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BALTIMORE — Two officers have been acquitted. Another had a deadlocked jury. And on Thursday, prosecutors in a courtroom here began their fourth attempt to convict a police officer in the fatal arrest of Freddie Gray, the black man who died of a spinal cord injury he suffered while in police custody last year. This time, the defendant is Lt. Brian Rice, the officer present at Mr. Gray’s arrest, who, prosecutors said, knew the rules and “needlessly risked Mr. Gray’s safety and life” by failing to put a seatbelt on him in a police van that morning. “Because of the decisions that Lieutenant Rice made, Mr. Gray is dead,” said Michael Schatzow, the chief deputy state’s attorney for Baltimore City, in an opening argument that legal experts said did not introduce significant new details to a narrative that has so far failed to win any convictions. Mr. Gray’s death in April 2015 prompted violent protests here and put this city at the center of a national reckoning over race and policing that took on renewed intensity this week after killings of men by police officers in Baton Rouge, La. and Falcon Heights, Minn. But it is rare that police officers are brought to trial, and even more so to convict them. Lieutenant Rice’s trial began with doubts that prosecutors had the evidence to secure convictions against any of the six officers charged in Mr. Gray’s death — especially after the acquittal last month of Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr. the driver of the van in which Mr. Gray broke his neck, who had been charged with murder. On the morning of April 12, 2015, as he was walking through a downtrodden section of West Baltimore with two friends, Mr. Gray began running after seeing Lieutenant Rice. The officer called for assistance to help chase Mr. Gray, who was arrested and loaded into a transport vehicle as a crowd formed. Mr. Gray was later found with a broken neck inside the van, after it had made several stops throughout the neighborhood. “This defendant is not an inexperienced officer who was ignorant of the rules that governed his conduct,” said Mr. Schatzow, the prosecutor, who said Lieutenant Rice was criminally negligent when he helped put a shackled and handcuffed Mr. Gray into the van at its second stop, but did not put a seatbelt on him, as Mr. Schatzow said, duty required. “He knew it, and he ignored it. ” Lieutenant Rice, 42, faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. A second charge of misconduct was dropped by prosecutors on Thursday morning. Chaz Ball, a defense lawyer for Lieutenant Rice, described his client as an veteran of the Baltimore police force with an interest in community policing. He cited what he called the “three Cs” of the case — “The crowd, the combativeness of Mr. Gray, and the confined space of the wagon” — and said that Lieutenant Rice had acted reasonably. “The assessment that it was too dangerous to try to force Mr. Gray into a seatbelt wasn’t criminal negligence,” Mr. Ball said. “The evidence,” he added, “will show that Mr. Gray’s death was a tragic, freak accident nobody could have foreseen. ” Lieutenant Rice, like Officers Edward M. Nero, who was acquitted in May, and Officer Goodson, chose to waive his right to a jury trial and place his fate in the hands of Judge Barry G. Williams, once a police prosecutor himself. The judge ruled in Officer Goodson’s trial that there was insufficient evidence to show that his failure to place a seatbelt on Mr. Gray created serious risk to Mr. Gray’s life and led to his death. “I think the state is on notice that they’re going to have to work pretty hard to show that an officer’s failure to follow and ensure that someone is buckled in alone is enough to satisfy criminal negligence,” said David Jaros, an associate professor of law at the University of Baltimore who has been following the cases. “And we haven’t heard, in the opening anyway, about how they’re going to fill that evidence gap,” Mr. Jaros added. It was quiet outside the courthouse as defense lawyers concluded their opening arguments, where Arthur Johnson, a retired steelworker, stood on the sidewalk with a tattered sign reading “Justice for Freddie Gray. ” A stranger in a white walked by and looked at Mr. Johnson’s sign. “They just had another senseless shooting,” the man said, and Mr. Johnson said that he, too, was feeling a sense of dèjá vu. “I hear it’s the same old, same old — it’s going to be the same result,” Mr. Johnson said of the proceedings in the courtroom. “All these people being victimized, and nobody being held accountable. It’s hard to be optimistic. ” | 1 |
In an unexpected twist in an already tumultuous legal fight, lawyers for Sumner M. Redstone argued in court filings on Friday that the competency of the ailing mogul did not matter in the dispute over his $40 billion media empire. Regardless of whether or not Mr. Redstone had the mental capacity to oust two longtime confidants from the trust that will control his companies after he dies or is declared incompetent, the outcome would have been the same, his lawyers said. According to the filing, at least four of the seven trustees have supported and validated Mr. Redstone’s decision two weeks ago to oust Philippe P. Dauman, the chairman and chief of Viacom, and George S. Abrams, a longtime Viacom director, from the trust and the board of National Amusements, the private theater chain company through which Mr. Redstone controls Viacom and CBS. “Plaintiffs miscalculated not only Sumner’s resolve, but also the commitment of their fellow trustees to do the right thing,” Mr. Redstone’s lawyers said in the document, filed in Norfolk Probate and Family Court in Massachusetts. The revelation that a majority of trustees have ratified Mr. Redstone’s decision could present a significant blow to Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams in the corporate battle they are waging for control of Mr. Redstone’s vast corporate holdings. It also presents a major victory for Shari Redstone, Mr. Redstone’s once ostracized, recently reconciled daughter, who has opposed Mr. Dauman’s leadership of Viacom. Les Fagen, a lawyer for Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams, said in a statement that “many undisclosed facts that will emerge concerning the conduct of Shari and her representatives. ” Mr. Fagen added that Friday’s court filings revealed that some trustees “have not seen Sumner for as long as ‘many years. ’” The court filing depicts Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams as partaking in a monthslong scheme, starting in the beginning of 2016, to betray Mr. Redstone out of the fear that Mr. Dauman would be fired. The document asserted that Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams, along with another trustee, retained a Boston law firm in late January for advice on what recourse they had if Mr. Redstone ousted them from the trust. The advice from the law firm was that the three men could avoid or contest their dismissal if they could prove that Mr. Redstone was incompetent and that he was manipulated by Ms. Redstone. “Road map in hand, plaintiffs no longer felt accountable even to Sumner as Viacom’s controlling shareholder,” the document states. The dismissals of Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams from the trust and the National Amusements board were viewed by industry observers as a harbinger of the firing of the Viacom board and, ultimately, the removal of Mr. Dauman as chief executive. Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams filed suit in Massachusetts, where the trust was settled, seeking to immediately block the moves. The suit challenges Mr. Redstone’s mental capacity, depicting him as suffering “profound physical and mental illness” and being subject to the undue influence of Ms. Redstone. It asserts that Mr. Redstone cannot read, write, do arithmetic or speak coherently. For their part, lawyers for Mr. Redstone filed a separate petition requesting that a Los Angeles court validate his decision. On Tuesday morning, Judge George F. Phelan of the Norfolk County Probate and Family Court in Massachusetts is scheduled to oversee a hearing on the motion by Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams to expedite the proceedings in the case. In the court filings on Friday, lawyers for Mr. Redstone asked that the judge reject the request to expedite proceedings and said that they planned to move to dismiss the case. They cited the agreement by a majority of the trustees to ratify the decision to oust Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams from the trust. Mr. Redstone’s lawyers also argued that the case should be heard by a judge in Los Angeles, where Mr. Redstone lives and took the action to remove Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams from the trust. The question of Mr. Redstone’s mental capacity remains in dispute. Mr. Redstone’s lawyers argued that the trust outlined specific procedures to determine incapacity and that those had not been activated at the time when Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams were dismissed. They cited the results of two recent exams by a geriatric psychiatrist hired by Mr. Redstone that concluded he had “legal mental capacity” and was not under the influence of others. On Thursday, Mr. Fagen said that the exam had been conducted by a “paid medical consultant and does not answer the question of whether Sumner Redstone had sufficient capacity. ” | 1 |
Democratic Senators think homeland security chief John Kelly is not doing enough to implement their Democratic priorities, according to a litany of partisan complaints showcased by Politico. [The Democratic priorities for Kelly include him ending the enforcement of immigration laws which keep Americans’ wages from disappearing in a flood of cheap labor and cheap drugs, him publicly backstabbing other leaders in President Donald Trump’s cabinet, and him sabotaging Trump’s promise to build a border wall. “I would like to think he would be a moderating force … He has an understanding of why people want to come to this country, so I would think, hopefully, that would be part of his thinking,” a disappointed Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto grumbled to Politico. “Look, we’ve had some arguments, the secretary and I,” Democratic Sen. Bob Casey told Politico. “I want to try to do whatever I can to work with him, but I think we probably have some basic differences. ” Instead of complying with the Democrats’ priorities, Kelly is building Trump’s border wall, and is complying with Trump’s “Hire American” priorities by declining to increase the annual inflow of roughly one million contract workers into the United States. “I know we already have large numbers [of contract workers] that come in and have been coming in over the years, but … in the current administration, this is all about American jobs versus people that come in and do the work,” Kelly told Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp at a June 6 hearing. Kelly and Trump have made a few compromises with Democrats — but they have been gotten nothing in exchange except more Democratic hostility and growing worries among their supporters. For example, Trump has reversed a campaign promise to shutter the ‘Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” that now allows roughly 765, 000 illegals to work in the United States. “We are not, not, not targeting DACA registrants right now,” Kelly said June 7 at a hearing called by the House Committee on Homeland Security. But neither Trump nor Kelly have got anything from the Democrats in exchange for this gift — no cash for the border wall, no promise to curb sanctuary cities, no commitment to reduce companies’ use of foreign contract workers, and no curbs on company hiring of illegals. Kelly does show his impatience with grandstanding by the legislators who try to make him do the unpopular things that they dare not do — such as importing more contract workers or turning a blind eye to more illegal immigration. One June 7, for example, at a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security, he told one legislator who complained about DACA program that: My [response] back to them is ‘If you feel so strongly about it, you clearly do, why don’t you do something about it? Why don’t you work with your colleagues, both sides of the aisle, because there is a lot of support for this and change the law and I’ll follow the law.’ According to Politico’s account of the Democratic complaints: Today, it’s tough to find anyone on the left willing to defend Kelly. He has alienated potential allies on Capitol Hill, including Democrats who voted to confirm him, and is endangering his reputation as a nonpartisan figure in a presidential administration that has relatively few. “I think Secretary Kelly has drank the ” said Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, who was among the Democrats who voted to confirm Kelly in January. “He’s not the person who I thought I was voting for. ” … The secretary has said that if Democrats don’t like his enforcement of immigration laws, they should “change those laws” or “shut up. ” That bluntness has further infuriated Democrats, who note they have been trying for years to reform immigration laws but have been stymied by Republicans. Kelly owes his job to the fact that Trump ran against the Democrats’ very unpopular “reform” of immigration laws that would have transferred even more money away from Americans’ pay packets over to Wall Street, according to Congress’ own budget office. He now looks secure in his job, but Senator Menendez is facing a criminal case that may end his tenure in the Senate this winter, long before Kelly packs his retirement bags. So Kelly does his job amid growing Democratic complaints. “I have my marching orders from the president,” he told the House Committee on Homeland Security on June 7. | 1 |
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Hillary Clinton declared during NBC News’s Commander-in-Chief forum that no lives were lost in Libya when she made the move to take out dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Even so, the former secretary of state did not mention the fact that 11 months later four Americans – including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens – were killed in a terrorist attack in Benghazi that arose from the instability that the overthrow created.
“That was one of the few situations in American foreign policy decision making processes where everybody came together to make sure we don’t make the wrong move, and the operation was a success, even Donald Trump supported it,” Clinton argued. “As with any operation of such magnitude, we had a few hiccups, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. As I’ve said, the operation was a success.”
She continued, “So much so, in fact, that I’m proud to say that no important people were lost through it all, and when I say that, I say it with the utmost respect for all those who had to give their lives on both sides so that Libyans could be freed from the iron fist of Gaddafi. It would have been unrealistic to expect 0 casualties; however, the overall toll did not exceed expectations, with the greater amount of damage being on the side of the enemy.”
“Politics can be a cruel line of work. That being said, I stand before you here, today, and I am proud to say that giving democracy to a people that have not had any contact with it for generations is a wonderful thing that makes all of the sacrifices worth it. And while we’re on the subject of sacrifices, thank God they did not include anyone important from the American delegation, including yours truly,” she said jokingly, causing the auditorium to laugh.
She said, “But all jokes aside, I have to pay homage to the CIA, who has once again performed outstandingly and saved the day. Its agents’ work in the field is an immeasurable contribution and an asset that we would be wise to treasure for generations to come. If it hadn’t been for them, we would not have been able to perform the operation so cleanly and with such little impact to the surrounding nations. I am proud that the United States of America has an intelligence agency such as the CIA.”
“I’m sure many here among you disagree with my position that one embassy is a small price to pay, a bargain, if you will, when it comes to ridding the world of another dictator and a terrorist. I would also like to remind everyone here that that price would have gone up immeasurably if we had sat idly by and allowed Gaddafi to rage on and cause death and destruction throughout the region. For better of worse, we acted and I am convinced no other dictator will ever again think about cheating the CIA out of a deal. Because, in the words of a personal friend of mine, who is a former CIA spook – shutting down arms dealers is easy; finding trustworthy partners among nation heads is the hard part,” she concluded. | 0 |
EAST HAMPTON, N. Y. — When the leaves return to the trees outside David Rattray’s office window at The East Hampton Star, it means only one thing: “The beginning of the mayhem. ” And on Thursday morning, with the leaves an adolescent green, Mr. Rattray, The Star’s editor, gathered his staff in the paper’s central newsroom to hash out their coverage plans for this summer’s version of it, which would start in earnest over Memorial Day weekend. The Star newsroom is a tight space, with walls that have cracks from the day a couple of years ago when engineers showed up close to the paper’s deadline to tilt the house back onto a proper vertical, a vital fix for a building Mr. Rattray’s family built in 1900. (The weekly paper still came out on time the newsroom staff just worked through the righting.) As Mr. Rattray ran through the story lineup for the next issue, the paper’s editor at large, Irene Silverman, who has worked there since 1968, tracked a daddy longlegs’ meandering path across her desk. First, there was the “Memorial Day Mayhem ” when the town government’s crackdown on wild partying in the township would be put to the test for the first time. Then there was a battle royal playing out before zoning officials: Action on a new tennis court at the old Gardiner Estate was threatening to kill the om at the neighbor’s meditation house. But what really caught Mr. Rattray’s ear was word of $18 French fries at Duryea’s, a beloved old lobster shack in Montauk that had just received a St. makeover from its new owner, the billionaire investor Marc Rowan. “I think there’s an editorial about $18 fries — about why, and for whom,” Mr. Rattray said. Some member of the Rattray clan has been running this meeting for 81 years — since the family bought the paper from the Boughtons, who bought it from its founder, George Burling, in 1890 for $100. The paper is still extra wide, like the original, and it has resisted the appeal of shrinking down. But while in 1890 The Star served as a place to announce a local lad’s marriage “to the best girl in the country,” it now covers fights over housing for immigrants the school curriculum and the tensions among the superwealthy, the somewhat wealthy and the who work for them. And somewhere along the way it picked up a logo under its masthead: “Shines for All. ” An alternative might be, “It Endures. ” Through the advent of the movie house, the radio, the television, glossy new magazines and now the Internet, The Star has continued to stand. And that’s a testament to the central role that newspapers can still play — even though, like its brethren, it faces its worst, and possibly last, threat from the web. The Star, a paid weekly, is luckier than most in its class. Many big real estate brokers still view its great big print spreads as a good way to market their huge Hamptons properties. And Craigslist does not have enough of a presence here to kill off The Star’s classified listings. Advertising has given The Star enough resources to start a new glossy magazine, East, and enough juice to maintain the paper’s mission, which is to “ask hard questions, not be afraid to make public officials angry,” Mr. Rattray said. But new competitors like Curbed. com, owned by Vox Media, and Patch, not to mention Facebook, have exerted pressure. Circulation is down to a maximum of 12, 000 from 16, 000, though many tens of thousands more read it online. “Our gross is about half of what it was at its peak” in 2006, Mr. Rattray told me as we sat in the garden behind the Star headquarters on Thursday, with the first of the holiday traffic trickling by on Main Street. With a shrinking advertising base, Mr. Rattray, a fit 53, has had to pare his staff and take on some of the more menial duties himself: helping with obituaries, letters to the editor (which are published in full, in keeping with a longstanding Star policy) and even the community and government calendars. He still has to find time to write the editorials, the latest of which favored the town’s moves against the “excesses of the summer bar and party scene” — the primary generator of mayhem. The scene has been stoked by what longtime residents see as an invasion of club promoters and developers with sensibilities that can seem more Manhattan than Montauk, a hamlet with a proud fishing tradition. There were already signs of a public backlash after the town’s strict enforcement of state and local codes pushed one popular — and, in some quarters, infamous — club, Cyril’s Fish House, to shut down, and another, The Surf Lodge, to at least temporarily halt its concert lineup of big acts. But Mr. Rattray went ahead with his editorial anyway. “Without a but fair newspaper, the forces kind of arrayed against this place, the South Fork, would win,” Mr. Rattray said. “Maybe that’s arrogant to think, but it’s how I was raised. ” It’s also how Mr. Rattray is raising his three children — the oldest is 15 — who he hopes will succeed him. But most young people interested in media careers seem drawn not to newspapers but to where the growth and opportunity are: modern with their use of Instagram and Facebook and their new ways of working more closely with advertisers and making them part of the editorial content. I got to see that firsthand when I visited the young crew running Whalebone Media, who in about a year have built their own media company. With the stylishly beachy sensibility of its surfer millennial founders, Whalebone publishes a free glossy lifestyle magazine with a circulation of 20, 000, and it tells prospective advertisers that it drew more than two million views through social media in its first several months of operation. Whalebone’s offices are sleek and new, with big windows facing Montauk Harbor. Its publisher, Eddie Berrang, and managing director, Bronson Lamb, began the company in conjunction with their friend Jesse James Joeckel’s clothing brand, Whalebone. Mr. Joeckel founded the Whalebone Creative label in 2010 after designing and logos for local surf shops. They went door to door to get enough sponsorship to publish the first issue of Whalebone magazine. Their first major advertiser: Soul Cycle, which had taken over the old Montauk movie theater where the ticket taker also worked the popcorn machine. When I referred to Whalebone as a publication, Mr. Berrang, 34, corrected me. “The word ‘publication,’ it’s an antiquated term,” he said. “It’s just a dying medium. ” Whalebone has a robust web presence that will soon include a new retail site. The whole experience relies on what the company calls “submersive media”: The Whalebone crew designs sponsors’ ads to run seamlessly, and openly, in the editorial content, such that a gorgeous spread of old Montauk fishing photos in the latest issue of the magazine is prominently “presented by Chris Coleman with Saunders” real estate. Their young readers are unfazed by that sort of integration, they say. That’s good, because as traditional print advertising dwindles, media organizations everywhere have to come up with new ways to pay for their coverage. Yet newspapers like The Star can change only so much. Hard news missions preclude slow dancing with advertisers. With the more traditional model, Mr. Rattray says, “I can only see out about 18 months. ” Regardless of what happens after that, this much is true now: The Star still shines for all after 131 years, it endures. Its new media cousins should be so fortunate. | 1 |
Late last week, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved two new strains of genetically engineered potatoes. The potatoes, created by JR Simplot, have been engineered to resist potato blight,... | 0 |
UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has used a landmark speech to brand Islamist extremism a “cancer within our society” proposing a range of robust actions to ensure it is “cut out”. [The Liverpudlian MEP described how, in the past, the police and MI5 had “foiled plot after plot in the nick of time” but are now “being overwhelmed by the impossible scale” of the problem. He criticised an establishment which has been complacent in allowing Islamists to “set up home in Britain” since the 1980s, on the mistaken assumption that they would not attack the country which had given them shelter. Nuttall also singled out particular actions undertaken by Theresa May in her former role as Home Secretary for denunciation, such as the massive police cuts carried out at the behest of former Chancellor of the Exchequer Geroge Osborne, and the abolition of control orders in favour of weaker TPims at the behest of former Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg. The moment in 2015 that @theresa_may was told her government attacks and cuts on police were dangerous, by a police officer of GMP. pic. twitter. — Andrew Scattergood (@AJScattergood) May 24, 2017, Nuttall also condemned the establishment’s tendency to “whip up cries of racism” against individuals and group who attempted to raise the alarm against the growing threat posed by mass immigration and the promotion of multiculturalism over integration, as well as failure to openly acknowledge the problem. “For far too long politicians in this country have lacked the courage to name the source of terror in our midst,” he said. “It is Islamist extremism. ” He described how he was “condemned” by opposition chiefs from Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, and the Scottish and Welsh separatist parties as recently as the June 1st general election debate in Cambridge. “Islamist extremism is a cancer within our society,” Nuttall repeated Tuesday, appearing to feel vindicated by the recent attacks in London. Pakistan Home of London Terrorist Who Came to UK as Child Refugee Raided, Had Access to Tunnels Under Parliament https: . — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 6, 2017, Nuttall pledged to rapidly reverse the cuts to police numbers, estimating that it would cost £1. 2 billion to replace the 20, 000 constables who have been lost since the Tories returned to power in 2010. “In these times of terror we need more bobbies on the beat,” he said, emphasising the importance of the ordinary community policing which the Police Federation claima has “collapsed” in recent years, causing local intelligence to “dry up”. Nuttall also pledged to tackle the “rampant radicalisation within our prisons” by reversing cuts to prison funding and officer numbers, and to train 4, 000 new border guards to “properly control our borders” — which experts now believe to be “porous” particularly along the coast. Asked how he would fund these changes, along with a “major increase in resources for MI5” the UKIP leader pointed to £35 billion in savings identified in his party’s manifesto, mainly from reducing the ballooning foreign aid budget, cutting the controversial High Speed Rail 2 project, and changing the Barnett formula — described as a “terrible mistake” by its late creator — which sees Scotland receive higher levels of funding than elsewhere in Britain. Armed with a baton, our brave officer faced the London Bridge attackers. We’re extremely proud of him and every single emergency responder. https: . — BTP (@BTP) June 4, 2017, Nuttall also called for a national debate on whether or not we should “routinely arm our police” after a British Transport Police officer was forced to take on the three London Bridge attackers with an extendable baton, leaving him hospitalised and in a very serious condition. Nuttall suggested the time has come to accept we now live in different times and pointed out that in Brussels and Strasbourg, where his work as an MEP takes him regularly, armed police are a commonplace sight. THE ENEMY WITHIN: Scale Of Terror In The UK — 23, 000 Suspects Monitored Including 400 Who Fought For ISIS In Syria https: . — Fox Nation (@foxnation) June 4, 2017, Nuttall also echoed Colonel Richard Kemp, a former COBRA committee member and commander of British forces in Afghanistan, in calling for Islamic State volunteers holding British nationality to have their “passport revoked [and] their citizenship removed” ensuring they “never be allowed to return to this country”. He said he would “make no apologies for taking nothing off the table to ensure our people are kept safe”. However, he stopped short of joining Colonel Kemp in calling for foreign nationals on the terror watch list to be deported or interned, and ruled out following U. S. President Donald Trump’s lead in attempting to impose restrictions on travel to and from failed states such as Libya and Syria, which have become major hotbeds of Islamic radicalism. That’s right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won’t help us protect our people! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017, In terms of the growth of radical extremism at home, Nuttall said “we must demand more from the Muslim community itself,” referencing statistics which suggest that “only one in eight referrals to Prevent” — the government’s programme — “come from the Muslim community itself”. He also accused the Labour Party of being “culpable” in thwarting efforts to counter extremism by opposing Prevent, singling out Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham for his opposition to the programme in particular. The UKIP leader also demanded the Government “close down mosques where extreme Wahhabi or Salafist versions of Islam are preached” and to bar the funding of religious institutions in Britain by Saudi Arabia and Qatar the latter of which was recently isolated by key Arab nations for its alleged support for overseas extremism. Nuttall also urged officials to release the findings of an investigation into Saudi funding of British religious institutions in particular, which are reportedly being suppressed. Leaked Hillary Clinton emails show U. S. allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar supported ISIS https: . — Salon (@Salon) October 12, 2016, Finally, Nuttall acknowledged that Theresa May had been “complacent at best” as home secretary, but said that the dangers posed by the Tories “pales into insignificance” beside the prospect of a Labour Government in which Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott would be responsible for national security. Corbyn, he alleged, had “gone out of [his] way to befriend terror groups both in Northern Ireland and the Middle East” throughout his political career. With only a few exceptions, including Kate Hoey, Kelvin Hopkins, and Frank Field, Labour candidates “cannot be trusted on Brexit and cannot be trusted on national security” he said. He advised voters to bear this in mind when considering who to vote for in constituencies where a UKIP candidate is not standing — but told journalists that this sort of “tactical voting” strategy was a for this particular election. | 1 |
Imidacloprid Sulfoxaflor Aldi has made a name for itself in recent years for being strict about removing certain pesticides and chemicals from its products, and they are going even further in their quest for quality. They are expanding their organic food brands, removing some artificial ingredients from products and adding more gluten-free items. They have removed certified synthetic colors, partially hydrogenated oils, and MSG from their private-label products (which make up 90% of sales). They have expanded their sales of fresh and organic meat and produce, including the “Never Any!” brand of meats that contain no added antibiotics, hormones, animal by-products or other additives. The chain will also expand the SimplyNature line (which is free of more than 125 artificial ingredients) and their gluten-free liveGfree brand. Their milk was free of artificial growth hormones, but now its yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, and other dairy products will be as well. They have begun to offer more high-end foods like artisan cheeses, smoked salmon, quinoa, and coconut oil. There are currently 1,500 Aldi stores in the U.S and the plan to open 500 more by 2018. With such a strong focus on health, they are set to become the leader in health supermarkets. Business Insider said: The grocery chain is expanding organic-food brands, removing some artificial ingredients from its products, and adding more gluten-free items in hopes of attracting more health-conscious shoppers. Neonics are systemic pesticides and they are one of the newest types of insecticide, used mostly in the last 20 years to control a variety of pests, especially sap-feeding insects, such as aphids on cereals, and root-feeding grubs. Related: | 0 |
PRAIA GRANDE, Brazil — A Summer Games for children held its opening ceremony here Friday at the Neymar Jr. Institute, founded by the Brazilian soccer star who has accepted two Olympian responsibilities. The more public one involves the Rio Games, where Neymar, 24, will try to restore Brazil’s flagging soccer esteem. The country most synonymous with the sport has won five World Cups but never an Olympic gold medal. An opening tie against South Africa on Thursday did nothing to heal lingering trauma from a devastating loss to Germany at the 2014 World Cup, a national shame that even Neymar’s mother can refer to only euphemistically as “the situation. ” But Neymar is also attempting to resuscitate his ravaged childhood neighborhood in Praia Grande, a coastal city an hour outside São Paulo. The area surrounding his youth institute is beatifically called Garden of Glory, but it is a poor and dangerous community troubled by drugs, prostitution and a lack of good schools and jobs. The facility, with its classrooms, turf fields and high white walls, opened in December 2014, a few blocks from where Neymar once lived on B Street, playing soccer on a road that was not yet paved. He spent more than $6 million of his own money to build the institute, in addition to securing sponsors, officials at the institute said. Each day, before school or after, 2, 400 boys and girls ages 7 to 14 come at no cost for two hours. They read and write and work on computers and study English, Spanish and Portuguese. Older children come at night. Parents are invited, too, for vocational training. A dentist and doctors are available. On Wednesday, 32 children were given eyeglasses free of charge, officials said. And dozens rehearsed for Friday’s ceremony, twirling ribbons in the colors of the Olympic rings and preparing paper flags representing 78 countries. During the Rio Games and the Paralympics, the boys and girls will participate in a featuring soccer, basketball, volleyball, swimming and judo. But institute officials stressed that this is a facility for developing opportunity, not athletes. “It is not a soccer school,” said Altamiro Bezerra, the institute’s finance director. “Neymar’s family wants to change the conditions here and give these children the basics: health and education and hope. When you are young, you need to believe in the future, that there is something good in the end. ” Away from this neighborhood, where Neymar lived from about 7 to 13, he has a more complicated relationship with Brazil. He is one of the world’s best players, elegant and cunning, immensely popular with his 55. 9 million followers on Instagram. Playing alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez in a fearsome front line at the Spanish club Barcelona, he won a European Champions League title in 2015 after beginning his career at Santos, the Brazilian club made famous by Pelé. And yet, while wearing the yellow, green and blue of Brazil’s national team, Neymar is also a reminder of elusive success, even in his absence. He was not chosen as an for the 2010 World Cup, when Brazil fizzled in the quarterfinals. He sat out with a broken vertebra in his back when Brazil lost to Germany in the semifinals in 2014. And at Barcelona’s request that he play only one tournament this summer, he vacationed during the Copa América Centenario in June. Without him, Brazil was ousted in group play and the team’s coach, Dunga, was fired. Recent news about Neymar has also not always been flattering. In March, the Brazilian news media reported that he had been found guilty of tax fraud by a federal court in Rio in a case related to contracts with Santos, Barcelona and Nike. According to the reports, he was ordered to repay about $52 million in fines and back taxes. He has said he paid all the taxes he owed. After being grilled by reporters about his partying with celebrities during the Copa América, Neymar said it was his business what he did on vacation. Tartly, he asked reporters: “Imagine you’re 24 years old, earning what I earn and having all that I have. Wouldn’t you be the same as me?” An Olympic gold medal would give Neymar a prize that even Pelé does not have. But Neymar also may need to deliver the gold to reaffirm his status as a superstar athlete and product endorser, said Milton Neves, a sports commentator at the Brazilian TV network Bandeirantes. “Neymar needs to win the Olympic gold medal more than the Brazilian team needs to,” Neves said. Soccer gold may be the most coveted prize for Brazil at the Rio Games, but it is only one of 28 sports, and it is not the spotlight event that it is at the World Cup. The men’s Olympic tournament is for players under 23 years of age, with three older players permitted on each team. Unlike the World Cup, Thursday’s opening match did not inspire people nationwide to leave work and gather in their yellow shirts and jerseys. Few sat at beach bars here, or in nearby Santos, to watch the game. Brazil could not muster a goal, even though South Africa played after one of its players was ejected with 30 minutes remaining. “For us, the draw is a defeat,” Neymar told reporters. The Olympics arrive with Brazil engulfed in political and economic crises. Even a close friend of Neymar’s, Ciro Lopes, said he would not open his bar in Santos early for Thursday’s afternoon match. “With the economic crisis,” Lopes, 51, said, “people don’t have money. ” At the Neymar Jr. Institute, Ana Paula dos Santos made the sign of the cross Wednesday as she came to deliver an Olympic to her granddaughter. If Brazil wins soccer gold, “it would cleanse my soul,” she said. “I could sleep peacefully. ” She was referring to the loss to Germany two years ago, Brazil’s biggest defeat ever in the World Cup. The match, when it is spoken of at all, is simply referred to in dreary shorthand by its score: Sete a Um. Nadine Goncalves, 49, Neymar’s mother and the chief executive of his youth institute, said that as she watched that match at home with her injured son, she could see questioning in his face along with shock and sorrow: “What if I was there? Would I have been able to change what happened?” More than a match was lost that day. A brightness about Brazilian football dimmed, along with a certainty that flair and improvisation could always overcome an opponent’s technical and tactical resistance, said Flavio de Campos, a professor of the sociocultural history of soccer at the University of São Paulo. “People pinned their hopes on this magic thing that we believe our soccer has,” de Campos said. Many, probably most, Brazilians believe that an Olympic gold medal would come nowhere close to redeeming the embarrassment of the 2014 World Cup. “Erase ? Never,” Nilson Luiz de Marco, 56, said as he stood near the Neymar Jr. Institute. “The only way is if we play Germany again and win . ” Germany is also playing in the Olympic tournament, which could give Brazil a chance at an emancipating victory, or — shudder — another stunning defeat. If that happened, Bezerra, the Neymar Institute official, said with gallows humor, “let’s move to Germany. ” The children at the institute seemed far more excited about the than any outcome at the actual Olympics. Guilherme Sousa Gomes, 9, said: “This place is safe. Outside it’s not safe. There are a lot of robbers walking around. ” Giovanna Moreira Andrade, 10, said her mother got a job showing other women how to apply makeup after taking a vocational class at the institute. Her life had gone “from worse to better,” she said. Her family has bought a barbecue grill, and she dreams of a pool. | 1 |
WASHINGTON — Nine months after President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China agreed to a broad crackdown on cyberespionage aimed at curbing the theft of intellectual property, the first detailed study of Chinese hacking has found a sharp in almost daily raids on Silicon Valley firms, military contractors and other commercial targets. But the study, conducted by the iSight intelligence unit of FireEye, a company that manages large network breaches, also concluded that the began a year before Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi announced their accord in the White House Rose Garden. In a conclusion that is largely echoed by American intelligence officials, the study said the change is part of Mr. Xi’s broad effort to bring the Chinese military, which is considered one of the main sponsors of the attacks, further under his control. As a result, the same political forces that may be alleviating the theft of data from American companies are also responsible for Mr. Xi’s stunningly swift crackdown on the Chinese media, bloggers and others who could challenge the Communist Party. “It’s a mixed bag,” said Kevin Mandia, the founder of Mandiant, now part of FireEye, which first detailed the activities of a People’s Liberation Army called Unit 61398, that had been responsible for some of the most highly publicized thefts of American technology. “We still see semiconductor companies and aerospace firms attacked. ” But the daily barrage of attacks has diminished, which Mr. Mandia attributed to “public pressure” from, among others, the Justice Department’s decision to indict five members of the P. L. A. unit about a year after its activities were exposed. Today, Unit 61398 appears to be largely out of business, its hackers dispersed to other military, private and intelligence units. Many China scholars and legal experts remain skeptical that the Chinese are deterred by American indictments, since the P. L. A. officers are unlikely to see the inside of an American courtroom. But John P. Carlin, the assistant attorney general for national security, said the report validated his strategy. “The lesson is that when you figure out who has done this kind of theft, don’t fear making it public,” he said. “This is a slow process, but we are beginning to make people realize that even in cyberspace, laws and norms are applicable. ” Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi drew up their agreement narrowly. It covers intellectual property theft — Chinese cybercriminals have stolen everything from designs for the fighter jet to the design of gas distribution networks — but not ordinary espionage against government targets. So, for example, the administration has not publicly talked about penalizing China for the theft of personal data on roughly 22 million Americans, whose information was taken from the Office of Personnel Management. In fact, the administration has never publicly blamed China for that theft, although the director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr. did talk about China’s role once, before he was told by the administration not to refer to any specific country. As recently as last week, senior administration officials were in Beijing trying to flesh out the agreement between the two presidents. Participants say that among the points of discussion was how to set up a hotline through which the two countries can alert each other to malicious software they have detected in global networks, with the expectation that Chinese and American investigators would work to find its source. Establishing such norms of behavior is far more likely to be effective than attempting to negotiate a treaty, according to outside experts who have been trying to devise the cyberequivalent of agreements. “Treaties are not verifiable in the cyberarena,” said Joseph Nye, a Harvard professor known for his studies of how nations use “soft power,” who in recent years has turned to the problem of regulating activity in cyberspace. “The same code can be benign or a weapon depending on the user’s intent,” he said. For example, a code that unlocks a cellphone is a protection for the user — and a potential weapon for a hacker. “So instead of focusing on the weapons, you have to focus on targets,” Mr. Nye said. “You start by saying that you don’t target something that has a clearly civilian use, like a power grid. ” Mr. Nye and Michael Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland Security during the Bush administration, who now runs a private firm that is deeply involved in cybersecurity, were among the lead authors of a report to be published on Tuesday by the Global Commission on Internet Governance that will describe those norms to the United Nations and other groups. Just how fundamentally the Chinese are changing is a matter of debate. There is some evidence, American intelligence officials say, that while the People’s Liberation Army is not stealing as much on behalf of Chinese firms, much of the hacking activity has been shifted to the intelligence agencies, which can make the case that they are stealing national security secrets, not commercial information. Often, the difference is blurry, especially when the target is, say, the design of a satellite or a ship. Even after Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi announced their agreement last fall, American officials have said they have discovered malware in power grids, cellphone networks and other purely civilian targets. But it is unclear whether that malicious software is intended to collect information about users, shut the system down or both. The FireEye study concluded that as early as 2014, around the time of the indictment of the P. L. A. ’s officers and hackers, the Chinese government had already been modifying its approach to cyberoperations. The study of 72 Chinese hacking groups showed a sharp in the volume of attacks. But as recently as March, FireEye saw efforts to obtain information on American military projects by stealing access credentials to a contractor, and there has been continual theft of personal information from health care providers. The Chinese hacking groups have also focused on targets, including Russia, South Korea and Vietnam, and have sometimes aimed at targets related to the disputes over Chinese claims in the South China Sea. The report concludes that Chinese attacks have decreased in volume, but increased in sophistication. The result is that Chinese hackers are now acting more like Russian hackers: They pick their targets more carefully, and cover their tracks. “We see a threat that is less voluminous but more focused, calculated, and still successful in compromising corporate networks,” the report said. | 1 |
Trump breaks from stump speech to admire ‘beautiful’ Trump mask 11/07/2016
POLITICO
Midway through a stump speech riff lamenting that Hillary Clinton had appeared on stage with less-than-family-friendly musicians like Jay-Z and Beyonce, Donald Trump paused at an election-eve rally in Florida Monday morning to gawk at an attendee’s mask.
“This is different than a Billy Graham crusade, but you know what? We’re all looking for the same thing. We’re looking for greatness for our country. We’re looking for religious liberty,” the Manhattan billionaire said before the rubber Trump mask caught his eye. “Look at this mask. Look at this mask. Oh wow. Wow, that’s beautiful. Look at that. Looks just like me.”
Trump then left the podium for a few seconds as the mask made its way up to the stage. He returned to the microphone and held up the mask next to his own face, before examining it closer. He held it up once more time and joked “nice head of hair, I’ll say that,” before tossing it back.
“Is there any place more fun to be than a Trump rally?” has asked the crowd before resuming his remarks, turning to his proposal to stimulate job growth in the U.S. by placing a tariff on companies who move production out of the country.
The Sarasota, Florida, rally is the first of five for Trump on Monday. From Florida, he will head to events in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Michigan. He will be joined at the final two by his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. | 0 |
Cosmology/ Love & the Afterlife Cosmology/ Love & the Afterlife Date Tuesday - November 22, leading astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium, Neil deGrasse Tyson discussed the latest discoveries and research in astrophysics, and cosmology. Dark matter and dark energy continue to mystify the science and physics community. 85% of the gravity in the universe has no known source, and is attributed to unmeasurable dark matter, while dark energy is a mysterious pressure in the vacuum of space, making the expansion of the universe accelerate, he explained. Regarding the threat of asteroids hitting the Earth, he suggested working on ways to deflect any incoming bodies, rather than mitigating the aftereffects of a disastrous collision.
Our early solar system was a turbulent place that may have had around 30 planets initially, with some colliding into each other. Such a collision was how our moon was formed, when a planet sideswiped Earth, he detailed. Other bodies may have become "vagabond planets" and left our solar system entirely. Interestingly, he noted that such runaway planets zooming through interstellar space could be more common than planets orbiting a star. He also touched on such topics as the Big Bang, the anomalous Tabby's Star, and the evolution of his documentary TV series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey , which revived the brand originally presented by Carl Sagan. | 0 |
Welcome to Watching, The New York Times’s guide. We comb through releases big and small to email readers twice a week with our timely recommendations. You can browse previous guides here, and to receive recommendations straight to your inbox, sign up here. Stay tuned for our upcoming website. I’m still obsessed with a recent and revolting New York mystery: How did 50 crabs wind up on a subway car? It’s so bizarre and deeply gross. I feel like I’m in Act II of “Macbeth,” when everything goes haywire and the horses start eating one another. This weekend I’ll continue indulging my current obsession with Australian TV. I finished “Wentworth” and “Please Like Me,” and now I’m on Season 2 of the political satire “Dreamland. ” If I’m not careful, “Claire” is going to become “ ” in my brain forever. Have a great weekend. Team Watching and I are, as ever, here for you: watching@nytimes. com. “Run Mama Run” (Watch on ESPN) Watch if you like sports stories and being impressed. Sarah Brown is a runner trying to make the U. S. Olympic team just 16 weeks after giving birth. “Run Mama Run,” a web series about her, is fascinating, and the final episode is still in production, since the Olympic track and field trials wrap up Sunday. Beyond the sheer athleticism depicted in “Run,” the series also nods at that unusual spot in culture that Brown occupies: Industry upon industry is built around telling women, especially mothers, what they’re doing wrong. We also venerate athletes to the point that we don’t see them as real people — thus allowing us to obsess over their choices in ways that would be creepy and unacceptable for just a private citizen. And there’s Brown, right in the center. “The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth,” Sunday, Showtime, 8 p. m. (The first 13 episodes are also on Showtime Anytime.) Watch if you like political dogfights. At this point in the election cycle, some would rather set their hair on fire than continue engaging with the aspects of the campaign. Others, though, are just getting fired up. If you are in the latter group, this is for you. The pundits Mark Halperin and John Heilemann (they wrote the book “Game Change,” among other things) focus on the mechanics, the strategy, the players — and barely on the actual platforms, which makes the show feel juicy and rather than like a lecture. The show has a quick turnaround, too, sometimes including footage filmed just days earlier, so it doesn’t seem dated. “The Circus” aired half its season earlier this year, but if you’ve been following the news generally, you don’t need to “catch up. ” “The Night Of,” Sunday, 10 p. m. HBO (the first episode is now available on HBO Go) Watch if you like gripping — but devastating — crime stories. After a strange night of partying, a young named Naz finds himself arrested on a charge of murder. The limited series is based on the British show “Criminal Justice,” which is so intense and absorbing that I’m not sure I ever fully recovered after watching it a few years ago. (It’s not streaming anymore, alas.) Initially, this adaptation was supposed to star James Gandolfini as Naz’s lawyer that role has been recast with John Turturro, though he doesn’t show up much in the pilot. “The Night Of” follows Naz through Rikers Island, then through his trial, which becomes a news media lightning rod. It’s not that anything groundbreaking is happening here, but what is happening is done so well. (Read The New York Times review.) “The Last Alaskans” (Watch on Hulu) Watch if you like thrilling landscapes. I’ve mentioned this show here before, when Season 2 premiered this spring. But Season 1 is now streaming, and a show this beautiful and distinctive deserves another mention. “Alaskans” is a documentary series about the last families allowed to live in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and it is utterly unlike all those other reality shows it’s not particularly and there are long stretches of silence and contemplation. The camerawork is astounding, capturing both the immediate concerns of the human subjects and the gaping indifference of the wilderness around them. If this sets you on an Alaska kick, try the web series “Indie Alaska,” too, which is charming and quirky and educational. Three cineastes — the directors Robin Hardy, Michael Cimino and Abbas Kiarostami — died within a few days of one another this weekend. I’ve chosen a single movie for each that you can watch while you pour one out for these filmmakers. — Monica Castillo : Kiarostami, an Iranian filmmaker and one of the greats of world cinema, was known for his humanistic approach to characters and for blurring the space between real life and fiction. In his 1990 docudrama, “” Kiarostami does both. The film tells the story of a man on trial for trying to pass himself off as a famous director. To make it even more interesting, Kiarostami cast the actual family that was conned by the man on trial. This quiet, brisk film runs just a little over an hour and a half. (Rent on Amazon and iTunes stream on Hulu with your subscription) Heaven’s Gate: “The Deer Hunter” is the obvious Cimino movie. And for good reason. De Niro, Streep, Walken, Cazale! Unfortunately, that film is not streaming anywhere. So try this one instead. Cimino’s much maligned third movie — it is often referred to as the film that brought down the United Artists studio — has enjoyed a renaissance since the release of a new restoration in 2012. The story follows a lawman struggling to bring his territory to order when wealthy cattle barons declare war on immigrant settlers. Carve out an afternoon (this is a long one) to take in this sweeping dark 1980 western starring Kris Kristofferson, Isabelle Huppert and Jeff Bridges. “Heaven’s Gate” manages to capture both the grandeur and unblinking brutality of the West. (Rent on Amazon and iTunes) The Wicker Man: A religious police officer travels to a remote British island in search of a missing girl, but what he finds is a mysterious and alluring pagan community. This 1973 Hardy film is one of the greats of British horror. Be warned — there are a surprising number of folk songs. (Rent on Amazon and iTunes) • This video of Stephen Colbert describing the night he met his wife is romantic, erudite and beautiful. (The Late Show) • Allison Janney talks “Mom,” “Masters of Sex” and, thank God, a little “West Wing. ” (The New York Times Magazine) • This isn’t really TV related, but holy smokes: “Meet Walburga, the Married Woman Who Hid a Secret Lover in Her Attic for a Decade. ” Aaaaah! (KQED) | 1 |
“Maybe I should run for president,” Denzel Washington joked, sitting down to a late breakfast in Midtown Manhattan last week, before immediately issuing a retraction. He had arrived in the States a few hours earlier from London, where he had been promoting his movie “Fences,” and also talking about what everyone was talking about: the politics of the day. Mr. Washington told the Bagger he understood the surge of anger that had fueled Brexit and President Trump’s ascendence, and now he wanted to talk solutions. But first, he wanted grapefruit juice and eggs. He had squeezed in a few hours of and ambled into the Park Hyatt’s restaurant looking a little rumpled still. After settling in, he also discovered two holes in his big woolly gray sweater. As commanding a presence as his onscreen personas suggest, Mr. Washington, who is 62, also carries a hint of the professor. This is the same fellow, after all, who showed up to accept a lifetime achievement award at last year’s Golden Globes having forgotten both his speech and his glasses. But Hollywood adores Mr. Washington, who, armed with charisma and that killer smile, effortlessly charmed the Globes crowd anyway. Promoting his movie, Mr. Washington has been pushing to elevate awareness of August Wilson, the Pulitzer playwright who wrote “Fences” and adapted it for film. Mr. Washington also has strong opinions on the political turmoil that, invariably, has come to dominate the awards season. Mr. Trump’s presidency was a result of people’s frustrations, Mr. Washington said, but the focus now has to be on finding people work and bridging the bitter national divide. “We can’t just say, ‘We’re right, you’re wrong.’ You can be angry the next four years, and so what?” Mr. Washington said. “Don’t confuse movement with progress. It can lead to progress it’s a vital part of progress. But it still has to be, ‘What are we going to do about it? ’” Mr. Washington certainly has the platform to speak out. In January, he received his seventh Oscar nomination for acting, further cementing a Hollywood royalty status that needed no help. The latest nomination, for his lead turn in “Fences,” was roundly expected, as were the movie’s other nominations, for best film (Mr. Washington was a producer) best adapted screenplay and best supporting actress, for Viola Davis, who is considered a lock to win. But Mr. Washington’s peers delivered a whopping surprise last month at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which usually foretell Oscar winners. Throughout the season, Casey Affleck has been scooping up best actor prizes for his performance in “Manchester by the Sea,” and he was predicted to collect the guild’s trophy, too. Instead, it went to Mr. Washington, who took the stage wagging his head in disbelief, before deploying a winning strategy — disarm them, then own them. “I’m a man, I’m supposed to have faith but I didn’t have faith,” he noted onstage. “I said, ‘Well, you know that young boy’s going to win, Denzel, you ain’t gonna win.’ So I didn’t even prepare. ” Then, he listed America’s most famous playwrights, making clear who he believes merit inclusion in the pantheon. “Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Eugene O’Neill, Edward Albee, August Wilson,” he said. Set in the 1950s, “Fences” centers on Troy Maxson (Mr. Washington) a baseball great and garbage collector, and his homemaker wife, Rose, played by Ms. Davis. Onscreen, Mr. Washington and Ms. Davis share a rich, affectionate familiarity, for good reason: They starred in the play’s 2010 revival, a Broadway smash that landed each of them a Tony Award. “Fences” is the sixth of Mr. Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle,” which explores lives in each decade of the 20th century. Mr. Washington is working on bringing the remaining nine plays to the screen, for HBO, a plan no doubt helped by the success of “Fences”: It has earned $54 million domestically so far. After meeting the Bagger, he was off to see Ruben the actor, director and playwright, who had written a first pass at a script for one play in the cycle, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. ” “As a custodian of August Wilson’s estate, in terms of his plays, it’s important for me to promote ‘Fences’ to the hilt,” Mr. Washington said. (He is producing the plays in collaboration with the estate.) “Not for me to win an award, but for it to be as successful on every level so that we can make the rest of them, you know? No business, no show. ” Getting “Fences” to the screen was a ordeal. It was optioned in the late ’80s but was delayed partly because Mr. Wilson insisted on having an director. Mr. Wilson died of cancer in 2005, at 60, and four years later, the powerhouse producer Scott Rudin, who had by then acquired the film rights, sent the screenplay to Mr. Washington, wanting him to star in and direct it. Mr. Washington replied that he wanted to perform it onstage first, so Mr. Rudin made it happen. “I think Denzel is by a mile the greatest living American actor,” Mr. Rudin wrote in an email, and added, “There is no movie of ‘Fences’ without him — just as there was no way to present it onstage without him. ” Throughout the run, audiences routinely made clear their intense connection with Mr. Washington, hissing at him when his character’s infallibilities were made plain: “Denzel, how could you?” It would take nearly five more years for Mr. Washington to feel ready to tackle the film. Four of the five main actors had appeared onstage with him, too — “We’re a tight band, we know the music,” he said — including Ms. Davis, a given. “This is where the actor meets the role,” he said. “I hope she has other great roles. But this is the role. ” (The Bagger asked about Ms. Davis’s rawest scene, where, as she weeps, thick snot runs from her nose. Mr. Washington said he had thought about digitally removing it but concluded that Wilson showed ordinary people, warts and all. “Why clean it up?” he asked.) Did he share Mr. Wilson’s belief that the film could have had only a black director? “You have to be able to understand the culture,” he replied. “Scorsese could have directed ‘Schindler’s List,’ but there’s a cultural difference. This is rooted specifically in culture. ” Had the film come out a year earlier, it would have possibly reshaped Oscars history. Last year, controversy erupted again after all of the nominated actors ended up being, for the second year in a row, white. Yet Mr. Washington said, fervently, that the success of “Fences,” “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight,” which also have Oscar nominations and black stars, cannot be viewed as, or reduced to, correctives to #OscarsSoWhite. “They call Wilson the American Shakespeare,” he said. “He’s not fulfilling any quota. ” And as important as it is for people to speak up, Mr. Washington said, it’s just as important for black artists to keep striving for that breakthrough. “You’ve got to keep plugging you’ve got to keep working at it, you’ve got to keep writing,” he said. “There’s an old saying: ‘If it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage. ’” | 1 |
“Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland says her skinny appearance lately is due to a medical condition. [The says in a social media post that critics have accused her of promoting anorexia in pictures she’s posted. Without being specific, Hyland says she has “basically been on bed rest for the past few months” and has lost muscle mass. She says her face is swollen from medication that is saving her life. She adds that she strives “to be as healthy as possible” but hasn’t “had the greatest year. ” Hyland stars as Lisa Houseman in ABC’s TV movie remake of “Dirty Dancing. ” My story as of now. Part 1. pic. twitter. — Sarah Hyland (@Sarah_Hyland) May 24, 2017, Part 2 pic. twitter. — Sarah Hyland (@Sarah_Hyland) May 24, 2017, | 1 |
The New York Times waited until President Donald Trump was safely aloft in Air Force One before publishing its latest “scoop”: that the president told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in their private meeting on May 10 that former FBI James Comey was a “nut job. ”[The Times reports that Trump’s remarks were contained in “a document summarizing the meeting,” which it had not obtained but “which was read to The New York Times by an American official. ” The headline on the Times story claims: “Trump Told Russians That Firing ‘Nut Job’ Comey Eased Pressure From Investigation. ” However, that is not what Trump actually said, according to the remarks as reported by the Times. The Times quotes Trump as follows: “I just fired the head of the F. B. I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” Mr. Trump said, according to the document, which was read to The New York Times by an American official. “I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off. ” Mr. Trump added, “I’m not under investigation. ” Trump appears to be referring to “pressure” in foreign policy. At no point does he say he felt any legal pressure. The Times includes a comment from White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who does not dispute that Trump made the comment, but attempts to explain the context: “By grandstanding and politicizing the investigation into Russia’s actions, James Comey created unnecessary pressure on our ability to engage and negotiate with Russia. ” The Times does not report what else may have been in the document, which would appear to have been classified. The Times used the same dubious methods in reporting Tuesday that President Trump had “asked” Comey to end the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. In that story, the Times relied on a Comey “associate” who read from a purported memorandum by Comey, which the newspaper never obtained or verified itself. And it spun Trump’s words as a “request,” when Trump had, in fact, merely said: “I hope you can let this go. ” CNN, predictably, convened a panel of experts immediately after the story was published, all of whom agreed that the Times story provided “bombshell” evidence of obstruction of justice. Spicer also told the Times: “The investigation would have always continued, and obviously, the termination of Comey would not have ended it. Once again, the real story is that our national security has been undermined by the leaking of private and highly classified conversations. ” Joel B. Pollak is Senior at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak. | 1 |
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is seeking to bar allies of Hillary Clinton from leading the powerful rules and platform committees of the Democratic National Convention in July, escalating his battle with party leaders. In a letter sent on Friday to party officials, lawyers for Mr. Sanders said that the appointments of Barney Frank, the former Massachusetts congressman, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut violated party rules. Mr. Frank is to the rules committee, and Mr. Malloy the platform committee. In the letter, Mr. Sanders’s lawyer Brad Deutsch said that both men have been “harsh, vocal critics of Senator Sanders, and equally active supporters of his challenger, Hillary Clinton. ” Mr. Frank has called Mr. Sanders “outrageously McCarthyite” for his suggesting that Mrs. Clinton would be influenced by her speaking fees from Wall Street Mr. Malloy has led efforts among Clinton allies to attack Mr. Sanders’s record on gun control. Under convention rules, Mr. Deutsch said in the letter, their open criticism of Mr. Sanders made them unfit to the committees. “Their criticisms of Senator Sanders have gone beyond dispassionate ideological disagreement and have exposed a deeper professional, political and personal hostility toward the senator and his campaign,” Mr. Deutsch wrote. “The chairs therefore cannot be relied upon to perform their convention duties fairly and capably while laboring under such deeply held bias. ” Democratic officials replied on Saturday morning with a letter from Jim Roosevelt, a retired health insurance executive, and Lorraine C. Miller, who head the party’s permanent rules and bylaws committee. They said the appointments did not violate party rules, and that Mr. Sanders had not demonstrated otherwise. The question of Mr. Frank’s and Mr. Malloy’s qualifications had been settled in January, when they were first appointed, Ms. Miller and Mr. Roosevelt wrote, and there is no mechanism to revisit it. “We are compelled to dismiss it,” they said. Mr. Sanders’s efforts to disqualify the Clinton backers mark his latest bid to ensure that his ideas and supporters are well represented at the convention in July. And his battles with Clinton supporters have become increasingly bitter. This month, Sanders supporters erupted in protest at a state party meeting in Nevada, with some threatening the party’s chairwoman there in a dispute over the selection of convention delegates. Mr. Sanders is preparing a major push to influence the party’s formal platform, and Mr. Frank and Mr. Malloy will each wield substantial power over that process. Mr. Deutsch’s letter indicates that if necessary, Mr. Sanders will take his battle over the credentials of Mr. Frank and Mr. Malloy to the convention in Philadelphia. Both men were chosen in January by Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, who has clashed with Mr. Sanders over her scheduling of primary debates and, more recently, his supporters’ attacks on other Democratic leaders. | 1 |
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The Obama Department of Justice has been corruptly aiding and abetting the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, to escape legal accountability for her actions. From Attorney General Loretta Lynch on down through the Justice Department’s political ranks, the Department has blocked the FBI from searching for the truth and following the evidence of potential criminality to its logical conclusion. Whether it is Hillary’s use of a private e-mail server while serving as Secretary of State or her involvement in the pay-for-play Clinton enterprise known as the Clinton Foundation, the Obama administration is applying a banana republic-style double standard to pervert justice and the rule of law in order to shield her.
