims prefer the National Front as they are sick and tired of being patronised and manipulated by the left – with their pseudo 'anti-racism' and 'humanitarian' wars.
There have also been major strikes by police in Ireland for similar reasons to France. French workers are losing everything and will soon become a lumpen proletariat. Meanwhile the French government has programmes in place to encourage migrants heading to Britain to stay in France. The Socialist Party is creating a new electorate. It is a wise move for them because after the next election abstentionism will be the norm and the indigenous lumpen proletariat will resent the migrants. The oligarchs will keep the masses in bondage through GMOS, Takfiri anti-Islam and total reification of life. CETA is the beginning of the end for social hope. It is the prelude to the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – the most evil trade deal in history.
French vice-president of the Trilateral Commission Herve de Carmoy wrote a book in 2007 entitled 'L'Euramerique' – Euramerica, where he argues for the formation of what amounts to a transatlantic super-state run by a financial oligarchy. CETA is the prelude to that project. | 0 |
Clinton Campaign In FULL PANIC After Bill’s Alleged Son Makes DEMAND That Would HUMILIATE Them Oct 27, 2016 Previous post
The man claiming to be the son of former President Bill Clinton told Breitbart News Wednesday he wants his father to step up and be man enough to acknowledge him. “I have always wanted him to step up–for 30 years–you know? I have really been trying to figure this out–my whole life, you know? It is time for him to step up to the plate,” said Danney Williams, 30, who traveled from his Arkansas home to Las Vegas for Wednesday’s third presidential debate between GOP nominee Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The Arkansas man is not trolling the Democratic nominee’s husband. He said he is formally requesting that the former president submit to a paternity test and put the matter to rest–once and for all.
“It is up to him now, ” he said.
“I’ve proven who I am, let him step up and prove me right or prove me wrong,” he said.
Williams’ mother, Bobbie Ann Williams, is quoted in media accounts describing how, as a prostitute in Little Rock, the then-governor met her while out on a jog. The two became close and shared several intimate encounters, according to those accounts.
After Williams was born, his mother allegedly told the governor about his son and although Clinton was reluctant, she said in interviews, Arkansas state troopers would pay her child support every month with seven $100 bills.
The payments stopped however after he announced Clinton was running for president, according to her media accounts.
Williams said he has a good relationship
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WASHINGTON — The election of Donald J. Trump means that Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat, vacant since he died in February, will almost certainly be filled by a conservative nominee. Back to full strength, the court will again tilt right, as it has for decades. And with the court’s two senior liberal members fairly old, that may be only the start. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 83, and Justice Stephen G. Breyer is 78. Mr. Trump’s surprising triumph vindicates Republican senators, who refused to act on President Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland, saying the choice of a new Supreme Court justice should belong to the next president. It now belongs to Mr. Trump. “Senate Republicans’ strategy of not even considering Garland, of letting the American people decide who gets to fill Scalia’s seat, worked,” said Ilya Shapiro, a lawyer with the Cato Institute, a libertarian group. “Not only that, but it didn’t at all hurt vulnerable senators running for . ” But some liberals said they hoped that even a Supreme Court dominated by conservative justices, including ones on Mr. Trump’s list of 21 possible nominees vetted by conservative legal groups, could serve as a restraint on Mr. Trump’s ambitions. “Given that many of the conservatives on his list are more in the traditional conservative mold than Trump himself, they might not simply write him a blank check when it comes to actions and policies that threaten constitutional structure,” said Elizabeth Wydra, the president of the Constitutional Accountability Center. “As is the case during every administration of either party, the court will inevitably be asked to step in and serve the judicial branch’s role as a check on the political branches. ” In the short term, the court led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is poised to return to the status quo: closely divided, leaning right, with the crucial vote belonging to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. “He may have been the biggest winner last night,” Mr. Shapiro said of Justice Kennedy. Mr. Trump’s election represents a lost opportunity for liberals, and they are fearful of what comes next at the Supreme Court. “On the brink of having the first Supreme Court in decades, the judicial left has now been banished to the wilderness for perhaps decades more,” said Barry Friedman, a law professor at New York University. “It is difficult seeing a path to anything other than a yet more conservative court for the imaginable future. ” The balance of power at the Supreme Court could truly shift if there is a second vacancy while Mr. Trump is president. That appears entirely possible. Justice Ginsburg, who was harshly critical of Mr. Trump and seemed to predict a victory for Hillary Clinton, will face over her decision to stay on the court rather than let Mr. Obama try to appoint her successor. Other retirements are possible, too. Justice Kennedy, the member of the court at its ideological center, is 80. “In the worst case, we end up with a conservative court, and a relatively young one at that,” Professor Friedman said. “This could be a typhoon for the Supreme Court. An already very conservative jurisprudence will deepen and may broaden, encompassing areas that had long been resistant, such as abortion rights. ” For now, abortion rights appear secure. In June, the court struck down a restrictive Texas abortion law by a vote, with Justice Kennedy joining the court’s liberal wing. A new justice opposed to abortion rights would tighten that tally but not tip it. Similarly, affirmative action seems safe in the short term. In June, the court upheld a admissions program at the University of Texas by a vote. Justice Elena Kagan was recused but would almost certainly have voted with the majority, making the effective vote 5 to 3. Here again, a single Trump appointment would not change things. But a second Trump appointment is another matter, said Lee Epstein, a law professor and political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis. “We could see dramatic legal change,” she said, “with the recent affirmative action and abortion cases on the chopping block. ” Other areas of the law could be subject to faster change after a single Trump appointment. A threat to unions that ended in a deadlock in March, for instance, could soon reach the court again. This time, the challengers are likely to gain a fifth vote. The last term’s other major deadlock, over Mr. Obama’s plan to spare millions of unauthorized immigrants from deportation and allow them to work legally in the United States, will almost certainly be resolved without court intervention Mr. Trump has vowed to take a different path on immigration. He is also likely to use his executive authority to undo the Obama administration’s approach to climate change, transgender rights and clashes between religious beliefs and contraception coverage, again effectively pulling the plug on pending challenges in the courts. The Supreme Court decides about 70 cases a year, reviewing only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of lawsuits and prosecutions filed in federal courts. The lower federal courts are for now dominated by Democratic appointees, and the vast majority of their decisions escape Supreme Court review. In the short term, that leaves plenty of room for significant and lasting liberal victories in the lower federal courts. But the compositions of those courts will start to change, too, as Mr. Trump appoints judges to them. If his list of potential Supreme Court nominees is any guide, his appointments will also pull the law to the right. In the meantime, the replacement of Justice Scalia with another conservative would return the Supreme Court to a familiar dynamic, said Ms. Wydra of the Constitutional Accountability Center. “That means conservative legal activists will once again be able to attempt aggressive changes that push the law even further to the right,” she said, “but there will still be the potential for more progressive rulings like the marriage equality and abortion rulings we saw from the court even with Scalia. ” Almost all of the candidates on Mr. Trump’s list of potential nominees are sitting judges, and several served as law clerks to conservative Supreme Court justices. Many have judicial track records hostile to federal power, abortion rights and marriage. By training and temperament, judges move more slowly than politicians, and they have different values. “An open question is what happens when Trump realizes that the sorts of judges he’s been advised to appoint would rule against him on various matters,” said Mr. Shapiro of the Cato Institute. | 1 |
ORLANDO, Fla. — With dozens of survivors of the massacre at a gay nightclub here still hospitalized, some of the wounded on Tuesday gave gripping accounts of terror and pain on a night that turned in an instant from joyous to deadly. The survivors told of fleeing, hiding, using their phones to plead for help, watching friends die — and thinking that they would also — as a man with an assault rifle and a handgun went through the Pulse nightclub, firing more shots than they could count. The slaughter early Sunday left 49 victims dead, in addition to the gunman, and 53 wounded — the worst mass shooting in American history. “The guilt of feeling lucky to be alive is heavy,” said Patience Carter, who was shot in the legs and saw her friend Akyra Murray killed. “I was begging God to take the soul out of my body because I didn’t want to feel any more pain, I didn’t want any more shots. ” More than 30 of the wounded remained in hospitals on Tuesday, including at least six who were in critical condition. All of the dead had been identified, and most of the autopsies were completed. As the injured and the doctors who treated them told their stories, the F. B. I. continued looking into the actions of the gunman, Omar Mateen, 29, who died in a shootout with police, seeking evidence of a motive and any possible accomplices — in particular, whether his wife may have known he was planning the assault. His wife, Noor Zahi Salman, has told investigators that she once drove him to the nightclub, that she was with him when he bought ammunition, and that she tried to talk him out of mounting an attack, law enforcement officials said. Mr. Mateen had voiced hatred of gays, minorities and Jews, and had claimed links to Islamist terrorist groups during the siege at the nightclub, he declared allegiance to the Islamic State. But investigators were also looking into reports that he might have been gay himself. His Sitora Yusufiy, said that Mr. Mateen had told her that he had frequented nightclubs before their marriage, but had not described them as gay clubs. In Washington, President Obama on Tuesday reiterated that investigators had found no evidence that Mr. Mateen had actual contact with a larger terrorist group like the Islamic State. “It is increasingly clear, however, that the killer took in extremist information and propaganda over the internet,” Mr. Obama said. He appears to have been an “angry, disturbed, unstable young man who became radicalized,” the president said. “These lone actors or small cells of terrorists are very hard to detect and very hard to prevent,” Mr. Obama said. “We are doing everything in our power to stop these kinds of attacks. ” Referring to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, the president said: “I want to remind them that they are not alone. The American people and our allies, friends all over the world, stand with you and are thinking about you and are praying for you. ” On Sunday, there were about 320 people, most of them Latino, in Pulse shortly after 2 a. m. when Mr. Mateen entered with an assault rifle similar to an and a semiautomatic handgun. Angel Colon was exchanging goodbye hugs with friends when the shooting began, and like much of the panicked crowd he ran for the door. But three bullets hit his leg and he fell. “I tried to get back up but everyone started running everywhere — I got trampled over, and I shattered and broke my bones in my left leg,” he said at Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was being treated. “All I could do was just lay down while everyone was just running on top of me, trying to get to where they had to be. ” He heard more gunshots and screaming as the gunman apparently went to a back room and then returned. “He’s shooting everyone that’s already dead on the floor, making sure they’re dead,” Mr. Colon said. “I look over, and he shoots the girl next to me. And I’m just there laying down and I’m thinking ‘I’m next, I’m dead.’ So I don’t know how, but by the glory of God, he shoots toward my head but it hits my hand, and then he shoots me again and it hits the side of my hip. I had no reaction. I was just prepared to just stay there laying down so he won’t know that I’m alive. ” Then the killer traded gunfire with arriving police officers, retreating to another room. An officer entered, found Mr. Colon still alive, and dragged him through broken glass, cutting his back and legs, to the street and then to a nearby Wendy’s, where, he recalled,“there’s just bodies everywhere. ” “I wish I could remember his face or his name,” Mr. Colon said of the officer. “I’m grateful for him. ” Ms. Murray, 18, arrived in Orlando on Saturday from Philadelphia with her friends, Ms. Carter and Tiara Parker, on a trip to celebrate her high school graduation, and they had just ordered an Uber car to take them back to their hotel when they heard a barrage of gunfire. Ms. Carter said that she and Ms. Parker fled the club, then realized Ms. Murray was not with them and ran back inside to get her. By then, the way out was blocked, she said, and the three of them ran deeper into Pulse. Like a number of other people, including Angel Santiago Jr. they took shelter in a bathroom several including Ms. Carter and her friends, cowered in a large handicapped stall. She and Mr. Santiago told their stories to reporters on Tuesday at Florida Hospital, where they were being treated. “We just continued to hear gunfire, and I just remember thinking, when is it going to stop?” Mr. Santiago said. “It kept getting louder, closer, and I could actually start to smell, I don’t know, I guess it was gunpowder. ” Then the gunman entered, spraying the room with bullets, aiming primarily at the walls of the toilet stalls. “He was shooting his machine gun, so we’re all scrambling around the bathroom, screaming at the top of our lungs,” Ms. Carter said. “People were getting hit by bullets, blood is everywhere. ” A bullet went through her right thigh, shattering the femur, and lodged in her left thigh both of her friends were also hit. Lying on the floor in a spreading pool of blood, she looked under the divider into the next stall. “I could see piles of bodies laying over the toilet seat and slumped over, and the bottom of the toilet was slumped over with handprints and blood,” she said. Turning her head in other directions, she saw more dead and wounded. “At that point, I was just like, `I really don’t think I’m going to get out of here.’ ” Mr. Santiago was shot in the left foot and right knee, and the friend he was with was more seriously hurt. The gunman left the room, he said, and “we were just trying to be as quiet as possible because we didn’t want to attract him back to us. ” Unable to walk, Mr. Santiago dragged himself out of the bathroom, past prone and broken bodies, to the front room of the club, where he found police officers waiting. “I yelled, I said, ‘There are people shot, people who are killed in the bathroom, we need help,’” he recalled. Mr. Mateen returned to the bathroom, and it was there, Ms. Carter said, that he called 911 to talk with the police, and she heard him pledge allegiance to the Islamic State. He said “that the reason why he’s doing this is because he wants America to stop bombing his country. ” Later, he addressed his victims directly, asking if any of them were black, explaining: “You know, I don’t have a problem with black people. This is about my country. You guys have suffered enough. ” He got angry when people’s cellphones beeped or rang, and demanded that people turn them over, she said, and he made comments like “we’ve got the snipers outside” indicating that he was not alone, or that he was talking with accomplices. After a standoff, she heard explosions as the police started their final assault on the club, trying to blow a hole in an outer wall. His rifle had apparently jammed, she said, and he used the pistol to resume firing, shooting three people who lay on the floor. Someone — she did not know who — got between her and the gun, and was shot. “It wasn’t for that person shielding me, I would have been shot, I wouldn’t be here,” she said. Doctors at Orlando Regional Medical Center said they ordinarily would get some warning that wounded were coming, as well as information about the number of patients and their conditions. But not in this case, with a chaotic mass shooting just blocks away. Patients arrived in trucks and cars, and on foot, as well as in ambulances. “We quickly got about five patients, and that was a lot for us, and we thought maybe that was going to be it,” Dr. Kathryn Bondani said. “And then they started lining up in the hallway. ” patients were taken to the medical center, the region’s only trauma center, and nine of them died quickly. No other patients have died since that night. Of the six patients in critical condition, Dr. Michael Cheatham said, “I suspect that they will survive, but my concern is that they will have lasting harm from this, in terms of their functionality. ” On Monday night, thousands of people gathered on a grassy knoll in downtown Orlando for a candlelight vigil that was by turns defiant and melancholy. “We have come together as a force here in Orlando that cannot be broken,” said Terry DeCarlo, the executive director of the L. G. B. T. Center of Central Florida. Mourners joined in the sports chant: “I believe that we will win. ” But moments later, during about 10 minutes of silence, tears flowed and embraces tightened as the crowd lifted candles into the air and a church bell tolled. “Numb,” Elayane Merriwether, a bartender who lost a in the shooting, said of the city’s mood. “People just keep crying. People don’t know what to say to each other. I think a lot of people are still in shock. ” | 1 |
Latest News Justifying the Saudi Slaughter in Yemen One of Obama's biggest failures is letting his policy in Syria be determined primarily by the ambitions of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey Share This
The Obama administration has carried out a deliberately deceptive campaign accusing Iran of covertly sending arms to the Houthis by sea, a claim that Washington cites to help justify the Saudi massive air attack against the Houthis that began last year.
By repeating the accusation over and over, the administration has been largely successful in turning a dubious allegation into accepted fact, even though it is contradicted by evidence that is well-documented on the public record.
Secretary of State John Kerry introduced the new variant of the Obama administration’s familiar theme about Iran’s “nefarious activities” in the region two weeks after Saudi Arabia began its bombing in Yemen on March 26, 2015. Kerry told the PBS NewsHour, “There are obviously supplies that have been coming from Iran,” citing “a number of flights every single week that have been flying in.” Kerry vowed that the United States was “not going to stand by while the region is destabilized.”
Later, the administration began accusing Iran of using fishing boats to smuggle arms to the Houthis. The campaign unfolded in a series of four interceptions of small fishing boats or dhows in or near the Arabian Sea from September 2015 through March 2016. The four interceptions had two things in common: the boats did have illicit weapons alright, but the crews always said the ship was bound for Somalia – not Yemen and the Houthis.
But instead of acknowledging the obvious fact that the weapons were not related to the Iran-Houthi relationship, a U.S. military spokesman put out a statement in all four cases citing a U.S. “assessment” that the ultimate destination of the arms was Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.
The choice of wording was significant. The intelligence community says that it “assesses” that something is true only when it does not have clear-cut proof on the matter. In the case of the alleged Iranian use of fishing dhows to smuggle arms to the Houthis, the U.S. spokesmen did not cite a single piece of evidence for that “assessment” in any of the four cases. In fact, when asked for some justification for it, the military spokesman refused.
The first fishing dhow was intercepted in the Arabian Sea on Sept. 25, 2015, by a member of a 31-nation coalition called the Combined Maritime Forces patrolling the Arabian Sea and nearby waters for piracy. The coalition ship found the dhow to be carrying 18 Konkurs anti-tank missiles, 71 other anti-tank shells and 54 missile-launchers.
Blaming Iran
The U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet later issued a statement that said, “Based on statements from the dhow’s crew the port of origin of the dhow and its illicit weapons cache is believed to be Iran.” It also said the anti-tank missiles were thought to be of Iranian and Russian origin, and that the papers on the ship had indicated that it had been checked by ports and customs officials in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province.
But the crew of the vessel had said that it was bound not for Yemen but for Somalia, as the spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet acknowledged to The Associated Press . A Saudi military spokesman suggested that Iran intended to reroute the arms later from Somalia to Yemen, but offered no evidence.
On Feb. 27, 2016, an Australian ship intercepted a second fishing dhow off the coast of Oman. The Australians found 1,989 AK-47 assault rifles, 100 rocket-propelled grenades and 40 PKM machine guns on board. The Australian Defense Force issued an official statement on the seizure that did not mention Iranian involvement. It said the boat appeared to be “stateless” and that its cache of weapons was “destined for Somalia.” The Australian Defense Force spokesman explained to CNN that the conclusion was based on interviews with crew members.
But a spokesman for U.S. Naval Forces, Central Command, Lt. Ian McConnaughey gave an entirely different political slant to the interception. In an e-mail to NBC News, McConnaughey said. “Based on the dhow’s course, Iran is believed to be its port of origin and the source of the illicit weapon,” he said. McConnaughey said the crew was “assessed” to be Iranian – implying that the crew itself had not indicated that.
McConnaughey acknowledged to NBC and The Telegraph, “According to coalition forces it is believed that the vessel’s destination was in the vicinity of Somalia.” But the CENTCOM spokesman indicated that it didn’t matter; the U.S. was insisting on its narrative about covert Iranian arms to the Houthis.
“[T]he initial U.S. assessment is the weapons’ final destination was likely to be the Houthis in Yemen,” McConnaaughey told NBC and The Telegraph.
When this writer asked McConnaughey by e-mail why the U.S. “assessed” that the weapons were intended for Yemen, despite the evidence to the contrary, he responded, “We are not going to discuss the intelligence and other information that led us to our assessment.”
A Third Shipment
On March 20, a French navy destroyer intercepted a third fishing dhow off the Island of Socotra in the northern Indian Ocean and found several hundred AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns and antitank weapons. The official statement on the seizure from the Combined Maritime Forces stated categorically, “The dhow was spotted heading toward Somalia.”
And because the weapons were “deemed to be destined for Somalia,” it explained, they “were seized under the United Nations Security Council mandated arms embargo in accordance with UNSCR 2244(2015).” That Security Council resolution mandates an embargo on Eritrea.
Australia and other states participating in the Combined Maritime Forces were thus challenging the U.S. propaganda line. But again the U.S. military used the news media to reinforce the line about Iran smuggling arms to the Houthis. Commander Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the Fifth Fleet, told CNN that “according to a U.S. assessment,” Yemen was the “likely destination” of the arms.
A fourth interception – the third in three weeks – occurred on March 28 by a U.S. Navy ship that was not operating as part of Combined Maritime Forces but directly under U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. That allowed the Naval Forces Central Command to issue its own news story on April 4.
In its lead paragraph, the report said the United States “assessed” that the shipment of illicit arms on board the dhow “originated in Iran and was likely bound for Houthi insurgents in Yemen.”
An Earlier Ruse
The Obama administration also had sought to promote the charge that Iranian was covertly sending weapons to the Houthis by sea more than two years earlier. In January 2013, the Yemen client government backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia had claimed that its forces had intercepted a ship with a large cargo of weaponry that came from Iran and was on its way to Yemen to deliver them to the Houthis.
The Obama administration supported that charge in briefings to journalists. After the Saudi air war against Yemen began in 2015, the U.S. pushed for a report by an experts group on sanctions against Iran that would give the charge credibility.
But the 2013 claim was soon exposed as a ruse. A Security Council Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea revealed in a June 2013 report that the crewmembers had told diplomats who interviewed them that ship’s cargo of diesel fuel was bound for Somalia, not Yemen. And, since the weapons were hidden under the diesel fuel tanks, the weapons could be accessed only after those tanks had been emptied, in other words after the ship docked in Somalia.
The monitoring group learned from authorities in the Puntland region of Somalia, where most of the smuggled weapons have entered the country, that this was a widely used method of smuggling arms into the country.
Furthermore, the monitoring group determined that the wide range of types of weapons on board the ship, which was intercepted in January 2013, as well as of their original sources indicated that the weapons cache had been assembled by arms merchants. Authorities in Puntland provided data to the monitoring group showing that most of the shipments of weapons into Puntland in the months before January 2013 had come from politically well-connected arms merchants in Yemen.
Some of the fishing boats that were intercepted with illicit arms on board in 2015-16 had Iranian owners. But the monitoring group report reveals that the real reason is the role of such Iranian fishing vessels in illegal fishing in Somali waters. The vast majority of the hundreds of fishing vessels involved in such illegal fishing networks were either Iranian or Yemeni. As many as 300 were believed to be Yemeni-owned, while Iranian-owned 180 of them.
The monitoring group said it was investigating unconfirmed reports that some of those illegal fishing vessels were also being used to carry out arms smuggling and that it had established “other connections between the illegal fishing networks and networks involved in the arms trade and connected to al-Shabaab in northeastern Somalia.”
But the Obama administration has no interest in the considerable evidence gathered by the monitoring group that provides a more credible explanation for the arms found on those four fishing dhows.
Such an explanation isn’t political useful, whereas the accusations of Iranian smuggling of arms to the Houthis fulfilled multiple political and bureaucratic interests, justifying Saudi Arabia’s bloody U.S.-backed air campaign over Yemen and endless Washington alarms about “Iranian aggression.”
Gareth Porter, an investigative historian and journalist specializing in US national security policy, received the UK-based Gellhorn Prize for journalism for 2011 for articles on the U.S. war in Afghanistan. His new book is Manufactured Crisis: the Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare . He can be contacted at .
Reprinted from the Middle East Eye with the author’s permission. Read more by Gareth Porter | 0 |
Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Here’s the .) Let’s turn it over to Thomas Fuller, our San Francisco bureau chief, for today’s introduction. The titans of Silicon Valley like to claim that they’re inventing technology to change the world, and their philanthropic efforts often mirror those big global goals and dreams, with initiatives to end hunger and fight diseases. But the arts in San Francisco haven’t always felt their generosity. Even as total philanthropic spending in the Bay Area has more than doubled over the past decade to around $5 billion, according to the Foundation Center, it’s been difficult for some arts groups to find support with so many organizations competing for attention and funding. Last year, for example, with social inequality such a issue, one heavyweight charitable organization, the James Irvine Foundation, chose to stop spending on the arts and switch all of its future giving toward addressing poverty. The move has important repercussions: In 2015 the Irvine Foundation gave $15. 45 million to the arts, more than a fifth of the foundation’s total grants. So on Tuesday culture fans were given a reason to cheer when the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation announced a plan to spend $8 million on performing arts projects in the Bay Area over the next five years. A panel of experts convened by the foundation will help select 50 works from artists in the Bay Area. The performances will include dance, theater, music and performance art. “There’s much more of a demand for arts than we can hope to fulfill,” said Larry Kramer, the president of the foundation, which gets its funding from the fortune made from one of the founders of the pioneering computer company. “It’s hard to raise money for the arts,” said Ben Mangan, the executive director of the Center for Social Sector Leadership at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. “The arts don’t fall neatly into a category of a problem to solve. ” Giving money away is fraught with difficult choices, Mr. Kramer said. “The thing about philanthropy is that there are a million problems that are worth addressing and you can’t address all of them,” he said. (Please note: We regularly highlight articles on news sites that have limited access for nonsubscribers.) • Another round of rain began rolling through Northern California after a powerful weekend storm. [San Francisco Chronicle] • Hundreds of homes along the overflowing Russian River in Sonoma County faced flooding Monday. [The Press Democrat] • The investor Thomas J. Barrack Jr. is among the most influential Californians in Donald J. Trump’s inner circle. [Los Angeles Times] • A United States representative from San Diego yanked a controversial artwork from a Capitol wall. Now he’s being accused of theft. [San Diego ] • San Diego’s ambitious public transit push is slipping further from reach. [KPBS] • “Near historic”: The Nuna has built a database of the nation’s 74 million Medicaid patients. [The New York Times] • Yahoo said it would rename itself “Altaba” after selling its internet business. Why Altaba? [The New York Times] • The average “ ” in San Francisco is now $920, 000. [SFGate. com] • “Diabolical scheme”: A Southern California woman was accused of framing her husband’s . [Los Angeles Times] • The “Hollyweed” prankster surrendered to the police. He said the stunt was for the sake of “art. ” [Hollywood Reporter] • Nobody was quite expecting Meryl Streep to lay down the gauntlet for a new kind of culture war. [The New York Times] • West Hollywood’s historic Formosa Cafe closed. But preservation rules mean its exterior cannot be easily altered. [Curbed Los Angeles] • Photo: A dead whale washed up near the Oakland waterfront. [East Bay Times] Hundreds of outdoor walls across Sacramento serve as canvasses for colorful murals. To find them, people have had to rely largely on word of mouth or serendipity. But now, a richly detailed Google map has been published that includes not just their locations, but also images of the works and the names of the artists behind them. The project is the brainchild of Nathaniel Miller, an interactivity editor at The Sacramento Bee. In an interview, Mr. Miller said he used his free time outside of work to research the murals over much of 2016. He portrayed himself as an art novice who was simply in the mood for a project that he thought would be of use. The murals range from the handiwork of elementary school children to interpretations by established artists. All told, Mr. Miller cataloged 420 murals, but he expects that number to grow. Sacramento officials have been embracing public art as a way to enliven the city. During the Sacramento Mural Festival last August, artists were invited to bring blank walls to life at about a dozen places across the city center. Some of the works stretched several stories high. California Today goes live at 6 a. m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes. com. The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Davis. Follow him on Twitter. California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended U. C. Berkeley. | 1 |
Tweet Widget A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford
The capitalist ruling class is frightened, for good reason: the empire cannot peacefully contain the rising economic powers of the South and East. “The Lords of Capital know there is no future for them in a world where the dollar is not supreme and where Wall Street’s stocks, bonds and derivatives are not backed by the full weight of unchallenged empire.” War is the only card they have left to play – and Hillary Clinton is their favored dealer. The Lords of Capital Sic Crazy Hillary on the World A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford
“The Lords of Capital are creatures of U.S. imperial dominance; they go out of business when the empire does.”
By virtually every measurement, the United States is in deep crisis, as both a society and as the headquarters of global capitalism. We can roughly measure the severity of some aspects of the crisis with the tools of economic analysis. Such an analysis is quite useful in explaining why Washington is so eager to risk war with Russia and China, whether in Syria or the South China Sea or along the ever expanding borders of NATO. To put it simply, the U.S. and western Europe become smaller, in terms of their economic influence, with every passing day, and cannot possibly maintain their political dominance in the world except by military force, coercion and terror. Those are the only cards the imperialists have left to play. The ruling circles in the U.S. are aware that time is not on their side, and it makes them crazy -- or crazier than usual.
The ruling class’s own analysts tell them that the center of the world economy is moving inexorably to the East and the South; that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future; and that the U.S. is already number two by some economic measures -- and dropping. The Lords of Capital know there is no future for them in a world where the dollar is not supreme and where Wall Street’s stocks, bonds and derivatives are not backed by the full weight of unchallenged empire. Put another way, U.S. imperialism is at an inflection point, with all the indicators pointing downward and no hope of reversing the trend by peaceful means.
Now, that’s actually not such a bad prognosis for the United States, as a country. The U.S. is a big country, with an abundance of human and natural resources, and would do just fine in a world among equals. But, the fate of the Lords of Capital is tied to the ongoing existence of empire. They create nothing, but seek to monetize and turn a profit on everything. They cannot succeed in trade unless it is rigged, and have placed bets in their casinos that are nominally seven times more valuable than the total economic activity of planet Earth. In short, the Lords of Capital are creatures of U.S. imperial dominance; they go out of business when the empire does.
Beat the Clock
The rulers are looking class death in the face -- and it terrifies them. And when the Lords of Capital become frightened, they order their servants in politics and the war industries and the vast national security networks to take care of the problem, by any means necessary. That means militarily encircling Russia and China; arming and mobilizing tens of thousands of jihadist terrorists in Syria, in an attempt to repeat the regime change in Libya; waging a war of economic sanctions and low-level armed aggression against Iran; occupying most of the African continent through subversion of African militaries; escalating subversion in Latin America; and spying on everyone on earth with a digital connection. All this, to stop the clock that is ticking on U.S. and European world economic dominance.
Left political analysts that I greatly respect argue that Hillary Clinton and the mob she will come in with in January will pull back from apocalyptic confrontation with Russia in Syria -- that they’re not really that crazy. But, I’m not at all convinced. The ruling class isn’t just imagining that their days are numbered; it’s really true. And rulers do get crazy when their class is standing at death’s door.
For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to BlackAgendaReport.com. BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at [email protected] . | 0 |
When revelers begin arriving at Times Square on Saturday to ring in the new year, they will hear the familiar sound of police helicopters overhead, go through the mandatory bag screenings and see the usual mass of police officers. But they will also be greeted by something that has only recently become a regular feature of the city’s security infrastructure: strategically positioned garbage trucks loaded with sand. The Sanitation Department bills itself as New York’s Strongest, and its hulking vehicles have made the agency a key ally as the Police Department and other law enforcement agencies seek to guard against truck attacks like those in Nice, France, and Berlin. Trucks have been deployed outside Trump Tower on Election Day and along the route of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The trucks weigh about 16 tons, and nearly double that with a full load of sand, according to Vito A. Turso, a spokesman for the Sanitation Department. “They’re pretty immovable,” he said. And that is the point, the police commissioner, James P. O’Neill, said at a news conference on Thursday in Times Square with Mayor Bill de Blasio. While there are no specific threats related to the event, he said, the trucks serve as a deterrent to the type of truck attacks in France and Germany that killed dozens of people and injured hundreds more. Donald J. Trump, who has been at his estate in Florida, is not expected to be in Manhattan for New Year’s Eve, but the Police Department said Thursday that it expected close to two million people to converge on Times Square on Saturday for the annual ball drop. “We’re going to have one of the most best protected events at one of the safest venues in the entire world, given all the assets that we’ve employed here,” Mr. O’Neill said. “And all of this will ensure that New York City has yet another safe and enjoyable New Year’s Eve celebration, as we do every year. ” of the Sanitation Department trucks are part of a security plan that involves close to 7, 000 police officers, assigned to guard against crime and terror by land, sea and air, as well as in the subway. Beyond Times Square, some of the sanitation trucks will be stationed near a planned fireworks display in Central Park. Similar blockades will be put in place on the streets leading to the Coney Island Boardwalk as well as on the promenade itself. More than 100 police vehicles will also be positioned to restrict access to event sites. The police will be watching from many vantage points. There will be helicopters hovering, observers on rooftops and plainclothes officers among the crowds. Their views will be complemented by hundreds of police cameras across the city. On the waterways, the department’s Harbor Unit will mingle among the dinner cruise ships and ferries plying the waters around Manhattan. And back on land, houses of worship will receive special attention for New Year’s Eve services. But Times Square remains the biggest draw, and Chief Carlos Gomez, the department’s top uniformed official, said those seeking to watch the ball drop would be required to go through several screenings before they would be allowed into one of the 65 pens set up for spectators between Times Square and West 59th Street. “We’ll use metal detectors to scan individuals entering the observation areas,” he said. “We will also deploy our full complement of both at the event and throughout our transit system. ” “This will be a very event, probably our event,” Chief Gomez said. Many of the same measures will be deployed underground, where officers will be riding trains and inspecting bags and containers. Gradual street closings between 33rd and 59th Streets were expected to snarl traffic in Midtown, and the police strongly urged people to use the subway. Mr. de Blasio reminded visitors that umbrellas and large bags would not be allowed in Times Square. “I want to be real clear up front,” the mayor said. “Just don’t do it. ” But demonstrators, he said, are free to bring signs, so long as they do not use them to block the view. | 1 |
Clear heart blockages with this powerful lemon and garlic mixture
Amy Goodrich Tags: cholesterol , heart blockages , natural remedies (NaturalNews) When your coronary arteries narrow, they fail to supply the heart with enough oxygen-rich blood. At first, this may result in chest pain and shortness of breath. However, when fatty substances continue to build up, a total blockage may cause a heart attack.In the United States, high levels of LDL cholesterol – also known as "bad" cholesterol – remain a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke. To avoid these sticky cholesterol build-ups, millions of Americans resort to cholesterol-lowering drugs .According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 33 percent of U.S. adults – or 78.1 million people aged 21 or older – are eligible for cholesterol-lowering medication or are already taking it. Unfortunately, most of these drugs come with a host of negative side-effects. Think of the whole statin debate that has been going on for quite a while now.If you are one of the millions of people struggling with high cholesterol levels, regular exercise, eating a heart-healthy diet and losing weight are all it takes to lower them. Below, you'll find three remedies using lemon and garlic that will help you to keep your arteries free and your heart healthy. Heart-friendly lemon and garlic mixture Heart remedy #1 1 cup apple cider vinegar 3 cups natural honey In a saucepan or pot, combine lemon juice, garlic juice, ginger juice and apple cider vinegar. Mix well and boil for half an hour or until approximately one cup of the liquid has evaporated. When cool, stir in honey and transfer to a glass bottle or jar. Store in the fridge. Every morning before breakfast take one tablespoon of the mixture. Heart remedy #2 6 lemons, peeled and cut into small pieces 30 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped into small pieces 2 liters filtered water Add lemon and garlic pieces to a blender or food processor. Top with one-quarter to half of the water and blend. Pour the mixture into a pot and add the remaining filtered water. Bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes. Allow to cool and strain the liquid into a glass bottle or jar. Discard the residue and store the lemon garlic mixture in the fridge. Note: Do not pour the mixture into a plastic bottle as it may leach toxic compounds into your drink.For three weeks, drink 50 milliliters of the mixture daily. Then pause the remedy for a week, followed by another three weeks of a dose of 50 milliliters a day. Repeat the treatment every 6 months. Heart remedy #3 Method 3 is for you if you don't like the lemon garlic taste. It is similar to the second method, the only difference being that it has double the amount of water and a bigger serving size. 6 lemons, peeled and cut into small pieces 30 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped into small pieces 4 liters filtered water Work in batches. Add half of the lemon and garlic pieces to a blender or food processor. Top with one liter of the water (or less if you have a small blender) and blend. Pour the mixture into a pot and add another liter of water. Repeat with the remaining lemon, garlic and water.Bring to a boil and simmer for another five minutes. Allow to cool and strain the liquid into a glass bottle or jar. Discard the residue and store the lemon garlic mixture in the fridge.For three weeks, drink one normal-sized glass of the mixture daily. Then pause the remedy for a week, followed by another three weeks of one glass a day. Repeat the treatment every 12 months.If you want, you can slightly warm the mixture to create a healing tea or pour over ice for a refreshing iced tea. Sources for this article include: | 0 |
Does Golf Lead To Uncontrollable Rage? By Tanner Bisbee on March 14, 2015 Subscribe
We all have a friend who’seems to be constantly frustrated or instigated easily and we assume they have some type of anger issue.?But finding out if they really have an anger problem may be as simple taking them out on the Golf Course. Public Domain Image
Golf, a widely played sport seems to be worst?fuel for those who get ticked off easily.?Golf forces us to rely on our own skill, proper technique and the idealistic expectation of always sending the small white ball 300 yards down the fairway, however for most of us?it doesn’t work out this way. For the vast majority of us the result is a ball that slices 50 yards in the woods or only makes 100 yards down the fair.
And for many of us this result isn’t a problem, but for those that have godly expectations or temper issues, it’s catastrophic. The very first tell tale sign is the immediate reaction after the mishit ball. Just watch your friend as soon the ball leaves the tee. Their is a very good chance that if the ball starts to shift or bend one way in the air, his face will go still and his arm will go the top of his head.
But what next? For many of us, we walk to our bag in disbelief wondering why we botched that hit, but we ultimately let it go. However, for the temperamental person they will walk off in a huff and throw their club in the bag and keep going. And after awhile the rage begins to build up until they snap. It happens to many of us, especially on days where the ball just won’t roll our way,
This moment can also be one of the funniest moments for the other player or spectator.?Watch as your friend unhappily steps up to the ball. Watch as he hits the ball, if the shot is bad look directly back at your friend. See as his discouragement only turns into anger. It’s almost like something in his mind just got tangled. Now the truly temperamental person will take one of three?actions: starts screaming and swearing throw his club in the woods snap the club in half, my personal favorite
Like this guy did:
So what should you do when your friend freaks out? Film it. At least my first reaction is too film it, because everybody on YouTube loves a freak out. So step aside cute kittens, there is a new viral video coming to town.
About Tanner Bisbee
Tanner Bisbee hails from the great State of Maine. He's a full time college student and serves on the football staff at school. His most notable work to date is his book Modern Day Sports Blog. To read more check out my blog http://moderndaysportsandpolitics.blogspot.com/ Connect | 0 |
MELBOURNE, Australia — The sibling rivalry, at least on the tennis tour, started right here at the Australian Open for the Williams sisters. It was 1998, and older sister Venus beat younger sister Serena, (4) in a match that — as intrusive as it felt to watch — surely drew more attention than any match in history between a pair of Australian Open debutantes. The fascination in their dynamic and their futures was there from the start in Melbourne Park, known then as Flinders Park when it had only one stadium with a retractable roof instead of three. A picture of Venus consoling Serena after the match was on the front page of The New York Times. Though it would be tempting to label their Australian Open final on Saturday as a moment and to speculate that it might be their last meeting at this late a stage of a Grand Slam tournament, it seems best to resist the temptation. The Williams sisters have taught us a lot about the limits of conventional tennis wisdom through the years. And so, even if 19 years have passed and Serena is now 35 and Venus 36, it is wise to avoid fencing them in again after they have run roughshod over so many other preconceptions. “I watched Venus today celebrating after she won the semifinal like she was a girl, and it made you want to cry for joy just watching her,” said Marion Bartoli, a former Wimbledon champion. “Such a powerful image, and it makes you think about all those questions she was getting: ‘When are you retiring? Have you thought about retiring? How much longer?’ “You must let the champions decide when the right moment comes. ” The Williamses are both great champions, even if Serena is clearly the greater player with her 22 Grand Slam singles titles and her long run at No. 1, a spot she can reclaim from Angelique Kerber with a win Saturday. Serena has been the most prolific Grand Slam winner after age 30 in tennis history, and she is back in rare form again after another extended break at the end of 2016. She disconnected completely from the game and physical training initially and had to push hard to get back in shape in November and December. It worked. She has not dropped a set here despite a challenging draw, nor has she even been pushed to a tiebreaker. Newly engaged to the American technology entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, who has watched her matches from the players box, and seemingly refreshed, Serena deserves to be the favorite to win her 23rd major singles title and break her tie with Steffi Graf for the highest total in the Open era. In this tournament, Serena has beaten two former members of the top 10 — Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova — and one current member, the No. 9 seed Johanna Konta. Venus’s draw has been soft by comparison, devoid of top 10 players — past or present — and including only one seeded player: No. 24 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. On Thursday, she had to scrap and come back to win, (3) against the powerful unseeded American CoCo Vandeweghe, while Serena cruised past the unseeded Croat Mirjana . Serena, who already holds a edge over her sister, could be the fresher player, too, on Saturday. But the psychology remains complex and the fallout unpredictable, even after all these years. “When I’m playing on the court with her, I think I’m playing the best competitor in the game,” Venus said. “I don’t think I’m chump change either, you know. I can compete against any odds. No matter what, I can get out there, and I compete. ” They have not played since the 2015 United States Open, when Serena won, in a quarterfinal in which Venus attacked, often successfully, from the start but had no answer in the end for Serena’s ultimate weapon: her first serve. It was an intense match in which the big crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium seemed more reflective than fully engaged one in which Serena’s celebration was understandably subdued with her sister across the net, even if their matches are no longer the awkward, constricted affairs of their early years. Saturday’s final in Melbourne could be intriguing on multiple levels, in part because of the Australian public. Venus is viewed here, as elsewhere, as a sympathetic figure: the older sister who has handled the younger’s greater tennis success unselfishly and with dignity. And though both sisters have had to cope with major health problems and family tragedy, with the murder of their half sister Yetunde Price in 2003, Venus is the one whose tennis fortunes dipped more dramatically. A Grand Slam singles champion and a former No. 1, she did not advance past the third round in any major event in singles from late 2011 to the end of the 2014 season. She was a major star reduced to a minor role, largely because of an autoimmune disorder — Sjogren’s syndrome, diagnosed in 2011 — that sapped her strength and endurance. When Russian hackers breached the World Agency’s databases last fall, it was revealed that Venus had needed 13 exemptions for drugs in recent years. The retirement questions to which Bartoli referred started during that period. But Venus’s ability to cope with her condition has improved, and after rejoining the top 10 in 2015, she reached the semifinals at Wimbledon last year and then the final here. “She never even thought of the word retire,” said David Witt, her coach and hitting partner of 10 years. “I just think when she got diagnosed, it was a step back, a shock. She’s learned a lot about how to deal with it and her body, how to eat, how to manage it. “There are days she can’t work as hard as she wants to work. Some days it’s maybe not smart to do it because it will then hurt you for two or three more days. Where she is now in her career, she has to listen to her body, and I don’t think she really needs to go out and hit balls for two hours. ” Witt said there were no more sessions in the or in time off tour: just one session in the morning and then gym work, primarily sprints, core strengthening and flexibility. “It took her years and years to realize that stretching is important and can keep you healthier,” he said. “The more flexible you are, you’re not going to strain or pull anything. I’ve been with her 10 years, and I think it took seven years to get her to stretch. She likes to do a lot of dancing, and that consists of a lot of stretching and being flexible, so I think that’s helped. ” Her dance skills were in evidence Thursday as she pirouetted after beating Vandeweghe, but what will linger longest in memory were her screams of delight at having conquered an inspired young opponent in a semifinal. It was a moment she described as “just joy. ” “You could really see the happiness on her face,” Serena said. “I’ve been there when she was down and out of it, and back and in it. I’ve been there for all those moments, so I just really was oh so happy. ” As visceral as her reaction on court was, she was nothing but considered in the interview room. “I think why people love sport so much is because you see everything in a line,” Venus said. “In that moment, there is no . There’s no retake. There is no . It’s triumph and disaster witnessed in real time. “This is why people live and die for sport, because you can’t fake it. You can’t. It’s either you do it or you don’t. People relate to the champion. They also relate to the person who didn’t win, because we all have those moments in our life. ” This will be Venus’s first major singles final since she lost to Serena in straight sets in the 2009 Wimbledon final, and her first match against Serena in Melbourne since the 2003 final when Serena won her fourth Grand Slam title in a row, having defeated Venus in all four finals. “It’s just amazing,” said Rennae Stubbs, the Australian star who first met the sisters before they joined the tour. “They came onto the scene at age 15 and 16 with the beads and the hair and the exuberance, and here they are: mature, remarkable young women at 35 and 36. No matter what anyone says to me, their story from start to finish is the greatest sports story ever. ” And if the Williamses have taught us anything along the way, it is that the story is not finished until they say it is. | 1 |
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) took little time in filing the first lawsuit to try to stop the Lone Star State’s recently signed jurisdiction bill. LULAC sued the State of Texas, its governor, and the state’s attorney general. [The mayor of the small Texas border city of El Cenizo joined with the organization whose stated mission is to “advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health and civil rights of the Hispanic population of the United States. ” A sheriff and a constable from an adjacent county are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit. El Cenizo is in Webb County right on the Border. Its population is approximately 3, 300 and is 99. 2 percent Hispanic. The city has long considered itself “a safe haven” for illegal aliens. In 1999, city officials passed an ordinance which prohibits city employees from asking a person about their immigration status. El Cenizo Mayor Raul L. Reyes, and Maverick County’s Sheriff Tom Schmerber and Constable (Pct. ) Mario A. Hernandez are the named plaintiffs in the LULAC lawsuit against the State of Texas, Governor Greg Abbott (in his official capacity) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Maverick County is adjacent to Webb County just northeast of the county. “The League of United Latin American Citizens has filed suit against Texas Governor Gregg Abbott seeking to block implementation of SB 4 as a violation of multiple protections in the US Constitution,” stated LULAC National President Roger C. Rocha, Jr. “We believe it is unconstitutional for the State of Texas to attempt to coerce local law enforcement into becoming de facto federal immigration agents. ” A statement obtained by Breitbart Texas from LULAC provides: “The complaint which was filed by the League of United Latin American Citizens against the State of Texas and key government officials seeks declaratory and injunctive relief from the courts to stop the state from discriminating against individuals based solely on the color of their skin. The complaint, which was the first to be filed by a civil rights organization in response to the signing of SB 4, maintains that SB 4 violates the U. S. Constitution. The statute seeks to extend local law enforcement into a field preempted by federal law. Specifically, SB 4 impermissibly extends immigration enforcement to local officials by forcing local government entities to cooperate with immigration enforcement efforts in a way that violates federal law both constitutionally and statutorily. In addition to the statute being unconstitutional, it is bad policy. SB 4 will promote distrust between local law enforcement and the community at large. ” Breitbart Texas reported in an exclusive interview with Texas Governor Greg Abbott that law enforcement and other officials who implement sanctuary policies and release criminal aliens with detainers will now be subject to the “stiffest penalties in America. ” Governor Abbott made these comments immediately following his signing of the historic bill that not only effectively outlaws sanctuary jurisdictions, but provides for criminal penalties and removal from office if violated by law enforcement officials. Abbott also strongly refuted the attempts of media, legislators, law enforcement officials, and others that “The controversial part of this law is what some label as the ‘show your papers’ component. ” He explained: “And what everyone seems to get wrong is they think that that provision was stricken down in the Arizona law. To the contrary, the provision in the Arizona law is stricter than the Texas law. The Arizona law required that law enforcement ASK for papers. The Texas law does not require it it allows it so there is that one difference. ” “But despite that difference, the Arizona law was upheld by every U. S. Supreme Court justice, including the liberals. ” “The controversial part of this law has been ruled on by the U. S. Supreme Court and upheld,” the governor emphasized. The author of the bill, Senator Charles Perry ( ) said during a QA on the Senate Floor during final passage of the bill that police can already inquire about the immigration status of a person they detain. He said this bill doesn’t change anything in this regard and citizens and legal residents do not need “carry papers” to prove they are here legally. As to criminal penalties for law enforcement officers that thumb their nose at the law after it becomes effective on September 1: All law enforcement officers are going to be required to follow this law. If they refuse to follow this law, or if they adopt sanctuary city policies, they are subject now to the stiffest penalties in America for adopting sanctuary city policies — which includes jail time where sheriffs could wind up in the same jail they may be releasing inmates from who are the subject of ICE detainer requests. “But these officials also are subject to a removal action,” Abbott advised, “and the counties or cities in which they operate are subject to very stiff fines. ” The law makes ignoring an immigration detainer a Class A misdemeanor, Breitbart Texas reported. When asked about Travis County Sheriff “Sanctuary Sally” Hernandez and Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, the Texas governor had this to say during the interview: “If they don’t change their policies, if they continue to handle detainers on a basis that means they will be in violation of this law and subject to its penalties. ” The lawsuit filed in San Antonio in the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Texas has been assigned to Chief Judge Orlando L. Garcia. Judge Garcia has ruled against Texas in redistricting lawsuits brought against the state. Interestingly, the federal complaint (below) bears the name “Bexar County Constable Pct. 1 Ruben C. Tejeda” as a plaintiff but it has been manually . The governor of Texas believes this legislation will protect its citizens and free them from danger. He clarified: “This law makes Texans safer because it prevents the types of policies that California has that lead to the tragic murder of Kate Steinle. It prevents the types of policies that were adopted by the Travis County sheriff who had policies that release back out on the street, people who are either accused of, or even convicted of, very dangerous crimes and so Texas is going to be a safer place by ensuring that law enforcement will work with federal officials to ensure that we keep behind bars, and remove from this country, those who pose a danger to our fellow Americans. ” Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2. LULAC Lawsuit Against Texas on Sanctuary City Ban by lanashadwick on Scribd, | 1 |
Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party (2016) http://www.tagtele.com/videos/voir/233184/ | 0 |
UNREAL: Calif. Soldiers Billed for Thousands After Military Decides Not to Honor Decade-Old Enlistment Bonuses
He told the audience that he was “humbled by this endorsement from true freedom fighters.” He also referenced the Damas en Blanco (Ladies in White), a “ Cuban dissident organization composed of the wives, mothers, daughters and sisters of political prisoners.”
“They march quietly to church every Sunday and … are subject to physical and verbal violence and abuse by government-sanctioned mobs,” Trump told the audience. He added that his opponent “turns a blind eye to the human rights violations that occur every single day.”
As for the Bay of Pigs Veterans Association, a representative from the group called their endorsement a “no-brainer.”
In his introduction, the representative said that the group was concerned that “corruption in our public life has become rampant and has to be stopped. He also derided the “socialist progressive agenda of Hillary Clinton .”
You can see Trump’s speech at the event here:
Trump has clearly shown that he’s on the side of the military, speaking out against Obama’s broken Department of Veterans Affairs, the shoddy treatment given to our veterans otherwise and the fact that our military gains have been reversed by administration policy. | 0 |
Rare is the individual who hasn’t tripped over a pet or uneven pavement, tumbled off a bike, slipped on ice or maybe wiped out skiing or skating. Some get injured, while others go unhurt — often claiming it’s because they knew how to fall. According to paratroopers, stunt professionals, physical therapists and martial arts instructors, there is indeed a “right way” to fall — and it can save you a lot of grief if you know how to do it. Although often associated with older people, falls occur at any age and are the most common cause of injury seen in emergency rooms in the United States. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates that falls cause more than a third of emergency room visits, around 7. 9 million a year. “As physical therapists we talk a lot about preventing falls, but what we don’t talk about is what to do when you actually do fall,” said Jessica Schwartz, a physical therapist in New York City who trains athletes and people with prosthetic limbs to fall without hurting themselves. “It’s almost inevitable you are going to fall, so you really should know what to do. ” The number one thing to remember, she said, is to protect your head. So if you find yourself falling, pivot to your side and tuck in your head. “Have you seen those slip and fall cartoons where the characters fall flat on their back or face? Don’t do that,” said Dr. Schwartz. “You’ll hit your head like a coconut and get a concussion,” and the reverse motion, or bounce, of your head after impact “will give you something like whiplash. ” Moreover, falling straight forward or backward raises the risk of damaging your spine and vital organs. The other thing to avoid, she said, is “foosh,” an acronym for “falling onto outstretched hands. ” If you do that, all the force of impact will be concentrated there, raising the risk of breaking your wrist. You similarly don’t want to come crashing down on your knee so you break your kneecap or do that maneuver where you kind of pedal with your feet to catch yourself, which can lead to broken bones in your foot and ankle. Instead, if you feel yourself falling, experts said you should bend your elbows and knees and try to take the hit on the fleshiest parts of your body, like the side of your thigh, buttocks and shoulder. “Aim for the meat, not bone,” said Kevin Inouye, a stuntman and assistant professor of acting, movement and stage combat at the University of Wyoming. “Your instinct will be to reach out with hands or try to catch yourself with your knee or foot, but they are hard and not forgiving when you go down. ” The key is to not fight the fall, but just to roll with it, as paratroopers do. “The idea is to orient your body to the ground so when you hit, there’s a multistep process of hitting and shifting your body weight to break up that impact,” said Sgt. First Class Chuck Davidson, master trainer at the Army’s Advanced Airborne School at Ft. Bragg, N. C. Paratroopers’ goal is to fall sideways in the direction the wind is carrying them — in no way resisting the momentum of the fall. When the balls of their feet barely reach the ground, they immediately distribute the impact in rapid sequence up through the calf to the thigh and buttocks. Then they roll over on the latissimus dorsi muscle, the large, flat muscle running laterally down the side of your back, and kick their feet over, shifting their weight so they end up supine with legs bent in front of them. The procedure is strikingly similar to how martial arts practitioners learn to take a fall when they are, say, thrown over someone’s shoulder or have their legs knocked out from under them. “I would say the principles we follow are: Accept that you’re falling and go with it, round your body, and don’t stiffen and distribute the energy so you take the fall in the widest area possible,” said Paul Schreiner, a black belt jiu jitsu instructor at Marcelo Garcia Academy in New York City. While martial arts falls often have a gymnastic aspect, with rather elegant and snappy kinds of somersaults, it’s still all about spreading out the force of impact. “There may be an aesthetic component, but what it does is save the body,” said Mr. Schreiner. “If you don’t take the fall in any single place, you’ll still walk out sore, but you’ll walk out of there. ” Difficult as it may sound as you’re hurtling toward the ground — medical bills and disability flashing through your mind — experts said it’s important to relax as you fall. You’re less likely to hurt yourself if you soften up all your muscles and exhale. Rigidity is your enemy, while pliability is your friend. “As unfair as it is, that’s why people who are drunk” tend to be the ones who “don’t get hurt in car crashes,” said Mr. Inouye. “They are loose and just flop around. ” Of course, you will be better able to loosen up, pivot to your side, tuck and roll if you are in good physical condition. “If you have a room full of soccer players and computer desk workers and go around knocking people over, you can bet the soccer players are going to be less likely to get hurt because of their superior strength, agility and coordination,” said Erik Moen, a physical therapist in Kenmore, Wash. But that doesn’t mean you have to be an elite athlete or paratrooper to fall the “right way. ” Young children are arguably the best fallers because they have yet to develop fear or embarrassment, so they just tumble and roll without tensing up and trying to catch themselves. Physical therapists can be helpful in assessing your weaknesses and prescribing exercises to improve your strength and agility (for example, jumping from side to side and on and off platforms or steps) so that you will be better able to execute a fall as well as lessen the risk that you will fall in the first place. | 1 |
Surely you Josh | 0 |
Мир » Европа » Евросоюз Российскому послу в Будапеште объяснили, что Венгрия не потерпит оскорбительных разговоров в государственных российских СМИ о венгерской революции и ее героях. Венгрия против того, чтобы события 1956 года назывались "погромами" и "цветной революцией". Есть ли повод оскорбляться? И стоит ли нам трепетно относиться к венгерским героям? 1 комментариев 14 поделились Что для венгров значат события 1956 года
Для венгров события 1956 года — это народная антикоммунистическая революция , а не происки ЦРУ, организовавшего "цветную революцию". И это прерванный полет новой демократии руками "кровавых гебистов" из СССР. Вторая мысль в Венгрии не нуждается в доказательствах, а в доказательство первой цитируется американский историк Тим Вейнер и его книга "ЦРУ. Правдивая история". Там утверждается, что у Аллена Даллеса был в 50-х годах только один человек в Венгрии — некто Геза Катона, "американец с венгерскими корнями, который 95 процентов своего времени работал мелким клерком в государственном департаменте, отправляя письма по почте, покупая марки и канцелярские товары, подшивая документы". Тим Вейнер пишет, что события в Венгрии произошли спонтанно, а когда восставшие обратились за помощью, американцы оружием помочь не решились, а информационная поддержка ничего не дала.
Вывод: для венгров "революция" 1956 года — это основа их государственности, доказательство исключительности венгерского народа, отличающегося от всех других честностью, справедливостью, свободолюбием, ну и т.д. На это у автора настоящей статьи есть один вопрос: как же этот свободолюбивый народ допустил фашистскую диктатуру и вместе с Гитлером вторгся в СССР, где отличился особыми зверствами? А вот для Запада венгерская история - это некая пропагандистская тряпка, которой там машут всякий раз, когда надо доказать, что коммунизму сопротивлялись по идейным соображениям, а не при поддержке США. Историческая правда — в чем она?
Для нас же важно ответить на два вопроса. Что или кого советские войска подавляли в 1956 году и правильно ли это делалось? Напомним, что Венгрия была самым верным союзником Гитлера. Она объявила войну СССР 27 июня 1941 года и воевала практически до конца с общей численностью солдат до 205 тысяч человек. Венгры участвовали в многочисленных карательных операциях. Они крайне жестоко обращались с советскими военнопленными. После зверств, которые учинили венгры на Украине и особенно в Воронеже, Сталин приказал: "Мадьяр в плен не брать!" На территории Венгрии в период наступления Красной армии венгры вырезали всех раненых красноармейцев и медсестер из медсанбата, располагавшегося в городе Секешфехерваре. Таким образом для СССР Венгрия 1956 года была страной-агрессором, в которой любой бунт должен караться быстро и жестко. И, судя по тем зверствам, которые творили поборники новой "демократии" в 1956 году, опасения, что этот мятеж был фашистским, были вполне оправданы.
Теперь давайте представим, как бы отреагировал Вашингтон, если бы японцы в 1956 году вышли бы на улицы Токио и стали бы громить американские представительства, вешать пособников оккупантов, глумиться над американским флагом? Нет сомнений, что с Окинавы тут же были бы направлены войска, которые быстро бы успокоили такую "революцию". И сегодня, по Уставу ООН, Германия и Япония обязаны не быть "агрессивными", иначе их вернут в состояние оккупационных зон. Венгрия в 50-х годах тоже не имела права быть агрессивной. И американцы хорошо это понимали, поэтому и не вмешивались. Иначе началась бы третья мировая война. В Венгрии 1956 года, Чехословакии 1968 года и т.д. СССР удерживал не коммунистические режимы, а геополитическое равновесие. И когда оно было утеряно, мы сейчас имеем то, что имеем. Вашингтон готовил переворот в Венгрии
Во-вторых, есть факты, что подготовкой переворота в Венгрии занимался Вашингтон. Так, в январе 1956 года американской военной разведкой был подготовлен доклад "Венгрия: активность и потенциал сопротивления" (Hungary: Resistance Activities and Potentials). В докладе отмечались антиславянские и антисемитские чувства определенных групп населения, их симпатии к фашистской Германии, обеспечившей в 1943-1941 годы территориальные выгоды для Венгрии. Все это, по мнению американских разведчиков, облегчало "перевод недовольства в фазу активного сопротивления". Страна включалась в реестр "специальных сил" для противодействия коммунизму. Летом 1956 года конгресс США в дополнение к 100 миллионам долларов, ассигнуемых каждый год на ведение подрывной работы против социалистических стран, выделил еще 25 миллионов.
Американские газеты тогда сообщали, что эти средства предназначены для "финансирования действий, аналогичных тем, которые привели к беспорядкам в Польше". Осенью 1956 года бывший генерал хортистской армии Хуго Шонья заявил о наличии боеготового корпуса в составе 11 тысяч бойцов, способного начать действия в Венгрии. Американские военные пообещали ему помощь в переброске и снабжении. Тот же Вейнер пишет, что беженцы, приходившие в посольство, обращались к американцам: "Почему нам никто не помог? Разве вы не знали, что венгры рассчитывают на вашу помощь?" Разве можно так спрашивать, не имея на это оснований? Герои Венгрии — кто они?
В заключение посмотрим, кто ходит в Венгрии в героях? В июле 2011 года суд Будапешта признал 97-летнего военного преступника Шандора Кепиро невиновным в пособничестве нацистам и массовых убийствах во время Второй мировой войны. Кепиро обвинялся в причастности к убийству 1200 евреев, сербов и цыган в оккупированном сербском городе Нови-Сад в 1942 году, был надсмотрщиком в Освенциме. После войны Кепиро бежал в Австрию, затем в Аргентину, где скрывался почти 50 лет. Когда Венгрия "сбросила оковы коммунизма", Кепиро вернулся в Будапешт и поселился в доме, находящемся напротив самой крупной в Европе синагоги.
Или, например, мало кому известно, что пять лет назад премьер Орбан наградил орденом "за заслуги" живущего в Лондоне советского диссидента Владимира Буковского.
И если бы российский МИД обращал внимание на то, что пишут венгерские СМИ о нашей Победе и ее героях, "то ваш посол в Москве давно бы стоптал ботинки", сказал Дмитрий Киселев в ответ на венгерские претензии. Кстати, почему бы не обратить внимание? Венгрия приглашает Грузию в Альянс | 0 |
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If this doesn’t prove what’s beautiful about America, we don’t know what does.
Politically, Sarah Goodwin and Colleen Cassidy agree on almost nothing. They vehemently oppose the other’s candidate of choice and couldn’t differ more on the direction our country should be heading in. Yet, as this heatedly divisive election cycle comes to a head, these two demonstrated just how powerful a united American people can be when we put our differences aside and work together: Sarah, a Trump supporter, and Colleen, a Clinton supporter, held each other’s hair back while vomiting out of intense election anxiety.
In a campaign season as contentious as this one, you really have to stop and appreciate moments like this.
Though Sarah and Colleen come from opposite ends of the political spectrum, you wouldn’t know it when looking into the stall at their polling station in Cranford, NJ, where they both lowered their heads into the same trash can and took turns holding each other’s hair back as they retched over the psychological toll this long, strenuous election’s taken on them. No arguing, no finger-pointing, no name-calling: just dual streams of stress-induced upchuck crescendoing in a duet of dry-heaving. The sight of two people, who have been bombarded for months with messages that the other candidate will completely ruin the country as they know it, patting one another on the back and encouraging each other to get it all out, is all too welcome in an otherwise toxic and polarizing campaign season.
Need more proof that it’s possible for Trump and Clinton supporters to overcome their shared animosity during this historical moment of anxiety? Colleen even offered Sarah an Altoid once they’d both stopped throwing up and cleaned the barf from their shirts. Further, Sarah graciously let Colleen borrow her eyeliner, which had been smudged due to the tears summoned by a panic attack she experienced while in line to vote. After checking in to make sure the other was feeling all right one last time, each went their separate ways, having found rare common ground with their political opposites in the form of sickening anxiety stoked by the intense fear politics and extremist partisan rhetoric deployed in the 2016 election.
Yup, the spirit of Abraham Lincoln is alive, knitting a torn nation back together.