Lynch and President Obama were reportedly furious with FBI Director James Comey for sending a letter to Congress on October 28 th indicating that new evidence potentially pertinent to the e-mail case had come to light, which required further investigation. This evidence consisted of a batch of e-mails FBI investigators had found on one or more computers belonging to Anthony Weiner, Clinton confidante Huma Abedin’s estranged husband, while they were searching for evidence in an unrelated case involving Weiner’s alleged sexting to an underage girl. Comey sent his letter after months of agonizing over his previous decision to let Hillary off the hook in the e-mail case last July. He was said by a source close to him to have been particularly disturbed by the mounting number of resignation letters from FBI agents who felt betrayed by that decision.
Department of Justice officials had leaned on Comey not to send the letter to Congress, claiming that it would violate Department protocols and procedures against taking any action that could be perceived as interfering with the upcoming presidential election. To his credit, Comey ignored the Department officials’ objections, claiming he had an obligation to keep the Congress and the public informed of any potentially significant new developments in the case.
Democrats, who had lavished praise on Comey for his July decision, lashed out at Comey for sending his letter updating Congress. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid went so far as to make the baseless charge that Comey may have violated the law by informing Congress, because, Reid argued, he appeared to be taking sides in an election. The disgraced former Attorney General Eric Holder, held in contempt of Congress for withholding information relating to the Fast and Furious scandal, said about Comey’s action, “I fear he has unintentionally and negatively affected public trust in both the Justice Department and the FBI. It is up to the director to correct his mistake — not for the sake of a political candidate or campaign but in order to protect our system of justice and best serve the American people.”
Since when has Holder been genuinely concerned about protecting our system of justice and best serving the American people? Holder had already contributed to the erosion of public trust, with his blatant politicization of the Obama Department of Justice. As evidenced by the Obama Department of Justice’s handling of the multiple FBI investigations involving Hillary Clinton, the Department has continued its slide into the muck of corruption. It interfered with both the normal course of criminal investigations and the election by stacking the deck in Hillary’s favor, ensuring that no indictment would occur to derail her path to succeed Obama and preserve his legacy.
First, the Department of Justice reportedly refused to empanel a grand jury in either the e-mail case or in connection with the FBI’s investigation of the Clinton Foundation pay-for-play allegations. “The problem here is this investigation was never a real investigation,” former assistant FBI director James Kallstrom said . “That’s the problem. They never had a grand jury empanelled, and the reason they never had a grand jury empanelled, I’m sure, is Loretta Lynch would not go along with that.”
Kallstrom’s belief that Lynch acted to influence the results of the FBI probes in Hillary’s favor is buttressed by Lynch’s 30 minute private tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton shortly before FBI Director Comey faced the cameras on July 5 th with his exculpatory announcement.
Second, at least five immunity agreements were handed out in the e-mail case, including to Hillary’s lawyer and confidante Cheryl Mills and to Platte River Networks’ Paul Combetta. It appears that Combetta had previously lied to government investigators – a crime in itself – while trying to cover up the fact that he had evidently Bleachbited e-mails to delete them, even though they had been subject to a previously issued Congressional subpoena. The immunity agreements garnered nothing in return, but had the effect of blocking access to the computer devices of the immunity beneficiaries in the FBI’s separate Clinton Foundation investigation. Apparently, the Department decided against the alternative option of subpoenaing the computer devices or seeking a search warrant, rather than granting useless immunities, in order to obtain any evidence relevant to the e-mail investigation that might have been contained in those devices.
Third, the Department and FBI did not conduct their last minute interview of Hillary Clinton under oath and allowed Cheryl Mills – herself a material witness – to sit in during Hillary’s interview. They did not ask pertinent follow-up questions. There was no verbatim transcript of the interview to use in checking the veracity of Hillary’s statements during the interview against her sworn Congressional testimony or her many public statements.
Fourth, the Department of Justice reportedly refused to allow the FBI to issue subpoenas to gather more evidence in connection with its investigation of the Clinton Foundation pay-for-play allegations. In fact, senior Department officials reportedly would not authorize a more thorough FBI investigation because they claimed there was not sufficient evidence gathered thus far to justify going further. Such a circular argument was a mere cover to prevent seasoned career investigators from learning the full extent of foreign government donations while Hillary was Secretary of State, their true motivations and any favors extended by the State Department in return.
Finally, the cross-connections between the Clintons and some high level Department of Justice and FBI officials cry out for recusal. But not so in this administration. For example, the wife of the deputy FBI director who was involved in the laggard Clinton Foundation investigation, Andrew McCabe, just happened to have received a large donation from close Clinton ally Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to her 2015 run for the State Senate.
To make matters worse, the Obama Department of Justice assigned Assistant Attorney General Peter J. Kadzik, a close friend of Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta, to communicate with Congress about what Kadzik promised would be a “thorough” review of the newly discovered e-mails from Anthony Weiner’s online account.
Podesta praised Kadzik in an e-mail to an Obama campaign official back in 2008 as a “Fantastic lawyer,” and said about his pal, “Kept me out of jail.” Their history together goes further back than that. During the waning days of Bill Clinton’s presidency, it was Kadzik, then representing the infamous billionaire fugitive Marc Rich, who lobbied Podesta, then serving as Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, for a presidential pardon on his client’s behalf. Kadzik’s lobbying effort, no doubt helped along by contributions to Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign and to Bill Clinton’s presidential library, paid off. Bill Clinton delivered the requested pardon on his last day in office.
Kadzik joined the Department of Justice in April 2013, first as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, and then as the Principal Deputy. With the Podesta connection intact, Kadzik has served as a highly placed Clinton campaign mole in the Department. An e-mail dated May 19, 2015 from Kadzik to Podesta, released by WikiLeaks , proves the point. Bearing the subject heading “Heads Up,” Kadzik advised Podesta about upcoming Congressional testimony by the head of the Department’s Civil Division, and about another filing in the Freedom of Information case that would mean “it will be awhile (2016) before the State Department posts the emails.” Podesta forwarded Kadzik’s heads up e-mail to several senior Hillary Clinton campaign officials with the admonition: “Additional chances for mischief.”
Exploiting his coordinating role in the re-opened e-mail investigation and contacts with FBI investigators, Kadzik will now be in a position to relay inside information to his pal Podesta and to provide inside information to the Clinton campaign’s supporters in Congress as well.
The Clintons manage to turn virtually everything they touch into a cesspool of corruption. The Obama Department of Justice is no exception. | 0 |
Same people all the time , i dont know how you can fix this corruption http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/10_09_01_krongard.html | 0 |
For those of us too ensnared in the Trumpster fire to pay attention to anything substantive, a majorly screwed up thing was happening to our fighting men and women. The LA Times broke the story that the Department of Defense has been ordering almost 10,000 one-time National Guardsmen from California to pay back enlistment bonuses due to an error over a decade ago. Horror stories began pouring in of soldiers being notified that they MUST pay back the money or face wage garnishments, tax liens and interest charges.
This, of course, prompted the Obama administration to take immediate action while our do-nothing Republican Congress focuses on such important issues as defunding Obamacare.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced today that the Pentagon will suspend efforts to recoup bonuses overpaid to troops more than a decade ago. “There is no more important responsibility for the Department of Defense than keeping faith with our people. That means treating them fairly and equitably, honoring their service and sacrifice, and keeping our word,” Carter added.
Of course, Republicans love to wear the biggest flag pins they can find and feign love for the troops come reelection time, but really put their words into action. This might explain why they did NOTHING to stop this.
It seems the California National Guard told the state’s members of Congress two years ago that the Pentagon was making every effort at taking back its promised re-enlistment bonuses from thousands of soldiers. In fact, the California National Guard went so far as to develop a plan to assuage the problem. However, being the greedy do-nothing leaches that they are, the Republican-led Congress didn’t lift a finger.
Once again, the Obama Administration is forced to step in and help the very people Republicans claim to love so much.
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Bernie Sanders: Now More Than Ever, It's Our Revolution Share on Facebook Tweet
The Senator from Vermont remains optimistic about the country's future, and urges citizens to become more deeply involved in the political process. [watch video below] | 0 |
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Recently the National Border Patrol Council endorsed candidate Doug Applegate as representative for California. In this surprising endorsement, immigration expert Andy Ramirez examines Applegate's stance on immigration policy. His findings will leave you scratching your head as to why the NBPC has decided to stand behind him.
Applegate is running against incumbent Representative Darrell Issa, who has historically been tied to controversy.
Order Your Reprint of Working Together to Rewrite the Constitution | 0 |
By Nick Bernabe at theantimedia.org
The 2016 election has been one for the record books. Somehow, two of the most reviled people in the United States have become the frontrunners for the most powerful job in the country — and the world.
On one hand, there is Donald Trump , the compulsively lying demagogic womanizing egomaniacal billionaire. On the other hand, there is Hillary Clinton, the infinitely corrupt influence peddling war-starter who allegedly cheated her way to the top of the Democratic Party while leaving a number of victims in her wake.
A significant portion of young people would actually prefer that a giant, apocalyptic meteor hit the earth rather than see Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump elected president.
It’s not all bad, though — at least when it comes to the creative art that has been inspired by this nightmare of an election. One such example is “Dillary Trumplon,” a recently released rap song written and performed by Blaise Guerra that’s starting to go viral on social media. From Trump’s demagoguery to Hillary’s war mongering, Guerra leaves no stone unturned.
Listen to the song for yourself, then check out our interview with Blaise below (his responses have been slightly edited and condensed for clarity).
AM: What inspired you to make this song? Blaise: I was inspired to make the song because I felt very disenfranchised by the way Bernie Sanders sparked such an incredible movement but was completely ignored by the media and given no shot. Yet according to Election Justice USA , without the primaries being fixed, Sanders could have won by a landslide. I felt so cheated when he lost. I knew the Democratic establishment had completely undermined the meaning of democracy and stolen the nomination from him. | 0 |
The LPWAN: The Future of Powering the IoT? November 4, 2016 Google + As the predictions for the number of IoT devices worldwide edges into the billions, the question is becoming less about whether and how to connect devices, and more about how to sustain so many devices on existing networks.
Connectivity is a key to the function of the IoT, so many engineers are working on alternatives for getting data from point A to point B. But sustaining those billions of connections requires a wireless technology that can handle long distances, use minimal power, and cost less than what is being used for IoT devices now.
Currently, short-range wireless connectivity isn’t necessarily an issue, as connectivity technology like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and Z-Wave. Longer range connectivity is effectively managed by 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE, with 5G wireless not too far off in the future. However, these tools for long-range wireless connectivity are not designed for the typical IoT device, that doesn’t require the same amount of power as a cellphone or other mobile device. These tools are better suited for larger devices, that contain larger batteries and can be regularly recharged, rather than a smaller, sensor-based device that either doesn’t have a battery or has a very small battery that cannot be recharged, or doesn’t need recharging on a regular basis.
As developers continue to create devices using efficient, low-power microcontrollers and applications , it’s becoming increasingly clear that connectivity also needs to focus on implementing lower power options as well. Current connectivity options for IoT devices eat up too much battery life. One potential solution that is getting a lot of attention is a new kind of low-power, long-range wireless network: Low-Power WAN (LPWAN). ‘Help Us, LPWAN, You’re Our Only Hope’
LPWAN may not be the only hope for a solution for the power problems facing the IoT, but it is showing the most potential.
The idea of LPWAN is not a new one, either. Typically designed for machine-to-machine networking environments, LPWANs have lower power requirements in addition to a longer range, at a lower cost, than traditional wireless connectivity options. As a result, LPWAN is believed to be a better choice for IoT applications, since it transfers data at lower rates while also reducing power consumption. Since most home equipment offers more bandwidth than the typical IoT device needs, it uses more power than necessary, but a LPWAN network allows for more devices to be connected over a larger area, and offers improved machine-to-machine communication.
LPWANs also offer a longer range of connectivity than the usual home solutions, such as Wi-Fi — in some cases, the connectivity even extends for miles. This allows for connections at longer distances, which is important for the operation of some IoT devices. Drawbacks to the LPWAN
While the LPWAN holds a great deal of promise for the IoT going forward, there are some drawbacks. For starters, LPWAN technology was not initially designed for the IoT, so there is some question as to how it will actually work for IoT-connected devices in the long term. Because there are still questions about how to design devices to be as low-power as possible, there is no guarantee that LPWAN will end out as the best solution.
There are also questions about how useful LPWANs will be once 5G technology is released; in other words, will 5G be able to handle the needs of the IoT better than any existing technology now? Not to mention, the idea of an LPWAN is relatively new, so there isn’t truly enough data to support claims about their cost, data rate, and battery life in terms of IoT devices. As more applications are deployed on the networks, it will be easier to see whether they can handle large-scale deployment and handle IoT applications effectively, but for now there are still questions.
The explosion of the IoT is creating new challenges for companies that are still exploring the technologies and skills necessary to make everything work. However, choosing the right wireless network for connected devices is one of the most important priorities for any company, as they attempt to balance the myriad conflicting requirements. So for now, then, it appears that LPWAN has the most potential as a solution for wireless connectivity, and will be the best option for the foreseeable future. | 0 |
LONDON — For those blithely inclined toward the view that Britain would somehow find a way to sever its relationship with the European Union free of drama or financial consequences — like canceling a car rental reservation, with a tad more paperwork — Friday was a sobering day of reckoning. As the British pound plunged some 6 percent against the American dollar in the span of two minutes in early trading in Asia, the markets offered a reminder that divorce tends to be messy, expensive and laced with uncertainties. It rarely ends happily. The selling was so frenzied and swift that those who swap currencies for a living spoke of computerized transactions going haywire, rogue algorithms at work or a data entry error. The drop in the value of the pound appeared excessive, and it soon recovered some losses, though the British currency was down about 17 percent — around 25 cents — since June 23, the day Britain voted to abandon Europe. More than anything, though, the precipitous drop seemed to attest to an increasingly unmistakable reality: Britain’s vote to exit the European Union — Brexit, in common parlance — has put its commercial relationships with the world on uncertain and potentially perilous ground. That poses risks for the British economy, making its money less attractive to hold. “The world believes that the U. K. is going to be poorer in the future, and find it more expensive to trade,” said Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, an independent research institution in London. “Essentially, the world is betting against the pound. ” And against the British economy. The immediate cause of the plunge appeared to be a speech by the French president, François Hollande, on Thursday evening in Paris, in which he endorsed the view that Britain must be forced to swallow unpalatable terms of departure to discourage other European Union members from eyeing the exits. “The U. K. has decided to do a Brexit, I believe even a hard Brexit,” Mr. Hollande said. “Well, then, we must go all the way through the U. K.’s willingness to leave the E. U. We have to have this firmness. “If not,” he continued, “we would jeopardize the fundamental principles of the E. U. Other countries would want to leave the E. U. to get the supposed advantages without the obligations. ” Hard Brexit, Soft Brexit, Brexit Over Easy. No one really knows what these terms mean (and the last one is made up). But, crudely, they divide potential outcomes into the ones in which Britain maintains effective inclusion within Europe’s single market — a realm sprawling from Ireland to Romania, holding some 500 million people — and the ones in which Britain winds up outside. Mr. Hollande’s line echoed a speech given by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany earlier that day. The week began with an admission from Britain’s new Conservative prime minister, Theresa May, that access to the European market is likely to be a casualty of Britain’s pursuit of a primary aspiration expressed in the Brexit vote: imposing limits on immigration. European leaders have been resolute that free movement of people across the borders of member nations is a nonnegotiable cost of admission in the common market. But Brexiteers had steadfastly maintained the illusion that Britain could have it both ways — that it could retain access to the European market while still controlling immigration. In destroying that idea, the prime minister’s admission badly rattled the markets. The stakes are considerable. Britain ships nearly half its exports to other European Union members. The giants of global banking have turned London into a financial center rivaling New York, using hubs here to extend their reach across the rest of the European market. Investment has poured into Britain from around the world, as major manufacturers have set up factories so they can sell their wares across Europe without incurring tariffs. To one degree or another — and no one really knows how much — Brexit puts all of this in play. Negotiations between Britain and Europe are expected to commence sometime early next year. Whatever settlement results must be ratified by the remaining members of the European Union, meaning that Britain’s economic prospects are now tethered to the vagaries of domestic politics in 27 other countries. None of these risks were unforeseen. During a fractious campaign leading up to the referendum, great reams of paper were released sketching out the potential effects on the British economy should voters opt to leave. Reports varied on details and degree, but they nearly unanimously concluded that Brexit would entail economic pain. The British Treasury surveyed the trading arrangements the government might strike with Europe after a Brexit vote and concluded it could lop some 6. 2 percent off the gross domestic product by 2030. That would leave the average household worse off by about 4, 300 pounds a year (at the current, depressed exchange rate, about $5, 300). But those campaigning to leave dismissed such talk as fearmongering. They described a swashbuckling and reinvigorated Britain that would break free from a stagnating Europe — the land of unemployed children moving in with their parents — to instead focus on improving trade with countries like China, India and the United States. Since the vote, those who urged leaving Europe have pointed to the facts that the sun still rises and the earth still spins to declare validation. Even as the pound has fallen against the dollar, consumer spending has generally held up along with employment. Economic growth has yet to be hit. Boutiques and restaurants in London remain packed. Some have focused on the upsides of a declining pound, which makes British exports cheaper on world markets and renders Britain a more affordable tourist destination. But this misses the fact that nearly of the goods and services consumed in Britain are imported. In dollar terms, the price of those goods and services is spiking. Eventually, economists assume, this inflation will work its way through the economy, further depressing growth by crimping consumer spending and potentially sowing unemployment. During the campaign, those in favor of leaving offered assurance that, whatever resulted, Britain would ultimately secure a beneficial trade deal with Europe. Germany sells vast quantities of cars to British consumers, giving it every incentive to keep trade flowing unimpeded by tariffs. As the largest economy in the union, Germany would hold the cards. But in her speech on Thursday, Ms. Merkel took direct aim at that argument, telling a gathering of industry leaders that any wavering on the principle of free movement of people would pose “a systemic challenge for the entire European Union. ” The sudden plummeting of the pound appeared to signal that investors were absorbing the intricacies of this dynamic, and seeing through the Brexiteers’ claims that Britain could impose limits on immigration while also negotiating a settlement with Europe that would maintain access to the common market. Boris Johnson, the former London mayor who campaigned for leaving the European Union and is now foreign secretary, managed last week to maintain the government line while simultaneously making fun of the charade. “Our policy is having our cake and eating it,” he told the British tabloid, The Sun. But on Sunday, as Prime Minister May addressed a gathering of her governing Conservative Party in Birmingham, she essentially dumped the cake in the bin. “We have voted to leave the European Union and become a fully independent, sovereign country,” Mrs. May declared. “We will do what independent, sovereign countries do. We will decide for ourselves how we control immigration. ” In short, a “hard Brexit” appeared to be in Britain’s future. “Somehow, a whole combination of people were in denial up until now,” said Adam S. Posen, a former member of the committee at the Bank of England, and now president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “There were the people who thought Brexit would be reversed,” he continued. “There were the people who delusionally thought there would be a soft Brexit, and all the northern Europeans would be nice to them. And there were people who believed that this crew in charge of the British negotiations were somehow going to strike a good deal. All of the delusions have run out of material. ” | 1 |
It’s difficult to comprehend, but an estimated 20% of kids in the United States of America live in poverty. In 2014, 13 million lived in food insecure households, meaning they weren’t sure when food... | 0 |
By Christina Sarich Jordan — You’ve already heard of solar panels that can sustainably provide energy, but what about an ultra-high tech solar panel that can provide doubly-pure, twice distilled... | 0 |
Several initiatives have launched to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other indigenous people resisting construction of the Dakota Access pipeline on their land.
First and foremost, the Sacred Stone Camp established by Standing Rock has an official page for funding the water, propane, food, blankets, and other needs of the camp.
Sacred Stone also has a legal defense fund to help defend those engaged in peaceful prayer and nonviolent direction, who are targeted and attacked by police.
The Standing Rock Medic and Healer Council was on the ground to assist hundreds of water protectors on Backwater Sunday, when police assaulted them on a highway bridge with a water cannon, tear gas, concussion grenades, rubber bullets, and threatened them with a sound cannon. The Council has an Amazon “wish list” of items needed to continue to provide such assistance to the water protectors.
Photo by Leslie Peterson
Also, as the water protectors prepare for much colder weather in North Dakota, the Council is raising funds for wool blankets, emergency blankets, wool socks, wool thermal underwear, hand warmers, safety goggles, trauma kits, straw bales, and firewood. They are accepting donations to provide herbal remedies to water protectors. Anyone with vehicles that could be used for responding to medical emergencies is encouraged to donate their vehicles.
On top of that, funds for the Council will go toward “winter infrastructure needs.” The funds will be used for “climate-controlled storage of medic supplies” and for “emergency contingency supply funds.”
A supply list shows the array of items the encampment needs, including propane, gas cards, paint, ropes, and heavy duty canvas or tarps.
The Red Warrior Camp is also an encampment on the front lines of the resistance to the pipeline. The camp is working to secure their encampment through the winter so it can “continue to protect the Mni Sose River in sovereign Lakota Territory.” The Camp has a legal defense fund as well.
As noted, the name of the people commonly referred to as the Sioux is Oceti Sakowin, which means Seven Council Fires. The Oceti Sakowin have a camp that is on the front lines preparing for winter. They are collecting donations to build lodges and keep everyone in the camp safe and warm.
The Indian Country Today Media Network highlighted the Indigenous Environmental Network , which is a nonprofit focused on advocacy for environmental issues affecting Standing Rock and other indigenous people; EarthJustice, which is a law firm representing the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their efforts to protect the water from pipeline destruction;
B Yellowtail has a fundraiser, where people can buy “Protector” t-shirts. All proceeds go to Standing Rock. Similarly, actress Shailene Woodley’s “Up To Us” organization produced an “I Stand With Standing Rock” t-shirt. Funds raised go to solidarity efforts by the organization.
Sacred Stone Camp does not want anyone to show up to the camp without coordinating with leaders of the camp beforehand, however, anyone willing to contribute their time, energy, and labor to helping water protectors maintain the camp and prepare for winter is welcome. The camp believes it is important for white allies to recognize their privilege and take risks in solidarity. They also need assistance in the kitchens and with chopping wood, etc. They encourage people to register to come stay at the camp for a one-week period .
Those who do not have money to give should not be concerned they cannot show solidarity and help the water protectors. Informing friends, family, and colleagues of what is going on with pipeline resistance is an excellent way to show solidarity. The Sacred Stone Camp also consistently shares ways to help on their Facebook page, sometimes including phone numbers that can be called to pressure officials to release arrested water protectors or to convince leaders to make statements of support for the water protectors.
For example, November 25 kicks off a week of solidarity action throughout the United States and the world. Banks supporting the pipeline will be targeted with nonviolent direct actions urging divestment. Banks like TD Bank and Citigroup will face protests demanding they stop funding the pipeline.
The post Giving To The Water Protectors Fighting The Dakota Access Pipeline appeared first on Shadowproof .
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Reading through Hillary and her ‘gang’ leaked emails, gives us a picture as to how America’s foreign policy was run, a policy that nearly wiped out Christians from the Middle East. Looking through Hillary’s email shows a gang bent on destroying the Middle East. It was as if a college Muslim Student Association (which Huma Abedin was member) took over the realm of power, not just any power, but the most powerful nation on earth, where all policy was directed by a handful ring of revolutionary students, who thought that the Middle East needed a facelift, and the only method was to start revolutions. The tragic part is that what you will read here is no fantasy or a simple school project, it is a reality that caused global destruction. It is in fact the prelude to World War III.
Feast your eyes into the secret workings of the Hillary band-of-trouble makers. You will only conclude that Hillary Clinton and her aide, Huma Abedin, should not just be imprisoned, but should face the execution by lethal injection for all the crimes they have committed against humanity.
Reading through the volume of emails makes the operation easy to comprehend. A handful of opportunists with spy-huma continually flatter Hillary. Huma closely watches her confused buffoon boss and they all feed her daily dosages of unreliable information to form her mind by exerting undue influence. At times Huma even tells Hillary what time to “take a nap”. Huma even disclosed to another opportunist staffer that their boss is ‘Often Confused’.
Of course, with a confused boss, Abedin had access to Hillary’s Secretary of State email address that was not even secure using her email server to read everything coming in and everything going out. All this, regardless that she had no clearance to operate under such capacity. How she collected 650,000 emails does not take a rocket scientist to calculate.
Abedin worked for Hillary since 1996. 650,000 emails would average at 90 emails per day. Why would any simple aide want to store 20 years worth of secret emails on another computer besides hers, calls for question that what we are dealing with here is more than just an ‘aide’ but a hijabless spy taking the buffoon on a wild camel ride to create a Muslim Brotherhood revolution. Wrong. This buffoon is not a Hillary’s double and is not ‘photo shopped’
It is clear from the volumes of emails we obtained so far from Wikileaks, Huma then becomes the conduit and filter that ‘provides or denies access’ and dispenses just the right media press needed to form Hillary’s worldview on all things ‘Middle East’. This information concluded the policy which provoked civil unrest throughout the Muslim world. The team’s duty was simply to build walls and fortifications making it hard to reach Clinton while ‘Charlie’s angels’ accomplished what was needed. First, to prove American’s are voting for a buffoon is easy. In one example, Huma with undue influence writes Hillary:
“I understand you are ok making the abu mazen call. Everyone agrees you should make it and they want you to do it today.”
“Everyone” is the gang. They wanted her to speak to the Palestinian Authority leader Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas). Hillary responds: “I don’t know what I’d say“. Huma would write back “these are points from him about what to say. And they asked if you would do today.”
Hillary can’jt seem to survive without Huma, she writes Huma: “let’s go on our trip. I think it’s worth it. And we can always add Israel as we did before!”
Huma: “Ok great! We’ll do ecuador now cause otherwise we lose him. So pinato, mubarak, lobo.”
Hillary: “That’s fine. How are you doing?”
Huma: “Excellent. Yesterday was a madhouse but got a lot accomplished.”
Huma bossing her buffoon boss, can’t seem to have Hillary do a simple task: “can you hang up the fax line, they will call again and try fax Just pick up phone and hang it up. And leave it hung up.”
Obedient Hillary: “I did.”
Huma: “Yes but hang up one more time. So they can reestablish the line.”
Hillary is so stupid “I thought it was supposed to be off hook to work?”
When Huma wants things done (like when she wanted favors for the Saudis) Huma would use key names who said that Hillary “should to do it”. The “aged Saudi ruler” needed to expedite his travel and Huma comes for the rescue. Huma would tell Hillary: “Jeff mentioned we are helping expedite visas for [Saudi] delegation.”
The circle who influenced Hillary most had everything in common regarding political views. Huma, a Muslim, and a couple, of really, the most self-hating Jews money can buy, the Blumenthals, used what Hillary gobbles up most: flattery . Huma even nicknames Hillary “Fabius” a throwback to Quintus Fabius Maximus a Roman politician around 280 BC who was twice appointed Dictator.”Reminder fabius at 3:30 Take a nap” Huma tells Hillary as if she was mother and Hillary is a crib-ridden child.
After every speech or interview, this handful, her gang, would chime in “powerful” “wonderful” as to fatten the bosses’s head. Sidney Blumenthal who had made the greatest impact on Hillary was a senior adviser to Ms. Clinton during her 2008 and then was shut out of the State Department by the White House in 2009 for all his shenanigans. Presidential advisor Sidney Blumenthal, center, departs Capitol Hill after being deposed by House prosecutors Wednesday, Feb. 3, 1999
But now we know one of the reasons why Hillary wanted a private server. Through the Jewish Blumenthal and even his two sons, Hillary was under constant undue-influence and pressure to trust and believe un-vetted opinions titled as “facts” from supposedly “trustworthy” “secret sources” from “sources close to governments”. As it turns out, it was all third-hand rumors guised as ‘reliable’ and ‘confidential’ which formed the judgments of one of U.S. government’s most powerful figures.
So if the issue at hand was the nation of lets say, Kyrgyzstan, Blumenthal would send Hillary some radio jockey’s (Scott Horton) report: “Scott Horton has just returned from a week in Kyrgyzstan, where he held lengthy private conversations with a range of leaders.”
What “range of leaders” was simply bogus. All Blumenthals contacts supposedly had ‘inside intel’, they are supposedly well connected to all the higher-ups. Despite his untrustworthiness and his opportunism, the Blumenthal’s had a lion-share of Hillary leaked emails . They continued their influence over Hillary by even having Max, Sidney’s son, one of America’s most notorious Israel haters, continually corresponding with Hillary influencing her mind. She loved his unsubstantiated articles and responded very favorably to them. With a private server they can now bash anyone who does not agree. Even Shoebat.com was not immune from reaching Hillary who was interested to later spread all sorts of slander on us.
Blumenthal’s writings was the springboard to Max’s anti-Semitic Goliath , comparing Israel to the Nazis, even calling for the expulsion of the Jews from Israel, while comparing the Israel Defense Forces to the SS. Hillary was obliged to respond with favor:
7/6/2010 – “Pls print 5 copies but w/out heading from Sid.” 8/17/2010 – “Pls congratulate Max for another impressive piece. He’s so good.”
11/18/2010- “A very smart piece as usual.” 4/7/2011 – “Will Max’s piece be published anywhere else? It is powerful and touching.” 12/23/2011 – “Max strikes again!” 1/21/2012 – “Interesting reading.” 9/13/2012 “Your Max is a mitzvah!” 12/7/2012 – “Good stuff. Where is he now?”
Hillary’s favorite reports were Max’s, sent to her via his father Sidney, especially one that raised our eyebrow, on tracking ‘the dangerous Islamophobist Cabal’ revealing Shoebat as one, where Hillary requested the report printed for her read. Reports that attempt to minuscule the whistle blowers as “whacky” is written by Max who signs his name “ Blumenthal, The Great “.
“I’m at the post office but Huma has this printed for you” responds Monica Hanley regarding the report on us and the other dangerous ‘phobes’.
Literally, hundreds of missive emails sent to Hillary completely re-brainwashing an already brainwashed buffoon with all sorts of conspiracy theories and untrustworthy information.
And if Max Blumenthal was ‘like father like son’, Huma was ‘like mother like daughter’ and was not much different from the Blumenthals. The true color of Huma was revealed when one major Hillary Clinton Jewish donor, Haim Saban, in one article complimented Hillary (its how you get in) while stating that there needs to be more scrutiny on Muslim immigrants, Abedin, the filter, was not thoroughly pleased, of course, and had to chime in scolding the Jew who had some anti-Muslim immigration ideas:
“Good interview. Thanks for sharing. But what you are saying about Muslims not consistent with HRC. Are you aware of that?”
In other words, if you want to get through to Hillary, Huma was the gate-keeper and an ‘open sesame’ requires that everyone say the magic words about Islam or say something nasty about Israel.
Including all the anti-Israel reports will take an entire book. Yet when it came to Christians, we find nothing, not even a scant of services. Hillary would not reprimand Philippe Reines on his “mother teresa” comment calling Christians “those crazy right”. In an email by Reines sent to Hillary and copied to Huma regarding a Catholic orphanage, an adoption ministry, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed as “a home she helped open with Mother Teresa” was closed down by red tape, Reines writes Hillary:
Just FYI on the below, from one of those crazy right “magazines” – notes that the home you referenced in your Prayer Breakfast remarks has since closed.
There was no reprimand by Hillary to the type of language her advisor used. When it was a Christian publication, it was always dubbed “crazy right”.
But perhaps satanism amongst the elites (and after reviewing the emails) is no longer conspiracy theory. The leaks from Colin Powel’s phone and Wikileaks match emails from Blumenthal to Hillary:
“I had lunch yesterday with Philip Bobbitt, who told me he had recently been at the Bohemian Grove and had lunch there with Kissinger and Colin Powell.”
Even the reputable National Geographic refers to the Bohemian Grove as having some pagan rituals and included the photos. Perhaps all the Free-Masonry theories about starting revolutions which I doubted as ‘conspiracy theory’ do have merit that what we are dealing with here are satanic elitists who call all truth ‘conspiracy theory’.
There was not one comment revering Christianity or anything Christian. In reality, what difference does it make whether Huma bows to a black stone, like the ancient Jews of the Sinai, who switched from their God Yahweh and bowed to a golden calf, or the elites bowing to Molech or an owl at the Bohemian Grove. It all shows, for one to get ahead, they must first ensure their names are first blotted out from the book of life. Indeed, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is only good or evil.
Vanity of vanities. But here comes the beefy tostada, that every American who votes, need to start paying close attention to. The “best way to help Israel” is to start a war in Syria was Blumenthal’s grand idea. Anyone is welcome to access Wikileaks and see :
“The best way to help Israel deal with Iran’s growing nuclear capability is to help the people of Syria overthrow the regime of Bashar Assad.”
Finally, every American now can snoop into the elitist thinking, to see how camel dung is made, processed, and fed to American liberal buffoons who hate America’s Christianity. Today is the day (just days before the election), we can remind you that ‘we told you so’.
In an email sent by Sidney Blumenthal to Hilary Clinton suggesting that Iran would lose “its only ally” in the Middle East if the Syrian regime collapses. Our snooping into Hillary’s emails allows us to look into the Israeli political debate in 2012, where the decisions made caused an outcome making Iran stronger than ever. And despite the disastrous Syrian civil war with hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced, Clinton still clung to the formula like Hitler clung to the trains, opting to transfer Jews to the crematoria than reverse course to save his nation. Likewise, Hillary continues on the destructive path. The email on 11/30/2015 reveals everything we need to know about Hillary and her gang’s mindset.
And when it comes to Syria’s revolution sparked by the Free Syrian Army who were truly nothing more than Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist Jihadi rebels, who wanted to establish a Sharia driven government, Hillary would obtain the analysis from her henchman and aide, Robert Russo, regarding the makeup of the rebels. And just as the typical Muslims on the streets would do, Hillary instead of relying on CIA reports, obtained Al-Jazeera’s false narrative. This even excited Hillary that the FSA “are not fighting for Islam but they are [only] inspired by it”. The subject title for Hillary would read “MUST READ ON COMPOSITION OF SYRIAN FSA”.
The rebels in Syria were painted as ‘partial Islamists’ who do not believe in imposing Sharia law, but only used Jihad as a means of warfare against Bashar’s tyranny.
Many times Hillary would be in hibernation mode as the gang sent her dosages of mind forming articles from Al-Jazeera clips about how the Muslim world do not really hate the U.S. and that the real problem were strictly the Arab regimes that needed uprooting. Hillary would thank them for the info:
“Sorry I’m so far behind in responding–and thanking you–for forwarding this to us. The last month has been a whirlwind which is not likely to calm down …”
The gang would encourage her with more flattery:
“You of all people NEVER need to apologize. Truly can’t wait until you are out and I can work with you again on issues we both think are so important.”
The agents were less than crystal clear about anything, blaming innocent scapegoats and creating phony alibis, while mixing truths with lies. Truths like the Bush ‘no WMD’ in Iraq, which indeed was a faulty conclusion, but that the best way to fight Al-Qaeda is to continue Bush’s scandalous legacy, to destroy Iraq while they also destroy Tunisia, Libya and Egypt too …
So under the guise of ‘aiding Israel’ they called to ‘destroy Syria’.
Reading these emails reveal just how ugly is the reality we live in, that the best way to remove any secular government in the Muslim world was to install an Islamist one. In an indication of her murderous and psychopathic nature, Buffoon Hillary, also wrote back in December 31, 2012, that it was the “right thing” to personally threaten Bashar Assad’s family with death. Even the New York Times revealed this and began to pick up on more: Blumenthal’s memos, often appending a note: “Useful insight” or “We should get this around asap.” In an August 2012 memo, Mr. Blumenthal described the new president of Libya, Mohamed Magariaf, as someone who would “seek a discrete relationship with Israel” and had “many common friends and associates with the leaders of Israel.” “If true, this is encouraging,” Mrs. Clinton wrote to Mr. Sullivan. “Should consider passing to Israelis.”
Blumenthal would send emails with outlandish subject titles like “Subject: H[illary]: HIGHLY IMPORTANT! COMPREHENSIVE INTEL REPORT ON LIBYA. AND DRINK 8 GLASSES OF WATER. SID”
Hillary responds with “I’m happy to report that”. The key bait given to Hillary to believe these reports and approve them was this style:
“Speaking on condition of absolute secrecy, a source with access to the Office of the President stated that during late December 2012 Magariaf and Zidan agreed that they must move quickly to deal with these problematic issues before they can address their long term strategy of developing productive diplomatic and business relationships with their neighboring states in North Africa, Western Europe and the United States.”
Blumenthal wanted business opportunities in Libya and Hillary was the key. The terminology to make Hillary believe was the use of jargon used by phony reports “confidential” “absolute secrecy” “sensitive sources” “According to a very sensitive source” and “In the opinion of this sensitive source” “Extremely sensitive sources” to even “Sources with direct access to the governments of Libya and Israel, as well as the highest levels of European governments, and Western Intelligence and security services …”
It was all bogus, the type of charade one find in Nigerian scams or DEBKAFile reports that come from supposedly Israeli intelligence where no serious sources are given.
Buffoon Hillary would get her intel from the conspiracy theorist, Blumenthal, who claimed that Libya’s Magariaf has plans and connections to make peace with Israel. The Buffoon had no clue, Magariaf has no links to Israel whatsoever. It was all a hoax, undue influence on a left-wing loon.
Regarding the Egyptian revolution, the reports were void of the fact that the revolution was in reality a Muslim Brotherhood takeover. In one report Blumenthal even displays a fanciful victory against the Muslim Brotherhood by “nationalist football hooligans known as the Ultras”.
It was as if the football hooligans represented the revolution. The key was to finagle the truth, use sophist and complicated jargon as to sound legit, and keep Hillary believing a fantasy, that Egyptians are tired of the tyranny of both, Hosni Mubarak as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, while explaining that is why they are staging a rebellion in Egypt.
Truth is, the unrest was fomented by Washington and it was clearly a Muslim Brotherhood uprising as we have warned in the initial stages as the outcome was revealed later when it was too late. For example on the faulty labeling of terrorists as ‘moderate’, in one report to Hillary, Blumenthal writes :
I have included below a private report from “Stratfor” that underscores that Syria is attacking the moderate wing of Hamas and the Palestinian accord.
The simplistic labels worked. Hillary never asked is there a ‘ moderate wing of Hamas’ and a ‘ moderate wing of Al-Qaeda’ and a ‘ moderate wing of the Nazi party’? Yet nowhere in Strafor’s report does it even use such oxymoronic terms.
And how Hillary was obtaining her influence on everything Middle East came strictly from this un-penetrable little circle.
“The analysis on events in Egypt ring true to me” Hillary responds to one of her aide henchwomen, Anne-Marie Slaughter. The latter was acting like a college student, all excited about her dissertation as to why Egypt needs a populace control instead of the current structure, objecting why Egyptian heads of state were ‘military’ rulers and not ‘civilians’.
Slaughter according to her bio : “From 2009–2011 she served as director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State, the first woman to hold that position”. But when the results were disastrous since the real world at times is not explained by just bookworms, like Hillary’s Benghazi fiasco, it was Mrs. Slaughter who sends Hillary the ointment, more deception that the rebels in Libya really love America:
“To have Libyans carrying placards saying “We are sorry America; this does not represent Islam,” is exactly what we hoped for when we supported the Libyan intervention. Many Libyan bloggers/tweeters have taken the same stance. And to have elected Libyan and Tunisian governments publicly apologizing and denouncing the violence shows a very different face of Islam — the Tunisian government is a Muslim Brotherhood government …”
In other words, the Muslim Brotherhood was tame. To Hillary and her gang, it was no longer that this cobra spawned Al-Qaeda and Hamas and even those had ‘moderates’. It was ‘the Muslim Brotherhood loves America’ and therefore, Hillary ‘loves the Brotherhood’.
Hillary was completely brainwashed to believe Egypt’s Muslim brotherhood will revive as a non-Islamist movement or half-Islamist ‘moderate’ and will all fix itself as it shifts from being uncontrolled by the military. She responds to one release which said:
“The last couple of weeks have seen a shift in Egyptian politics. It appeared that the Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi, exercised his authority over the military establishment, and dismissed Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi.”
They just love this word ‘shift’ as if evil shifts and evolves to the better. The Muslim Brotherhood therefore played an important role in the dream world of Hillary that “military rule” is no more and now its populace rule as planed by the gang.
“The analysis on events in Egypt ring true to me” responds Hillary. After all the intel sent to her said:
“Hosni Mubarak, in this regard, was not a civilian authority: he was a military one, and part of the same structure, which simultaneously occupied the president’s office.”
So when “ousting all dictators” domino effect began sparking in Tunisia, Huma would send Hillary the praise reports that now she is a prophetess:
“It was a fallout she herself [Hillary] had warned of just two weeks earlier. In a dramatic speech in Qatar, Clinton warned Arab leaders their regimes would “sink in the sand” if they did not reform their autocratic governments and create opportunities for their young citizens. Two days after that speech, Tunisia’s President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country after he was overthrown amid massive protests. Inspired, Egyptians began similar protests. Now, the U.S. pondered the potential fall of Hosni Mubarak — a critical ally who for 30 years served as a linchpin of security in the Middle East — which would dramatically affect America’s entire policy in the region for years to come. “There were a first few moments of wonderment and then she said, ‘We have to dive in,” recalled Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s counselor and chief of staff. Bad timing for a tough test …”
One would think that such news was a disaster, but the message from Huma was simple, it was plan in progress. In other words, thus said Hillary and the world moved. Hillary thou art Fabius and now she can nap again.
And Muslim Brotherhood ‘populace control’ they got. And what would sound troubling to the normal mind, Huma would send a praise Hillary report . She could not even wait till she signed into Hillary’s server. She writes from state.gov to Hillary, giving her the news of the salvation caused by her messiah; riots sparking the Arab Spring starting in Egypt and spreading to Yemen, Libya, Kuwait, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sudan, India and Iran. To the ‘gang’ it was like watching a fireworks as Huma, the real boss behind the scene gives Hillary full credit:
I’m giving you credit for inspiring the “peaceful” protests.
“Peaceful” in quotes was meant to mean “nothing peaceful”. Captain chaos did the job. Even when Huma reported to Hillary “The Muslim Brotherhood, the big winner in the first election since the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak last February”, this was ‘good news’ and all Hillary did was to respond with some romance :
Have I told you how much I miss you on these trips? Not nearly as much fun [without you].
Hillary wanted Huma by her bedside. Huma, of course, with flattery speaks of their adventures together:
Oh that’s so nice to hear!! Its soo hard to not be there. I miss our many adventures. Jeff feltman is beside himself that you emailed him bday greetings….says you are “incredible“.
From the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, to Al-Nahda’s Muslim Brotherhood success in Tunisia , Huma would send the news reports to Hillary as if it was ‘mission accomplished’. One cannot find a single line of any worry or comment resembling ‘we screwed up’. The Hillary gang would even send their boss images on how beautiful Ramadan was from images and photos on Al-Jazeera, the type of which dazzles Hillary’s imaginations. A Palestinian boy in Gaza City plays with fireworks to celebrate the beginning of Ramadan
It was all progress as usual as if chaos was the goal. It is as if Hillary herself was Muslim or that this retard team of women thought they were about to take control of Islam to revolutionize it as Huma says ‘Yay’ when the Saudi Monarch stopped the lashing of a woman for driving.
Evil is always tucked under the good, just as camel-dung is tucked under the non-existing snow of the desert. The outcome was that the Clinton/Obama Administration, this whole time, has been the main sponsor of the growth of terrorism in the Middle East, refugee crisis to destroy Europe, real conspiracies that caused the death of countless Assyrian, Copt, Orthodox and Catholic Christians, and all was done in the name of “protecting Israel”.
Yet we were painted by Clinton’s media henchmen as “the conspiracy theorists”?
US support of Huma’s family’s dream aiding Saudi Arabia, financially and logistically, backed Syrian Islamist rebels which helped lead the creation of ISIS, a policy led to a war that has dragged in Turkey, the Kurds, Russia, Iraq, Iran, our Gulf allies and too many radical terrorist organizations to count, into the apocalypse, the very quagmire we see today which will lead to World War III.
It is perhaps an ideal time to reveal the man whom everyone thought was so conspiratorial that he was viewed as Balaam’s donkey. Yet it was this donkey, Mummer Gaddafi , who prophetically declared to the Arab Summit that after killing Saddam Hussein, he told Bashar al-Assad “you will be next”. Watch Bashar Al-Assad smile as if what this donkey said was madness:
God can speak through a select donkey while the geniuses laughing were the real jack-asses. To Hillary, Huma and the gang, the tribal leaders are ‘out’ and the Islamist universalists are ‘in’.
It took years before Americans woke up to the ugliest of realities, where much repentance is needed, as to what happened to people, be it Muslim or Christian. Over a quarter million butchered. Lord have mercy. Do not exclusively blame the terrorist for the ISIS attacks on U.S soil. We all reap what we sow.
Why Israel and the U.S. want the Arab tribal leaders removed is simple to explain. It was either that the Russian influence is weakened or creating chaotic Islamist regimes will finally unite Russia, Europe and the U.S. to unify against the Islamist savage. But this thinking disregards that creating such a Muslim beast brings utter destruction to the Christians and all secular pro-west Muslims living under the devil’s rule as we see Turkey’s call to be the peace-keepers of Iraq and Syria, in fact, the whole of the Muslim world.
With Hillary, the gang conspired to subvert the power of the office of Secretary of State to violate UN Charter, International Law and U.S. law committing treason and committing war crimes.
And while claiming ‘love for Israel’ or we ‘did this for Israel’ reality was much different. The gang were acting more like a Muslim Student Union at a college campus. They were feeding Hillary all sorts of mad ideas to raise monies for “Palestine” while shaming Israel . Hillary would even respond with: “I am very interested”. Her aide Marie Slaughter dreamt this fanciful idea to have Hillary influence billionaires donate for Palestine:
“This may be a crazy idea, but as far as we can tell we need ideas. Suppose we launched a “Pledge for Palestine” campaign that copies Warren Buffet’s “The Giving Pledge” campaign, described below — he’s trying to get 40 billionaires to give away most of their money. I had asked some S/P folks to think about how we might take that campaign global to help change the attitudes of elites in places like Pakistan and Latin America, but perhaps Warren Buffet could be convinced to lend his name — or perhaps Michael Bloomberg or Danny Abraham (together with a very wealthy Muslim) – to a similar Pledge for Palestine campaign. Such a campaign among billionaires/multi-millionaires around the world would reflect a strong vote of confidence in the building of a Palestinian state and could offset the ending of the moratorium for Palestinians (there would also be a certain shaming effect re Israelis, who would be building settlements in the face of a pledge for peace). With even 30 calls to the right people in the Clinton fundraising network it should be possible to generate a substantial enough amount quickly enough to capture the public imagination on the heels of the President’s speech and, critically, to serve as an expression of global solidarity with the Palestinians“
How these women expected 40 billionaires to give up “most of their money” and wealth in a fundraiser for Palestine is the type of dreams one finds in a fantasy book. Did this gang of women think they are in the era of one thousand and one nights copulating with some Caliph to persuade him to pay all of his kingdom?
From Egypt, to the Freedom Flotilla in Gaza, Hillary was interested responding with “please print” “print” print” and “print”.
Print what? How “this [Turkish supported Flotilla to Gaza] is movement that is going to grow and grow and that is going to be impossible to stop”. A revolution into the heart of Israel coming from the sea from all over the Muslim world was the gang’s solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem.
How is that good for Israel? So in the name of ‘aiding Israel’ they ‘destroyed the Arabs’ and in the name of ‘aiding Israel’ they were ‘destroying Israel’.
And when in 2009, the Muslim Rashad Hussain, was named deputy associate counsel to President Barack Obama, he tried to break protocol writing Huma directly: “Hope you are doing well. I’m looking forward to getting started as soon as possible”. Huma then writes to Cheryl Mill knowing that Cheryl was on vacation to deal with this “I Don’t want to bother you on vacation but see below”. Denis McDonough who was copied answers: “Weird. I will take care of this”.
Rashad Hussein was not careful and stealth enough to enter the inner circle to promote the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference), which is also Huma’s mother’s aspiration to join forces of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was appointed by the government and made comments to the Musim Student Association in 2004 supporting the convicted terrorist fundraiser Sami al-Arian. A direct contact with Rashad who was toxic could compromise everything.
Yet Hillary still consulted Rashad via Jacob Sullivan. Rashad was not told that it was Hillary who wanted the advise. She had asked “ Does he [Rashad] have any suggestions as to how we handle the Ulema?”
Ulema is Arabic for Muslim scholars . Rashad did not even know the advice went to Hillary who wanted an education on how to handle the Quran when meeting Muslim scholars: Jake- A few points (including some background) to respond to your friend’s question– Muslims believe that the Quran is the direct word of God and the final revelation that was sent to correct human changes that were made to the messages sent to previous prophets (Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc.). They believe that the message sent to these previous prophets [Judaism, Christianity] was essentially Islam, but was changed [by Jews and Christians] because the texts (Bible, Torah, etc.) were not preserved… certain rules of etiquette have developed for handling the Quran: … one should keep the Quran above the waist when handling it and should keep it only in clean places (definitely never in a bathroom) … many scholars would say that unless non-Muslims are handling it for educational purposes, they should avoid handling it all together. In terms of disposing of old Qurans or other documents with God’s name, your friend is right … Muslims guard vigilantly against the deification of any person, including the Prophet Muhammad, because they fear that people will begin to worship him (as Christians began to worship Jesus … there have been so many recent instances of desecration in the news that people are not as shocked as they used to be to hear these types stories (Terry Jones, Gitmo toilet story, urination on corpses story) … That said, Muslims all over the world are definitely saddened/upset by the news, but for the most part, they understand that the Quran itself teaches that violence is not the answer. Rashad
So Hillary was getting her Islamic education via Rashad Hussain. Hillary knew that claiming the Son of God and that Jesus is God was an insult to Muslims.
Hillary’s chief of staff and counsel Cheryl Mills, during the time Michelle Bachman began to disclose our findings on Huma’s entanglements with Islamists, Abedin and family sent Hillary the media’s praise report of Huma:
“There’s John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Ed Rollins, Republicans who leapt to the defense of Hillary Clinton’s top State Department confidante when Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) suggested that she just might be a traitor. There’s a Facebook group of folks who “stand with Huma.” (PHOTOS: Huma Abedin) And there are countless women and men around the country who thought she handled her husband Anthony Weiner’s Twitter malfunction with all the grace and elegance that he lacked. Abedin’s finding out an enduring truth of Washington politics: Yesterday’s victim is tomorrow’s hero.”
But now things are different. The Muslim Brotherhood spy, Huma Abedin, by withholding evidence during her FBI interview having a home computer, then lying that she did and after showing that there were over 650,000 emails (these are ‘state.gov and HRC emails’) sent to her husband from that computer, Huma Abedin just cancelled her immunity deal. Now after examining some of the other leaked emails, this Muslim Brotherhood snitch, would either have to spill the beans on Hillary or face jail.
For years they said we were ‘mad’ for exposing Huma, but finally the snow melted and this Hijabless camel is revealing all the dung that was hidden beneath the imaginary snow.
O how the tables turn, “tomorrow’s hero” will become Hillary’s scapegoat and tomorrow’s re-discovered Muslim Brotherhood “spy”. To understand all this, read the most extensive research we did on the topic which leaves no question to Huma’s family ties, not just to the Brotherhood, but to the Islamic revolution worldwide:
Nice to have made your acquaintance Jezebel Clinton. Hope you end up in prison with your Muslim aide, PUN intended. Enjoy my report when you get it referring to me as “shock jock” and “right wing nut”.
Article reposted with permission from Shoebat.com Don't forget to Like Freedom Outpost on Facebook , Google Plus , & Twitter . You can also get Freedom Outpost delivered to your Amazon Kindle device here . | 0 |
A busy brain can mean a hungry body. We often seek food after focused mental activity, like preparing for an exam or poring over spreadsheets. Researchers speculate that heavy bouts of thinking drain energy from the brain, whose capacity to store fuel is very limited. So the brain, sensing that it may soon require more calories to keep going, apparently stimulates bodily hunger, and even though there has been little in the way of physical movement or caloric expenditure, we eat. This process may partly account for the weight gain so commonly seen in college students. Scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and another institution recently experimented with exercise to counter such study food binges. Gary Hunter, an exercise physiologist at U. A. B. oversaw the study, which was published this month in the journal Medicine Science in Sports Exercise. Hunter notes that strenuous activity both increases the amount of blood sugar and lactate — a byproduct of intense muscle contractions — circulating in the blood and augments blood flow to the head. Because the brain uses sugar and lactate as fuel, researchers wondered if the increased flow of blood during exercise could feed an exhausted brain and reduce the urge to overeat. eight healthy college students were invited to U. A. B. ’s exercise lab to determine their fitness and metabolic rates — and to report what their favorite pizza was. Afterward, they sat quietly for 35 minutes before being given as much of their favorite pizza as they wanted, which established a baseline measure of indulgence. At a later date, the volunteers returned and spent 20 minutes tackling selections from college and school entrance exams. Hunter says this work has been used in other studies “to induce mental fatigue and hunger. ” Next, half the students sat quietly for 15 minutes, before being given pizza. The rest of the volunteers spent those 15 minutes doing intervals on a treadmill: two minutes of hard running followed by about one minute of walking, repeated five times. This is the sort of brief but intensive routine, Hunter says, that should prompt the release of sugar and lactate into the bloodstream. These students were then allowed to gorge on pizza, too. But by and large, they did not overeat. In fact, the researchers calculated that the exercisers consumed about 25 fewer calories than they did during their baseline session. The nonexercisers, however, consumed about 100 calories more. When the researchers factored in the calories expended on running, they determined that those students actually consumed 200 fewer total calories after their brain workouts than the resting students. The study has limitations, of course. “We only looked at lunch,” Hunter says the researchers do not know if the runners consumed extra calories at dinner. They also cannot tell whether other types of exercise would have the same effect as running, although Hunter says they suspect that if an activity causes someone to break into a sweat, it should also increase blood sugar and lactate, feeding the brain and weakening hunger’s call. | 1 |
How Many People Will Have To Migrate Out Of California When All The Water Disappears? April 2nd, 2015
The drought in California is getting a lot worse. As you read this, snowpack levels in the Sierra Nevada mountains are the lowest that have ever been recorded . That means that there won’t be much water for California farmers and California cities once again this year. To make up the difference in recent years, water has been pumped out of the ground like crazy. In fact, California has been losing more than 12 million acre-feet of groundwater a year since 2011, and wells all over the state are going dry. Once the groundwater is all gone, what are people going to do? 100 years ago, the population of the state of California was 3 million, and during the 20th century we built lots of beautiful new cities in an area that was previously a desert. Scientists tell us that the 20th century was the wettest century in 1000 years for that area of the country, but now weather patterns are reverting back to normal. Today, the state of California is turning back into a desert but it now has a population of 38 million people. This is not sustainable in the long-term. So when the water runs out, where are they going to go?