Look at the media and you’ll see interactions between Trump and Clinton supporters portrayed as vitriolic and irreconcilably at odds. But in reality, you’ll find two human beings offering each other their sleeves to wipe the sick from their mouths before they head back out there to get this goddamn fucking thing over with, and that’s worth celebrating. | 0 |
In its latest move to quell outrage over its price increases, the maker of the EpiPen has resorted to an unusual tactic — introducing a generic version of its own product. The company, Mylan, said on Monday that the generic EpiPen would be identical to the existing product, which is used to treat severe allergic reactions. But it will have a wholesale list price of $300 for a pack of two, half the price of the EpiPen. The raging debate over EpiPen pricing has offered a surprisingly wide window into the complicated world of prescription drug pricing, in which powerful drug companies, pharmacy benefit managers, insurers and federal health programs all play major roles. However, the system remains opaque. Last week, the company announced steps to increase the financial assistance for the branded EpiPen, for both commercially insured and uninsured patients. Those measures, however, did not stem the public furor, in part because the company kept the list price the same. So now, the company will essentially sell the same product under two names at two price points, in competition with each other. The new move did not mollify critics, either. Some noted that even at $300, the generic would still be triple the price of the EpiPen in 2007, when Mylan acquired the product and began steadily raising its price. The increases have accelerated in recent years. Even the generic, expected to be available in several weeks, should provide a nice profit to Mylan because its manufacturing costs are believed to be far less than $300. Several consumer advocacy groups, unhappy with Mylan’s handling of the drug’s pricing, said that on Tuesday they would deliver petitions signed by over 600, 000 people to the company’s American corporate headquarters in Canonsburg, Pa. In addition, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said that it had started an investigation and had asked the company for information about the product. Robert Weissman, president of the consumer group Public Citizen, said Mylan should just cut the price across the board. “The weirdness of a generic drug company offering a generic version of its own branded but product is a signal that something is wrong,” he said in a statement. “In short, today’s announcement is just one more convoluted mechanism to avoid plain talk, admit to price gouging and just cut the price of EpiPen. ” While drug companies sometimes start selling authorized generic versions of their own products, it is usually to undercut an outside generic competitor. In this case, Mylan faces no immediate generic threat. So why is it acting? And why did it not announce the move last week with the other measures? The company suggested in its news release that its action required an agreement from its manufacturing partner, Pfizer. It also has said that merely reducing the list price of the drug would not necessarily lower the prices for patients, because the costs are set by pharmacy benefit managers and insurers. The generic should mean savings for insurers and federal health programs like Medicare and Medicaid, in addition to some patients. “Because of the complexity and opaqueness of today’s branded pharmaceutical supply chain and the increased shifting of costs to patients as a result of health plans, we determined that bypassing the brand system in this case and offering an additional alternative was the best option,” Heather Bresch, chief executive of Mylan, said in a statement. Mylan has repeatedly pointed to health plans, which leave patients with more costs, as the main reason patients are suddenly noticing higher prices for EpiPens. Adam J. Fein, president of Pembroke Consulting, who studies the drug distribution industry, said that if Mylan had simply lowered the price it would have risked angering all parties in the distribution network, including pharmacy benefit managers, wholesalers and pharmacies, which take a piece of the total amount spent on the drug. Introducing a generic “is a way to do it without making enemies with a bunch of Fortune 25 companies who control your fate,” he said. Still, by selling both a generic and a branded version of the drug, one Mylan product is now battling another for sales. Ronny Gal, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein Company, estimated in a note on Monday that Mylan’s overall revenue per epinephrine prescription would be reduced by around 25 percent, to about $280, because of the introduction of the generic. A couple of factors are expected to limit that revenue decline. The term EpiPen is so familiar that many doctors write prescriptions for it by name, rather than for a generic epinephrine . While pharmacists in many states will be able to substitute the generic version, some are almost sure to sell the branded version instead, leaving Mylan with higher revenue. In addition, Mr. Fein said, insurers might have negotiated deals with Mylan that make the version less expensive for them than the generic. “It’s going to depend on your particular insurance plan, and the kind of deal they have negotiated,” he said. Consumers might also have incentives to use the drug in some cases because most of them would have no if they use a savings card being offered by Mylan. They might face a albeit a relatively small one, for the generic product. Despite the lower revenue from releasing the generic, Mr. Gal said the move could be good for Mylan shareholders by easing the downward pressure on the company’s stock. After falling more than 10 percent last week, Mylan shares were up slightly on Monday. It is not uncommon for companies to introduce a generic version of their own product — known as an authorized generic, in part to try to retain some sales once generic competition arrives. But the generic industry and some other critics say the practice undermines the economics of the generic business and ultimately can lead to higher costs for consumers and insurers. A study by the Federal Trade Commission several years ago found that some generic manufacturers agreed to delay the introduction of their generic product by years if the company promised not to introduce an authorized generic. Mylan settled litigation with Teva in 2012 allowing Teva to introduce a generic EpiPen in 2015. It is not known if part of that agreement was for Mylan to withhold any authorized generic. If not, then Mylan might have been planning to introduce this authorized generic when Teva introduced its own product. But Teva disclosed earlier this year that its application had been rejected by the Food and Drug Administration. Still, it might be only a matter of time before Mylan faces new generic or nongeneric competition. Other companies, sensing opportunities, are looking at developing less expensive products that, like EpiPen, provide a rapid injection of epinephrine to counter anaphylaxis that can occur from a bee sting, peanut allergy or other cause. And pressure is mounting on the F. D. A. to be more accommodating in allowing alternatives on the market. Epinephrine, the drug, is already generic. The challenge has been developing an that can reliably deliver the right amount of drug when used by the patient or caregiver under emergency circumstances. Sanofi removed a nongeneric competitor to EpiPen, called from the market last year because of dosing problems. | 1 |
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Taming the corporate media beast How Hillary Could Provoke A Nuclear War Originally appeared at CounterPunch Hillary Clinton is an especially ardent enthusiast of Full Spectrum Dominance (FSD). Diplomacy is for sissies. If they hesitate to capitulate to Washington’s demands, up in flames they go. In an August 2014 interview in The Atlantic Clinton dismissed negotiations with Syria and instead advocated supporting the “hard men with the guns.” Clinton’s overwhelmingly hawkish instincts were detailed in a lengthy article by Mark Landler in this year’s April 21 New York Times Magazine titled “How Hillary Clinton Became a Hawk.” Landler reports that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz “are more skeptical than Clinton about intervention and more circumspect than she about maintaining the nation’s post-World War II military commitments… neither Donald J. Trump nor Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has demonstrated anywhere near the appetite for military engagement that Clinton has.” Topping the article off, Landler supports Clinton’s bid for the White House. The Newspaper of Record is fine with war hawk Clinton’s finger on the button. This leaves us with an especially pressing worry: is Clinton likely to create the equivalent of a latter-day Cuban Missile Crisis? Her mania for U.S. global hegemony, the tilt to Asia with its arrogant and escalating provocations of China and her coming extension of the Obama policy of upping the ante with Russia, set the stage for war. The threat now is that Clinton goes big time, confronting, challenging, goading and working to humiliate two of the Great Powers, sovereignties that have made it clear that backing down is not on the table. We shall see below that the geopolitical stage is set for such a showdown. And we’ll see how FSD plus the logic of the arms race, now back in swing with a vengeance, equals armed conflict unless one of the contestants does a Khrushchev, i.e. backs down. But the Chinese have announced their unwillingness to retreat in the face of U.S. provocations, and Russia will not cave in a second time to a Clinton JFK impression. The specific dynamics of how the combination of the push for global hegemony plus the arms race must lead to war unless one of the adversaries backs down was spelled out with characteristic lucidity by Paul Sweezy, the economist and co-founder of the magazine Monthly Review (September 1982), in a remarkable essay titled “Nuclear Chicken.” Later in this article I shall borrow from the core argument of Sweezy’s essay in applying his analysis to the current conjuncture. I begin with a prefatory account of the portentous geopolitical realities, including leading think tanks’ and media bigwigs’ attempts to revive what used to be called “thinking the unthinkable”. Russia’s Nuclear Superiority and Washington’s Response Let’s begin with a summary of today’s arms race. Russia’s nuclear capabilities are known to be far superior to the U.S.’s, which explains Washington’s and NATO’s threefold strategy to commit billions of dollars to upgrading the U.S. nuclear arsenal, to draw as many as possible of the former Soviet republics into NATO, so that the alliance has expanded right up to the Russian border and engaged in continuous NATO military exercises there, and to deploy anti-missile systems in Eastern Europe to alert Russia that Washington/NATO is not intimidated or restrained by Russia’s nuclear advantage. The clock has begun ticking. As a recent Guardian headline reports, “NATO countries begin largest war game in eastern Europe since cold war.” Early this month NATO launched Operation Anaconda, the largest such military exercise in a quarter century, since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. According to a NATO announcement, this war game involves 31,000 troops, 105 aircraft, 3,000 vehicles and 12 warships. The largest troop contingent, numbering 14,000 is from the United States. 5,000 NATO forces are currently carrying out similar actions in Lithuania and Latvia. The Obama administration has pledged a military confrontation with Russia should the unstable right-wing governments there or in Estonia “provoke” Russia. The stated aim of these exercises is to anticipate a scenario in which NATO and Russia come to war. In a gruesome irony, the dress rehearsal has German tanks crossing eastward through Poland. And in an act at least as bold and threatening as any during the Cold War, a new U.S. military headquarters has been created in Poland, equipped with Washington’s most advanced military equipment. NATO is building up its forces in eastern Europe much as Germany did in the run-up of the 1930s. Russia will not take this sitting down. The inevitable succession of escalations and counter-escalations portends nuclear confrontation. Former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev described the situation succinctly: NATO leaders “only talk about defense, but actually they are preparing for offensive operations… All of the rhetoric in Warsaw simply clamors for all but declaring war on Russia.” UPI’s coverage of an early July British Army annual Conference on Land Warfare confirms Gorbachev’s concern. In his presentation, an Army general representing the U.S. identified the Army’s top priority as “to deter and if necessary defeat Russia in a war.” Close nuclear shaves have happened in the past, and the Guardian notes, in connection with the present provocation, that “defense experts warn that any mishap could prompt an offensive reaction from Moscow.” Russia’s Foreign Minister warns that “We do not hide [our] negative attitude toward the NATO line of moving its military infrastructure to our borders, drawing other countries into military unit activities. This will activate Russia’s sovereign right to provide its own safety with methods that are adequate to today’s risks.” Clinton’s mindset perceives a remark like this as a challenge, rather than as a reasonable response to provocation. She will feel obliged to up the ante lest “we” appear to lack “resolve”. By this logic, not to escalate in the face of a perceived challenge is tantamount to capitulation. It is an invitation to a Russian counter-escalation. The dynamic is self-perpetuating and is a straight path to nuclear face-off. Russia has more tactical nuclear weapons and low-yield nuclear weapons than the United States. The world’s fastest missile, the SS-18, can hit New York City and Los Angeles in less than 25 minutes. The U.S. has as yet no effective deterrent. No less significant is Russia’s lead in anti-missile missiles. The S-400 and S-500 can knock out any US ICBM, cruise missile and stealth aircraft. The U.S. F-22, F-35 and B-2 are rendered practically worthless. And China is working toward an effective deterrent to any U.S. military adventure: Russia is scheduled to soon deliver S-400s to China. But Russia has yet to install its superior missiles and antimissile missiles in every defense position required to neutralize NATO attacks in any likely theater of war. Hence NATO’s flurry to quickly surround Russia and weaponize her neighbors. In an attempt to overcome Russia’s nuclear advantage, Washington/NATO will install putatively defensive antimissile missiles in Poland and Romania that can be easily morphed into attack missiles capable of striking their Russian targets in 5 minutes. Russia is then obliged to develop yet another counter. NATO will attempt to outdo this measure. This cannot go on forever. At some point, face-off rears its head. It is the nature of this self-perpetuating race to transform the notion of a “winner.” The only way this kind of competition can be won is for one of the contestants to give up, an impossible outcome, or strike first. In Pentagonese the latter is called “counterforce,” the destruction of the enemy’s retaliatory capability by a First Strike. Wackos like General Curtis LeMay (General Buck Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove) pushed this option, which had virtually no currency with top policy makers and advisors. Instead, Washington retained the option of first use, a last resort when conventional means of warfare fail. Nuclear weapons were understood as deterrents. In the old days, once the Soviet Union had matched Washington’s nuclear capabilities, Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) seemed to permanently consign nuclear weapons to the role of deterrents. In that case, the risk of nuclear war was reduced to close to zero. And counterforce was off the table. But that was then. Now we tremble under the radical policy changes after the first Iraq war. Immediately after Iraqi troops were forced to retreat from Kuwait in 1991, then president George H.W. Bush triumphantly exulted “By God, we’ve kicked the Vietnam Syndrome once and for all.” The door was now open not merely to “low-intensity warfare” and local counterinsurgency aggressions, but to larger-scale interventions on a limitless scale. Pushing the envelope further still, the George W. Bush administration repudiated the ABM treaty and officially opened the door to the use of nuclear weapons in a First Strike. Deterrence was no longer the principal function of nuclear weapons policy. As we shall see, nuclear weapons were soon thereafter to become routinely regarded by policymakers as instruments of “conventional” warfare. We shall see below that major think tanks and policymakers are now up to their ears in detailed planning for nuclear confrontations with China and Russia. This is the context surrounding the rise to the presidency of the person with perhaps the itchiest trigger finger in Washington. Most of us used to think that MAD ruled out another potential apocalypse like the Cuban Missile Crisis. No one can believe that now. The soul-searing anxiety much of the world experienced during the Cold War years preceding the Soviets’ achievement of nuclear parity with Washington has been restored. The Political Psychology and Arms-Race Logic of U.S. Militarism: the Need to Maintain “Credibility” It is an axiom of imperial politics that the hegemon can under no circumstances give up. Washington has claimed not merely unsurpassed but unequalled global military predominance. And Sam has been consistent: since the aspiration to FSD is bound to meet resistance, Washington must be committed to permanent war, a doctrine once associated by Dick Cheney and Associates, but now embraced by the entire policy-making establishment. Because Russia’s actually existing potential for universal deterrence takes time to fully put in place, the U.S. must in the meantime convince the world that it means business. The master imperative of hegemony is that Washington must maintain its credibility.” Clinton talks of “resolve.” Same thing. In the context of nuclear warmongering, this means that if Washington is to get what it wants from other nations, it must wield the threat of a nuclear strike, but that strategy is useless unless the threat is believable. When push comes to shove, as we shall see below, the only convincing proof of the threat’s credibility is the actual use of nuclear weapons. Part of what this entails is taking action, on the principle that “if you are not with us you are against us,” against regimes that do not pledge allegiance to the imperial project. Hence, nations that assert independence, or ally themselves with influential powers opposing U.S. hegemony, shall be pummeled, destroyed as functioning states, threatened, or subverted: cf. Russia, China, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, Honduras et al. Military incursions have been limited to conventional means of destruction. None of these aggressions has so far threatened a major nuclear confrontation with a Great Power. We have as yet seen nothing comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis. As yet. But this is set to change. We shall see in the following section that nuclear war has now become the obsession of policymakers and policy-related think tanks. The Elite Consensus around Thinking the Unthinkable Washington's recent escalations are reflected in recent elite exhortations to revive military-confrontations of the Cold War era. In a recent issue of Foreign Affairs John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt state: "There are regions outside the Western Hemisphere that are worth expending American blood and treasure to defend... In Europe and Northeast Asia, the chief concern is the rise of a regional hegemon that would dominate its region, much as the United States dominates the Western Hemisphere.” Here is an explicit statement of the doctrine of FSD: the U.S. must dominate the globe's every region. Regional "spheres of influence” are no longer part of the empire’s thinking. In a May Washington Post editorial titled “The Liberal International Order is Under Fire. The United States Must Defend It.” we are warned that; Hardly a day goes by without evidence that the liberal international order of the past seven decades is being eroded. China and Russia are attempting to fashion a world in their own illiberal image… This poses an enormous trial for the next U.S. president… no matter who takes the Oval Office, it will demand courage to demand difficult decisions to save the liberal international order… The United States must keep trying to integrate China into the rules and traditions of the liberal international order—a policy of eight presidential administrations—while also marshaling forces to confront China’s assertive and unilateral grab of territory in the South China Sea. Likewise, stabilizing Ukraine and saving it economically will be a vital bulwark against Russia’s violent subversion. The “liberal international order” is the capitalist globe as dominated by the U.S. China and Russia are not attempting to “fashion the world” into anything at all. Russia is involved in no “violent subversion.” The reality is that these powers are feared to develop sufficient power and influence to obstruct America’s ability to call the international shots, to predominate politically and militarily everywhere, including in China’s and Russia’s neighborhoods. A comparably enormous U.S. hegemonic counter-power must be put into place. This will involve “difficult decisions.” Meaning that the U.S. leadership must be prepared to risk military confrontation in order to scare away these obstacles to U.S. hegemony. The Post cites a report by the Center For a New American Security, chaired by the neocon war hawk Robert Kagan, in support of a stepped-up global imperial campaign. Kagan’s report, titled “Extending American Power: Strategies to Expand U.S. Engagement in a Competitive World Order,” lays the cards on the table: “At a time when partisanship in the American political establishment has reached unprecedented heights, the group believes it is more important than ever to rebuild the national consensus on America’s role in the world. This project promotes the idea that American leadership is critical to preserving and strengthening the bedrock of today’s international order, which is being shaken by a variety of forces.” Two key rationales are evident. The global system directed by America’s “leadership” is under threat. Steps must be taken. And Kagan calls upon the erstwhile strategy of externalizing domestic tensions. The Trump-Clinton-Sanders debate has reintroduced a dangerous “partisanship” [read: debate beyond permissible orthodox limits] which threatens “national consensus” [read: debate within mainstream parameters]. A national campaign peddled as a defense against global threats to American freedom can neutralize partisanship by directing domestic discontent to external enemies. And there’s nothing like war to unite a nation internally riven. A recent report by the influential Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments rationalizes the current multibillion dollar nuclear buildup. The report focuses on U.S. tensions with Russia, and is frighteningly titled Rethinking Armageddon (RA). The conceit behind the title is that we must put behind us the belief that Russia’s achievement of nuclear parity with the U.S. guaranteed Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), and undermined the feasibility of the use of nuclear weapons. On the contrary, argues RA, we are now in a “second nuclear age” which frees the U.S. to deploy nuclear weapons “in a discriminate manner.” The report is introduced with a citation from the Cold Warrior John Foster Dulles: “If you are scared to go to the brink, you are lost.” In a spine-chilling clue to what could be the second major historic instance of nuclear brinksmanship, RA outlines a scenario in which Washington is on the brink of a confrontation with Russia. Putin announces that Russian forces will provide humanitarian assistance to civilians “displaced from their homes by Latvia’s aggressive and violent efforts to suppress the rights of ethnic Russians.” The U.S. has, according to RA, four options, three of which require the use of nuclear weapons against Russia. Under what RA regards as the old-hat thinking about MAD, such options would have been ruled out. No more. RA’s conception of a “limited” nuclear strategy that would not provoke a more intense engagement would have the U.S. deploy “a small number of weapons” early on in the conflict. That way the Russians would be convinced that we mean business and would not risk further conflagration. They would simply concede defeat and back off. We are to believe Russia would embrace the inescapable implication of RA’s strategy, that it would accept U.S. FSD and resign itself to taking orders from Washington. Not a chance. So intense is Uncle Sam’s hunger for global predominance that he cannot assess with a modicum of rationality the consequences of his Olympian ambitions. Hillary Clinton specializes in this kind of self-delusion. And Obama has prepared her opportunity: the administration has pledged to take military action against Russia should the unstable right-wing regimes of Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia provoke the Bear, e.g. by persecuting these countries’ Russian-speaking, Russia-friendly minorities. Was the administration unaware of Putin’s promise of aid should Latvian ethnic Russians be persecuted? Russia is not the only potential object of Washington’s perilous provocation. Uncle Sam has China too in the bullseye. Washington’s “Tilt To Asia” and Provoking China Shortly after Obama’s inauguration, Washington sent the Navy surveillance ships the USNS Impeccable and the USNS Victorious into China’s EEZ (exclusive economic zone). This was the beginning of a series of escalating provocations. The Chinese responded rationally, by installing defensive missiles around the zone. The New York Times reports the most recent application of this strategy, in a story titled “U.S. Carriers Sail in Western Pacific, Hoping China Takes Notice.” In mid-June Washington engaged two U.S. carrier groups, led by the U.S.S. John Stennis and the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, in joint deployments into the Philippine Sea. 12,000 sailors, 140 aircraft, and six smaller battleships conducted joint surveillance operations. This was only the most recent incitement in a series of instigations. In the 10 days prior to the above exercise, the Stennis and Reagan had conducted joint maneuvers in the South China Sea with Japanese and Indian navies, after deploying four Navy Growlers, electronic warfare planes and 120 military personnel to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. Washington has in the last two years recruited leading powers in the Asia-Pacific region, and in March and April began a sharp escalation of its military threats. Japan and Australia, and other allies including Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia have initiated hostile operations against China. Most of these countries have been encouraged by Washington to develop their naval power, and have subsequently increased their military spending. In 2015 alone the Philippines increased military spending by more than 25 percent, and Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia by 5 to 16 percent. Age-old and geopolitically insignificant contestations over reefs and small islands have been resurrected in defense of these provocations. Vietnam has in recent months secretly fortified several of its islands in the Spratly group in the South China Sea with mobile long range rocket launchers. It would take only days to make them operational with rockets capable of striking Chinese-held islets. Hanoi’s move is certain to further accelerate the arms race that is already underway and to heighten the risk that an incident or provocation could lead to military conflict. That danger has escalated in the wake of the ruling last month by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in favor of a U.S.-backed case brought by the Philippines to challenge China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. A recent Reuters report revealed that Vietnam has shipped its launchers to five of its Spratly islands and carefully hidden them from aerial surveillance. The launchers are part of Vietnam’s EXTRA rocket artillery system purchased recently from Israel. The system uses targeting drones, is highly accurate up to 150 kilometers and can deliver a 150 kilogram warhead that can hit ships and land targets. Chinese installations on Subi, Fiery Cross and Mischief Reef would be well within the range of Vietnamese rockets. In an alarming development, Admiral Henry Harris, the commander of U.S. Pacific Forces, is pressing for further aggression to take place inside the 12-mile exclusion zone around territory held by China. According to Navy Times the commander “wants to drive through an area and do military operations,” which would include launching aircraft and firing weapons systems. The Obama administration is reluctant to push this hard, but Clinton, who promises to escalate the violence in Syria beyond what the administration prefers, is characteristically more in tune with the most aggressive recommendations. The Times warns that, in the light of the current escalations—which do not include the batty incursions urged by Admiral Harris—“some sort of confrontation seems increasingly likely.” Chinese officials agree. A specialist in military strategy associated with the People’s Liberation Army warns that “China will very likely strike back if the U.S. comes within 12 miles of the [Nansha] islands.” Another military authority at Nanjing University alerted Washington that “The U.S. provocation has boosted the chance of military confrontation between Beijing and Washington.” And the state-controlled Global Times warns that “China hopes that disputes can be resolved by talks, but it must be prepared for any military confrontation.” This has not deterred the U.S. from developing detailed plans for war with China. The Mitchell Institute For Aerospace Studies has reported that Air Force officers are preparing the most detailed plans to date for deploying the F-35, the most advanced fighter plane, in an all-out war with China. Is our next president licking her chops at the opportunity to play her favorite game? Prominent think tanks have recently provided grist for Clinton’s mill. Last year the Council on Foreign Relations, the leading elite foreign-policy think tank, released a study titled “Revising U.S. Grand Strategy Toward China”. The upshot is that antagonisms are growing between what the council considers the world’s two most powerful nations, tensions that require an escalation of Washington’s policy of confrontation. The hostilities are grounded in China’s reluctance to embrace the core of U.S. foreign policy, identified thus by the Council: “Preserving U.S. primacy in the global system ought to remain the central objective of U.S. grand strategy in the twenty-first century.” The “threat” to U.S. national interests consists in China’s refusal to submit to the U.S. demand that it exercise no predominant influence in its own neighborhood! What unsettles elites most, according to the Council, is the “challenge by China to U.S. primacy in Asia.” This is but one of the horrifying corollaries of FSD. Under a Clinton presidency, this amounts to a virtual invitation to war. The RAND Corporation has taken up planning for war with China in a study commissioned by the U.S. Army titled “War with China: Thinking Through the Unthinkable.” The phrase “thinking the unthinkable” was coined by RAND’s chief postwar strategist, the Strangelove counterpart Herman Kahn, whose book On Thermonuclear War advanced a strategy for winning a nuclear war against the Soviet Union. The study makes it clear that war with China is by no means out of the question, but stresses that as time passes Washington’s nuclear advantage is sure to decline. The clear implication is that sooner is better than later. Rand anticipates that military action against China will foment a resurgent antiwar movement, in which case the “system of civilian control” will be deployed for large-scale suppression. As if to prepare the way for the coming commander in-chief, the administration has begun a massive nuclear weapons “modernization” program. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute comments that “The ambitious U.S. modernization plan presented by the Obama Administration is in stark contrast to President Obama’s pledge to reduce the number of nuclear weapons and the role they play in U.S. national security strategy.” The Stockholm Institute, of course, is shocked, shocked by yet another Obama lie. Against this background, only the blind fail to see the coming to power of the warmonger Clinton as placing another world-historic crisis on the agenda. A realistic example of the impending threat is found in one of RA’s scenarios for nuclear confrontation between the U.S. and Russia. A key trigger of war would be that “the limited reaction of the United States and Europe to Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Syria, however, have eroded their credibility…”. RA outlines similar credibility crises in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Let us look further into the pivotal notion of maintaining credibility—Clinton’s “resolve”—in the history of nuclear geopolitics. Hegemonic Credibility in the Last Potential Armageddon: The Postwar Arms Race and the Cuban Missile Crisis Dwight Eisenhower, in his memoirs Mandate For Change , spelled out the fundamental rationale of U.S. nuclear policy when Washington was a nuclear-weapons monopolist: “My feeling was [during the Korean war], and still remains, that it would be impossible for the United States to maintain the military commitments which it now sustains around the world… did we not possess nuclear weapons and the will to use them when necessary.” Mere possession of the weaponry is not enough. There must be the credible threat to use them. That threat was an established practice in postwar U.S. foreign policy. Here are but a few instances, courtesy of Daniel Ellsberg: • Truman’s deployment of “atomic capable” B-29s to Britain and Germany during the 1948 Berlin Blockade • Truman’s threat to consider nuclear retaliation, in November 1950, when Chinese troops surrounded Marines at Chosin in Korea • Eisenhower’s nuclear threat to China to force a 1953 settlement in Korea • Secretary of State Dulles’s offer of three tactical nuclear weapons to France in 1954 to relieve French troops at Dienbienphu • Eisenhower’s 1958 threat to nuke China if it should invade the island of Quemoy • The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis • The 1968 announcement that nuclear weapons might be used to defend Marines at Khe Sanh, Vietnam • Nixon’s 1969 threat to use nuclear weapons in North Vietnam It was the Cuban Missile Crisis, when John F. Kennedy threatened to nuke Russian-installed Cuban Missile sites unless Khrushchev had them removed, that prompted the Soviets to conclude that lest they be permanently subject to nuclear bullying the Soviet Union must surpass U.S. nuclear capabilities. By the mid to late 1970s, the Soviets had achieved nuclear parity with the U.S. Not only had Washington lost its nuclear monopoly, but not too long afterwards the Soviets were to achieve defensive superiority. The world-historic upshot of this development is that Washington’s nuclear threats had lost their credibility. Recall that the ultimate test of credibility is actual use. The 1945 atomic bombing of Japan had shown that Washington was indeed willing to use these weapons for geopolitical purposes. But actual use is only a necessary condition of credibility; the intimidator must also be a nuclear monopolist. With the U.S. no longer a nuclear monopolist, actual use was thought to be ruled out by virtue of MAD. Nuclear threats were no longer credible. The looming threat of nuclear annihilation seemed gone forever. The rest of the world was freer to do what it pleased. Thereafter, the rationale for nuclear weaponry was generally acknowledged to be deterrence. “Counterforce,” i.e. First Strike, was out of the question. Accordingly, the nuclear disarmament movement virtually vanished. But only for a short while. In late 1981 and through 1982 not only did the U.S. anti-nuke movement revive, but a hitherto hardly existent European nuclear disarmament movement came into being. What precipitated this movement was the NATO decision in December 1979 to augment its European nuclear arsenal with Pershing and Cruise missiles, correctly perceived by the Soviets and by activists as counterforce (First Strike) weapons. Two consequences of this unexpected move became evident. For the first time, nuclear confrontation in the European theater became a live option, shifting the risk of nuclear war from the U.S. to the NATO partners. When European activists declared this shift to be intolerable, Reagan’s Secretary of State Alexander Haig rejoined “There are worse things than nuclear war.” The antiwar movement in Europe exploded. Secondly, the Soviets saw this as upsetting what had been a stable balance of forces in Europe by restoring the functional equivalent of U.S./NATO nuclear superiority. Both Great Powers had been building their deterrent capacities all along, but Washington arbitrarily cited the latest Soviet development as the reason for the dramatic buildup in Europe. A compelling explanation of Washington’s escalation was put forward by Paul Sweezy in the essay cited above. Sweezy noted that the U.S. had always been the prime initiator of nuclear weapons buildups, he took seriously the implications of the need that the nuclear threat be credible, and he observed recent major shifts in global power in relation to these implications. The most conspicuous development preceding the new buildup was the stunning series of defeats for imperialism that had occurred during the 1970s. Eisenhower’s pre-MAD assertion that U.S. global hegemony required that Washington must have “the will to use [nuclear weapons] when necessary” made imperial sense prior to MAD. But his words became empty after the U.S. lost its nuclear monopoly. Why? Because the credibility of the nuclear threat was lost once Uncle Sam was no longer the only master gunslinger in town. The 1970s provided powerful evidence that the U.S. had come to suffer a conspicuous relative decline in its military power and therefore, in today’s parlance, in its ability to exercise Full Spectrum Dominance. Here’s what global resistance accomplished in the 1970s: • Portugal lost its African colonies in 1974 • a year later the U.S. lost the Vietnam war • one of the U.S.’s major Central American clients, Anastasio Somoza, was over thrown out of Nicaragua by a socialist opposition • as a result, insurgencies spread in other parts of Central America • in Zimbabwe a national liberation movement came to power • the regime of the Shah of Iran, Washington’s paramount junior partner in the Middle East, was overthrown by anti-Western revolutionaries The fall of the Shah was arguably as devastating a defeat for U.S. imperialism as was the defeat in Vietnam. Billions of dollars of advanced weaponry was transferred to a hostile power, as were the prized oil fields. To the ruling class, the U.S. now looked to the world like a “pitiful, helpless giant” (the term used by Nixon to justify the invasion of Cambodia and the bombing of North Vietnam). It appeared that what we say doesn’t go. The defeat was hammered home in November 1979, when the Ayatollah’s regime seized 52 American hostages in Teheran and held them for 444 days. Adding further insult to further injury, shortly afterwards the Soviets moved into Afghanistan. How must all this appear to a class that wants to rule the world by nuclear intimidation? Soon after the foregoing setbacks, Jimmy Carter announced the Carter Doctrine, which included which included the threat to use nuclear weapons should the Soviets move toward Iran’s oil fields, and announced years of coming increases in the defense budget. The reaction to the defeats of the 1970s was evident in U.S. policy into the Reagan years. On May 30, 1982, The New York Times featured an article titled “Pentagon Draws Up First Strategy For Fighting A Long Nuclear War,” describing a “limited” a nuclear war in Europe and Pentagon plans for fighting a “protracted” nuclear war against the Soviets. This was merely the latest, albeit markedly stepped-up, version of the going strategy regarding nuclear escalation: to make Washington’s enemies believe that the U.S. was really preparing to fight and win a nuclear war. Elites were not so stupid as to be unaware of the suicidal and self-destructive consequences of initiating a nuclear war. Escalating buildups were intended to induce the fear that the threat was credible and so to inhibit behavior unacceptable to Uncle Sam. Deterrence was still the name of the game. After all, it worked in Cuba in October 1962 and it was perceived to have worked in the six instances of atomic diplomacy enumerated above. What has emerged is a qualitatively new phase in the arms race and in nuclear-weapons policy. As noted above, it is only in recent years that the full import of the rejection of MAD as the basis for the policy of deterrence and the consequent openness to First Strike as a viable option in Washington’s pursuit of FSD have been openly embraced by elites. The turn to Armageddon has naturally resulted in detailed strategic planning, including large-scale redeployment of troops and nuclear weapons in regions chosen for their suitability for aggression against those powers perceived by Washington to be major impediments to U.S. dominance. Never before have such arrogant provocations been exercised. Developments since the 1970s have unfolded as they would had the U.S. no nuclear weapons. We might as well not have them. Hence the current multi-billion-dollar new nuclear buildup. The credibility of the nuclear threat appears to have been permanently undermined. Deterrence is therefore no longer the rationale for nuclear weapons policy. The alternatives now are no use or first use. And no use is out of the question. Enter Hillary Clinton. The Present in the Light of the Past Elites no longer have the assurance that comes of perceived omnipotence. A number of setbacks have undermined Uncle Sam’s conceit of omnipotence and motivated the U.S. to escalate enormously its global aggression in a delirious effort to intimidate its principal rivals and restore the credibility of the ultimate threat. Among these comedowns are the serial failure to achieve stated objectives in Vietnam, Iraq, Iran and Libya, the stated determination of some states to replace the dollar as a universal reserve currency, the acceptance by oil producers like Iraq, Iran and Libya of payment for oil in currencies other than the dollar, the emergence of non-state effective challengers to Washington’s global predominance, such as the mujahideen, al Qaeda and ISIS and increasing talk of the formation of regional trade blocs discarding the dollar altogether in the blocs’ trade and investment relations. Clinton’s notorious bellicosity is in part a cry of desperation at these seemingly intractable obstacles to FSD. Her overblown swagger betrays a sense of vulnerability and uncertainty that provokes lashing out, an especially dangerous impulse in a chief executive who appears constitutionally disposed to imperial brutality and pathologically assured of Washington’s entitlement to global obeisance. Clinton harbors a deep resentment of Washington’s declining credibility. Her determination to demonstrate U.S. “resolve” in the context of present historic military provocations nurses a tendency to brinksmanship. If she experiences the variety of defeats and obstacles to U.S. economic and military hegemony the way elites perceived the profound defeats of the 1970s, and if these fetters seem to her unbreakable by conventional military means, the option of nuclear chicken presents itself as--and this is the word appropriate to a woman who has relished Gaddafi’s murder by anal rape-- delicious. John F. Kennedy will be invoked as a courageous leader whose readiness to risk Armageddon was testimony to the depth of America’s commitment to freedom and democracy everywhere. In the July 24 New York Times, the most widely read Clinton propaganda venue, the editorial board provides an indication of the likely chicken-inducing scenarios to come. The paper’s comments are entirely in step with the frightening analyses of the think tanks discussed above. The Times is troubled that Trump is not as reliable a war hawk as Clinton. Obama had promised the far-right anti-Russian regimes in the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. U.S. military intervention, including troops on the ground, should any of these regimes allege Russian interference, e.g., defense of the rights of ethnic Russians. The Times regards Trump’s reluctant willingness to go to war against “an increasingly aggressive” Russia on behalf of these states as unduly conditional on their having “fulfilled their obligations” to the United States. This would, the Times fears, “play into the hands of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin,” Washington’s Hitler du jour. The newspaper is also distressed that Trump is unenthusiastic about the deployment of U.S. troops in Korea and Japan. This would “significantly reduce American influence at a time of increasing Chinese aggression.” Clinton has promised to continue the policies of Obama. Uh-oh. A recent front-page Times article reminds us that Obama “has now been at war longer than Mr. Bush, or any other American president...he will leave behind an improbable legacy as the only president in American history to serve two complete terms with the nation at war.” This is a record seemingly impossible to surpass. I’m not so sure. Don’t put anything martial past Mrs. Clinton. Alan Nasser is professor emeritus of Political Economy and Philosophy at The Evergreen State College. His website is: http://www.alannasser.org. His book, United States of Emergency American Capitalism and Its Crises will be published by Pluto Press next year. If you would like to be notified when the book is released, please send a request to: | 0 |
A magician walks into a laboratory. It’s not the beginning of a joke. It’s the subject of a declassified 1969 Central Intelligence Agency memo, one of more than 930, 000 searchable documents that the agency posted online on Tuesday. The memo about the magician was among the more unusual files in the trove of declassified reports, which include more than 12 million pages of dispatches and correspondence that document the history of the C. I. A. If you wanted, you could read up on the United States government’s research on “spiritualist healers in Mexico,” the “dreamlike structure of telepathic assertions” or “an assessment of the evidence for psychic functioning. ” Or you could examine the agency’s actions and research during the Vietnam and Korean Wars. Maybe you would prefer to read through the files of Henry A. Kissinger, who was secretary of state under Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, or a description of the Berlin Tunnel, a wiretapping effort to monitor the Soviet Union during the Cold War. You can look through intelligence reports on specific countries or events, find recipes for invisible ink or learn how to open sealed letters. “It gives insight into a lot of different elements of our history since the 1940s,” said Mike Best, a journalist and archivist who pushed for the online publication of the files. Technically, you could have gained access to the files before, but only if you drove to the National Archives building in College Park, Md. where there were four computers you could use to sift through the C. I. A. Records Search Tool, known as Crest. You couldn’t email or otherwise electronically transmit files to yourself, but you could print them out on the C. I. A. ’s dime (as long as the paper and ink hadn’t run out). “Access to this historically significant collection is no longer limited by geography,” Joseph Lambert, the C. I. A. director of information management, said in a statement. “The American public can access these documents from the comfort of their homes. ” Mr. Best would often drive 90 minutes from southeast Pennsylvania to examine the documents. Nearby signs instruct users that their searches and printed files are being monitored, he said. “You’re under surveillance for doing this entirely legal thing,” he said. The publication of the files represents a potential motherlode of background material for researchers, journalists and curious hobbyists. While many such people have already combed through the material in Maryland, the online publication will allow for access among people who can’t drive there. But, to be clear, most of the files are pretty boring. The collection appears to be the result of regular bureaucratic collation: Someone sends something interesting to the agency (the magician, who someone claimed was a healer) or someone writes an interesting academic paper (the spiritualist healers) and the result is files like these, summaries of work that the agency thought notable enough to file away. Others have no apparent reason for having been collected by the C. I. A. like a ad for the Buffalo Bill Wax Museum. (Maybe it’s a code, the key to which remains classified.) The Crest archive represents a major document dump, but the C. I. A. has published many other declassified files online. Its files are typically unclassified after 25 years. For those who believe the truth is out there, the website has a collection of reports on unidentified flying objects, and capitalized on interest in last year’s “ ” reboot by posting the “top five documents Mulder would love to get his hands on. ” After journalists at MuckRock, a news site, filed Freedom of Information Act requests for access to the Crest database, the C. I. A. said in 2015 that it would take 28 years to publish. In 2015, the agency cut its estimate to six years, and said the documents would be delivered on 1, 200 compact discs at the price of $108, 000. Put off by what he perceived as stalling, Mr. Best crowdfunded $15, 000 to print, scan and publish files himself. In October, the C. I. A. said it would post the files. “C. I. A. made significant architectural and procedural changes to load and index the Crest documents more quickly,” said Heather Fritz Horniak, a spokeswoman for the C. I. A. “This means that we were able to post the entire Crest collection, totaling nearly 13 million pages, online much earlier than anticipated. ” | 1 |
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Former comedian and current Senator Al Franken (D-MN) wasn’t joking when he suggested that FBI Director James Comey answer to the Senate regarding his unprofessional behavior.
On Sunday, Franken called for the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearings concerning Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private server and whether or not she compromised national security.
The Minnesota senator also said he believes Clinton can count on his state’s voters despite a last-minute campaign stop from Donald Trump, though the senator admitted that he’s always “nervous.”
“I think that there should be hearings, and I’m certain there will be hearings in the Judiciary Committee on this matter,” the Franken told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
Franken’s remarks reflect growing Democratic anger with Comey after the director told lawmakers 11 days before Tuesday’s presidential election that his agency was reviewing new emails that may or may not be connected to their previous investigation.
Comey, who previously cleared Clinton of any criminal negligence, sent a vaguely worded letter to top Republicans that falsely gave the impression that the FBI was reopening the Clinton investigation.
“Even more troubling is what we’ve heard from sort of the rogue elements of the FBI seemingly tipping off former (New York City) Mayor (Rudy) Giuliani that something was up. I mean, it just seems like — that’s not the FBI,” Franken said.
“We will have hearings. I’m sure that FBI Director Comey will be before us,” Franken said. “I think he should be able to answer questions about this, and he should be able to control the FBI.”
The senator also went to bat for the Clinton Foundation after Tapper questioned him on whether or not the organization should be shut down should Clinton win the election. However, the Minnesota lawmaker redirected his answer to address alleged illegal activities perpetrated by Donald Trump’s foundation.
“I think that sometimes people should compare the two foundations, the Trump Foundation and the Clinton Foundation — that the HIV drugs to millions of people vs. the Trump Foundation, which doesn’t seem to have done much of anything for anybody other than Donald Trump,” Franken said.
Franken also reassured viewers that he wasn’t worried about which way his home state would vote in the election.
Trump is scheduled to visit Minnesota, a state that has not voted for a Republican since 1972, as one of his last few campaign stops before Tuesday.
When asked if he felt Clinton was in trouble there, Franken replied, “I don’t think so.”
However, Franken admitted, “I’m always nervous.”
“We run through the finish line,” he said. “This is what I tell everybody, I go to canvassing centers, I say, ‘Many of you have jobs, many of you have families — ignore them. Get on the doors.’“
Franken’s nervousness is shared by millions of Americans who worry about the idiocy of some of their family, friends, and neighbors who seem hell-bent on handing the country over to Trump tiny slimy hands.
Featured image via YouTube | 0 |
LOS ANGELES — Oscar voters showered the “La La Land” with 14 nominations on Tuesday, a tie with “Titanic” and “All About Eve” for the most in Academy Award history. But the academy also moved past two #OscarsSoWhite years by honoring six black actors — a record — and including diverse films like “Moonlight,” “Fences” and “Hidden Figures” in the best picture race. [ The list of nominees | Where to stream them | Nominees react | Who got snubbed?] “It makes me feel good to see such a multifaceted group of people get recognized,” said Barry Jenkins, the director of “Moonlight,” which received eight nominations. Speaking by phone from Amsterdam, where he was promoting the film, he added, “It’s an affirmation that film has the power to erode barriers and reveal what makes us all human. ” Nine movies, most of them cobbled together outside the studio system, will compete for Hollywood’s top prize. Filling out the best picture race are “Arrival,” a thriller the drama “Hell or High Water” “Manchester by the Sea,” about a mournful New England handyman the subtitled “Lion” and “Hacksaw Ridge,” Mel Gibson’s true story of World War II heroism. In a surprise, Mr. Gibson also drew a nomination as best director, officially ending his status as a Hollywood pariah for his offscreen behavior. Joining him in the directing field were Damien Chazelle (“La La Land”) Denis Villeneuve (“Arrival”) Mr. Jenkins (“Moonlight”) and Kenneth Lonergan (“Manchester by the Sea”). Perhaps the biggest upset happened in the best actress category. “Arrival” emerged as one of the most honored films, with support in eight categories, but its star, Amy Adams, failed to receive a nod for best actress. Even worse, a website managed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC, which broadcasts the Oscars, initially listed her as a nominee. ABC took the blame, citing a rush to post names. “We apologize to the academy, press and fans for any confusion,” the network said in a statement. ABC also mistakenly named Tom Hanks as a best actor candidate for “Sully. ” In excluding Ms. Adams, whose performance has been honored by numerous other awards groups, academy voters backed Isabelle Huppert from the French film “Elle,” Emma Stone from “La La Land,” Natalie Portman from “Jackie,” Meryl Streep from “Florence Foster Jenkins” and the newcomer Ruth Negga from “Loving. ” It was Ms. Streep’s 20th career nomination her speech about Donald J. Trump at the Golden Globes probably won her some votes. (She reacted to her inclusion by releasing a happy dance GIF.) Several other legends were snubbed. Voters refused to throw Martin Scorsese’s bomb “Silence” a lifeline, offering a lone nod for cinematography. And Clint Eastwood’s “Sully” had to make do with one nomination, for sound editing. Once again, the academy stubbornly refused to bow toward popular movies the “Deadpool” received nothing, even in categories. As expected — and despite renewed attention on lawsuits that he settled in 2010 — Casey Affleck, the star of “Manchester by the Sea,” continued his march toward the Oscar podium. He will vie for best actor alongside Denzel Washington (“Fences”) Andrew Garfield (“Hacksaw Ridge”) Ryan Gosling (“La La Land”) and Viggo Mortensen (“Captain Fantastic”). In a sharp contrast to the previous two years, when the academy put forward rosters of acting nominees, voters chose the largest number of black candidates ever. Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris each received a nod for their supporting work in “Moonlight,” a poetic drama about a young black man in Miami. Viola Davis (“Fences”) and Octavia Spencer (“Hidden Figures”) were also nominated for supporting actress. Joining Ms. Negga in the lead categories was Mr. Washington of “Fences,” an adaptation of August Wilson’s classic play about black life in 1950s Pittsburgh. Another minority actor, Dev Patel, was nominated for his supporting role in “Lion,” which received six nominations in total, tying “Manchester by the Sea” and “Hacksaw Ridge. ” And four of the five honored documentaries came from black filmmakers, including “13th,” Ava DuVernay’s searing look at race and mass incarceration in America, and “I Am Not Your Negro,” directed by Raoul Peck, a portrait of the writer James Baldwin and the era. (The others in that race are “Fire at Sea,” “Life, Animated” and the “O. J.: Made in America,” which paves the way for TV documentaries given limited theatrical release to be nominees.) Pundits will inevitably declare that the academy listened to the #OscarsSoWhite protests that found the Rev. Al Sharpton berating Hollywood in a preceremony rally last year. The academy made drastic membership changes in 2016, revoking the voting privileges of members and inviting more women and minorities to join. (The group remains overwhelmingly white and male, however.) Public pressure may have been a factor in the outcome on Tuesday, but the results almost assuredly have more to do with the vagaries of moviemaking: a full slate of movies with diverse casts that coalesced in the past year. Still, race continues to be a topic around the Oscars. Last week, one academy voter, Santiago Pozo, voiced brewing discontent among Latinos, writing in the trade publication Deadline. com that underrepresentation of other minorities in Hollywood — not just black actors — is “a terminal illness for our business and for the relevance of the Academy Awards. ” The Los Angeles Times weighed in with a similar editorial on Tuesday, noting that there were almost no Hispanic nominees. One exception: Miranda received a nod for his original “Moana” song “How Far I’ll Go,” putting him one step closer to the rarefied club known as EGOT: those who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. (Mr. Miranda, a Oscar nominee, already has an Emmy, two Grammys and three Tonys.) Among companies, Amazon was a big winner on Tuesday, beating Netflix to become the first streaming service to earn an Academy Award nomination for best picture. Amazon bought “Manchester by the Sea” at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. With 26, Lionsgate received the most nominations of any studio its contenders include “La La Land” and “Hell or High Water,” a partnership with CBS Films. The Oscars will be broadcast on Feb. 26. Jimmy Kimmel, who anchors ABC’s programming block, will host. The academy entrusted its previous ceremony to the producers Reginald Hudlin and David Hill, who brought in Chris Rock to scold Hollywood on diversity and created a scrawl in an attempt to make acceptance speeches more interesting. Ratings dropped, and ABC, which charges more than $2 million for a commercial, moved to take a firmer hand in this year’s telecast. | 1 |
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( ANTIMEDIA ) When it comes to brute force, law enforcement and private security currently have the upper hand on the ground in Standing Rock, North Dakota. They’re employing armored vehicles, riot gear, tasers, rubber bullets, pepper spray, sound cannons, and other shows of force against peaceful opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline.
But unlike most of the corporate media, the Internet is taking note of the struggle at Standing Rock and is trying to do its part to contribute to the protests. Over the weekend, unconfirmed reports emerged that police were using Facebook check-ins at Standing Rock to track individuals who arrived at the location to join water protectors.
As word spread of the apparent news, the Internet stepped up to neutralize the power of the police-surveillance state.
Shortly after, Facebook users from around the country and world began checking into Standing Rock, which registers as Cannon Ball, North Dakota, in an effort to confuse police. According to a statement many posters are copying and pasting:
“ The Morton County Sheriff’s Department has been using Facebook check-ins to find out who is at Standing Rock in order to target them in attempts to disrupt the prayer camps. SO Water Protectors are calling on EVERYONE to check-in at Standing Rock, ND to overwhelm and confuse them. This is concrete action that can protect people putting their bodies and well-beings on the line that we can do without leaving our homes. “
Others merely checked in while still others added their own commentary. “ If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor ,” wrote Patrick Quinn below his check-in.
“ Messing with fascists ,” Luba Petrusha commented.
While the troll effort is exciting, it’s unclear whether the efforts are having an effect. According to Snopes, a self-described fact-checking blog whose conclusions are generally reliable , police claim they are not using Facebook to track protesters. Snopes reported “ [a Morton County] officer explained not only that they were not using Facebook check-ins as a gauge of anything, but that the metric presented no intelligence value to them. The rumor suggested that protesters cited Facebook check-ins as a manner in which police could target them, but check-ins were voluntary — and if police were using geolocation tools based on mobile devices, remote check-ins would not confuse or overwhelm them.” Sign up for the free Anti-Media newsletter the establishment doesn't want you to receive
Snopes also claimed it spoke to protesters within a large camp at Standing Rock who said they did not issue a call to Internet users to check in. Nevertheless, they reportedly said they appreciated the show of solidarity.
Regardless of whether or not the online check-ins have any effect, the Internet has played a decisive role in the developing events in North Dakota. Livestreams have documented serious violations of free speech and the right to protest, and Facebook was accused of blocking such footage on at least one occasion. Amid the ongoing lack of mainstream coverage , the independent media has successfully drawn attention to the Standing Rock protests.
Considering the establishment has come out in full force in North Dakota, from their use of surveillance to their haphazard employment of heavily armed police, the increasing number of check-ins at Standing Rock shows just how much technology empowers people.
Even if police aren’t scouring social media and the check-ins fail to produce any tangible result, the rapid mobilization of efforts highlights a growing sense of opposition to unjust and exploitative power — and thanks to the Internet, the world is watching.
This article ( Here’s Why Everyone on Facebook Is Checking into Standing Rock, North Dakota ) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Carey Wedler and theAntiMedia.org . Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article to . | 0 |
ROME (AP) — Italian police on Monday arrested 68 people, including a priest and the head of a Catholic volunteer group called “Mercy,” accusing them of being in cahoots with a major mafia clan that skimmed millions in public funds destined for one of Italy’s biggest migrant welcome centers. [Announcing the arrests Monday, an incredulous Carabinieri Gen. Giuseppe Governale summarized the scam by saying: “The welcome center and ‘Mercy’ were the ATMs of the mafia. ” Investigators said the Arena clan of the Calabrian ’ndrangheta mob had secured a lock on servicing the Isola di Capo Rizzuto migrant center in Crotone for the past decade, thanks in part to its links to “Mercy” and its head, Leonardo Sacco. Sacco is a Italian, and his arrest took on political implications given the number of politicians — and even Pope Francis — who have been photographed with him. Investigators said “Mercy” subcontracted catering services to companies run by the Arena clan, which allegedly skimmed some 36 million euros ($39. 5 million) of the 103 million in public funds destined for migrant care between . Part of the scam involved putting in for more meals than were actually provided, and then using the money to buy real estate, fancy cars and luxury boats, said Catanzaro prosecutor Nicola Gratteri. Police said the Rev. Edoardo Scordio, a parish priest affiliated with “Mercy,” was the “organizer of a true system of exploitation of public funds destined for the migrant emergency. ” Scordio in 2007 pocketed 132, 000 euros for his spiritual services that he offered the refugees, police said in a statement. | 1 |
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government said Thursday it had found no evidence that any of its donations to the Christian charity World Vision had been siphoned to Islamic militant group Hamas. [But Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said its World Vision funding in Gaza would remain suspended while Israeli charges against the global aid agency’s Gaza manager Mohammed remain unresolved. “DFAT has reviewed the management of its funding to World Vision in the Palestinian Territories. The review uncovered nothing to suggest any diversion of government funds. ” the department said in a statement. “Australia’s funding to World Vision in the Palestinian Territories remains suspended until we have considered the outcomes of the court case against Mr. and reviews being undertaken by World Vision Australia and World Vision International into this issue,” it added. Australian is the biggest single donor to World Vision’s humanitarian work in Gaza, providing more than $2 million in the past three years. Australia and Germany suspended funding in August after Israeli authorities charged with diverting around $50 million to Hamas to help build tunnels and purchase weapons. Israel’s internal security service Shin Bet alleged created fictitious humanitarian projects to get the funds to Hamas. The Shin Bet alleged he underwent Hamas training in the early 2000s and was “planted” by the group at World Vision in 2005, where he climbed the ranks to become director of the Gaza branch. has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Israel’s Justice Ministry declined to comment on ’s case because his trial was ongoing. World Vision welcomed Australia’s findings, adding that its own ongoing audit had not yet raised concerns about how money was spent. World Vision’s work in Gaza has been suspended pending the outcome of that audit. “We remain deeply concerned with this situation, and are saddened by the impact on Gaza’s children and their families,” a World Vision statement said. | 1 |
0 Our Landfill Economy: Want to make a quick profit along a tropical sea coast? Dig some big holes near the coast, dump in baby prawns, food and chemicals to suppress algae blooms and diseases and then harvest the prawns to ship to the insatiable markets of the developed world. by IWB · October 27, 2016
by Charles Hugh-Smith
This “maximizing growth and profits is the highest good” mode of production is insane.
Correspondent Bart D. (Australia) captured the entire global economy in three words: The Landfill Economy . Stuff is manufactured, energy is consumed shipping it somewhere, consumers buy it and shortly thereafter it ends up as garbage in the landfill.
This is of course the definition of “economic growth”: waste, inefficiency, environmental destruction–none of these matter. Only two things matter: maximize “growth” by any means necessary, and maximize profits by any means necessary.
The Landfill Economy now encompasses the entire planet. The swirling gyre of plastic trash the size of Texas between Hawaii and California: it’s just one modest example of the planetary trash dump that “growth” and profit generate as byproducts/blowback.
The planet’s oceans are one giant trash dump. Everything from plastic water bottles to abandoned fishing nets to radiation to containers that fell off ships is floating around even the most distant corners of the seas. Seabirds nesting in remote islands die of starvation as their guts fill with plastic bits of “permanent growth.”
Globalization has turned the planet’s land masses and rivers into trash dumps. Want to make a quick profit along a tropical sea coast? Dig some big holes near the coast, dump in baby prawns, food and chemicals to suppress algae blooms and diseases and then harvest the prawns to ship to the insatiable markets of the developed world.
Once the prawn farms are poisoned wastelands, move on and despoil another coastline elsewhere.
Globalization has greased the slippery slope from factory to landfill by enabling the global distribution of defective parts. Whether they are pirated, designed to fail or just the result of slipshod quality control, the flood of defective parts guarantee that the entire assembly they are installed in–stoves, vacuum cleaners, transmissions, electronics, you name it–will soon fail and be shipped directly to the landfill, as repairing stuff is far costlier than buying a new replacement.
QE/ZIRP Is Crushing the Global Supply Chain, Product Quality and Profits (October 17, 2016)
The Keynesian Cargo Cults that rule global economics love The Landfill Economy because it means more “growth”. Never mind the poisoned seas, rivers and land, or the immense waste of energy, commodities and labor that result from the global manufacture and distribution of shoddy products: if it adds to “growth,” it’s all good in the warped view of the Keynesian Cargo Cults.
We got your “growth” right here.
People are also tossed on the trash heap with careless abandon. The health of workers is a cost that reduces profits, so it’s ignored unless it can be turned into a profit center via state funding for managing preventable diseases, i.e. sickcare.
A worker sickened by industrial waste or lifestyle illnesses who becomes a profit center is a wonderful source of “growth” and profits.
A worker who can’t generate a corporation or state a profit is dumped on the trash heap as a matter of routine. A worker who can’t generate somebody a profit or “growth” by taking on more debt to spend spend spend is worthless.
If a robot or software can do the same work, then it is self-destructive for an enterprise to pay a human worker: if profits fall, Wall Street will crucify the enterprise and competitors will eat it alive.
This “maximizing growth and profits is the highest good” mode of production is insane. It doesn’t have to rule the world. As I outline in my book A Radically Beneficial World: Automation, Technology & Creating Jobs for All , other more efficient, sustainable and humane modes of production are within reach if we escape from the global grip of the destructive “growth by any means” cult. | 0 |
He has got to go after him , he is the one causing al the trouble around the worl and is 100% proof that what Trump says about crooked and corruption is true . Conflict of interest ?? You bet it is funded by the state dept to run riot causing huge cost to USA with as Trump says ,wars they dont need amd shouldnt be involved in and making profit along the way . Have a look at his funding to all these non profits on the Gov site , its an outrage he is involved with the Voting machines . Soros Criminal Conviction Exposes "Human Rights" Scam Soros leverages "human rights" for personal gain - as does his global NGO empire. http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/surpise-soros-is-convicted-criminal.html | 0 |
WASHINGTON — Ivanka Trump, who is weighing a prominent role in her father’s administration, is planning to move with her family to a mansion in the exclusive Kalorama section of Washington, two people familiar with the decision said Wednesday. The house was previously owned by a financier with extensive investments in Russia and ties to a Russian opposition leader. Ms. Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, a close adviser to Donald J. Trump who is expected to be an influential voice in the administration, have chosen a house just around the corner from President Obama’s new home. The newly renovated house, with its sleekly modern décor, sold for $5. 5 million in December, the people said, insisting on anonymity because the transaction was private. The home was previously owned by Dan K. Rapoport and his wife, Irina, according to property records filed with the District of Columbia. Neither responded to emailed requests for comment. Ms. Trump’s relocation plans, first reported by Washingtonian magazine, are the latest evidence that she and Mr. Kushner will remain major players in Mr. Trump’s administration. Both played crucial roles in his presidential bid and have wielded outsize power during his transition. People close to the couple declined to comment on their impending move, as did William F. X. Moody, a at Washington Fine Properties, who first disclosed the deal. But in the neighborhood where they are planning to live — of ambassadors and prominent figures on the Washington social circuit — residents have been buzzing about their neighbors. “Everybody’s atwitter about it,” said Tony Podesta, chairman of the Podesta Group, a top Washington lobbying firm. “I’ve been getting lots of emails saying, ‘Here we go again,’ ” Mr. Podesta said, alluding to the burst of local mayhem that attended the decision by Mr. Obama and his family to rent a home in the neighborhood after they leave the White House. “It will be great to have them as neighbors,” Mr. Podesta said of Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner, who have three children. The white house on Tracy Place where Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner plan to live with their children is just around the corner from the Obamas’ luxurious home on Belmont Road, which has been undergoing extensive renovations directed by the Secret Service to fortify it for their arrival. A security checkpoint is expected to be built at the intersection of Tracy and Belmont before Mr. Obama moves in, residents said. There was no sign of Ms. Trump or her husband at the house on Wednesday afternoon. But the property was a flurry of activity, as workers and painters filed in and out past television reporters staked out on the sidewalk and speculated about their new neighbors. John Damgard, who has owned a house on the block since 1971, said his new neighbors could expect to be welcomed “with open arms,” even by the neighborhood’s Democrats. “It’s quiet, it’s private, and they’ll be graciously received,” Mr. Damgard said. The house was home for several decades to Renee Zlotnick Kraft, a Washington fur heiress and socialite, who frequently opened its doors for events and even occasionally rolled out a pink carpet to welcome the city’s dinner party set. According to the website of his investment firm, Rapoport Capital, Mr. Rapoport was born in Riga, Latvia, and has lived in the United States, France and Russia. Vladimir Ashurkov, a top aide to Aleksei A. Navalny, a leading Russian opposition leader and critic of the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, described Mr. Rapoport as a successful financier in Moscow and an investor in Soho Rooms, one of the city’s poshest nightclubs. He has also been a supporter of Mr. Navalny since 2010. He recently relocated from Washington to Kiev, Ukraine, where he manages a private equity fund, Mr. Ashurkov said. It was not clear whether Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner bought the house from the Rapoports or would be renting it from a new owner. But after scouting locations in other exclusive neighborhoods, including nearby Georgetown, the couple settled on a home less than two miles from the White House. | 1 |
When Jared Kushner was 17 years old, he stood where a million Jews had been murdered and listened to Israel’s prime minister stress the country’s importance. “The Holocaust could have been prevented. We know it could not have taken place had the Jewish state been established a few years earlier,” the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in 1998, standing amid the ruins of an crematory. He had just led Mr. Kushner and thousands of other teenagers waving Israeli flags in a procession through the camp’s gates and past the barracks. As part of the commemoration, the group would soon leave Poland and fly to Israel, to complete the journey from slaughter to Zionist rebirth. Back then, Mr. Kushner was a high school basketball player, a Billy Joel fan, a quiz team manager and no one’s guess to become a negotiating partner with Mr. Netanyahu. But unlike other students on the trip, he knew the prime minister, who was friendly with his father, a real estate developer and donor to Israeli causes. Mr. Netanyahu had even stayed at the Kushners’ home in New Jersey, sleeping in Jared’s bedroom. (The teenager moved to the basement that night.) On Wednesday, when the Israeli prime minister visits the White House, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Kushner will reunite on far different terms from before — and yet their meeting will be imbued with some of the shared ideas of those old encounters. Mr. Netanyahu is on his second stint as prime minister Mr. Kushner, now 36, is President Trump’s and a leading adviser on Middle Eastern affairs with a daunting assignment. Mr. Trump has said that Mr. Kushner will try to “do peace,” which the president has called “the ultimate deal. ” Mr. Kushner, on something of a crash course in diplomacy, has been speaking with Arab leaders in recent weeks. But he is a mystery to most Middle Eastern officials. He has no experience in government or international affairs. His exposure to the Arab world amounts to little more than trips to a handful of Persian Gulf countries and a jaunt to Jordan. Though Mr. Kushner has visited Israel since childhood, and more recently to do business, he is little known there. He holds strong views about the state of Israel, but he has not been outspoken about them, save for editorials in The New York Observer, the newspaper he owned. His thinking on matters like settlements is not well understood. “Israel wasn’t a political discussion for him it was his family, his life, his people,” said Hirschy Zarchi, rabbi at the Chabad House at Harvard, where Mr. Kushner was an undergraduate. Rather than diplomatic experience, Mr. Kushner has ties to Israel that are personal and religious. His visit to Auschwitz was stark, but its themes were not new to him. His grandmother survived the Holocaust by crawling through a homemade tunnel in Poland. His grandfather escaped the massacres by hiding in a hole for years. An Orthodox Jew, Mr. Kushner was instructed to protect Israel, remember the genocide and assure the survival of the Jewish people, those close to him say. He was educated at Jewish schools where second graders were expected to draw maps of Israel from memory and the West Bank was often referred to by its biblical names, Judea and Samaria, a practice that emphasizes Jewish claims to the land. His family used its real estate fortune to donate millions of dollars to American Jewish and Israeli hospitals, schools and other institutions, including a few in settlements, according to public records. In his classes, Palestinians were regarded at a distance, in part as security threats who committed acts of terrorism — including one that killed a sister of a classmate of Mr. Kushner’s. When Mr. Trump ran for president, his ’s stances on Israel helped shape the campaign. Mr. Kushner helped script a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and consulted with Netanyahu officials behind the scenes. When he brought the candidate and the prime minister together for a meeting, his father, Charles Kushner, was invited to join them. Thanks in part to the younger Mr. Kushner, Mr. Netanyahu will arrive at a White House that has already adopted many of the prime minister’s perspectives on the region. Now Mr. Kushner is helping Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu craft a strategy to recruit Sunni Muslim countries that oppose Iran to help foster an peace agreement. The approach is a long shot: Negotiations are dead. The Israeli right is pushing for more settlement in the West Bank as talk among Palestinians turns to a single state in which they have equal rights. Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian leader who was involved in peace talks both with Israelis and internally, said Palestinians were skeptical of Mr. Kushner, and Mr. Trump’s team generally, seeing them as close only to the Israeli side. As part of its philanthropy, Mr. Kushner’s family has made donations to the Beit El settlement, which Mr. Barghouti finds particularly worrisome. “We need somebody who is really impartial,” Mr. Barghouti said, pointing out that it is unclear whether Mr. Kushner has ever visited a Palestinian area (the White House would not say). “There is no indication he is interested in hearing from the other side. ” Through a White House spokeswoman, Mr. Kushner declined to respond or be interviewed. But others said his life had given him cause to believe in the improbable. His grandparents survived against all odds, then came to America and made the kind of money of which most people can only dream. Mr. Kushner plunged into his ’s presidential campaign with no experience and helped him win. “This is a region that has resisted solutions from people with vast résumés,” said Ken Kurson, editor of The New York Observer, suggesting that his former boss may do better. “For years we’ve been sending the best diplomats in the world, and it’s yielded zero results. ” Mr. Kushner’s religious upbringing may have been intense, but his high school yearbook message was with an ode to his sneakers. He was a “6 ft. 2 inch basketball and hockey player who just loves to be comfortable,” the message said, noting that he also liked to deliver frozen yogurt and Slurpees to his siblings. There was little mention of Jewish identity beyond his Hebrew name, Yoel Chaim. But that was Mr. Kushner, classmates said in recent interviews: easygoing and polite, a decent student but not a standout, not particularly engaged in religious questions or the urgent political matters of the day. He did not participate in the high school club devoted to criticizing coverage of Israel in The New York Times. Many of his peers spent a year after graduation studying religious texts in Israel he did not. But his family was busy building a world to replace the one it had lost: schools, organizations, synagogues, campuses. The Kushners’ Judaism and support of Israel were one and the same, friends said: about ensuring survival. The major Jewish institutions of Mr. Kushner’s life — school and synagogue — emphasized the connection between religion and Zionism. “In the modern Orthodox community, the state of Israel has an important place in identity, as a religious ideal, not only a political reality,” said Elie Weinstock, rabbi at Kehilath Jeshurun, the Manhattan synagogue Mr. Kushner joined. At his elementary school, the Hebrew Youth Academy in Livingston, N. J. it was impossible to walk the halls “without seeing the flags of Israel and Israeli historical figures and how the kids celebrate Israeli holidays,” said Stephen Flatow, whose daughter Ilana was in Mr. Kushner’s grade. In eighth grade, their class was stunned by the killing of Ilana’s older sister, Alisa, in a bus bombing in the Gaza Strip. The school community “couldn’t fathom how a young man can load himself up with dynamite and blow himself up in a van and have his parents celebrating his death,” Mr. Flatow said. A few years later, the school was renamed for Jared Kushner’s grandfather, Joseph, and when a new building opened, the family dedicated the flagpole that flies the Israeli flag to Alisa’s memory. During high school at the Frisch School in northern New Jersey, where Mr. Kushner spent long days attending mandatory prayers (morning and afternoon) and studying in English, Hebrew and Aramaic (the language of the Talmud) every year of his education was interwoven with events in Israel. In 1995, when Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, teachers and students mourned together. In 1996, a recent graduate named Sara Duker was killed in another bus bombing, sending shock waves through the school again. In 1997, about the time Mr. Kushner was on a summer trip to Israel, a double suicide bomb in the main Jerusalem market killed more than a dozen people. But classmates say the environment Mr. Kushner lived in could feel apolitical, because most everyone shared similar views, and Palestinian perspectives were barely considered. Some teachers told students that “Palestinian” was a identity, a label adopted for political reasons. There was little discussion of what it was like to live under occupation, several classmates of Mr. Kushner’s recalled. Many rabbis and teachers seemed comfortable with settlements, and some students said they never learned that Israel’s borders were a highly contested topic. “There was such an assumption that Jews deserve to have this place, that it was theirs for thousands of years by biblical fiat,” said Eli Schleifer, who graduated the year before Mr. Kushner. “There was such a strange blindness to the complexity of the situation. ” In 1999, Mr. Kushner left New Jersey for Harvard, where he no longer wore a skullcap to classes, but continued to follow rules of Orthodox Jewish life. Jordan Reid Strauch, a friend of Mr. Kushner’s, could not recall his mentioning Israel. Soon the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, was setting off criticism of Israel on campus and then responses from students who defended the country, but Mr. Kushner kept his head down. Instead he spent time at the Chabad House, where Rabbi Zarchi was struck by how Mr. Kushner “never felt the need to apologize for his differences, his religious commitments,” he said. Mr. Kushner sometimes expressed his views during long Sabbath meals at the house. “He certainly believed that a strong and secure Israel was in America and the world’s best interest,” Rabbi Zarchi said. He didn’t believe that Israel needed “the approval of Europe, the United Nations or even Washington or London,” the rabbi continued. While Mr. Kushner was at Harvard, Mr. Netanyahu once again visited his father, speaking at his office, kicking a soccer ball at one of the schools that carried the family name and sitting down for a tabbouleh lunch with students, including Jared’s younger brother, Joshua. Mr. Netanyahu’s visits helped lead to an unexpected outcome: Charles Kushner’s brother, Murray, sued him for misusing the family company’s funds by paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees to the Israeli leader, among other figures. The suit was eventually settled, but it set off investigations and misdeeds by Charles Kushner that eventually led to a prison sentence for tax evasion, and making illegal campaign donations. A few years later, Charles Kushner and Mr. Netanyahu still seemed close: When the Israeli media obtained Mr. Netanyahu’s partly handwritten list of wealthy Americans most likely to fund his party’s primary elections, Mr. Kushner was near the top. Last June in Washington, Yousef the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, received an unexpected request from his friend Thomas Barrack Jr. a businessman and Trump : Would he meet with Jared Kushner? “What struck me in our first meeting is that he asked a lot of questions and listened,” Mr. Otaiba said. Since then, the two have been in touch, with Mr. Kushner playing the student, asking Mr. Otaiba for his impressions of shifting forces in the Middle East, Syria, Iran, extremism, relationships. Mr. Kushner had become a force in his family’s real estate business, and a member of a synagogue known for a brand of religious Zionism similar to the one he was raised with. He took out loans for the real estate business from Israel’s Bank Hapoalim and almost bought a major Israeli insurance company called Phoenix. Though he had been raised a Democrat, Mr. Kushner endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential race, in part because of disappointment with President Barack Obama on Israel. “Rather than strengthen the nation’s relationship with Israel as the Arab world imploded, Mr. Obama treated Jerusalem as less a friend than a burden,” the Observer endorsement read, using language similar to what Mr. Trump would eventually say. Now Mr. Kushner has given up his life in New York for a government ID card and a groaning portfolio. Many foreign policy experts wait their entire careers for a White House job, but Mr. Kushner is fielding inquiries from foreign leaders even as he is still learning to navigate the subject. He is far from the first American Jew with strong ties to Israel to wade into Middle Eastern diplomacy — Rahm Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff, is the son of a former Jewish paramilitary fighter — but the others were Washington professionals or seasoned negotiators. In his first weeks in the White House, Mr. Kushner has had exchanges with officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and elsewhere, and greeted King Abdullah II of Jordan, whom he met several years ago on a trip to that country that included the actors Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It is unclear what shape Mr. Kushner’s role will take, especially as figures like Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and others in the foreign policy apparatus become engaged in Middle Eastern diplomacy. Some observers see Mr. Kushner as a welcome counter to an unpredictable president and to firebrands like Stephen K. Bannon, the White House strategist, and David M. Friedman, the ambassador designate to Israel. Mr. Kushner “could be a moderate voice,” said Dan Gillerman, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations, who got to know Mr. Kushner in New York. “The strange thing is, that kid may end up being the in the room. ” Many years after his teenage encounters with Mr. Netanyahu, he may also be in a position to help the Israeli leader, who is facing multiple corruption investigations and challenges from the right. But Mr. Kushner’s task is formidable. Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump want to set in motion a chain of events that could block Iran, redefine Israel’s relationship with the Arab world and create peace — “the deal that can’t be made,” as Mr. Trump has said. “The prime minister is coming into the meeting with the hope to forge a common policy with the president, and Jared’s role is critical in that,” said Ron Dermer, the ambassador of Israel, with whom Mr. Kushner has been in close contact. “He’s someone who, in my interactions with him, has really been able to deliver. ” | 1 |
MIAMI BEACH — On the Monday before the Art Basel Miami Beach fair, as collectors and curators descended on the city, the Miami gallery owner Fredric Snitzer found himself at Hyde Resort Residences on Hollywood Beach to begin his week of deceptively casual interactions that compose this genteel bazaar. Mr. Snitzer, 66, had a lot riding on this fair. He was the only local dealer selected for every Art Basel Miami Beach since its 2002 debut and one of only two Miami gallerists in this year’s edition, which concluded on Sunday evening. Despite that rarefied position, and the resultant sniping from his hometown rivals, he still felt uncertain about his role in the larger art world pecking order — and hopeful about using exposure at Basel to leap to the next economic rung. “Gagosian has hundreds of thousands of square feet in galleries all over the world,” he noted with exasperation about the powerhouse dealer Larry Gagosian, “and people in Miami think I’m the one in control?” Unlike name brands such as Basquiat or Andy Warhol, whose paintings sell themselves, Mr. Snitzer’s represented artists include emerging talents like the sculptor Rafael Domenech, whose work was being showcased at the Hyde by its developer, Jorge M. Pérez, the billionaire named on the facade of the Pérez Art Museum Miami. To help distinguish the Hyde, a new just north of Miami, Mr. Pérez had commissioned a nearly $400, 000 artwork from Mr. Domenech, a sprawling installation that featured rings above the building’s entryway and its scrambling automobile valets. Mr. Snitzer was keen to show off the installation — and Mr. Pérez’s imprimatur. “I want this kid to have a career for the rest of his life,” he said of his hopes for his artist, who had been his student at a Miami fine arts program after Mr. Domenech immigrated from Cuba in 2010. The Domenech opening was a bit of a bust. Strong winds kept the desultory crowd out of the scenic pool area and clumped awkwardly in the lobby. Mr. Pérez continued the party at his penthouse in an adjoining as more global arrived. His walls were filled with artwork, as well as a handy list to help visitors identify it, from the kitchen’s Sol LeWitt painting to a hallway’s Robert Motherwell tapestry. It should have been a perfect networking moment. But Mr. Snitzer was shortly heading for the door. “I hate schmoozing,” he admitted sheepishly, aware that this was a serious liability in a trade built on personal connections. Tuesday morning found Mr. Snitzer in better spirits. Six paintings by Hernan Bas hung in his downtown Miami gallery — striking portraits of waifish young men in states of tropical repose — and the reaction was immediate from the crowd. Within two hours, three works priced between $105, 000 and $135, 000 had sold, with Mr. Bas and Mr. Snitzer set to evenly split the proceeds. Mr. Bas, who grew up in Miami and now divides his time between here and Detroit, began showing with Mr. Snitzer in 1998, as a “when I couldn’t even drink the wine at my own openings. ” Today he has an art star’s résumé full of museum exhibitions and representation by galleries in New York and London. Yet these latest paintings went to Mr. Snitzer “out of loyalty,” Mr. Bas explained. “Sometimes artists go off to work with big names and they learn the hard way. ” Mr. Bas pointed to his experience with the New York gallerist Daniel Reich. After Mr. Reich committed suicide in 2013, The New York Times saluted him as among a group of innovative young dealers ‘‘tacking against the trend toward a more sleek, business. ” Mr. Reich had great success placing Mr. Bas’s paintings with marquee collectors. But Mr. Bas said that receiving payment was another matter: “He just stopped returning my calls and responding to my emails. When he died, he owed me $140, 000. ” Mr. Bas added that several of his artist friends had similarly struggled to collect on sales from dealers. “It’s so much more rampant than anyone talks about. ” By way of contrast, he concluded warmly, “Papa Snitzer has always been there for me. ” There was little time for a victory lap on Mr. Snitzer’s part. He paused to stare in disbelief at his opening’s catering bill of several thousand dollars. “They’re charging $250 to rent us flowers for two hours?” he asked. “We don’t even get to keep the flowers?” After a resigned shake of his head, he headed out to finish installing his Basel booth at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The setting there evoked an explosion in a Bubble Wrap factory as an army of installers swarmed about, unpacking, measuring and hammering. The painter Chuck Close sped through the debris in a motorized wheelchair, off to oversee the hanging of his artwork, followed by a forklift whose protruding blades passed ominously close to an Alex Katz painting. Mr. Domenech was right alongside Mr. Snitzer, hanging his own sculptures and choreographing an array of spotlights. At $65, 000 for the booth’s 807 square feet, every rented inch was put to its most aesthetically enticing use. Add in setup costs, and the gallery owed $80, 000 before Mr. Snitzer had sold a single piece. “I’m paying the same per square foot as Gagosian,” he explained, except that Mr. Gagosian needs to sell just one of his artworks to cover expenses. Mr. Snitzer’s strategy? To showcase his thriving midcareer artists like Mr. Bas, Enrique Martínez Celaya and Kenny Scharf — all of whom can attract fresh eyes to his younger artists and subsidize his display of their work. At Wednesday morning’s V. I. P. opening, the Basel crowd was noticeably thinner than in past years, though boldfaced names were still in evidence. The impresario Sean Combs stopped at Snitzer’s booth, bringing his entourage of assistants and children to a sudden halt. Mr. Combs zeroed in on a young woman gazing at abstract paintings by Eli Sudbrack — better known as Assume Vivid Astro Focus. When she displayed little enthusiasm for Mr. Combs’s repeated inquiries about her favorite art, or his invitation to an event of his that night, he and his pack moved on. “He was working it hard there,” Mr. Snitzer said with a sympathetic chuckle for a fellow pitchman. Mr. Domenech’s two $10, 000 sculptures were the first pieces to be snapped up. By early afternoon there were also two holds on Mr. Bas’s $120, 000 painting — then Douglas Ray and Richard Segal arrived, executives from a New York real estate investment firm. Calls were rapidly placed, both holds were released, and there was a sudden crackle of anticipation. As Mr. Ray, the buyer, explained later, this was his first major art purchase — “It just captured me” — and he was unsure of the mechanics for closing a sale. But after spying an already sold Bas artwork at the Lehmann Maupin booth, he wasn’t going to lose out twice. Mr. Segal, a Basel veteran, jumped in to finalize the price. “What can you do for my friend?” Mr. Segal asked, reminding Mr. Snitzer that he was also a trustee at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Mr. Snitzer offered the 10 percent standard industry discount — a sum almost always built into the asking price. Mr. Ray started hedging, asking about other Bas works, and Mr. Snitzer began to pull up some images on an iPad. Mr. Segal wryly chided the dealer, “Never lose a sale. ” Mr. Snitzer picked up his cue and quickly assured Mr. Ray that his painting was the best available. “O. K. done,” Mr. Segal thundered, with an outstretched handshake. An invoice would be sent and the painting shipped upon payment. The entire $108, 000 transaction lasted barely five minutes. By 8 p. m. and the close of the fair’s first day, other dealers had uncorked Champagne, but Mr. Snitzer simply sat for a moment. “I’m 66 years old,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 40 years, and I’m finally in the best position I’ve ever been in. ” So what was on tonight’s agenda? Mr. Snitzer turned incredulous: “Can’t I take a nap now?” | 1 |
‘They Don’t Speak For Me’— Evangelical PhD SLAMS Religious Right Leaders Supporting Trump By Stephanie Kuklish
Evangelical Christians have been major players in the 2016 elections with their unrelenting support of Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, but Alan Noble, Ph.D., is putting his foot down and letting the Religious Right know what they are doing is wrong.