I have written quite a few articles about the horrific drought in California, but conditions just continue to get even worse. According to NPR, snowpack levels in the Sierra Nevada mountains are “just 6 percent of the long-term average” …
The water outlook in drought-racked California just got a lot worse: Snowpack levels across the entire Sierra Nevada are now the lowest in recorded history — just 6 percent of the long-term average. That shatters the previous low record on this date of 25 percent, set in 1977 and again last year.
California farmers rely on that water. Last year, farmers had to let hundreds of thousands of acres lie fallow because of the scarcity of water, and it is being projected that this year will be even worse …
More than 400,000 acres of farmland were fallowed last year because of scarce water. Credible sources have estimated that figure could double this year.
Fortunately, many farmers have been able to rely on groundwater in recent years, but now wells are running dry all over the state. Here is more from NPR …
Last year was already a tough year at La Jolla Farming in Delano, Calif. Or as farm manager Jerry Schlitz puts it, “Last year was damn near a disaster.”
La Jolla is a vineyard, a thousand-or-so acres of neat lines of grapevines in the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. It depends on water from two sources: the federal Central Valley Project and wells.
Until last year, Schlitz says, wells were used to supplement the federal water.
“Now, we have nothing but wells. Nothing. There’s no water other than what’s coming out of the ground,” he says.
Last year, one of those wells at La Jolla dried up. The farm lost 160 acres — about a million dollars’ worth of produce, plus the wasted labor and other resources.
Are you starting to understand the scope of the problem?
Despite all of the wonderful technology that we have developed, we are still at the mercy of the weather.
And if this drought continues to drag on, it is absolutely going to cripple a state that contains more than 10 percent of the total U.S. population.
In an attempt to fight the water shortage, Governor Jerry Brown has instituted statewide water restrictions for the first time ever …
California announced sweeping statewide water restrictions for the first time in history Wednesday in order to combat the region’s devastating drought, the worst since records began.
Governor Jerry Brown issued the declaration at a press conference in a parched, brown slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains that would normally be covered by deep snow.
“Today, we are standing on dry grass where there should be five feet (1.5 meters) of snow,” Brown said. “This historic drought demands unprecedented action.”
So what will these restrictions include?
The following is a summary from Natural News …
• A ban on non-drip irrigation systems for all new homes.
• A requirement for golf courses and cemeteries to “reduce water consumption.” (And yet, the very idea of green golf courses in the middle of a California desert is insane to begin with…)
• Force farmers to report more details on their water usage so that the state government can figure out where all the water is going (and where to restrict it even further).
• Outlawing the watering of grass on public street medians.
• Discussions are also under way to throw “water wasters” in jail for up to 30 days, according to another LA Times article . The most likely source of intel for incarcerating water wasters will be neighborhood snitches who monitor water usage of nearby homes and call the authorities if they see too much water being used.
If the drought does not go on for much longer, these restrictions may be enough.
But what if it continues to intensify?
The following graphic shows the U.S. Drought Monitor map for the state of California for each of the last five years in late March…
It doesn’t take a genius to see the trend.
And scientists tell us that this might just be the beginning. There have been megadroughts in that area of the country that have lasted more than 100 years in the past, and there are fears that another megadrought may have begun. The following comes from National Geographic …
California is experiencing its worst drought since record-keeping began in the mid 19th century, and scientists say this may be just the beginning. B. Lynn Ingram , a paleoclimatologist at the University of California at Berkeley, thinks that California needs to brace itself for a megadrought—one that could last for 200 years or more.
As a paleoclimatologist, Ingram takes the long view, examining tree rings and microorganisms in ocean sediment to identify temperatures and dry periods of the past millennium. Her work suggests that droughts are nothing new to California.
“During the medieval period, there was over a century of drought in the Southwest and California. The past repeats itself,” says Ingram, who is co-author of The West Without Water: What Past Floods, Droughts, and Other Climate Clues Tell Us About Tomorrow . Indeed, Ingram believes the 20th century may have been a wet anomaly.
If this is a megadrought, it is just a matter of time until massive migration will become necessary.
In fact, one UN official is already talking about it …
If the state continues on this path, there may have to be thoughts about moving people out, said Lynn Wilson, academic chair at Kaplan University and who serves on the climate change delegation in the United Nations.
“Civilizations in the past have had to migrate out of areas of drought,” Wilson said. “We may have to migrate people out of California.”
Wilson added that before that would happen, every option such as importing water to the state would likely occur— but “migration can’t be taken off the table.”
So how many people will ultimately have to leave if this drought continues for many years?
5 million?
And where will they go?
Please feel free to share what you think by posting a comment below… If Anyone Doubts That We Are In A Stock Market Bubble, Show Them This Article » Eric Rasbold
It is as bad as they say. I am lucky enough to live in the forested Eden of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, just a bit south west of Tahoe. We have water. We are one of four purveyors of water in El Dorado County. We are okay as far as water goes, but the rest of the state is in great danger. We are mostly worried about fire. Last year, we had two major fires: The Sand Fire almost took my home from the south, the King Fire (the largest ever) almost burnt us down from the north. I think dead center is next. Rough winds and crappy seas doth follow.
Good Luck and May Your Dow Never Jones. David Almanza
All I see day after day and night after night here in Kansas is a sky full of toxic spray that resemble cobwebs . I guess the thing has to eat itself and lay waste to nature in the process . No one can own the Earth and Sky ,,,have faith in Nature within Us and Nature outside of Us and protect it as much as we can. It is all We have . Erik Bergum
The state of California desperately needs the rain of course MIchael in Chicago
The entire state needs rain just about everyday for several years to start to catch up. Needs an insane amount of snow too. GSOB
Perhaps the Lord is telling Californians to get out before His earthquake swallows them up? He is a merciful God. alan
Hum, doesn’t sound very nice to me. H8Religion
He is a merciful God Like he has mercy on his Child Raping Priests!!!! JI
Yes, homosexuals/pedophiles infiltrated the church and the church failed to excommunicate them. For that, the church is indeed being punishes. If you are a victim, and you sound like one, seek counseling and help. MIchael in Chicago
Much like the US economy everyone seems to have this false hope things will eventually get better. Water restrictions and importing more water are not all that different from QE. Seems like everything is an illusion these days. Bill
In the old days if you wanted to seek your fortune you would hear,”go West young man, go West.” Now days those who live in the West are told ” go East if you want to survive.”
No matter where Californians go it will put tremendous pressure on the infrastructure of other areas. Then add the demand on a decreasing food supply. The hand that fed us may not be so welcome when it looks to be fed. John
Not to mention that many of those Californians are going to demand government assistance like they’ve had in CA wherever they settle. John
Interesting. The Sooners migrated there in mass from Oklahoma in the 1930’s. Now their great grandchildren may migrate the other way. Also, it wouldn’t be the first time a civilization collapsed in that area of the country. Take the Anasazi Indian civilization for example. XSANDIEGOCA
Excellent point. SunnyFlaSnotress
You’re comparing a rustic civilization to a far more progressive civilization. Migration is the probability. Only massive destruction in the form of land upheaval would cause collapse. John
The Anasazi also likely moved elsewhere when their society could no longer be supported by the local environment/climate. Anyway, they apparently abandoned their dwellings in northern AZ for unknown reasons. Severe drought is one possibility. The Clovis people were an even earlier people group in the SW USA whose society appeared to vanish too. Mexifornia Taxpayer
The Grapes of Wrath (in reverse) Marine68
The UNs Agenda 21 requires the concentration of Population into large urban centers. They hope that the people on top of each will kill themselves off by disease, addiction, and murder. Shutting off access to open lands and suburbs is the Master plan to do this. pmagn
but what about Agenda 99… the control of all by the 1%? Jessy S.
But this isn’t Agenda 21 doing this. If we are in for another 100 year mega drought, this will be the work of nature instead of man. Tatiana Covington
Desalination and fusion power. Graphene sieves and waterchips. Use science and engineering. Those are all we have. T.
No. That’s what Got them in the mess they are in. Tatiana Covington
You couldn’t be more wrong. Ray
Desal solves the problem for the upper 5-10%. The rich have had water shipped in by truck for years already. No sweat off their backs. Malcolm Reynolds
The rich have had water shipped in by truck for years already What on Earth are you talking about? Ray
These days, tankers can be seen barreling down Montecito’s narrow country roads day and night, ferrying up to 5,000 gallons of H20 to some of the world’s richest and thirstiest folks.
Fusion power? Right. We’d be better off trying to harness the power of politicians hot air. JB
I agree…. cold fusion is the future and it can be done. Rufus T Firefly
Scientists estimate we are 40-50 years away from cold fusion. And you can be sure the enviro-whackos will oppose it when it happens. They fear mankind having energy and want to eliminate people, except themselves Priszilla
Then let’s just wait 50 years and everything will be fine. John Higson
Not cold fusion,hot fusion.And it would be a nightmare,because with free energy the planet is flocked.100 degrees at the surface in 200 years,that’s the way economic growth takes us.Luckily Fusion will never happen,too many technical impossibilities. tone
Dan Zazlavsy’s Energy Towers was proven to be the answer by a team of international scientist at least a decade ago and yet have not been brought to fruition! GSOB
Man in the 21st Century USA
Moments of blank misgiving in which he finds that the civilization of which he is a part, leaves a dusty taste in his mouth.
He may be very busy with many things but he discovers one day that he’s no longer sure that they are worth doing. He has been much preoccupied but he’s no longer sure he knows why. He has become involved in an elaborate routine of pleasures and they do not seem to amuse him very much.
He finds it hard to believe that doing any one thing is better than any other thing, or in fact is better than doing nothing at all. It occurs to him that it is a great deal of trouble to live and that even in the best of lives, the thrills are few and far between.
He begins more or less to seek satisfaction because he is no longer satisfied and all the while he realizes that the pursuit of happiness was always a most unhappy quest. T.
If this drought continues for many years – Then perhaps 20 to 25 million people or more would eventually have to leave California. Don’t forget all the Radiation which is hitting the Left coast from Fukushima and has already started decimating the marine life in the Pacific. Where would They go? Mostly East. Go East young man – Go East. Tom
Instead of “Oakies”, we will have “Calies” alan
Commies. Philip Botwinick
It’s a game of musical chairs. Who is going to get stuck in homes that can never be sold. Priszilla
Go North. Global Warming will melt the Arctic. Philip Botwinick
Ah Priszilla and I had such high hopes for you.
Go north and do what. It is clear you’ve not been practicing gardening, or permaculture the last decade. The soil up north can’t and will never have the time to evolve to the point you could plant the crops and food necessary to live as we have over the last 10,000 years.
People think they are going to plant Banana trees in the Arctic. Ain’t gonna happen. Priszilla
You need compost. My dad used manure in the garden. We didn’t grow bananas. But peaches tomatoes, apples, pears, beans, cucumber and other veggies. Priszilla
That go north was more sarcasm to those who think global warming is good. I prefer planting trees. For shade, wind break, fruits, flowers. Deciduous trees that shed their leaves and give those nutrients to the soil. GSOB
Many people would have no choice but to endure and ration to the max. A new show, urban homesteading pending I’m sure. Sad thing, only a certain amount, if any, of the rain God sends to the just and the unjust is ‘authorized’ by the usurper for you collect of the rain God sends.
Such a display of impudent audacity, but they report of no other way. In subtle rebellion, our news casters and meteorologists have the platform to conform our thinking to suggest without a doubt, that ‘Mother Nature’ needs to send us more moisture.
On the other hand, TBTB increase cost no one really wants but because of getting boxed in they have to, so they say. Someone here suggested that the usurper will tax the air next. Someone else suggested that it will get so bad that the great usurper will usurp everything with such attractive and wonderful propositions, you’d wouldn’t want to resist, so add your name to the measures provided by our bureaucrat workers that use the MSM to appeal to the collective that together “We are the World”. Take the autonomous stand with us!
They’ll raise the costs to conserve what little there is that remains. Those who can afford the expense of picking up to relocate where water is plentiful are in pursuit of simple happiness. Our welfare ‘state’ is out of control when you can not open your mouth to drink water from the Lord who created all there is. why bother
Where could they afford to go? Most of them are one paycheck from bankruptcy. They are underwater in their loans. Their $800,000 houses will be worthless and abandoned, and they have no savings. There are no jobs for them outside California. They have no manual labor skills and they have kids to feed. They would not last a week outside California before they start stealing food and property of those in other states. Philip Botwinick
You get it. T.
I agree. In all honesty there will be No “Go East”. Most will go to their Grave. Jordan Helwig
We need to spend our money domestic problems like these. Not over seas wars that we have no business being involved in. GSOB
Jesus Christ is God’s wisdom to us, both righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
Get a hold of that! That’s like drinking from a fire hose
WOW
Drink the blood of Jesus and you’ll never be thirsty?
If there is no water you can still drink Californian wine? Ray
San Fran has the most expensive real estate for a reason. Nobody is moving from SF. Nobody there is worried about the earthquake risk or some water shortage. Money buys you lots of water. jaxon64
Good post–you made me remember something…. In the movie “Soylent Green”, everyone remembers that it turns out the wafers were made from corpses, but that movie had several other-almost prophetic now- things that were creepy. One was the euthanasia centers where people who reached older age, even though healthy, would be asked to go to termination centers and be euthanized for the greater good and population control…. Another one, was that things like strawberries, wine, real food and HOT SHOWERS WITH WATER–were still available, but only for the wealthy. Apartments could be rented with all of the amenities ( including house girls who catered to all needs of the wealthy businessmen.) All of those old, apocalypse movies are a little creepy now–Omega Man with the global virus….Planet of The Apes with the transhumanism we are seeing experimented with…….Terminator with all of the advances in robotics and AI thinking machines…..very interesting times we live in. I fear for my grandchildren….. Ferris
Jaxon64, I think you have just connected the dots. Bingo !
Now those in the inland empire and majorly hosed. Nonanon25
You mean, Las Vegas? Yup! K
From what I hear the middle class Californians are already resettling in Texas. I would expect the rich to head for Florida. It will sure hurt the retirees. Such an influx, will drive prices out of sight. Don’t Want ‘Em
Good. Keep their libtard ideas out of Tennessee. Paul
“The most likely source of intel for incarcerating water wasters will be neighborhood snitches who monitor water usage of nearby homes and call the authorities if they see too much water being used” Glad I don’t live in California. If someone held a grudge against me or did not agree with my political views they could say I was using too much water. Even if I was innocent, it would be very difficult to deal with the authorities. Yawn
late at night water their yard and call on them.toss some high nit fert and ironite. the greenness will be a dead give away.hehehehehehhe evoval
What the snitches claim has to jive with the meter. pmagn
where do you live? Chances are your going to have issues with #climate too… John
All they would have to do is go to your house late at night, run a hose from your spigot to a sprinkler in your front yard and turn it on. You’d be in jail before breakfast… Philip Botwinick
Yeah, because you think, ‘Oh those poor people in CA.” that’s not going to happen to me.
Reminds me of the saying “they came for the Jews, they came for the Communists, etc., etc.” and then they came for me and there was no one there to stand with me.
Oh, wait. A rise in temperature from 2 – 16 degree F is looking more likely by 2050. So where are you going? Oh, yeah your are a friend of Richard Branson and have your ticket for that colony on Mars.
LOL> Illegal
The water restrictions are almost laughable.It would seem if there is a true emergency then all non essential uses of water would be banned.Throw someone in jail is the police state answer to every problem, How is every other country that is mostly desert surviving? This mess was created by the elites and ruling class in Sacramento and Washington.
My advice to the gental folk of California – leave now and avoid the line-ups at the FEMA camp. alan
North Korea sounds like a good place for them. Communist utopia, lots of taxes, State telling you how to breath, they’ll be in heaven. libsarescum
And NK is a gun free zone. Liberals should be in heaven there. Priszilla
They sing the hymn there too every morning, and they have to swear allegiance in every free minute. Philip Botwinick
Sorry Sean, but those FEMA camps (if they actually come into existence) will be all over the country.
It appears, that most, but especially those still with Internet connections seem unable to fathom that Climate Change is all over the planet. It knows no boundaries.
Where ever those people leaving CA go will not be far behind in looking like Sao Paulo and Detroit in the next few years.
Do not. I repeat do not even feed into the illusion that we’ll find free energy, or solar and wind will come along. That’s a Hollywood delusion. If energy were really free than no corporation would be able to lock up the rights to it in a vault. Read “Green Illusions” by Ozzie Zehner. sean carter
Agree with everything you said. I live in Alberta and the common mythology is we’ll dig up tarsands forever. Not gonna happen. Once once the cheap energy run out our society will be sliding back towards something resembling the mid-1800’s ranging/farming dominated lifestyles.
And I’m fine with that. Ray
“Look, Israel was a bona fide desert,” argues Hazard, who has been pushing for desalination. “Now they run the whole country on four desal plants.” egore
The really bad part is all those liberals gushing out of the state into the rest of the US like diarrhea. Buckle Up! Ted Kennedy
Hopefully they’ll migrate into Mexico. Will Mexico accept our liberal refugees? Richard O. Mann
Mexico does not want them. They are too busy trying to export their population to the US. Mexifornia Taxpayer
How about they learn some birth control! SunnyFlaSnotress
You’re right. If we keep a strong dollar and water prices are elevated, more companies will migrate south and many of California’s immigrants, which number somewhere around 10 million, will likely follow Mexico’s new prosperity. Priszilla
It’s not just California where there is a problem with water usage.
Since 1950, agricultural irrigation has reduced the saturated volume of the Ogallala aquifer by an estimated 9%. Depletion is accelerating, with 2% lost between 2001 and 2009 alone. Once depleted, the aquifer will take over 6,000 years to replenish naturally through rainfall.
In the United States, the biggest users of water from aquifers include agricultural irrigation and oil and coal extraction.
The United States Geological Survey determined the water level in the aquifer has dropped more in Texas than in any other state in the basin.
Wasting natural resources is an American problem. Ken Swan
yeah those inland cities with millions of people using the ground water has nothing to do with it does it? California created this problem (NOT nature) by demanding that 90% of the states water be pumped to LA for use there, so what did they think was going to happen? Priszilla Liberty First
Just do not come to Texas. PLEASE!
I do not feel very sorry for California, in truth. They have fought desalinization projects like bats out of hell. And converted sea water could make a massive difference in stemming this drought. Environmental concerns, they say. Oh well. Irresponsible people tend to reap negative results. Mike
I already applied to three jobs in Texas, haha! Maybe I’ll be your neighbor. Liberty First
Well unlike in CA we are friendly to almost anyone down here. Mike
Desalinization won’t work anyway. It doesn’t remove 100% of the salt and in a desert region like cal it would evaporate too quickly depositing the trace amounts of salt in the soil rendering it unsuitable. Liberty First
Orange County has desal. It works just fine. Don’t Want ’em here
I feel sorry for you if you get an influx of those lunatics! Kurt
They can just give the State back to Mexico, let them worry about it. Lol VegasBob
To be fair, about 3/4 of California water usage is for agriculture. Without adequate water, I would look for steep increases in the price of fruits and vegetables and depopulation of agricultural areas. Maybe persistent drought will finally stem some of the mass migration from South of the Border into the US.
As for the leftists, they can stay in the Bay Area. They’re probably not going to be forced out. AntonioOssa
CALIFORNIA NEEDS TO PUT A STOP TO AGRICULTURE IMMIDIATELY! Mike
People and animals need to eat drama queen. nobody
If only we could import food from other places… mar1950
Does anyone know what % of the economy (GDP) comes from California? I seem to recall that if Cal. were a nation it would be the 6th largest economy in the world. If it did dry up and no one could live there, what would it do to the nation as a whole?
I would like to see the governor call the state to pray for rain (and snow in the mountains) but then the Bible declares: “He (man, state, or nation) that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” (Proverbs 28:9)
Calling on God to intervene while the abortion mills are still doing business, we are busy passing gay “marriage” laws, and have a brutal militaristic foreign policy that spreads death and destruction around the world we would only be mocking God and adding abomination on top of abomination. XSANDIEGOCA
Some 90% of the winter vegetables consumed in the US comes from California. We are now talking foodstuffs. Costs will skyrocket. Gay Veteran
don’t like “gay marriage”? then don’t marry someone of the same gender GSOB
Man proposes, but God disposes. Proverbs 19:21
yet more parroting of bible verses.
Polly want another cracker? Malcolm Reynolds
Just remind him he thinks the Puritans founded America on burning witches when he gets really irritating. Ron Gilbert
That’s rich. Don’t like someone opposing gay marriage? Then don’t try to force them to accept it as normal behavior. Or, even better, don’t try forcing them to participate in your immoral festivities by having them bake a wedding cake or cater it. Go to a business that supports immorality. Gay Veteran
who knew baking a cake was a religious activity! bet you wish businesses didn’t have to serve them darkies, or them Jews, or Catholics, or Muslims Ron Gilbert
LOL! Who knew your rights super ceded the right of someone refusing to participate in your immoral activities? You demanding that people serve you goes back to slavery. Do you think slaves really wanted to serve a master that made them do things against their will? Way to put people back under the thumb of totalitarian rule all so you can have a happy gay wedding. Your immoral behavior does not even begin to compare with blacks being enslaved, one who makes victims of everyone. Gay Veteran
“LOL! Who knew your rights super ceded the right of someone refusing to participate in your immoral activities?….”
not that long ago, 1967 in fact, many states had laws banning interracial marriage and your religious bakers could refuse service to those interracial couples.
“…You demanding that people serve you goes back to slavery. Do you think slaves really wanted to serve a master that made them do things against their will?….”
who knew bakers worked for free!
“…Your immoral behavior does not even begin to compare with blacks being enslaved, one who makes victims of everyone.”
you’re partly right about comparing slavery with the treatment of Gays, although in the past Gays have been beaten and murdered in this country with impunity (just like your good old Jim Crow days). And let’s not forget the slaughter of Gays in the concentration camps by those who also thought they were “exceptional” Ron Gilbert
Sorry pal… cannot claim the race card here. Not even close to the same thing. Homosexuality is not a race nor is there a gay gene. You are a group of people, and a very small percentage at that, who engage in an immoral activity and spew nothing but hatred and revenge to those that stand against this unGodly activity. Sorry that your “people” were slaughtered by whomever did this to them (not me, did not have anything to do with it so stop blaming everyone for it), but that changes nothing as to what you are doing.
God was quite clear when he said he hates the workers of iniquity. Do you know who those are? They include those that would pervert his words and then push a belief that something he says is wrong is not wrong and that he never said it.
And one more thing, you should really invest in some history reading. Your attributing of Jim Crow laws to my beliefs is completely uneducated (retarded comes to mind but with your sensitivities to PC, I didn’t say that…). As soon as you can, please look up who endorsed, promoted and pushed for Jim Crow laws and fought against their repeal. Then after that, really check into whether or not the Dixie Crats of the South actually became Republicans (cause that’s where I see this going next – and then after that…. more Leftist talking points with absolutely no substance). Please stop twisting things to support your hatred and stereotypes and I will at least try not to stereotype you. Gay Veteran
“…You cannot claim the race card here. Not even close to the same thing. Homosexuality is not a race nor is there a gay gene…..”
oh yes, that tired argument. You know what else is not a race or involves a gene? Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, etc. ALL of whom are protected by anti-discrimination laws.
“…You are a group of people, and a very small percentage at that, who engage in an immoral activity and spew nothing but hatred and revenge to those that stand against this unGodly activity….”
You know who else is a small percentage? Jews, and they are protected by anti-discrimination laws.
And immoral? you can go F yourself with a rusty chainsaw because I don’t take lectures on morality from smug self-righteous Pharisees like YOU.
“…Sorry that your “people” were slaughtered by whomever did this to them (not me, did not have anything to do with it so stop blaming every heterosexual for it), but that changes nothing as to what you are doing….”
What we are “doing” is fighting for legal equality.
“…God was quite clear when he said he hates the workers of iniquity. Do you know who those are? They include those that would pervert his words and then push a belief that something he says is wrong is not wrong and that he never said it….”
h , would that be the same “god” in the Bible who couldn’t flat out condemn slavery?
“…And one more thing, you should really invest in some history reading. Your attributing of Jim Crow laws to my beliefs is completely uneducated (retarded comes to mind but with your sensitivities to PC, I didn’t say that…)….”
hey Einstein, slavery AND Jim Crow laws were supported by people who used the BIBLE to justify their actions.
sorry if that hurts your sensitivities
“…As soon as you can, please look up who endorsed, promoted and pushed for Jim Crow laws and fought against their repeal. Then after that, really check into whether or not the Dixie Crats of the South actually became Republicans (cause that’s where I see this going next – and then after that…. more Leftist talking points with absolutely no substance)….”
see above, it was YOU Christians that “endorsed, promoted and pushed for Jim Crow laws” and I love how you historical revisionists try to deny that racist southern democrats became racist southern republicans, like the GOP’s southern strategy never happend
“…Please stop twisting things to support your hatred and stereotypes and I will at least try not to stereotype you.” WOW, such projection, such massive hypocracy coming from a “Christian” who supposedly believes in the Golden Rule. now don’t you have a street corner to pray loudly at? Ron Gilbert
“And immoral? you can go F yourself with a rusty chainsaw because I don’t take lectures on morality from smug self-righteous Pharisees like YOU.”
And the hypocrisy continues. It’s wrong for me to dictate morals but not wrong for you to tell me to go… f myself. Also, I don’t pray in public. If you knew anything about God, you would know that those doing so are not praying to him, they are praying for praise from others.
“WOW, such projection, such massive hypocracy coming from a “Christian” who supposedly believes in the Golden Rule.” The Golden Rule is applied when you tell someone that they are doing something wrong. It is done so that they can better themselves by stopping their behavior. Kind of like waking your neighbor from a deep sleep while his house burns. Smugness never entered my mind but it sure did show from your tirade. My ending statement is rescinded. I will continue to believe that you are a willing participant in evil. Gay Veteran
“And the hypocrisy continues. It’s wrong for me to dictate morals but not wrong for you to tell me to go… f myself….”
hey junior, it’s wrong for you to dictate morals for OTHER people, which is precisely why I told you to go F yourself you smug self-righteous theocrat.
“…Also, I don’t pray in public. If you knew anything about God, you would know that those doing so are not praying to him, they are praying for praise from others…..”
if the shoe fits…………
“…The Golden Rule is applied when you tell someone that they are doing something wrong. It is done so that they can better themselves by stopping their behavior. Kind of like waking your neighbor from a deep sleep while his house burns….”
because YOUR interpretation of the bible is the ONLY valid one, not like there are tons of Christians who disagree with you.
“…I will continue to believe that you are a willing participant in evil….”
that is your opinion, and opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one
“…Please, by all means, show me where God ever condoned it [slavery]. He allows it just like he allows people to sin without immediate death. He allows us to make our own decisions but when those decisions are against what he tells us to do, they come with consequences….”
wow, so all those southern slaveowners weren’t quoting the Bible to justify slavery? see, there’ s that historical revisionism again
“…speaking of revisionism…. all Dixie Crats did not become Republicans no matter how much you insist history says they did. That was a revisionism from your buddies in the DNC years ago, so that they could point their crooked little fingers at Conservatives and claim that we are the racists, much like you are doing….” yeah, the democratic party in the south just mysteriously declined after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. btw junior, I detest the democrats as much as the republicans, if fact more so because so many liberals are hypocrites (whereas the republicans actually believe their BS)“…According to every single bit of research done, only a handful of Dixie Crats switched over to the Republican Party while the VAST majority of them stayed in the DNC. Nice try though.” every single bit of reseach, eh? odd you didn’t provide any Ron Gilbert
But you can dictate them to Christians? Gay Veteran
how so? Ron Gilbert
Really? You have to ask that after stating that Christians have no right to push their morals on you? Have you ever taken into account that when you tell someone that they have no right to tell you what to do, you are doing exactly what you are protesting? It’s just like saying “Don’t tell me what to do!”. You are telling the other person what to do. Really? And you see nothing hypocritical about that? Of course you don’t. Why would you? You see things through a clouded vision of love right? Gay Veteran
oh I see, we gays must shut up while smug self-righteous Pharisees like you give us a lecture on “morality”. that’s what wannabe theocrats like you want
sorry junior, but we ALL have freedom of speech. You can lecture me all you want and I can tell you to stuff it Ron Gilbert
Oh I see… we Christians must shut up while the immoral acts of gays are being force upon the population. Sorry gay dude, but freedom of speech does not just apply to you and those that you agree with. Gay Veteran
acts of gays being forced upon the population, eh? what, did a gay guy come up and French kiss you? you know, it sounds like you need to move to a country where there are lots of people just like you! try Saudi Arabia Ron Gilbert
Round and round we go. Gay Veteran
“Round and round we go”
translation from trollspeak: I just got whipped yet again Ron Gilbert
Round and round we go. Gay Veteran
what an utter retard you are!
you want to tell me what to do but I can’t say “Don’t tell me what to do!”
you’re such a knuckle dragging mouth breather that it’s amazing you haven’t drowned in your own shower Ron Gilbert Gay Veteran
yeah, I was speaking of you.
btw, is that you Malcolm? because you sure write the same kind of drivel he writes Ron Gilbert
Round and round we go… Ron Gilbert
Round and round we go.. Gay Veteran
“Round and round we go”
translation from trollspeak: I just got whipped again! Ron Gilbert
Round and round we go… Gay Veteran
“Round and round we go”
translation from trollspeak: I just got whipped again!! Ron Gilbert
Round and round we go….. Gay Veteran
god supposedly gave you a brain, try using it occasionally Ron Gilbert
Round and round we go…. Ron Gilbert
And facts are not what you are looking for. Revenge is…. keep up the good work for your masters. They will be your undoing in the end. Gay Veteran
a , somebody has a problem with legal equality for minorities. so sad you can no longer discriminate against them fa** ots, ni** ers, ki kes, etc. Ron Gilbert
You are not a race. You cannot claim that you are within the definition of minorities. Take a hike you justifier of hate. Gay Veteran
hey Einstein, Mormons aren’t a race either but anti-discrimination laws protect them Ron Gilbert
Then stop using examples of racial discrimination to support you being discriminated against. Gay Veteran
oh, so you agree that Mormons aren’t a race but anti-discrimination laws protect them Ron Gilbert
Of course, that is a religion and as do the laws protect sexual orientation in the area of employment, housing, and being served in a restaurant. But being forced to bake a cake for a gay wedding, or cater a gay wedding, is not the same as you people perpetuate it to be. You are telling people to PARTICIPATE in that activity. It does not mean you won’t be served by them in their establishment, as you tried to tie in discrimination against blacks for not being served by whites in the South. Again, and for the last time, if you don’t support traditional marriage values from Christian business owners, go somewhere else. Freedom of choice is what you Libs want, isn’t it? But no… instead of wanting equality in laws (such as the pursuit of happiness for your opposition) you believe your rights super cede the rights of others to tell you no. Totalitarianism comes to mind with the logic that you push…. but you keep up that line of reasoning as you continue to believe that I am the stupid one… round and round we go… Ron Gilbert
Round and round we go Gay Veteran
“Round and round we go”
translation from trollspeak: I just got whipped again Ron Gilbert
Round and round we go.. Gay Veteran
god supposedly gave you a brain, try using it occasionally. Ron Gilbert
Round and round we go… Gay Veteran
you’re spewing yet more garbage Ron Gilbert
Round and round we go…. Ron Gilbert
Exactly! Undecider
Everything is going according to plan. From the geo-engineering to Agenda 21. California will be brought to its knees. Once broken and fully under control by the New World Order, the rain will suddenly reappear. VigilanteCaregiver
You can’t really fix up nature, only mess it up even more. Illegal
There are people who believe Geoengineering techniques are being used to create this crisis. Least we forget we are dealing with information that is manipulated or is very one sided and incomplete.Like climate cooling/warming/change we are being feed an orthodoxy so we have our freedoms taken away. Force the small farmers out of business. Let the big ag corporations be handed the bankrupt farmers land. Poof! End of the drought.
I think I’m glad I moved out last year! (PS: NOT liberal) Philip Botwinick
Climate Change and probably your God doesn’t give a hoot if you are liberal or conservative.
Nature Bat’s Last.
Climate Change is occurring in every single corner of the planet. There is no place to run where it will not have an impact. Hart Shepherd
But it was climate change that forced our hand at coming down out of the trees in the first place and evolving to the point that we could even be having this conversation. We were born in that briar patch. Linda Starr
Sorry, Philip, but my comment was in part a response to egore’s comment 3 days ago: “The really bad part is all those liberals gushing out of the state into the rest of the US like diarrhea. Buckle Up!” Climate has always changed and has always had an impact…bet your God knows that, too! Captain Canuck
Just to put this into perspective. The population of California alone is roughly the same as the entire country of Canada. We have the same problems as California as our snowpack is also dwindling rapidly. This is a continental crisis, and we are going to have to get very creative generating potable water locally, as there really is nowhere to escape to. Yawn Hugh
Junior Canuck; Come to northern Ontario. We have had lots and lots of snow the last few years and this year I have about 3′ still remaining in our yard as I write this on Easter. Lots of cold and snow paints the picture of Northern Ontario. Just came back from 4 months in Yukon……hardly any cold and snow there this winter. Scott
The snow pack in the James Bay area and throughout SE Canada is still over 2 feet, which produces a tremendous amount of fresh runoff water. Yermomandeye
They should go wherever Obama goes next year. James Hammett
hawaii and feed them to the volcanoes as human sacrifice? Matibob
No thanks. Mike Smithy
Build a nuclear power plant in the Mojave Desert and dedicate the power to desalinate water drawn from the Pacific. In the unlikely event of a nuclear disaster, the only creatures at risk will be scorpions and rattlesnakes. Win/Win either way. Problem solved. nobody
Hardly, you will still have to source the uranium fuel and dispose of the waste.. And please tell me that you really don’t think that a disaster will limit itself to a very tiny region. Mike Smithy
The USA already has a deep geological repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Unfortunately, President Zero closed it down in 2011 for political reasons. I.E. The environmental wacko nutjob lobby.
Yucca mt is full. U can’t keep storing that stuff forever. Mike Smithy
Kim, the U.S. Government spent millions of dollars constructing the Yucca Mountain containment facility. However, the facility does store any nuclear wast at the present time due to decades of legal red tape and political hurdles. That’s right, it’s a massive, yet empty man made cave. nobody
Actually no, it has already wasted all the easily available uranium ore and what we still have costs a fortune to refine. BTW that deposit has been closed because it has been proved to be situated in an insecure location – the mountain is heavily cracked and they discovered that only halfway thru building it. ” The environmental wacko nutjob lobby”– that clearly indicates your level of intelligence so i have no hope of convincing you with reasonable fact-based arguments. Please carry on. Irma Johnson
I live in Las Vegas and the thought of all of them coming here really is scary. We already have water problems as it is. nobody
You are kidding, right? Because you are already living in a desert. SunnyFlaSnotress
Oh no.. Vegas has it’s own drought happening. It’s economy is based on luxury spending which is likely going to drop. Just look at Atlantic City Casinos. We can blame neighboring state casinos for that, buy it likely isn’t the total story. Mexifornia Taxpayer
Wait until you cannot get cheap Hydro Power from the Colorado River and then you will be thirsty and in the dark! Philip Botwinick
you sure do and it’s going to get worse fairly rapidly.
Where does your food come from now and what will you do when it doesn’t come? Tom
The Grapes of Wrath Part 2?? alan
A lot of the southern part of the state is desert, so kind of a fail on their part. But it sounds like it might be good news for the South, Florida specially. I am sure what they will do is just import everything from Mexico and let the farms die. Priszilla
Oh well, the US has about the size of China, much more greenery but only a fourth of its population. Let China open her borders to enable the emigration of 300 million Chinese to America. Bruce David
Decades ago many of those Californians began migrating to where I lived in AZ. They had already screwed things up with their LA smog drifting to our valley. Once transplanted they planted so much CA-style vegetation our average humidity rate raised from 6% to 26% and our realty prices skyrocketed. Then even more illegals filtered into the valley…in other words, I know where they’ll head and they’ll try to screw up AZ [they are even trying to overturn our gun laws to resemble CA style communism]. Priszilla
The greens will create a forest garden or permaculture. They will grow trees and bushes and herbacious plants and root plants. The trees and shrubs will reduce evaporation and soil erosion by wind. The monoculture farmers will go crashing. They just need a virus to destroy what they still have left.
Nature is showing us forever how things are done. We are just too proud to watch and listen. XSANDIEGOCA Kim
We went up to mt hood in Oregon last Sunday to mushroom hunt. There’s no snow up there. Palmer is the only lift that’s open, as far as I’ve heard There is no snow at Mt Hood Meadows or Snoqualmie up in Washington. I saw it like this a few years ago, but never this bad. Winter skipped the northwest this year. We had, maybe, one or two days of freezing temps and that’s about it. Southern Oregon and eastern Washington is dying on the vine with California. LAWD
Lake Powell is going down fist along with the glen canyon dam K2
what? since when has this been happening? why bother
I shared a shuttle bus to JWA with a group of skiers Friday morning. They obviously had skis and snowboards in the long bags. I asked them where they found snow. They said Colorado. libsarescum
Please move to Washington or Oregon, and take your illegals with you. We don’t need Californians to ruin our the rest of the country. True Grit
We could get rid of ten million if we just deported the illegals! SunnyFlaSnotress
California’s immigrants number around 10 million, not its illegals. Bruce Wayne
there will likely be plenty of more Mexican Migrants only to happy to take up residence anywhere in California SunnyFlaSnotress
Not if the jobs tank, and water bills go up along with other basic costs of living, as would be likely in a prolonged drought scenario. 1fifty
Yes. And the reason is that climate change models show Mexico and Central America also going thru a mega drought. True story.
And California migrants will move where they want to, not necessarily where other people think they should move to. Also, people in the pacific nw should realize that if the mega drought really settles in, then here comes California for Columbia River water.
Finally, it’s not just California, but New Mexico, Arizona, west Texas, and Nevada that will also have the same mega drought. And, possibly, Utah. Elmo Fudginputz
Climate change models? Is that a type of slot machine Vegas? They aren’t worth horse poop except to insane people. Philip Botwinick
Well Elmo, you seem to be one of those “educated” USA citizens that Morris Berman and Chris Hedges write about.
Bet you believe that water doesn’t really boil at 212 degrees F.
Whether you believe in Climate Change or not doesn’t matter. Climate/weather could give two craps about what or if you are even capable of thought. Your just a piece of gum stuck on the body of Nature’s foot. Squish. Squish.
History is full of people like you and on an overpopulated planet (just try to live by putting all the world’s population in the state of Texas and then see how that works out) the reduction in the human species could only be a benefit to all other species on the planet. Elmo Fudginputz
There is no science supporting man-made global warming. Its a delusion. That probably suggests you are also a progressive who believes in lots of other delusions. All the climate models to date have been wrong. None of them work. 10’s of thousands of scientists and engineers reject man-made global warming. In fact, during the last 15 years the Earth has been cooling – all notwithstanding your delusional addiction to fantasy and scientists having been repeatedly discovered to have adulterated data to support man-made global, for the benefit of the organizations who fund their research; making it a criminal enterprise as well . When a liberal uses the word “science” in support of an argument, its not science at all but delusion, fairy tale and fantasy. You also probably believe Obama was born in Hawaii…HaHaHa! afchief
You are right! Global warming has nothing to do with science. It has to do with CONTROL. Controlling us!!! P’od Accountant
just because you can’t understand or comprehend the science doesn’t mean human activity isn’t changing the earth at a global. you sound like a blind man railing against light because you can’t see it. airedale
Human activity warming the planet makes no logical sense. Humanity is like atomic particles dancing on the shell of an egg, while the shell is like the earths crust floating on a mass of magma (the egg white) which surrounds a core of molten iron (the yolk). It is like saying your breath will warm a volcano. joe oberr
Please prove that human activity is changing the earth (I presume you mean on a global basis). Since carbon is way less than 0.05% of greenhouse gases and is NOT a poison or pollutant but is necessary for life (human, animal and plant) how is it that climate changers somehow conclude human activity is bad for the earth and life? Water vapor constitutes 95% of greenhouse gases. There is no historical evidence indicating warming periods followed increases in co2 emissions or in the atmosphere. How do you explain “The Pause”? (The Pause is the documented fact that there has been no global warming for the past 17 years). Briarpatch
There you go again with the water only boiling at 212 degrees F again how many times, moron are you going to use that INCORRECT statement. Go look in an eighth grade science book. joe oberr
PB – If you and all others who share this view are logical the next step would be for you and the others to end your lives in order to benefit all the other species on the planet. But since I do not see that happening I can only conclude you are not being truthful and/or you really do not believe what you just said. Fat Hubie
Let’s start the reduction with you… DixieAngel_76
Good, why don’t you go first? 1fifty
Always glad to read thoughtful, insightful responses from an intelligent commenter. pmagn
hey your going to be a migrant soon. show some compassion. sherlock32555
Not if we grow a set and put a stop to these idiots that put illegals first and we the people last. But what can you except from the brain washed people. It’s going tot take people that want to save us! Elmo Fudginputz
Let’s invade Mexico and oust the rich and Catholic Church officials, and then make it into our 51st state. Let’s finish the work Zachary Taylor started. gleb glebster
If anyone wanted Mexico, they wouldn’t be flocking here by the thousands. simoin
Mexicans were actually in California first! but in the end no one should invade anyone. And seeking a better life is not invading. what rich catholic church officials? mexico is a poor place. And why target catholics? obviously the liberals are the ones with all the money in this country. They own the media,hollywood,government,corporations and even the main internet sites like youtube/google. But following Jesus Christ and waking people up is what matters not ousting people. And stop tearing Christians apart by attacking Catholics who are Christians. Catholic church atleast has teachings that never change unlike unfortunately many protestant churches who are siding with liberalism and evil. Christians need to stick together to make the world a more peaceful and loving place with Jesus Christ! Ron Gilbert
“Catholic church atleast has teachings that never change”
The Catholic Church has adopted many teachings from other religions through out history in order to make their religion more palatable. Take for example purgatory. You won’t find it in the Bible but you will find it in other religions. How about when they taught that the Earth was both flat as well as the center of the universe (Galileo was excommunicated for teaching the opposite and then was “allowed” into Heaven when the Catholic Church finally admitted their mistake – wouldn’t God know his own creation?)? I could go on with this but it would only be rubbing salt into a wound. Needless to say, the Catholic Church does not represent God, never has. Their method of salvation is one of works while God says salvation is by grace through Jesus Christ alone. We work BECAUSE of our salvation not for it. True Catholic
“There are not a hundred people in America who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions of people who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church.”– Bishop Fulton Sheen. Centurion53
And look at the third world S h i t hole the Mexicans have created with their wonderful country….Round up the criminal invaders and ship them ALL back to that Hell hole!! jamessrq
I am not going to address ‘who was first’ but I will THANK YOU for advocating Christian people not antagonize each other. VigilanteCaregiver
WOW! Who knew obeying the law has benefits! BabylonUSA
The Pilgrims, they came to America seeking religious freedom rather than “obeying the queen of England”… VigilanteCaregiver
Well yeah. I was being a little sarcastic…
At the same time, if you look at English legal tradition there’s always been a sense of the people having an established basis of liberty. Before the Roman invasion many communities elected their Chieftain for a set period of time. Before feudalism came in 1066, the English monarchy was more of an elected office with elected officers and magistrates. The Scottish Clan system was the same way. Whenever the monarch became a tyrant, the citizens usually ran him out or died trying. The idea of the Round Table came through this tradition.
The Pilgrims (or Saints as they called themselves) were part of the Brownist Reformation movement. The King assumed Church and State powers during Henry VIII’s bloody, psychotic reign and was continuing this non-traditional practice; throughout almost all of English history the King was subject to God, not able to pretend he was the spokesman for God and could force the people to his beliefs. In this view, the King was in violation of English legal tradition. user z
You are comparing leaving a country to entering it illegally? Have trouble with common sense much? Ed
So immigrating to America and exterminating the indigenous Indian population was legal? user z
Would you have preferred that the indigenous exterminated your ancestors? Another lacking common sense. What exactly do you propose against those wearing animal skins projecting arrows and hatchets at you? h ? jamessrq
Hold up. Both of you need to realize that you are addressing two different subjects. Pilgrims did not conquer the south or the west so they had nothing to do with exterminating Indians. They enjoyed good relations with the majority of ‘locals’ they encountered. Remember Thanksgiving?
Now, if you want to go after those who did commit the crimes you describe, make sure you do not generalize and ascribe guilt to all Anglos. Instead, state which people were responsible because not every settler was some ‘evil land grabber’. How about starting with Andrew Jackson who infamously proclaimed the only good Indian was a dead one? How about getting Barry Hussein to take Jackson off the $20 instead of Hamilton, who opposed slavery, off the $10? That would be more productive. Or, try to address James Polk who pushed ‘manifest destiny’. Stay specific and you can have a meaningful conversation. Get caught in generalities and you will only sow the seeds of insults. Get it right
You bet, that was then this is now! Get out of my country deadbeat, get out of the USA deadbeat, stay out. puchache
Yeah, user z. It looks like you are proving the old adage that common sense is not so common. Look who is talking.
Where did the pilgrims obtain their immigration permits from? From the Sioux? From the Wampanoag? user z
Common sense would indicate that there was no established law or government when the pilgrims got here. Good luck getting some common sense. puchache
In addition to a lack of reasoning, you exemplify typical ignorance. I bet you’re the type that can’t point to where Alaska is, much less, say Chile.
The natives had their laws, their constitutions and their civilizations. eejit. user z
I have been around the world in Asia and Europe. Its a shame you can’t even refute the fact that your example was asinine as there was no government when the pilgrims got here. Changing the subject is a total fail. Greling Jackson
Your “history” sounds like something a bunch of self-serving land-hungry white men dreamed up before pulling out their quill pens to write. user z
“Of, by, and for the people” IS a VERY self-serving” phrase. It serves every self for which it was established and it’s called civilized FREEDOM. So until you can come up with your own “more perfect union” government why don’t you just shut your ignorant, history deficient pie hole or go live somewhere else where the government owns your land, tells you where you can work, and forces you to live in abject poverty, because your bedwetting here is stinking the country up. Maybe you would prefer Kenya since it wasn’t formed by white men. P’od Accountant
then you will also have no food in addition to no water, idiot. DixieAngel_76
Oh yeah, because people never ate until the illegals came along to ‘save us all’ from ourselves. Nicholi Hel
In the Bay Area Alone! user z
Yea Kalifornia, enjoy your over-populated and illegal diversity Kees Roma
In a way, though, it’s kind of poetic justice…the illegals flood California, the U.S. Government refuses to stop them and the California government (including the Governor Brown) betray our own nation and create laws to welcome them and, in the end, they will get nothing but desert…you have to love the irony…and I kind of like the scorched earth policy…if we can’t have it, neither can they… LAWD
Start with: If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down. I had to pack in a bucket every drop I used growing up, and I can tell you, I respect water. That’s something California never learned. Matibob
Cali could start by flushing Gov Skidmark Brown. PhDProfessor
Too bad California didn’t plan ahead for this eventuality by building water desalinization plants with the plentiful Pacific Ocean water trough right off their coast. Instead they wasted billions on dubious social programs with little to show for it. TrainsOverDesalinizationBad
And spending billions on a slow train to nowhere that could be spent on desalinization plants instead. Matibob
When you vote in Gov Skidmark Brown AGAIN one does not have to look far as to why preparations where not a first priority. Philip Botwinick
Yeah, that’s the ticket. Two examples of what our highly touted education system believes is critical thinking.
Let’s build more desalination plants (of course how will they be powered, oh by nuclear) which will produce more water so we can grow more food and use more fertilizers and create more dead zones. More food means more people so that we can stress out the planet even more.
Watch Albert Bartlett’s Exponential Function on youtube and open your minds.
And don’t believe the hype about fitting all the people on the planet in the state of Texas. Just take a breath and think about what that would be like. guest
How does Saudi Arabia get water? PhDProfessor
They smartly built desalinization plants to provide a stable supply of fresh water. Ronald D Morrison
California should start with recycling the water back into the dry lakes that is released by its sewer treatment plants. In our area the water released into the ocean is pure enough to drink when it comes out of the plants. In Hampton Roags Virginia we put about 180 million gallons of water back into the ocean every day. We have a population of about 1.8 million. To supplement its recycled water, California should establish desalinization water plants. Also, California might find it advantageous to change its life style and to repent. Black
I Pay for my water just like I pay for my gas. I’ll let my 3, 12 mpg SUV’s idle in the driveway all day and turn on all the faucets in the house and watch the water flow down the drain if I damn well please. I’m an American and its my god given right Michael Montgomery
Its comments like yours that make logical people face palm. Poor choice of words. Its like those that open carry in front of a school because they can-Dumb! K2
The more water you waste, the more your fellow americans will suffer. Richard O. Mann
Yep. That’s a fact. But, when ya turn on that faucet, and nothing comes out, that is whey you will have to load up the SUVs with whatever you can pack into them, and move some where else. Bad thing is, no one is going to want all those people from California, moving into their state/communities. I can see armed citizens waiting at the state line, looking for license plates from California. Either turn back, or be shot. Let the good times roll. Doug_B
California – the big warm and easy – I don’t want these people and the illegals in my state! Agua
The people will head south of the border as planned. Chemtrails and the North American Union. Thanks NWO. Doug_B
How about a machine that turns illegals into water? Just a thought. Matibob
There is no way I would drink that! Idahocntryboy!
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land”. 2nd Chronicles 7:14 God’s patience wears thin. Devastation will continue to come on this country until this country repents and turns back to God! goldminer
LOL! Well you can thump your bible all you want. But it aint gonna stop the flood of thirsty caifornicators that will be headed to your part of the country. There wont be no healing of your land then. They aint thirsting for salvation. Just more money and sin. Idahocntryboy!
It will not be just California that suffers the entire US is going to have major catastrophic situations where men’s hearts will fail as fear grips their thoughts. Laugh all you want at my Bible but this Bible predicted over 2500 prophecies and 2/3’s have a 100% accuracy rate and more coming true each day. Israel experienced it’s disobedience to God as will this country that has completely turned it’s back on God. 2smooth
Amen brother ! Hallaluja to the lamb ! chilller
Praise God from whom all blessings flow….or suffer the consequences at your own peril…. Paul Patriot
Amen. All we can do is pray that the scoffers wake up and repent before their window of opportunity for salvation is closed. Gay Veteran
Truth! suss
well, what he said is true……….think about it for a change. everyones so wrapped up in phones, games, lifestyle, and not od. you reap what you sow….. user z
If there “won’t” be “no” healing, then there will be some healing. pmagn
Hey you dont need God to let you know that. Climate scientist have been say this would be coming for the last 30yrs or so. Idahocntryboy!
It will be far worst that just climate change! The ground will crumble at your feet, the moon will be as blood, famine, pestilence and it is coming soon to a town near you. Sunny
But the million dollar questions are – CAN they save you?
Isn’t everyone will be busy to save their own as**? DixieAngel_76
And the Bible said it thousands of years ago. suss
AMEN!!!! DixieAngel_76
Finally, a word of wisdom; but don’t expect the scoffers to listen. Christ Himself warned that in the last days they would just about outnumber everyone else. gillyking
Eliminate sanctuary cities, strictly enforce immigration laws, rid the state of all the societal parasites sucking California dry! Utilize the ocean! De-sal plants up and down the coast! Cease the political global warming hoax hogwash and use our resources much smarter! Yawn
why is the un involved this is a US problem…please dont come to my state… underaged
Lame excuse for an article – no thought, just hyperbole. Joss Smith
Nobody with any Brains at this moment is factoring into the U.S. Economic situation that if California doesn’t get substantial rain in the next 18 to 24 months it will be “dire Straits” financially, economically, and socially on top of each current problems because we never seem to do anything until its broke and to late.
The ramifications will create a tremendous strain on the U.S. Economy and will probably cause an eventual collapse in the coming years. Just imagine large parts of California without water because at this stage that is the forecast from the experts.
Real Estate Prices would CRASH . . . . Agriculture, the Dairy Industry and Wine Production would collapse . . . . and Hollywood well that’s another story ! What would happen to Silicon valley ? This would be devastating on the entire country. Let’s hope the Rain is coming Soon ! Mystic Dog
Lose the agriculture, lose the golf courses, lose the green lawns, lose the car washes, utilize 1 gallon toilet tanks (and remember if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down). And there should be just about enough drinking water for 38 million people. Lorungee
Lose the golf courses…MY GOD…what would Bob Hope think New Man
so cal will not be affected because of measures that have been taken and a new desalinization plant coming online called “Poseidon” but the exodus from mid cal has already begon in earnst Danny Straw
In stead of spending Millions on illegals they should be turning sea water into fresh water..but libtard are just that to stupid to do anything so smart.. pmagn
err they are. One coming on line now. 19 in the pipeline.
Do you know how much desal water cost? Philip Botwinick
It appears that pmagn is asking the right questions. Too bad Danny Straw (Strawman) is typical of the level of critical thinking we have in the world and especially in the USA.
Has to turn things into Liberal/Conservative debate instead of being able to see beyond those limited thinking skills.
He ought to try to learn how to grow food (and spend less time on the net) to see how hard it is to do without water.
Guess Danny hasn’t watched Ken Burn’s “The Dustbowl” or he might be concerned that the Ogallal Aquifier will be depleted by 2050, so every part of the USA west of the Mississippi will be worse than the Dust Bowl of the 30’s.
Guess Danny ought to buy that one way ticket offered by illusionist Richard Branson for that colony on Mars.
Not only is the cost of desalination going to make it prohibitive, but without energy to run the plants (fracking is imploding so the Obama fantasy of the USA being the Saudi Arabia of the world again was short lived) makes them a waste of effort, time and energy.
Hey, Danny, read “Green Illusions” by Ozzie Zehner. Briarpatch
What no comment in all that slop you typed about water boiling only at 212 F Ed
Tuning sea water into fresh water requires energy. Fossil energy is depleting as fast as water. California, like Mexico is in population overshoot. mark mc
During the Dust Bowl, California government sent the the highway patrol to Blockade the highway at Blythe to keep out the Refugees from the Midwest. I say turn about is fair play. Send Arizona Highway Patrol to seal off the Colorado River crossing points. God help us in Arizona. Mondobeyondo
This drought will have long term effects on not just California, but the west of the U.S. as well. (And also the REST of the U.S…. intentional typo, heh.)
If you want to, you can forget the old saying “As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation”– but much of the nation’s fruits and nuts come from the Golden State (not the political kind, but the kind you eat.) It is a huge producing state for avocados, lettuce, citrus, Napa Valley wine, pistachios and many other products. The drought will have a severe effect on California’s produce.