In a current op-ed for Vox , Noble takes to history, the Bible, and the way of the conservative to point out that somewhere in the recent past, Evangelicals have lost their sense of priority in the character of a man. When discussing the release of tapes where Trump was caught admitting to sexually assaulting women Noble stated: “Evangelicalism has been sharply divided over Trump, and so my hope was that this tape would finally persuade the remaining evangelical defenders of Trump to abandon him. But for the most part, that’s not what happened.”
Just as we have seen numerous times in the media, while many Trump supporters were running in the other direction, there were still an enormous amount of influential conservatives battening down the hatches and riding through this storm, still defending the man.
Men like Jerry Falwell Jr., Ben Carson, Tony Perkins, Mike Huckabee, and more , have either stayed steady with their support or have come back to the “Trump Side,” shortly after jumping ship, all taking the stance that America should focus less on character and more on policy. Noble discusses the Christian Conservative view this election season by saying : “Jalsevac makes explicit the logic of so many leaders on the religious right: Character is fundamentally private and only tangentially related the public work of policymaking and politics. Sin is still bad, but since we are all sinners, and since we are not electing a “pastor in chief,” what matters most is what kind of president the candidates would be. The real is the political. Everything else is just style.”
Here is the kicker, though, the pushing off of character and focusing on policy way of thinking for the Christian Conservative was the complete opposite when former President Bill Clinton confessed to his indiscretions while in office. In fact, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a “ Resolution on the Moral Characters of Public Officials ,” after Clinton’s incident stating: “WHEREAS, Some journalists report that many Americans are willing to excuse or overlook immoral or illegal conduct by unrepentant public officials so long as economic prosperity prevails; and WHEREAS, Tolerance of serious wrong by leaders sears the conscience of the culture, spawns unrestrained immorality and lawlessness in the society, and surely results in God’s judgment (1 Kings 16:30; Isaiah 5:18-25); and … Therefore, be it RESOLVED, That we, the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting June 9-11, 1998, in Salt Lake City, Utah, affirm that moral character matters to God and should matter to all citizens, especially God’s people when choosing public leaders; and … Be it finally RESOLVED, That we urge all Americans to embrace and act on the conviction that character does count in public office, and to elect those officials and candidates who, although imperfect, demonstrate consistent honesty, moral purity, and the highest character.”
Ultimately what this is saying is that if someone is placed in office with a severe lack of personal conviction, it can ultimately harm everyone involved; an entirely different viewpoint than the rhetoric they are putting forth about support for Donald Trump. And don’t be mistaken, this position was held and represented as late as 2015 when Mike Huckabee responded during an interview to the millennial viewpoint of Bill Clinton’s indiscretions by saying : “Probably not, for two reasons. One, they were infants when it all happened. And the second reason is that growing up in a moral climate in which people just don’t seem to care that much about other people’s lives. They don’t make the connection between personal character and public character. They don’t seem to think that there is a correlation. I think there is. I think if a person will lie to an individual, they will lie to a country. I think if a person is not honest with themselves, they’ll be dishonest with the voters. And so I do think character matters, I believe it always had. It doesn’t mean we elect perfect people. We don’t, we never have, we never will, but I do think that it matters that a person represents himself or herself with a level of authenticity and that doesn’t always happen Hugh, and I do think it’s one of the pitfalls of our current political environment.” Via Vox
So while public figures like James Dobson endorse Trump with the, “We are electing a commander-in-chief not a theologian-in-chief,” he was damning the idea of not holding Bill Clinton responsible for his moral character. In 1998, while President of Focus on the Family , Dobson wrote : “As it turns out, character DOES matter. You can’t run a family, let alone a country, without it. How foolish to believe that a person who lacks honesty and moral integrity is qualified to lead a nation and the world! Nevertheless, our people continue to say that the President is doing a good job even if they don’t respect him personally. Those two positions are fundamentally incompatible. In the Book of James the question is posed, “Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring” (James 3:11 NIV). The answer is no.”
It seems to me the winds of the religious, political race have changed drastically and not to fit the idea that the Bible represents, but to satisfy lead religious bodies in their political views. As we are condemned for our lack of character in our everyday lives, Trump’s character is swept to the side as nothing more than a luxury for a political candidate.
Featured Image Via The Daily Beast About Stephanie Kuklish
I am a 30 something writer passionate about politics, the environment, human rights and pretty much everything that effects our everyday life. To stay on top of the topics I discuss, like and follow me at https://www.facebook.com/keeponwriting and https://facebook.com/progressivenomad . Connect | 0 |
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Diane Canfield – The biggest step in evolution is to be able to recognize light from Dark. Light cares about others but not in a way that furthers their own agenda. Dark cares about self and many times in this reality masquerades as light.
You must be able to look past words and look at agendas to see light and dark. What does the person have to gain? This is how we see agendas. What is the motivator behind the person? Too often there is manipulation that takes place and many are not able to see beyond the dark manipulation. Yes all manipulation is dark.
This speaks to our own shadow side as well, dark is not to be embraced but instead transformed into LIGHT. Dark is to be processed, worked with and transmuted. The same way an addict can be transformed from self hatred to self love. We would show them how to fall in love with themselves
Light and dark also have a feeling that goes along with them energetically. Light feels light and honest. Dark feels like hidden secrets and lies. Light is light and airy. Dark is a drained and sluggish feeling. Dark is one of confusion. Light is one of clarity. – www.DianeCanfield.com SF Source How To Exit The Matrix Nov. 2016 Share this: | 0 |
. The FOUR Reasons for the Assassination of JFK, The Greatest US President For me, this case is closed. John F. Kennedy was assassinated for stripping the Rothschild-owned Fed... Print Email http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/the-four-reasons-for-assassination-of.html For me, this case is closed. John F. Kennedy was assassinated for stripping the Rothschild-owned Federal Reserve of its power to print and loan money to the United States Federal Government at interest. President Kennedy signed Executive Order No. 11110 on June 4, 1963, which returned to the U.S. government the power to issue currency, without going through the privately-owned Federal Reserve . Unknowingly, he also signed his death sentence that day. President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 and the United States Notes (backed by silver) he had issued were immediately taken out of circulation. Federal Reserve Notes continued to serve as the legal currency of the nation. You can read everything on the subject by following this link .But, it's likely that at least three other factors have played a role in the decision to assassinate him and, later, other members of his family . 2. Not long before his death, President Kennedy famously stated: "I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the winds." It is known that JFK fired CIA Director Allen Dulles and this book claims the latter is responsible for ordering the hit on the US President. 3. In a famous speech, JFK exposed the network of secret societies that operate against the American people and publicly opposed their devious ways of undermining mankind's freedom. Just two years before he was assassinated (1961), JFK gave a really chilling — yet inspiring — speech, exposing secret societies. The warning is especially powerful because it came from a President in office: For me, this speech is remarkable especially because the Kennedys were part of the 13 "elite" families that rule the Earth from the shadows. These three facts are clearly showing that JFK declared war against the shadow "elite" and their network of secret societies. And for this reason, he and many other members of his lineage have paid the ultimate price . But he was not the only US President who gave us this warning: Former US Presidents and High Officials Warn About the 'Invisible Government' Running the USA 4. Lastly, just ten days before his assassination, JFK asked for access to the UFO files. Based on evidence , the plot for JFK's assassination was already set in motion when he asked to access the UFO files. In fact, new evidence suggests that Lee Harvey Oswald worked directly for Robert F. Kennedy and — shockingly — helped save JFK from an ‘assassination plot’ three weeks earlier in Chicago . But, in so doing, he sealed his own fate. You can read more on the subject by accessing this link . But, even though JFK was already marked for assassination, demanding access to the UFO files could have expedited the efforts to take him out before he could succeed. The following article, wrote by Makia Freeman , makes a very strong case in support of this idea. Was JFK murdered mostly because he was trying to gain access to classified information on UFOs, ETs and aliens? As we approach the 53rd anniversary of the JFK assassination (which occurred on November 22, 1963) and mark the death of the greatest US president ever to challenge the New World Order Secret Government, it is worth briefly looking back in time to realize the tremendous lessons from the Kennedy murder. Last year in 2015 I released an in-depth 3-part series on the JFK assassination, dealing with the Who , How and Why of the event, which was a sacrificial mass ritual designed (among other things) to traumatize the American public. In part 3 I compiled a list of the various motives certain people and groups had to kill Kennedy. JFK had crossed the CIA, the Nazis, the Zionists, the Military Industrial Complex, the Federal Reserve and the Mafia – all the while not being part of Secret Society Freemasonic brotherhood. However, was the ultimate reason he was killed due to his persistence and demands in obtaining top secret intelligence on the alien matter? Was JFK murdered because he challenged the power of Majestic-12 or MJ-12, the hidden group Truman had created to be the keepers of UFO and alien secrets? There is substantial evidence to indicate this is indeed the case. Released JFK Letters to CIA and NASA Show His Demand for UFO Files – 10 Days Before His Death Two memos authored by Kennedy were released to researcher William Lester under FOIA (Freedom of Information Act). Both were written on November 12, 1963, just 10 days before JFK was murdered. One of them is a letter (pictured below) to CIA Director John McCone, who succeeded CIA Director Allen Dulles, one of the JFK assassination conspirators and masterminds (see part 1 ). In the memorandum with the subject “Classification review of all UFO intelligent files affecting National Security”, JFK explicitly writes that he has initiated a joint space program with the USSR. He is telling the CIA that he wants to share its UFO, ET and alien data with NASA, and wants to distinguish between knowns and unknowns (we can interpret the “knowns” as US controlled secret technology such as anti-gravity craft and the “unknowns” as genuine extraterrestrial phenomena). Here is the text: “As I had discussed with you previously, I have initiated [redacted] have instructed James Webb to develop a program with the Soviet Union in joint space and inner exploration. “It would be very helpful if you would have the high threat cases reviewed with the purpose of identification of bona fide as opposed to classified CIA and USAF sources. “It is important that we make a clear distinction between the knowns and unknowns in the event the Soviets try to mistake our extended cooperation as a cover for intelligence gathering of their defense and space programs. “When this data has been sorted out, I would like you to arrange a program of data sharing with NASA where Unknowns are a factor. This will help NASA mission directors in their defensive responsibilities. “I would like an interim report on the data review no later than February 1, 1964.” The other memorandum (National Security Action Memorandum No. 271, pictured below) is addressed to then NASA administrator James Webb. It carries the subject line of “Cooperation with the USSR on Outer Space Matters”. JFK outlines how he wants NASA to develop a program of cooperation with the Russians in the field of outer space. JFK Murdered Over UFO Intelligence Access – The Bigger Picture However, to put these two memos in context, you need to understand that Kennedy had been chasing the golden goose for a long time. Authors and experts such as Dr. Michael Salla, Richard Hoagland and Mike Bara, some of whose work you can read here in “ President Kennedy’s deadly confrontation with the CIA & MJ-12 over ET/UFO X-Files – Part II ”, have done extensive research to show that JFK was determined, before his presidency even began, to get full UFO intelligence access and as president re-take control of the information. He wanted it out of military, unelected hands and placed back into civilian, elected ones. He was out to undo the damage Truman had done, and Eisenhower had continued, by setting up the hidden MJ-12 group in 1947 and keeping the UFO and alien subject under wraps as a giant secret. The following is from a review or synopsis of Salla’s book Kennedy’s Last Stand: Eisenhower, UFOs, MJ-12 and JFK’s Assassination : “In searching for answers to who killed President Kennedy we need to start with the death of his mentor, James Forrestal in 1949. Forrestal became the first Secretary of Defense in 1947, a position he held until March, 1949. “Forrestal was a visionary who thought Americans had a right to know about the existence of extraterrestrial life and technologies. “Forrestal was sacked by President Truman because he was revealing the truth to various officials, including Kennedy who was a Congressman at the time. Forrestal’s ideals and vision inspired Kennedy, and laid the seed for what would happen 12 years later. “After winning the 1960 Presidential election, Kennedy learned a shocking truth from President Eisenhower. The control group set up to run highly classified extraterrestrial technologies, Majestic-12, had become a rogue government agency. “Eisenhower warned Kennedy that Majestic-12 had to be reined in. It posed a direct threat to American liberties and democratic processes. Kennedy followed Eisenhower’s advice, and set out to realize James Forrestal’s vision. “The same forces that orchestrated Forrestal’s death, opposed Kennedy’s efforts at every turn. When Kennedy was on the verge of succeeding, by forcing the CIA to share classified UFO information with other government agencies on November 12, 1963, he was assassinated ten days later.” Joint US-USSR Space Missions: JFK Murdered Over Clever Strategy Although JFK surely and naturally had other reasons for wanting to work together with the Soviets (and thus avoid any possibility of a nuclear war), it is quite possible that his proposed joint US-USSR program was an excuse and a clever means to wrest control of the ET issue from the hands of MJ-12. To have NASA cooperate with the Soviet space administration on lunar missions and outer space exploration would necessarily mean sharing data on UFOs. After all, the existence (and extreme technological capacity) of such craft were an obvious security factor and threat that would impact any space expedition. Kennedy already had Soviet leader Nikita Kruschchev on board. Salla writes : “Documents confirm that on November 12, 1963 Kennedy and Khrushchev had agreed on steps to share UFO information precisely for this reason, and Kennedy identified the CIA as the lead U.S. agency to implement the process. “Unknown to Kennedy, the CIA’s chief of counterintelligence, Angleton, implemented a secret set of directives that would deny access to classified UFO information to Kennedy, his national security staff and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.” The “burned memo” or MJ-12 Kennedy assassination directive The MJ-12 Kennedy Assassination Directive Truth is heavily guarded by layers of secrecy, deception, falsehood and propaganda. Often, government officials hide the truth by overseeing partial disclosures which are carefully orchestrated to give away just enough of the secret without going in too deep. Ever since the Roswell crash of 1947, the US Government kept 2 sets of UFO files. The tamer cases and less controversial information were made publicly available through Project Blue Book, which was the official public investigation into UFOs by the USAF. It formally ended in 1970. However, the really good stuff with high classifications was kept under lock and key by the CIA and MJ-12. Kennedy must have learnt enough about the situation to have known this, and have slowly but surely been making his way to the source of the information. By the time it got to November 12th, 1963, it was the final straw; MJ-12 who controlled the CIA would not allow Kennedy to have UFO intelligence access – at any cost. As mentioned in part 3, the Kennedy assassination directive (pictured above) was written in code language to disguise the hit they were ordering. It uses the Russian spy term “wet” (i.e. wet from being drenched in fresh blood) to mean a killing. The memo reads:“when conditions become nonconductive for growth in our environment and Washington cannot be influenced any further... it should be ‘wet.’” This is from Salla’s commentary: “Dr Robert Wood who is the foremost expert in analyzing MJ-12 documents using forensic methods, has concluded that the burned document is an assassination directive... he pointed out that the cryptic phrase “it should be wet” originates from Russia, where the phrase ‘wet works’ or “wet affairs” denotes someone who had been killed and is drenched with blood. The codeword ‘wet’ was later adopted by the Soviet KGB and other intelligence agencies... In drafting this cryptic directive, Allen Dulles was seeking approval from six of his MJ-12 colleagues, to lay the justification for the assassination of any elected or appointed official in Washington DC whose policies were “non-conducive for growth”. The cryptic directive was a pre-authorization for the assassination of any U.S. President who could not “be influenced any further” to follow MJ-12 policies.” CIA Wiretap of Marilyn Monroe Also Suggests JFK Murdered Over UFO Issue Popular actress Marilyn Monroe was a famous lover of both JFK and his brother Robert, who served as Attorney General in the Kennedy Administration. In April 2014, evidence came to light in the form of an alleged CIA transcription (pictured below). If real – and it appears genuine – it shows that the CIA were wiretapping Monroe and knew she was about to go public and blow the whistle on JFK and UFOs. Here is what the alleged CIA wiretap document (dated August 3, 1962) states: “Rothberg indicated in so many words, that she [Monroe] had secrets to tell, no doubt arising from her trists [sic] with the President and the Attorney General. “One such “secret” mentions the visit by the President at a secret air base for the purpose of inspecting things from outer space. 2. Subject repeatedly called the Attorney General and complained about the way she was being ignored by the President and his brother. 3. Subject threatened to hold a press conference and would tell all.” CIA wiretap of Marilyn Monroe: more proof JFK murdered due to UFOs and aliens? Robert Kennedy Also Briefed On UFOs Another piece of evidence substantiating the “JFK murdered due to UFOs” hypothesis is that his brother and Attorney General Robert Kennedy was also briefed on the matter. Lieutenant Colonel Philip Corso, a man who served in a number of National Security Council committees from 1953-57 during the Eisenhower presidency, says Bobby actually sought him out. In this short video Corso says he personally briefed Bobby Kennedy on the subject of flying saucers or UFOs. Bobby was JFK’s closest advisor. Conclusion: Highly Likely JFK Murdered Over UFOs and ETs / Aliens So at the end of the day was JFK murdered over the UFOs and aliens? While there were many motives for (and conspirators involved in) the killing of JFK, the evidence is overwhelming that his demand for more control over the UFO and alien subject was the crucial factor in the decision by MJ-12 to assassinate him. It may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, but more likely it was the central issue all along. JFK inherited a system from Eisenhower and Truman, US presidents who had already given away substantial control to the Military Industrial Intelligence Complex. Indeed, the very term “Military Industrial Complex” (MIC) has only become so commonplace thanks to Eisenhower using it in his farewell speech , where he issued a grave warning to the American public about the power that the MIC already held (but which he also allowed to a large extent). To study the New World Order and the worldwide conspiracy at the deepest levels is to study the UFO, ET and alien agenda. To study UFOs and aliens, in turn, is to accept the existence of free energy technology (aka zero point or over unity energy). This is the gamechanger . Once people accept the reality of free energy and learn how to create and share it, the control grid and conspiracy will evaporate – because knowledgeable and abundant people cannot be controlled. There is so much at stake at here! Thank you JFK and to all others who have dedicated their lives to making this information public, widespread and accessible ! The truth cannot be hidden forever. Dear Friends, HumansAreFree is and will always be free to access and use. If you appreciate my work, please help me continue.
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Now Malaysia Dumps US for Chinese Naval Vessels October 28, 2016 Now Malaysia Dumps US for Chinese Naval Vessels
Malaysia will sign a contract to purchase Littoral Mission Ships from China when Prime Minister Najib Razak visits Beijing next week, according to a Facebook posting by the country's Ministry of Defence. Malaysia follows the Philippines in this regional shift from the United States to China The text of a speech to be delivered by Malaysian defense minister Hishammuddin Hussein was posted on Facebook on Tuesday The statement was later removed after media asked a defense ministry spokesman for comment. The purchase of the patrol vessels, if it proceeds, would be Malaysia's first significant defense deal with China and comes amid rising tensions in the South China Sea and as the United States and China compete for influence in the region. Article by Doc Burkhart , Vice-President, General Manager and co-host of TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles Got a news tip? Email us at Help support the ministry of TRUNEWS with your one-time or monthly gift of financial support. DONATE NOW ! DOWNLOAD THE TRUNEWS MOBILE APP! CLICK HERE! Donate Today! Support TRUNEWS to help build a global news network that provides a credible source for world news
We believe Christians need and deserve their own global news network to keep the worldwide Church informed, and to offer Christians a positive alternative to the anti-Christian bigotry of the mainstream news media Top Stories | 0 |
Donald John Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States on Tuesday in a stunning culmination of an explosive, populist and polarizing campaign that took relentless aim at the institutions and ideals of American democracy. The surprise outcome, defying late polls that showed Hillary Clinton with a modest but persistent edge, threatened convulsions throughout the country and the world, where skeptics had watched with alarm as Mr. Trump’s unvarnished overtures to disillusioned voters took hold. The triumph for Mr. Trump, 70, a real estate television star with no government experience, was a powerful rejection of the establishment forces that had assembled against him, from the world of business to government, and the consensus they had forged on everything from trade to immigration. The results amounted to a repudiation, not only of Mrs. Clinton, but of President Obama, whose legacy is suddenly imperiled. And it was a decisive demonstration of power by a largely overlooked coalition of mostly white and voters who felt that the promise of the United States had slipped their grasp amid decades of globalization and multiculturalism. In Mr. Trump, a Manhattanite who lives in a penthouse apartment on Fifth Avenue, they found an improbable champion. “The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer,” Mr. Trump told supporters around 3 a. m. on Wednesday at a rally in New York City, just after Mrs. Clinton called to concede. In a departure from a blistering campaign in which he repeatedly stoked division, Mr. Trump sought to do something he had conspicuously avoided as a candidate: Appeal for unity. “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division,” he said. “It is time for us to come together as one united people. It’s time. ” That, he added, “is so important to me. ” He offered unusually warm words for Mrs. Clinton, who he has suggested should be in jail, saying she was owed “a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. ” Bolstered by Mr. Trump’s strong showing, Republicans retained control of the Senate. Only one seat, in Illinois, fell to Democrats early in the evening. And Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, a Republican, easily won in a race that had been among the country’s most competitive. A handful of other Republican incumbents facing difficult races were running better than expected. Mr. Trump’s win — stretching across the battleground states of Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania — seemed likely to set off financial jitters and immediate unease among international allies, many of which were startled when Mr. Trump in his campaign cast doubt on the necessity of America’s military commitments abroad and its allegiance to international economic partnerships. From the moment he entered the campaign, with a shocking set of claims that Mexican immigrants were rapists and criminals, Mr. Trump was widely underestimated as a candidate, first by his opponents for the Republican nomination and later by Mrs. Clinton, his Democratic rival. His rise was largely missed by polling organizations and data analysts. And an air of improbability trailed his campaign, to the detriment of those who dismissed his angry message, his improvisational style and his appeal to disillusioned voters. He suggested remedies that raised questions of constitutionality, like a ban on Muslims entering the United States. He threatened opponents, promising lawsuits against news organizations that covered him critically and women who accused him of sexual assault. At times, he simply lied. But Mr. Trump’s unfiltered rallies and unshakable attracted a zealous following, fusing unsubtle identity politics with an economic populism that often defied party doctrine. His rallies — furious, entertaining, heavy on and nationalist overtones — became the nexus of a political movement, with daily promises of sweeping victory, in the election and otherwise, and an insistence that the country’s political machinery was “rigged” against Mr. Trump and those who admired him. He seemed to embody the success and grandeur that so many of his followers felt was missing from their own lives — and from the country itself. And he scoffed at the ways of modern politics, calling them a waste of time and money. Instead, he relied on his gut. At his victory party at the New York Hilton Midtown, where a raucous crowd indulged in a cash bar and wore hats bearing his ubiquitous campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” voters expressed gratification that their voices had, at last, been heard. “He was talking to people who weren’t being spoken to,” said Joseph Gravagna, 37, a marketing company owner from Rockland County, N. Y. “That’s how I knew he was going to win. ” For Mrs. Clinton, the defeat signaled an astonishing end to a political dynasty that has colored Democratic politics for a generation. Eight years after losing to President Obama in the Democratic primary — and 16 years after leaving the White House for the United States Senate, as President Bill Clinton exited office — she had seemed positioned to carry on two legacies: her husband’s and the president’s. Her shocking loss was a devastating turn for the sprawling world of Clinton aides and strategists who believed they had built an electoral machine that would swamp Mr. Trump’s ragtag band of loyal operatives and family members, many of whom had no experience running a national campaign. On Tuesday night, stricken Clinton aides who believed that Mr. Trump had no mathematical path to victory, anxiously paced the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center as states in which they were confident of victory, like Florida and North Carolina, either fell to Mr. Trump or seemed in danger of tipping his way. Mrs. Clinton watched the grim results roll in from a suite at the nearby Peninsula Hotel, surrounded by her family, friends and advisers who had the day before celebrated her candidacy with a champagne toast on her campaign plane. But over and over, Mrs. Clinton’s weaknesses as a candidate were exposed. She failed to excite voters hungry for change. She struggled to build trust with Americans who were baffled by her decision to use a private email server as secretary of state. And she strained to make a persuasive case for herself as a champion of the economically downtrodden after delivering perfunctory paid speeches that earned her millions of dollars. The returns Tuesday also amounted to a historic rebuke of the Democratic Party from the white voters who had formed the party base from the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt to Mr. Clinton’s. Yet Mrs. Clinton and her advisers had taken for granted that states like Michigan and Wisconsin would stick with a Democratic nominee, and that she could repeat Mr. Obama’s strategy of mobilizing the party’s ascendant liberal coalition rather than pursuing a more moderate course like her husband did 24 years ago. But not until these voters were offered a Republican who ran as an unapologetic populist, railing against foreign trade deals and illegal immigration, did they move so drastically away from their ancestral political home. To the surprise of many on the left, white voters who had helped elect the nation’s first black president, appeared more reluctant to line up behind a white woman. From Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, industrial towns once full of union voters who for decades offered their votes to Democratic presidential candidates, even in the party’s lean years, shifted to Mr. Trump’s Republican Party. One county in the Mahoning Valley of Ohio, Trumbull, went to Mr. Trump by a margin. Four years ago, Mr. Obama won there by 22 points. Mrs. Clinton’s loss was especially crushing to millions who had cheered her march toward history as, they hoped, the nation’s first female president. For supporters, the election often felt like a referendum on gender progress: an opportunity to elevate a woman to the nation’s top job and to repudiate a man whose remarkably boorish behavior toward women had assumed center stage during much of the campaign. Mr. Trump boasted, in a 2005 video released last month, about using his public profile to commit sexual assault. He suggested that female political rivals lacked a presidential “look. ” He ranked women on a scale of one to 10, even holding forth on the desirability of his own daughter — the kind of throwback male behavior that many in the country assumed would disqualify a candidate for high office. On Tuesday, the public’s verdict was rendered. Uncertainty abounds as Mr. Trump prepares to take office. His campaign featured a list of policy proposals, often seeming to change hour to hour. His staff was in constant turmoil, with Mr. Trump’s children serving critical campaign roles and a rotating cast of advisers alternately seeking access to Mr. Trump’s ear, losing it and, often, regaining it, depending on the day. Even Mr. Trump’s full embrace of the Republican Party came exceedingly late in life, leaving members of both parties unsure about what he truly believes. He has donated heavily to both parties and has long described his politics as the transactional reality of a businessman. Mr. Trump’s dozens of business entanglements — many of them in foreign countries — will follow him into the Oval Office, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest. His refusal to release his tax returns, and his acknowledgment that he did not pay federal income taxes for years, has left the American people with considerable gaps in their understanding of the financial dealings. But this they do know: Mr. Trump will thoroughly reimagine the tone, standards and expectations of the presidency, molding it in his own image. He is set to take the oath of office on Jan. 20. | 1 |
An event organised by Gays Against Sharia to mark the anniversary of the Orlando shooting has been branded “divisive” and “Islamophobic” by LGBT activists planning a . [The organisers of the Unite Against Hate march, set to take place in Manchester on Sunday, say they organised the event to “honour the victims of hate” including the 49 people who lost their lives at Pulse, a gay club in Orlando, Florida, at the hands of an Islamic terrorist on June 12, 2016. Planned speakers include author Shazia Hobbs, a Glaswegian who was forced into an arranged marriage at 18 with a man who beat her, believing it was his right under Sharia law Mohammed Fiaz, a Christian convert from Islam and founder and former leader of the English Defence League Tommy Robinson. But LGBT activists have reacted with fury, insisting the event is nothing more than the cynical hijacking of gay rights by the “far right” as a cover for Islamophobia. Two groups, Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants, and Action for Trans Health, are arranging a against the march. “We’re protesting because the want to use Orlando and the recent killings in the UK to demonise all Muslims,” one of the organisers of the Anna, told Pink News. “We are clear that it is genocidal to consider millions of people responsible for the actions of a few violent men. “As queers, we know what it’s like for to hate us — so we won’t be divided like this. ” One of the organisers of the Unite Against Hate march is Tommy English, a fellow traveller of Tommy Robinson’s and former leader of the English Defence League’s LGBT group who now runs Gays Against Sharia. Opponents have seized upon his presence to claim the march is nothing but a front for Islamophobes. Pink News quotes Sam Bjorn as saying: “As LGBT+ people we won’t stand idly by as far right bigots like the EDL attempt to use our rights as a weapon against people from the Muslim community. “When groups like the EDL are preying on tragedy like the recent attack in Manchester to promote hate and division, it’s more important than ever to come together and say that we do not tolerate their Islamophobia and racism. “We encourage everyone, gay or straight, to join us on 11 June to show that the LGBT+ community and the people of Manchester won’t let the hate of bigots divide us. ” Pink News has joined in the condemnation, branding the event as a “fake” and accusing the organisers of “hijacking the first anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting with an march,” which it described as a “disturbing tactic”. Veteran gay rights activist Peter Tatchell has also entered the fray, tweeting his opposition to the march. If you like our work opposing Islamist homophobia https: . please consider donating https: . THANKS A LOT : ) pic. twitter. — Peter Tatchell (@PeterTatchell) April 16, 2017, When confronted by fellow Twitter users who accused him of “defending the wrong people” he reacted by tweeting his “delight” at having been “targeted” by “fascists” as he said it showed he had “rattled the far right”. Just a few weeks later Tatchell tweeted an appeal to help overturn the death penalty for homosexuality, which still exists in several countries. Several countries still have the death penalty for LGBT people. We urgently need your help to stop it. Donate https: . THANX! pic. twitter. — Peter Tatchell (@PeterTatchell) May 11, 2017, The ten countries in which homosexuality is punishable by death are Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. In some cases, the laws apply only in regions of the country under Sharia law or are only applicable to Muslims. | 1 |
BRUTAL! This map shows Obamacare premiums going up as much as 116% in some states Posted at 11:04 am on October 27, 2016 by Sam J.