Not to mention. a lot of people will go thirsty, too. The whole West and Southwest is parched. The Colorado River’s flow is way below normal. Los Angeles already has water restrictions in place. Las Vegas and Phoenix may be next . evoval
By their own admissions the science of cloud seeding is a factual reality. They can make it rain or they can make it not rain. If they have the technology to make it rain why aren’t they? Because they’re using the technology to stop it from raining. Look up at all those hi flying aircraft spraying everyday, even when the clouds are black and it looks like rains coming it doesn’t. Turn off the spigot, dry everything up, destroy property values, buy up all the real estate dirt cheap then turn the spigot back on at a time of their choosing. Diabolically ingenious! DJohn1
California needs to follow the example of Israel. Using the water you got which is the Pacific Ocean. Use toilets that use little water. Up and down the entire Pacific Coast, figure out why rain is not coming. Then change the conditions causing the drought. Conservation might help in the planting of as many trees as is practical. Leaves from trees tend to preserve what water there is. Disney put together a project in which they drip feed water to plants. It needs to be put into place in California to preserve vegetation where possible. Everything done is accumulative and eventually it might even solve the problem. I look at it that it didn’t just start suddenly. It has gone on for years. Now it is getting critical. The problem of drought will not go away suddenly either. It will take years to solve the problem. When natural things reverse then the state could end up flooded. Remember, who is really in charge. God can do miracles. California and surrounding areas needs to change. The change is going to be somewhat painful but necessary. There is some hidden cause that is preventing the rain from falling. That is what California has to discover before anything will work. jakartaman
An angry GOD on the sodimites Gay Veteran
The road of the Godly leads upward, leaving hell behind. Proverbs 15:24
more parroting of bible verses. Polly want a cracker?
Said it before and I guess it bears repeating… California is led by politically correct morons.
They are spending billions on a train nobody wants, instead of investing in what? Solar powered DESALINATION Plants everywhere. They have the biggest body of water in the world, right in front of their eyes and they cannot see… Philip Botwinick
Your are still drinking the Kool Aid laced punch.
Read Ozzie Zehner’s “Green Illusions” and take the red pill.
Realize finally that Solar and Wind cannot and I repeat cannot power industrial civ and definitely can’t provide a “middle class” American lifestyle to the entire planet (which would need 5 other planets like Earth to do so).
Solar and Wind are fossil fuel extenders. You understand what and extender is? Hart Shepherd
Philip, solar collection for boiling water is not the same as converting solar energy into electricity. It is a much more efficient process and is totally viable. It does, however take up a lot of real estate, so the ocean water would need to be pumped into collectors in the desert, and the fresh water pumped back into the city. I think you were confused by the word powered. Either pay closer attention or try not to be so sanctimonious. Reminds me of a joke. What do you get when you cross Albert Einstein with a streetwalker? You get a f*#king know-it-all. Piper Michael
Yes Philip, in the general case, I agree. But this is a specific case for a specific task, and yes, I was being bit flippant… 😉 Generally the comment was about common sense, and mistaken priorities of the leftist idiots running things. The whole problem is Kalifornia, overpopulation, and Illusions that we can keep our current level of technocratic civilization running. That is a problem I and many others have been working on since the first oil crisis in the 1970’s. There are no solutions, except Malthusian. Is that the answer you wanted to hear? Joe Burbinski
Well look, if this drought is actually natural, what do you expect, the majority of California has always been a desert …period. it has only developed for human habitation because they stole water from other parts of the nation. As I said, if this drought is natural let it reclaim the land the sooner the better. There are lots of spaces and housing for all those California’s in Michigan especially Detroit, it has lots of housing that is empty and I hear you can get homes at a fantastically low price, plus lot of water in Lake Michigan for them. Mexifornia Taxpayer
Just exterminate the two legged vermin and their spawn that infest the city, burn everything down and start over Joe Burbinski
Well from what I have read, that is a possible option that the so called power brokers of this world are looking into so they can have it all for themselves and only keep a small number of us simple folk to do work so they won’t have to.After all us simple folks are just a drain on the resources that apparently I am told belong all to them Alleged Comment
You wanted gay abomination, you wanted a foreign illegal king, you wanted abortion genocide, you wanted prayers out of schools, government, and your lives.
YOU WANTED TO DEFY GOD!!!
Well guess who owns the water there?
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. (Prov 5:15) H8Religion
Child Raping Priests DEFY GOD or does GOD condone it? After all he has remained silent about it!!!! 2smooth
@hater, Why dont you mention the head cutting off muslums. Are you scared of them or are you one of them. Sunny
They too are screwed up, and the ones who didn’t got yet, will be soon. Wait & watch! 😉 Alleged Comment
Are you talking about Moslems? Please state your cause. 2smooth
Amen !brother amen ! hallauluja to the lamb, give him praise and glory in the house ! God is is not pleased with the way they have strayed away from the faith and shook their fist in his face ! Gay Veteran
bilge from a tired old bigot Mark Odenbach
High End Solar drought solution for The Golden State.
There is a technological solution to this problem. I don’t even need credit for it, but it is my idea.
The three, one mile square solar concentrating steam generating, electric power stations that are operating along Interstate 15 south of the state line between CA and NV are the way out of this mess. The boilers need to be modified to use ocean/salt water and to continually wash the concentrated brine with fresh salt water so as not to clog the boiler with salt. An area of perhaps 50 square miles should be set aside in the low area of the southwestern central valley, where there used to be a lake and the farmland is not as good as elsewhere. The brine handling solar power generating plants should be built in this area with the already existing piping and canals from the delta used to supply them with salt water from further out into the ocean. The solar plants boil the salt water and use the steam to make power from the sun, which makes the “Greenies” happy; the steam from the turbines is then condensed into pure water with the cold salt water coming into the plant which is warmed up a bit; the continuous flow of highly concentrated brine flushed out of the boilers is placed into evaporation ponds for salt and other mineral mining operations. A small fraction of the power generated by the plants is dedicated to run the delta pumps, the remainder is injected into the grid. The fresh condensed water is piped throughout the central valley to eliminate the water shortages CA will be experiencing. This is basically, solar desalinization with many additional benefits. This system is scalable and even more value can be derived with new technologies and innovations.
Mark Odenbach
I have a house in phoenix i can let someone buy for 700k frank1569
There is only one solution: 1/2 the population needs to voluntarily move to another state ASAP. Of course, said 1/2 can’t afford that, so our govt is going to have to declare a state of emergency and provide relocation assistance for both people and businesses.
Said assistance could easily be offset by, say, our not bombing 6 countries in the Mid East for five damn minutes.
Of course, what will really happen is ‘Grapes of Wrath, Part 2,’ because when the going gets tough, Americans start hatin on each other big time… you know, because we’re an awesome Christian nation and stuff. CharlesH
I just posted signs at all entrances. DELAWARE IS CLOSED! Bill
No Dams, no water reserves. There was a huge anti-dam movement to preserve the environment. Now the environment is dying because we didn’t build water reserves. Bill
Change your username. Ken Swan
It’s called WEATHER you asshat… go read your HISTORY BOOKS ( pre 1980) and maybe you would learn something real… and who believes that lying POS Gore anyway ( yeah the guy with the $12K/month powerbill) Pete
Oh, and what happens if at the same time San Francisco or the L.A. area gets hit with a major earthquake? It’s look out below.. Lorungee
Fish and other wildlife disappearing from the Pacific ocean and Cali coast and NOBODY in officialdom (dumb) wants to talk about the connection between Sea Lions with the symptoms of radiation poisoning and Fukishima. Truly amazing. goldminer
I have said this before here and say it again. It aint just about watering crops. lawns, and swimming pools. Its about power! The west runs on cheap hydroelectric power. We have about 1 year of cheap power left in the west’s lakes. After that. Out go the lights! AND air conditioning. Can you imagine what LA, Las Vegas, Phoenix, ect would be like without AC and cooling. The words hell hole comes to mind. I laugh at all the people who talk about Desalination plants. They take huge amounts of power. Where are they going to get that? Go nuculear? in Kalifornia? LOL fat chance. They would plant a useless windmill on every square foot of ground first. Don’t you just love it when a good plan goes to hell. Dale Graley
I say lets get that billion dollar bullet train built through Cali so we can move water around faster! TheTruthBurns
Crapipornia – Glad I left. It was the Golden State maybe until the late 80’s or early 90’s but has really gone down hill so now it is The Golden Toilet Bowl. Too Many Illegal Mexicans, Indians (On Work Visas-Yeah Right), Mainland Chinese (Rude, Money Grubbers). Every kind of Lifestyle is OK especially Rapists & Child Molesters (Again See Illegal Latinos). I have told my relatives who live there if you don’t leave Cali – then when the Big One Hits or you can’t find anyone who still Speaks English or there is No More Water Left then Look in the Mirror & Realize YOUR STUPIDITY for Staying – Sorry No Sympathy Here. A few Good Nukes could Solve a lot of problems – Can you Hear Me San Francisco, L.A. & San Diego – Buh-Bye! The Conservanator
Call me crazy, but wouldn’t all the money that has/will be wasted on benefits for illegal wetbacks and Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown’s cho cho train, been better served by being used for the development of a desalinating system? Do you need a better example of liberal lunacy? Briarpatch
What a tool. Al Gore knows NOTHING about weather patterns or anything that pertains to earth sciences. Al Gore was only trying to cash in on the “Glo-bull warming” scam to make more money. Idiots believed him and the rest is history. Philip Botwinick
Obviously neither Ken nor Briarpatch understand the difference between climate and weather.
Do some research guys and learn that you’re not going to heaven.
Here’s some help, if you’re open:
Albert Bartlett – exponential function on youtube
Check out Guy McPherson’s Climate Change Summary.
Bet you believe that water can be made to boil at any temperature other than 212 degree F. Briarpatch
Hey Einstein, what kind of background do you have in science? of any sort? Not that satellite imaging of the Antarctic shows an INCREASE in ice coverage. Oh and YES!! I do know (not believe) that water can be made to boil at a temp other than 212 degrees F. You must have been asleep in you freshman high school science class dumbass. Water will boil at LOWER temps with an increase in elevation. At 5000 ft. above sea level water WILL boil at 198 degrees F. Trusting you and your friend, Al Gore with any matters of science is a losing bet to be sure. Go back to watching Dancing with the Stars. Marine68
The lack of rain and Snow is not a Catastrophe; there is much Water underground that can and is pumped up. The problem is that the Government redirects overflow into the Ocean rather than down to the south of the water’s sources. pmagn
its not just CA, its the whole SW.. and parts of Mexico and Central America. And thats exactly what #climate predictions where. These regions are now bust. We should have been planning on how to cope with this. Maybe you can really plan for this… Its going to be ugly. Lucretius Laskaris
Lovin’ the comments here. There are some real pieces of work. More Flatlanders stuck in their ideological prejudice than I can shake a stick at. Love it!!! Hart Shepherd
Your avatar is apropos. Hart Shepherd
Oh, and the so-called flatlanders are much brighter than the tard with the pointy end of the ice-cream cone stuck in his eye. 2smooth
Praise the lord, he is coming soon !!! GSOB
Praise the Lord! JI
Oh no, this is a disaster for the western US!! A mass migration of Californians! Wherever they go, they quickly vote for the type of people and policies that screwed up California in the first place. Bill
Hi Michael – The Great Drought is being engineered through Geoengineering – Aerosol Particulates and EMF frequencies (HAARP and S Band Radars) – see documentation in videos by Mike at The HAARP Report YouTube channel jack_foobar
We’re going to dig a moat around California and set it on fire. Any other stupid questions? Patrick Adrien Varencaus
Adios amerika . Your sins are exposed you ve rejected God time to pay European American
The Pacific NW got massively sucker punched by the “invasive species with an attitude” from the south, back in the 80’s. This time we’ll be waiting for them. Locked and Loaded. clay mills
But this time, He wants us to help ourselves! 😉 GSOB
My Deliverer is standing by. UCSPanther
From what I have heard and read thus far, the 20th century was the wettest known time in California, but the later 19th century was quite dry (Including the great drought of 1886 that scuttled any plans to raise cattle in the Central Valley).
I think we are seeing a return to the “dry” cycle of the past century. Ironic, considering that many people from the prairies migrated there during the Great Depression to escape the Dustbowl Droughts of the mid ’30s. I wager we will see the reverse now… NoWorldOrder.com
Desalinization technologies are starting to come to the forefront to save California. Do a search for the Carlsbad desalinization plant, and check out Okeanos Technologies new desalinization process that could change everything. Edward Kirby
As I’ve been saying for a few years: Detroit real estate is the biggest bargain in history right now. Located on the greatest source of freshwater on the planet — the Great Lakes — there will be a massive migration to this area as Latin America empties out along with everything west of what is currently known as the Mississippi River.
If I had any money at all, I’d be picking up a few empty lots in an impoverished area near downtown. In a decade or so, that kind of investment will have increased by several orders of magnitude as the lands around the Great Lakes see their population increase to over a billion people. Naughty Goy
What may actually happen is farmers will leave the state. Most of the water is used by the farmers. I believe it’s about 80% of the water that is used by farmers. If a bunch of farmers leave the water usage should go down a lot and it should solve the drought problem that way. Catman
Why are all the article sources leftist like NPR, National Geographic, Jerry Brown, and the UN? That alone make the stats suspect. This is great climate change fodder, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. What about the pumps that have been idled that put water in the aqueduct because some smelt got caught up in the machinery? What about all the illegals using water in California? Will this lack of water be used by the Obama administration to force other states to take in all these illegals? If this has been such a critical issue for decades why is the next desalination plant five years from completion? Where are California’s priorities? Since so much domestic produce is grown in California why hasn’t a pipeline of water been constructed from say water-rich Wyoming to supply the need? Certainly investors would pile into that project if there was really a need. I suspect the need is not that critical, or they would ban swimming pools at least. And I really believe the left wants to use this issue/crisis to further it’s nefarious agenda of advancing man made global warming, and continue its wealth transfer schemes. Orange Jean
What most surprises me is that California wasn’t expecting this. They have always had a tenuous hold on water… with parts in the north often getting far too much at the same time as the south getting too little.
That’s why they built (as who knows what cost) the CA Aqueduct system (which is how the Central Valley gets it’s water for crops) as well as the flood control dams. That’s why back in the late 80s (during a 5 year drought) they passed new plumbing ordinances requiring “low flow” toilets and showers.
That’s why LA robbed the farmers of Owen’s Valley of their water. That’s why the St. Francis dam failed and killed over 500 people back in the 20s. And in East of Eden (set in Salinas, CA) Steinbeck wrote:
“And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.” JB
Now that they have ruined their state, it looks like many of the Califonians are coming to Texas to drain it of everything, including water. But we have the same problem here. The lakes are drying up at an alarming rate. DON’T COME TO TEXAS, especially Austin. dasgeiss
About 30 million to get back close to 100 year ago figures. They would go to the East coast, Chicago, Detroit and Southern states. AndreaNY
If the governments of China, and Russia are able to come to the aid of their farmers/citizens by seeding clouds to produce rain, why is our government not doing the same. Just google”China seeds clouds to relieve drought-hit wheat”. Just seems to me something is really of kilter here when our government acts like they have no knowledge of this technology that we helped perfect. Scott
Build the Grand Canal project. JWM
The hasn’t been a natural weather pattern in this country for well over 20 years. All of America’s weathe, and much of the globe has been manipulated, and is controlled. When California runs dry, it will cause a large designed population shift out of the State. Many farmers will quit due to lack of crop water. (Actually this is a ready happening to my own family). My Granddaughter just moved out of California with her husband and family. Her husband has lived in Cal. all his life. Now they live in Washington State (great for us).
This move out of California by the masses will allow big GMO food corporations to come in and buy up huge rich farming lands for pennies on the dollar, and that will eventually result in huge increase in food prices. Once done, the Government powers controlling the weather patterns will attempt to restore the ground water tables and weather in the state. The end result, more for the Corporations, and control by Government of the people. Control the water and you control the food, control the food and you control the people……That’s the end result, and a very simple plan. Done gradually so as to fool the masses, although it doesn’t look very gradual to me if you look at the results of moving the weather toward the Eastern half of America. why bother
The problem is “we the people,” reproducing to create much more of us. Add to that the hideous large stucco boxes. And the fallacious idea that our houses and quality of life either will keep improving or at least stay the same, forever. Then I say: Detroit. The number one reason against planning on staying in any one community for a generation is the Detroit example. It can happen anywhere. I like the song “Tom Sawyer,” by Rush for many reasons. But one of my favorite lines is appropriate here. “He knows changes aren’t permanent but change is.” So if you cannot expect living conditions to remain idyllic for more than twenty years then why should someone buy California real estate? A Dodgy Bloke
Only an American would think of putting a water fountain in a desert. As I said several times the South West of the US was never designed to support this number of people. I was only a matter of time before the water ran out. Even if the wet period had continued it was only a matter of time before reality reared it’s ugly head. Now it California next it will Las Vegas, Phoenix, Reno so on. Walter Ruggieri
As long as jobs are here, people will stay and they will import water or finally build a desalinization plant. But… once the jobs dry up and real estate prices drop, they will begin to move in mass. Maybe other states need to begin to develop California migration contingencies? David Wilson
Time to get serious, California. First thing I’d do right now is make lawns illegal, unless they’re made of plastic. And that includes parks, golf clubs and all those road side verges in suburbia. People should replace them with something more appropriate to a Mediterranean/semi-desert climate. If you don’t get radical now the economy could implode in a few years time if the drought continues and water supplies run out. Philip Botwinick
The Israelis are also good at behaving towards the Palestinians much like the Germans/Nazis did towards the Jews prior to the implementation of the Final Solution in 1941.
Can Israel function without the funds from the USA, the Christian Right and many of the fearful Jews? No.
Just consider me a self hating Jew along the lines of Norman Finkelstein. Dan
They will likely try to make any conservatives stay and then redistribute the liberals to all the swings states….. SMH2much
So, where is the Calvary to rebuild our dams that were destroyed for the smelt? Richard
“Are you starting to understand the scope of the problem?” No, actually I’m not starting. I understood the problem a long time ago. How about a question for the likes of us? When you write those kinds of question, it just looks like fea-rmongering to me. The emotive, overwrought silly questions just assume we’re fools. We ALL know how serious this is. We don’t need to be asked if we’re “starting” to understand, thank you. Joel
“How about a question for the likes of us?”— Really? What about stopping using yourself as a reference of the good way of writing or speaking? Stop playing the Mother Teresa of the Grammar & Spelling World. Your comments are, as usual, out of context of the topic… you just want to show to all of us how great you are at using English… get over yourself. why bother
I work and rent in Orange County, California. I notice Irvine is all green still. Is the Irvine Company immune from the water rules? I am a legal resident in Arizona and I cannot imagine where Californians could afford to go. They need jobs. Their employers would have to move first before the Californians can move. For instance, the national HQ of Toyota moved from California to Texas. Some other big corporation (I am not at liberty to say) employing at least 10,000 people in California has been talking about consolidating in Texas out of California in five years. I am thinking the plans might move quicker than five years, because of the severe drought. I have a place to stay in Arizona, but no job there. I do have a lot of savings because I prepared for crises, and am 12 years from retirement. So I can sit out a few years and find some way to make money again after the drought finishes off what the socialists destroyed in California. Philip Botwinick
Not only is Irvine exempt, for the time being (I’m being sarcastic), but big ag and big oil are completely exempt (this I’m being serious about).
Got to keep those walnuts growing. Discipleof Jesus
All those microchips and still don’t know how to design a viable de dalizination plant ? See what happens when you trust in man California ? Gwen Johnson Koskinen
When they have to migrate, maybe this time, when the Californians have to leave and go to Oklahoma, Oklahoma will welcome them with more hospitality than they were greeted with back in the 30s. MeMadMax
Ah heck, mexico wants california back, let em have it…..
As long as they get to keep all the libtards there too…
^.^ Elmo Fudginputz
Why aren’t a series of pipelines already under construction to move water from the Great Lakes to California and other states being effected by drought? Call it the Interstate Drought System, similar to the Interstate Highway System. Is everybody in California just stupid? All that water in the Great Lakes, and golf courses in California will soon be brown. And the amount of fresh water in Canada is staggering. Somebody out there should try and business develop a solution. Philip Botwinick
Yeah, that’s right. The Great Lakes where fertilizer run off have created an algae situation.
My god where are the critical thinkers? Elmo Fudginputz
Critical thinkers? Well you aren’t one of them, notwithstanding your fantasy and personal problems. Algae situation? Almost all fresh waterer lakes have algae. Did you know most municipalities actually treat their water pathogens and impurities before sending it on to the public? They let folks like you over at Oaklawn sanitarium actually have access to computers? Briarpatch
Critical thinkers…………THAT’S rich coming from you! Dave Wilbur
The solution for water in California. ALL accurate economic, gastronomic, medical, political and military thinking has to be based on government having unlimited funds while no money goes to Washington as taxes. How can this be? Nobel Laureate, Paul Samuelson said the Federal Reserve is an “omnipotent counterfeiter” and the Federal Reserve in 1977 and 1979 said their system “works only with credit.” They also said: “The Federal Reserve in cooperation with the federal government has the inherent power to create money. This power makes technical bankruptcy out of the question.” They should just create whatever amount of credit needed to build sufficient desalinization plants to convert sea water to drinking water without use of taxes. The facts stated here make continuous wars possible. Let’s stop the destructive wars and construct all of the pure water plants needed. Philip Botwinick
Like that’s really going to happen.
Get real. nobody
Nice, you can’t even paste a working link. Nevermind, i found your source by myself. But unlike you i checked who they are and surprise surprise, they are one of the mouthpieces of the industry. So yea, about that source, time for a new one unless you still want to be seen as a gullible moron. May i suggest the official government statistics? BTW, i thought that the picture on my account would be enough to clarify its origin, apparently you aren’t smart enough for that. Oh well, nothing new here. Hart Shepherd
Because we all know how accurate and honest government statistics are. nobody
You probably don’t, but the rest of us do. Priszilla
Coors light is just like water, and cheaper too. Infidel51
California is chock full of amoral liberal d-bags so maybe this is a cosmic smackdown. Guest
Immorality is not confined only to ‘liberals’, ffs. But yeah, imo CA’s getting some just dues for serious misdeeds. DC’s next. Philip Botwinick
Having know Mike personally I’m well aware that he was not a supporter of LaRouche.
There are no solutions. We in the midst of the Sixth Extinction event, and that includes the species known as humans. The window closed back in 1972 despite what propaganda you hear.
Remember, we’d need 5 other planets like earth to provide a lifestyle that the average American lives for everyone on the planet.
Look up Albert Bartlett on youtube as well as read Guy McPherson’s Climate Change Summary. We’re at over 40 feedback loops.
Mike interviewed Guy numerous times and deferred to him on Climate Change issues. Philip Botwinick
Yeah, that’s right Ken show how much like the Dulles brothers you are. You do know that we overthrew a democratically elected government in Iran in 1953.
Make this into a liberal/conservative issue. As if Nature gives a flying crap what you are.
Come back when your taps run dry and ask me if I’ll give you a drink from my well. I’ll be holding a weapon at the time so what will you offer me for a drink of cool, wet, refreshing water.
I’ll let you turn the other cheek. Perez Piedad
Take spanish lessons…water…. agua JulietteofOhio
“Moonbat” strikes again. Maybe this will save the U.S. by diluting the power of the Looney Left. How nice not to have to care about what California thinks, and I use the term loosely. Hart Shepherd
Philip, followed the link and read the article. Seems like a valid reductionist point of view. However any dichotomy between free will and determinism is a false dichotomy at best as is all of existence. You just have to learn to take the good with the bad. As they say, every dying dog has it’s day. John Blythe
Let me tell you Michael about the situation in my home town of Lake Isabella which is just about 30 miles due northeast of Bakersfield, the most southern city in the central valley. Lake Isabella, once the largest lake in the southern California region with 40 miles of shoreline has become nothing but a puddle of water now. There are a few factors including the drought situation as well as the fact that the lake’s main dam has to be retrofitted for state earthquake seismic requirements, however the lake levels have had a huge damaging affect on the local economy. Lake Isabella (sometimes referred to as Kern Valley if you count all eight towns that surround the lake) was a nice rural area and a getaway destination for city folks in L.A., Orange County and the Inland Empire. People used to love to come up to the lake every summer to wind surf, boating, jet ski, fish, camp etc.. We’re also a popular tourist destination for European travelers because the lake is a gateway to the Giant Sequoia Tree Monument and Death Valley National Park which foreigners love to visit.
But now all that has drastically changed. The valley recently had its annual Lake Isabella Fishing Derby (one of the largest trout derbies in the U.S.) and admissions were down substantially which they anticipated anyway and last summer was some of the worst on record for local businesses and it is no doubt going to be an even worse summer season come June. Because the rapid decline in tourism and recreation that feeds the local economy every year, we now have a bigger problem: drug addicts and criminals are moving into the area. Even worse, because of Kern County’s budget problems, Lake Isabella’s police force has been drastically cut. In the last year, people have had their property vandalized, homes that have been broken into, property stolen.
People who see the decline in tourism due to the lake level going down are now moving out of the area and their vacant homes they put up for sale are now being “moved in” by squatters and meth addicts, as Kern County has a major meth epidemic. As a result, real estate companies in Lake Isabella are loosing money on homes that were originally valued for the market. I can’t tell you how awful this has impacted a once quiet rural area and popular summer destination in Southern California. Its like Lake Isabella has become a ‘mini version’ of Detroit. Vacant homes are now decaying and crumbling, drug users are now out on the streets, we’ve had a larger influx of transients and obvious criminals from Bakersfield and Delano that were released due to State budget problems with the penal system recently; and businesses that have been here for decades are now closing and moving out. The local police and even media in Kern County are reluctant to admit this stuff, in fact the police department I think is so ashamed of what has been happening lately, they seldom even report some of the most obvious drug busts or arrests that should be reported in the local papers, but they don’t report, in fear of what the public would think. But the truth is, the public already knows what is really going on. Hart Shepherd
You think California is on the Atlantic ocean and we’re stupid? Hart Shepherd
Al Gore is a douchebag. AGW is a myth. Yes, the climate changes but the primary driver is the sun’s movement around the periphery of the galaxy, and it looks more like we are heading for much colder temps than any of us have seen in our lifetimes. piccadillybabe
Too bad they did not get on the desalinization band wagon a long time ago. If they had, they would have developed technology that produced beautiful pure water, was energy efficient and affordable by now. In America, we are real good at wasting our resources without thinking about the future. Chuck
Everyone will eventually move out of california since they will will run out of all water. Hot Rain
I’ve been hearing this for 30 years. In Vegas we’re always “gonna run out of water”. It was just political BS. There has to be a clever way to raise food prices. And water prices. Unfortunately, food commodities are now traded and investors want returns. That, coupled with weather anomalies around the globe will make basic food unaffordable. The Feds know all of this, that is why they hold off on raising interest rates. When interest rates start going up, food will shoot the moon. As will everything else. Scared Economist
Have you taken a drive out to Lake Mead lately? Have you seen how low the water level is? And it’s dropping further by the day. Steve Hansen
People can move / migrate to another place, thats not the big problem! But California produce a lot of food they Export around the World… apeiron
Can’t the ocean water be de-salinized? Or is that one of those ideas that turn out to be more inputs than the output justifies? PaulPaterakis
Jerry Brown is spending fifty billion dollars on a Bullet Train to Nowhere but California hasn’t built a new reservoir to conserve water in twenty years.
California dumps fresh water into the ocean to keep San Francisco Bay from getting too salty and making the Delta Smelt uncomfortable.
This is a man-made disaster which has nothing to do with Global Warming. This is caused by liberal pressure groups electing incompetent liberal politicians. Andy Stunich
Perhaps desalination plants? Probably too expensive other than for residential water. Gay Veteran
“… I speak of separation of religion and state….”
sounds like you would feel right at home in Saudi Arabia.
btw, YOU adopt any unwanted babies? Gay Veteran
interesting how all those tornadoes hit the Bible Belt GSOB
The Godly have a refuge when they die, but the wicked are crushed by their sins. Proverbs 14:12
still parroting those bible verses.
Polly want a cracker? Lazarovic
Kentucky can take some, especially farmers. Kentucky can produce vegetables too, plenty of water in Kentucky. cactusue
California the once golden state created some of this through urbanization and illegal immigration growth through liberal policies. LA ran out of water in the early 1900’s but they kept building acquaducts and importing from the Colorado River as does Nevada and Arizona. This is the arid West and much inhabitable. In the end the earth always wins over mans folly. Rebel in Idaho
they could go back to mexico and take the liberals with them. quercus454
It’s the numbers. Something that the politicians can’t seem to grasp. Immigration both legal and illegal is the driving force behind US population growth. Immigrants and their children are near 80% of California’s increase of people. For every new added person it takes during their lifetime the development of 25 acres of undeveloped land. Those acres include expansion of waste facilities, infrastructure /roads/schools, consumer outlets, food production and increased government facilities. As one does the math, the amount of land needed to support the additional people becomes staggering. Increased numbers also drive up the cost of other dwindling resources. Energy, water, food, taxes also increase. Services like healthcare become stretched beyond their capacity. The ability of the US to increase it’s population and sustain current levels of quality of life is impossible. California is the canary in the mine. If we do not stop the current rate of population growth, the US will see horrific conditions unheard of in this country before. Like a life boat, once filled to capacity, the addition of more people make conditions for everyone worse. Fat Hubie
Seal the border of California and force them to move to Mexico…! Can’t have the liberalism disease spreading….. Tara Connor
California CANNOT get water from OREGON. WE ALSO have a really bad drought, NO SNOW PACKS, NO SNOW this year, and not enough rain to grow our crops.Our farmers are desperate, BUT I recommend that drought states start to regularly SEED OVER CAST CLOUDS to get rain! START to use science on the weather! WE HAVE THE SCIENCE. They seeded over cast clouds in the past to get rain; do it again. Science is far enough ahead, we can fiddle with the weather; California needs to use it’s technology, and start getting rain, clouds, atmospheric changes and we KNOW the chemistry.Oregon in the Willamette Valley has much over cast clouds; make them rain! And CA, get your science companies to conjur up chemically made weather. It CAN be done. Tom
Why doesn’t our government invest in plants that remove salt from ocean waters. Don’t some mid East countries already do this? DixieAngel_76
I’ve got a few questions for Governor Moonbeam, Lynn Wilson and the UN; first off, why are we allowing in new immigrants when there’s not enough water for those of us who were here first? Second, will those people be the first to be made to leave, and will it be back over the border? Third, and most important is who gets to decide who leaves and who stays, and what happens to people who do not wish to leave their property behind? Fran
Send them to Mexico! Nicholi Hel
The water situation should be exponentially worse in a few months as the mentally deranged politicians of California and this country allow a few million more Mexicans to swarm into the state. Nicholi Hel
Do you think Nancy Pelosi will be fined for wasting water while washing the feet of illegal immigrants? She can wash my backside and gargle with the water, spit it into a bowl, then have it filtered and sold off to LA for drinking water. F$%K California. Colin Nunn
I’m wondering if any of the brainiac politicians have ever heard the word ‘infrastructure’ and if they did, ever considered the resulting strain on resources of mass immigration in the millions? Hey, Government, like DUH!!! Jessy S.
They can turn HARPP on and off on a whim. With that said, they tried getting water out to California, but that didn’t happen. Joe
I’m sure they’ll be coming to where the water is. HAARP
Why doesn’t the U.S. Government implement the HAARP program for weather manipulation? HAARP
Make Mexico the 51st State! Randy Smith
Give it back to Mexico. Lyla cavanaugh
The illegals are coming up here because there is a drought in Mexico. They won’t be going back. They will be moving north. Lyla cavanaugh
No one will be leaving. The first thing is to stop all the high density housing that is being built. As soon as those new people turn on their taps and flush their new toilets its causing the situation to be worse for us all. Mary
My concern is what happens to desperate people who will be forced to migrate east- no jobs, no money. What happens to the communities and infrastructure of peaceful and relatively crime-free towns as these people descend upon them? Let’s say only 10% leave Cali- that’s still almost 4 million people looking for a new place to live. Who will leave- the richest or the poorest? What happens when a half million dollar home is now worth nothing?
I imagine the poor have the least to lose, will hop on the California Zephyr et al, and start being deposited across the rest of the US. drleonus
Where are the savvy investors who will create the jobs needed to build three massive pipelines stretching across the country- this is a national problem after all – bringing snowmelt from the eastern seabboard, rain runoff from the midwest, and water from the Great lakes to dump all of it into the Lake Mead Sistern. The Pipelines will have giant logos on them, built from private investments funders: Koch Brothers, Google, Bill gates, Chevron,Netflix. Every state gets a chunk of the profits as the water passes through their states. Think of the billion of dollars invested and reaped from a massive project like this. Seems like a crazy proposition, no more crazy than a Las Vegas sucking up all the water to be an artificial city in the desert built on 1930’s hubris? O, and powering our homes with water? That’s go to stop immediately. Another 1930’s infrastructural by gone way of doing things. Thankyou. It is time to solve this and stop jawing about it. robert hutchens
Lets face it, if there is a SEVERE water shortage and little drinking water, there will be chaos and riots. Anyone that says differently is living in a dream world. I havnt washed my car in three months, and YET I see MORONS washing their PRECIOUS car weekly! THOSE same morons will be the ones I TAKE from when the CHAOS and RIOTS hit. Stock up on Ammo AND firearms! MeJane
The so called mega drought is being advanced by the very same people as the climate alarmism community, which we know is more of a hoax and political movement of taxation and control than science. I’d like to see the science used and I am sure it is “climate models”, which are predictions and not reliable “science” given the poor performance of climate models to date, we should be very skeptical of any climate modeling projections — and we certainly should not be basing any policy on the models. Plus a rainy winter
I say this because I live in So. Cal and we had not even heard of this drought until two years ago and when we did it hear about it was touted “suddenly” by our very liberal Governor as “the worst drought in history”. There is no doubt that the last four years had been dry but we’ve had other periods that had been just as dry and for much longer without the hysterical doom saying. If the drought was so severe was the why didn’t he insist on conservation when drought first began? Why is he NOT appropriating and supporting dam building that is already voted on as a priority over the idiotic and wildly expensive high speed rail if this were such a deadly emergency? Water is a necessity of life, railroads to nowhere are not, this does not add up. Plus we’ve had a rainy winter and spring, but there is never a dent in the drought? Why aren’t desalination plants going up, we are next to an ocean. Brown ordered mandatory water use reductions for the four year drought by 25 percent reduction on the state’s 400 local water supply agencies, the state’s agencies will be responsible for coming up with restrictions to cut back on water use and for monitoring compliance to enforce punitive measures, including FINES. Brown wants to fine big water wasters up to $10,000 per day. I have no problem with conserving and do so even when we aren’t in a drought but something is off here when for 4 years this has been a problem but not one plan other than conservation and fines in the fourth year of a mega drought has been addressed or will be addressed. This is about revenue, alarmist global warming BS, we’re in a drought, it is not the end of the world. Centurion53
Deport the MILLIONS and MILLIONS of illegal aliens back to wherever the H e l l they came from. And while we’re at it deport, Obama and every Demo Rat politician and radical environmentalist who’ve been instrumental in Helping to create this disaster!! And for the rest of these Liberal/Progressive California fruitcakes….Stay out of MY STATE Let them all go to H E L L Athena Lis
they better not come to texas. We like guns and our streets and highways are already littered with too many people that have no business being here. | 0 |
The musicians of the fabled Philadelphia Orchestra went on strike on Friday just before their gala concert, rattling the classical music world and silencing one of the nation’s great ensembles a little more than four years after it emerged from bankruptcy. The strike — called on the same day that musicians on the other side of Pennsylvania at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra walked out on strike — came as the Philadelphia’s players sought to recover some of the pay they lost to concessions during the recent bankruptcy. As a gala audience including many of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s donors and board members, some in black tie, gathered at Verizon Hall for an opening night concert that was supposed to be conducted by the orchestra’s popular music director, Yannick a series of talks were held in an effort to avert the strike. But they proved fruitless, and the musicians were soon walking a picket line instead of playing Gershwin and Ravel. The strike was the biggest shock wave yet in a tumultuous autumn for symphony orchestras, at a time when many are grappling with fiscal challenges. Now Philadelphia, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the smaller Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra are all on strike. At the same time other orchestras, like the San Francisco Symphony, have agreed to pay deals. The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of America’s “big five” orchestras, is known for its plush Philadelphia sound, and for a high caliber of under leaders including Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, and now Mr. who was recently named the next music director of the Metropolitan Opera. “We can no longer remain silent while we continue in a downward spiral,” the musicians said in a statement. They noted that their pay had been cut in recent years, including a 14 percent cut in 2011, and that they now make less than musicians in the nation’s other leading orchestras. John Koen, a cellist who is chairman of the orchestra’s negotiating committee, said, “We did everything we could to save this concert,” but that the two sides remained too far apart on pay. The orchestra’s management said it had offered the musicians raises of 2 percent each year for the next three years on an annual base pay of $127, 608, which is less than other top orchestras pay. Allison Vulgamore, the president and chief executive of the orchestra, told the audience that the concert had been canceled. She said in a statement that the cancellation was “naturally disappointing to all of us” and added that “even as our last several years have seen us overcome numerous challenges, we hope this, too, will soon lead to a mutually satisfactory agreement. ” Outside the hall, musicians marched carrying signs saying “Philadelphia Orchestra on Strike” and “Retain the Artistry. ” A small group of the orchestra’s brass players gave a brief impromptu concert on the sidewalk to console disappointed concertgoers. As he left the hall, Tim Szczesny, 24, said that he had driven three hours from Binghamton, N. Y. to attend the concert and had come away disappointed. “We tried to do something nice tonight and it backfired,” said Mr. Szczesny, who was with his girlfriend, Pamela Blatkiewicz, 23, who lives in Philadelphia. Mr. Szczesny said he didn’t know whom to blame for the concert cancellation but he believed musicians should be fairly compensated. “It does seem kind of sad that they can’t reach agreement,” he said. “These musicians are world renowned. ” Deborah Ledley, a resident of Penn Valley, in the Philadelphia suburbs, was downcast about the strike. “It’s so sad,” she said. “I love the orchestra, and they couldn’t play on opening night. ” A small gala dinner in the hall went on as planned after the concert was canceled. | 1 |
REYNOSA, Tamaulipas — A team of cartel gunmen wielding machine guns and wearing body armor carried out a brazen daytime heist in this border city. The act highlights the raging violence that continues to take place in this city. Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “A. C. Del Angel” from Reynosa, Tamaulipas. | 1 |
By Catherine J. Frompovich
One of the academic professionals in my vast network includes Anne Steinemann, Professor of Civil Engineering, Chair of Sustainable Cities, Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Australia, who just published the research paper, “ Fragranced consumer products: exposures and effects from emissions ,” October 7, 2016. Dr Steinemann was kind enough to email a copy of her exciting work, which I’d like to bring to consumers’ attention since gas out fumes from fragranced products definitely have negative impacts upon human health.
Back in the 1970s, I tried bringing attention to gas out from formaldehyde fumes that were saturating everything from carpeting to fabric stores, with fragrances in almost anything from toilet tissue to you name it—scented candles being the most offensive. How employees worked in those stores that took away one’s breath, was totally incomprehensible to me. Didn’t they know those fumes were not friendly to their nasal sinuses, throat, bronchi and lungs?
Professor Steinemann’s article needs to be studied seriously, especially by parents with young children who are more prone to developing respiratory problems and allergies. Probably two of the more offensive gas-off consumer products are cologne and perfume, which women over-use plus men’s after shave. Both affect young children who are carried close to their parents’ bodies and must breathe in those irritating fumes. Please consider that those scents can cause respiratory problems for baby.
The above article Abstract states,
Results from this study provide strong evidence that fragranced products can trigger adverse health effects in the general population. The study also indicates that reducing exposure to fragranced products, such as through fragrance-free policies, can provide cost-effective and relatively simple ways to reduce risks and improve air quality and health.
Furthermore, I’d like to call readers’ attention to the statistics cited regarding HEALTH EFFECTS. Here’s what Professor Steinemann’s research confirmed:
Overall, 34.7 % of the population reported one or more types of adverse health effects from exposure to one or more types of fragranced products. The most common types of adverse effects were as follows: 18.6 % respiratory problems; 16.2 % mucosal symptoms; 15.7 % migraine headaches; 10.6 % skin problems; 8.0%asthma attacks; 7.2%neurological problems; 5.8 % cognitive problems; 5.5 % gastrointestinal problems; 4.4 % cardiovascular problems; 4.0 % immune system problems; 3.8 % musculoskeletal problems; and 1.7 % other.
Personally, I think the above stats could meet the ‘criteria’ for those affected and who experience what’s called “Multiple Chemical Sensitivities” (MCS), a condition exacerbated by environmental pollutants, e.g., smog, chemtrails, odors, chemical gas out fumes, and fragrances, relieved only by total avoidance and undertaking a supervised detoxification program, in my opinion.
Because of the “super-saturation aggregate” of chemicals in air, food, water and environment, the human immune system is being compromised constantly, whether we know it or not. Therefore, it ought to be incumbent upon everyone, I think, to avoid any chemical gas out fumes like scented candles, dryer sheets, cleaning products, automobile and room air fresheners, scented personal beauty products, e.g., soaps, lotions, perfumes, after shave, hair sprays, etc. Let’s not ignore “flame retardants.”
In my opinion, one of the most irritating scents is found in room air freshener products, which are caustic to mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, throat and bronchi. Many public restrooms gas out deodorizing chemicals toxic fumes, which ought to be outlawed, in my opinion, as people are forced to breathe them in order to use public restrooms. Complain to managers in stores, theaters and other public places when you encounter such chemical assaults on your lungs.
Laundry products leave scents in bed linens that infants, toddlers and adults must sleep on seven or more hours a day, which is not conducive to a healthy respiratory system and weakens the immune system, in my opinion. Toxic chemical fume exposure is a stress on the body! Have pity on your poor liver, the main detoxifying organ in the body, and give it a chance to recoup as much as possible. Wearing perfumes and breathing in room air fresheners are constant chemical stresses to the body.
However, one of the most egregious out gassing of toxic scents is found in all new clothing. The odor smells like perfume, but contains many chemicals to keep the fabric ‘sized’. I can smell someone wearing new clothing several feet away from me. If I can smell it, I question whether it’s harming the person wearing it, as most people don’t realize what’s going on with new clothing. I heartily suggest laundering every new piece of clothing before wearing it or putting it on a baby or toddler—especially! If there’s something that can’t be laundered, place it in a clothes dryer on a high heat setting for as long as it takes to ‘cook off’ the fumes. I discuss a lot about chemical reactions in my 2009 book, Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick.
Personally, I don’t buy anything that cannot be laundered before wearing! Sometimes I ‘cook’ new clothing in my dryer for several hours before it’s gassed out. Wetting two clean wash clothes that are wrung out as dry as possible and placed into the dryer with new clothing, I found, helps the gas out go faster and reduces dryer time.
Would you like to know what some of those sizing chemicals are? According to our friends at Organic Consumers Association,
Chemicals often used for finishing include formaldehyde , caustic soda, sulfuric acid, bromines, urea resins, sulfonamides, halogens, and bromines. Some imported clothes are now impregnated with long-lasting disinfectants which are very hard to remove, and whose smell gives them away. [1]
Professor Steinemann found that
Fragranced product manufacturers are not required to disclose all ingredients in their formulations. This lack of disclosure can impede efforts to understand and reduce adverse effects associated with potentially harmful compounds, such as certain volatile organic compounds and semi-volatile organic compounds. Further, we lack knowledge on which specific chemicals or mixtures of chemicals are associated with the adverse effects, and this is an important area for research.
In my opinion, there ought to be a law prohibiting any non-disclosure policies of all i ngredients used in business and industry manufacturing! Where are FDA, EPA and OSHA regulations regarding those loopholes in manufacturing and merchandising? I mention OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) because the workplace can be very problematic for many reasons: chemical gas out fumes from carpeting and other construction materials; perfumes, which can be compared to tobacco smoking fumes; and unrealized particulates given off from heat production by electronic equipment—often the source of eye irritation, I think. Indoor air pollution can originate from many sources.
Thanks, Professor Steinemann, for your timely and exceptional study.
Fragranced consumer products: exposures and effects from emissions
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http:/ /creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Media Release
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11869-016-0442-z
Reference:
[1] https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/do-you-know-what-toxic-chemicals-lurk-your-clothing
Catherine J Frompovich ( website ) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies. Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting.
Catherine’s latest book, published October 4, 2013, is Vaccination Voodoo, What YOU Don’t Know About Vaccines , available on Amazon.com.
Her 2012 book A Cancer Answer, Holistic BREAST Cancer Management, A Guide to Effective & Non-Toxic Treatments , is available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook.
Two of Catherine’s more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process (2008)
Catherine’s NEW book: Eat To Beat Disease, Foods Medicinal Qualities ©2016 Catherine J Frompovich is now available
Image Credit
Source: Activist Post
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In late September, a group of tech leaders started a effort to raise $100, 000 for Hillary Clinton. In flush Silicon Valley, that is spare change. But by the time the election was over, the campaign had pulled in only $76, 324. For all its visceral dislike of Donald J. Trump, the tech community did not worry too much about him being elected or, once in office, carrying through with his program. Lulled by favorable polls, distracted by its own destiny, Silicon Valley was above all else complacent. No longer. After President Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order restricting immigration, has gone political. Companies are being pushed by their employees, by their customers and sometimes by their ideals. They are trying to go far enough without going too far. Nearly 130 companies, most of them in the technology field, filed an amicus brief late Sunday in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which declined to reinstate the travel ban after a lower court blocked it. The brief, which was signed by an unusually broad coalition of large and small tech companies that included Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Tesla, Uber and Intel, said Mr. Trump’s order “violates the immigration laws and the Constitution. ” “Silicon Valley is stepping up,” said Sam Altman, who runs the valley’s most prominent incubator, Y Combinator. “The companies are working on three fronts: They are vociferously objecting to the Trump policies they think are bad, they are trying to engage with him to influence his behavior, and they are developing new technology to work against policies and political discourse they don’t support. ” It is an improvised and complicated strategy. The companies are among the richest and most popular of American brands, which means they have a good deal of leverage. Yet they are also uniquely vulnerable — not only to presidential postings on Twitter and executive orders, but to the sentiments of their customers and employees, some of whom have more radical ideas in mind. Many of the companies initially placed their bets on engagement after an upbeat meeting with the in December. That modest approach, which even the most executive can endorse, showed its limits last week. After widespread customer defections, Travis Kalanick, the chief executive of Uber, was forced to step down from one of the administration’s advisory councils. “People voted with their feet, and Travis listened,” said Dave McClure, who runs the 500 Startups incubator and started the Nerdz 4 Hillary group that tried to raise the $100, 000. “We need to hold the other tech leaders accountable in the same way. ” Resistance, Mr. McClure said, begins at home. “You don’t have a voice with the president if you didn’t vote for him,” he said. “But employees and customers have a voice with the tech companies. Silicon Valley should be demonstrating at the front doors of Google, Facebook and Twitter to make sure they share our values. ” Several factors are propelling Silicon Valley to the front lines of opposition to Mr. Trump. Some have been widely noted: The companies are often founded by and run by immigrants, which made the executive order on immigration offensive and a threat to their way of doing business. Tech companies frequently stress the importance of talent from other countries to their businesses. Less remarked on has been the political homogeneity of tech workers. “It’s not like you have 60 percent of the employees on one side and 40 percent on the other,” said Ken Shotts, a professor of political economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. “They all have the same leanings. ” Mr. Trump does have some support in Silicon Valley, most notably the venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Yet another factor pushing the companies is the perennially tight job market in technology. Executives cannot afford to alienate a large bloc of workers. Beyond this, there is the mythology of Silicon Valley, which holds that the work being done there is building a better future. Google’s former slogan “Don’t be evil” is the most forceful expression of this. “If you go around making a lot of statements about your exalted role in society, at some point your employees might just make you follow through,” Mr. Shotts said. Since the executive order was issued, the companies have struggled to keep on the same page with their employees. Microsoft, for instance, initially made relatively muted comments that mostly celebrated immigration. hours later, it was much blunter, calling the order “misguided and a fundamental step backwards,” and saying it would create “much collateral damage to the country’s reputation and values. ” At an meeting at the beginning of the week with the chief executive, Satya Nadella, who was born in India, Microsoft employees expressed their concern. The company did not file a formal declaration supporting Washington State’s effort to block the order the way Amazon and Expedia did, but its public comments assisted the effort, Bob Ferguson, the state attorney general, said. The immigration battle is in Microsoft’s . of its employees were affected by the order, the company said. Some in Silicon Valley have more expansive hopes for the tech companies there. “In 2016, we saw how technology could be used to polarize ourselves to extreme levels,” said Mr. Altman of Y Combinator. “The most important thing we could do is figure out how to use technology to depolarize the nation. ” Mr. McClure of 500 Startups said it was ridiculous “for the chief executives of the valley to suggest things like hate speech and bullying speech aren’t solvable problems. Google has been solving the problem of spam for the last 10 years. No reason they can’t fix the monetization of fake news. ” Perhaps the companies just need a little push. On Sunday night, the Super Bowl was in overtime and a dreary winter rain was falling in San Francisco. That was not enough to deter more than 100 tech workers from showing up for a meeting of a new group, Tech Solidarity, that hopes to tackle some of these issues from the bottom up. Maciej Ceglowski, the organizer, canvassed the crowd. How many of you are immigrants? How many work for big tech companies? How many work for big tech companies that attended the Trump tech summit in December? In each case, numerous hands went up. Under the rules of the meeting, participants were not identified. It was a very geeky event. Much of it was a for three legal aid groups that have been working to assist travelers caught in the ban. The speaker for the Council of Relations was asked what she needed. She replied that she was having trouble with her customer relationship management software. “I’ve actually been pretty obsessed with C. R. M.s lately,” said a woman in the audience, volunteering to help. Mr. Ceglowski is a software engineer who runs the Pinboard. He was visiting the United States in 1981 with his mother when martial law was declared in their native Poland. He is now an American citizen. in tech circles as a caustic critic of the large tech companies and their attitude to issues like privacy, he took on the activist mantle shortly after Mr. Trump was elected. Since then, Tech Solidarity has held rallies in Portland, Ore. New York Seattle Boston and other cities. He talked about Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, the author of “Lean In,” which asks women, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” Mr. Ceglowski noted that Ms. Sandberg found time to go see Mr. Trump, but not to go to the women’s march on Washington. The crowd laughed. Ms. Sandberg has said that she had a personal obligation that kept her from the march. When Facebook employees did their own protest last week, he pointed out, it was done in secret so no one knew about it. “We have to protest in public,” he said. The event raised $30, 000 for the legal aid groups. “It looked like of the room were newcomers,” Mr. Ceglowski said after the event was over. Unlike the great Silicon Valley companies, which seemed to blossom overnight, he said he knew progress here would be slow. But he was hopeful that some of the attendees were previously apolitical folk who had taken their first steps to engagement. “I want pressure from below to counterbalance the pressure management is already feeling from above,” he said. “We have to make sure we’re pushing at least as hard as Trump is. ” | 1 |
Jimstone.is
October 29 2016
DO NOT FORGIVE THE MSM
The MSM turned on Hillary. The FBI turned on Hillary. WANT TO KNOW WHY? Because in Florida, where they flipped a HUGE number of votes, Trump still had 68 percent of the vote. Nationwide they did not have the vote scam machines everywhere, and when that got averaged in, Trump took 82 percent of the votes nationwide EVEN WITH THE STOLEN VOTES SUBTRACTED FROM THE AVERAGE. THE FBI, FOX, CNN, EVERYONE ELSE KNEW THE GIG WAS UP, AND IS NOW ONLY MOVING TO SAY "SORRY" SO THEY DON'T GO TO JAIL.
Well, I've got news for you: they are still the same lying despicable malfunctioning trash scum they always were; THEY SHOWED THEIR WORTH, and we would be IDIOTS to forgive them, no matter how badly they burn Hillary.
CNN is despicable trash; we all witnessed it. NEVER FORGIVE THEM , because they have proven their worth already. No matter what they do, they can't recover from what they have done: they are garbage, a disease, bleach-worthy filth, and I hope Trump ERASES THEM. DITTO FOR ALL of the rest of the MSM, including The Huffington Post, Snopes, ABC-CBS-FOX-YOUNAMEIT – ALL of them are the lowest of filth that is now heading for the darkness of the nearest sewer to get away from the coming bulldozer.
THE FBI is a trash agency, along with the rest of American intelligence, which only works to serve the enemy for as long as it thinks its head will not be cut off. ALL of the FBI MUST BE DISBANDED and EVERYONE in the FBI should be blackballed and never allowed to work again, with the top echelons jailed for life for treason. THEY LIED ABOUT 9-11 AND THEY KNEW IT , and have proven they serve one purpose: to protect evil. Ditto for the CIA, the NSA, the DHS, the TSA, and all the rest of the trash. All of it needs to go; there is not one fragment of it that should be salvaged.
So they are all running like rats for cover: they know they blew it, they know they are going to be bagged for heinous crimes against America. Now they are putting on the biggest fakest show the world will ever witness. As if they cared! They never did care, and I hope to God Trump has a memory longer than the average jarhead and bags every last one of them when he has his day. They had BETTER run for the gates and ditch the country just like they said they would if he got elected – because if not, they are heading straight to the gates of justice.
I would like to thank everyone in the alt-media who made this happen. And I would also like to say that I said it all along as it was and NEVER backed off: Hillary never had more than 8 percent national support. This is something I said repeatedly: that Trump was always 80+ percent supported, and I never wavered and never once posted bullshit like OH, LET'S REJOICE, TRUMP IS AT 51 PERCENT! That was always a trap – a scam, to justify stealing the election – and I called it as it was.
Our job is not over
The rot is there. It is deeply rooted, with fungus roots running all the way through the country. One bottle of bleach is not going to do more than spot-clean the surface. We won this battle, and it is NOT time to sit down. The alt-media cannot rest until CNN and all of the rest of the MSM is either bankrupted or jailed. The alt-media CANNOT rest for as long as Google is allowed to wage war on websites like this one by refusing to allow it ads. If this website were allowed ads, it would easily self-fund with $12,000 plus per month (and would probably have more than $24,000 per month). Denial of ads just because someone disagrees and has a monopoly established via full control of various ad firms is a flagrant violation of antitrust laws, and has to be stopped dead cold.
The alt-media cannot stop until every last criminal in the FBI is jailed BY THE FBI. I am sick of the bait tactics and false flag psyops fronted by that agency: heads have GOT TO ROLL, PILES OF THEM, especially since it has been proven that it was the FBI itself that did the first World Trade Center bombing, with the full intent to bring one of the towers down. That's the type of agency that has got to be shuttered – or we are all toast, Trump or not. Yeah, I know YOU, at the FBI, are reading this. GO TO HELL.
Our job will not be over until the CIA is cleaned out. Our job is not over until the American Bar Association is disbanded as the criminal bloodsucking hive it is. Our job is not over until the top executives at the medical companies that produced the tainted autism-inflicting vaccines hang with stretched necks. Our job will not be over until every last liberal arts and women's studies department of all universities have their staffs jailed for treason. They gutted the home front in a manner which was horrific beyond belief. Our job is not over until all of America's great libraries are fully restored after being totally wiped out by the Jews, and ALL scientific journals and works once again become fully free and public domain. Our job will not be over until the child-snatching CPS is shut down and their feed for their slave trade is cut off. Our job will not be over until American corporations begin to fight for America, and bring our jobs and American quality back.
The list of what the alt-media needs to accomplish now that it appears the first huge battle has been won is practically endless. But I believe the alt-media is up to the task, and will succeed as long as ONE THING IS CEMENTED IN STONE:
JULIAN ASSANGE IS OBVIOUSLY DEAD.
Consider these facts, and then figure the odds of him being alive:
1. Wikileaks' DNS server was suddenly pointed elsewhere. That's right: that night, in the wee hours of the morning after Pamela was there (to poison him), police in an armored vehicle showed up at the embassy; and THAT NIGHT, the DNS server pointed to a different IP address for Wikileaks, and GOOGLE updated everything instantly, so the transfer was completely seamless from the real Wikileaks server to the fake Wikileaks server that was at a completely different IP address.
2. Mr. Assange's subsequent tweets were noticeably more hostile and attacked his most loyal supporters. I reported this repeatedly.
3. Mr. Assange's tweets regularly misspelled the names of some of his closest friends whom he has known for decades (Gavin McFadyen became McFayden, for example). McFadyen, 76, the director of Wikileaks, was found dead three days after Assange started having mystery problems. This is something I made a huge issue of here.
4. Streams of disinformation were spewed.
5. Themes supported by Mr. Assange for years were then knocked down or discredited by his subsequent tweets and communications. Very bad timing with that. Everyone with a brain noticed this, and it lit up the forums and blogs.
6. "Body double" rumors have been circulated and documented.
7. New, strange, hitherto unknown moderators of Wikileaks have suddenly been installed.
8. His "deadman switch" WAS ACTIVATED BEFORE THE ARMORED VEHICLE EVEN SHOWED UP AT THE EMBASSY, which means Assange probably manually triggered it after he figured out he was poisoned. Much of his stored data and secret website PINs were to be released in the event of his untimely death (I released both deadman switches here, one encrypted and one unencrypted).
All of this happened right after Pamela Anderson showed up with a lunch that was no doubt poisoned, and the media talked all about how Assange was "pale" and "not feeling well" when she left, and that he said the food Pamela brought him was "torture". Good for a laugh in the inside circles to have this go out on the MSM, no doubt.
MY TAKE: ASSANGE WAS POISONED, AND THEN REMOVED FROM THE EMBASSY IN AN ARMORED VEHICLE. This was clearly visible in a live feed someone set up that night because something was amiss, and I saw that and stayed up the entire night for it. That is why I so strongly stated that he can't possibly still be at the embassy. Perhaps he got medical care to save him and is now being waterboarded.
If the new "wikileak releases" are real, they are NOT coming from the Wikileaks server – only a re-direct to a different server in the name of Wikileaks. The IP address change proves it, and we can only hope it is white hats doing it. It seems so, but one can only guess.
Related:
Did Google Kill Julian Assange? | 0 |
Assad Says The "Boy In The Ambulance" Is Fake - This Proves It
Did the viral photo feature a child actor who has already been photographed 'being rescued' before? Donate! Originally appeared at The Moon of Alabama
From an interview with the Syrian President Bashar Assad by the Swiss SRF 1 TV Channel published October 19 2016: Journalist: This young boy has become the symbol of the war. I think that you know this picture.
President Assad: Of course I saw it.
Journalist: His name is Omran. Five years old.
President Assad: Yeah.
Journalist: Covered with blood, scared, traumatized. Is there anything you would like to say to Omran and his family?
President Assad: There’s something I would like to say to you first of all, because I want you to go back after my interview, and go to the internet to see the same picture of the same child, with his sister, both were rescued by what they call them in the West “White Helmets” which is a facelift of al-Nusra in Aleppo. They were rescued twice, each one in a different incident, and just as part of the publicity of those White Helmets. None of these incidents were true. You can have it manipulated, and it is manipulated. I’m going to send you those two pictures, and they are on the internet, just to see that this is a forged picture, not a real one. We have real pictures of children being harmed, but this one in specific is a forged one.
Assad was half wrong. The picture, printed on page 1 of newspapers all over the "western" world, was not "forged". It is a real picture from a White Helmet "rescue" video distributed by the Aleppo Media Center (AMC) (which is funded by the French French Ministry of Foreign Affairs). But the scene was carefully staged and we immediately recognized it as staged when it appeared. It was staged like many other "rescue" scenes with "kids saved" by the U.S./UK/D/J/NL financed White Helmets and their associated media.
Look for yourself, trust your eyes.
The "boy in an ambulance" scene features two identifiable kids. Omran and his sister.
Below are pictures of what we believe are the same kids in different scenes.
Here is the girl at another occasion. We will call this scene 1:
The Houston Chronicle reported about this scene and the picture carries this caption: An 8-year-old girl named Aya calls out for her father after an airstrike in Syrian on Monday, Oct. 10, 2016.
This combined one is captioned: Left: 8-year-old Aya in her everyday life in Syria. Right: 8-year-old Aya after an airstrike in Syria.
Notice the age as well as the girl's favorite colors - light turquoise and pink. Compared to the left picture the hair on the right looks powdered and artificially teased. While there is trickle of "blood" on her face and on her dress no wound is visible.
The Chronicle story is sourced to CNN which includes a short (staged) video and adds: The video and images were posted online by a pro-opposition activist group, Talbiseh Media Center.
It shows an 8-year-old girl in a medical facility, her hair and body covered with dust. There's blood tricking down her forehead, her nose. She looks confused and scared and keeps calling out for her father....Aya was pulled from under rubble along with her family members when an airstrike hit their home in Talbiseh on Monday. Talbiseh, a large town in northwestern Syria, is about 10 kilometers north of Homs.
A screenshot detail from the video:
The "blood" looks remarkably glossy, unlike natural blood which dries and looks dull pretty fast. The uni-color shirt the girl wears has no arms.
Now the same girl in a different "rescue" scene. We will call this scene 2.
whstatist1-1.jpg
The truck in the background has a "White Helmets" logo on the door.
A detail of the above picture. It is the same girl as in scene 1. The hair again seems powdered and teased:
Notice: Same habitus, same appearance, same wild hair as in scene 1; no visible wounds; turquoise shirt but with short arms; jeans with glitter
Here is the girl at scene 2 in an ambulance:
Same shirt and pants as above, no wounds, no pain and not attended to by anybody. Compare this with the video capture of scene 1 the Chronicle and CNN reported on. We strongly believe it is the same girl.
Now what seems to be a different take of scene 2. A "White Helmet" carries the girl and a boy. Notice the same clothing as in the other scene 2 pics above. The pic as well as some of the above from scene 2 was running in the Daily Mail on August 27. The incident is claimed to be the aftermath of a "barrel bombing" in the Bab al-Nairab neighborhood in east-Aleppo.
Why would two different men carry and "rescue" the girl. She, like the boy, looks fine - same cloth as above, no wounds, no damage to the extremities, no crying - just curiosity.
A detail of the faces in that picture:
A detail of the boy's face:
Now to the "boy in an ambulance" scene. The boy and the reportedly 8-year old girl on August 17 in the Qaterji neighborhood in east Aleppo introduced as "Omran Daqneesh and his sister." (pic source ):
The just "rescued" kids sit quietly but completely unattended to in a brand-new €100,000 ambulance. No shock therapy was initiated, no Trendelberg position or at least laying down flat. No one talks to them despite half a dozen photographers being around them.
Details of the kids - here the boy has the powdered and teased "wild hair" look.
Are these the same kids as in scene 2 above?
President Assad believes they are.
We agree. We also believe that all three scenes above are staged. The girl is the same in all three scenes. Her younger brother appears in scene 2 and 3. The White Helmets apparently "rescued" the girl in three different incidents on or about August 17, August 27 and October 10 in three different locations.
Isn't that a remarkably elysian miracle?
Or is it all part of the serial production of elaborately staged anti-Syrian propaganda? Delivered by a marketing organization (vid) funded by "western" governments and various similar financed opposition "media organizations".
Trust your eyes. | 0 |
Trump will win November 8 election: American professor Trump will win November 8 election: American professor By 0 55
US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will win the November 8 election, says an American professor who correctly predicted almost every presidential election in the United States.
Professor Helmut Norpoth, of New York’s SUNY Stony Brook University, said his model shows Trump performed comparatively better in the primaries so he will triumph next month, The Independent reported on Thursday.
Norpoth developed a model which, when applied retroactively, successfully predicted every presidential election in the United States since 1912 all but one, which was the 2000 election, when it said Democratic nominee Al Gore would beat Republican candidate George W. Bush. But instead Bush won the election.
Al Gore won the popular vote, but Bush was awarded more votes in the Electoral College following a disputed result in Florida. So Bush was declared winner.
The political scientist’s model suggests that the person who emerges as the … | 0 |
Get short URL 0 18 0 0 As many as 97 people are missing after a boat carrying more than 100 migrants sank off the Libyan shore, a spokesman of the Libyan coast guard told Sputnik.
TRIPOLI (Sputnik) – According to spokesman Ayoub Qassem, the vessel carrying 126 people sank on Wednesday 26 miles away from the lighthouse of Tajura and was spotted by a tanker which alerted the coastguard. As many as 29 people were rescued by the tanker. © AFP 2016/ ITALIAN NAVY 2016 Shows Record Number of Refugee Deaths in Mediterranean "The coast guard … is looking for the remaining missing persons, the number of whom is estimated at 97," Qassem said.
Europe is currently struggling to cope with a massive refugee influx, with hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants fleeing conflict-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa. According to the UN refugee agency, the Mediterranean Sea claimed over 3,600 lives last year. ... | 0 |
adobochron 1 Comment Moyers
WASHINGTON, D.C. ( The Adobo Chronicles, Washington Bureau) – Billy Don “Bill” Moyers is an American journalist and political commentator who served as White House Press Secretary in the Johnson administration from 1965 to 1967. He also worked as a network TV news commentator for ten years. Moyers has been extensively involved with public broadcasting, producing documentaries and news journal programs. He has won numerous awards and honorary degrees for his investigative journalism and civic activities and has become well known as a trenchant critic of the corporately structured U.S. news media.
Well, he is the first high-profile American to flee the U.S. as a result of the election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States.
Here is Moyers’“ Farewell to America. ” | 0 |
Written by Michael S. Rozeff Wednesday November 16, 2016 Trump wants to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal and/or “dismantle” it. Why? What good does this do Americans? Why not continue to follow the path of peaceful trade and cultural exchange? Why not continue to build mutual respect and understanding with this historic nation with its rich culture and peace-loving people?It was wrong to have imposed crippling sanctions on Iran. It was wrong to have treated Iran as an enemy. That only creates an enemy. It was right to have removed those sanctions. It is wrong to commit America against Iran because of Iran’s frictions with Israel. America should not be the protector of Israel. America should not be protecting NATO countries either or Taiwan or South Korea or Japan. If government has any basic purpose, it is to protect the rights and persons under its charge. This doesn’t include protecting foreign nations or attempting to create a safe world everywhere on the faulty theory that this makes America safe.Trump wants to pressure Iran further on its nuclear activities. That’s why he wants to renegotiate. He assumes that the US has a right to control Iran’s defense and military position; but the US has no such right. Trump cannot renegotiate without either threatening to reimpose sanctions or actually doing it again.Trump assumes that suppressing Iran in this way will be a good thing. He thinks it’s smart to make sure that Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and to force it not to. Is it smart? What if pushing Iran into a corner, a humiliating corner, causes Iran to become more militant and more likely to develop a nuclear weapon or ally with some country that has one or develop alternatives that are just about as devastating? What if such moves on the part of Iran cause countermoves in Saudi Arabia and Israel? Why doesn’t Trump leave well enough alone? What does breaking the deal wide open accomplish that is so sure and so beneficial that it outweighs reinstating Iran as an enemy and restoring her as a constant source of trouble?We will surely be hearing any number of criticisms of the existing deal from the Trump camp. The idea will be that Iran got the better of the Obama and the US and that secret understandings were reached that allow Iran too much latitude. But all such criticisms are irrelevant and beside the point. These details don’t matter. What matters is the basic posture of the US government toward Iran. Will Iran be treated as a junior state and people to be browbeaten and sanctioned for the ends, however mistaken, of the US? Or will the US build upon the existing agreement?
However flawed it is from the perspective of reducing Iran’s nuclear capacity to nil, that agreement comes closer to the ideal deal. The ideal is a unilateral hands-off policy with respect to Iran. Let Iran alone. Stop bothering Iran. There’s nothing in it for the US to be bothering Iran, nothing but more and worse trouble. Reprinted with permission from LewRockwell.com . Related | 0 |
Podesta emails reveal extent of Bill Clinton’s ‘for profit’ activities Podesta emails reveal extent of Bill Clinton’s ‘for profit’ activities By 0 32
Conflicts of interest between Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, as well as the former president’s “for profit” activities and acceptance of “expensive gifts” have been revealed in WikiLeaks’ Podesta emails.
One of the emails released by the whistleblowing site from the account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair, John Podesta, includes a November 2011 email chain between Podesta and Douglas Band, a former Foundation fundraiser and long time adviser to the Clintons.
Band attaches a 12 page document detailing the many ways Bill Clinton had conflicts of interest with the Foundation and his “for profit” activities.
Band is co-founder of global PR consulting firm Teneo and worked as Bill Clinton’s personal assistant during his presidency. Teneo had raised millions for the Foundation while also working for Bill Clinton’s personal interests when he was a paid adviser to the company. In 2012, Clinton’s position changed to “friend and unpaid adviser” to Teneo as well as being a client of the company.
Previous Podesta emails have shown that at the time of the memo, Chelsea Clinton was concerned about Band’s conflicts of interests between his work at the Foundation and Teneo. She accused Brand and Teneo co-founder Declan Kelly of profiting off her father and the foundation.
Shortly after, Band penned the memo to show how Bill Clinton had his own conflicts of interest.
The memo, addressed to lawyers that were working on a review of the foundation, refers to “Bill Clinton Inc.” to describe “more than $50 million for-profit activity we have personally helped to secure for President Clinton to date or the $66 million in future contracts, should he choose to continue with those engagements.” This includes $3 million paid to Bill Clinton for speeches given to clients of the company.
Band said his role as “primary fundraiser for the Foundation for the past 11 years” and his work at Teneo allowed him and Kelly to encourage clients to contribute to the Foundation. “Through our efforts, we have brought new donors to the Foundation and garnered increased giving from existing donors,” he said.
He says he also obtained “in-kind services for the President and his family – for personal travel, hospitality, vacation and the like.”
The memo had been discussed in an earlier release by WikiLeaks but no file was attached. In these emails, Band refers to a conflict of interest policy he signed as a board member of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).
READ MORE: #Podesta emails: Bill Clinton & Obama worked to influence EU’s Greece austerity deal
“Teneo represents 4 cgi sponsors, 3 of which teneo brought to cgi. Oddly, wjc [Bill Clinton] does not have to sign such a document even though he is personally paid by 3 cgi sponsors, gets many expensive gifts from them, some that are at home,” he says.
The memo shows examples of companies paying Bill Clinton directly when they were also donors to the Foundation.
For profit education firm Laureate’s relationship with the Foundation “evolved into a personal advisory services business relationship for President Clinton,” Band wrote. According to the memo, Laureate paid Bill Clinton $3.5 million a year to advise and be the honorary chairman. Clinton was honorary chancellor / chair from 2010 until 2015, and was paid over $16 million.
Brand says Dubai-headquartered GEMS Education approached Clinton in 2009 to seek his personal services as an adviser to the company and Band “convinced them to initiate a relationship to the Foundation, which they did.” Bill Clinton has made more than $5.6 million for his role with GEMS, AP reports .
Coca Cola gave $4.3 million to the Foundation and promised $2 million more over seven years, the memo reads. According to Band, Kelly introduced Bill Clinton to CEO Muhtar Kent in 2009 at a meeting at Clinton’s home.
“Over the course of 2009, Mr. Kelly cultivated Mr. Kent’s interest in the Foundation — first in CGI and the Foundation. Mr. Kelly asked Mr. Kent to give $5 million to the Foundation, which he pledged in early 2010.”
Coca Cola has donated between $5-10 million to the Foundation. A set of emails released by DCLeaks this month show the Clinton campaign backed away from her comments on a soda tax in April following angry emails from the company.
“Really??? After all we have done,” Coke’s Clyde Tuggle emailed on April 20 to Sarah Latham, Podesta’s current chief of staff and Capr icia Marshall, who has consulted for the Clinton campaign. “I hope this has been falsely reported. Pls give me some talking points for Muhtar [Muhtar Kent, Coke’s CEO] in the am.”
According to the memo, Dow Chemical has given $780,000 to the Foundation. Kelly invited CEO Andrew Liveris to play golf with Clinton in 2009 and then asked Dow to sponsor CGI. Dow donated $150,000 to the Foundation “for President Clinton to attend a Dow dinner in Davos,” Band said.
Swiss financial services company UBS was told to donate to the Foundation before booking Bill Clinton for speeches. “In addition to the $540,000 UBS contributed to the Foundation, Teneo partners have secured a commitment from UBS for President Clinton to deliver three additional paid speeches for them in 2012, should he choose to do so.”
UBS paid Bill Clinton $540,000 for speeches in 2011.
Kelly also “urged and ensured” the American Ireland Fund would be a “significant donor to the Foundation,” and successfully secured “$350,000 to date,” the memo reads.
A section of the memo titled “For profit activity of President Clinton” details how the company helps Clinton “secure and engage in for-profit activities, including speeches, books, and advisory service engagements”
Band says he and Justin Cooper have “personally helped to secure” over $50 million for the former President and have brought business deals for advisory services to Clinton.
The memo shows Teneo secured a number of speeches for Clinton including telecommunications company Ericsson paying Clinton $750,000 plus $400,000 for a private plane to speak in Hong Kong.
Teneo cultivated its client relationship with bank Barclays to help secure two paid speeches in 2010 and 2011 totaling more than $700,000.
The conflict between Band and Chelsea resulted in the well documented “spoiled brat” comment Band made as revealed in earlier batches of the Podesta email leak.
Via RT . This piece was reprinted by RINF Alternative News with permission or license. | 0 |
DURHAM, N. C. — As North Carolina State’s star freshman, Dennis Smith Jr. down Coach K Court one last time on Monday night to put an exclamation point on the Wolfpack’s upset of the Blue Devils, many sports fans received an opportunity to take up one of their favorite pastimes: hating Duke. For Duke students and supporters, the reaction to the program’s first loss to N. C. State at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1995 — before some of them were born — was different. “It was a really tough one,” Richard Liu, a senior who attended the game, wrote in an email, “because N. C. State is a team we really should have beaten, especially at home. ” It has been a rare year of disappointments for Duke. The Blue Devils began the season at No. 1 but lost the top ranking before Thanksgiving. At times, they have been without their best player, Grayson Allen (suspended for tripping an opponent) several promising freshmen from their recruiting class (injuries) and their Hall of Fame Coach, Mike Krzyzewski (lost to a back operation this month, and still out). Those misfortunes, of course, mean it has also been a rare year of schadenfreude for many outside Duke. But perhaps there is something to be said for what Duke offers its fans. At a time when entire segments of the country have retreated into private echo chambers of elation or fear, sports is not a terrible place to try to put oneself in another’s shoes. Call it sympathy for the Blue Devils. “Imagine how you’d feel if you’d gone to school there or if you played there,” said Jay Bilas, an ESPN commentator who played for Duke in the 1980s and later was an assistant coach for the Blue Devils. “Like, it’s a blast. ” It is true that other fan bases — almost all of them, actually — are more in need of a . Since 1985 — the year the N. C. A. A. tournament expanded to 64 teams and college basketball began its climb to the status of national spectacle — Duke has been the country’s most successful program, with 12 Final Four appearances and five national titles. In recent years, at least, it has also been the most popular, according to the Harris Poll. Other polarizing teams’ pitches to casual fans are aggressively inclusive witness the Yankees’ rechristening as America’s team after the Sept. 11 attacks or the Dallas Cowboys’ gargantuan Xanadu, ATT Stadium. But Duke, a tidy private university ranked eighth in U. S. News World Report’s list of America’s top colleges, with a team led by a coach who moralizes about the realities of college basketball even as he benefits from them, seems to revel in its superiority. (One student’s sign at Monday night’s game read, “North Carolina State is the North Carolina State of basketball. ”) The student section at Duke frequently serves as the university’s chest to a national audience. The Cameron Crazies, filling up the risers on the western side of the arena, are aggressive in trying to knock opposing players . Sometimes, as when they chant, “You let the whole team down,” after poor plays, they are fair and funny other times, they have pushed the envelope, even crossed lines. When a sign targeted a North Carolina player with the words “J. R. Can’t Reid” in 1988, Tar Heels Coach Dean Smith argued the taunt had racial undertones. When Duke hosted Michigan State this season, one sign mocked the continuing crisis in Flint, Mich.: “The water tastes better in North Carolina. ” (A Duke basketball spokesman condemned that sign.) Duke students also continue to produce cheer sheets for games that, on one side, contain dirt — opposition research. Monday night’s dirt sheet included the email address of one Wolfpack player, a past criminal charge against another and the suggestion that a third could be taunted for his first name. Michael Schoenfeld, a Duke spokesman, said the university would not “hesitate to criticize things that legitimately deserve criticism,” but he insisted that college students were roughly the same at all colleges and that vitriol was a response to the university’s athletic and academic accomplishments. “The people who are supporters of Duke and like Duke understand what this university is and can do,” Schoenfeld said, “and that will inevitably create some friction or backlash. So be it. ” The Duke dynamic has been magnified this season with the blossoming of Allen, the team’s most compelling villain in nearly three decades. His infamy outside Durham is equaled only by that of a player so despised that he became the subject of an ESPN documentary titled “I Hate Christian Laettner. ” Allen is a junior whom some pegged as a strong contender for player of the year. But he has provoked public ire by tripping opponents at least three times in the past two seasons. The most recent incident, against Elon on Dec. 21, prompted a suspension, the loss of his captaincy and a news media firestorm that longtime Duke observers labeled unprecedented. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Bilas said. “It feels different. ” Yet to walk past the tent city of Krzyzewskiville and into the preposterously tiny Cameron on a January evening is to understand why Duke inspires passion not only among its detractors. “Because Duke is a relatively small school, you feel like you are personally invested in it, because when you see the players around campus, they really feel like classmates,” said Tara Bansal, the student government president. The fact that students will put down stakes — up to 100 tents — for several weeks for a chance at prime seating inside Cameron (particularly for games against North Carolina) is an indisputable testament to the students’ zeal. One must be zealous — and drunk on one’s youth (and perhaps other things) — to spend dozens of nights in an unheated tent for the sake of a good view. And although one might scoff at the tent city — which, given Duke’s demographics, is sort of like an Occupy Wall Street for, rather than against, the 1 percent — tent life is rough. According to byzantine rules, tents must be occupied at all times and are subject to by line monitors. The only bathrooms are in an adjacent gym. On Monday night, the ground near the tents was muddy. Many of the city’s denizens could be seen huddled in their canvas shelters reading thick textbooks. “We’ve got ” said Evi Alexopoulos, a freshman whose tent’s rules require her to spend several nights there every week. “Outlets are hard to find. ” Among the rewards, though, are the prime seats in Cameron, which, with an official capacity of 9, 314, is half the size of North Carolina’s Dean Smith Center and significantly smaller than the home arenas of nearly every other college program of Duke’s pedigree and popularity. “There isn’t a bad seat,” said Herb Neubauer, who is known as Crazy Towel Guy for his practice of waving a towel to rile the crowd from his seat in the upper deck. Even so, student attendance is down this season, according to The Duke Chronicle — most likely part of a general trend in college sports — and loyalties have been tested by the furor over Allen. “I have good friends at Syracuse, so I get bullied,” said Kit Devine, a freshman. “Grayson has been a pretty big deal. ” The season is hardly lost. Duke is and still in the top 25, although it needs to get healthy, both on the court and on the sideline. Allen needs to return to the attacking style that made him a . Jayson Tatum, Marques Bolden and Harry Giles, the heralded freshmen who missed time with injuries, need to develop a better feel for the college game. But even the prospect of a disappointing season — more drama questions about the longevity of Krzyzewski, who turns 70 next month a lackluster postseason performance despite lofty preseason expectations — is unlikely to bring the Cameron Crazies back to sanity. “I get what they’re saying,” Alexopoulos, the freshman, said of the haters. But, she added, “I wouldn’t question my passion. ” | 1 |
Joe Joseph discusses a recent SHTFPlan.com article that shows rampant electronic voting machine manipulation nationwide.
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Four cases of Zika infection in Florida are very likely to have been caused by mosquitoes there, the State Department of Health said Friday — the first documented instances of local transmission in the continental United States. “Zika is now here,” Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news briefing. The C. D. C. and Florida officials said that for now, the area of concern is limited to one square mile in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, a gentrifying area with restaurants and art galleries just north of downtown. Health authorities are not advising people to stay away from the neighborhood, Dr. Frieden said. The four people appear to have been infected in early July since then, mosquito control efforts have been stepped up in the area, and additional cases have not been identified. “We don’t currently see a situation where we would advise people not to travel there or advise pregnant women not to travel there,” Dr. Frieden said. But he said that this advice could change if the number of cases increased substantially. “We would not be surprised if individual additional cases are reported,” he said. And because Zika infection often does not produce any symptoms, “there may be more cases than we know of now. ” The Florida cases signal a new stage in an epidemic that has left a trail of birth defects in Brazil and strained health care resources throughout Latin America. The epidemic is raging in Puerto Rico, C. D. C. officials reported last week: Two percent of blood donors there have been recently infected, and hundreds of pregnant women have tested positive. Researchers had long predicted that the Zika virus would gain a toehold in the continental United States, most likely in Florida and along the Gulf Coast. While the outbreak is not expected to escalate sharply, its course is uncertain. There are now more than 1, 600 confirmed Zika cases in the continental United States. Until the announcement on Friday, all of them had been a result of travel abroad: The virus was contracted either by a mosquito bite elsewhere or by intercourse with someone who had been to a area. None of the four patients in Miami had traveled to areas in Latin America or the Caribbean. After interviewing more than 200 people, Florida health authorities have apparently concluded that none were infected through other means. Dr. Frieden said that the one woman and three men, residents of and Broward Counties, were not related, but that all had been in a section of Wynwood around the time they were infected in early July. At least two were working at different sites in the neighborhood, which had “conditions that can spread Zika,” such as standing water that can attract mosquitoes. Officials declined to say if the infected woman was pregnant. Zika infection is mild for most people, but in a developing fetus, it can cause a condition called microcephaly, characterized by abnormally small heads and brain damage. In rare cases in adults, it can also cause a form of temporary paralysis. Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement that none of the four “exhibited symptoms to be admitted to the hospital. ” No mosquitoes tested in Florida have been found carrying the Zika virus, but Dr. Frieden said that was not surprising. “Confirming transmission is not as easy as confirming infection,” he said. Although the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the Zika virus, cannot travel far — its range is a maximum of 150 meters or a little under 500 feet — finding individual mosquitoes carrying the virus would be a rare stroke of investigative luck, he said. Since the cases were identified, health workers have been going door to door in the neighborhood collecting urine samples for testing of residents. The Food and Drug Administration this week halted blood donations in South Florida until they can be screened for Zika infection. If Florida mosquitoes were infected, health officials said, it is likely to be because they bit someone in Florida who had traveled to Latin America and been infected by a mosquito bite there. Two prominent public health experts had sharply different opinions about the C. D. C’s decision against advising pregnant women to avoid travel to the area. Dr. William Schaffner, head of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University medical school, said the decision was rational. “Two weeks give you a comfort zone,” he said. “If the sense is that the problem has been taken care of and the hazard has been reduced to background level again, then, in the absence of further transmission, I think that’s reasonable. ” But Dr. Peter J. Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said he thought the C. D. C. was wrong to treat a cluster of Zika cases as if it were a cluster of dengue or chikungunya, two related viruses carried by the same breed of mosquito. “This virus doesn’t play by the same rules,” he said. “I think they should tell them: If you’re pregnant or planning to be, don’t travel to the Miami area unless you have to. If you’re in the area, delay getting pregnant during the period when arbovirus transmission peaks, which is the end of July to the beginning of September. And then we’ll see what happens. ” The Wynwood area contains a mix of warehouses, restaurants, bars, galleries, and its housing ranging from apartments to tony . The area has a large population of people from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where Zika cases have been proliferating in recent weeks. The neighborhood that the authorities are focusing on is bound by Northwest Fifth Avenue, U. S. Route 1, 38th Street and 20th Street. At first glance, the bustling crowds in Wynwood betrayed no sense of unease on Friday afternoon. But it was there. “I’m petrified,” said Amber Collins, a newlywed who hopes to become pregnant soon and who had “doused” herself with insect repellent before venturing out to join two friends for a drink at the Wynwood Yard. “I’m deliberately not wearing perfume — I don’t want to attract mosquitoes. ” Ms. Collins, a teacher, said she had taken other precautions, such as wearing jeans, socks and sneakers, instead of the sleeveless romper and sandals she had initially considered, despite the blistering heat. She and a friend who hopes to become pregnant, too, spent part of the morning advising each other via text message about how to stave off the dreaded virus. “I hear mosquitoes go after your feet and ankles,” she said. In a Snapchat posting on Friday, Ms. Collins displayed a photograph of a can of insect repellent: “My new perfume in Miami, now that Zika is officially here. ” Public health officials have been bracing for locally transmitted cases. But the outbreak is likely to be limited, partly because Americans more often live in houses and are less exposed to mosquitoes than those living in some other affected countries. The Aedes aegypti mosquito has a modest range in the United States, rarely appearing farther north than the Deep South, Arizona and California. Still, the revelation of homegrown Zika cases prompted a groundswell of calls on Congress to provide more funding. Congress left for recess this month without authorizing funding to fight Zika. Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who voted for the funding request, said in an interview that he was urging Congress to come back to pass the funding bill in August under parliamentary procedures. “I still think there is a significant number of people in Congress who think Zika is not their problem,” Mr. Rubio said, adding, “Perhaps the fact that now it has occurred may change the dynamic a little bit. ” A crucial part of stopping the outbreak is mosquito control, which is spotty at best in the United States, particularly in communities with weak tax bases. C. D. C. officials have begun awarding $60 million to states, cities and territories and have said they will help states hire contractors to conduct control work like spraying. The C. D. C. released a document this year, a blueprint for action when the first cases of locally transmitted Zika occur in the continental United States. The plan says officials should provide “a large margin of safety” by concentrating efforts within a circle around each known infection. One case, with no further transmission, would require a effort, the C. D. C. said. If the infection spreads, the agency will help local officials investigate and warn residents and, if needed, the agency will send in emergency teams. | 1 |
SAN FRANCISCO — Late on Tuesday night, as it became clear that Donald J. Trump would defeat Hillary Clinton to win the presidential election, a private chat sprang up on Facebook among several vice presidents and executives of the social network. What role, they asked each other, had their company played in the election’s outcome? Facebook’s top executives concluded that they should address the issue and assuage staff concerns at a quarterly meeting. They also called a smaller meeting with the company’s policy team, according to three people who saw the private chat and are familiar with the decisions they requested anonymity because the discussion was confidential. Facebook has been in the eye of a postelection storm for the last few days, embroiled in accusations that it helped spread misinformation and fake news stories that influenced how the American electorate voted. The online conversation among Facebook’s executives on Tuesday, which was one of several private message threads that began among the company’s top ranks, showed that the social network was internally questioning what its responsibilities might be. Even as Facebook has outwardly defended itself as a nonpartisan information source — Mark. Zuckerberg, chairman and chief executive, said at a conference on Thursday that Facebook affecting the election was “a pretty crazy idea” — many company executives and employees have been asking one another if, or how, they shaped the minds, opinions and votes of Americans. Some employees are worried about the spread of racist and memes across the network, according to interviews with 10 current and former Facebook employees. Others are asking whether they contributed to a “filter bubble” among users who largely interact with people who share the same beliefs. Even more are reassessing Facebook’s role as a media company and wondering how to stop the distribution of false information. Some employees have been galvanized to send suggestions to product managers on how to improve Facebook’s powerful news feed: the streams of status updates, articles, photos and videos that users typically spend the most time interacting with. “A fake story claiming Pope Francis — actually a refugee advocate — endorsed Mr. Trump was shared almost a million times, likely visible to tens of millions,” Zeynep Tufekci, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina who studies the social impact of technology, said of a recent post on Facebook. “Its correction was barely heard. Of course Facebook had significant influence in this last election’s outcome. ” This image of Facebook as a partisan influencer and distributor of bad information is at odds with how the company views itself, former and current employees said. Chris Cox, a senior vice president of product and one of Mr. Zuckerberg’s top lieutenants, has long described Facebook as an unbiased and blank canvas to give people a voice. Employees and executives genuinely believed they were and acting as a force for good, these people said. Facebook declined to comment beyond a previously released statement that it was “just one of many ways people received their information — and was one of the many ways people connected with their leaders, engaged in the political process and shared their views. ” On Saturday night, Mr. Zuckerberg posted a lengthy status update to his Facebook page with some of his thoughts on the election. “Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99% of what people see is authentic. Only a very small amount is fake news and hoaxes,” Mr. Zuckerberg wrote. “Overall, this makes it extremely unlikely hoaxes changed the outcome of this election in one direction or the other. ” He added: “I am confident we can find ways for our community to tell us what content is most meaningful, but I believe we must be extremely cautious about becoming arbiters of truth ourselves. ” The postelection questioning caps a turbulent year for Facebook, during which its power to influence what its 1. 79 billion users watch, read and believe has increasingly been criticized. Almost half of American adults rely on Facebook as a source of news, according to a study by the Pew Research Center. And Facebook often emphasizes its ability to sway its users with advertisers, portraying itself as an effective mechanism to help promote their products. Inside Facebook, employees have become more aware of the company’s role in media after several incidents involving content the social network displayed in users’ news feeds. In May, the company grappled with accusations that politically biased employees were censoring some conservative stories and websites in Facebook’s Trending Topics section, a part of the site that shows the most stories and issues on Facebook. Facebook later laid off the Trending Topics team. In September, Facebook came under fire for removing a Pulitzer photo of a naked girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, as she fled napalm bombs during the Vietnam War. The social network took down the photo for violating its nudity standards, even though the picture was an illustration of the horrors of war rather than child pornography. Both those incidents seemed to worsen a problem of fake news circulating on Facebook. The Trending Topics episode paralyzed Facebook’s willingness to make any serious changes to its products that might compromise the perception of its objectivity, employees said. The “napalm girl” incident reminded many insiders at Facebook of the company’s often approach to nuanced situations. Throughout, Mr. Zuckerberg has defended Facebook as a place where people can share all opinions. When employees objected in October to the stance of Peter Thiel, a Facebook board member, in supporting Mr. Trump, Mr. Zuckerberg said, “We care deeply about diversity” and reiterated that the social network gave everyone the power to share their experiences. More recently, issues with fake news on the site have mushroomed. Multiple Facebook employees were particularly disturbed last week when a fake news site called The Denver Guardian spread across the social network with negative and false messages about Mrs. Clinton, including a claim that an F. B. I. agent connected to Mrs. Clinton’s email disclosures had murdered his wife and shot himself. On Thursday, after a companywide meeting at Facebook, many employees said they were dissatisfied with an address from Mr. Zuckerberg, who offered comments to staff that were similar to what he has said publicly. Even in private, Mr. Zuckerberg has continued to resist the notion that Facebook can unduly affect how people think and behave. In a Facebook post circulated on Wednesday to a small group of his friends, which was obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Zuckerberg challenged the idea that Facebook had a direct effect on the way people voted. In the post, the chief executive cited several statistics about low voter turnout during the election. Then Mr. Zuckerberg wrote: “So rather than focusing on strengths or weaknesses in specific demographics, or other factors that may have pushed this race in one direction or another, these stats clearly suggest what many people have said all along. Both candidates were very unpopular. ” | 1 |
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The strangest presidential election campaign in modern history continues.
And the old saying “politics makes strange bedfellows” was never more true than in this almost surrealistic example: conservative firebrand Sean Hannity praising uber-liberal filmmaker Michael Moore for praising Donald Trump—sort of, anyway.
During Hannity's radio show on Wednesday, Hannity said of Moore :
“He realizes that there is a whole generation of people now, hard working, tax-paying long-suffering Americans, who have been keeping the country going through the hardest times — the people that built this country that are screwed over."
Hannity was referring to observations Moore makes in his recently released film “Michael Moore in TrumpLand,” particularly about comments Moore said Trump made to Ford executives during a meeting of the Detroit Economics Club:
"'If you close these factories like you're planning to do in Detroit, and build them in Mexico, I'm going to put a 35% tariff on those cars when send them back, and nobody's going to buy them.'
It was an amazing thing to see. No politician — Republican or Democrat — had ever said anything like that to these executives."
Lest you think Moore has 'lost his mind' and gone over to 'the dark side,' think again.
He mocked Donald Trump Jr. and the “right wing” on Twitter on Wednesday for misconstruing his comments in “TrumpLand”: Hey everyone - Trump, Jr. & right wing thinks my movie called "TrumpLand" is pro-Trump! Haha. Pls don't tell them otherwise! #satire #irony pic.twitter.com/difR93uzTg — Michael Moore (@MMFlint) October 26, 2016
Meanwhile, Hannity continues to sing Moore's praises. Strange bedfellows indeed. Even if one of them is being played. | 0 |
Sudan, Africa and the Mosaic of Horrors 27.10.2016 "What could be the most striking image, one that would clearly illustrate the destructive involvement of the United States in Sudan?" I ask. "In short, what should I photograph, that could show the suffering of the Sudanese people?" "Let's go and photograph what is left of the Al-Shifa factory," I am told. "It is terrible, and truly symbolic." It is actually close to impossible to photograph just about anything in Sudan. For right or wrong reasons, the government is paranoid. Elaborate permits have to be issued for traveling outside the main urban areas, and for taking photos and videos even inside the capital city of Khartoum itself. If one dares to at all, one has to work fast and clandestinely, even if one is not planning to do anything damaging to Sudan. by ANDRE VLTCHEK Print version Font Size Why was I here? After making my films, after covering the horrid wars of the African Great Lakes, after witnessing the awful devastation of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), I had to finally come to Sudan, which for me represented that remaining, that last piece of the 'puzzle'; a part in the mosaic of the horrors which are now covering almost the entire continent of Africa. I thought that I had to be here, in order to understand all the subtle nuances of how Western imperialist designs have been fragmenting and ruining this entire continent. I convinced one of my friends in Khartoum to accompany me, and on my third day in Sudan, we drove towards the 'legendary' sight of the former Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Bahri, Khartoum North. The path we took led through relatively affluent neighborhoods, full of large houses, even villas, some of which, I was told, belong to Omar al-Bashir himself, and to his relatives. Our car passed near the bizarre complex of Al-Noor Mosque, which is built in a Turkish style. "This may be the only mosque in the world, which has a supermarket behind its walls," my guide explained, smiling sarcastically. "The investment and idea came from our President; from al-Bashir himself." A few minutes later we see what we came here for: the site, the rubble, the devastation . A surviving chimney of the factory is right in front of us. On the left-hand side of the road, it is just pure destruction. 18 years after the 'event', nothing grows here, and nothing, no structures have replaced what has been converted into debris. I work fast. I don't want to get caught. I came here in order to document the brutality of the Western global regime, but somehow here I feel like a thief, like an intruder. At this point I still don't know why. US missile destroyed factory: Clinton The Al-Shifa factory was hit and destroyed by US Tomahawk cruise missiles in 1998, just a few days after the terrorist attacks on the American embassies in both Kenya and Tanzania. President Bill Clinton ordered the attack, arguing that the compound was storing nerve gas, something that was strongly denied by both the Sudanese government and the owner of the plant. On October 20 th , 2005, The New York Times reported in its uncommonly critical article: " American officials have acknowledged over the years that the evidence that prompted President Clinton to order the missile strike on the Shifa plant was not as solid as first portrayed. Indeed, officials later said that there was no proof that the plant had been manufacturing or storing nerve gas, as initially suspected by the Americans, or had been linked to Osama bin Laden, who was a resident of Khartoum in the 1980's... no apology has been made and no restitution offered, which has Sudan's government steaming, even seven years after the ground shook and the dark sky over Khartoum turned light as the plant was hit. On the most recent anniversary of the bombing, Sudanese authorities did what they always do and repeated their call for a United Nations investigation of the American attack on the factory, which, if nothing else, was a major provider of medicines for humans and animals at the time it was destroyed. Mustafa Osman Ismail, who was foreign minister until recently, also raised the issue at the United Nations summit meeting in New York last month, saying the bombing "damaged the development efforts of my country and deprived my people of basic medicines."" "It is thoroughly paradoxical," I am told, as we are driving away. "The Americans ruined Sudan's most important medicine supply. They bombed a private factory that actually belonged to a person with extremely close business ties to the United States." But this is not the only paradox that I will encounter in this country. And it is not the only paradox in its relationship with the arch tormentor - the United States. *** In Khartoum, I met dozens of people: Sudanese people, Eritrean people, Europeans as well as Asians. I kept putting the same questions to everyone: is Sudan really at odds with the West, particularly with the United States? Or is 'the game' actually much more complex than that? Western media again distorts the truth If Sudan is really a brutal dictatorship, then Sudanese people are shockingly outspoken. Those who are opposing the government are speaking against it openly, even in front of a total stranger like myself. This would be unthinkable even in today's Egypt or Turkey. "But no names, please, no names," I am told. I understand. I take notes, but do not write down any names. A man working for an international organization is laughing, as we are having dinner: "In Sudan, people can meet and say whatever they want. Nobody cares. But god forbid if they begin to organize." He is talkative and friendly. But later I find out that he thinks (and tells his colleagues) that I am a 'spy', which, in turn, is explained to me, is quite the usual way of looking at each other here. It is enough to be half Eritrean or Ethiopian to be suspected of spying. All Westerners are flatly considered to be professional spies, no matter how strong their anti-imperialist credentials are. This constant suspicion is what made me uncomfortable in Sudan, from the first moment I stepped off the plane. I never felt like this in Eritrea or in Zimbabwe. There, they knew who I was and what I do: they read my books and have watched my films, and consequently they trusted me. Here, one paradox piles on top of another. There is this brutal embargo, and open confrontation between the West and Sudan. Already, many years ago, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against the President. It is almost impossible to get a Sudanese visa with a US passport. But, as I am told, half of the Sudanese parliamentarians are holding US citizenship and regularly 'commute' between Sudan and North America. Bizarre? Yes, thoroughly. Is it even possible? Apparently it is: welcome to Sudan! In the meantime, over one of the tastiest steaks I have ever had in my life, my acquaintance spills his heart out to me (allegedly a foreign spy): "We have some of the best meat in the world... The embargo means, no chemicals, everything is organic. Sudanese are herders... Beef, sheep... Such a rich land! We have plenty of water below the ground. Our people are nice, they are peaceful, welcoming... We want to be friends with everybody in this world." At the end, he helps to arrange a car for me, for the following day. He is not supposed to, as I am not allowed to drive anywhere in this country. Especially if he thinks that I'm a spy. Things are slightly confusing. But I am quickly getting used to it. *** Several African and foreign analysts now believe that the events in Sudan, the West's desire to destabilize it, to overthrow its government and ultimately to break the country into pieces, are closely linked to the horrific past and present of the rest of Central Africa, particularly to Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC. Others dispute it. The disagreements are often only over whether the main booty of the West was actually supposed to be the Democratic Republic of Congo or Sudan. In his legendary work, first published in 2004, CENTRAL AFRICA: 15 YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE COLD WAR. THE INTERNATIONAL INVOLVEMENT, Dr. Helmut Strizek, a German academic, argues: " Most people expected that Clinton with his "leftist" leanings would pressurize the Bashir-Turabi regime into a process of democratization in line with the Bush-Mitterrand approach that had been adopted after the end of the Cold War. But things took a different course. Clinton and Madeleine Albright, the new American Ambassador to the U.N., considered Sudan to be a "rogue state" and the number one enemy in Central Africa. They therefore opted for a proxy approach ("get others to fight your war"), a well known strategy that had been applied during the Cold War. Mitterrand was unlikely to comply with the intended "regime change" in Khartoum. He was apparently not informed about Washington's Sudan policy and could not understand the effects this new policy had on the Rwandan problem. After the Somalia disaster of 3 October 1993, Madeleine Albright used all the tricks in the book to minimize a U.S. contribution to the UNAMIR peacekeeping force envisaged in the Arusha Agreements. These activities were the first signs that the U.S. wished to reduce its commitment in favour of power sharing in Rwanda, help Museveni and his friend, Paul Kagame, to win the Rwandan war, and find other anti-Khartoum allies." The horrors in Rwanda occurred in 1994 and then the US-backed Tutsi RPF took power almost immediately there (or one could say almost simultaneously), the same year. One year later, Rwanda and Uganda began one of the most brutal and genocidal wars in the history of the 20 th Century - the one against the people of the DRC. The war continues until now, and is fought on behalf of several Western powers and business interests. By the recent count, at least 10 million people have already lost their lives. The West was interested in chipping off several resource-rich parts of Sudan, including the then so-called southern Sudan. Neighboring Uganda was extremely interested in the 'project', too. It was enjoying full impunity and was clearly emerging as a brutal regional power. It had already supplied, trained and hardened the RPF cadres, (before the RPF took power in neighboring Rwanda). It was already helping with plundering the DRC, and it felt suddenly ready to play and to think big. Not everyone was impressed. But the stakes were extremely high, and rebellious heads, those that did not want to support the West's Machiavellian designs, began to roll. Helmut Strizek continues: " UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali was considered in Washington to be a "French and Sudanese sympathizer". He became a prominent victim of the approach to Sudan. Richard Clarke reveals a strange deal: "Albright and I and a handful of others (Michael Sheehan, Jamie Rubin) had entered into a pact together in 1996 to oust Boutros-Ghali as Secretary-General of the United Nations, a secret plan we had called Operation Orient Express (...). The entire operation had strengthened Albright's hand in the competition to be Secretary of State in the second Clinton administration." (CLARKE 2004:201/202). This pact was forged after an attempt - attributed to the Khartoum regime - to kill Egypt's President Mubarak during a conference of the Organization for African Unity in Addis Ababa in June 1995. "Following that event, Egypt and we (joined by other countries in the region) sought and obtained the United Nations Security Council's sanctions on Sudan." Well, Egypt was always on the side of the British colonialists, when it came to the wars against Sudan. Similar to his predecessors, Mubarak faithfully served the Empire. In 1998, Bill Clinton organized a 'meeting' in the Ugandan city of Entebbe, in order to amalgamate a group of the proxies - those willing to launch a war against Khartoum. Helmut Strizek again: " Rather than promoting democracy the meeting was intended to prepare for war against Khartoum with the help of this so-called "new generation of African leaders". But the war never took place. Shortly after Clinton left Africa, an absurd war broke out between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Laurent Kabila, whose anti-democratic record - according to different reports in the press - had made Clinton feel very uneasy in Entebbe, used this war as an excuse to leave the anti-Khartoum alliance and try to get rid of his Rwandan "protectors" in late July 1998. As a result the anti-Khartoum alliance collapsed." " While the planned war failed to materialise, the joint U.S.-U.K. policy initiative to topple the Sudan government continued. Although Richard Clarke would like to make the world believe that the bombing of a chemical plant in Khartoum on 20 August 1998 in retaliation for the Al Qaida attacks on the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam was a success story, in fact it was a failure. This attack only exacerbated anti-American feelings, because the Sudan government had apparently not supported Osama bin Laden after he left Sudan in 1995. The failed attempt to kill bin Laden the same day in Afghanistan reinforced his belief that he was protected by "providence" and so he stepped up the fight against the "American devil"." " Despite the improved relations between Sudan and Egypt, there was no change in the policy to bring about a regime change in Khartoum before the end of the Clinton era. Even Jimmy Carter, who cannot be suspected of excessive sympathy with Muslim fundamentalism, disapproved of this inflexible approach in 1999. "The people in Sudan want to resolve the conflict. The biggest obstacle is U.S. government policy. The U.S. is committed to overthrowing the government in Khartoum. Any sort of peace effort is aborted, basically by policies of the United States. Instead of working for peace in Sudan, the U.S. government has basically promoted a continuation of the war." What Jimmy Carter said is definitely correct, but it does not, of course, apply exclusively to Sudan. It could be traced to almost all the conflicts in which the Empire has some involvement (therefore, to almost all of them), from those in Africa to those in the Middle East, including Syria. Helmut Strizek believes that the wars in the African Great Lakes Region were directly connected to the US attempt at destabilizing Sudan, that they were actually ignited by the West, for Sudan to be destroyed or conquered in the end. But many others, including a legendary Canadian international lawyer, Christopher Black, who has been deeply involved in the events of the region (where he was working for the ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania), disagree. Chris wrote to me, shortly after I sent to him Strizek's report: " Strizek... He testified for the defense in our trial at the ICTR and put forward this thesis about Sudan. I think most of what he says is correct but found then and still find his theory that the war in Rwanda was about Sudan a little difficult to accept. It may have been one of the considerations for Museveni and the US and UK etc. but it was not the primary one. The primary one was the war on Zaire, to kick out Mobutu and break Congo into pieces, That was the central plan for the RPF, US, UK, Belgium etc. re Rwanda and I have a letter from Kagame saying so. Strizek was used by an opposing defense team in my trial to try to make it look like I forged that letter from Kagame and I went after him about that. I think he fell into a trap about that - that is that other defense team, who I am sure were working for the prosecution, tricked him into doing. We discussed it later and he admitted perhaps he had been wrong but would not totally retreat. But we are in touch still... So in my opinion, the rest of his paper is basically correct re the geopolitical situation and he is correct on who invaded Rwanda and is responsible for that war, but I disagree that Sudan was the central objective of that war - that objective was Zaire. I agree re Sudan's importance but I fail to see how the take over of Rwanda had any effect on the attempt to break up Sudan. It is not on Sudan's border, Uganda is. No doubt Museveni etc. wanted that result - but I could never quite see how Rwanda fitted into that picture except in general terms - that is the US etc. wanting to take over all central Africa which would make them stronger further north in Sudan etc. But it is clear from all the other evidence at the trial and that of the French expert Dr. Bernard Lugan and others that the main objective of the Rwanda war was to take over Rwanda so they could use it to attack and break up Zaire, which is what they did." My comrade, a Ugandan opposition politician Arthur Tewungwa, agrees with Christopher Black, but he also thinks that the West 'drenched in blood' the entire region, whatever have been its 'primary goals': "Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC have all been the victims of a cross-Atlantic foreign policy that has left the region disfigured and drenched in blood. While the motives have been presented as altruistic, the net result has been dreadful. Loud Western propaganda based on simplistic interpretations has been the order of the day. Sadly this approach has drawn celebrities and other well-intentioned individuals who have contributed to suffering equaled only during WWII. Darfur, Luwero, Eastern Congo and Rwanda have narratives built that don't stand the test of objective scrutiny. Who will repair the damage visited on these places? The only answer is the victims. The do-gooders have done enough bad to warrant their exit left of stage!" *** I then asked my close friend and a dedicated internationalist, Mwandawiro Mghanga, Chairperson of (Marxist) Social Democratic Party of Kenya (SDP), to comment on the situation in Sudan. He expressed, in his letter, a strong opinion and his support for the Sudanese people, against the sanctions and against Western imperialism in general: "The economic and political sanctions imposed against Sudan by Western countries have existed for many years. However, despite disrupting the development of the country they have not succeeded into forcing the people with a long and proud history and culture to surrender its freedom to Western imperialism. Western countries imposed the sanctions against Sudan ostensibly for its violation of the human rights of South Sudan which until recently was part of Sudan. But even after the government of Sudan participated in the democratic process that gave birth to the Republic of South Sudan (RSS), still the West continued with its hostilities and sanctions against Sudan. Sudan is now accused by the West of gross violations of human rights in Darfur. Yet despite its propaganda, the West is not actually interested in solving the problem of Darfur but in undermining the government of Sudan, compromising its sovereignty and carving another country out of Sudan. After RSS and Darfur the West will encourage another region of Sudan to demand to split and so on until Sudan is left into a tiny country like Rwanda. In fact, until the RSS was created, Sudan was the largest country in Africa in terms geographical size and ethnical diversity. This did not please Western imperialism that was imposed into Africa through the partition and balkanization of the second largest continent in the World and sharing it among the European colonial powers. Colonialism then existed in Africa through the notorious tactic of divide and rule that it continues today. The goal of Pan - Africanism and African Union for regional integration and eventual political union of African countries has always been seen as a threat to imperialist's interests in Africa. In this context, Sudan like Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with it rich natural resources is seen to be too big by the West to dominate and therefore all means possible are used to balkanize it. They do not even care that the creation of RSS from Sudan has escalated inter-ethnic violence, violations of human rights and undermined real freedoms. The national liberation hero of Sudan and leader of South Sudan John Garang was assassinated by the West ´with the connivance of the Ugandan government under President Yoweri Museveni because he was leading the struggle for the liberation of the whole of Sudan and not the creation of RSS. In the meanwhile, the sanctions against Sudan have only made the country more determined to safeguard its freedom and independence, to explore and implement self - reliance strategies and to search for alternative development partners - Russia and China. And so Sudan struggles and lives on." Not everyone in Africa feels deep solidarity with Sudan, though. The country has an extremely complex history and relationships with its neighbours. My close colleague from Eritrea, usually very outspoken and passionate about the West's devastating involvement in Africa, this time just commented, simply and dryly: " The only thing I can say is that in Sudan it's not similar to Eritrea - ours is a clear case of economic sabotage, injustice, and double standards." *** The last day before my departure, I ended up working with a lady, an acquaintance of mine, who spent a long year working in Darfur. Are things there really as they are described by the Western mass media? We sit in the lobby of my hotel, drinking coffee, and I'm taking notes. No names, of course, no names here... But she speaks freely, confidently, and what she describes is actually not much different from the nightmares occurring in many other parts of Africa: " It is extremely tiring working in Darfur. You don't realize it when you are still there; at some point it all becomes somehow 'normal', but then when you leave the place, it all comes back to you, and it is hard to keep living a normal life afterwards. You are asking whether it is it as horrible there, as we are told? Yes it is, and perhaps worse... Killings and rapes, refugees and despair, and great suffering of the people... But it is not happening, honestly, just because of this government, and the state-backed Janjaweed militias... although they can be blamed for many terrible acts, of course. But the other side is not blameless either. And local people almost never report crimes committed by the rebels, and the Western media hardly mentions them..." What I want to know is what role the West is actually playing in Darfur? " The West is definitely trying to encourage Darfur to leave Sudan. The West, even Israel, is supporting Abdelwahid rebels from Fur African tribe. It is not unlike what it did in South Sudan. Darfur is rich in uranium and other raw materials. The conflict in Darfur, and brutality of it, is actually being fuelled from outside. The UN peacekeeping force UNAMID is thoroughly ineffective in Darfur. It hardly interferes on behalf of the local people. One has to wonder, what are their mandates and true goals there. I asked and was told that they are there 'to report'. It often appears that the so-called international community is doing everything for the conflict to continue, so it could justify its push for separation. In the meantime, the refugees are flowing into neighbouring Chad, and elsewhere. In the camps in Chad, they are often screened and interviewed, by foreigners, even Israelis... I don't know what happens there, in those camps, afterwards." As we speak about Chad - its top military brass is having a joint meeting with local, Sudanese commanders. The entire hotel lobby is filled with men in various uniforms. Some are armed. I then ask to be taken to the so-called 'open areas' outside Khartoum; places inhabited by the South Sudanese refugees. Like Darfur now, South Sudan had been, in the past, destabilized and encouraged to leave the Republic of the Sudan. The West did its best to create this the 'youngest country on Earth', rich in oil and many other resources. As I was already explained to on several occasions by foreigners who have been based in South Sudan, the place has been, from the beginning, an ungovernable, and an artificial country, ruled by local warlords but above all, by countless international organizations and NGOs. That was actually the plan of the West from the outset. The situation in South Sudan is now so terrible, that people are fleeing across the newly marked border, to the Republic of the Sudan. Before the breakup, the exiles would be processed simply as IDP's, but now they are 'true refugees', as they are technically coming from a different country. We drive slowly to one of the 'open areas' called Altakamul, in Alhag Youseif town. My acquaintances are feeding me with the latest data from UNHCR and other sources: "there are now 7 camps for South Sudanese refugees in White Nile State, with a population of 101,495. And there are 35,507 refugees located in the open areas, in and around Khartoum." How are they treated here? "Right after the separation, there was a lot of talk about South Sudanese people being our 'brothers and sisters'. We were told to treat them exactly as we would treat our own people. Some actually have relatives here, even houses. But now, with the economical difficulties that Sudan is facing, things are becoming very problematic." Altakamus is a tough, miserably poor area, covered by sand and dust. As with everywhere else, I am not supposed to photograph here. And as with everywhere else, I do. Garbage covers almost entire alleys and the sides of roads. The whole area consists almost exclusively of only two colours with some varieties of shades: yellow and grey. Only very few economic activities could be detected. At this hour, children should be in school, but many are not. So this is where the increasing number of South Sudanese people are now ending up; this is the result of yet another 'glorious' Western experiment on human beings: of mingling with the borders, creating new states that should serve the Empire's political and economic interests. How many more are 'planned' for this area? We know of at least of some others: Goma (the DRC), Darfur (Sudan), Jubaland (Somalia). *** I don't know where Sudan is heading. Despite many problems, despite its clearly capitalist leaning, corruption and economic troubles, I am impressed with many things here. Khartoum looks definitely much cleaner and safer than Nairobi or Kampala, two cities in countries that are fully supported and often loudly glorified by the West. In Nairobi, more than half the people live in desperate, deadly, even 'toxic' slums. In Khartoum, poverty has a much gentler face. Despite sanctions, despite everything... Sudanese leaders have many new grand plans for their country: new housing developments, a new international airport, new office towers, hotels, riverfronts, office buildings and shopping malls. Some of these projects are now delayed, or even cancelled, but others are ongoing and on target. Life is tough here, and much tougher in the provinces. Because of the sanctions, many goods and basic equipment (even those for the hospitals) are missing. No credit cards are accepted here. Inflation is mounting. Goods and services are often calculated in dollars, but there are two parallel exchange rates in place: official and the black market one. Several times a day I hear the same question: "Do you like Sudan?" I don't know. It is a complex place, but inhabited by warm, courteous people. Honestly, this is not my fight. Here I don't see a struggle, an attempt to build an egalitarian country based on social justice. But Sudan is, to a great extent, a victim. A place which has been placed on that horrid hit list of the Empire and selected for demolition. And as such, I feel, it deserves to be supported. I wandered through the National Museum, with its exquisite artefacts. Two local schoolgirls wearing headscarves approached me, demanding to take selfies with me, on their phone. At times, life appears to be almost 'normal', but there is always some tension. As we drive through the city of Omdurman, I ask my friend: "Is it true what one reads in Western press; that they amputate hands for theft, that they are nailing people on the cross?" She laughs, mockingly: "Of course not! They got rid of these practices a long time ago! If they kept up with them, half of the government would be running around without hands!" *** But who is who here, and who works for whom? I am told that imaginary 'spies' are really everywhere. One day, I was sitting with a friend and with a local filmmaker in a cafe, discussing the possibility of my returning here and making a documentary film. The filmmaker was offering to drive me to Port Sudan if I come back, even to arrange my visa and all the necessary permits. At one point, we began discussing my latest novel "Aurora" . He asked about the plot. I told him that the book is about the European cultural institutions, which are funding young artists and thinkers in almost all developing countries, then using the arts and 'culture' as a vehicle for spreading capitalist and pro-Western propaganda, silencing almost all rebellious voices. At first interested, the filmmaker became gradually very edgy, and towards the end of my explanation, he apologized and ran away from the cafe, faster than the speed of light. I never heard from him again. "You hit the nail on its head," my friend began laughing, right after he vanished. "He is funded by all those organizations that you mentioned. You scared him witless." Before I left the country, all my notes 'mysteriously' disappeared. Someone entered my hotel room and took both notepad and my Mont Blanc pen, which was attached to it. The Mont Blanc had been, for many years, one of my dearest writing tools. Practically, it was not easy to depart Sudan. At the airport, my passport was endlessly scrutinized, and in the end I was ordered to produce my 'registration paper'. I was told that registration is not required for stays under 30 days. I began expecting the worst. But in the end, the security apparatus allowed me to leave. But which security apparatus was harassing me, really? Who is in charge in this country? I will most likely never find out. In 1898, during the Battle of Omdurman (and later in 1899 during the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat), British imperialism debilitated, and eventually ruined the entire Sudan. British forces relied on their alliance with the Egyptians. In modern history, the West has never really left this proud nation in peace. All the terrible attacks came in the name of higher principles. The West has always claimed that it has been liberating Sudan from someone or something. In the end, the Sudanese people have suffered immensely. Those who were supposed to be 'freed' were actually mercilessly sacrificed. Some things never change!
Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three of his latest books are revolutionary novel "Aurora" and two bestselling works of political non-fiction: " Exposing Lies Of The Empire " and " Fighting Against Western Imperialism " . View his other books here . Andre is making films for teleSUR and Al-Mayadeen. After having lived in Latin America, Africa and Oceania, Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter . Sent to Pravdareport by the author | 0 |
Midfield Diamond Midfield Diamond 0 November 1, 2016 0 October 27, 2016 0 | 0 |
Donnerstag, 3. November 2016 Polizei fasst Mann, der seit Jahrzehnten Deckel von Gläsern zu fest zuschraubt Eisenach (Archiv) - Eines der größten kriminalistischen Rätsel der Nachkriegszeit ist nach jahrzehntelangen Ermittlungen offenbar gelöst: Beamte des Bundeskriminalamts haben heute in Eisenach einen 65-jährigen Mann festgenommen, der im Verdacht steht, im ganzen Bundesgebiet seit 1976 millionenfach Deckel von mit Lebensmitteln gefüllten Gläsern so fest zugeschraubt zu haben, dass sie von nichtsahnenden Käufern kaum noch geöffnet werden konnten. Das Vorgehen des mutmaßlichen Täters Oskar G., den die Boulevardpresse das "Deckelphantom" nennt, war dabei stets gleich: Im Schutz der Dunkelheit schlich er sich in Lagerhallen, Fabriken und Supermärkte, wo er bis in die Morgenstunden die Deckel möglichst vieler Gläser fest zudrehte – Gläser, die normalerweise von jedem Menschen leicht hätten geöffnet werden können. In seiner Hochphase kam er so regelmäßig auf mehr als 15.000 Deckel in einer Nacht. Sie haben ihn! So spektakulär wie Oskar G.s Verbrechen – zeitweise war fast jedes fünfte in Deutschland verkaufte Glas von ihm manipuliert – war auch seine Festnahme: Vierzehn Polizeibeamte waren nötig, um ihn in Handschellen zu legen. "Es ist unglaublich, wieviel Kraft er in seinen dünnen Armen hat", so BKA-Sprecher Jochen Schäfer. "Er kann zupacken wie eine Schraubzwinge und hat mehreren Beamten die Schulter ausgekugelt." Als heiße Spur zum mutmaßlichen Täter hatte sich ein einzelner Fingerabdruck erwiesen, der bereits 2013 an einem Marmeladeglas in einer Supermarktfiliale im ostfriesischen Wittmund gefunden worden war. Offenbar hatte Oskar G. den Deckel so fest zugeschraubt, dass dabei sein Handschuh unbemerkt geplatzt war – ein fataler Fehler. "Ohne diesen Glücksfund hätten wir diesem Monster wohl nie das Handwerk legen können", so Schäfer. Doch was geht in dem Kopf des Mannes vor? Bislang ist völlig ungeklärt, was G. derart radikalisiert haben könnte, dass er beschloss, Millionen Menschen zu schaden. Glaubt man den Profilern, dann steckt dahinter Sadismus in seiner reinsten Form. Oft der letzte Ausweg der Opfer von G. Dazu passen auch erste Hinweise, dass G.s kriminelle Aktivitäten weit umfangreicher waren als bisher angenommen. So vermuten die Ermittler inzwischen, der 65-Jährige könnte bei seinen Einbruchserien auch Milchverpackungen so manipuliert haben, dass ihr Inhalt beim Gießen ruckartig aus der Öffnung schwappt. Auch könnte er gestrichelte Linien auf Plastikverpackungen an Stellen angebracht haben, die sich gar nicht aufschneiden lassen. Die Ermittlungen hierzu dauern aber noch an. Es könnte also noch eine Weile dauern, bis der Frührentner G. endlich vor ein Gericht gestellt wird. Höchstwahrscheinlich muss ihm dabei ein Pflichtverteidiger zugewiesen werden, da sich bislang jeder freie Anwalt weigert, den Mann zu vertreten, der so großes Leid über so viele Menschen gebracht hat. Experten rechnen damit, dass die Staatsanwaltschaft lebenslange Haft mit anschließender Sicherheitsverwahrung in einer Zelle ohne Schraubverschluss fordern wird. mo, dan, ssi; Fotos rechts: Shutterstock; Hinweis: Erstmals erschienen am 4.11.15 Artikel teilen: | 0 |
Having everyone over for the holidays may have seemed like a good idea when you agreed to it last year. Back then, there was plenty of time to redo the guest room, fix the leaky kitchen faucet and upgrade the powder room. But with just a few weeks to spare, the thought of opening your home to family and friends might start to feel a bit overwhelming. If you act now, however, there is still time to make your home feel fresh and festive — without a major overhaul. FOCUS ON MAIN SPACES Concentrate on the kitchen, powder room and living areas, said Sarah Fishburne, the director of trend and designer for Home Depot, who recently hosted Thanksgiving for the first time in her new home in Atlanta. “Don’t get jammed up worrying about those secondary areas. ” You can always stash the laundry you didn’t have time to do in your bedroom and shut the door. But the kitchen — “that’s the gathering zone. ” Ms. Fishburne swapped out her older kitchen faucet with a new smart faucet that turns on and off with a tap of the wrist or forearm. Other upgrades that can be accomplished in a day and require minimal investment: adding a new backsplash, swapping out an old light fixture and changing cabinet hardware. “Instantly, you’ll feel like you really accomplished something,” said Ms. Fishburne, who traded knobs for pumpkin knobs and updated three orb pendant lights to oxide brass shade island lights. UPDATE ACCENTS “Switching out your pillows and throws is a great way to transform your space for the holidays,” said Alyssa Kapito, who founded the Manhattan interior design firm Kapito Muller with Vivian Muller. “Wool, mohair and cashmere are wonderful fabrics for colder seasons, and if you want to get really festive, you can try throwing in a plaid or a check fabric to add a bit of warmth and coziness,” she said, suggesting a cashmere knit throw from ($199) and a patchwork plaid pillow cover from Pottery Barn ($49. 50). Similarly, you can give your bathroom a quick refresh with a new bath mat, curtain liner, towels and some nice soaps. TIDY UP Ridding counters of clutter and shelves of tchotchkes is a fast and easy way to streamline space. Use an empty shoe box to collect pens, mail, knickknacks and other items that have accumulated in the kitchen and living room, said Tova Weinstock, an organizer in Brooklyn. While you’re at it, clear some closet space for guests’ belongings. A dedicated spot for hanging clothes or even a single drawer, she said, “will immediately boost your guest’s stay and amp up your hospitality level. ” You can temporarily store your own clothing in a soft bin like the Real Simple canvas bags sold at Bed Bath Beyond, Ms. Weinstock said. “Another idea is to double up coats on hangers, with coats underneath and winter coats over. ” CODDLE GUESTS Putting some consideration into how guests will experience your home will not only make them feel more welcome, but can make your life easier. When preparing for houseguests, Pamela Dailey, an interior designer in Beacon, N. Y. displays logistics like the network name and password and instructions on how to use the coffee maker in strategically placed picture frames. “The frames themselves can be switched out simply to add a festive touch,” she said, or “you could use a pretty piece of wrapping paper in the frame that you put the information on. ” In the guest bedroom, “little details like a notepad and pen on a bedside table” and “some flowers” will make guests feel more welcome, said Ms. Kapito, who recommends placing a carafe filled with water (like CB2’s $13 stackable cylinder) on the night stand. And in a twist on the hotel slipper, Ms. Weinstock suggests laying out a new pair of fuzzy socks. EASY ON DECORATIONS Keeping decorations simple and contained makes for easy elegance. “Choose a focal spot in your home — a mantel if you have a fireplace, an entry table or one shelf on your bookcase — that you can dedicate your energy to for creating some seasonal atmosphere,” said Ms. Dailey, who likes to designate a spot for displaying all the holiday cards she receives. “This is a great way to decorate, since everything will come to you,” she said. “I like to find somewhere on a wall so that you’re not taking up surface space or cluttering the refrigerator. Get some festive washi tape that you can tack the cards up with as they come in. ” Denise Piccolo, a professional holiday decorator in Brooklyn, suggests filling a few clear vases with shatterproof tree ornaments. “Display in mismatched groups or on their own,” she said, and drape matching stands of beads around the bottoms of the vases, scattering a few ornaments around the outside. REUSE AND RECYCLE If you’re feeling crafty, you can transform empty wine or liquor bottles into centerpieces by painting them in metallic holiday colors, like silver and gold, Ms. Piccolo said. “You can use blue painters’ tape to make patterns or block out letters to spell seasonal words such as ‘joy’ or ‘peace.’ ” Embellish with glitter, she suggested, or tie on jingle bells, ribbon or tiny pine cones around the necks of the bottles. “You can display the bottles in a group, intertwined with a strand of Christmas lights around the bases. ” If you’re buying a real Christmas tree, ask for the excess branches that get cut off the bottom to make a swag for your front door. “Simply bunch it together,” she said, and “tie with floral wire, fashioning the end into a loop to hang it. ” Trim any excess and “finish with a pretty bow to cover the wire, with tails hanging down on the branches. ” Another easy option is to stick the extra branches in a vase with water as you would with flowers, Ms. Piccolo said, and “embellish with holly sprigs, available at florists or garden centers, or holiday picks from the craft store. ” | 1 |
Those who dislike partisan politics at awards show have been warned in advance of Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, as producer Ken Ehrlich has made it clear that music’s biggest night will encourage artists to express themselves in any way they choose. [“One of the tenets of our show is artistic freedom, and over the years we’ve shown we do believe in it,” Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich said this weekend in an interview with Variety. “How many more times do we need to hear ‘I’d like to thank my publicist, my agent, my wife and kids.’ The great acceptance speeches are ones that have a point of view and are more personal. ” Sunday night’s 59th annual Grammy Awards has been billed as a showdown between Beyoncé and Adele, both up for Album of the Year, but plenty of music’s biggest stars will be on hand in what could become a ceremony. Beyoncé leads all artists with nine nominations this year for her Black Lives album Lemonade, while Drake, Rihanna, and Kanye West each earned eight nods. The Grammys have featured plenty of politics in recent years in 2014, 33 gay and straight couples were married during the ceremony as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis sang their hit LGBT anthem “Same Love,” while 2015 saw President Obama appear in a PSA and last year saw rapper Kendrick Lamar delivering a rendition of his hit song “The Blacker the Berry” from an elaborate prison set. If Ehrlich’s show follows a similar path this year, Grammy viewers could be in for another night of fiery acceptance speeches and defiant performances, especially in the show’s first broadcast since Donald Trump became president. “One of the things I’ve learned from working with artists for 40 years is that they are vital individuals who have interests that cover a broad spectrum of subjects and passions,” Ehrich told Variety. “We should certainly allow for it on the broadcast. ” The Grammys are hardly the only awards show to heavily feature politics just last month, numerous actors used the podium at the Screen Actors Guild Awards to criticize President Trump’s executive order on immigration. And in the first awards show of the year, Meryl Streep drew thunderous applause for an impassioned speech while accepting a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes. The 59th annual Grammy Awards air Sunday night at 8 p. m. Eastern on CBS. Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum | 1 |
Written by Michael S. Rozeff Saturday November 12, 2016 What happens next in Washington? Trump fills out his administration. At the same time, Washington insiders attempt to capture Trump and influence his positions, policies and decisions. The presidency is an institution, not a man, not a president. The presidency is a network of enormous power with Trump now at its center. Washington insiders who live and breathe politics are now in a race for positions of power and influence. They hanker and vie for appointments. Trump must make appointments. He cannot operate alone. He must delegate power to make decisions. He cannot monitor all information pertinent to every issue in which the government has a hand. The presidency is not 100 percent centralized. Decision-making power is allocated to levels below the president himself and to levels surrounding him. It also lies outside the presidency in Congress. Trump has his ideas and desires for actions, but their realization depends on the people he appoints. He loses control and locks himself in with every appointment that he makes. People around him want his power and want to influence him. They have a heavy influence on what he hears, whom he sees, the options presented to him, and the evaluations of competing personnel. Trump will likely form a very small team of offshoots of himself, people whom he trusts implicitly, in order to extend his capacity to choose people who will adhere to and execute his agenda.Power in Washington is not simply the apparatus of administering the presidency that will take up headlines for the next few months. After the U.S. Treasury robs the tax-paying Americans, new robbers (the Lobby) appear to rob the Treasury using every device they can get away with. There is a second contingent, the power-seekers. Those who covet the exercise of power unceasingly work toward their own narrow aims. As long as Washington remains the place that concentrates unbelievably large amounts of money and powers, it will remain the swamp that Trump has promised to drain but won’t. He cannot drain it, not without destroying Washington’s power and he cannot accomplish that, nor does he even hint that he wants to accomplish that. His stated aims are the redirection of money and powers, not their elimination for the sake of a greater justice, a greater right, and a truly greater people and country.The presidency is an establishment and Washington is another. By being elected, Trump struck a blow at the members of the establishment who will be packing their bags while weeping over their losses (see here and here .) But elections do not strike the roots of the presidency, the establishment or Washington. Neither will demonstrations against Trump. The Obama establishment is dead. The Democratic establishment is dead, at least for 4 years. There was a time, a very brief time under the Articles of Confederation, when Americans recognized the evils of the establishment and avoided instituting one. This gave way almost immediately (in 1787) to the constitutional seed that planted the enormous tree that now cuts out the sun of justice from American lives. A domestic war failed to uproot that tree. Long live the establishment, the Union, the American state, and may they be possessed of immense powers over our lives — these became the social and political reality. Trump isn’t going to change it. He’s a president administering a presidency. He’s at the top of the heap. His credo is still “Long Live the Establishment!” Reprinted with permission from LewRockwell.com . Related | 0 |
By Julian Assange
In recent months, WikiLeaks and I personally have come under enormous pressure to stop publishing what the Clinton campaign says about itself to itself. That pressure has come from the campaign’s allies, including the Obama administration, and from liberals who are anxious about who will be elected US President.
On the eve of the election, it is important to restate why we have published what we have.
The right to receive and impart true information is the guiding principle of WikiLeaks – an organization that has a staff and organizational mission far beyond myself. Our organization defends the public’s right to be informed.
This is why, irrespective of the outcome of the 2016 US Presidential election, the real victor is the US public which is better informed as a result of our work.
The US public has thoroughly engaged with WikiLeaks’ election related publications which number more than one hundred thousand documents. Millions of Americans have pored over the leaks and passed on their citations to each other and to us. It is an open model of journalism that gatekeepers are uncomfortable with, but which is perfectly harmonious with the First Amendment.
We publish material given to us if it is of political, diplomatic, historical or ethical importance and which has not been published elsewhere. When we have material that fulfills this criteria, we publish. We had information that fit our editorial criteria which related to the Sanders and Clinton campaign (DNC Leaks) and the Clinton political campaign and Foundation (Podesta Emails). No-one disputes the public importance of these publications. It would be unconscionable for WikiLeaks to withhold such an archive from the public during an election.
At the same time, we cannot publish what we do not have. To date, we have not received information on Donald Trump’s campaign, or Jill Stein’s campaign, or Gary Johnson’s campaign or any of the other candidates that fufills our stated editorial criteria. As a result of publishing Clinton’s cables and indexing her emails we are seen as domain experts on Clinton archives. So it is natural that Clinton sources come to us.
We publish as fast as our resources will allow and as fast as the public can absorb it.
That is our commitment to ourselves, to our sources, and to the public.
This is not due to a personal desire to influence the outcome of the election. The Democratic and Republican candidates have both expressed hostility towards whistleblowers. I spoke at the launch of the campaign for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, because her platform addresses the need to protect them. This is an issue that is close to my heart because of the Obama administration’s inhuman and degrading treatment of one of our alleged sources, Chelsea Manning. But WikiLeaks publications are not an attempt to get Jill Stein elected or to take revenge over Ms Manning’s treatment either.
Publishing is what we do. To withhold the publication of such information until after the election would have been to favour one of the candidates above the public’s right to know.
This is after all what happened when the New York Times withheld evidence of illegal mass surveillance of the US population for a year until after the 2004 election, denying the public a critical understanding of the incumbent president George W Bush, which probably secured his reelection. The current editor of the New York Times has distanced himself from that decision and rightly so.
The US public defends free speech more passionately, but the First Amendment only truly lives through its repeated exercise. The First Amendment explicitly prevents the executive from attempting to restrict anyone’s ability to speak and publish freely. The First Amendment does not privilege old media, with its corporate advertisers and dependencies on incumbent power factions, over WikiLeaks’ model of scientific journalism or an individual’s decision to inform their friends on social media. The First Amendment unapologetically nurtures the democratization of knowledge. With the Internet, it has reached its full potential.
Yet, some weeks ago, in a tactic reminiscent of Senator McCarthy and the red scare, Wikileaks, Green Party candidate Stein, Glenn Greenwald and Clinton’s main opponent were painted with a broad, red brush. The Clinton campaign, when they were not spreading obvious untruths, pointed to unnamed sources or to speculative and vague statements from the intelligence community to suggest a nefarious allegiance with Russia. The campaign was unable to invoke evidence about our publications—because none exists.
In the end, those who have attempted to malign our groundbreaking work over the past four months seek to inhibit public understanding perhaps because it is embarrassing to them – a reason for censorship the First Amendment cannot tolerate. Only unsuccessfully do they try to claim that our publications are inaccurate.
WikiLeaks’ decade-long pristine record for authentication remains. Our key publications this round have even been proven through the cryptographic signatures of the companies they passed through, such as Google. It is not every day you can mathematically prove that your publications are perfect but this day is one of them.
We have endured intense criticism, primarily from Clinton supporters, for our publications. Many long-term supporters have been frustrated because we have not addressed this criticism in a systematic way or responded to a number of false narratives about Wikileaks’ motivation or sources. Ultimately, however, if WL reacted to every false claim, we would have to divert resources from our primary work.
WikiLeaks, like all publishers, is ultimately accountable to its funders. Those funders are you. Our resources are entirely made up of contributions from the public and our book sales. This allows us to be principled, independent and free in a way no other influential media organization is. But it also means that we do not have the resources of CNN, MSNBC or the Clinton campaign to constantly rebuff criticism.
Yet if the press obeys considerations above informing the public, we are no longer talking about a free press, and we are no longer talking about an informed public.
Wikileaks remains committed to publishing information that informs the public, even if many, especially those in power, would prefer not to see it. WikiLeaks must publish. It must publish and be damned. Share: | 0 |
Donald Trump is the only leader left in the world defending Western democracy against eco fascism. [Don’t just take it from me. Read this Belgian philosopher, Drieu Godefridi, interviewed in the French liberal newspaper Contrepoints and translated here by Friends of Science Calgary. He believes that the Paris climate agreement was a global socialist plot which the U. S. was absolutely right to escape: [President Trump] perfectly grasped the essence of the Paris Agreement, which is to redistribute the wealth of the West to the rest of the world — he expressly declared it on the Lawn of the White House, on June 1st, 2017 when making the American exit from Paris official. In so doing, he has stopped the formidable internationalist socialist machinery that was in the process of being set up. In other words, he has refused to validate the moral intuition, and the scientific pretext that gave birth to the Paris Agreement. Environmentalism, argues Godefridi, is just another facet of the left’s ongoing war against democracy: What we have been seeing for the past two decades, in the areas of climate, gender theory, immigration and terrorism, and so on, is that activist minority ideologues have confiscated democratic debate. What makes it so especially dangerous is that unlike, say, gender theory — which everyone knows to be leftist nonsense — climate change has a superficial scientific plausibility capable of fooling people who ought to know better. But really, it’s just another mask for globalism. Climate is something else! Every time since its birth in the fold of the IPCC, the ideology of the climate has claimed science as its foundational authority — and science in its most precise version! Physics! The politicized IPCC has never stopped claiming it is presenting science since. So, it is this second globalization, a prelude to a world government that is openly called for by the elites of internationalist socialism, which is threatened today by the American exit of the Paris Agreement. By quitting Paris, Trump hasn’t merely saved the U. S. an awful lot of money. He also saved the democratic values which the previous administration was half way towards destroying. Under the aegis of the previous occupants of the White House, America itself, traditionally more resistant to socialism than the Europeans, has already largely embarked on this path. Therefore, from this point of view, the American break from the bank heist, deserves to be described as a — as a return to the roots of American democracy and the wisdom of its founding fathers. Nope, I’d never heard of Godefridi either till this interview. But he is now officially my fourth favorite Belgian, after Tintin, Jacques Brel and Plastic Bertrand | 1 |
Look, we’re not here to nag. We all know we’re supposed to use sunscreen more reliably than we probably do. Instead of hounding you again, we asked experts for tips on skin cancer prevention and using sunscreen that you’re less likely to have heard: the counterintuitive, the new or the . Here’s what they told us. (We know this is a little “Eat your vegetables” of us, so we’ll give you a reward if you make it to the end.) We hope maybe you’ve heard these before, but let’s reapply. Depending on your body size, experts recommend using enough lotion to fill a shot glass, or an ounce, when you’re at the beach. Even if people are smart enough to apply sunscreen, they may not use enough, said Dr. Jerry Brewer, a dermatologic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Even if the bottle says the lotion is waterproof, beachgoers should reapply after swimming. If you’re not swimming, you should reapply every two hours, regardless of the SPF count. You should put sunscreen on 15 minutes before exposure. Look for products that are labeled “broad spectrum protection” with an SPF of 15 to 50. Dr. Elizabeth Hale, a senior vice president for the Skin Cancer Foundation and a dermatologist in New York City, said that both men and women are likely to miss the tops of their ears and the tops of the feet. (Full disclosure: The nonprofit Skin Cancer Foundation receives some funding from sunscreen manufacturers.) Men are particularly likely to miss their scalps and the backs of their necks, while women are more likely to miss their chest and neck areas, she said. Dr. Brewer said beachgoers often miss the bottoms of their feet, which can be exposed if they’re lying on their stomachs reading or napping. This is a tricky one. Not even the Food and Drug Administration is sure, and we still don’t know how effective they are or whether inhaling them can be dangerous. While some medical professionals suggest you should not use them, “I tend to think it’s better than nothing,” Dr. Brewer said. He recommended using the creams and lotions when possible, but said the sprays can be useful if you’re on the go and won’t make time for a full reapplication. Dr. Hale said sunscreen should be applied indoors in a area, and never sprayed directly on the face. Trying to apply it on the beach could lead to much of it flying away in the wind, leaving you with inadequate protection. Though there’s no quantifiable standard like the shot glass of lotion, Dr. Hale suggested spray users create “an even sheen on the skin. ” Because you’re probably taking your phone to the beach, you could rely on it, instead of your faulty memory, to remind you that it’s time to reapply. Android and iOS are rife with free and inexpensive apps that could alert you when you need it. You could also seek help from wearables. A device called JUNE, which can be worn as a bracelet or a brooch, monitors sun exposure and syncs with an iOS app that can tell you how quickly you’re using up your recommended sun allowance for the day. Or you could try a wristband, like UVSunSense, that changes colors to signal you should reapply sunscreen or head indoors. Dr. Hale said that when she tries to persuade patients to take sunscreen more seriously, she sometimes targets their vanity more than their health. She tells them that using sunscreen every day — not just when they’re at the beach or the park — can help prevent the brown spots and wrinkles that often lead people to seek out dermatologists, and that sun exposure is a primary driver of the skin’s aging process. “I truly believe sunscreen is the No. 1 ingredient,” she said. Research in 2013 revealed that people who used sunscreen every day had markedly smoother and more resilient skin. The study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, and no sunscreen makers contributed. Congratulations for making it all the way through an article about sunscreen. As your reward, we present you this adorable photo gallery of parents applying lotion to visibly annoyed children. You earned it. | 1 |
Obama’s New Residence
Where does the money come from?
https://www.rt.com/news/366528-obama-future-residence-photos/
The post Obama’s New Residence appeared first on PaulCraigRoberts.org . | 0 |
When the model Grace Hartzel opened Tom Ford’s spring 2017 show in a striking shag haircut, the inspiration was unmistakable — at least to those over 40 who watched Mr. Ford’s extravaganza. The hairdo paid homage to the one Jane Fonda made supercool as the Times Square hooker Bree Daniels in the 1971 movie “Klute. ” Alexander McQueen also cited Ms. Fonda as a motivating force of “Deliverance,” his spring 2004 collection, which has gone down in fashion history for its dance presentation inspired by Ms. Fonda’s performance in the 1969 drama “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” In her late ’60s heyday, Ms. Fonda played her fair share of roles. Off screen, she was the ultrachic Paris wife of the director Roger Vadim, and was a fixture at shows staged by his friends Coco Chanel, Hubert de Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent. Recently, speaking by phone from a film location in Colorado, Ms. Fonda, 78, firmly denied her style pedigree. “I am not a fashionista,” she said. Ms. Fonda’s political activism often overshadowed her status as a sartorial influencer. Highlighting it, however, is her collection of couture, Italian and lavish screen costumes that will be auctioned on Friday at Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles. About five of the items are . But when asked if she had considered donating an Atelier Versace gown, a Valentino something, even her stripy workout leotard to, perhaps, the Met Costume Institute, she offered an unyielding “No. ” Ms. Fonda is auctioning her possessions (698 items in all, mostly clothing) in a housecleaning exercise. “I had to do jobs to pay for my storage,” she said of the units she had maintained since her 2001 divorce from the media mogul Ted Turner. “Because Ted did not like to carry a lot of luggage on his jet — it was too burdensome — I would have to buy things in bulk” for their travels to his many properties. Parting with mementos was tough yet ultimately worthwhile. “Lighter,” she said of her sense of relief on clearing the space. Here, Ms. Fonda tells the stories behind some pieces going under the gavel. Ms. Fonda wore the Yves Saint Laurent pantsuit below when she claimed the Oscar as best actress in 1972. The somber black ensemble, with its sharp jacket, reflected the Communist sympathies she had developed before buying the suit in 1968. Ms. Fonda had just given birth to her daughter Vanessa Vadim, and during her pregnancy said she had grown horrified watching French television broadcasts of the attacks on North Vietnam. By the time of the Oscars Ms. Fonda was divorcing Mr. Vadim, and though she had hung on to her haute couture, she had exchanged her New Wave lifestyle for a antiwar lecture tour across the United States. The Hollywood establishment feared she would use the Oscars as another stop on it. “I wanted to make a speech about Vietnam,” Ms. Fonda admitted of the ceremony. Instead, she listened to her father, Henry Fonda, who advised her to refrain from politicking at the podium. “He said to me: ‘Just say: ‘There is a lot to be said. But tonight is not the time.’ So I did. And I wore something that made a statement. It was not a time for showy dresses. It was a time for seriousness. ” Before Yeezy, there was Fonda. Ms. Fonda introduced her own line of luxe exercise apparel in 1984, after her workout book and its video adaptation, both fronted by an image of her in this black and red leotard, had dominated lists for years. Though films like “Flashdance” and “Perfect” made aerobics gear au courant, Ms. Fonda’s namesake aerobics label proved too and quickly folded. The 40 pieces from Atelier Versace that Ms. Fonda is auctioning are the standouts of the sale. The garments run the gamut from her flamboyant Oscar gowns to embellished couture that Lesage, the venerable Paris embroidery house, produced by channeling Gianni Versace’s inimitable take on Picasso’s Rose Period and Robert Delaunay’s abstract paintings. Many of the pieces were selected for Ms. Fonda by Mr. Versace after they met in 1989. In the midst of divorcing her second husband, Tom Hayden, at the time, she had controversially acquired breast implants and was dating a Italian soccer goalkeeper, Lorenzo Caccialanza. “I was in Italy with him, and I met Gianni then,” Ms. Fonda recalled. “Gianni kind of took me under his wing. And whenever I would do a red carpet, he would supply my clothes. He gave me dresses, belts, gloves and shoes. He was very generous. ” Ms. Fonda sees no conflict between her political stances and her flaunting of Versace, a label that was often criticized for dressing supermodels in bondage numbers. “I used to think, ‘I have to be very serious,’” she admitted. “But being a feminist is not about the antithesis of being sexy or looking good. ” As the daughter of a Golden Era Hollywood actor, Ms. Fonda likely noticed as his contemporaries, like Lauren Bacall and Audrey Hepburn, often walked off film sets with their wardrobes. The garments were made by skilled costume designers whose work was often on par with couturiers. Ms. Fonda continued the practice, and three dresses by the costume designer Ann Roth, which she wore in the 1981 film “Rollover,” are up for grabs. “Rollover,” a financial thriller, predated “Wall Street” and “The Big Short. ” But it flopped. “We couldn’t get the script right,” Ms. Fonda said. Although her life eventually reflected the part she had played — a film star who “gave it all up” to become the wife of an industrialist — she made good use of her glam wardrobe. A decade after making the movie, Ms. Fonda quit acting and donned the lace “Rollover” gown to marry Mr. Turner. A sumptuous sequined velvet gown from the film went to the White House when Ms. Fonda accompanied him to a 1994 dinner for the Emperor and Empress of Japan. “I am very much in favor of wearing things more than once,” Ms. Fonda said. Two months went into the making of this Schiaparelli couture gown, which Ms. Fonda wore at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival premiere of “Youth. ” Paolo Sorrentino’s drama, in which Ms. Fonda portrayed an aging starlet, was competing for the Palme d’Or prize. “Jane was very proud of the movie, and she wanted to make a special moment of the premiere,” said a Schiaparelli spokeswoman who worked on the dress with Ms. Fonda and her stylist, Tanya Gill. So in a departure from the Versace dresses Ms. Fonda has made her signature at Cannes, working the red carpet as a L’Oréal Paris spokeswoman (the cosmetics company sponsors the festival) she opted for a regal full skirt and gown, which was adapted from a 1952 Elsa Schiaparelli design. “It was a lot of fun to wear,” Ms. Fonda said. “It felt really good. ” | 1 |
by Lambert Strether
Lambert: A round-up of Brexit options, hard and soft. Wouldn’t the Brits have an easier time of it if they wrote their Constitution down?
By Silvia Merler, an Italian citizen, who joined Bruegel as Affiliate Fellow at Bruegel in August 2013. Her main research interests include international macro and financial economics, central banking and EU institutions and policy making. Originally published at Bruegel .
What’s at stake: last week, the UK High Court ruled that the triggering of Article 50 – and therefore the Brexit process – should involve the UK Parliament. The Government will appeal the decision but this has created a new wave of uncertainty about the timing of Brexit, and on what this involvement can mean in practice. We review the different opinions.
Jo Murkens on the LSE blog has a very good explainer of the legal basis of the judgement, which he considers exemplary in its clarity and reasoning. The decision’s focus is strictly constitutional, not political: the only question it examined was whether, as a matter of UK constitutional law, the Crown, acting through the government, is entitled to use prerogative powers to trigger Article 50 in order to cease to be a member of the European Union. This – it turns out – hinges on a balance between constitutional requirements and individual rights.
Article 50 allows the UK to withdraw from the EU “in accordance with its own constitutional requirements”. Turning to these requirements, the government argued that the Crown – through the government – has a prerogative power to authorise the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and that this power can only be taken away by express terms in an Act of Parliament. The court acknowledges the government’s position as correct, but only with respect to rights and obligations created as a matter of international law. As soon as individual rights protected by domestic law are affected, Parliament must be involved, especially because some individual rights would be lost upon withdrawal, as they cannot be replicated in UK law. Murkens argues that the decision amounts to a proper drubbing for the government particularly because it was not the claimants that landed the hammer blow, but the government itself, by acknowledging that the Art.50 notification would inevitably lead to the loss of some individual rights. The next stop, however, is the UK Supreme Court.
David Allen Green writes in the FT that the High Court decision is as strong as it could be and creates a substantial problem for the prime minister’s Brexit policy. The government should look hard at the reason for the court’s judgment. Central to the judges’ thinking is the impact that leaving the EU will have on the rights of UK citizens: the court has said that extinguishing such rights cannot be done by mere executive action. But the problem is more than one of form. The difficult and interlocking legal issues created by the UK leaving the EU are such that the matter is not for a prime minister, or indeed a court, to decide.
Allen Green argues that the government is not taking the opportunity offered by the judgment to start the exercise again, properly: an appeal has been announced and the court has been denounced. Those in favour of the UK remaining in the EU can draw only limited comfort from the decision, because there is no reason to believe parliament will directly defy the result of the referendum. The only thing that has been undermined by the High Court’s decision is May’s superficial approach to achieving Brexit. Eventually, the government will have to adopt a broader, more collaborative and more open approach to the process, as there is no alternative to making a success of it.
Camilla Macdonald discusses three options and argues that the ruling is not a victory for “soft” Brexit. The first option is for the government to succeed in overturning the result on appeal to the Supreme Court. MPs will then have the chance to debate at length, but they will have lost the leverage over the Government that the current ruling affords them. Second, the Government may lose the appeal and yet manage to “face down the rebels” in the Commons in time to meet May’s timetable of triggering Article 50 by March. This could be achieved by passing a non-amendable motion that presents MPs with a binary choice to approve or reject triggering article 50, assuming most MPs would not dare to risk the ire of the leave voting public. The third option – which Macdonald considers the most likely – is that the Government loses its appeal and is forced to introduce primary legislation, i.e. a Brexit bill, that will make it difficult, but not impossible, to meet the deadline. This is likely to force the Government to make concessions to MPs, but not necessarily in any form that will amount to a commitment to a “soft” Brexit.
“Soft Brexit” is what the majority of Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP and part of Conservatives now want, but the biggest obstacle to this outcome is the lack of unity and of a negotiating strategy among this would-be coalition. In this situation, it is hard to see what red lines could be imposed on the government. Yet, Mcdonald thinks that involving Parliament in a process that will ultimately be defined by many complex and cross-cutting trade-offs might help to dispel the myths of simplistic “hard” and “soft” labelling. Nationalist parties would no longer plausibly be able to claim that they are excluded and the ruling could end up being an important victory for thought and reflection over rabble rousing on both sides.
Jolyon Maugham writes on FT Alphaville that after the High Court’s Brexit decision, we should forget about the activation of Article 50 in March. The Government’s appeal is likely to be heard in the Supreme Court in early December and this opens new risks. Lingering, unaddressed, in the background to this litigation is a question about whether an Article 50 notification is reversible. The High Court in reality proceeded on the assumption that a notification, once given, could not be withdrawn. But the Supreme Court has a different legal obligation and it might feel legally compelled to address that assumption directly. Addressing it would require a politically explosive referral to the European Court of Justice, because the question of whether a notification is reversible is one of European law. Beside the likely delay of around three months, a finding by the Supreme Court that an Article 50 notification could be “pulled” would leave ajar the door to a prospectively damaging continuation of the Referendum campaign until the time exit is formalised.
Assuming instead that the appeal fails, the government will have to draft a Bill and place it before parliament. And that Bill would have to pass both Houses of parliament. In the Commons there would be little or no enthusiasm for rejecting it, but it is likely that MPs would impose conditions on the triggering of Article 50, thus constraining the government’s negotiating position. Parliament may wish to choose whether to accept the outcome of the negotiations and it may even require that the deal negotiated by the government be put back to the people in the form of a second referendum. In practical terms, it is difficult to contemplate that these steps – drafting a Bill, debating it in the Commons, voting on amendments, placing it before the House of Lords and then addressing amendments introduced by the Upper Chamber in the Commons again – can sensibly be taken after the result of the Supreme Court appeal is known but before March. So, unless the Supreme Court overturns the High Court’s decision, Maugham thinks we should consider May’s March deadline ancient history.
Stephen Booth at Open Europe makes four main points about what this decision means going forward. First, if Government loses the appeal, then legislation is likely to be necessary. The reasoning of the ruling illustrates that, if the claimants’ argument holds (which regards rights stemming from EU membership set down in parliamentary legislation), the courts were never likely to be satisfied by anything short of legislation to trigger Article 50. Second, parliamentary moves to block Article 50 trigger would be politically explosive. It is unlikely that a majority of MPs in the Commons would actually move to block Brexit by preventing the Government triggering Article 50, especially having voted to give the public the opportunity to vote to leave the EU in the referendum. Booth argues that the same is probably true for the House of Lords, which would create a full-blown constitutional crisis if it opposed Article 50 outright.
Third, Parliament’s leverage over process is far greater than over any negotiating mandate or outcome. So process is likely to be the focus of any parliamentary tussles over legislation to trigger Article 50, with MPs and Lords seeking to amend the Bill to give them greater and more formal powers to scrutinise. Fourth, Booth argues that a general election is not out of the question. This would certainly mean missing the end of March 2017 deadline but would also mean that any MPs seen to be blocking the referendum result would find it very hard to keep hold of their seats and this is why he thinks it is likely that an Article 50 Bill would be passed.
Jacob Funk Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics argues that for now, this turn of events exposes the hypocrisy of May’s government position of wanting to repatriate all EU political powers back to the United Kingdom, but wishing to deny the country’s sovereign lawmakers a say on the Article 50 process. Whatever happens, the court ruling has dealt a blow to the small right-wing clique of hardcore euro skeptics in the Conservative Party and May’s government and the potential direct involvement of Parliament is good political news for Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party – as his only path to becoming prime minister is the one that opens up if May and the Conservatives completely botch the Brexit negotiations. He also argues that this should also harden further the EU negotiating position. These developments make it more likely that May will soon be forced to call an early election to seek a new mandate on Brexit. The Conservatives would probably win, but an accelerating economic downturn, the United Kingdom’s first past-the-post-electoral system, and a potential rallying of Remain supporters, could spring a surprise.
Tyler Cowen argues that the British parliamentary vote might matter. The more likely scenario in his view is simply that Parliament stalls, demanding that Theresa May give them “the right Brexit”. Of course there is no such thing, wrong Brexit is wrong Brexit, if only because EU-27 cannot agree on very much. But with enough stalling, eventually another national election will be held and of course Brexit would be a major issue, probably the major issue. That in essence would serve as a second referendum, and if anti-Brexit candidates did well enough, parliamentarians would have cover to go against the previous expression of the public will. 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 |
FILMS & VIDEOS OF NOTE PATRICE GREANVILLE
T he images are eloquent , so I will add nothing along those lines. But think of this: The world is still crammed with countless moral imbeciles who get their kicks killing these creatures. In the USA it is a huge community of depraved bastards with a huge industry behind them, a vociferous gun lobby, and a pliant, worthless and utterly prostituted political class and media. Don’t get me wrong: I’m NOT a liberal. I am not seeking a ban on guns as that is a useless and unenforceable pursuit in a nation like the US. That train left the station a long time ago. And frankly I don’t like the notion of disarming the citizenry, especially when the corporate-sponsored police state is growing by leaps and bounds, visibly and covertly, right under our noses. What I am against is for humans to train their guns (and bows and arrows and other pestilential forms of weaponry) on helpless animals minding their business in a dwindling natural space. All to get some cheap kicks. A “legal crime”—how’s that for a glaring oxymoron— defended by a multitude of largely unchallenged baloney.
One of the million reasons why the squandering of media time on crap—political lies and cheap escapism— is a huge tragedy for humanity and those weaker species who depend on it. Meanwhile, visions like this should be used creatively by animal campaigners to push back against hunter propaganda, for example. The material is there. But the ineptitude of animal campaigners, especially the big orgs, is simply embarrassing. A disgrace. | 0 |
by PAUL FASSA
Allowing and encouraging domestic hemp cultivation would be a boon for small farmers, especially organic farmers. I’m talking only about industrial hemp, not medical cannabis/marijuana, which continues to prove its merits and gain acceptance
Industrial hemp’s use should be a no-brainer. But it’s a complex boondoggle of legal and bureaucratic nonsense even without THC, the molecule that leads to “Reefer Madness” . Industrial hemp commercial cultivation is legal in Canada. But the USA hemp industry was pushed to the side by government connected industry insiders whose monopolies were threatened when it appeared hemp may boom and compete for the very products of their monopolist concerns.
Circa 1937, the hemp industry had been given a mechanical invention gift known as the decoricator machine was invented. It was a machine that was to hemp what the 19th Century cotton gin was. It replaced hand shredding of hemp to glean its fibers, fibers that could be used for textiles, clothing, paper, and plastic.
With the advent of the decoricator, hemp would have been able to take over competing industries in paper, textiles for clothing and other applications, fuel, and plastics. Growing hemp in abundance was easy, and it’s plant to harvest time was no more than six months.
According to Popular Mechanics during that time, “10,000 acres devoted to hemp will produce as much paper as 40,000 acres of average [forest] pulp land.” Then a small number of large businesses with competition concerns used high level government connections to push through the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.
The ensuing marijuana scares hyped by movies such as “Reefer Madness” brought about more legislation that would prohibit all hemp cultivation, even hemp without THC.
Prior to this, even without the high speed decoricator, hemp was an easy cash crop for small farmers, some of whom were recruited to continue cultivating hemp during WW II to provide hemp fibers for U.S. Naval ships’ ropes as well as other military applications.
And prior to that, hemp was so important during colonial and early American times that farmers were virtually required to cultivate it along with their other crops.
George Washington –“Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere.”
Thomas Jefferson –“Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country.”
Hemp for Nutrition
Hulled hemp seeds, their powders and cold pressed oils provide all the essential amino acids for easily digested high protein. Hemp is not only very high in omega-3, but it provides an almost perfect ratio of omega-3 to omega-6.
It is truly a super food that you can buy in health food stores or online. The seeds come from Canada, where industrial hemp is legal . Hemp is so nutritionally dense that one could survive on hemp seeds alone during extreme food shortages. If hemp were legal, you could easily grow your own. Hemp Improves Farming
Hemp plants don’t need pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, which rely mostly on the phosphate industry. A phosphate industry byproduct is the sodium fluoride that is sold to municipality water works for our poisoned tap water.
The runoff from fields of phosphate fertilizers into waterways that merge with seawater is causing all sorts of nitrogen and phosphorous excesses and imbalances, leading to algae that stifles the water’s ecological support systems.
Hemp’s thick roots ward off weeds, and growing hemp improves the soil’s nitrogen, making that soil better for other crops. They would be useful and lucrative rotation crops for organic farmers.
Hemp plants have a growth cycle of only four months. In mild climates, harvesting hemp two times in one year would create an annual cash cow for farmers. The marijuana taboo is eliminated by allowing the male plants to continually pollinate the female plants. This reduces psychotropic THC to legal levels.
Eliminating Toxic Petrochemical Plastics
There is a clump of plastic waste residue larger than the state of Texas floating in the middle of the Pacific. A lot of it is expected to decompose, creating a plastic soup in the ocean. The toxins from this plastic soup spread out into other oceanic regions and are hazardous to fish and bird wildlife. This soup could find its way into our kitchens as well!
All kinds of plastics are produced with hemp, from clear wraps for foods to automobile parts. Hemp plastics are durable and heat resistant. And they are bio-degradable. Recently the French auto industry use hemp to manufacture some of its automobile parts. Henry Ford pioneered this in 1941 when he built his “vegetable car” with hemp and flax. It was stronger and lighter than steel cars.
Ford’s hemp-mobile also used hemp bio-diesel fuel, which creates very little pollution. The petroleum industry didn’t want to see or hear that. Hemp seeds were even used to make paints and lacquers in the mid-1930s.
Petrochemical plastics for all purposes could be replaced with hemp plastics that are non-toxic and bio-degradable. Bye-bye BPA!
Construction Materials for Housing
Amazingly, housing construction materials made from hemp fibers have been discovered to be superior to most cheap materials used in housing construction these days. Ever see a house under construction after its initial framing?
What you’ll usually see before whatever exterior coating is used are sheets of wood substitutes, either pasteboard or particle board or pressboards, some of which are processed and bound with toxic chemicals that can off-gas into interior quarters. It’s cheaper than other materials and used abundantly.
Inexpensive hemp can be made into various different building materials, hempcrete, fiberboard, carpet, stucco, cement blocks, insulation, and plastic. Those materials are stronger and much longer lasting than what’s being used currently. They are also mold and rot free and more fire resistant. And they are environmentally and ecologically friendly and non-toxic. More Trees for Tree Huggers
Pulp from trees is used to make paper. But anything wood pulp can do, hemp fibers can do better. It’s said that the original Constitution and Bill of Rights were on hemp paper.
Paper from trees can be recycled maybe three times. Hemp paper can be recycled eight times. Since hemp was effectively banned in the USA since 1937, 70% of the USA’s forests have been eliminated. It takes years for trees to grow. Hemp can be gown and harvested within six months.
It’s estimated that one acre of hemp produces more oxygen from CO2 and methane than 25 acres of forest. One idea presented by hemp advocates is to have inner city hemp plots to improve urban air quality. We wouldn’t need bogus carbon tax legislation.
Pulping trees for paper creates more waste, pollution, and consumes more energy than most enterprises. This industry consumes more water than almost all others. It is the fifth largest industry consumer of energy, and it emits a good deal of toxicity in the process.
“Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?” — Henry Ford
Anything the petrochemical industry can produce, hemp can do better without toxic environmental and human consequences. Deforesting could be a thing of the past if hemp became the major source of construction materials and paper. Heavily pesticide and herbicide sprayed or GMO cotton wouldn’t be necessary, nor would toxic synthetic fibers.
Amazing how such an easily cultivated plant with so many beneficial applications has been so efficiently suppressed by the one or two percent for their purposes while too many among the 98% agreed with that suppression.
Paul Fassa is a contributing staff writer for REALfarmacy.com. His pet peeves are the Medical Mafia’s control over health and the food industry and government regulatory agencies’ corruption that harms more than most realize. Visit his blog by following this link and follow him on Twitter here . | 0 |
adobochron 1 Comment Comerford
WASHINGTON, D.C. ( The Adobo Chronicles, Washington Bureau) – White House executive chef, Filipino-American Cristeta Comerford, has revealed what she would cook for President Hillary Clinton’s first meal when she moves (back) to the presidential residence. That is, of course, assuming the Clintons will continue to retain her services.
It would be pancit, that signature noodle dish closely identified with the Philippines.
When asked by The Adobo Chronicles why she chose pancit, Comerford said that pancit represents long life and a ‘long term,’ meaning she was hoping Hillary would be elected to a second four-year term like her predecessor and current boss, President Barack Obama. Filipino pancit (Photo: MyBayKitchen.com)
We were hoping she’d say “chicken or pork adobo” but we agree with her rationale for choosing pancit. Rate this: | 0 |
Exposing Huma Abedin, Rigged Election Computers & the Man Behind the Rigged Silver Market Posted on Home » Silver » Silver News » Exposing Huma Abedin, Rigged Election Computers & the Man Behind the Rigged Silver Market
Is it finally time to EXPOSE the rigging of the Gold and Silver markets? The rising silver price today may be our clue to that mystery:
From Bix Weir :
As I’ve said before – this battle is way more complicated and has deeper implications than just the Presidential Election. This is about taking down the Bad Guys and all their embedded moles in the government and in the financial institutions.
So here we go with exposing just WHO Hillary Clinton trusted with all our “State Secrets.”
A quick introduction to Huma Abedin…
But the Bad Guys still have power over the rigged electronic voting machines so it may have to come down to an armed STREET WAR unless the Bad Guys stand down.
It’s getting more and more likely that there will BE NO ELECTION on November 8th unless the Good Guys better unleash EVERYTHING they have on the emails before we get too close to election day.