Gosh, thanks Obama. And we didn’t get you anything … Brutal. This map shows how much Obamacare premiums are going up in every state. pic.twitter.com/hAy0LLJyjS
— Jason C. (@CounterMoonbat) October 27, 2016
Brutal is right. Trending WHAT bias? James O'Keefe wonders why these 'journalists' are ignoring Project Veritas videos
Look out Arizona, Obamacare is really going to kick you in the backside next year – 116%!?!?!
How can this be in any way, shape or form acceptable to ANY person in this country, regardless of political affiliation? We should all be absolutely disgusted with these numbers and yet the law stands. @CounterMoonbat But it's Okay because someone else will pay?
— Beto Ochoa (@Beto_In_Austin) October 27, 2016
Interesting how Democrats really think this is how it works. That some magical money fairy out there will flutter down from the heavens and dispense money from their money wand and make all of this go away.
They refuse to accept the middle class, the very people they pretend to care about, are the ones getting kicked in the teeth by this law. | 0 |
Last summer, the Anderson Monarchs, a Philadelphia baseball team that featured the Little League World Series star Mo’ne Davis, barnstormed through the South. They played baseball, and they also toured sites significant to the civil rights movement as a nod to the team’s heritage — it is named, after all, for the Kansas City Monarchs, the Negro leagues club for which Jackie Robinson once played. “I stood where Martin Luther King and John Lewis stood,” wrote outfielder Myles Eaddy on a team blog after a visit to Selma, Ala. adding, “It is really cool to know how far we have come. ” Nearly a year later, the team’s trip has helped inspire an apology being extended by Philadelphia to Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers at the start of the 1947 season. The apology comes as Major League Baseball, on Friday, celebrates the 69th anniversary of Robinson’s first game with the Dodgers with its Jackie Robinson Day, initiated in 2004. Every major league player wears Robinson’s No. 42, an annual sight in baseball. What is different this year is the apology from the City of Philadelphia for the manner in which the Phillies treated Robinson when he began his career. “Obviously, everyone learns about Jackie Robinson when they’re a schoolkid,” said Helen Gym, the council member who introduced the resolution to apologize to Robinson, which passed unanimously. But Gym added that the Monarchs’ tour of the South and the 2013 movie about Robinson’s life, titled “42,” further piqued her interest and the City Council’s in remembering Robinson and owning up to the Phillies’ contribution to the hostility he initially encountered. Although the resolution refers to the racism Robinson encountered as a visiting player in Philadelphia, it is generally accepted that the worst behavior the Phillies displayed toward him actually occurred earlier that season, in Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, during one of the Dodgers’ early homestands. It was then that the Phillies, led by their manager, Ben Chapman, repeatedly shouted racial slurs at Robinson when he stepped to the plate, an encounter that was vividly portrayed in “42. ” The City Council resolution states that Robinson was told to “go back to the cotton fields. ” According to Jonathan Eig, whose 2008 book “Opening Day” chronicled Robinson’s rookie season, Chapman and several Phillies also made comments about Robinson’s physical features. Robinson later said that it was the closest he came to cracking and retaliating. “For one wild and minute, I thought, ‘To hell with Mr. Rickey’s noble experiment,’ ” Robinson once recalled, referring to Branch Rickey, the Dodgers executive who chose Robinson as the player he felt capable of integrating the game while having the discipline to not retaliate to the taunts and harassment he would face. In those initial games against the Phillies, Robinson held in his anger. “He knew this wasn’t just symbolism,” Eig said. “He knew if he could integrate Major League Baseball, it would affect lots of people’s lives. And he knew if he lashed out, he might lose the opportunity. ” For his part, Chapman would insist years later that the taunting was motivated less by racism than by a desire to gain a competitive advantage over a presumably fragile rookie. He told the writer Allen Barra that he had also used epithets against Joe DiMaggio, who was of Italian descent, and Hank Greenberg, who was Jewish. “I can imagine the possibility that both things were true,” Eig said of Chapman, “that he was deeply racist and he thought that by attacking a black guy with this racist language he might make him snap, lose his composure, get the player to take the bait, get him thrown out for half a season, get him to quit. ” In any case, the initial taunting of Robinson by Chapman and his players created a backlash. In the second game of that series, according to “Opening Day,” the Dodgers’ Eddie Stanky, a scrappy infielder and Philadelphia native, confronted the Phillies, shouting at them and calling them cowards for verbally abusing someone who could not fight back. Commentators weighed in, expressing sympathy for Robinson. “It was the first time a lot of white people and white reporters in particular noticed the abuse Robinson was taking,” Eig said, adding, “I interviewed a fan who had been a teenager who went to one of those games, heard the heckling, and was shocked. ” Chapman had come under pressure from within baseball by the time the Dodgers paid their first visit to Philadelphia that season, from May 9 to 11, with Robinson unable to stay in the same hotel as his teammates. He asked to have his picture taken with Robinson. The two men posed stiffly, holding the same bat. All these years later, the City Council resolution seems like a more genuine gesture of atonement. “I’m sure Robinson would agree an apology is in order,” Eig said. | 1 |
Elton John has cancelled all of his upcoming concerts in Las Vegas after contracting a rare and “potentially deadly” infection while touring in South America. [A representative for John said Monday that the “Rocket Man” would no longer be able to honor the April and May dates of his Las Vegas residency, “The Million Dollar Piano,” due to an extended stay in a hospital recovering from the rare illness. “During a recent, successful tour of South America, Elton contracted a harmful and unusual bacterial infection,” the singer’s representative said in a statement obtained by People magazine. “During his return flight home from Santiago, Chile, he became violently ill. Upon returning to the U. K. Elton’s doctors admitted him to hospital, where he underwent immediate treatment to remove the infection. ” “After spending two nights in intensive care followed by an extended stay in hospital, Elton was released from hospital on Saturday, April 22 and is now comfortably resting at home per doctor’s advice,” the statement added. “Infections of this nature are rare and potentially deadly. Thankfully, Elton’s medical team identified this quickly and treated it successfully. ” The representative said John is expected to make a “full and complete recovery. ” The pianist’s scheduled performance on May 6 in Bakersfield, California has also been cancelled. “I am so fortunate to have the most incredible and loyal fans and apologise for disappointing them,” John said in his own statement. “I am extremely grateful to the medical team for their excellence in looking after me so well. ” John is expected to return to the stage June 3 with a concert in Twickenham, England. It was not immediately clear whether the cancelled concerts would be rescheduled. Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum | 1 |
Email
No wonder Bill went elsewhere to fulfill his “sexual addiction,” as Dolly referred to it. After all, what else can you do when you’re married to a stinky woman who doesn’t shower and isn’t attracted to men anyways? Although an affair is never justified, it’s easy to sympathize with Bill on this one. But, I digress.
The bigger point here is what the two are willing to do in order to remain in power. Most people know that you can’t trust Hillary as far as you can throw her – which isn’t very far – so the fact that she has any supporters is beyond baffling at this point. This woman is corrupt and fake to the core. Let’s just hope all of America wakes up to this reality before it’s too late and she can do any more damage than she already has.
Bill and Hillary Clinton just can’t stay out of the spotlight these days, and the most recent leak about them could be the most damaging yet. As it turns out, someone once close to the duo just came forward to share Bill’s revealing nickname for his wife — but the worse comes as their dirty bedroom habits were exposed.
It’s no mystery that Bill Clinton is a sexual deviant, but the most recent account given by the woman who had a 3-decade affair with the man is damning, to say the least. According to an exclusive interview given to Mail Online, Dolly Kyle was behind the scene’s long enough to not only know the two’s darkest secrets but even their dirty sexual habits – and now, she’s telling everyone.
The connection between Dolly and Bill began when she was just 11-years-old. He was about 13-years-old at the time, but Dolly states that there was an immediate attraction, even then. As the years progressed, the two became romantically involved and stayed that way through several of their marriages over the next 30 years.
The real affair began in 1974 just after Dolly divorced her first husband, and although Bill wasn’t married yet, he would be within the year. Although she was never interested in sharing the intimate details of the relationship, she states that she snapped when she heard Hillary recently say that all sexual assault victims have the “right to be believed.”
Knowing full well just what Hillary had done – between the threats and the lies – to the many women who either had an affair with or were sexually assaulted by her husband Bill, Dolly knew she had to do something about it. Unfortunately for Hillary, Dolly is now coming forward with the dirty 2-word nickname Bill husband once called Hillary, among other things.
According to Mail Online, Bill approached Dolly at their high school’s 35-year reunion to talk about “ the warden” – a.k.a. Hillary. Saying he was unhappy with his life and marriage, this was the least significant account Dolly had to share.
In fact, Dolly recalls that Bill mentioned something about having a baby to her. Although she thought he was saying he wanted to have one with her, he was actually talking about Hillary. He wanted to put to bed the rumors that Hillary was a lesbian, even though everyone in their hometown already knew it to be true.
Dolly states that the worst came when she met Hillary for the first time. “In that moment I noticed that the woman emitted an overpowering [body] odor of perspiration and greasy hair. I hoped that I wouldn’t gag when she got in my car,” she said. “The sandal-shod woman with lank, smelly hair stood off to the side and glared at everyone.”
No wonder Bill went elsewhere to fulfill his “sexual addiction,” as Dolly referred to it. After all, what else can you do when you’re married to a stinky woman who doesn’t shower and isn’t attracted to men anyways? Although an affair is never justified, it’s easy to sympathize with Bill on this one. But, I digress.
The bigger point here is what the two are willing to do in order to remain in power. Most people know that you can’t trust Hillary as far as you can throw her – which isn’t very far – so the fact that she has any supporters is beyond baffling at this point. This woman is corrupt and fake to the core. Let’s just hope all of America wakes up to this reality before it’s too late and she can do any more damage than she already has. | 0 |
California legends The Beach Boys are set to headline the Texas State Society’s “Black Tie and Boots” inaugural ball on Jan. 19, the Washington Post reports. [“They’re a fun band and people really like them,” said one source reportedly involved with planning the bash, which will be held at the Gaylord National Resort Convention Center. The inaugural party, which peaked in popularity during George W. Bush’s inauguration in 2001, has reportedly already sold nearly 10, 000 tickets. Founding band member Mike Love told the Post in September that he’d be interested in performing for Trump if he won the election. “He’s been a friend for a long time,” said Love, who founded the band in 1961. “Does that mean I agree with everything he says? No. But . . . if we were asked [to play his inauguration] I’m sure that we would. ” The “Black Tie and Boots,” for which the price to party ranges from $275 to $5, 000, is “the hottest ticket in town for inauguration,” an individual close to preparation told the Post. Other performers include Bonnie Bishop, Jason Eady, Jason Boland, Kevin Fowler, Larry Gatlin, Gary P. Nunn, Kenny Maines, Dean Dillon, and the Texas Jam Band, and Tanya Tucker, the Post noted. Lone Star State politicos expected to attend are Texas Governor Greg Abbott, former Texas Trump pick for energy secretary Rick Perry, and former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, Trump’s secretary of state nominee. Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson | 1 |
BERLIN — The German police arrested a Syrian man early Monday who was suspected of plotting a bombing, bringing an end to a weekend manhunt that renewed fears about a threat posed by extremists among the nearly one million refugees and migrants who arrived in Germany last year. Federal prosecutors said the suspect, Jaber 22, was believed to be planning “ an explosive attack in Germany. ” Security officials in the eastern state of Saxony said they had found about three pounds of explosive materials in Mr. Bakr’s apartment, including the same substances as those used in Islamic State attacks in Europe. Jörg Michaelis, head of the state police in Saxony, said that Mr. Bakr had been arrested in Leipzig, in the apartment of other Syrians who had recognized the man from photographs circulated by the authorities over the weekend. The Syrians tied up the suspect and took a photograph of him with a cellphone, which one of them took to a nearby police station, before urging officers to come and arrest him immediately. “Our colleagues with the Leipzig police were able to seize him because his fellow Syrians had already bound and detained him,” Mr. Michaelis said. He declined to provide additional details about the Syrian who led them to Mr. Bakr, citing concerns about his safety. Mr. Bakr, who arrived in Germany in February 2015 and was granted refugee status five months later, had been under surveillance by German security officials for months. A commando unit stormed an apartment on Friday in Chemnitz, about an hour south of Leipzig, where he had been living. In addition, the police found materials that they believe to be TAPT, the same explosive used in terrorist attacks by Islamic State militants in Brussels and Paris last year, Mr. Michaelis said. Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s interior minister, praised the police for arresting the suspect but reminded Germans that the case was further evidence that their country remained in the sights of Islamist terrorists. “The investigation shows that actions as we have seen in France and Belgium cannot be ruled out in Germany,” Mr. de Maizière said. There was no indication of a specific target for the attack, but the authorities searched for two days to find Mr. Bakr, who had slipped away from the state police and special antiterrorism units that raided his apartment after receiving information from the federal authorities. “We are exhausted, but elated: terror suspect Albakr was arrested overnight in Leipzig,” the Saxony police said on Twitter in announcing the arrest. A second suspect, identified by federal prosecutors only as Khalil A. 33, was arrested Sunday and ordered by a judge to be held on suspicion of accessory to plotting an attack. He is suspected of renting the Chemnitz apartment where Mr. Bakr was living and ordering materials for him online. Mr. Bakr was to be brought before a judge on Monday, Mr. Michaelis said. The developments will heighten concern about the extent to which Islamist extremists have exploited Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision last year to allow asylum seekers to enter the country without more thorough screening. Ms. Merkel, who was traveling in Africa, thanked the Syrians who had detained Mr. Bakr and handed him over to police, her spokeswoman, Ulrike Demmer, said. In July, two men who had arrived as refugees carried out attacks in the southern state of Bavaria, one with an ax and the other with a bomb in a backpack. Those attacks, which wounded 17 people and left the two perpetrators dead, contributed to a growing pushback in Germany toward the refugees, who had arrived to a warm welcome. As the authorities searched for Mr. Bakr over the weekend, they made public a picture of him wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and urged anyone with information on his whereabouts to come forward. The police in Saxony made the appeal in Arabic and English. The authorities were already on heightened alert over the possible threat posed by extremists who may have entered Germany among the 890, 000 people — most from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria — who came in 2015 in the hopes of getting asylum. Saxony is home to the movement known as Pegida — the German acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against Islamization of the West — and has been the site of some of the most virulent attacks on refugees. | 1 |
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter According to a large new study , women who carry common gene variants that are linked to breast cancer can still reduce their risk of developing this disease by following a healthy lifestyle. The discovery marks a noticeable and important shift in the cancer conversation, offering hope for anyone who believes getting cancer is inevitable and also outlining the choices necessary to avoid it. advertisement - learn more Researchers found that even women who had a relatively high genetic risk for cancer could dramatically lower that risk based on their lifestyle choices. According to senior researcher Nilanjan Chatterjee, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, “Those genetic risks are not set in stone.” We can’t keep overlooking this essential aspect of cancer prevention. Key Lifestyle Factors To Avoid According to the study , there are four main lifestyle factors at play: maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, limiting alcohol, and not taking hormone therapy after menopause. The researchers estimate that if all white American women followed those four guidelines, approximately 30% of breast cancer cases could be avoided entirely. Of that 30%, the vast majority would be women whose family history and genes make them more susceptible to the disease. This study did not include women who carry the BRCA gene mutations, which significantly increase the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers. Instead they focused on 92 gene variants that, individually, only make a small difference in a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer; collectively, they can add up to substantial risk, and they are much more common than the rare BCRA mutations. advertisement - learn more But, for the women who do have the BCRA mutation, how much does lifestyle affect their chances of developing cancer? “Lifestyle factors may be even more important for women at higher genetic risk than for those at low genetic risk,” Chatterjee said . The findings for the study, which were published online May 26 th in JAMA Oncology , were based on the records from over 40,000 women tested for 24 gene variants which were previously linked to increased risk of breast cancer. Chatterjee and his team created a model for predicting a woman’s risk of breast cancer using the genetic information provided and then assessing a few other factors, such as family history of breast cancer, the age menstruation started, and lifestyle. The researchers then added another component and estimated the effects of 68 other gene variations that the women weren’t tested for. According to the study, overall the average 30-year-old white woman has an 11% chance of developing breast cancer by the time she reaches 80 years old. That may seem relatively low, but breast cancer is only one of many potential cancers we may develop in our lifetime. And while the odds are steeper for those women whose genes and other factors out of their control place them at higher risk, according to Chatterjee, lifestyle choices still make the biggest difference for them. Your Inbox Will Never Be The Same Inspiration and all our best content, straight to your inbox. The study also suggests that even the women with the highest risks could bring their breast cancer odds down to average if they follow the four golden rules outlined above. William Dupont, a professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, concludes , “The bottom line is, this study provides evidence that, on a population level, a certain number of breast cancer cases would be prevented if women did these things.” “I don’t think women should take this to mean that they have to go ‘cold turkey’ after menopause,” he adds. He also stressed that the model created by the study’s researchers does have limitations, so it should not be used to predict any woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. If you’re wondering about the risk for non-white women, Chatterjee says the same general patterns would most likely apply to them as well. Of course, these 4 lifestyle tips are important for anyone to follow, not just those who are at risk for developing breast cancer. Other Factors That Can Lower Breast Cancer Risk Interestingly the study didn’t factor diet into this equation, despite the abundant evidence showing how diet can directly affect our chances of developing cancer and other diseases. Avoiding certain chemicals such as parabens and BPA is also important. Watch out for many personal care products, as they are often loaded with parabens. Specifically, women’s antiperspirant should be avoided, as it generally contains parabens and aluminum and prevents the natural detoxification process of the lymph nodes around the breast area via sweat. Avoid anti-perspirant if you can and switch to natural, paraben- and aluminum-free deodorant. For a simple armpit detox that can help prevent breast cancer, click here . Much Love
The Sacred Science follows eight people from around the world, with varying physical and psychological illnesses, as they embark on a one-month healing journey into the heart of the Amazon jungle.
You can watch this documentary film FREE for 10 days by clicking here.
"If “Survivor” was actually real and had stakes worth caring about, it would be what happens here, and “The Sacred Science” hopefully is merely one in a long line of exciting endeavors from this group." - Billy Okeefe, McClatchy Tribune | 0 |
written by Admin Eric Zuesse
See this screen-shot taken at 1:30 in the afternoon on November 9th, after Trump’s win. They pretend Trump’s win is a victory for bigots, instead of a defeat for the aristocracy (‘Wall Street’, ‘The Establishment’, or America’s billionaires and their agents such as lobbyists and the leading politicians).
However, a close look at the evidence shows Huffington Post to be wrong: Trump’s win was overwhelmingly driven by Americans’ repudiation of the aristocracy itself (such as, for example, repudiation of the Institute that runs Huffington Post’s neoconservative international edition, World Post , the Berggruen Institute (including Eric Schmidt , Lawrence Summers , Fareed Zakaria , Arianna Huffington, Nicholas Berggruen , Ernesto Zedillo , Carl Bildt, Niall Ferguson, and Joseph Nye, all being proponents of Obama’s building war against Russia — such as: “To confront Putin, Europe will have to make changes that will be deeply controversial on a continent long committed to environmentalism and marked by an aversion to the use of force”). And, as far as global warming is concerned, which is a real problem about Trump, it’s also very much and demonstrably — not merely in words — a real problem about Hillary too (and one that back in July 2015 before the Party nominees had been chosen, even was courageously reported by some of HuffPo’s own reporters ), but HuffPo and other Democratic Party propagandists pretend there’s reason to believe that Trump’s actions would be even worse than hers have been, and HuffPo’s readers thus end up being little else than Democratic Party suckers who feel satisfied in their ‘news’ reading to soak up what is almost entirely Democratic Party propaganda, which means the propaganda emanating out of the White House whenever a Democrat resides there — sort of like a Democratic Party version of the Republican Party’s Fox ‘News’.
The aristocracy (all of it, both its Republican and its Democratic Party branches) continue their campaign, and expect to crush their opposition — the public (of all parties). And that’s what a close look at the evidence shows explains Trump’s win — not bigotry on the part of the American public. Bigotry is a huge problem in every society, but especially amongst the aristocracy, who love to pretend that it’s mainly a problem ‘down below’ — so that they can continue to exploit the public while claiming to be superior to it. That’s the Big Lie, which Obama and the Clintons — and Huffington Post — promote and get paid very well to promote.
Their campaign never ends. Only the personnel do. | 0 |
TRUNEWS 10/26/16 Jeremy Wiles | October 26, 2016 Will Deutsche Bank’s derivatives be the spark which ignites the Western financial system? Today on TRUNEWS, Rick Wiles raises the alarm about Germany’s biggest bank bracing for a potentially catastrophic earnings report Thursday, and NATO redeploying forces to Russia’s doorstep. Rick also speaks with Jeremy Wiles, the CEO of KingdomWorks Studios, about his harrowing new film “ ”, which details the apathy German Christians displayed toward the Holocaust during World War 2, and the warning American evangelicals MUST heed everyday while the lives of the unborn are slaughtered domestically.
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Thursday Oct 27, 2016
WAR is a racket. It always has been.
It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.
A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small “inside” group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.
– From Major General Smedley Butler’s War is a Rackett
Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich has just penned an extremely powerful warning about the warmongers in Washington D.C. Who funds them, what their motives are, and why it is imperative for the American people to stop them.
The piece was published at The Nation and is titled: Why Is the Foreign Policy Establishment Spoiling for More War? Look at Their Donors .
Read it and share it with everyone you know.
W ashington, DC, may be the only place in the world where people openly flaunt their pseudo-intellectuality by banding together, declaring themselves “think tanks,” and raising money from external interests, including foreign governments, to compile reports that advance policies inimical to the real-life concerns of the American people.
As a former member of the House of Representatives, I remember 16 years of congressional hearings where pedigreed experts came to advocate wars in testimony based on circular, rococo thinking devoid of depth, reality, and truth. I remember other hearings where the Pentagon was unable to reconcile over $1 trillion in accounts, lost track of $12 billion in cash sent to Iraq, and rigged a missile-defense test so that an interceptor could easily home in on a target. War is first and foremost a profitable racket.
How else to explain that in the past 15 years this city’s so called bipartisan foreign policy elite has promoted wars in Iraq and Libya, and interventions in Syria and Yemen, which have opened Pandora’s box to a trusting world, to the tune of trillions of dollars, a windfall for military contractors. DC’s think “tanks” should rightly be included in the taxonomy of armored war vehicles and not as gathering places for refugees from academia.
According to the front page of this past Friday’s Washington Post, the bipartisan foreign-policy elite recommends the next president show less restraint than President Obama. Acting at the urging of “liberal” hawks brandishing humanitarian intervention, read war, the Obama administration attacked Libya along with allied powers working through NATO.
Indeed, I warned about this in last week’s piece: U.S. Foreign Policy ‘Elite’ Eagerly Await an Expansion of Overseas Wars Under Hillary Clinton .
The think tankers fell in line with the Iraq invasion. Not being in the tank, I did my own analysis of the call for war in October of 2002, based on readily accessible information, and easily concluded that there was no justification for war. I distributed it widely in Congress and led 125 Democrats in voting against the Iraq war resolution. There was no money to be made from a conclusion that war was uncalled for, so, against millions protesting in the United States and worldwide, our government launched into an abyss, with a lot of armchair generals waving combat pennants. The marching band and chowder society of DC think tanks learned nothing from the Iraq and Libya experience.
The only winners were arms dealers, oil companies, and jihadists. Immediately after the fall of Libya, the black flag of Al Qaeda was raised over a municipal building in Benghazi, Gadhafi’s murder was soon to follow, with Secretary Clinton quipping with a laugh, “We came, we saw, he died.” President Obama apparently learned from this misadventure, but not the Washington policy establishment, which is spoiling for more war.
The self-identified liberal Center for American Progress (CAP) is now calling for Syria to be bombed, and estimates America’s current military adventures will be tidied up by 2025, a tardy twist on “mission accomplished.” CAP, according to a report in The Nation, has received funding from war contractors Lockheed Martin and Boeing, who make the bombers that CAP wants to rain hellfire on Syria.
The Brookings Institute has taken tens of millions from foreign governments , notably Qatar, a key player in the military campaign to oust Assad. Retired four-star Marine general John Allen is now a Brookings senior fellow . Charles Lister is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute , which has received funding from Saudi Arabia , the major financial force providing billions in arms to upend Assad and install a Sunni caliphate stretching across Iraq and Syria. Foreign-government money is driving our foreign policy.
As the drumbeat for an expanded war gets louder, Allen and Lister jointly signed an op-ed in the Sunday Washington Post, calling for an attack on Syria. The Brookings Institute, in a report to Congress , admitted it received $250,000 from the US Central Command, Centcom, where General Allen shared leadership duties with General David Petraeus. Pentagon money to think tanks that endorse war? This is academic integrity, DC-style.
And why is Central Command, as well as the Food and Drug Administration, the US Department of transportation, and the US Department of Health and Human Services giving money to Brookings?
Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, who famously told Colin Powell , “What’s the point of having this superb military you’re always talking about if we can’t use it,” predictably says of this current moment , “We do think there needs to be more American action.” A former Bush administration top adviser is also calling for the United States to launch a cruise missile attack on Syria.
The American people are fed up with war, but a concerted effort is being made through fearmongering, propaganda, and lies to prepare our country for a dangerous confrontation, with Russia in Syria.
The demonization of Russia is a calculated plan to resurrect a raison d’être for stone-cold warriors trying to escape from the dustbin of history by evoking the specter of Russian world domination.
It’s infectious. Earlier this year the BBC broadcast a fictional show that contemplated WWIII, beginning with a Russian invasion of Latvia (where 26 percent of the population is ethnic Russian and 34 percent of Latvians speak Russian at home).
The imaginary WWIII scenario conjures Russia’s targeting London for a nuclear strike. No wonder that by the summer of 2016 a poll showed two-thirds of UK citizens approved the new British PM’s launching a nuclear strike in retaliation. So much for learning the lessons detailed in the Chilcot report.
As this year’s presidential election comes to a conclusion, the Washington ideologues are regurgitating the same bipartisan consensus that has kept America at war since 9/11 and made the world a decidedly more dangerous place.
The DC think tanks provide cover for the political establishment, a political safety net, with a fictive analytical framework providing a moral rationale for intervention, capitol casuistry. I’m fed up with the DC policy elite who cash in on war while presenting themselves as experts, at the cost of other people’s lives, our national fortune, and the sacred honor of our country.
Any report advocating war that comes from any alleged think tank ought to be accompanied by a list of the think tank’s sponsors and donors and a statement of the lobbying connections of the report’s authors.
It is our patriotic duty to expose why the DC foreign-policy establishment and its sponsors have not learned from their failures and instead are repeating them, with the acquiescence of the political class and sleepwalkers with press passes.
It is also time for a new peace movement in America, one that includes progressives and libertarians alike, both in and out of Congress, to organize on campuses, in cities, and towns across America, to serve as an effective counterbalance to the Demuplican war party, its think tanks, and its media cheerleaders. The work begins now, not after the Inauguration. We must not accept war as inevitable, and those leaders who would lead us in that direction, whether in Congress or the White House, must face visible opposition.
Thank you Mr. Kucinich, I couldn’t agree more.
For related articles, see: | 0 |
A recent history of mistakes, and management blunders is woven into the fabric of Tribune Publishing, the struggling publisher of The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune. Now, the company may be about to add to the list. On Monday, Gannett, publisher of USA Today, disclosed an $815 million bid for what is left of the Tribune publishing empire. But instead of Tribune’s board popping Champagne corks and shouting Hallelujah, it told Gannett, astonishingly, in effect: “Wait. We’re not sure we want to do that and, actually, we’re not sure we even want to talk to you about it. ” Two weeks ago and behind the scenes, Gannett made its bid, valued at $12. 25 a share, known to Tribune’s board in the form of a private letter. That’s 63 percent higher than Friday’s share price. At most public companies that at least pretend to think about their shareholders, a firm that gets an unsolicited offer hires bankers relatively quickly to sort out its options. And perhaps it engages in a bit of with the suitor in hopes of feeling them out and maybe getting an even higher bid. Not Tribune. Its board sat on the offer for nearly 10 days without retaining outside advisers. Then, Tribune wrote Gannett a letter saying it was still working on hiring outside advisers, but is “in the midst of significant transformation,” and pointed out that the company will “undergo some change” after June 2, almost six weeks from now. While Tribune said it would “evaluate” the bid, the clear takeaway was that it wanted more time. You might ask, what’s magical about June 2? That is the day of Tribune’s annual meeting. More important, it is the day that two of Tribune’s board members step down. When that happens, Michael Ferro, an entrepreneur with next to no media experience who invested in the company earlier this year and became the company’s nonexecutive chairman, will have effectively mounted a coup of the board. Here’s how he did it. In February, Mr. Ferro’s company invested $44. 4 million in Tribune. In exchange, Mr. Ferro was given a seat on the board, bringing the board to seven people. Mr. Ferro then persuaded the board to fire Tribune’s chief executive, Jack Griffin, a media veteran, who was also a director. Mr. Ferro replaced him with Justin Dearborn, a former health care technology executive with zero experience in media. So, between him and Mr. Dearborn, he now controlled two seats on the board. He then pressed the board to expand to 10 people and added three people friendly to him — all, again, with no meaningful background in journalism. They are Carol Crenshaw, chief financial officer of the Chicago Community Trust Richard A. Reck, founder and president of Business Strategy Advisors and Donald Tang, a former banker who now runs a boutique focused on United media deals. So now he has five friendly directors on a board. But after June 2, when two previous directors step down, he will have a majority — five of eight. Tribune will tell you these directors are all independent. That’s true only insofar as they are not executives working at the company. But they are certainly insiders relative to Mr. Ferro. If Mr. Ferro, who said this year, “I wouldn’t sell for $50 a share,” according to Ken Doctor on NiemanLab, can get past June 2 without a deal, he will probably have the leeway to fully direct the process. He could choose to negotiate or perhaps he could stonewall. He could even try to take the company private himself. Who knows? Whatever the case, the idea that Tribune’s board has allowed this sort of behavior to take place is alarming. Given that Tribune Publishing was just spun off from Tribune Media and itself was a product of bankruptcy thanks to Sam Zell’s mismanagement of the company, it’s hard to argue that this company deserves the benefit of the doubt. Lance Vitanza, a media analyst at CRT, put it best. “Tribune Publishing has little history operating as an independent public company and may be unable to reach earnings targets,” he wrote in a note to investors. “Recent management upheaval creates numerous risks with respect to strategy and execution going forward. ” If you’re thinking to yourself, well, Tribune is a journalism company and simply selling to the highest bidder shouldn’t be the only consideration, you’re right. Tribune shouldn’t consider only dollars and cents. In this case, Gannett is offering Tribune a lifeline with potential to create a modicum of stability. It is hard to believe that Gannett’s offer is its last, or best. A company that is willing to go public with a bid is usually willing to bid more. Of course, there’s a chance that Tribune is engaging in an inscrutable courtship dance that will land a higher price. We’ll only know if Tribune first picks up the phone. | 1 |
Tuesday 22 November 2016 Nazis sick and tired of being tarnished with same brush as ‘Alt-Right’
Nazis have hit out at press coverage which has led to many of their members being labelled as ‘Alt-right’.
Nazi, Simon Williams, told us, “We have worked for many years to cultivate a certain image, so please stop tarnishing us with this name ‘Alt-Right’.
“The Alt-right has significant negative connotations for us Nazis, not about the white supremacy thing, obviously, but you know, about being lonely boys, virgins, angry about the Ghostbuster remake – that sort of thing. We are not that. At all.
“I am a Nazi and I’ve done with it loads of women, yes I have, and anyone who says different is lying.”