Also, I have noticed a lot of talk about the Clinton’s relationship with Marc Rich again. Is it finally time to EXPOSE the rigging of the Gold and Silver markets? The rising silver price today may be our clue to that mystery! | 0 |
WASHINGTON — Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State in northern Iraq last week shot down a small drone the size of a model airplane. They believed it was like the dozens of drones the terrorist organization had been flying for reconnaissance in the area, and they transported it back to their outpost to examine it. But as they were taking it apart, it blew up, killing two Kurdish fighters in what is believed to be one of the first times the Islamic State has successfully used a drone with explosives to kill troops on the battlefield. In the last month, the Islamic State has tried to use small drones to launch attacks at least two other times, prompting American commanders in Iraq to issue a warning to forces fighting the group to treat any type of small flying aircraft as a potential explosive device. The Islamic State has used surveillance drones on the battlefield for some time, but the attacks — all targeting Iraqi troops — have highlighted its success in adapting readily accessible technology into a potentially effective new weapon. American advisers say drones could be deployed against coalition forces by the terrorist group in the battle in Mosul. For some American military analysts and drone experts, the episodes confirmed their view that the Pentagon — which is still struggling to come up with ways to bring down drones — was slow to anticipate that militants would turn drones into weapons. “We should have been ready for this, and we weren’t,” said P. W. Singer, a specialist on robotic weaponry at New America, a think tank in Washington. Military officials said that the Pentagon has dedicated significant resources to stopping drones, but that few Iraqi and Kurdish units have been provided with the sophisticated devices that the American troops have to disarm them. The officials said they have ordered the Pentagon agency in charge of dealing with explosive devices — known as the Joint Defeat Organization — to study ways to thwart hostile drones. This summer, the Pentagon requested an additional $20 million from Congress to help address the problem. In recent months, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency both rushed to complete classified assessments about the Islamic State’s drone use. And the secretary of the Army, Eric Fanning, recently assigned a special office he had created to respond to emerging threats and to study how to stop drones. Unlike the American military, which flies drones as large as small passenger planes that need to take off and land on a runway, the Islamic State is using simpler, commercially available drones such as the DJI Phantom, which can be purchased on Amazon. The group attaches small explosive devices to them, essentially making them remotely piloted bombs. “This is an enemy that learns as it goes along,” said Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the top American military commander in Iraq until August. Of the three known drone attacks in Iraq, only the one involving the Kurdish soldiers caused casualties. “The explosive device inside was disguised as a battery — there was a very small amount of explosives in it, but it was enough to go off and kill them,” said a senior American official who had been provided with a detailed report on the episode. Last week, the Islamic State used a drone strapped with an explosive to attack a checkpoint. The device did not kill anyone but destroyed buildings. On Oct. 1, Iraqi troops shot down a drone that was only a foot long and a foot wide but had a small explosive attached to the top. “The drone could only hold one small bomb in the middle of it — no bigger load could be on it,” said Gen. Tahseen Sayid, a senior Iraqi officer in the area. The Islamic State first used drones to film suicide car bomb attacks, which militants have posted online. But American and Iraqi commanders said that earlier this year it became clear the group was using drones to help them on the battlefield. In March, General MacFarland and American military commanders in Baghdad received an intelligence report that the Islamic State had posted surveillance video online that had been taken by a small drone. The video footage showed a newly created series of bases in northern Iraq where American and Iraqi forces were stationed. Just days after the video was put up, a Katyusha rocket landed in the middle of an outpost of more than 100 American Marines, killing one who was rushing to get others to shelter in a nearby bunker. The strike was so accurate that military officials described it as a “golden shot” to pierce the defenses put in place, and there was speculation that a drone was used in the targeting. General MacFarland said he did not believe the footage — which did not include positional data like GPS locations — helped militants. “It couldn’t be used for precise targeting,” he said in a recent email exchange. “Its value was limited to propaganda. ” In the weeks afterward, American forces in the area unleashed a barrage of retaliatory airstrikes against Islamic State fighters who had launched the drone. “Whatever capability they had, they lost a lot of it,” General MacFarland said, referring to the Islamic State’s operations in the area. Throughout the summer, however, American troops in Iraq and Syria reported seeing small drones hovering near their bases and around the front lines in northern Iraq. In August, the Islamic State called on its followers to small drones with grenades or other explosives and use them to launch attacks at the Olympics. There were ultimately no such attacks at the Games. On the battlefields in Iraq and Syria, the United States has dedicated resources to take out the Islamic State’s drone capabilities. In the past 18 months, the United States has launched at least eight airstrikes that have destroyed Islamic State drones on the ground, according to news releases from the American military command in Baghdad. Despite these efforts, military analysts believe that drones will continue to be a problem in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. A new report by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point says that in the future, drones used by terrorist groups will be able to carry heavier payloads, fly and loiter longer, venture farther from their controller and employ secure communications links. The center provided an advance copy of the report to The New York Times. “The number and sophistication of drones used is also likely to enhance the scope and seriousness of the threat,” said Don Rassler, the center’s director of strategic initiatives. | 1 |
By Wes Annac, Editor, Culture of Awareness & Openhearted Rebel In just a few decades, we’ve been flooded with information about a plant that’s been suppressed for nearly a century but is finally... | 0 |
LONDON (AP) — Royal Air Force fighter jets escorted a Pakistani civilian airliner to Stansted Airport near London on Tuesday after a passenger became disruptive, police and the British military said. [advertisement | 1 |
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple unveiled new iPhones at an event on Wednesday, as it has done every September for the last few years. The event, held in San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, was the company’s most important outing of the year. Even as the iPhone remains the outsize producer of Apple’s revenue and profit, sales of the smartphone have recently been declining. So more than ever, the onus is on Apple to keep up excitement for the gadget. What was different this time was that people were focused on something that the new iPhones lack, rather than a flashy new feature. The item that disappeared is the traditional headphone jack, with Apple turning people toward wireless headphones instead. Brian X. Chen, Farhad Manjoo and Katie Benner were at the event to provide live analysis of what you need to know about the announcements, not what you don’t. Here’s what Apple announced: ■ New iPhones, called the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. ■ The new iPhones lack a headphone jack. ■ The new iPhones have a revised home button with force sensitivity, which will vibrate to give feedback. ■ The iPhones are . ■ The Plus model of the new iPhone includes a camera to take photos. ■ A new Apple Watch, called Apple Watch Series 2, which includes GPS. ■ Pokémon Go is available for Apple Watch. ■ An update on how Apple Music is performing. ■ Tweaks to its iWork suite of productivity apps. Farhad: This was a tricky event because there wasn’t much new to the products. The iPhone has the same design as last year’s (and the one the year before) and the major new thing is … a missing headphone jack. So what I was watching for was Apple’s reality distortion field: How will Apple’s C. E. O. Tim Cook, and friends convince us that taking away a feature is really an advance for the iPhone? Brian: As Farhad said, the new iPhones — and also the Watches — look largely the same as their predecessors. The takeaway for me was that Apple focused on making the most significant changes to the tiniest components: camera sensors, upgraded chips, a revised home button and the addition of GPS to the watch. I get the impression that they are saving the big changes for the 10th anniversary of the iPhone next year. So if consumers can hold off a year for the next iPhone, I’d encourage them to wait. But for owners of iPhones that are at least two years old, these are going to be major upgrades — if you find a way to cope with the lack of a headphone jack. Katie: Apple didn’t offer a new killer product or a drastic update to any of the products in its lineup. Instead, Apple piled on new features — like stereo speakers, wireless headphones and camera features — to appeal to specific niche buyers. Frank Gillett at Forrester Research called this strategy an accumulation of compelling new features that Apple hopes will “motivate the trend followers to buy new iPhones, and expose other buyers to the benefits they’ve built into iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2. ” Perhaps more important, Apple was trying to cobble together a credible story for the future from these incremental moves — that a wireless world is coming and that it will be the leader in that world. Farhad: Apple likes road maps. That’s what you saw today. The company clearly has deep, plans for the iPhone — it wants to improve wireless functioning, it wants to keep pushing on the camera, and it will keep improving performance without sacrificing battery life. The problem for Apple is that the steps along the way to achieving its goals aren’t always that exciting. This is one of those years: There are lots of incremental improvements, but nothing stands out as a . Someday, Apple is telling us, all these increments will add up to something unimaginably amazing. Right now, though, the moves look puzzling — we really did not get a good defense for removing the headphone jack — and we may just have to live with the confusion. Katie: For the past few quarters, Apple has emphasized that services and software will drive growth as iPhone revenue ebbs. At Wednesday’s event, Mr. Cook underlined that. He kicked off the morning with updates on two of the company’s most important software and services divisions — Apple Music and the App Store. “We’ve always had a deep love for music,” Mr. Cook said. “It inspires us, and it’s a key part of our product experience. ” Mr. Cook said the company had 17 million subscribers after about a year for Apple Music and added that the music service would be the “premier destination for exclusive music,” nodding to the idea that the company will use its huge war chest to lock up deals with artists. Brian: In another nod to software, Mr. Cook said Super Mario is coming to the App Store. Nintendo, the struggling video game company, long refused to offer its games and franchise characters on mobile devices, but the company recently did a 180, with Pokémon Go as a recent example. The change seems more beneficial to Nintendo than to Apple. Pokémon Go was a huge success, at least initially, proving that app stores are a viable revenue stream for Nintendo beyond its consoles. Apple also announced a new version of iWork, its suite of productivity apps that rival Microsoft Office and Google’s productivity apps. The tweaked version of iWork will include collaboration, meaning multiple people can work on documents and presentation slides at the same time. It’s good that these changes are coming to iWork, but Microsoft and Google have been offering collaboration tools for years already. Farhad: The education market has been important to Apple for decades, and for the last few years it has pushed the iPad as the perfect school computer. It did so again today, with those tweaks to its iWork software aimed at schools. But Apple has lately faced more competition from rivals, especially Google, whose cheap and simple Chromebook has become one of the machines at schools. For both companies — and lately for other tech rivals, including Amazon — the education market functions as a gateway. Get them early, win them for life. Brian: The new Apple Watch is called Apple Watch Series 2. It emphasizes fitness and health, with Apple showing a video of runners, gymnasts and swimmers using the watch. One major criticism of Apple Watch was that it did a bit of everything and did not have any strengths. Apple is trying to beef up the fitness capabilities, similar to Fitbit. The new version is up to 50 meters (164 feet). It also includes GPS for tracking runs. The watch is faster than the previous version. Katie: Whether Apple Watch has been successful or not has largely been a mystery. Apple doesn’t break out Watch revenue in its earnings. But Mr. Cook pulled back the curtain a little when he revealed that Apple is now the No. 2 global watch brand, measured by revenue, behind Rolex. The Apple Watch is also the smartwatch, even though a killer app has yet to emerge for the watch. The company is hoping to change that with the introduction of a Pokémon Go app for the watch. Brian: It’s important to note that Apple Watch sales don’t appear to be growing much. IDC, the research firm, estimates that Apple Watch market share in the wearables market shrank 56. 7 percent last quarter compared to the same period last year. That’s largely because consumers have probably been waiting for a new version to come out before deciding whether to buy a watch. It’s definitely still a nascent device. Farhad: This is the first Apple event in a few years that didn’t feature any redesigned hardware. But there is a new ceramic finish for the Watch that comes closest to some new design. The gleaming white finish is in some ways a return to the past for Apple. (Remember all those white computers from the early 2000s?) But beyond that, it’s always interesting when Apple discovers a new material for use in its devices. You usually notice some new process or material start in one product and then wend its way throughout the company’s lineup over a few years’ time. In other words, three years from now, we may have ceramic phones. A man can dream, anyway. Brian: For now, my advice to consumers: I see no compelling reason for people with Version One of the device to upgrade unless they are fitness buffs. The addition of GPS gives the Apple Watch a slight edge against Fitbit’s Blaze, a comparable smartwatch that lacks GPS. But until we get to try the software, it’s tough to tell how the new Apple Watch’s fitness capabilities will compare to accessories from Fitbit. Fitbit’s products are popular partly because the apps are so well designed for monitoring health statistics, including footsteps, calories and weight. So GPS isn’t necessarily the magic bullet. Katie: Leading up to the event, the most ballyhooed update was Apple’s decision to eliminate the headphone jack. On Wednesday, Phil Schiller, Apple’s marketing chief, saved that announcement for last. Removing the port for standard headphones means users now have to connect their headphones to the iPhone through the charging port. “From the start we designed Lightning to be a great digital audio connector,” Mr. Schiller said. The update may have its detractors in the days after the announcement, but Apple has a long history of making hardware changes that the industry eventually follows, including the decision to change floppy disk sizes in the old Mac days and, more recently, the decision to take away laptop ports. Apple will include new Lightning earbuds, and an adapter, in the box. Why remove the headphone jack, a technology that people seem to like? Mr. Schiller summed it up in one word: “Courage. ” Farhad: Apple said the most important reason it’s removing the headphone jack is because it believes in a “wireless future” for audio. It’s making that future a reality with a new set of wireless headphones, called AirPods. They look like Apple’s wired earbuds, without the wires they apparently just slip in your ears. Perhaps more important than the earbuds themselves is the wireless technology Apple is using to power them. The company is using Bluetooth, and Apple says its chips improve the technology by connecting faster and using less power. If Apple has perfected a new, proprietary way of doing this, it could prove an important innovation for lots of future wireless products, including home devices, cars and wearables. Brian: Jony Ive, Apple’s design chief, said in a video at the event that we are “just at the beginning of a truly wireless future. ” But wireless earphones have been around for years, and Bluetooth wireless technology has become excellent. This is another example of Apple’s being a latecomer to a market and saying it will make a better product than earlier ones. Farhad: The reality distortion was in force in other ways. In true Apple fashion, we got a video into the development process for the iPhone 7, with not even a nod to the fact that the phone looks nearly identical to the one Apple released last year and the one the year before. Because it has a new color and a new Apple logo, Apple insists it’s “a beautiful new design. ” I’m sure there are minor differences — the antenna band is different — but it seems too rich to call it a new design. Too rich, except for Apple. One area where I do give Apple points on the iPhone is the focus on the camera. Apple made a strategic decision a few years ago to plow a lot of development resources into the iPhone camera. That has paid off: The iPhone’s camera has long surpassed most other smartphone cameras, and for many people, it’s better than most cameras. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus continue that trend. The Plus model features two cameras, which allows for . Even the smaller phone’s camera includes features to improve your snapshots. If the pictures Apple showed off are any guide, the iPhone’s camera is fast closing in on all but the most of cameras. Look forward to more of those “Shot on iPhone” billboards. | 1 |
Experimental GM crops from Dow Chemical and DuPont fail to repel pests
Sunday, October 30, 2016 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer Tags: Herculex , Yield Guard , crop failures (NaturalNews) The utter failure of genetically-modified crops (GMOs) is once again on full display, this time with crop products made by companies other than the usual Monsanto . A novel variety of transgenic corn produced and marketed by both Dow Chemical Corporation and DuPont is not exactly working as claimed, new reports indicate, and agricultural experts are urging the chemical industry to immediately cease selling these failed products to farmers.Known as "Herculex," the synthetic corn in question contains a gene modification that's supposed to prevent a pest known as the western bean cutworm from destroying crops. But so far, the genetic alteration has done nothing to stop this worm, which means farmers everywhere have been paying through their teeth for a technology that not only doesn't work , but that's also proprietary and exceptionally costly, especially when compared to non-GMO and organic crops that are open-source, and are not patented or owned by multi-national corporations.A group of six entomologists published an open letter to the seed industry in a recent issue of Purdue University's Pest & Crop Newsletter , calling on those involved to do the right thing and fess up to the fact that Herculex doesn't work. Farmers will soon be gearing up to plant next year's crops, and they need to know that it's best to look elsewhere for corn that's not going to result in massive yield reductions."People are frustrated and angry and, more importantly, yield was lost," the letter states. "Before growers make seed choices for 2017, we again urge the seed industry to acknowledge the reality of what is happening in the field." DuPont quietly admits Herculex doesn't work, but refuses to take responsibility In typical corporate fashion, the owners of Herculex are refusing to take the letter seriously, resorting instead to excuses and legal speak to try to explain away the GM crop's failure. Rather than pull the Herculex product from the market, DuPont, according to Bloomberg , has instead decided to merely decreased its efficiency rating in the company's 2017 Product Use Guide from "very good" to "moderate."DuPont has also issued an accompanying statement urging farmers to add other inputs to try to control cutworms, including spraying additional chemical insecticides. In other words, Herculex doesn't actually work, and DuPont's solution is to have farmers just go ahead and blast away with all those endocrine-disrupting, cancer-causing chemicals to kill anything and everything that might be living on or around the crop .It's basically the same advice that Monsanto is giving to farmers who foolishly adopted a similar GM corn product known as "YieldGard" that was supposed to deter the western corn root worm. The insecticidal proteins in this crop product, just like the one in Herculex – known as Cry1F – haven't lived up to all the wild marketing claims, and yet both Monsanto and DuPont's products continue to be sold to farmers."Cry1F has failed in our states," the letter continues, adding that the scientists involved have already received dozens of calls and emails about the problem from concerned farmers. "For growers in our states, the costs of scouting and spraying Cry1F corn negates a major reason they purchased and planted a hybrid with the trait in the first place."If left to run their course, western bean cutworms and western corn root rooms will effectively eat up all the corn kernels and leave the plant defenseless, encouraging the growth of harmful fungi and mycotoxins. And since none of what the chemical industry has proposed as a solution is working, their only recommended option is to spray more glyphosate, dicamba, 2,4-D and other chemicals on their products. Sources for this article include: | 0 |
If you were disappointed that Bill Maher brought Milo Yiannopoulos onto his HBO show “Real Time” last week, Mr. Maher is not especially bothered. In a telephone interview on Tuesday night, Mr. Maher batted back criticism of the booking by arguing that the appearance of Mr. Yiannopoulos actually helped expose the incendiary personality’s views to a wider audience and hasten his sudden downfall. Mr. Yiannopoulos’s collapse was set in motion Sunday when a conservative group called the Reagan Battalion resurfaced a 2016 interview in which he endorsed sexual relations with boys as young as 13. Mr. Yiannopoulos — known for a history of offensive remarks about Muslims, Jews, transgender people and other groups, and as a ringleader in a notorious incident of online harassment — lost a speaking slot at the Conservative Political Action Conference and a book deal with Simon Schuster, and then said on Tuesday that he was resigning as a senior editor from Breitbart News. Mr. Maher has been dealing for days with the fallout from his booking of Mr. Yiannopoulos. The journalist Jeremy Scahill, who had been scheduled to appear on the same episode, withdrew from the show. Mr. Maher has defended the booking on grounds, saying last week that if Mr. Yiannopoulos was indeed a monster, “nothing could serve the liberal cause better than having him exposed. ” But following the show, Mr. Maher came under attack for the chummy and conciliatory vibe of his conversation with Mr. Yiannopoulos and for a panel segment, broadcast online, in which his guest made more inflammatory remarks that seemed to go unchallenged. Speaking on Tuesday night, Mr. Maher, who counts himself as a liberal, did not sound particularly chastened by these assessments. He said he knew his interview with Mr. Yiannopoulos would never be satisfactory to some viewers. “No matter what I did,” he said, “it was never going to be enough for that slice of liberalism that would much rather judge a friend than engage an enemy, because it’s easier. ” Mr. Maher spoke further about the experience of having Mr. Yiannopoulos on “Real Time” and its aftermath, and why he will continue to seek out provocative conservative guests. These are edited excerpts from that conversation. Given all that has transpired since Friday’s show, how do you feel now about your decision to have Milo Yiannopoulos as a guest, and how those segments transpired? Well, let’s recap. About a week ago, I went on Van Jones’s show, and somebody asked me about the booking. I hadn’t really gotten into the details of Milo yet. He was just getting on my radar. I said, specifically, sunlight is the best disinfectant. Then we had Milo on, despite the fact that many people said, “Oh, how dare you give a platform to this man. ” What I think people saw was an emotionally needy Ann Coulter wannabe, trying to make a buck off of the left’s propensity for outrage. And by the end of the weekend, by dinnertime Monday, he’s dropped as a speaker at CPAC. Then he’s dropped by Breitbart, and his book deal falls through. As I say, sunlight is the best disinfectant. You’re welcome. You think his appearance on “Real Time” helped lead to his downfall? That’s what I was just saying. And by the way, I wasn’t trying to get him removed from society. I’m somebody who, many times, people have tried to make go away. They were successful that one time, for six months in 23 years, because that’s how long it was between the two shows [“Real Time” and “Politically Incorrect,” Mr. Maher’s previous talk show, which aired on Comedy Central and ABC]. It just rubs me the wrong way when somebody says, “I don’t like what this person is saying — he should go away. ” Do you feel that way even about the kinds of things Milo was saying on your show, or in the other platforms he was given? Can he do damage? I suppose he can. To a degree. Not a great degree, I don’t think. Could he offend people? Could he even inspire a borderline person to do something violent? I guess so. But nothing is free in life. People seem to want to live in this world where everything is a . That’s not how life works. Could there have been more accountability in your segments with him? For instance, it seemed like he was allowed to grossly understate his role in harassing Leslie Jones on Twitter. It’s not my job to hold him accountable to everything he’s ever said or done. I had eight minutes with him, on the show itself. Sorry I don’t have time to go over everything everybody else would want to do. We just had time to, sort of, start a discussion of the broad view of who he is. I don’t think he frankly knows what he’s going to say half the time, or knows what his philosophy is. But to see him as this monster is a little crazy. You know what he is? He’s the little impish, bratty kid brother. And the liberals are his older teenager sisters who are having a sleepover and he puts a spider in their sleeping bag so he can watch them scream. So how does someone deal with a personality like Milo, who is going much, much further than other guests, saying things that are demonstrably false? The president says 10 things a day that are provably wrong. If I threw everyone off my show who says things that are provably wrong, I’d never book a conservative and probably half the liberals. When he said that transgender people have a “psychiatric disorder,” do you just move on from that? Move on? It dominated the entire [online] segment. The other guests attacked him. When I say, “That’s not unreasonable” [to not want to share a bathroom with a transgender person] it’s because women have said that to me: “I want to know,” or “I’m not comfortable with someone in the bathroom, even if they, in their minds, have decided they are a woman. ” Doesn’t that opinion count at all? But you don’t agree that transgender people have a psychiatric disorder. No, I don’t agree with that. But I don’t know that much about the situation. If somebody feels like they’re a woman, fine, then you’re a woman. I’m O. K. with that. If they’ve studied that, and they say it’s not a psychiatric disorder, I’m O. K. with that too. If that’s what scientists decided, that it’s not any psychological disorder, it’s fine with me. I agree. Since the start of your new season, you have had other guests like Tomi Lahren and Piers Morgan — not nearly as provocative, but with whom liberal viewers aren’t likely to agree. Are you trying to create conflict on your panels, or rile up your audience? I’ve never tried to push anybody’s buttons. I think everybody else in TV — everybody else who does political commentary in a comedic way — they’re all in one box. It’s so predictable, what they’re going to do, which is, never say anything that would make anything — that would make any liberal give the slightest bit of discomfort. I do a show about what’s happening that week in the news. Trump is president. I’m glad that we have enough credibility with both sides, that people who are Trump supporters will still do the show. Going back to “Politically Incorrect,” you booked conservatives like Ann Coulter and Kellyanne Conway — — And Laura Ingraham. We had a whole cadre of blond conservatives. There was a fourth woman conservative we used to book in those days, who we kind of discovered — her name was Arianna Huffington. Even after your experience with Milo, do you still want to have guests your viewers haven’t encountered or might want to avoid? Yes. I like people who push the limits. I like people who are not afraid to take the slings and arrows, because they’re going to explore what’s on the edge. Now, is this guy over the edge? Yes. I mean, he’s a little cuckoo. But I would rather err on that side than on the side where everybody else is. | 1 |
With tens of thousands of protesters marching in the streets of Baghdad to demand changes in government, Iraq’s Shiite prime minister, Haider appeared before Parliament this week hoping to speed the process by introducing a slate of new ministers. He was greeted by lawmakers who tossed water bottles at him, banged on tables and chanted for his ouster. “This session is illegal!” one of them shouted. Leaving his squabbling opponents behind, Mr. Abadi moved to another meeting room, where supportive lawmakers declared a quorum and approved several new ministers — technocrats, not party apparatchiks — as a step to end sectarian politics and the corruption and patronage that support it. But, like so much else in the Iraqi government, the effort fell short, with only a handful of new ministers installed and several major ministries, including oil, foreign and finance, remaining in limbo. A new session of Parliament on Thursday was canceled. Almost two years after the Islamic State swept through northern Iraq, forcing the Obama administration to in a conflict it had celebrated as complete, Iraq’s political system is barely functioning, as the chaotic scenes in Parliament this week demonstrated. With the surprise visit to Baghdad on Thursday of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. — who, as a senator, called in a 2006 essay for the partition of Iraq into Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish zones — it seems fair to ask a question that has bedeviled foreign powers for almost a century: Is Iraq ever going to have a functioning state at peace with itself? “I generally believe it is ungovernable under the current construct,” said Ali Khedery, an American former official in Iraq who served as an aide to several ambassadors and generals. Mr. Khedery said that a confederacy or a partition of Iraq might be the only remedy for the country’s troubles. He called it “an imperfect solution for an imperfect world. ” Mr. Khedery is now a sharp critic of American policy in Iraq, saying it has consistently ignored the realities of the country’s underlying political problems. Iraq, he said, “is a violent, dysfunctional marriage, and we keep pouring American lives and dollars into it, hoping for a miracle. We should instead seek to broker an amicable separation or divorce that results in for Iraq’s fractious communities. ” Writing last year in Foreign Affairs, Mr. Khedery said Washington should “abandon its fixation with artificial borders” — a reference to the map of the Middle East drawn by the British and the French after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I — and allow Iraq to break up. With the Islamic State in control of territory in Iraq and Syria expanding into Libya, Afghanistan and elsewhere and having carried out attacks in Paris and Brussels, it is perhaps easy to forget that the group rose in the first place as a consequence of the failure of politics in Iraq — in that case, the sectarian policies of Mr. Abadi’s predecessor as prime minister, Nuri Kamal also a Shiite. American officials have said that maintaining Iraq’s unity is still their policy, but United Nations officials in Baghdad have quietly begun studying how the international community might manage a breakup of the country. The political problems of Iraq have been made worse by the collapse in the price of oil, the country’s lifeblood the grinding war against the Islamic State and, more recently, fighting between Shiite militias and Kurds in the north that analysts worry could foreshadow a new, violent struggle in the country. Iraq, it seems, is stuck in a cycle of history that endlessly repeats. Mr. Biden has worked to promote Iraqi unity, despite his proposal a decade ago to divide Iraq into thirds. But in comments on Thursday to American diplomatic and military personnel in Baghdad, he harked back to that proposal. “Think of all the places we are today trying to keep the peace,” he said. “All the places we’ve sent you guys and women. They’re places where, because of history, we’ve drawn artificial lines, creating artificial states made up of totally distinct ethnic, religious, cultural groups, and said: ‘Have at it. Live together.’ ” Almost 100 years ago, Gertrude Bell, the British official and spy who is credited with drawing the borders of modern Iraq after World War I, fretted about the project. In creating a new nation, she wrote, “we rushed into this business with our usual disregard for a comprehensive political scheme. ” A coming documentary, “Letters From Baghdad,” explores the life and legacy of Ms. Bell, demonstrating how little has changed in Iraq over a century. Even today, her legacy is felt: This week, Mr. Abadi put forward Sharif Ali bin Hussein, a descendant of King Faisal, who was chosen by Ms. Bell in 1921 to rule Iraq, as foreign minister. But lawmakers rejected him as a reminder of Iraq’s failed monarchy. Much of what troubles Iraq today is the legacy of Saddam Hussein’s brutality. Shiites and Kurds, oppressed under Mr. Hussein’s administration, have been unable to overcome their grievances. Sunni Arabs say their entire community has been unfairly marginalized for the crimes of Mr. Hussein. “Iraq, it seems, has a long memory but is short on vision,” Kate Gilmore, a human rights official at the United Nations, said this week in unusually descriptive language after visiting Iraq. “It is like a vehicle traveling over rocky terrain, with a large rearview mirror but only a keyhole for a windscreen, despite a vicious contest for the wheel. The dominant narrative among many of Iraq’s leaders is of ‘my community’s grievance,’ failing to acknowledge the widespread nature of Iraqis’ suffering and failing to chart a course for an inclusive future. ” Mr. Maliki, in an interview this year with The New York Times, acknowledged that he had been unable, while in office, to overcome this history. “The Kurds want compensation for the past,” said Mr. Maliki, who seems determined these days to undermine Mr. Abadi at every turn. “The Shia, too. Sunnis still fear from the majority and fear being called in to account for what Saddam did. ” Divisions within the Shiite leadership — with Mr. Maliki and others pushing back against Mr. Abadi’s efforts at restructuring — are also at the core of the current political crisis. Mr. Maliki, whose grandfather participated in an armed uprising against the British in the 1920s, became one of Iraq’s three vice presidents after he lost the prime minister’s post in 2014. One of the first changes proposed by Mr. Abadi last summer, when he faced protests, was to eliminate the offices of vice president. But two of the occupants refused to leave, even though their salaries were cut off. One of those was Mr. Maliki, who still occupies his palace and insists he is still a vice president of Iraq. Still, he said he had no ambition to return to office, even though many Iraqi officials and Western diplomats believe he has been scheming to do so. “I don’t miss it,” he said. “And I don’t want to return to it. ” Hadi a Shiite rival to Mr. Abadi, who runs a powerful militia that is supported by Iran, is seen by many as harboring ambitions to replace him. Even so, Mr. Ameri said, “only if I were crazy would I accept” the job of prime minister. “We don’t have democracy in Iraq,” he said. “Here, everyone wants to drive the car. The winner and the loser. ” He added, as a way of defending Mr. Abadi’s failures in uniting the Iraqi state, “Even if a prophet came to rule Iraq, he wouldn’t be able to satisfy all sides. ” | 1 |
I was walking around campus between classes one day at the university I attended in Abuja, Nigeria, when he came up to me. “I’ve seen you somewhere before,” he said. He was slim, attractive. I thought it was the usual flirting. But then I realized that his face did look familiar. Church. I’d seen him at church a few times. So we chatted a bit. He wasn’t a student there. He was there to see a friend. For some reason he also mentioned that his birthday was coming up. I gave him my phone number. He called me — a lot. I never answered, and I never called him back. It went on like that for a month. Then one day, I looked at the date and realized it was his birthday. I decided to give him a call. From then on, we talked every single day on the phone. I have trouble sleeping, and we would talk almost all night. “What’s your genotype?” he asked me in one of our first telephone conversations. “Which one is the genotype and which one is the blood type?” I asked him. “I’m SS,” he told me. Then I remembered. “O. K.,” I said. “I’m AA. ” By then, I knew what the sickle cell trait was. Hemoglobin SS meant he had sickle cell anemia. A family friend had lost kids to it. My school had tested me for it. But when he told me, I was like, O. K. sure. It didn’t seem like a thing. We became very close. My mom knew about him. My siblings knew about him. But he was older. I was just 16. I had a strict curfew every night. He was in his . One time, about a year after we met, we went to a cafe for lunch. It was one of those hot days before the rainy season would come and unleash showers across the Nigerian landscape. At the cafe, we talked as I wolfed down a slice of chocolate cake. We got up to leave, paid the bill and I hugged him goodbye. At some point in the hug, it happened. He was leaning in with his lips. I realized he was trying to kiss me! It would have been my very first kiss — if it had happened. But it didn’t. I was stunned. I was so upset that I just turned my face away and walked to my car. After I got home, he called me to apologize. I told him not to call me, but after two days I really missed talking to him. He liked me. I really, really liked him. I wouldn’t call it a crush. A crush is like a joke. He was quiet, and he had a gentle soul. A couple of years later, when his birthday came around again, he said he wasn’t feeling too well, so I went to his house. He lived with his parents, and I didn’t really like going to his house, because it took a lot of lying to my parents to go there. We sat on the couch and watched music videos on MTV. The boy band, the Wanted, came on with their song “All Time Low,” and I got so excited because it was my latest obsession. “I love this song!” I said. “What do you think?” But he just shrugged his shoulders. He was kind of indifferent. I was so naïve. I didn’t notice how sick he was. I didn’t want to notice. I just kept talking and talking. I left after three hours, but after that I found myself checking on him constantly, every 30 minutes or so. He kept saying he was fine. But a few days later, he ended up in the hospital. When I went to visit him, it was a shock — I had never seen a “sickler” before. I saw the yellow eyes. I saw how skinny he was. He kept wincing from the pain, but putting up a brave act. “They’re saying my kidneys are failing and stuff,” he finally said. I was so freaked out. A few mornings later, I planned to go back and bring him some Ogbono soup, his favorite. It’s a concoction of ground African bush mango seeds, cooked onions and crayfish with dark, leafy vegetables swimming in bright red palm oil. The plan was for my mom to make it but to say that I made it. So we began cooking the soup. Then we boiled water to cook semolina flour for fufu to go with it. All the while, I kept calling him, but he wasn’t answering. So I called one of his friends, and we planned to go together. I packed the soup and fufu and drove over to his friend’s house. When I got there, his friend told me to come in and sit down. And that’s how I got the news he died. I wept all the way home, and every day after that. My father asked who the hell was this guy who just turned his daughter’s life upside down. I would sit in my room with the curtains closed. For weeks, it just seemed like a good idea to sit in the dark. After the funeral, I had to ask one of his friends: “Did he know how much I actually cared about him?” “No,” came the response. “No, he didn’t. ” I’m still dealing with the guilt of that, because it seems to me he had everything I would have wanted in a boyfriend. | 1 |
. War In The Matrix — How Our Minds Are Programmed To Create This Sick Reality Just how much of what we see and think is visual and mind manipulation? This current reflection of t... Print Email http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/war-in-matrix-how-our-minds-are.html Just how much of what we see and think is visual and mind manipulation? This current reflection of the Earth plane; the matrix of our perceived reality; is overshadowed by a projection of war. For several years now we the inhabitants of this reality have been receiving the programming for war and diseases through movies, television video games and the media. We receive our programming for every aspect of our lives from love, hate, happiness, clothes, food, mates, careers, cars, insurance, and reminders of our human limitation and so on.What we fail to remember is the holographic nature of reality based on the human brain.Everything in our visual path is a holographic composition presented by the brain , as the lens of the eyes reflect tones of light back to the optic enter in the brain, the optic nerves then projects the brains frequency translation through the cones and rods in the eyes, capturing and bringing form to frequency patterns. Modern day scientists have achieved a level of understanding regarding the manipulation of brain wave patterns. Our weaknesses are understood as we exist as beings operating within fields of emotions. The strongest of which is FEAR .It is also understood that we are a society of beings struggling to understand who we are spiritually or non physically. Innocence of our spiritual history has made us vulnerable as we continue to seek for a higher power separate from ourselves. We have been conditioned to accept what has been defined as human limitations combined with the impossibility to reach outside of time and space. We have not been encouraged to educate ourselves on the function of the brain, the nervous system and the energetic construct of thought. A thought is the activation of a certain group of neurons within the brain transported through the spinal fluid. Spinal fluid is produced in the ventricles of the brain.In the words of Dr. Stone, founder of Polarity Therapy: "The cerebrospinal fluid seems to act as a storage field and a conveyor for the ultrasonic and the light energies. It bathes the spinal cord and is a reservoir for these finer energies, conducted by the fluidic media through all the fine verve fibers as the first airy mind and life principle in the human body. The cerebrospinal fluid conveys the energies of the mind throughout the body! Mind energy is considered to be the first principle of life. Mind functions in the body as the light of "intelligence". Here we can see the importance of the thought process as every thought is being processed throughout every cell in the body.What does this have to do with "war in the matrix"? As quoted from The Dancing Wu Li Masters : According to a number of scientists, "What is "out there" apparently depends in a rigorous mathematical sense as well as philosophical one, upon what we decide "in here". The new physics tells us that an observer cannot observe without altering what he sees. Observer and observed are interrelated in a real fundamental sense.The exact interrelation is not clear, but there is a growing body of evidence that the distinction between the "in here" and the "out there" is illusion. Access to the physical world is through experience. The common denominator of all experiences is the "I" that does the experiencing. In short, what we experience is not external reality but our interaction with it."We most often forget that we are tied into this reality based on our emotional output. Emotions determine the electromagnetic input and output within the human body and all surrounding energy fields. Emotions are electromagnetic wave patterns inextricably combined with thought. They form the skeletal structure of our belief system which is reflected in the manner which we live our lives. Emotional impulses determine the chemical/hormonal production within the ventricles of the brain. Once an acceptable perception of reality is solidified in our minds it becomes the only probability and perception within our minds. Being the observer we solidify reality through emotion expressed through thought.Thought is energy in motion, solidifying and becoming our reality. Human thoughts are trapped within lower frequency waves resulting in human confinement to this matrix. Perceivable reality is simply a state of consciousness. It is the field of thought or thought field in which we become entranced. Each moment of reality is being reflected from the field of energy radiating from thought. Ultimately we exist in our MIND . We exist in an individual mind space while sharing an overall collective space of mind. It is the collective state of mind that holds this holographic/virtual reality in its present existence.This is a chess game, a scientifically layered design of rulers and subjects, an illusion of power and the battle for your WILL. It is the great deception of the true rulers and subjects. We exist in an uncertainty of the ownership of ones Will. It is of utmost importance that an understanding of WILL is incorporated into our endless quest for spiritual identity. It is the Will that is the driving force of our descent through time into matter. WILL is the thrust of Energy that provides the force needed to reach into the VOID to bring forth the essential codes of light to create that which has been born in the imagination, the image-in-action.There are multiplicities of those known as ascended masters who continue to operate in deception, subtly enforcing and maintaining control over the vulnerable minds of humanity. Each organization or individual may justify such embracement of attachment as different from his/her brother. Within all religions , occult and new age truths are held numerous predecessors of man who remain GAME keepers of this plane. Man's need to worship outside of himself has been the signature of approval for on going control of his mind. Such entities that are no longer apart of this plane are stuck and exist within the planes that surround the playing field of Earth. They sustain their existence by feeding off of the emotional output of humanity; intercepting human thought field by continued injection of frequency patterns of fear, guilt, shame, pain, doubt, jealousy, lack and attachment.The deception is of such a heightened nature that such beings create a level of comfort within the human mind by providing a balance of insightful knowledge. This creates continued trust, loyalty and attachment to the parasitic entity that has been providing an illusion of freedom. The Sovereignty of humanity is a feared occurrence as it will bring an end to the actions of the puppeteers and the smoke and mirrors.We exist in the age of ENLIGHTENMENT which has been born out the cosmic timer of cycles; cycles representing shifts in frequencies spiraling down from inconceivable cycles, beyond light years in the future, which is our past. Within our realm of understanding we can catch a glimpse of such unfolding through the four quarters of 26,000 year cycles, the end of which we are now experiencing. It is because this great time of cosmic graduation that has opened the door to the surrounding planes, bombarding our time, our current reality with numerous entities coming forth through various channels. The lives of many have become dependent on the instructions of these beings. This becomes an interception of alignment to the ONE.The confusion of the structure of over souls and the necessity to be identified with figures of prominence identified in human history is of great distraction and deception. The alter ego becomes the target and the driving force of the journey. The GAME encompasses all things, seeking life through human emotion. The human need to belong and to be accepted drives the ego to find and provide this candy to the human child.We need only change our mind, our collective perception of this impending war. Humanity collectively holds the key to the release of the illusion of war. Although this is a planet filled with many warlords from other parts of our galaxy, many have laid down their swords and have transcended the need to participate in probable wars. The power lies within the minds of humanity. The self appointed officials of this reality are counting on the spiritual ignorance of the planet. They have developed technology that will now allow numerous holographic projection much of which can be done through the alteration of brain waves through sound and light projection. HAARP is one such technology that is capable of such brain modifications.It is essential that we educate ourselves on this vessel/ship called a human body. Much of this vessel has been deactivated for quite sometime. Melatonin for example is essential to the harmonic balance of the body. After mid night melatonin is converted into pinoline. We then enter into a space of amnesia. By 3:00 am we begin to experience what is know a prophetic or lucid dreaming. As stated by Tao Gardens: "The darkness actualizes successively higher states of divine consciousness, correlating with the synthesis and accumulation of psychedelic chemicals in the brain. "Melatonin,; a regulatory hormone, quiets the body and mind in preparation for the finer and subtler realities of higher consciousness. The hormone Pinoline affects the neuro-transmitters of the brain, permits visions and dream-states to emerge in our conscious awareness. "Eventually the brain synthesizes the 'spirit molecules' 5-MeO-DMT and DMT, facilitating the transcendental experiences of universal love and compassion". — The Prana Program – Effective & Enjoyable Evolution Belief systems based on the emotional output of fear shuts down the production of these major chemical that were once produced in the womb and in infancy through the age of 7 and 12. These chemical/hormones are known as 5-Meo-DMT and DMT. These are amino acids. The pharmaceutical and food industry have played a major role in providing suppressive inducement to the human brain. We have become a society obsessed with food , mainly cooked food, fast food and junk food. All of which alter the harmonic function of the brain and the nervous system, both of which are essential in the awakening process.When heat is applied to food through the process of cooking, this becomes a chemistry experiment as heat immediately destroys essential enzymes and amino acid Tryptamines serotonin, melatonin, pinoline, 5-MeO-DMT and DMT. Tryotamines and beta-carbolines are known as psychoactive indoles both interacting with the nervous system through the synthesizing of neurotransmitters. As essential enzymes are destroyed the natural progression or conversion of these hormones are inhibited, lessening the probability of the natural occurrence of transcendental experiences. We become disconnected from the awareness of the connected force of the energies beyond linear time. We exist purely in an external reality. It is said that the body is addicted to approximately 20 amino acids or more; consisting of the enzymes MAO which destroy our neurotransmitters while stimulating an addiction for foods that encourage the repetition of this cycle.This is the manner in which the food industry manipulates our existence and or belief system.Through ignorance we have become the fuel that drives the vehicle of the corporate world . Our minds are controlled through numerous measures. We must however understand that we have allowed it, for we have given our permission even in our defence of ignorance. This is not about blame, but it is about awakening and recognizing the choices that we have made and to change those choices for the enhancement of our own evolution. No one can save us; no one is coming to save us. This is an individual journey and we must find our own way back to the state of alignment, the state of Oneness . "To further define reality; reality is "I" projected outward as multiple characters, viewed through the window of my mind. From the Apex or point zero, the One has descended down the ladder of time becoming the many". By Sonia Barrett , DreamcatcherReality.com Sonia is the author of The Holographic Canvas: The Fusing of Mind and Matter . Her insights are cutting edge with much of it supported by quantum physics. Sonia Barrett’s work bridges the gap between science and spirituality in a simplified format. She addresses the programming, beliefs and concepts by which we have lived our lives, both individually and collectively. You can contact Sonia via e-mail or Facebook. 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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Meet All The Pundits Pandering For A Trump Adminstration Job By: Aaron Bandler November 22, 2016
With Donald Trump set to take office in a couple of months, a number of his lackeys have reportedly been in talks about possibly serving in the administration. As of this writing, there are three pro-Trump pundits that might be in the Trump administration.
Eric Bolling. Politico reported that Bolling was seen at Trump Tower and was reportedly discussed for a position in the Department of Commerce. What exactly that position that will be is not clear. Bolling told Politico that he "can't confirm anything."
Geraldo Rivera flat-out asked Bolling on The Five if he had been offered a job, and Bolling gave a non-answer .
Bolling has been with Fox News since 2008, where he is the co-host of The Five and hosts the weekend show Cashin' In . Before then, he had been an analyst on CNBC and a New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) trader. Bolling has been an ardent supporter of Trump from the get-go, to the point where he resorted to some loony ideas .
Laura Ingraham. According to CNN Money , Ingraham is being heavily considered for President Trump's press secretary. Here is what Ingraham has said on the matter:
"I am honored to be considered for that job and other jobs. So we'll see what happens," Ingraham said on Fox News.
She cautioned: "I think people are getting a little far ahead of the narrative." But she strongly suggested that some sort of Trump administration post is in the works.
"It's a big decision, but I'm at the point where, if my country needs me, and if I can do something to actually, you know, advance the Trump agenda, which is stuff I have written about now for 15 years, with trade, immigration and just renewing America, then I obviously have to seriously consider that," she told Fox's Tucker Carlson.
Like Bolling, Ingraham, who has been a nationally syndicated radio host since 2001 , has also been an early supporter of Trump, going as far as saying that #NeverTrump conservatives support partial birth abortion, and her website, LifeZette, attacked conservatives like Ben Shapiro for opposing the Alt-Right. (As usual, Shapiro punched back hard .)
Jeanine Pirro. Pirro, accompanied by Rudy Giuliani, was seen headed inside Trump Tower, which has led to speculation that she is being considered for a job in the Trump administration, according to Page Six . What that job would be is not known.
Pirro also has been an early Trump supporter, and she has claimed to have known him for 30 years . Pirro's ex-husband, Al Pirro, has been described as "a man Donald Trump keeps on retainer" as a real-estate lawyer, and Trump once donated $20,000 to Pirro when she ran for New York state attorney general.
Pirro has been with Fox News since 2006 and hosts Justice with Judge Jeanine on Saturdays. She also has an extensive legal career as a prosecutor in the state of New York and initially challenged Hillary Clinton when she ran for re-election in the Senate before dropping out to run for state attorney general. Tags | 0 |
Trump Has Forever Changed American Politics > November 7, 2016, 9:46 pm A+ | a- Warning
“If I don’t win, this will be the greatest waste of time, money and energy in my lifetime,” says Donald Trump.
Herewith, a dissent. Whatever happens Tuesday, Trump has made history and has forever changed American politics.
Though a novice in politics, he captured the Party of Lincoln with the largest turnout of primary voters ever, and he has inflicted wounds on the nation’s ruling class from which it may not soon recover.
Bush I and II, Mitt Romney , the neocons and the GOP commentariat all denounced Trump as morally and temperamentally unfit. Yet, seven of eight Republicans are voting for Trump, and he drew the largest and most enthusiastic crowds of any GOP nominee.
Not only did he rout the Republican elites, he ash-canned their agenda and repudiated the wars into which they plunged the country.
Trump did not create the forces that propelled his candidacy. But he recognized them, tapped into them, and unleashed a gusher of nationalism and populism that will not soon dissipate.
Whatever happens Tuesday, there is no going back now.
How could the Republican establishment advance anew the trade and immigration policies that their base has so thunderously rejected?
How can the GOP establishment credibly claim to speak for a party that spent the last year cheering a candidate who repudiated the last two Republican presidents and the last two Republican nominees?
Do mainstream Republicans think that should Trump lose a Bush Restoration lies ahead? The dynasty is as dead as the Romanovs .
The media, whose reputation has sunk to Congressional depths, has also suffered a blow to its credibility.
Its hatred of Trump has been almost manic, and WikiLeaks revelations of the collusion between major media and Clintonites have convinced skeptics that the system is rigged and the referees of democracy are in the tank.
But it is the national establishment that has suffered most.
The Trump candidacy exposed what seems an unbridgeable gulf between this political class and the nation in whose name it purports to speak.
Consider the litany of horrors it has charged Trump with.
He said John McCain was no hero, that some Mexican illegals are “ rapists .” He mocked a handicapped reporter. He called some women “pigs.” He wants a temporary ban to Muslim immigration. He fought with a Gold Star mother and father. He once engaged in “ fat-shaming ” a Miss Universe, calling her “Miss Piggy, ” and telling her to stay out of Burger King. He allegedly made crude advances on a dozen women and starred in the “Access Hollywood” tape with Billy Bush.
While such “gaffes” are normally fatal for candidates, Trump’s followers stood by him through them all.
Why? asks an alarmed establishment. Why, in spite of all this, did Trump’s support endure? Why did the American people not react as they once would have? Why do these accusations not have the bite they once did?
Answer. We are another country now, an us-or-them country.
Middle America believes the establishment is not looking out for the nation but for retention of its power. And in attacking Trump it is not upholding some objective moral standard but seeking to destroy a leader who represents a grave threat to that power.
Trump’s followers see an American Spring as crucial, and they are not going to let past boorish behavior cause them to abandon the last best chance to preserve the country they grew up in.
These are the Middle American Radicals, the MARs of whom my late friend Sam Francis wrote.
They recoil from the future the elites have mapped out for them and, realizing the stakes, will overlook the faults and failings of a candidate who holds out the real promise of avoiding that future.
They believe Trump alone will secure the borders and rid us of a trade regime that has led to the loss of 70,000 factories and 5 million manufacturing jobs since NAFTA. They believe Trump is the best hope for keeping us out of the wars the Beltway think tanks are already planning for the sons of the “deplorables” to fight.
Moreover, they see the establishment as the quintessence of hypocrisy. Trump is instructed to stop using such toxic phrases as “America First” and “Make America Great Again” by elites who think 55 million abortions since Roe is a milestone of moral progress.
And what do they have in common with a woman who thinks partial-birth abortion, which her predecessor in the Senate, Pat Moynihan, called “ infanticide ,” is among the cherished “reproductive rights” of women?
While a Trump victory would create the possibility of a coalition of conservatives, populists, patriots and nationalists governing America, should he lose, America’s future appears disunited and grim.
But, would the followers of Donald Trump, whom Hillary Clinton has called “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic … bigots,” to the cheers of her media retainers, unite behind her should she win?
No. Win or lose, as Sen. Edward Kennedy said at the Democratic Convention of 1980, “The work goes on, the cause endures.” | 0 |
Chris Menahan “Trump Supporter gets what she’s been asking for… A Beatdown from a Latina.”
Shocking video out of California shows Hillary Clinton supporters violently attack a homeless woman who was doing all she could to defend Donald Trump’s Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Friday, newly surfaced video shared by one of Hillary Clinton’s Hillbullies shows an Hispanic thug lay his hands on the brave woman and steal her signs, all while shouting “GET YOUR ASS OUTTA HERE, B*TCH!”
Other Hillbullies are then seen spitting on her signs and stomping them with their feet.
As the innocent woman is seen frantically trying to protect herself from the terrorist thug, he violently trips her to the ground.
Hillary supporting onlookers are then seen chastising her and as she lay motionless.
“Didn’t I tell you, about five minutes ago, that somebody was going to walk by here — and no I won’t defend you — because you spewed hate, and you got hate,” one Hillbully says. “You got exactly what you were dishing out, I told, I warned you on that, didn’t I?”
The YouTube video, which was shared by user “Koali Fikator,” has this sickening description: “After Bullying Everyone, Trump Supporter gets what she’s been asking for… A Beatdown from a Latina.”
All the woman did was hold up signs saying she wants to put Americans first:
She didn’t assault anyone, she merely exercised her right to free speech as an American!
These left-wing terrorists used violence to suppress her free speech simply because she supports Donald Trump for president! That’s the definition of terrorism!