Self-confessed Alt-Right member Tristan Matthews told us, “I’m not a Nazi, I just think white people are persecuted, women shouldn’t get paid the same as men, foreigners are evil and that I should be allowed to go around saying horrific things to anyone I like online – well, when my parents let me use the iPad, anyway.
“If that makes me a Nazi, then so be it.”
However, Williams added, “No it bloody doesn’t, stop making us look like twats!” Get the best NewsThump stories in your mailbox every Friday, for FREE! There are currently | 0 |
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ON the verge of being elected, the first female president of the United States of America, Hillary Clinton admitted her first official act in office would probably be replacing FBI director James Comey or failing that, just scraping the FBI altogether.
Accused of politicizing his role as the FBI’s director and wilfully manufacturing a scandal that has implicated Clinton in some wrongdoing while failing to specify just what, who or why he is investigating anything, Comey remained defiant.
“Well, it’s not a bad way to spend your last few days in a job before being fired, ya gotta go out with a bang,” Comey explained.
Comey remains under fire for reopening an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s much publicised personal email server, while refusing to give any details, just days before the November 8th polling day.
Clinton’s campaign has asked for the public to be given all relevant information on the investigation so there can be no cynical insinuation of illegality without a shred of proof, however, the candidate herself admitted if elected ‘shit will go down’.
“More like Federal Bullshit Investigators, am I right?” Clinton shared with a rally of her supporters this morning, “I am not a petty person, but Comey’s desk better be cleared out come November 9th or he’ll suffer a fate more graphic than illicit images sent to minors by idiot politicians who have nothing to fucking do with my campaign,” Clinton added in a calm fashion.
In a rare moment of candour, Clinton’s rival for president, Donald Trump, gave his support to the Democratic candidate.
“Shit, maybe my whole crazy bullshit about a shadowy network of people trying to fix elections for one side is actually a real thing,” Trump explained before correcting himself and calling for Clinton’s execution instead. | 0 |
Wednesday 9 November 2016 by Spacey Donald Trump could regain access to Twitter account on completion of successful trial with nuclear codes
Donald Trump, who had his Twitter access revoked by his campaign managers, has successfully secured access to America’s nuclear codes.
Trump was denied control of his Twitter account in the build-up to the presidential election due to a series of monumentally stupid tweets.
According to a senior aide, the new president will only regain full control of his Twitter account once he’s proved that he can act responsibly.
“We’ll give him the nuclear codes, and if he can get through a week without triggering armageddon then we’ll review his Twitter access,” confirmed the senior aide.
“It’s one thing to bring on the apocalypse, but we can’t risk him reacting to criticism with an ill-judged tweet.” Get the best NewsThump stories in your mailbox every Friday, for FREE! There are currently | 0 |
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn will invoke his Fifth Amendment protection against on Monday, in a decision not to comply with a subpoena seeking documents, according to a report. [The decision, reported by the Associated Press, comes in response to a subpoena by the Senate Intelligence committee less than two weeks ago, as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Legal experts have said Flynn was unlikely to turn over the personal documents without immunity because he would be waiving some of his constitutional protections by doing so, according to the AP. Flynn previously sought immunity from “unfair prosecution” to cooperate with the committee. His attorneys said in a letter sent to the committee that a daily “escalating frenzy against him,” and the appointment of a special prosecutor for the Justice Department’s investigation have created a legally dangerous environment for him. | 1 |
CAIRO — Egypt’s czar thought he was just doing his job when he estimated how much endemic graft had cost his country: About $76 billion, he said, mostly in corrupt land deals. But the estimate, it turned out, was itself a criminal offense. The official, Hisham Geneina, is to stand trial in Cairo on Tuesday, just over two months after he was unceremoniously fired by President Abdel Fattah as the head of the Central Auditing Authority. He faces a charge of spreading false news and disturbing the peace that carries a potential jail sentence. Mr. Geneina, who served as a senior judge for 34 years before taking the post in 2012, said the prosecution is politically motivated and driven by powerful enemies inside Mr. Sisi’s government. “I was expected not to touch certain corruption cases,” he said in an interview. More broadly, critics of the government say his case exemplifies how, under Mr. Sisi, even senior officials are running afoul of an authoritarian crackdown that seems intent on quelling any criticism of the powerful state security apparatus. In the past month alone, the authorities have indicted the head of Egypt’s journalists union and convicted more than 150 people who protested the transfer of two Red Sea Islands to Saudi Arabia. Even the Parliament has been whipped into line: In May, the speaker threatened to discipline any politician who publicly criticized Egypt’s efforts to defend its sliding currency. “This is an unprecedented way of dealing with corruption and the rule of law,” said Ashraf el Sherif, a politics lecturer at the American University in Cairo. “The message is that nobody in the state, especially key institutions, can be held accountable. ” The prosecution of Mr. Geneina began in March, days after Mr. Sisi dismissed him by presidential decree. It surprised many Egyptians for its speed and the profile of the defendant. Unlike the Islamists, activists and journalists who have been singled out by Mr. Sisi’s government, Mr. Geneina had long been a member of the establishment. Mr. Geneina’s lawyer, Ali Taha, said he had been misquoted by a newspaper, which reported that the $76 billion loss had been incurred in 2015 instead of across three years. Mr. Sisi convened a committee to examine the figure, which concluded that Mr. Geneina had exaggerated the figures. In an interview, Mr. Geneina declined to discuss the details of the report, saying he had been told not to discuss the case. But he said he believed that he was being pursued because he had angered powerful interests — officials who became wealthy under former President Hosni Mubarak, and parts of the state security services under Mr. Sisi. “In every position I have held, I underwent security checks,” he said. “If I was so dangerous why didn’t they come after me 40 years ago?” Since then, Mr. Geneina and his family have been subject to a campaign of defamation on television channels in an effort to discredit him, ranging from accusations that he belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood to suggestions that his wife supported the militant group Hamas because she is of Palestinian origin. “I have lost faith in a lot of things,” Mr. Geneina said. His wife, sitting beside him, spoke of her shock of him being hustled into a van and hauled off to jail. Mr. Sisi made fighting corruption a central policy plank after he came to power in 2013. Yet since then, his government has introduced a “reconciliation” law that has cleared the way for several figures to have corruption convictions quashed in return for large cash payments. Hussein Salem, a businessman living in exile in Spain, recently struck an agreement to pay more than $600 million to the Egyptian government to be allowed to return home. Analysts say that Mr. Geneina’s $76 billion comment hit a nerve because it touched on the power of state institutions that Mr. Sisi has sought to placate, even in the face of accusations of graft and brutality, in order to solidify his own power, and in the name of ensuring the country’s stability. Mr. Geneina has been succeeded at the Central Auditing Authority by Hisham Badawy, who worked previously for Egypt’s state security apparatus. The agency has not announced any major new cases, Mr. Sherif noted. “He’s a regime figure,” he said. “It’s more or less the same old wine. ” | 1 |
VIDEOS Only demented imbeciles want a Killary reign of terror Genuine national security cannot be scarified to allow a distrustful and compromised agent of foreign interests to become President By Sartre - November 4, 2016
The cross section of Hillary Clinton voters is a mixture of walking dead zombies, power hungry influence peddlers, money cartel thieves and establishment diehards willing to start a global confrontation to postpone an inevitable economic collapse. As for the first category; welfare recipients, government bootlickers and mentally deranged utopians survive in a subsistence existence or in a fantasy illusion. The corruption purveyors simply want to maintain their elitist system of institutional inequality. As for the tribe of international finance, their objective always remains the same. Pick the next stooge who can be controlled. Finally, for globalist who are frantic to continue their New World Order of worldwide oppression, the elevation of Hillary Clinton to the position of the mad hatter to achieve the mutual assured destruction that these Illuminati’s masters of the universe require to purge the “Little People” from the planet.
Any opposition to this band of desperate and deranged desperados is portrayed as racist, xenophobic and defiant of the “Politically Correct” secular humanism culture. Here is the fundamental point of the conflict. The abandonment of the cannons of natural and common law has produced a didactic ineptness that thrusts humanity into a technocratic prison of a meaningless existence. Dante’s Inferno of basic extinction is the ultimate society that a capitulation to the rigged electoral fraud seeks to achieve.
The bloody record of Killary Clinton earns her an especially prominent place in hell. Take your choice. She may descend into Level 7 , for “The violent, the assasins, the tyrants, and the war-mongers lament their pitiless mischiefs in the river, while centaurs armed with bows and arrows shoot those who try to escape their punishment” or Level 8- the Malebolge where “The magicians, diviners, fortune tellers, and panderers are all here, as are the thieves”.
Of course this allegory of punishment falls on deaf ears for the Clintonistas . For them this blameless role model for social justice warriors can do no wrong. All the evidence and proof in the world is ignored or dismissed when your patron saint of the occult wears pants suits.
The reason HRC is better known as Killary has a lot to do with the body count that follows her around. THE CLINTON BODY-COUNT and the ‘CLINTON DEATH LIST’: 33 SPINE-TINGLING CASES lists several of her enemies that dared defy the queen of mean. Now are these suspicious circumstances of such deaths just another right-wing conspiracy to bring down the Arkancide crime syndicate?
To an objective investigator, engaging into an in-depth probe might just get one added to this long list. But why would a Clinton supporter care, she is the epitome of the liberated woman and placing her on the throne of feminism is far overdue. Accepting, if not savoring a little reign of terror is a small price to pay as long as the body count does not include your own person.
During the French Revolution the sanguinary women, known as Tricoteuse, who sat and knitted while attending public guillotine executions have more in common with Robespierre than Marie Antoinette. These devotee libbers identified with the symbol of equality, while their crowned head of elitism disdainfully admonish the peasants: “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”.
Queen Marie Antoinette may not have really said, “Let them eat cake” but the regnant of the House of Clinton demonstrates throughout her entire life revealed her true sentiments; despise and contempt for the “Little People”.
The knitting culture of the zombies cult of progressive authoritarianism is at the center of the public psychosis that follows the dictates of Hillary Clinton. Their identity is so caught up in the myth of collectivism that the very spirit of individual liberty is a necessary causality to join the Clinton demon worship.
Look to the fictional character of Madame Defarge penned in A Tale of Two Cities for a synopsis of all that is wrong with Killary and her followers. Charles Dickens presents this viewpoint of the quintessential monster.
“Her problem, it seems, is that Madame Defarge just doesn’t know where to draw the line. As far as she’s concerned, “justice” for the fate of her family isn’t just that the Marquis gets murdered. Justice should, she thinks, include the “extermination” of all of the Marquis’s family. Given her druthers, Charles, Lucie, and even little Lucie would fall under the sharp blade of La Guillotine. As Madame Defarge exclaims to her husband, “Tell the Wind and the Fire where to stop; not me!” (3.12.36).
“It was nothing to her that an innocent man was to die for the sins of his forefathers; she saw, not him, but them. It was nothing to her that his wife was to be made a widow and his daughter an orphan; that was insufficient punishment, because they were her natural enemies and her prey, and as such had no right to live. To appeal to her, was made hopeless by her having no sense of pity, even for herself.” (3.14.33)
So it comes as no surprise that when “The meeting between Lucie and Madame Defarge makes this absolutely clear: Lucie falls on her knees, begging for mercy on behalf of her child. Madame Defarge stares at her coldly. She doesn’t even stop knitting.”
This example of the dark side of human nature is particularly relevant and applicable when analyzing the gender iniquity of the wicked witch. For femininity enablement to champion such abuse from a coldhearted degenerate is the biggest disappointment of this election cycle. Society should never condone or provide consent for anyone, male or female; who is such a habitual sociopath.
The influence hucksters do not pretend to be altruistic . They would support Lucifer if they thought they would gain the riches of this world. As for the money changers, they are already archfiends in the Synagogue of Satan. Lastly, the globalist’s warmongers covet the mass eradication of billions to satisfy their lust for world transcendence.
These three factions are the true irredeemables. The masses of the walking dead need to politically repent and seek civic redemption. This objective is not possible by voting for Hillary Clinton.
If you do nothing else before the November 8, 2016 election watch the video, A Vote For Hillary is a Vote For World War 3 . No matter your ideological propensities, we all share a mutual objective. Prevent a nuclear war that will destroy all civilized life on the planet. After watching this presentation, every rational person must come to deal with the prospects of putting a psycho in command of the launch codes.
Folks; Donald Trump is not the mad man. The schizoid is a systemic and immoral lunatic, who is ready to drop the beheading blade on all of America. Her similarity with Madame Defarge bleeds over to her decadent boosters, who are willing to sacrifice their family, friends and community for the joy of destroying our planet.
For all the dissatisfied and frustrated citizens, who understand the colossal stakes of national survival intervene with any fellow acquaintance that has been indoctrinated to the propaganda of Hillaryland . Confront the zombies attitude and appeal to their individual self-interest. Put forth the prospect of not voting for Clinton, even if Trump would not be an option.
Citizens will not be the only people voting. Non eligible people are being ushered into a ballot booth with predisposed programming to put Killary into the oval office. The establishment is revealing their real tyranny for any person, who is still alive and has the ability to assess the actual nature of this election.
The power structure in ready to collapse and the global elites are prepared to start a world war to keep and protect their feudal system of coercion. Those who might survive will be the special and the anointed. The masses will be served up on the plate of expediency and necessity.
Hillary Clinton has always been part of the gang of criminals, protected by the intelligence community, insider politicians and the legal system of corrupt lawyers and judges. Voting for her is a clear validation of pure mental illness.
The fact that the discredited FBI is endeavoring to regain their credibility by reopening the criminal investigation into Killary Clinton’s attempt to hide her family’s pay to play scheme to sell out our country is dramatic. This development should provide ample reason to put any notion of voting for the diva of sleaze on hold. Thanks to the Wikileaks release of the illicit emails from the Clinton cabal, only a fool can vote for her.
Come to grips with the prospects of knowingly elevating this lifelong criminal to become the commander-and-chief. Genuine national security cannot be scarified to allow a distrustful and compromised agent of foreign interests to become President.
Killary is dead meat. She could never gain the confidence of the nation and her continued nihilistic conduct and her kleptocrat criminal violations cannot be tolerated or ignored any longer. If you really want to save the planet, you cannot cast your ballot for this known traitor. | 0 |
JERUSALEM — In his speech at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, President Donald Trump noted the “big beautiful difference” between his administration’s relationship with the Jewish state and the previous administration, and reiterated his promise that Iran would not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. [There were, however, no major overtures such the much speculated transfer of the U. S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Still, Trump’s speech was lauded by Israeli politicians here as one of the most friendly toward Israel from any U. S. president, and he used the speech to affirm the Jewish bond to Jerusalem and the land of Israel. Trump declared that both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders were ready for peace, and that “with determination, compromise and the belief that peace is possible, Israelis and Palestinians can make a deal. ” Trump spoke in the highest terms of Jerusalem, Israel and the Jewish people. “I am honored to be in the ancient city of Jerusalem to address the Israeli people and all people in the Middle East who yearn for security, prosperity and peace,” he said. “Jerusalem is a sacred city. Its beauty, splendor and heritage are like no other place on earth. What a heritage, what a heritage. The ties of the Jewish people to this holy land are ancient and eternal. They date back thousands of years, including the reign of Kind David, whose star now flies proudly on Israel’s blue and white flag. ” “Israel is testament to the unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people,” he continued. “From all parts of this great country, one message resounds, and that is the message of hope. Down through the ages, the Jewish people have suffered persecution, oppression, and … [others have] sought their destruction,” he said. “I make this promise to you: My administration will always stand with Israel. ” This remark was met with a lingering round of applause and another handshake from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump continued: “America’s security partnership with Israel is stronger than ever. Under my administration, you see the difference — big, big beautiful difference — including the Iron Dome missile defense program, which has been keeping the Israeli people safe from rockets launched by Hezbollah and Hamas, and David’s Sling, which guards against long range missiles. ” After reiterating his commitment to driving out terror, the president referred to attacks committed on Israeli civilians: “Israelis have experienced firsthand the hatred and terror of radical violence. Israelis are murdered by terrorists wielding knives and bombs. Hamas and Hezbollah launch rockets into Israeli communities where schoolchildren have to be trained to hear the sirens and to run to the bomb shelters with fear but with speed. ISIS targets Jewish neighborhoods, synagogues … and Iran’s leaders routinely call for Israel’s destruction. ” “Not with Donald J. Trump,” he declared, earning a standing ovation and a fist pump from Netanyahu. Trump smiled at the audience on their feet and said, “I like you too. ” | 1 |
After a Century, Planned Parenthood Needs to be Shut Down Written by John F. McManus Email
On the 100th anniversary of Planned Parenthood , one of its greatest cheerleaders sent five separate messages to celebrate the significant milestone. Interrupting her election campaign, Hillary Clinton sent out several tweets that either praised or defended the organization that has slaughtered 59 million babies in the womb since 1973.
One of those messages sent via her computer (a non-secured instrument this time!) stated as follows: “I’m proud to stand with Planned Parenthood. I’ll never stop fighting to protect the ability of every woman in this country to make her own health decisions.” She conveniently avoided the fact that half of the victims of abortion are females needing only time and nourishment to be able to reach womanhood in a few years. They won’t enjoy the protection she mentioned. Mrs. Clinton also equated terminating life in the womb with otherwise normal health decisions. Abortion surely doesn’t allow the victim a choice, and it surely isn’t good for his or her health.
Started a century ago as the American Birth Control League, Planned Parenthood is the legacy of Margaret Sanger (1879-1966). A prominent eugenicist (the word comes from the Greek meaning “wellborn”), she sought to rid the nation of the “unfit” by which she initially meant Negroes, Hispanics, and Jews. Her goal would be achieved by forcing down the birth rate of the unwanted classes. One of her tactics included the use of deception. She told a financial supporter of her plan to recruit “colored minsters” to do her work. Explaining, she stated, “We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out the idea if it ever occurs....” (See Woman’s Body, Woman’s Right , a 1974 book by rabid pro-abortionist Linda Gordon.)
As late as November 1939 (two months after Germany launched World War II and several years after its campaign against Jews had begun, Sanger’s Birth Control Review was still commending the Nazi campaign. Almost simultaneously, the Sanger campaign began to target Catholic immigrants to the United States, another group deemed “unfit.”
Beginning in 1970, Planned Parenthood started receiving federal grants, now totaling more than $500 million per year. The organization claims that none of the taxpayer dollars it receives are used to perform abortions. Even if that claim is accurate, the government funding it receives makes easier the use of other funding to kill babes in the womb. In 2015, some determined anti-abortion crusaders videotaped admissions by Planned Parenthood officials that they were selling the body parts of recently aborted babies. An uproar over that grisly practice led to a congressional attempt to defund the organization, a failed effort due to President Obama’s veto and the congressional inability to override it. Similar congressional moves to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that opened the floodgates for abortion have also failed.
Over its history, besides being pro-Nazi, Planned Parenthood has shown itself to be anti-black, anti-Hispanic, anti-Catholic, and anti-Jewish. Yet within these groups of Americans are millions who support the Clinton candidacy. Meanwhile, the mass media that refuses to report the truth about Planned Parenthood and its Sanger-inspired efforts chooses to paint her opponent with unsavory labels, many of which are unfounded.
One reason why the murder of innocent babes in the womb continues is that the practice has now involved millions of women and men. There is a wide lessening of disgust for a practice that, prior to 1973, was almost universally deemed abhorrent in America. This trend will only grow worse if the very prominent cheerleader for Planned Parenthood, Hillary Clinton, becomes America’s next president.
John F. McManus is president emeritus of The John Birch Society . This column appeared originally at the insideJBS blog and is reprinted here with permission. | 0 |
JUST IN: British PM Theresa May says threat level has been raised from ”severe to critical” another attack ”may be imminent.” pic. twitter. Tuesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said during the investigation into Monday’s Manchester terror attack the government has concluded another attack “may be imminent. ” She added that was cause for the terrorism threat level to be raised to critical. May said, “I said that the joint terrorism analysis center, the independent organization responsible for setting the threat level on the basis of the intelligence available was keeping the threat level under constant review. ” “It’s now concluded on the basis of today’s investigation that the threat level should be increased for the time being from severe to critical,” she continued. “This means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely but that a further attack may be imminent. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
Man to say 'You can take the mask off now' numerous times today 01-11-16 AN OFFICE worker has confirmed plans to repeatedly tell workmates to take off their masks because it is no longer Halloween. Martin Bishop of Stevenage has said he will say it to literally every male co-worker at least once today, and in some cases twice or even three times. Bishop said: “It really is a funny line. I know for a fact everyone else thinks so too as they all laughed at it last year when I said it to them.” However he will only be saying it to male work colleagues as some of the female ones ‘might take it the wrong way’. Bishop added: “ I know women, t hey act like they can take a joke but deep down I know it would hurt their feelings, especially as there really are some ugly women who work in this office. “ I’d never say that to them, obviously. I’ve got far too much respect for them to do that.”
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“The Newshour” anchors to dubsmash Arnab Goswami’s voice to combat sinking TRPs Posted on Tweet
Faced with a sharp slump in viewership after the departure of their former editor-in-chief and star anchor Arnab Goswami, the makeshift anchors of Times Now’s prime-time debate, “The Newshour” have decided to dubsmash Goswami’s voice in a desperate bid to restore their TRPs. (Image via aisfm.edu.in)
Goswami’s loud, hard-hitting voice, one of the main reasons behind The Newshour’s catapult to dominance, will now be played in The Newshour studios, while the makeshift anchors move their lips to his statements. According to senior Times Now journalist Navika Kumar, their usual stand-in Newshour anchor Anand Narasimhan has been spending sleepless nights, hard at work, trying to move his lips to Arnab’s audio flawlessly. “It’ll be a while before Rahul Shivshankar joins us and does a more believable and buy-able impression of Arnab, but until then, we’ve got to do this much at least,” Navika told The UnReal Times .
Narasimhan has admitted to finding this task the most difficult thing he’s ever had to do in life. “To open your throat and try to scream the loudest, yet without screaming, to keep interrupting people correctly before they finish a couple of words, to keep uttering that you would bring in some panelist in to the debate and yet not bring him, to keep announcing ever 5 minutes that you would open the phone lines and yet not open them..Whew! This is as Herculean as it can get. I expect to be featured on Ripley’s Believe it or not, if at all I’m able to achieve this dubsmashing feat,” the anchor described, before going ahead to practice moving his lips to “THE NATION WANTS TO KNOW!”
Navika also added that the crew has a backup plan in place, should the dubsmashing go awry. “In the worst case, if no one is able to lip sync properly, we will try to get Dr. Manmohan Singh to do the job. He doesn’t have to dubsmash, he might as well speak and we can have Arnab’s voice as the voiceover,” the senior journalist added. The channel, however, soon had a reason to cheer, as Bollywood actor Anupam Kher volunteered to act as Arnab for free. “Dubsmashing Arnab is the least I can do for my country and our soldiers at the border. It is a role that I would be proud and privileged to accept, all for the sake of the jawans,” Kher exclaimed.
The move has, however, come in for sharp criticism from the channel’s bete noire s. “Dubsmash => Dumb smash. Enough said :)” tweeted Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha. The last word though, went to AAP spokesperson The Ashutosh. “Why the Times Now sud depend on lip sinking the Arnab’s voice !!! Will the Modi answer !!!” (sic) the former IBN7 editor tweeted. Tweet About Ashwin Kumar
1 of the proud columnists of URT, former co-editor of URT Tamil, amateur musician, Real Harris Jayaraj devotee, UnReal T. Rajendar fanatic, passionate about stopping female foeticide. View all posts by Ashwin Kumar → Related Posts | 0 |
And these people claim that Donald Trump is a racist! There goes Hillary’s black vote! Whenever the term “Nazi” is used to describe a minority group, you know things are bad. Democrat donor and Hillary Clinton supporter Benjamin Barber was caught on hidden camera voicing his opinion on blacks who may vote Republican. The disturbing comments were recorded at a fundraiser for United States Senate Candidate Deborah Ross, of North Carolina. Barber said, “Have you hear of the Sonderkommandos? Jewish guards who helped murder Jews in the camps. So there were even Jews that were helping the Nazis murder Jews! So black who are helping the other side are seriously f*cked in the head. They’re only helping the enemy who will destroy them. Maybe they think ‘if I help them we’ll get along okay; somehow I’ll save my race by working with the murderers.” Barber was caught in this disgusting tirade on the Upper West Side of New York City after the fundraiser in September. Watch for yourself:
Besides being disturbing, these comments have racist undertones that are more far-reaching than they even seem at first. It is as if blacks do not have the ability to work and create a good life for themselves, so they are somehow obligated to support liberals and Democrats.
Lyndon Johnson started pandering to the black vote decades ago, and ever since, the black community has suffered. Fatherless homes, unemployment, drugs, and crime problems have plagued black communities. These communities also contain good people, people who deserve better.
All that having been said, comparing Black Republicans to Jews who killed other Jews while in Nazi captivity is just bizarre. It appears that this man is sincere when he speaks, as well!
Will this video make a difference in an already out of control Election?
The hits just keep on rolling. Related Items | 0 |
Saving face, Mexican officials are claiming they did not agree to the U. S. extradition of a fugitive governor wanted in Texas for drug trafficking and money laundering charges. While the U. S. government has requested from the Italian government his extradition, Mexico has only requested information as to his location. [On Tuesday night, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (PGR) circulated information only to some Mexican news outlets “disqualifying” a story published by Breitbart Texas. Ildefonso Ortiz is an journalist with Breitbart Texas. He the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. Brandon Darby is managing director and of Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. | 1 |
You are here: Home / *Articles of the Bound* / The Liberal Media Hacks Will Never Change The Liberal Media Hacks Will Never Change November 22, 2016, 8:34 am by Cliff Kincaid Leave a Comment 0
Accuracy in Media
In announcing his challenge to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for leadership of the House Democrats, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) used an old quotation, saying that the definition of insanity is to do the “same thing over and over again and keep getting the same results.” He meant that the Democrats keep losing seats with the same leaders and the same message. But the famous quote also applies to the liberal media, who use the same talking heads to make the same points over and over again, even after they were humiliated by Donald J. Trump on Election Day.
Interviewing former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt (R) on Monday on MSNBC, Kristen Welker of NBC News demonstrated how the bias works on a day-to-day basis. She contrasted the “impassioned” partisan plea from the cast of the Broadway show “ Hamilton ” to Vice President-elect Mike Pence with the president-elect’s “Twitter storm” in response. She wondered if Trump’s tweets were presidential, but did not question if it was appropriate for the “Hamilton” cast to use their production for political purposes. Leavitt gave a diplomatic answer, saying Twitter was a new way for a president to communicate.
It is also a very effective way. The media know it and don’t like it. In just a few words, Trump can effectively expose liberal bias. He called the show “overrated” and said the crew had harassed Pence, adding, “The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!”
On CNN, anchor Chris Cuomo was troubled by Trump’s use of Twitter in response to the “Hamilton” controversy. His former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway replied , “Why do you care?”
It’s a good question, and she knows the answer. She noted that Trump is “just trying to cut through the nonsense” of what the media and other opponents of Trump want people to believe.
Trump beat the media, as well as the Democrats, on Election Day. Of course, the emails from WikiLeaks demonstrated that they are one and the same.
In this context, Politico is emerging as one of the most dishonest publications in the Trump era. A Politico story by Kelsey Hutton about media collusion with the Clinton campaign said , “most of the correspondences revealed by WikiLeaks consisted of reporters asking for comment, setting up in-person meetings and trying to get information from sources, which is a reporter’s job.”
AIM’s Spencer Irvine noted that the WikiLeaks e-mails exposed how the liberal media establishment “has worked almost hand-in-hand with the Hillary Clinton campaign.” He cited ten examples, including: Politico reporter Glenn Thrush admitted to being a “hack,” writing to her campaign chairman John Podesta, “Because I have become a hack I will send u the whole section” of a story he was writing.
A “hack” is usually defined as a person who is supposed to be a professional but does mediocre work.
Another Thrush email to Podesta about an Obama White House story said, “you are in the thing…in a good way…but could really use your insights…sorry to be a pain in the ass.” This is not asking for comment. It constitutes flattery, in the context of assuring him that he’s already covered “in a good way” and begging for more quotes.
The Clinton campaign got an article from Politico in advance of publication that contained some mild criticism of Hillary. The article was provided in advance so the Clinton campaign could formulate a response.
Politico has a media reporter, Jack Shafer, who tried to rationalize much of the collusion in a story that carried the headlines, “WikiLeaks and the Oily Washington Press. A bunch of reporters got caught up in the Podesta flypaper. How bad is it, really?” The final headline suggested it was much ado about nothing.
He admitted that Politico reporter Glenn Thrush sent Podesta “a chunk of his story-in-progress,” but that he was among many reporters who “appear to have conned their way into the inner sanctums to produce creditable work that is accurate and useful to readers.” He added, “What appear to be compromises ultimately redound to their favor.”
In other words, Thrush was acting like a sycophant just to get information. Is this what modern journalism has become? What happened to speaking truth to power?
Shafer said, “In my own journalism, this isn’t how I work: I don’t give my sources a sneak preview of what I’m writing—unless the topic is technical and complicated (law, medicine, science, tech, et al.) and demands an expert’s checkmark.”
Nevertheless, there has been no apology from Politico senior management over Thrush’s pathetically subservient coverage of the Democrats. They will just move on, doing the same thing over and over again, hoping that we will all forget what they have done.
We won’t. Cliff Kincaid
Cliff Kincaid is the Director of the AIM Center for Investigative Journalism and can be contacted at [email protected]. View the complete archives from Cliff Kincaid . 0 | 0 |
The Real Reason Obamacare is Coming Unglued by IWB · October 27, 2016 Tweet
The days of $20 doctor house calls and affordable hospitals stays for the uninsured are long gone. Chalk it up to government involvement in healthcare. Now we learn that “Obamacare” premiums will sharply rise in 2017. Prepare for what’s next. | 0 |
VIA Conservative Daily Post In an email sent to Cheryl Mills from John Podesta the evening of March 2, 2015, hours after the New York Times reported that Clinton possibly violated federal record requirements by using the private server, a shocking revelation has been uncovered. According to the latest batch of Podesta’s hacked emails, Podesta writes, “Not to sound like Lanny, but we are going to have to dump all those emails so better to do so sooner than later.” Mills responded, “Think you just got your new nick name.” The “Lanny” reference is to lawyer Lanny Davis, who served as special counsel to former President, Bill Clinton. Lawyers, unfortunately, are not always the most honest individuals and have been known to cover up for their guilty clients. Hillary Clinton is one of these lawyers. Cheryl Mills is the same woman who oversaw the controversial construction of a South Korean sweat shop being built in Haiti. A week after this email exchange took place, Hillary Clinton announced that she would love nothing more than to share her emails with the general public, claiming she had nothing to hide. At least, she didn’t think she did. After being subpoenaed by federal court, Hillary Clinton acid-washed her private server, deleting thousands of emails. She denied, under oath, that classified information was ever on the server or sent/discussed via her private email address. Acid-washing a server costs a pretty penny. If she truly had nothing to hide, why did she completely bleach her server free of everything? Thanks to leaked emails from WikiLeaks, it has been proven that Hillary lied when she said no classified information had ever been involved with her private server- Not only was there classified information stored and talked about, but hackers were able to intercept the data and correspondence. New York Post comments, “Democrats on the House Oversight Committee point to Clinton tweeting on March 4, 2015, calling on the State Department to release her 55,000 pages of work files.” “I want the public to see my email,” Hillary wrote two days after the Podesta message. At the time, the real Lanny Davis was in support of Clinton addressing her emails. Another WikiLeaks email displays members of the Clinton Organization getting frustrated with Davis’ public voicing. “We gotta zap Lanny out of our universe,” campaign manager Robby Mook wrote Podesta March 8, 2015. “Can’t believe he committed her to a private review of her hard drive on TV.” Good thing for Lanny Davis, “zap” doesn’t equate to “wet-work.” Although Davis may have been rash to announce and support Hillary Clinton’s innocence, the DNC had major issues with it. Davis told Fox News host Chris Wallace, during a televised interview, about Hillary Clinton’s private email server- “there can be a neutral party to review all these records – nothing unlawful.” Apparently, Davis wasn’t given the memo by Hillary Clinton’s team regarding her bleached server and it’s true contents. “I think it is a reasonable idea if anybody has any doubts that there’s a delete on a hard drive- to have an independent go inspect her private e-mail?” Davis added. Hillary Clinton is known for lying, her own chairman doesn’t even believe her when she claims she “forgets” things.
EVEN PODESTA KNOWS SHE IS A LIAR! Hillary Clinton wouldn’t know honesty if it slapped her in the face. She is a psychopathic liar that thirsts for ways to obscenely scam on a global spectrum. She calls out Donald Trump for “using the system” but in no way has he abused the system in the grand scale that the Clintons have. He’s a business man, he was simply following the laws that government had implemented. Floods of emails and documents are being leaked every day by Anonymous, WikiLeaks and the FBI. These are desperate cries for help mostly from whistle blowers who have been intimately involved with the government, trying to warn American citizens of certain madness and despair that awaits us if Hillary Clinton wins presidency. Donald J. Trump genuinely cares for the American people. He is a natural leader, he enjoys helping people because he believes in bettering America, not policies that encourage ‘pay for play’. Hillary Clintons transparency is starting to become blurred. Shatter the busted deception and lock everyone involved with the Clinton scandals in prison. Donald Trump recognizes the need for America to rebuild, which starts with depleting government corruption and replacing government officials. This is something Hillary could never accomplish. Hillary Clinton would just hire her friends and abuse her position of power, as she’s done for nearly four decades. John Podesta suggested that Hillary Clinton delete her emails- he must believe she is capable of worse than sharing classified information and as president of the United States, who would stop her from committing even more crime? She would put each and every one of our lives on the line and not think twice. Do you think Hillary Clinton ever gets tired of lying, each lie covering up the next? And even Podesta don’t believe her! Why should America?
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In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network recorded on Thursday, but set to air in full on Sunday, President Trump said Christian refugees have been “horribly treated” and “we are going to help them. ”[“The refugee changes that you’re looking to make, as it relates to persecuted Christians, do you see them as kind of a priority here?” CBN’s David Brody asked the President. “Yes,” Trump replied. “They’ve been horribly treated. ” “Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible — or at least very, very tough — to get in to the United States?” he asked. “If you were a Muslim, you could come in. But if you were Christian, it was almost impossible. ” “And the reason that was so unfair, is that everybody was persecuted in all fairness, they were chopping off the heads of everybody, but more so the Christians. I thought it was very, very unfair,” Trump continued. “So we are going to help them. ” While the administration of Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama significantly increased the number of Syrian refugees allowed into the country, an overwhelming majority of these were Muslim, despite the Islamic State’s systematic attempts to convert or kill both Syria and Iraq’s Christian population. In June 2016, for example, the United States accepted a record number of 2, 300 refugees from Syria. Eight were Christian. As a presidential candidate, Trump made the case that the number of Christian refugees being accepted into the United States was too low, while the number of undervetted Syrian Muslim refugees could pose a danger to the safety of U. S. citizens. | 1 |
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Simon Vorster & Jennifer Langstone – With the winds of change blowing full force, our experiences since mid-October’s Full Moon have reflected in stark clarity just how much of ‘the shift’ has already occurred within us, what is still left for us to emotionally and energetically integrate. In particular, the combined frequency of Uranus in Aries square Mars in Capricorn have served not only to bring to the surface any unhealthy stagnancy and energetic dis-ease within, but to make those feelings erupt from within in a way that cannot be ignored. This has created great change within and around us.
Unlike other shifts we have endured in recent years, the energy pattern throughout October brought not a subtle shift but an electric shock; a perceptual upgrade that changed the course of our lives and altered our energetic blueprint in ways that our logical minds may have struggled to comprehend. However, as this cycle comes to an end, today’s New Moon in Scorpio offers us great clarity into the deep transformation we have just experienced, as we find ourselves in new energetic territory. This is a place of completion and total renewal. Old cycles and patterns have now run their course, and in their absence, new directions are not only available for us but are now inevitable — and manifesting fast.
Let’s look at the astrological alignments that are currently reflecting our spiritual evolution. Venus and Saturn Conjunction in Sagittarius Square the Lunar Nodes
Re-establishing Balance and Forming New Emotional Directions
Generally speaking, Squares reflect a change in direction and create the necessary evolutionary adjustments in our awareness to make it happen.
With Saturn and Venus in conjunction, we can expect to feel very responsible and serious about what we value, what we stand for, and what we feel we need. Although this energy pattern and the inner process it reflects can bring great rewards for us on an emotional level, both Venus and Saturn squaring the Karmic Nodes of the Moon can create the dynamic of feeling emotionally ‘sea sick’, as we are literally changing the course of our lives.
So what growth is this experience offering us? The process of transmuting the consciousness here on Earth is about balance between seemingly opposing forces. It is a process of integrating our higher awareness into this physical reality, and simultaneously breaking down the layers of energetic density in which we have previously resided.
We are learning to experience life with our heart open and our being pulsating with creative power, and as a result, we must learn for the first time to see beyond the boundaries of our previously-held beliefs, limitations and emotional struggles. Nothing is actually as we once perceived it, and the current energy pattern is helping us to release the fears and programs that have steered our past, creating new and empowered new spaces within us that will enable us to experience more of the cosmic universe — and experience ourselves as the cosmic beings we are.
As we move through this pattern we will begin to see shifts in our values, and in particular, where our personal attachments to the ideals and habits of the past no longer serve us. These shifts will become (and are already becoming) the foundation of unimaginable change in our life’s path. Although we may feel a little ‘sea sick’ through this process, or completely lost at sea, hold on tight and ride the wave. It can be difficult to recognize while sailing in uncharted territory, but over time we will see that this period is reshaping our direction in the most profound of ways. Jupiter in Libra Square Pluto in Capricorn Inconjunct Neptune in Pisces
Finding Your Center of Gravity
Further reflecting this change in direction, this profound energy pattern will bring us clarity about the chaos we are seeing in the world today and, equally, a deep insight into the meaning and purpose of our lives here on Earth. In essence, these current alignments of Jupiter in Libra (square Pluto inconjuct Neptune) bring our awareness toward finding our natural, sustainable balance. This can be a tough process at times, as we release our fears and transcend our past ideals, and shake off what we thought was right for us and what no longer serves us — so finding our own center of gravity is essential during this time.
The last quarter square Jupiter (natural philosophy) in Libra is making to Pluto (evolution) in Capricorn shows us the need to trust the process and find excitement (not fear) in our new direction. The tension underlying the collective unconsciousness is a by-product of mass fear propaganda and social engineering, which cultivates deep uncertainty around how we will move forward and indeed, around what is even possible.
The key to navigating this period is to acknowledge that we have been conditioned to find our sense of security in the external; we place our comfort and therefore our power into external manifestations and hierarchical constructs. But, if we can learn to see our lives and our fate as our co-creation, supported and governed by natural and universal law, and influenced by situations and shifts more profound that we can’t yet understand or control, we learn to hold a secure space within us. We cultivate a stillness and a knowing inside us that comfortably rides the flow or life, and cannot and will not be drawn off that path and into darkness.
Ultimately, that stillness becomes our security, the base line from which we create, influence and interact with the world around us. We no longer have to resist darkness, but rather, we create from our inner light. Linked to the energetic archetype of Capricorn (self-determination), this is not an easy feat. It may begin slowly and take time to integrate, however Mars (also in Capricorn) is currently adding the fire and drive we need as we move into this important process of integration. New Moon and Mercury in Scorpio Trine Neptune in Pisces
Finding Clarity in Chaos, and Integrating Stillness
The New Moon in Scorpio (evolution and regeneration) phase can bring profound inner awakening experiences, as the frequency of Scorpio pulls our awareness into the undercurrent of subtle emotions and energies within our psyche. Today’s New Moon in Scorpio trine Neptune and the South Node in Pisces alignment adds an extra sensitivity to this New Moon, bringing even more heightened awareness to our current situation (both internal and external) and, equally adding uncertainty and chaos to the equation.
Again, we can see the theme of needing to find balance in our lives and hold our emotional security within. The external world is changing very quickly, and it all seems like madness! Shifting your awareness back into yourself helps you to find stability. It is in this space that you can begin to see the metamorphosis taking place around us — from within us, and right from under us! Energetically, we are moving forward at an unprecedented rate, finding center — our center — helps us remember the core of what really matters, and therefore, what we do next.
As Mercury also trines Neptune, we will have opportunities to clearly see (with ‘real eyes’) that what we comprehend with our minds is mostly conditioned but what we see with our inner vision comes from a much deeper place — one of higher knowing, of cellular remembrance. It is in this place that we find the answers, gifts and purpose we truly carry.
At the heart of this New Moon is the theme of transcendence and metamorphosis. We are beginning to shift out of the struggle of fighting for something and we will begin to look what aspirations we want experience in our lives. It is no longer about resisting darkness, but creating from our inner light. This is a powerful new direction; it will begin to shift our awareness toward understand the deeper meaning of the evolutionary path we are on as a collective, and the amazing untapped potential we are just beginning to explore within ourselves. Individually, as we navigate this shift, each of us is altering the way we emotionally relate to the new world, and as a result, we are beginning to take active steps in new, future-creating ways. And the only way we can do this, and liberate ourselves from the mind-trap of the fear program, is by finding stillness and security within. New Moon Message – Emerging from the Cocoon
Each and every one of us has spent the past couple of years struggling in one way or another, and fighting for what we believe in. Pushed beyond our limits, we have all been broken numerous times, only to continue the struggle, to keep moving through, and to keep surviving. We have been learning about the deeper meaning of life and about what is worth standing up and fighting for. Most of us have had to face ourselves more deeply than we knew we could handle, and lost more than we knew we could live without, leaving us deeply aware that we are not the sole dictators of our destiny.
Now, that cycle has ended and we are now looking toward what gives our lives true meaning. There is a profound energetic shift occurring around us, and within us, which our conditioned minds (when left in the driver’s seat) struggle to comprehend, and yet, here we are, learning to live it and to make manifest our newfound meaning. We are being asked to look beneath what we have been struggling with and find the underlying reason for the struggle. We are seeing that there is a natural ending to everything; that everything in our physical reality will be exhausted at some point, everything will break down, or be lost, and yet the cycle of life and evolution will continue.
Most of all, we are realizing that we are not here to survive – none of us will! We are here to live ! Right now! It takes great courage to open one’s heart fully, and to live and love with the knowledge that we can, and ultimately will, lose everything. But remember: We are here to transcend the limitations of the conditioning that tells us we are powerless in physical 3D world. We are here to stand in the face of adversity, to ride the flow of this shift with all our being, and engage a new energy here on Earth. And most of all, we are here to experience consciousness in form; to know that the true meaning of our lives is found in our experiences, and our energy; and to know that the experiences we aspire in our hearts to create, and the energy with which we engage them, and not the physical things we can hold onto, and keep.
No matter where you are, or what you have been facing in your life, it is now time to connect to the original dream that gives it all meaning; to the dream that has been there with you all along, bubbling beneath the surface of your daily challenges. Believe in the love and the passion you carry in this life, no matter how far from it you have traveled or how many times your luck has been broken along the way. These are moments to be cherished!
This weekend, we connected with an old butterfly. His wings were aged and crumbling but he was magnificent and proud. He beautifully displayed the wisdom of the message we are sharing with you today — which is to live life to the fullest despite the odds that are seemingly against us, and despite the challenges, suffering and pain we might endure along the way. He reminded us of the nature of transformation and evolution. The butterfly has already once lost everything through a painful process of transmutation — of dissolving and recreating — and yet, it is only through that experience that he gains his wings to fly and the beautiful markings of his maturity. Then, emerging from his cocoon for the first time, he confronted that moment within himself before that first flight where he had to take the leap of faith. He had lived until then having never flown before — but he trusted the inner voice that told him to fly. And he is magnificent.
That is a perfect symbolism of where we collectively find ourselves at this point in time. We have just been through the natural but agonising process of metamorphosis and lost all that we knew life to be. Now, like the butterfly, we are emerging from our cocoon, renewed and yet extremely raw — and we are being called by our deepest knowing to step out into the next cycle of our lives, and to embody the true beauty of our existence.
Experience every new moment with all that you have. Move on, let go of what has happened, and don’t fear what you have lost. Dream, and dream BIG! Aspire to experience greatness through the physical form, but not limited to it. We are taking our first flight in a new way of being, and we will only find the trust we need to do it in the stillness and security within.
Blessings, Simon & Jennifer
Simon Vorster is an evolutionary astrologer and teacher who has been practising astrology for over 11 years. Together with his partner and co-founder of Raising Vibrations, Jennifer Langstone , their work is rooted in helping souls de-condition the self and empower the soul into making new conscious choices. Through the website, Raising Vibrations Astrology , and the consulting services they offer, Simon and Jennifer share their thoughts and insights and, using the powerful tool of evolutionary astrology, help and guide others to find their own spiritual paths, live authentically in the moment and understand ways they are able to positively effect their own spiritual evolution. SF Source Wake Up World Nov. 2016 Share this: | 0 |
You are here: Home / US / BRUTAL Meme Exposes How Government REALLY Works BRUTAL Meme Exposes How Government REALLY Works October 26, 2016 Pinterest
Derrick Wilburn writes that if ever there was a governmental agency gone rogue it’s the Obama Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has now become a faux-legislative body and through its vast overreach the federal government has assumed control over huge swaths of America, American industry and put tens if not hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work.
Last year the EPA passed a rule granting itself power over puddles by naming them wetlands which fall under federal jurisdiction. A blatant move to allow environmental groups to sue developers, halt natural resource exploration or any other project they’d like to stop.
Now it’s happening again.
When farmers plow their land in preparation for planting it produces grooves in the earth called “furrows.” These furrows are bordered on each side by small ridges of dirt.
The EPA, in its insatiable appetite for control via new regulatory powers, has come up with another term for furrows: “ mini mountain ranges .” You read correctly. This entirely absurd distinction is extremely important because, like wetlands, guess who has control over the nation’s mountain ranges? The feds. This ridiculous name –mini mountain ranges– could be enough for the federal government to seize control over private land use decisions by U.S. farmers.
This nonsense has come to light as a result of a U.S. Senate committee report . “A Senate Report on the Expansion of Jurisdiction Claimed by the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act” was released September 20th. America’s two largest environmental regulation agencies, the EPA and U.S. Army Corps (that’s pronounced “ core ”, by the way) of Engineers proposed this regulatory rule.
The rule uses the Clean Water Act to give the two federal agencies expanded jurisdiction over private land use decisions.
Like any good rogue body the EPA is not responding to inquiries about it activities and is instead referring questions to the Department of Justice. To no one’s surprise, DOJ is also refusing to comment claiming that because the new rule is being challenged in court it cannot. Sort of like a guy claiming he’s not going to publicly release tax returns while the subject of a federal audit.
Confused by its title many mistakenly presume the Army Corps of Engineers is in some ways a military or para-military body. Not so much. The Corps is a federal agency charged with oversight of America’s waterways. On its website the agency states that “environmental sustainability” is a “guiding principle.” Tell you all you need to know?
Jason Hayes, Director of Environmental Policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said the 1977 amendments to the Clean Water Act specifically exempted plowing as a “normal farming activity.” The EPA is attempting to do away with that exemption.
“The Corps even tries to argue that these newly created small mountain ranges hamper the growth and development of wetland plant species, apparently ignoring the fact that farmlands are managed to produce crops, not cattails,” Hayes said. “No reasonable regulation of the nation’s farmland can demand farmers produce crops without moving dirt, or expect farmers to produce wetland plant species instead of corn or wheat.”
Daren Bakst, a research fellow in agricultural policy at The Heritage Foundation, said it is not surprising that the EPA and Corps claim furrowing can create small mountain ranges, “Does kicking a pebble next to water create a mini-meteor? Is a puddle a mini-ocean? Who knows?” Bakst wrote.
The Senate report concludes that if the EPA and Corps of Engineers interpretations were allowed, “most if not all plowing” would be considered a “discharge of a pollutant” and require a federal permit. Get that – U.S. farmers required to file for and obtain federal permits in order to plow their own land . And if you think those permits are going to be free or even cheap I’ve got a bridge you may be interested in.
Because this is what liberalism does.
If allowed to stand, in ten years those permits will be too expensive for all but the wealthiest of corporate-run farms and ranches. Why? All because of the left’s insatiable war on “global warming.” They don’t care how many coal-working families are put out of work, how many birds of prey are killed , nor how many family farmers are forced into bankruptcy. NOTHING is more sacred than the war against their boogeyman, climate change. | 0 |
Officials at the Transportation Security Administration thought they had the solution for long lines at airports: PreCheck, a program that allowed people to move through security without taking off their shoes or removing electronics from their luggage. It has not worked as planned. Customers who apply for the program, which requires a fee of $85 and a background check, say they continue to face long waits to obtain the PreCheck clearance. Such delays could grow worse because the number of people signing up for PreCheck has more than tripled in the last few months, climbing to 16, 000 a day on average in May, agency officials said. That surge has led to long delays in processing applications. Dozens of passengers who have recently tried to sign up for PreCheck say they have been given appointments for the interviews needed to complete the process that are weeks or even months away. Vance Hiner of St. Louis said he was put on a waiting list at . Louis International Airport to complete his enrollment. “The process of looking at my face and verifying that my passport and driver’s license match could be done by literally any airport staffer,” he said in an email. Roger Golliver of Beaverton, Ore. a suburb of Portland, said his wife signed up for the PreCheck program in March. But she had to wait months for an interview. “The earliest she could find was a July date in Seattle,” he said. Seattle is about a drive from Portland. Officials at the T. S. A. and MorphoTrust USA, the company that handles all PreCheck applications, say they are aware of the problems and are working to increase the number of enrollment centers while hiring additional people to deal with the surge in applications. “We are adding as much capacity as quickly as possible,” said John Sammon, the chief marketing officer for the T. S. A. Charles Carroll, senior vice president for identity services at MorphoTrust, said the company was hiring additional staff to bolster its efforts at the 14 biggest airports, including in New York and Chicago, where 450 passengers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport missed their flights last month because of long lines. “We’re in emergency response mode,” Mr. Carroll said. “T. S. A. was caught off guard by the size and amount of people traveling. ” The agency has made some improvements in reducing wait times at airports. It has increased overtime for screeners and moved dozens of dog teams to larger airports from smaller ones. On the busy Memorial Day weekend, few travelers reported a long wait. More help is on the way. This year, Congress allowed the agency to use $34 million to hire nearly 800 new screeners. And lawmakers recently approved an additional $28 million that will allow the agency to convert 2, 784 screeners from part time to full time, which will add 53 security lanes at the nation’s airports. Some members of Congress and many in the travel industry wonder if the efforts will be sustainable throughout the peak of summer travel. “T. S. A. cannot continue to rely on temporary by moving around limited Homeland Security dollars,” said Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi. John S. Pistole, the former T. S. A. administrator who started the PreCheck program, argued that using intelligence to screen and move passengers through security checkpoints was a better way to protect airports. Information provided by those who sign up for PreCheck is checked against the F. B. I. ’s criminal history databases as well as several terrorist screening databases and lists. The initial challenge was the reverse of today: The T. S. A. could not persuade enough people to sign up for PreCheck, and at many airports the PreCheck lanes were empty as regular security lines backed up. So the agency started a program called managed inclusion, which allowed people who had not signed up for the program to go through expedited screening when regular lines grew long. An investigation by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General found that screeners allowed investigators with fake bombs and weapons to pass through checkpoints in 95 percent of the tests, a finding first reported by ABC News last year. Peter V. Neffenger, who took over the agency last July, ended the practice of managed inclusion. But fixing that problem has contributed to the long security lines that the agency is now trying to solve. On Wednesday, Kelly Hoggan, who had been the assistant administrator for the Office of Security Operations for the T. S. A. since 2013, resigned. Mr. Hoggan had been reassigned in May after a backlash over long security lines at airports and congressional scrutiny of thousands of dollars in bonuses he had received. Jeh Johnson, the secretary of Homeland Security, is trying to enlist help from the private sector to persuade more people to sign up for PreCheck. In a letter to the 100 largest American companies, he asked that they reimburse employees for signing up for expedited screening programs. The agency is also seeking additional vendors, in addition to MorphoTrust, to help process PreCheck enrollment. Still, it is unclear if those efforts will be enough to reduce the long lines expected at airports this summer. | 1 |
Besides contributing at @TheDailyWTF, I write DevDisasters for Visual Studio Magazine, and involved in various side projects including child rearing and marriage.
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AUSTIN, Tex. — On the first day of classes at the University of Texas in this city that revels in its own oddball creativity, students protested a law allowing concealed handguns on state college campuses by carrying something they thought was just as ridiculous and out of place: Thousands of sex toys. “These laws won’t protect anyone. The campus doesn’t want them,” said an organizer of the protest, Jessica Jin. “It’s absurd. So, I thought, we have to fight absurdity with absurdity. ” On Wednesday, Ms. Jin, a recent graduate who majored in violin, helped distribute brightly colored dildos to hundreds of students gathered to protest the law that took effect Aug. 1. Their plan was to carry the toys openly to class, attached to their backpacks, to show that they think that guns have no place on campus and could stifle the open exchange of ideas. “For the state to deny research about gun safety and allow this in classrooms is kind of obscene,” Ms. Jin said. “What better way to show how we feel?” Texas has long issued concealed handgun permits but banned guns from college campuses. After repeated efforts, the State Legislature passed a law in 2015 lifting the ban. Similar laws and court rulings have allowed guns onto campuses in a handful of others states in recent years, including Idaho and Colorado. The chancellor of the University of Texas system and the president of the flagship university in Austin have said that they are against guns on campus but that they have no choice but to implement the law. Some faculty members say the administration is trying to limit the effect of gun laws while not antagonizing state lawmakers for fear of future legislation that could loosen gun laws on campus even more. Many students have not been so acquiescent. Rather than turn to traditional marches or millennials raised on satirical news programs like “The Daily Show” have turned instead to satire as the most sincere form of expression. The campaign is a protest in the age of Instagram — neatly packaged and ready to go viral. Students took selfies with their new toys and shot video of crowds chanting, with the toys raised like fists. Then Roy Wood Jr. a correspondent for “The Daily Show” who travels the country doing satirical sketches, appeared to cheers of the smitten students. With a camera crew trailing him, and a producer shooing Instagram users out of the way, Mr. Wood led the crowd on a march that veered from ridiculous to dead serious. The police stood nearby, perplexed but not alarmed. Texas law makes open carry of the sex toy potentially illegal, Bob Harkins, an associate vice president for the campus safety, said, but only if people act obscenely. The police had no plans, he added, to arrest anyone for using the toy to make a political point. “They’ve certainly gotten attention,” Joan Neuberger, a professor of Russian history said of the campaign. Some professors, she said, had been circulating petitions and drafting condemnations, but the students have been much more effective. “Legally, we have probably lost, at least for now. But culturally, they do a lot to stigmatize the behavior — to say you may have a right, but guns are not acceptable here. ” Students in favor of guns on campus have been notably quiet on Wednesday. Though a spokesman for the nationwide group Students for Campus Carry said it had several members on the campus of 50, 000, Brian Bensimon, who identified himself as the group’s lone member at the university, said the local chapter was “essentially defunct. ” On Wednesday. Mr. Bensimon silently held up a sign amid the protesters, suggesting a peaceful coexistence. “I may be out of step with this campus,” Mr. Bensimon, a government major, said. “But I’m not out of step with this state. ” | 1 |
representing the most choice or select; best: an elite group of authors.
The first definition found at the embedded link states that: ‘the choice or best of anything considered collectively, as of a group or class of persons’.
What is ‘the choice or best of’ referring to in the context of humanity? In our current age of information and consciousness expansion, we’ve reached a beautiful balance where we know both scientifically and philosophically that we are all an individual expression of the one thing. This means that no one is inherently ‘better’ than anyone else, however it is also true that we are all developed in different ways and to various degrees.
Therefore, even though no one is fundamentally better than anyone else, we may be more advanced than another person in specific ways, such as compassion, but they might for example be more refined in communication than we are.
This is where the authentic person comes in. If we aim to connect with both our strengths and weaknesses, and are ‘real’ to ourselves in response, we are a genuine person who recognizes that we are not better than others, we are simply on our own journey of empowerment and awakening, just like everyone else is.
Simply, the ‘best of’ humanity are those individuals who not just face themselves for who they really are, but create with it too, instead of looking down on others for whatever reason they feel justified to make themselves feel better about themselves.
The result? Unity and community, not disconnection and degradation.
The second definition is ‘persons of the highest class’.
Now of course class is not referring to material wealth, for as we all should know by now the monetary system is a scam, people consistently inherit blood money and there are many sickos who hoard wealth and use it to obtain power and resources in unhealthy and undeveloped ways.
Therefore, class in this context should refer to the definition ‘of high quality, integrity, status, or style’. When we consider high quality human traits, this translates into a person or group of persons who don’t just apply respect and honor towards themselves, but also their fellow-man and the environment they live in.
And that obviously reflects the authentic person.
The third and final definition which is relevant to this discussion is ‘a group of persons exercising the major share of authority or influence within a larger group’.
This one can be better understood by beginning with the concept that real power isn’t power over others, it’s self-empowerment. Simply, real authority is honoring our self-determining power, which then transforms into respecting it in others.
In addition, most people in the truth movement understand that law does not necessarily equal ethics, which means that anybody who makes or enforces law is not guaranteed automatic respect, like they somewhat used to be. That’s not to say they don’t deserve respect, because many who work for our sick system are just ignorant to what they truly stand for and are doing their best with the understanding they have to provide a genuine community service.
Regardless, the so-called authority in our society is not really authority at all.
Ultimately, those individuals who are authentically connecting with and representing the expansion of our collective consciousness are the real power brokers, the real influence, in our society. This elite level of authority may be subtle, instead of explicit, but make no mistake: it is the most powerful and influential form of authority in our current age. Final Thoughts
Humanity is moving towards an unprecedented stage of it’s collective consciousness, where truth and individual sovereignty will inevitably reign supreme. This expansion has not just been decades, but centuries in the making.
Given the opposite is also true, where a new dark age of deception is upon us, it takes a highly empowered individual to rise above the lies of the official narratives to genuinely connect with not just the greater truths of the external world, but the internal realm too.
These individuals are the genuine group of elite humans who we should all look to for not leadership, but guidance in becoming our own more authentic self.
Moreover, no one is fully awake to the realities and ongoing creation of our world. The authentic man or woman may be an example for us to aspire to, but no one is or ever will be without an opportunity to further enrich their state of awareness, including how it’s translated into their actions.
In this sense, we’re all the same. We’re all imperfectly perfect. About the Author
Phillip J. Watt lives in Australia. His written work deals with topics from ideology to society, as well as self-development. Follow him on Facebook or visit his website . This article ( The Real ‘Elite’ are the Authentic Men and Women by Phillip J. Watt and is re-posted here with permission. | 0 |
NBA great and cultural commentator Kareem writes a column for the Hollywood Reporter in which he examines the hit film La La Land and how it “misleads” on issues of race, romance and jazz. [From the Hollywood Reporter: A recent Saturday Night Live skit depicts two cops yelling at a handcuffed man they just arrested because he didn’t think La La Land was great. “It dragged in the middle,” he complains. “You sick son of a bitch!” one cop barks. “You disgust me!” This pretty much distills the rift in American pop culture that is nearly as contentious as the rift in American politics. As someone who finds La La Land bold, daring and deserving of all its critical and financial success, I can also admit that there are a few elements that warrant closer examination, particularly regarding its portrayal of jazz, romance and people of color. In fact, the better a work of art is, the more we must dissect it, because now we’re not just measuring Rotten Tomatoes popularity or boffo box office, we’re assessing its proper place in our cultural canon. No, I don’t think the film needs more black people. Damien Chazelle should tell the story as he sees fits with whatever ethnic arrangement he desires. However, it is fair to question his color wheel when it involves certain historical elements — such as jazz. … The white guy wants to preserve the black roots of jazz while the black guy is the sellout? This could be a deliberate ironic twist, but if it is, it’s a distasteful one for . One legitimate complaint that marginalized people (women, people of color, Muslims, the LGBT community, etc.) have had about Hollywood in the past is that when they were portrayed, it was done in a negative way. The ditzy blonde, the Muslim terrorist, the gay predator are all familiar stereotypes from years of TV and movies. So much has been done in recent years to overcome those debasing images, but we still have to be careful. It’s not that a black man can’t be the sellout or the drug dealer, it’s just that they shouldn’t be if they’re the only prominent black character in the story. Whether it’s intentional or unintentional, that sends a bigoted message rippling through our society. … Read the full column at the Hollywood Reporter. | 1 |
TALLADEGA, Ala. — For a band at a tiny, historically black college, it seems in some ways to be the gig of a lifetime: a chance to march and perform at the Jan. 20 presidential inaugural parade in Washington. Some of the musicians at Talladega College have been excited to see the capital for the first time. But because the is Donald J. Trump, the school has become the subject of an impassioned national outcry, with online petitions, threats to end donations and a flurry of from alumni who feel that performing in the parade would betray the values of an institution founded by newly freed slaves 150 years ago. On Thursday, after days of speculation that the college administration might bow to the pressure and remove the band from the parade roster, the president of Talladega College, Billy Hawkins, issued a statement confirming the participation of the band, the Marching Tornadoes, and argued, in essence, that the 58th presidential inauguration is about something bigger than Mr. Trump. “We respect and appreciate how our students and alumni feel about our participation in this parade,” Dr. Hawkins said. “As many of those who chose to participate in the parade have said, we feel the inauguration of a new president is not a political event but a civil ceremony celebrating the transfer of power. ” Similar issues have been raised about other entertainers scheduled to perform, among them the Radio City Rockettes and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. But because of Talladega’s history, the issues have been especially intense here, with calls for the college to reverse its decision to take part in the festivities. And beyond Talladega, the controversies raise tough questions for Mr. Trump’s most ardent critics as his presidency dawns: What is the proper response to a president as polarizing as Mr. Trump? Should the office of the president be honored, no matter who fills it? Or should there be four years of pure rejection and defiance? And if Mr. Trump’s opponents refuse to participate in his presidency, can critics on the right do the same thing to some other in the future? To a number of Talladega alumni, the Dec. 30 announcement that the band would march in the parade was an insult to the very principles of the college, which was established two years after the end of the Civil War. The school is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, a liberal Protestant denomination that was deeply involved in the civil rights movement, and for decades it served as an incubator for theories and practices of social justice. Nikky Finney, a poet and Talladega graduate who is now a professor at the University of South Carolina, said in a statement this week that the band should not help celebrate Mr. Trump, who, she said, has maligned women and Mexican immigrants and has proposed barring all Muslims from entering the country. In an interview on Thursday, Ms. Finney, channeling a James Brown lyric, said the college had “sold out the history of Talladega College for chicken change” and “maybe a tin star on a hatemonger’s parade route. ” As of Thursday afternoon, an online petition calling for the band to withdraw from the inaugural parade had attracted more than 1, 900 signers, some of them supporters of the college who have threatened to withhold future contributions. But a second petition, which had nearly 300 supporters, argued that the parade was not about politics but “about seeing firsthand the process of a transition” and giving the students a chance to be a part of history. “We are not thinkers and believe everyone is entitled” to their own beliefs, it stated. “However, we are in support of the United States of America. ” As the debate heated up this week in online forums for students and alumni, the leadership at the private, college hunkered down to consider how best to proceed. The campus police ordered reporters off the campus. Brief interviews with a few band members on Tuesday evening revealed a group divided. Jerome Haynes, 18, a freshman who plays the snare drum, said he hoped politics would not get in the way of an exciting opportunity for the band. In contrast, Ronald Peterson, 21, a sophomore who plays cymbals, said he was going to talk to the director about staying home. “I feel that those who are not Republicans should not have to play for it,” he said. On Thursday afternoon, some students said the administration had done the right thing, despite the protests from alumni. Antonio Phillips, 24, a senior and a drum major, welcomed the exposure. “We’re musicians, so this is a good platform for us to showcase our talent in front of the world,” he said. His friend Ken Randolph, 20, a junior who is not in the band, said the concerns of alumni like Ms. Finney “weigh heavily on the students of Talladega. ” But he said Mr. Trump might benefit from the exposure to a black art form. “This is a part of our culture,” Mr. Randolph said. “With it being on his front doorstep, he might be able to apprehend the vibe and the culture. ” That drama in Talladega, a city of 15, 000 about an hour’s drive east of Birmingham, played out as black activists, including the N. A. A. C. P. president, Cornell William Brooks, were arrested on Tuesday in Mobile in a action at the office of Senator Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican nominated to be attorney general in the Trump administration. Mr. Sessions, who is white, was rejected by the Senate for a federal judgeship in 1986 after he was accused of making racially insensitive statements. To some Talladega alumni, the possibility that policies long opposed by could now be enacted by a Congress and executive branch was what made the notion of a black band marching for Mr. Trump seem so distasteful. “There’s a great deal of fear in this country that the Voting Rights Act is going to be abolished, that the Affordable Care Act is going to be abolished, that Planned Parenthood is going to be cut off from funding, that Medicaid is going be cut off from funding,” said J. Mason Davis, a Birmingham lawyer who graduated from the college in 1956. “Don’t you understand why we have a fear of the man?” Donavon Jackson, 24, a former trumpet player in the band who graduated last year, said performing as part of the inauguration would be particularly special for a college of about 1, 000 students whose band program is only about five years old. The school does not have a football team, which makes parade invitations all the more important. “I’m honored to go to a school that can say they marched in an inauguration parade,” said Mr. Jackson, who received a chemistry degree and now lives in Houston. “Not necessarily for the person — and that’s not necessarily saying he’s a bad person. ” In the statement on Thursday, school officials said they still faced the “challenge” of raising more than $60, 000 to cover expenses for the trip. The population of the city of Talladega is divided about evenly between blacks and whites, and to a visitor, it can feel like a place where racial harmony and discord coexist on seemingly parallel planes. Whites speak with pride about the historic black college downtown — though one white person was overheard on Wednesday warning of a liberal plot to foment a “race war” so that President Obama might declare martial law before the inauguration. While some residents said the band should stay home, and others said it should attend the event in Washington, a few spoke harshly of Mr. Trump while hoping the inauguration would help the band get noticed — something the city, which was bypassed by the interstate highway system, has struggled with in recent decades. Bonquita McClellan, 26, manages her father’s restaurant, Big Mac’s Open Pit BBQ, near campus. Ms. McClellan, who is black, said the disdain for Mr. Trump among her peers was universal. “If anybody would have had us in concentration camps,” she said, “it’d be him. ” But she also said the band should go and make a name for itself in the nation’s capital. “How often,” she asked, “does Talladega College get a chance to play for the president?” Up the street at a real estate office near the courthouse, Randy and Heather Roberts, a white couple who voted for Mr. Trump, raved about the Talladega College band and its performance at the Dec. 5 Christmas parade. Ms. Roberts showed a video of the band on her phone. “They were phenomenal,” Ms. Roberts said. Ms. Roberts, 41, said she grew up with black and white friends. Mr. Roberts, 48, said he and his wife were pleased to cater to their multiracial clientele. But when they spoke about politics, the couple sounded like people who knew something was broken but did not know how it might be fixed. “It is not going to be pleasant for the next four years,” Ms. Roberts said. “It is going to be a battle. ” | 1 |
Tony Blair helpfully describes Remain voters as ‘insurgents’ 28-10-16
TONY Blair has helped out British politics by calling Remain voters ‘insurgents’ who must ‘mobilise’.
Both sides of the Brexit debate have thanked the former prime minister for framing it in loaded terms that will bring out the best in everyone.
Healthcare worker Helen Archer said: “Let’s see. So on one side we’ve got the Brexit crew already calling anything they don’t like treason and waving flags.
“On the left we’ve got the disturbed followers of a cultish messiah who want the result of a popular vote to be overturned, followed by the overthrow of capitalism.
“And a deposed ruler who started two unending wars for the sake of his ego is telling us it’s a war?
“Great. No problem. Just checking I know where we’re headed.”
Blair said: “My primary role, in and out of government, has been to boost sales for the UK arms industry and that will not change.”
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