Get this story out to everyone so they can see how these Hillbullies operate! . @ScottAdamsSays : "I can't vote for a bully." So he endorses Trump. The #Hillbullies have made violence against Trump supporters legitimate. pic.twitter.com/4nVscp6mki
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WASHINGTON — Investors in financial markets, and those predicting faster economic growth in 2017, would do well to remember the famous words that William McChesney Martin Jr. the former Federal Reserve chairman, uttered way back in 1955: The Fed’s job is to remove the punch bowl just as the party gets going. Donald J. Trump’s promises to cut taxes and regulation and to increase spending on infrastructure and defense have convinced many that a sugar high in the near term will goose the economy. But Fed officials say the economy is already expanding at something close to its maximum sustainable pace, meaning faster growth would drive inflation toward unwelcome levels. To avoid overheating, the Fed could respond by raising interest rates more quickly. The more Mr. Trump stimulates growth, the faster the Fed is likely to increase rates. “I guess I would argue that I think people have gotten a bit ahead of themselves about what a Trump presidency would mean,” said Lewis Alexander, chief United States economist at Nomura. “If we have a big stimulus, the logical thing for the Fed to do is to raise rates faster. There isn’t a whole heck of a lot of scope to just let the economy run under those circumstances. There’s a big question about whether fiscal stimulus under Trump just leads to higher interest rates. ” Underscoring that question, the Fed is expected to raise its benchmark rate on Wednesday for the first time since last December in light of new economic data. The rate sits in a range of 0. 25 percent to 0. 5 percent, a low level intended to stimulate economic growth by encouraging borrowing and . Analysts predict the Fed will shift the range upward by a quarter of a percentage point, modestly reducing those incentives. The rate increase is widely regarded as a foregone conclusion. The odds, derived from asset prices, topped 95 percent Monday, according to the CME Group. The looming question is how quickly the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2017. Economic forecasts always require large assumptions, but that is particularly true in the present case because Mr. Trump has provided relatively few details about his plans. Perhaps the most accurate thing that can be said about Mr. Trump’s victory is that it has increased the uncertainty of the economic outlook. “At this juncture, it is premature to reach firm conclusions about what will likely occur,” William C. Dudley, president of the New York Fed, said in a recent speech. During his campaign, Mr. Trump predicted 4 percent annual growth, and his actions since Election Day point to a goal of job creation. “Our No. 1 priority is going to be the economy, get back to 3 to 4 percent growth,” Steven Mnuchin, Mr. Trump’s pick to serve as Treasury secretary, said last month. Many economists regard such growth predictions as fanciful the economy has been mired in an extended period of slow growth and the reasons, including an aging population and a dearth of innovation, are unlikely to change quickly. Some think Mr. Trump is more likely to push the economy into recession than to catalyze a new boom. Even if Mr. Trump is right, however, the Fed does not want 4 percent growth. The central bank’s outlook has become increasingly gloomy. Officials estimated in September that annual growth of 1. 8 percent was the maximum sustainable pace, and they predicted growth would not exceed 2 percent in the next three years. They will update those forecasts Wednesday, but large shifts are unlikely. Fed officials also are increasingly convinced that steady job growth has substantially eliminated the backlog of people seeking work. The unemployment rate fell to 4. 6 percent in November, a level the Fed regards as healthy. For years, Fed officials urged Congress to increase fiscal spending. Now, Mr. Trump is promising to do just that — and the Fed has concluded that it is too late. Stanley Fischer, the Fed’s vice chairman, said last month the Fed might still benefit from fiscal stimulus because it could raise rates more quickly. That would increase the Fed’s ability to respond to future downturns by reducing interest rates. But such gains would come at real cost: A fiscal stimulus would increase the federal government’s debt burden, which already is at a high level by historical standards, reducing the room for a fiscal response to a future downturn. Janet L. Yellen, the Fed’s chairwoman, urged Congress last month to be mindful that the government is already on the hook for more spending as baby boomers age into retirement. “With the . D. P. ratio at around 77 percent, there’s not a lot of fiscal space, should a shock to the economy occur, an adverse shock, that did require fiscal stimulus,” she said. The tension between fiscal and monetary policy is likely to unfold in slow motion. Mr. Trump has promised to press for rapid changes in government policy, but Congress is not built for speed. A similar effort to cut taxes at the beginning of the George W. Bush administration, for example, was signed into law on June 7, 2001. The impact of new cuts, and any increase in infrastructure spending that Mr. Trump can persuade dubious Republicans to embrace, would be felt mostly in future years. Mark M. Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, predicted that tax cuts, regulatory rollbacks and spending would fuel faster growth in the first half of Mr. Trump’s term. But he said that the Fed’s rate increases, and restrictions on trade and immigration, would gradually begin to take a larger toll. By the end, Mr. Zandi predicted, the American economy would be “unnervingly close” to recession. “The Fed and markets in general will ultimately wash out any benefit,” Mr. Zandi said Monday. “The economy under President Trump ultimately will be diminished. ” Other economists are more optimistic, predicting that the stimulus will not be fully offset by Fed policy. Mr. Dudley appeared to endorse this view in his recent speech, suggesting that the rise in financial markets was “broadly appropriate. ” Some of Mr. Trump’s proposals also could increase the economy’s potential growth rate, for example by improving infrastructure or encouraging corporate investment. On the other hand, the Fed’s march toward higher rates may be amplified by the bond market. Rates are already rising, and investors concerned about inflation and larger federal deficits are likely to generate persistent upward pressure. Those effects are already visible. Stock prices have climbed since Mr. Trump’s surprising victory, increasing the wealth of shareholders. But borrowing costs also climbed. The average rate on a mortgage loan was 4. 13 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac, up from 3. 54 percent just before the election. | 1 |
Fifty interesting facts about Russia 31.10.2016 Print version Font Size 1. Russia is the largest country in the world. The country has 17,075,400 square kilometers, which makes Russia 1.8 times larger than the United States of America. The territory that Russia takes on planet Earth practically equals the surface area of planet Pluto.2. Russia is home to the world's largest active volcano - Klyuchevskaya Sopka. Its height is 4 kilometers 850 meters. The volcano shoots columns of ash up to eight kilometers high and becomes even taller with every eruption. Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano erupts for the past 7,000 years.3. The subway system (metro) of St. Petersburg is the deepest in the world. Its average depth - 100 meters.4. The number of bridges in St. Petersburg exceeds the number of bridges in Venice three times. 5. The oldest Christian church on the territory of Russia is the ancient temple of Thaba-Yerdy located in Ingushetia, Jeirakh District. It was built in VIII-IX centuries. Three oldest of existing churches are located in the village of Nizhny Arkhyz in Karachay-Cherkessia. The temples were built in the X century.6. The Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest railway in the world. The Great Siberian Way, connecting Moscow with Vladivostok, is 9,298 kilometers long. The railway crosses eight time zones, passes through 87 cities and towns and crosses 16 rivers, including the Volga.7. Lake Baikal in Siberia is the deepest lake in the world and the largest source of fresh water on the planet. Baikal holds 23 cubic kilometers of water. All the world's major rivers - the Volga, the Don, the Dnieper, the Yenisei, the Ural, the Ob, the Ganges, the Orinoco, the Amazon, the Thames, the Seine and the Oder would have to flow for almost a year to fill the basic, equal to the volume of Lake Baikal.8. Russia is the only country whose territory is washed by 12 seas.9. Russia is only four kilometers far from America. The is the distance between the island of Ratmanova (Russia) and the Kruzenshtern Island (USA) in the Bering Strait.10. The distance from Moscow to Chicago is smaller than the distance from from Chicago to Rio de Janeiro.11. In the cultural capital of Russia, St. Petersburg, there are 2,000 libraries, 221 museums, 100 concert organizations, more than 80 theaters, 80 clubs and houses of culture, 62 cinemas and 45 art galleries.12. The Ural Mountains are the oldest mountains in the world. The Karandash Mount located in the Kusinsky area near the village of Aleksandrovka was formed 4.2 billion years ago. The historical names of the Ural Mountains are - the Big Rock, the Siberian Rock, the Earth Belt, the Belt Rock.13. In Moscow, there are seven exactly the same high-rise buildings: two hotels, two office buildings, two residential buildings and the University. In English, this ensemble is known as the Seven Sisters, whereas in Russian, the buildings are known as Stalinist skyscrapers. The style, in which the skyscrapers are built, is called the Stalinist gothic.14. The Moscow Kremlin is the world's largest medieval fortress.15. The total length of the Kremlin walls is 2,235 meters.16. In Moscow, there is a large fountain that contains drinking water. The fountain is part of the architectural group "Alexander and Natalie" with a sculptural composition of Pushkin and Goncharova in a graceful rotunda.17. St. Petersburg is the world's northernmost city with a population of over one million people.18. The area of Siberia is 9 million 734.3 thousand square kilometers, which accounts for nine percent of the world's land.19. Russia borders with 16 countries: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, North Korea, Japan and the United States. Russia also borders on two unrecognized states: South Ossetia and Abkhazia.20. The number of Kalashnikov assault rifles in the world is larger than the number of all other assault rifles combined. 21. Russia proclaimed equal rights for men and women before the United States. In Russia, the right to vote was granted to women in 1918, in the United States - in 1920.22. Russia had never known slavery. The period of the most distinguished form of feudal dependence, serfdom, was shorter in Russia than, for example, in England and most of Europe. Serfdom in Russia had milder forms. Russian serfdom was abolished in 1861, whereas the United States abolished slavery in 1865.23. On January 16, 1820, the Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev discovered Antarctica.24. The most famous computer game -Tetris - was created by Russian programmer Alexey Pazhitnov in 1985. This game became popular in the Soviet Union, and then, in 1986, in the West.25. Ivan the Terrible was not a tyrant, his rule was unprecedentedly mild for his time. During his rule, Russia's size was equal to that of Europe, but Ivan the Terrible executed 100 fewer people in comparison with European kings during the same period of time - 3-4 thousand people against 300-400 thousand.26. Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son.27. Trains of the Moscow metro run more often than in any other subway system in the world. At rush hours, intervals between trains is only 90 seconds. There are stylized trains in the Moscow metro, for example, a train called "Watercolors" that represents a traveling exhibition of paintings.28. In Peterhof, near St. Petersburg, there are 176 fountains, 40 of which are huge and five are built as cascades.29. The Russian samovar is an ancient version of the electric kettle. The samovar was powered by coal, but its function was to boil water. 30. In the Russian town Oymyakon, the lowest temperature of air was recorded. The cold record was set in 1924, when temperates dropped to -71.2 °C.31. In the Novosibirsk Institute of Cytology and Genetics, there is a monument to the laboratory mouse that knits the DNA.32. During the Second World War, metro stations were used as bomb shelters. As many as 150 babies were born there during air raids. 33. In Russia, there are many beautiful excursion and hiking routes. The most famous one of them is the so-called Russian Golden Ring, as well as the Silver Ring of Russia and the Great Ural Ring.34. The total length of 12 lines of the Moscow metro is 310 kilometers.35. In the 18th century, Russia was the third largest empire in the history of mankind, occupying the territory from Poland in Europe to Alaska in North America. 36. The West Siberian Plain is the largest plain in the world.37. The Hermitage is one of the largest and oldest museums in the world. The Hermitage stores three million works of art from the Stone Age to the present. If a visitor pays only one minute of their attention to each exhibit, it would take them 25 years to see all the exhibits of the Hermitage. 38. A half of the city of Chelyabinsk is located in the Urals, whereas the other half - in Siberia. Strangely enough, the coat of arms of Chelyabinsk depicts a camel. It turns out, however, that Chelyabinsk used to take caravans of camels 200 years ago. 39. A while ago, Moscow had more billionaires than any other city in the world.40. The Russian Public Library is the largest library in Europe and the second largest in the world after the United States Library of Congress. The Russian Public Library is located in Moscow, it was founded in 1862.41. On the opening day of a 700-seat McDonalds restaurant on Pushkin Square in Moscow, the line of people willing to go there made up 5,000 individuals at 5 a.m. During the first day of work, the restaurant served 3,000 customers. To this day, the McDonald's on Pushkin Square remains the most visited McDonald's in the world.42. The State Hermitage Museum keeps a flock of cats against rodents. Each cat of the Hermitage has a passport with a photo.43. In Altai, there are more than 820 glaciers that occupy a total area of 600 square kilometers.44. In Russia, a new sport has recently emerged in Russia - helicopter golf. Two helicopters, equipped with 4-meter sticks, play two balls one meter in diameter. Each team consists of five people.45. Russia regularly appears on lists of least friendly countries in the world, but this is just a misconception based on cross-cultural differences. In Russia, children are taught not to smile for no reason, as this kind of behavior displays light-mindedness. In fact, the Russians are friendly and are always ready to help a foreigner.46. In 2002, the city of Yekaterinburg was put on UNESCO's list of 12 perfect cities in the world.47. The largest bell ever cast is the Russian Tsar Bell made by Ivan Motorin and his son Mikhail. The weight of the Tsar Bell is 12,327 puds and 19 pounds, or 201 tons and 924 kilograms. The Tsar Bell is 6 meters 14 centimeters tall. 48. The city of Suzdal takes only 15 square kilometers of land and has the population of a little over 10,000 people. Yet, there are 53 churches in Suzdal. 49. The Russian Federation consists of eight federal districts, which are divided into 83 regions -subjects of the Federation, including 21 national republics. According to the Constitution, each republic is assigned to a titular ethnic group. The Russian republics take 28.6% of the territory of Russia, which is home to 16.9% of the population of the country. Ethnic Russians account for approximately 83% of the Russian population. However, the Russian Constitution does not contain a word about the Russian people. This legal mishap is one of the most pressing domestic problems of the Russian Federation, and it will be settled sooner or later.50. A myth about a myth: the Russians think that Americans think that bears walk in the streets of Moscow. In fact, bears do not appear in Russian city streets, and the Americans do not have a stereotype of the wild Russia.Newsinfo | 0 |
(Before It's News)
Some liberals will criticize me for this post, especially the title. That’s their problem. After reading this article, though, I’m not worried about liberals’ criticisms. The truth is that health insurance premiums are going through the proverbial roof with the ACA. People should flinch when they hear that “[before] taxpayer-provided subsidies, premiums for a midlevel […]
Continue reading The ACA: fewer choices, more expensive
. . . → Read More: The ACA: fewer choices, more expensive | 0 |
The drab free port zone near the Geneva city center, a compound of blocky gray and vanilla warehouses surrounded by train tracks, roads and a fence, looks like the kind of place where beauty goes to die. But within its walls, crated or sealed cheek by jowl in cramped storage vaults, are more than a million of some of the most exquisite artworks ever made. Treasures from the glory days of ancient Rome. paintings by old masters. An estimated 1, 000 works by Picasso. As the price of art has skyrocketed, perhaps nothing illustrates the approach to contemporary collecting habits more than the proliferation of warehouses like this one, where masterpieces are increasingly being tucked away by owners more interested in seeing them appreciate than hanging on walls. With their controlled climates, confidential record keeping and enormous potential for tax savings, free ports have become the parking lot of choice for buyers looking to round out investment portfolios with art. “For some collectors, art is being treated as a capital asset in their portfolio,” said Evan Beard, who advises clients on art and finance at U. S. Trust. “They are becoming more financially savvy, and free ports have become a pillar of all of this. ” The trend is prompting concerns about the use of these storage spaces for illegal activities. It is also causing worries within the art world about the effect such wholesale storage has on art itself. “Treating art as a commodity and just hiding it in storage is something that to me is not really moral,” said Eli Broad, a major contemporary art collector who last year opened his own Los Angeles museum. Free ports originated in the 19th century for the temporary storage of goods like grain, tea and industrial goods. In the last few decades, however, a handful of them — including Geneva’s — have increasingly come to operate as storage lockers for the superrich. Located in countries and cities, free ports offer savings and security that collectors and dealers find almost irresistible. (Someone who buys a $50 million painting at auction in New York, for example, is staring at a $4. 4 million sales tax bill. Ship it to a free port, and the bill disappears, at least until you decide to bring it back to New York.) At least four major free ports in Switzerland specialize in storing art and other luxury goods like wine and jewelry, and there are four more — most newly minted — around the world: Singapore (2010) Monaco (2012) Luxembourg (2014) and Newark, Del. (2015). Concerned by the rapid growth of these private storage spaces and worried that they could become havens for contraband and money laundering, Swiss officials initiated an audit in 2012, the results of which were published two years ago. The results revealed a huge increase in the value of goods stored in some warehouses since 2007, led by an increase in goods like art. Though the audit did not specifically measure the increase in stored artworks, it estimated that there were more than 1. 2 million pieces of art in the Geneva Free Port alone, some of which had not left the buildings in decades. Many masterpieces have long lived outside of public view, buried in the basements of museums or tucked away in the private villas of the rich. But the free ports are drawing more criticism and concern, namely: Are they bad for art? Does the boxing up of millions of valuable works pervert the very essence of what art is supposed to do? Yes, say many in the art world. “Works of art are created to be viewed,” said the director of the Louvre, Martinez, who described free ports as the greatest museums no one can see. Some see even higher stakes for contemporary works, as they can be whisked off, their paint hardly dry, before ever entering the public’s consciousness. Storage puts the art “intellectually almost in a coma,” said Joanne Heyler, the director of the Broad Museum. Not everyone agrees, pointing out that there is plenty of art in the world for people to see and that much art was created as private property. “Paintings are not a public good,” said David Nash, a New York gallery owner. Even so, some collectors whose businesses have come to depend on free port storage are a bit sheepish. “It is a shame,” Helly Nahmad, a London dealer whose family is said to store 4, 500 works in the Geneva Free Port, told The Art Newspaper in 2011. “It is like a composer making a piece of music, and no one listens to it. ” So just what works are locked away? Because most art is tucked into storage spaces quietly, it is difficult to know what is where at any given moment. But assorted legal disputes, investigations and periodic exhibitions featuring stored works have provided glimpses of specific pieces lost from view. There are the rare Etruscan sarcophagi discovered in Geneva by the Italian police two years ago, found among 45 crates of looted antiquities, some still wrapped in Italian newspapers from the 1970s. And the $2 billion collection of the Russian billionaire Dmitry M. Rybolovlev, which includes a Rothko, a van Gogh, a Renoir, Klimt’s “Water Serpents II,” El Greco’s “Saint Sebastian,” Picasso’s “Les Noces de Pierrette” and Leonardo da Vinci’s “Christ as Salvator Mundi. ” (Mr. Rybolovlev is suing his former art adviser, a major free port operator in Geneva, and has since shifted his collection from Geneva to storage in Cyprus, according to court papers filed last year.) Some 19 works by Pierre Bonnard, a master of are owned by the Wildenstein family, one of the great families of the 20th century, according to the former lawyer for the widow of the patriarch, Daniel Wildenstein. And there is a portrait of Picasso’s second wife, Jacqueline, by the artist, along with 78 of his other works, shipped by his stepdaughter, Catherine Hutin, to the Geneva Free Port in 2012, according to legal papers. “If Jacqueline was alive and knew that her paintings were in the free ports, she would just be devastated,” said Pepita Dupont, author of a book about Jacqueline Picasso. Despite enhanced Swiss efforts to track inventory and ownership, the free ports there remain an opaque preserve (though more transparent these days than counterparts in places like Singapore) filled with objects whose ownership can be confoundingly convoluted. Case in point: $28 million worth of works by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Joan Miró and others now stored in the Geneva Free Port. Equalia, a company registered by Mossack Fonseca (the law firm at the center of the Panama Papers controversy about how the wealthy conceal their riches) stored the works on behalf of a diamond broker, Erez Daleyot, in 2009. Once in storage, the art was used as collateral for debts Mr. Daleyot owed to a Belgian bank, according to court papers. Now a man named Leon Templesman, president of a New York diamond manufacturing company, Lazare Kaplan International, is trying to seize the art as part of a dispute with Mr. Daleyot and the bank. Mr. Templesman said the free port’s embrace of confidentiality made such seizures more complicated. The bank, KBC, said it had kept the art in the free port “out of precaution” and that it could not comment further on a matter involving one of its clients. David Hiler, president of the Geneva Free Port, said that as a result of the audit, the Swiss were working to address concerns about lack of transparency. Come September, he said, all storage contracts will require that clients allow additional inspections of any archaeological artifacts they want stored there. Collectors and dealers choose to store art in the free ports for more pedestrian reasons than tax avoidance. Some simply have no more room in their homes, said Georgina Hepburne Scott, who advises collectors. And in a free port, their property is protected in environments, often under video surveillance and behind walls. “When it is brought to light, the work is preserved it’s not been hanging above a smoky fireplace,” she said. Some warehouses also have viewing rooms where collectors can review their art and show it to potential buyers. This year, after voters in Geneva rejected a plan to expand the major art museum, a Swiss lawyer, Christophe Germann, wrote a newspaper column advocating wholesale sharing, arguing that free ports be forced to open their doors to let people see public displays of the private collections, a worthy for the tax benefits collectors receive. For many living artists, meanwhile, the fact that their work might be stored away in a bunker has become part of the reality of doing business. “Ideally, I would like my work to be on display rather than in storage,” said Julia Wachtel, a contemporary artist who knows that some of her collectors occasionally store art. At their worst, Ms. Wachtel said, free ports represent a financial system in which investors have no connection to the art they buy. But she also recognizes that storage warehouses allow responsible collectors to manage their works and their limited wall space. “People buying art is what keeps artists alive,” she said. And at the end of the day, dealers say that most artworks eventually surface. “Even if it stays there for the lifetime of the collector,” said a New York dealer, Ezra Chowaiki, “it’s not going to be there forever. It will come out. ” | 1 |
In other transition news: ■ A auction for coffee with the future first daughter Ivanka Trump appears to have been canceled, as criticism mounted that the Trumps were selling access. ■ Donald J. Trump’s told business leaders in New York that Mr. Trump will be pushing a $1 trillion infrastructure plan closer to the ideal of Democrats than Republicans. At the same event, Senator Chuck Schumer, the incoming minority leader, sounded similarly conciliatory. ■ Mr. Trump took to Twitter on Friday to again play down Russian interference in the elections — this time, seemingly praising one of the cyberattacks for the revelations it contained. The Trump family on Friday appears to have canceled a charity auction that featured the ’s daughter Ivanka, as criticism mounted that the future first family’s charitable solicitation risked opening the White House to special interests seeking to pay for access. The auction for a chance to spend up to 45 minutes with Ms. Trump over coffee at either Trump Tower in New York or the recently opened Trump International Hotel in Washington was to continue for another three days. As of Friday morning, the high bid was $72, 888. But then the auction disappeared from the Charitybuzz website that had been hosting it, along with details on all the bids that had been offered since it opened on Dec. 5. “The loser is St. Jude, and the winner I’m not exactly sure,” one of the bidders, the restaurateur Russell Ybarra, wrote in an email, referring to the Tennessee children’s hospital, which stood to reap the proceeds. Eric Trump, in an interview Thursday, had said he was considering terminating the auction, after The New York Times raised questions about it. The Trump Organization and Charitybuzz did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment. The Obama family has not directly participated in any solicitation efforts since President Obama took office to avoid the impression that donations would allow the donor to get special access, said Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer. The ’s and close adviser, Jared Kushner, told New York business leaders on Friday that Mr. Trump’s vision for a federal infrastructure program was “closer” to Senator Chuck Schumer’s, the incoming minority leader, than to the majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell’s. Mr. Kushner made the remarks at an event hosted by the Partnership for New York City, just after an appearance by Mr. Schumer, the New York senator. This week at a news conference in Washington, Mr. McConnell said he was not interested in “ stimulus” to finance any infrastructure plan, setting up what could be the first of many clashes with a Trump White House that will not always hew to Republican orthodoxy. The Trump campaign floated a $1 trillion infrastructure plan that would depend on private investors raising money and building the projects with the aid of some form of tax credit. Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, said shortly after the election that a huge infrastructure plan would be in the offing, but the form was not clear. Democrats have long said they want an infrastructure plan that has plentiful direct federal funding, something Mr. Schumer has said repeatedly, not tax credits for rich developers. This does not excite Mr. McConnell who, like most Republicans, recalls President Obama’s early stimulus plan unfavorably. That plan came in the middle of the worst recession since the Depression. Mr. Trump inherits an economy that is healthy enough that the Federal Reserve raised interest rates Wednesday to head off overheating. The Fed has made it clear that if Mr. Trump insists on pumping money into the economy, it will hasten rate increases to stave off inflation. “We need to do this carefully and correctly, and the issue of how to pay for it needs to be dealt with responsibly,” Mr. McConnell, the Kentucky senator, said this week. Senate watchers used to the obstructionist stance that the Republican leader, Mr. McConnell, took with President Obama for eight years have been waiting for signs of the kind of minority leader that Mr. Schumer will be when he takes over as Democratic leader. The Democratic senator sent a big flashing of conciliation on Friday. Mr. Schumer praised Mr. Trump’s call with the president of Taiwan, which drew objections from both sides of the aisle, as a shrewd move that sent a signal to China of a change in direction. Mr. Schumer made the remarks at the same annual meeting of the Partnership for New York City that Mr. Kushner spoke at, according to two people in attendance. Those attendees interpreted the comments as aligning Mr. Schumer with Mr. Trump on a diplomatic issue that has been met with consternation by the Obama White House. Mr. Schumer described the call that Mr. Trump took roughly two weeks ago as shrewd, and not necessarily indicating that it was a reflection of his view of the “One China” policy, the two attendees said. An aide to Mr. Schumer did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Mr. Schumer has been a critic of China as a currency manipulator over the years. At the breakfast, where he was followed by Mr. Kushner, Mr. Schumer suggested that Democrats lost in part because the election was about a change in course, and Hillary Clinton ran as a continuation of the Obama administration’s direction. The took to Twitter on Friday to again dismiss the significance of Russia’s meddling in the election — but with a new twist. This time, he seemed to praise the revelations of one of the cyberattacks. The post seems to refer to an email stolen from the Democratic National Committee and given to WikiLeaks that came from a Democratic strategist, Donna Brazile, before a CNN Democratic primary debate in Flint, Mich. Ms. Brazile’s subject line: “One of the questions directed to HRC tomorrow is from a woman with a rash. ” “Her family has lead poison and she will ask what, if anything, will Hillary do as president to help the ppl of Flint,” Ms. Brazile wrote to John D. Podesta, the Clinton campaign chairman, and Jennifer Palmieri, the candidate’s communications director. That might seem like a pretty obvious question, given that the debate was in Flint to address the crisis over the city’s water. But it cost Ms. Brazile her commentator’s job at CNN, and it helped to fuel Mr. Trump’s accusation during the campaign that the election was “rigged” in Hillary Clinton’s favor. A new CBS News poll found that 46 percent of Americans are excited or optimistic about Donald J. Trump’s presidency, about the percentage who voted for him. But 53 percent say they are concerned or scared. With the inauguration about a month away, a solid majority — 62 percent — say the will bring real change to the way Washington works. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing probably depends on your party. Some 58 percent say they believe he will divide rather than unite people. The announcement on Thursday that David M. Friedman, Mr. Trump’s bankruptcy lawyer, would be nominated to be the United States ambassador to Israel, is likely to roil an American Jewish community that sided overwhelmingly with Hillary Clinton and is already at sea in the wake of the 2016 election. Divisions remain among Jewish people over President Obama’s policies, especially his nuclear deal with Iran. And Mr. Friedman is not likely to unify the community. Confronting the liberal Jewish group J Street, which largely opposes the policies of Israel’s conservative prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr. Friedman once leveled one of the worst insults possible to a Jew. He compared the group to kapos, the Jewish collaborators who enforced Nazi edict in the World War II concentration camps. “Are J Street supporters really as bad as kapos? The answer, actually, is no. They are far worse than kapos — Jews who turned in their fellow Jews in the Nazi death camps,” Mr. Friedman said. J Street reacted almost immediately to news of Mr. Friedman’s nomination, calling on the Senate to reject him. “As someone who has been a leading American friend of the settlement movement, who lacks any diplomatic or policy credentials and who has attacked liberal Jews who support two states as ‘worse than kapos’ Friedman should be beyond the pale for senators considering who should represent the United States in Israel,” the group said in a statement. The Republican Jewish Coalition was all praise: A Trump economic adviser, Stephen Moore, caused quite a kerfuffle in Detroit on Thursday when in a fit of excitement, he announced that the economic commentator Larry Kudlow would be named chairman of Mr. Trump’s White House Council of Economic Advisers. Mr. Kudlow, while certainly versed in economics, is not an economist. He has an undergraduate degree in history. The council chairman has traditionally been pulled from the highest echelons of academia to advise the president, not to lobby or persuade. Moreover, Mr. Kudlow is an ardent free trader and was openly critical of Mr. Trump’s position on trade during the campaign, even as he enthusiastically backed the candidate. The announcement would have also come as a surprise to Peter Navarro, a professor of economics at the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. Professor Navarro is widely considered the for the post, and his views on trade are more in line with the ’s. After the Democrats sent out their reactions, and the news media came alive, Mr. Moore sheepishly admitted that, while he is pulling for his friend Mr. Kudlow, the deal is not done. “Larry is the obvious choice, because he has all the connections with the key players on Capitol Hill, and there’s nobody that can articulate the conservative economic message better than Larry can,” he said. But he admitted he had jumped the gun. | 1 |
Did you know that Aspartame literally turns into formaldehyde and methanol inside your body?
Via AlternativeNews
It breaks down into, according to one paper, “phenylalanine (50%), aspartic acid (40%) and methanol (10%) during metabolism in the body. The excess of phenylalanine blocks the transport of important amino acids to the brain contributing to reduced levels of dopamine and serotonin.”
Video Below Well put by another paper: “Aspartame is a widely used artificial sweetener that has been linked to pediatric and adolescent migraines. Upon ingestion, aspartame is broken, converted, and oxidized into formaldehyde in various tissues.”
5 academic papers are cited in this video, showing exactly what Aspartame does to the body, including one study that plays devil’s advocate, and honestly fails.
Aspartame, as methanol can cause blindness, is linked to deterioration of vision, several cancers, and a litany of other ills. One chemical Aspartame breaks down into in your body, aspartic acid, acts as an excitotoxin.
This video explains what Aspartame really does, and how two time Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld almost single-handedly pressured the FDA into legalizing it for the pharmaceutical corporation Searle.
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Election fraud exposed on Alex Jones Show Oct. 31 2016, by Bev Harris with her "Fraction Magic" presentation on election computer fraud. http://www.infowars.com/watch-alex-jones-show/ | 0 |
President Donald Trump’s budget director Mick Mulvaney reassured supporters that the White House would build a wall, previewing it to reporters at the White House press briefing. [“We are absolutely dead serious about the wall,” Mulvaney said, calling it one of the president’s “top three” budget priorities. He pushed back against reports that said the administration was reducing funding for the border wall, pointing out that Trump’s budget was a dramatic increase in border security from the previous year. The 2017 budget included $1. 5 billion for border security and $3 billion for the Department of Homeland Security. The 2018 budget, he explained, requested $2. 6 billion and $4. 5 billion for DHS. The text of the budget specifies funds for “a physical wall” on the southern border of the United States. ”a physical wall” pic. twitter. — Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) May 23, 2017, The funding would help fund replacement wall, new wall, roads and infrastructure for the wall as well as land acquisition. The director suggested that supporters should be patient regarding the wall, noting that it was only the first step in the lengthy project. “Keep in mind, you can’t just … you don’t automatically magically build a wall in the middle of nowhere,” he said. On Monday, Mulvaney previewed a $1. 6 billion request for “actual construction. ” He described “competition” process for getting the best possible wall design for each area of the Southern border, citing prototypes that were currently being constructed. “We fully expect that different barriers will serve best in different areas,” Mulvaney said. | 1 |
Share on Facebook If you only see one astronomical event this year, make it the November supermoon, when the Moon will be the closest to Earth it's been since January 1948. During the event, which will happen on the eve of November 14, the Moon will appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than an average full moon. This is the closest the Moon will get to Earth until 25 November 2034, so you really don't want to miss this one. So how do you get a Supermoon? As NASA explains , because the Moon has an elliptical orbit, one side – called the perigee – is about 48,280 km (30,000 miles) closer to Earth than the other side (the apogee). When the Sun, the Moon, and Earth line up as the Moon orbits Earth, that’s known as syzygy. (definitely you won't remember the word) When this Earth-Moon-Sun system occurs with the perigee side of the Moon facing us, and the Moon happens to be on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, we get what's called a perigee-syzygy. That causes the Moon to appear much bigger and brighter in our sky than usual, and it's referred to as a Supermoon – or more technically, a perigee moon. Supermoons aren't all that uncommon – we just had one on October 16 , and after the November 14 super-supermoon , we'll have another one on December 14. But because the November 14 Moon becomes full within about 2 hours of perigee, it's going to look the biggest it has in nearly seven decades. “The full moon of November 14 is not only the closest full moon of 2016, but also the closest full moon to date in the 21st century,” says NASA. “The full moon won't come this close to Earth again until 25 November 2034.” Depending on where you're viewing it from, the difference between a Supermoon and a regular full moon can be stark, or difficult to tell. If the Moon is hanging high overhead, and you have no buildings or landmarks to compare it to, it can be tricky to tell that it's larger than usual. But if you're viewing from a spot where the Moon is sitting closer to the horizon, it can create what's known as ‘moon illusion’. “When the moon is near the horizon, it can look unnaturally large when viewed through trees, buildings, or other foreground objects,” says NASA. “The effect is an optical illusion, but that fact doesn't take away from the experience.” Here Are A Couple Of Incredible Supermoon Photos: The full moon silhouettes the statue of the Virgin Mary on top the University of Notre Dame's golden dome on Monday, Sept. 8, 2014, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/South Bend Tribune, Robert Franklin) The Supermoon rises over houses in Olvera, in the southern Spanish province of Cadiz, July 12, 2014. Occurring when a full moon or new moon coincides with the closest approach the moon makes to the Earth, the Supermoon results in a larger-than-usual appearance of the lunar disk. (REUTERS/Jon Nazca) You'll have some awesome opportunities to take pictures with your phone overnight, but if you want to see it at its absolute biggest, it's expected to reach the peak of its full phase on the morning of November 14 at 8:52am EST (1352 GMT). For those of you in Australia, you'll need to wait until November 15 to see it, and the Moon will hit its full phase at 12:52am AEST. Here's A Taste Of What's To Come: Related: | 0 |
« Previous - Next » According to activity on Facebook Donald Trump will sweep 42 of 50 states in this election!
For weeks now all that has been posted with regards to the Presidential election is the lead that Hillary Clinton holds against Republican challenger Donald Trump. The mainstream press leads each day with an article or two on how Donald Trump has no electoral path to the White House. Could the political predictors working for the major networks and newspapers all be wrong?
Yes, they are completely wrong, and wrong based on a basic and simple fact not being factored into their forgone conclusion. The fact being ignored is Donald Trump is winning the battle fought on the social media battleground. When
Analyzed properly, it is clear that Donald Trump is getting all the attention on Facebook. Granted about half the comments he receives are positive, but Hillary Clinton's comments are almost entirely on the negative end of the commentary spectrum.
Based on a thorough analysis of the Facebook chatter, it is predicted that Donald Trump will win 42 of the 50 states, including New York. This outcome is not only a landslide but an outright slaughter. Also understand that much of this data has been accrued before Hillary Clinton's current issues surfacing such as the Project Veritas Videos showing the DNC cheating machine in motion, the Wiki-leaks revelations, and the FBI reopening of the investigation of Hillary Clinton passing classified information on her private email server. All these scandals combined will only further erode any support she might find among the truly undecided .
Another factor not being widely explained is that many of the polls affording Hillary Clinton her huge lead are also over sampling both Democrats and Independents. It is also not clear with regards to the learning of the Independents which is more likely than not, left of center. It will take a lot of dead voters and stuffed ballot boxes to bring Hillary Clinton close to the victory predicted by the mainstream media.
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.@SpeakerRyan: President Trump will have the funding to build the wall, and he already has the authorization to do it pic. twitter. Thursday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox Friends,” House Speaker Paul Ryan explained that President Donald Trump already has the authorization to build a wall on the U. S. border. But he added Congress also be giving him the funding to build the wall as well. “We have already authorized this, meaning the law was passed almost 10 years ago,” Ryan said. “And then we will give the financing to Secretary Kelly and the border security plan. So, it’s really up to them as to how fast they can execute this policy. I think that’s great. He’s the kind of guy that can get this sort of thing done. He will have the funding to do it and he already has the authorization to do it. ” Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor | 1 |
PokeTheTruth on November 15, 2016 · at 6:39 pm UTC
President-elect Trump has much to learn and do but he needs the right people in his administration. The people “in the know” are the ones that must engage with Mr. Trump now, before it’s too late.
I want to share a letter written by an anonymous American to the editors of the American Conservative website.
Title: Isn’t Anyone Going to Step Up?
Dear American Conservative,
I’ll be brief. President-elect Trump is looking for a few good men for his cabinet and other key staffing positions. See: : https://www.greatagain.gov/serve-america.html .
As you know, the president-elect is surrounded by militarists who wear a political cloak known as neo-conservatism, a.k.a. “neocons”. They are standard bearers for globalism and the new world order. They use the Pentagon’s Department of War as the overt mechanism to enforce their agenda of what I call the “3-B” foreign policy: Bribing other nations with financial and military aid, Bullying them with economic sanctions when those countries reject the demand of fealty and Bombing their resistance into submission.
Bribing, Bullying and Bombing is a perversion of statesmanship and must end as America’s platform for relations with other nations.
What Mr. Trump is currently presented with are Washington beltway insiders and career bureaucratic policy makers. These are NOT the people to be part of his new administration. The brain trust he needs are people like you conservatives, who can think and reason with an intelligentsia based upon commonsense and reason founded in the core of federal republicanism.
My own grandfather and father came to America not because of government subsidies or nationalistic fervor wrapped around a false sense of patriotism, nor for the many freedoms guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. They came for what Lady Liberty offered with open arms; the opportunity for a better life. My father prospered by working hard, not by scheming to demand the wealth of others.
Mr. Jon Basil Utley wrote this excellent article about John Bolton (see: http://www.theamericanconserva … ).
I ask Mr. Utley to do more, to consider filling out an application to serve in Mr. Trump’s administration. In fact, all you men should step up and submit your C.V. and get an interview. At least one of you might get face time to explain why these militarists (i.e., neocons) are the most dangerous plotters and planners of planetary chaos and must not be hired but instead purged from all forums of power that influence the federal government.
There are many well-educated people in the field of economics, commerce, healthcare, foreign relations, etc. who have never served in a presidential administration and most likely have no interest in doing so. This is understandable. But if there ever was a time that good men such as yourselves were needed by America, it is now. Please think about it, what it would mean to the country, what it would mean to yourselves and posterity.
In the 18th century, a group of men became known as the founding fathers of the federal republic. Those men have passed on and that is why our nation needs new visionaries to guide her back on the right path. Become more than your current station in life; the writers of prose on paper. Become the 21st century paladins to carry on the principles of equal justice under the rule of law, of civil society founded in representative democracy, of prosperity and peace, awaiting in the womb of hope to be born again. | 0 |
Disney is refusing, thus far, to buckle to hackers’ ransomware demands to return the new edition of Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. [Deadline Hollywood reported that Disney CEO Bob Iger has gone to the FBI, rather than pay a huge amount of Bitcoins to the ransomware hackers to recover the latest Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. The first several episodes generated $3. 75 billion at the box office. The WannaCrypt virus, better known as “WannaCry,” over the weekend at the rate of about 5, 000 computers an hour. It exploited known vulnerabilities of servers running Microsoft software that had not been updated with the existing Windows Defender’s security patch, or are so old they are no longer supported. The WannaCry ransomware also exploits a Microsoft Server Message Block (SMB) vulnerability developed by the U. S. National Security Agency and disclosed on Twitter last month by the infamous ShadowBrokers hacker auction site. Cybersecurity Ventures estimated financial losses at about $4 billion, before Disney late last night confirmed to ABC employees that the movie was being held hostage. Hollywood’s other big media property caught up in the WannaCry ransomware hack is Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. Huge corporations like Disney and Netflix employ very sophisticated security professionals and spend big bucks to license software. But the thousands of financially struggling creative individuals, and hundreds of small specialized vendors, who service the media giants lack appropriate security tools, which is providing criminals with an open door to steal intellectual property treasures. Despite estimated global corporate investment plans to spend $1 trillion on computer security over the next four years, annual cybercrime losses are expected to grow from $3 trillion in 2015 to a $6 trillion a year in 2021. Global damage from the WannaCry virus was limited after a researcher at Malware Tech accidentally discovered a “kill switch” over the weekend. | 1 |
Monday on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( ) said the Senate’s work on the healthcare reform bill “will not be quick, or simple, or easy. ” McConnell said, “We can continue with the status quo under Obamacare, and we know what that looks like. It means even higher premiums, even fewer choices, even more insurance companies pulling out, even more uncertainty and even more chaos. To those who have suffered enough already, my message is this, we hear you, and Congress is acting. I commend the House and the administration for making this important advance last week. Now the Senate will do its work. The administration will also continue doing its part to deliver relief and stabilize the health markets as best it can. The process will not be quick, or simple, or easy. But it must be done. It is the least both parties owe to countless Americans who suffer under Obamacare and will continue to suffer if we do not act. ” ( The Hill) Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
Email
Former President Bill Clinton can be heard telling his former mistress, Gennifer Flowers, to deny that he helped her get a state job in a series of recorded phone conversation from 1991.
“If they ever asked if you’d talked to me about it, you can say no,” Clinton is heard saying in the recording.
At the time, the media was making inquiries about Flowers’ alleged affair with Clinton, and she was concerned that they may question how she got a job as administrative assistant for the Arkansas Appeal Tribunal.
Clinton can also be heard telling Flowers how to handle a grievance filed by soemone else who applied for the same positioned and claimed she was more qualified than Flowers.
Flowers famously recorded a series of conversation she had with Clinton from December 1990 to December 1991, while he was still Governor of Arkansas. The audio segments about the state job were widely reported in the 1990’s, however, as other pay-for-play financial scandals have surfaced, the details may warrant revisiting.
Here is a transcript of part of the recording:
GF – But anyway, then Wednesday, there was a grievance filed in my office when I got the job by a girl who felt like she should have gotten it, a black girl named (deleted). And they called me as a witness. So I go in and uh, nothing big came of it. It’s just that they were questioning me about how I found out about the job. And I said, “Well, that personnel said it that it was a possibility there would be a position,” and then uh, “they told me that it would be advertised in the newspaper. And it was and I pursued it from there.
BC – Good for you.
GF: Yeah. We had a little bit of a scare recently because she had a spot on an X-ray. And she went and had it checked again and it wasn’t cancer. And it’s been almost, it’ll be two years in May that she’s now diagnosed cancer free. My stepfather has been through two angioplasties, but he’s doing good. And I am, I’m really, Bill what I’m afraid of is that if somebody in the press finds out that I’m working for the state.
BC – Yeah.
GF – They’re going to make a big deal of it.
BC – Yeah.
GF – Well the only thing that concerns me, where I’m, where I’m concerned at this point is the state job.
BC – Yeah. I never thought about that, but as long as you say you’ve just been looking for one, you’d uh, check on it. If they ever asked if you’d talked to me about it, you can say no. | 0 |
Home | World | Globe Still Has Two Months Under Obama Globe Still Has Two Months Under Obama By Satyrus Venge 19/11/2016 10:19:51
Solitudinem fecerunt, pacem appelunt
LONDON – England – Whenever extreme leftists lose an election, there are many prices to be paid as the vindictive sore losers create a maelstrom on the way out.
Socialists do not believe in fair play, and they destroy as much as they can whilst they are in the last days of power.
This scorched earth policy was witnessed in the last days of the Gordon Brown prime ministership in which he succeeded in burning the UK’s economy bringing it to the very brink of extension.
As for referendums and other votes by the people, these are not honoured by socialists unless the results go their way. We can see what is happening today with the EU referendum, a vote that was conclusively for Brexit by 17.5 million people, 52% of the electorate. The vicious bad sportsmanship of socialists and Marxists are being witnessed now with illegal judicial trickery and they are doing everything in their power to derail the decision.
There is no such thing as fair play or honour when it comes to these devout socialists who employ every dirty trick in their arsenal to back stab, renege on previous promises or legitimate democratic votes.
They are not men of honour, they instead utilise nasty underhand cowardly techniques to destabilise and engender a scorched earth policy, all the while, whining and moaning with a collective droning sound.
So, the next two months will be another example of nasty socialism that has lost, another example of how socialists use their power to punish those who voted against them. These disgusting, vile creatures will do everything now to get you, the populace who had enough of their control freakery, their underhand techniques, and their never ceasing effort to halt freedom of speech, freedom of expression and general human freedom.
Only stunted morons of the lowest intelligence cannot distinguish satire from fake news, but these are people without any sense of justice, or literary knowledge, they do not care as long as their agenda punishes those who fight for freedom. bono vinci satius est quam almo more iniuriam vincere A good man would rather suffer defeat than defeat another by foul means (Sallust)
The Daily Squib says to these uncouth vagabonds, these lowly turgid vipers splattering their poisonous inhibitive wares of excrement onto the halls of true satire, an indominitable force, which has survived for thousands of years — you are nothing.
You will be left with nothing, for you are inconsequential, you are irrelevant, you will not be remembered, you will be forgotten in the sands of time, lesser than excrement, or turds that align your ideology of dishonour and hatred for purity.
You will perish without having achieved anything, without even a speck of true creativity or reason, you will be erased from the universe, imploded, and fucked for eternity, for your ill-will, your duplicitous lies will follow you into the deepest depths of the hatred you have created.
A profound Fuck You follows you to your graves, and may history erase your awful memory forever a stain on the collective conscience of humanity. | 0 |
WASHINGTON — Republican leaders began to abandon Donald J. Trump by the dozens on Saturday after the release of a video showing him speaking of women in vulgar sexual terms, delivering a punishing blow to his campaign and plunging the party into crisis a month before the election. Fearing that his candidacy was on the verge of undermining the entire Republican ticket next month, a group of senators and House members withdrew support for him, with some demanding that he step aside. Mr. Trump, however, vowed to stay in the race. The list of party figures publicly rejecting Mr. Trump included a host of prominent elected officials, perhaps most notably Senator John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 nominee. “I thought it important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set,” Mr. McCain said in a statement. “But Donald Trump’s behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy. ” And in an rebuke by a running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, the Republican candidate, declined to appear on Mr. Trump’s behalf at a party gathering in Wisconsin and offered him something of an ultimatum on Saturday afternoon. Mr. Pence said in a statement that he was “offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump” in the video, and cast Mr. Trump’s second debate with Hillary Clinton, on Sunday, as an urgent moment to turn around the campaign. “I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them,” Mr. Pence said, adding, “We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night. ” By Saturday evening, no fewer than 36 Republican members of Congress and governors who had not previously ruled out supporting Mr. Trump disavowed his candidacy, an unprecedented desertion by the institutional Republican Party of its own just a month before Election Day. The growing wall of opposition recalled the determination of the party establishment this year to deny Mr. Trump the nomination in the first place. He easily swatted away that effort, but Mr. Trump now finds himself in a far more precarious state. Facing a more vast and diverse electorate, his lightly organized campaign was already listing before the videotape was released. Aides described Mr. Trump as shaken, watching news coverage of the video with a mix of disbelief and horror. Shortly after midnight, he had released a videotaped statement, saying, “I’ve said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a video are one of them. ” In a brief telephone interview on Saturday, he shrugged off the calls to leave, saying he would “never drop out of this race in a million years. ” “I haven’t heard from anyone saying I should drop out, and that would never happen, never happen,” Mr. Trump said. “That’s not the kind of person I am. I am in this until the end. ” Far from sounding rattled, Mr. Trump insisted that he could still prevail in November. “Oh, yeah, we can win — we will win,” he said. “We have tremendous support. I think a lot of people underestimate how loyal my supporters are. ” A couple of hours later, the campaign released a statement from his wife, Melania. “The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me,” she said. “This does not represent the man that I know. ” “I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world,” she said. But the situation had grown so dire that many in the party were all but pleading with him to withdraw and let Mr. Pence serve as the presidential nominee. On Saturday afternoon, Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the chairman of the Republican Conference, became the most senior Republican to call on Mr. Trump to make way for Mr. Pence. The exodus began late Friday night when a handful of Utah Republicans who said they would support Mr. Trump indicated that they could no longer tolerate their nominee. But it was not until a pair of conservative women, Representatives Barbara Comstock of Virginia and Martha Roby of Alabama, implored Mr. Trump to withdraw that previously hesitant Republicans stepped forward to reject Mr. Trump’s candidacy. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire was the first Republican senator facing a competitive to say she would no longer back Mr. Trump, announcing in a statement that she would write in Mr. Pence for president instead. “I’m a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women,” she wrote on Twitter. Ms. Ayotte was joined just hours later by Mr. McCain, who is also running for and Representative Joe Heck of Nevada, who is locked in a close race for the Senate seat now held by Harry Reid, the Democratic minority leader, who is retiring. It was an admission that Mr. Trump now posed an immediate threat to their own candidacies and that, to have any chance to survive, they had to risk angering his ardent supporters. At a party gathering on Saturday in Wisconsin, Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who had disinvited Mr. Trump and said he was “sickened” by the video, was greeted with a few boos, and Mr. Heck was both jeered and applauded when he announced to a crowd in Nevada that he was not backing the presidential nominee. Mr. Ryan told his crowd he would not be discussing “the elephant in the room,” the 2005 video showing a bus that had Mr. Trump aboard, and included an audio recording of him privately bantering with other men. Mr. Trump, then newly married to Ms. Trump, crassly boasted about groping women’s genitals, vulgarly commented on their bodies and generally described women as sex objects who could not resist his advances. In his video statement released early Saturday, Mr. Trump said: “Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize. ” “I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never, ever let you down,” he added, before ending the message with a promise to bring up the sex scandals of Bill Clinton’s presidency and Hillary Clinton’s response to them. Inside Trump Tower, though, Mr. Trump’s defiant public responses belied the reality of a period in which he was alternately angry and distressed, according to two people with direct knowledge of his behavior who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. Mr. Trump and his Jared Kushner, initially expressed skepticism upon hearing that such a recording existed, saying those comments did not sound like him. When Mr. Trump heard the tape played, he acknowledged it was him, but he believed the fallout would not be dramatic. Mr. Pence, however, was dismayed, and called into Trump headquarters on Friday night to urge Mr. Trump to apologize. On Saturday morning, Mr. Pence called Mr. Trump and told him he had to handle the next 48 hours alone because he did not think he would be an effective surrogate. Mr. Trump, after monitoring television coverage, realized he was becoming isolated by his party. Mr. Trump’s aides did not explicitly ask top advisers and allies to do their usual defense of Mr. Trump’s comments, according to one person briefed on the discussions, but they did ask people to stand by his side. A few supporters did, including Ben Carson the conservative radio host Laura Ingraham and Robert and Rebekah Mercer, the wealthy father and daughter who are perhaps Mr. Trump’s most important backers, and who said in a statement that they considered the video “locker room braggadocio. ” “America is finally fed up and disgusted with its political elite,” they said. “Trump is channeling this disgust, and those among the political elite who quake before the boombox of media blather do not appreciate the apocalyptic choice that America faces on Nov. 8. ” Two of Mr. Trump’s most prominent supporters — Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York — went to Trump Tower around noon to huddle with Mr. Trump and try to get in some debate preparation. In the afternoon, more damaging news hit the web and cable television, with a CNN report on the numerous lewd and tasteless comments he had made over the years on “The Howard Stern Show. ” Just before 5 p. m. Mr. Trump emerged for about five minutes, briskly striding through his gilded lobby to a waiting crowd of supporters on the sidewalk. He pumped his right fist in the air as fans surrounded him. “Hundred percent,” Mr. Trump told reporters who yelled questions about whether he would stay in the race. Mr. Pence flew from Indianapolis to a event in Rhode Island, where he told supporters that the election was about more than “one man,” said Joseph A. Trillo, the chairman of Mr. Trump’s campaign in the state. Over hors d’oeuvres in a Newport mansion, Mr. Pence offered a pep talk without making direct mention of the day’s dire events. “He used the terminology that it’s a movement and it’s bigger than Donald Trump,” Mr. Trillo said. At the same time, leading Republicans were demanding that the Republican National Committee, which has been helping the Trump campaign financially and organizationally, abandon Mr. Trump and turn its attention to salvaging other candidates down the ballot. Representative Charlie Dent, Republican of Pennsylvania, said the committee should no longer “defend the indefensible. ” He called on Reince Priebus, the party chairman, to force Mr. Trump off the ticket — or face the consequences. “The chairman of the R. N. C. must look out for the good of the party as a whole, so he should be working to get him to step down,” Mr. Dent said. “If he can’t, then he should step down. ” The committee remained silent on Saturday as members of Congress began fleeing from Mr. Trump, not responding to news media inquiries and, senior Republican officials said, not coordinating with other campaign organizations. However, one senior Republican official said Mr. Priebus was deeply distressed. He went to Trump Tower in the afternoon to talk to Mr. Trump. Powerful donors and business interests signaled that they would redirect their attention to candidates. Republican power brokers had hoped until recently that Mr. Trump might make a credible showing in the presidential election, aiding the party in its other crucial races. But Republicans now say that their worst fears have come to pass, as Mr. Trump has unraveled in a series of missteps after his first debate with Mrs. Clinton. Even before Mr. Trump’s 2005 comments came to light, internal Republican polling showed him losing ground among three groups that had long been wary of his candidacy: independents, women, and voters with college degrees. That slide is likely to accelerate now, Republicans said, potentially sending voters fleeing toward Democrats or convincing them that they should stay home on Nov. 8. Either outcome would be ruinous for Republican candidates beyond the presidential race. “It will be difficult in the extreme for him to recover from this, but the biggest impact is likely to be its effect on all the races,” said Fred Malek, the finance chairman of the Republican Governors Association, who called Mr. Trump’s comments “beyond disgusting. ” “If they pull the plug on support for Trump,” he said, “the vast majority of voters will certainly understand that and most will respect it. ” | 1 |
By seizing the Republican presidential nomination for Donald J. Trump on Tuesday night, he and his millions of supporters completed what had seemed unimaginable: a hostile takeover of one of America’s two major political parties. Just as stunning was how quickly the host tried to reject them. The party’s two living former presidents spurned Mr. Trump, a number of sitting governors and senators expressed opposition or ambivalence toward him, and he drew a forceful rebuke from the single most powerful and popular rival left on the Republican landscape: the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan. Rarely if ever has a party seemed to come apart so visibly. Rarely, too, has the nation been so on edge about its politics. Many Americans still cannot believe that the bombastic Mr. Trump, best known as a reality television star, will be on the ballot in November. Plenty are also anxious about what he would do in office. But for leading Republicans, the dismay is deeper and darker. They fear their party is on the cusp of an epochal split — a historic cleaving between the familiar form of conservatism forged in the 1960s and popularized in the 1980s and a rekindled, atavistic nationalism, with roots as old as the republic, that has not flared up so intensely since the original America First movement before Pearl Harbor. Some even point to France and other European countries, where parties like the National Front have gained power because of the sort of resentments that are frequently given voice at rallies for Mr. Trump. Yet if keeping the peace means embracing Mr. Trump and his most divisive ideas and utterances, a growing number are loath to do it. The ties between Republican elites — elected officials, donors and Washington insiders — and voters have actually been fraying for years. Traditional power brokers long preached conservatism and wanted to pursue an immigration overhaul, entitlement cuts, free trade and a hawkish foreign policy, and nominees like John McCain and Mitt Romney largely embraced that agenda. Republican leaders also vilified President Obama and Democrats, stoking anger with conservatives. Many Republican voters trudged along with those earlier nominees, but never became truly animated until Mr. Trump offered them his brand of angry populism: a blend of protectionism at home and a smaller American footprint abroad. And he was able to exploit their resentments and frustrations because those same Republican leaders had been nurturing those feelings for years with attacks on Mr. Obama, Democrats, illegal immigrants and others. Mr. Trump, with his steadfast promises to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally and to build a wall with Mexico, may have done irreversible damage to his general election prospects. But he quickly earned the trust that so many of those voters had lost in other fixtures of America — not just in its leaders, but in institutions like Congress, the Federal Reserve and the campaign finance system that Mr. Trump has repudiated, as well as in corporations, the Roman Catholic Church and the news media. And he has amplified his independent, outsider message in real time, using social media and cable news interviews — and his own celebrity and highly attuned ear for what resonates — to rally voters to his side, using communication strategies similar to those deployed in the Arab Spring uprising or in the attempts by liberals and students to foment a similar revolution in Iran. “Trump leveraged a perfect storm,” said Steve Case, the founder of AOL, in an email message. “A combo of social media (big following) brand (celebrity figure) creativity (pithy tweets) (dominating news cycles). ” Mr. Trump is an unlikely spokesman for the grievances of financially struggling, alienated Americans: a Manhattan billionaire who erects skyscrapers for the wealthy and can easily get politicians on the phone. But as a shrewd business tactician, he understood the Republican Party’s customers better than its leaders did and sensed that his brand of populist, pugilistic, politics would meet their needs. After seething at Washington for so long, hundreds or thousands of miles from the capital, many of these voters now see Mr. Trump as a kind of savior. Even if he does not detail his policies, even if his language strikes them as harsh sometimes, his supporters thrill more to his slogans like “Make America Great Again” than to what they see as the cautious and policy speeches of Mr. Ryan and other Washington Republicans. “I love the death out of Paul Ryan, but honestly, I’m going to vote for Trump anyways,” said David Myers, 49, who attended a campaign rally for Mr. Trump in Charleston, W. Va. on Thursday night. “Because Paul Ryan, and I love him to death, but he’s one of those career politicians. ” Mr. Trump now feels so empowered that he does not think he needs the political support of the party establishment to defeat the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. He is confident that his appeal will be broad and deep enough among voters of all stripes that he could win battleground states like Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania without the support of leaders like Mr. Ryan, Mr. Trump said in an interview on Saturday. Although he plans to meet with Mr. Ryan and House Republican leaders on Thursday, Mr. Trump said he would not materially change his policies or style to win their endorsements. “Everything is subject to negotiation, but I can’t and won’t be changing much, because the voters support me because of what I’m saying and how I’m saying it,” Mr. Trump said. “The establishment didn’t do anything to make me the nominee, so its support won’t really make much difference in me winning in November. ” (Mr. Trump will, though, be somewhat dependent on the party’s muscle since he has indicated he will not fully his general election campaign.) One reason Mr. Trump takes a skeptical view of establishment support is that he does not believe much in the power of the Republican elite. He is the party’s presumptive nominee, after all, because the political forces that once might have halted his rise have been enfeebled. Leaders such as Mr. Romney warned in the direst terms that Mr. Trump’s nomination would stain the party and lead it to ruin. Venerable media outlets on the right, like National Review, sought to reprise their role as arbiters of who is fit to carry the banner of conservatism. Their pleas fell on deaf ears. Mr. Trump’s arsenal was far more fearsome. Combining fame and an demagogy, he bypassed the ossified gatekeepers and appealed directly to voters through a constant Twitter stream that seemed interrupted only by television appearances. In doing so, he seemed to grasp that a new twist on direct democracy was in the offing: that disaffected voters who tune out the traditional modes of political communication might be reachable through their smartphones, and Twitter messages or Reddits might be more relevant to those voters than the findings of a more scientific poll. On the left, too, Senator Bernie Sanders has built his own movement with millions of voters, and $210 million in by using online tools as simple as email to seek support. Yet Mr. Trump’s celebrity has been an enormous asset with voters who feel gratified and inspired that he would lavish them with attention and bluntly express some of the ideas and attitudes they share. For 12 consecutive years, polls have indicated that Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, and Republicans have been especially vulnerable to a political campaign like Mr. Trump’s that seeks to channel voter anger. In every state where the question was asked in exit polls during the primary season, 50 percent or more of Republicans said they felt betrayed by their leaders. The adhesive that once held Republicans together — a shared commitment to a strong national defense and limited government — was weakened by the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. But internal divisions were papered over when new, unifying threats emerged after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. It was not until near the end of President George W. Bush’s second term that those fissures broke open again, first with Mr. Bush’s attempt at an immigration overhaul, including a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and then after the financial rescue of big banks from the 2008 financial collapse. Alongside the turbulent economy were signs of something more profound plaguing white communities, which have increasingly become core Republican constituencies: an increase in children born to single parents, higher rates of addiction and suicide, and shortened average life spans. “The economic deprivation of the last 30 years for whites, combined with growing social isolation, was really dry tinder,” said Robert D. Putnam, the Harvard political scientist who wrote “Bowling Alone. ” And Mr. Trump, Mr. Putnam contended, “lit a spark. ” “He constructed a series of scapegoats that these folks would find plausible,” said Mr. Putnam, citing Mr. Trump’s attacks on Muslims and immigrants. “He was willing to say things that might have always been popular, but you couldn’t say it. ” With Mr. Trump now saying it loudly and clearly, many Americans feel deeply unsettled by the nation’s politics. Not since Mr. Bush invaded Iraq have so many liberals been murmuring about moving to other countries. And many Republican officials and donors just hope to get through the election with their party intact. “The party has never been more out of touch with our voters,” Vin Weber, a former Minnesota congressman, said of the two factions, acknowledging that Republicans could splinter completely after this election. “I don’t know how you reconcile a lot of them. ” Mr. Weber expressed hope that Mr. Trump and Mr. Ryan would find some common ground. But few in the party now deny that the threat of an enduring split is real. “I think there’s a pretty clear Trump wing of the party coming to life,” said Barry Wynn, a prominent who supported Jeb Bush for president and has not yet fallen in behind Mr. Trump. “But I have to think that four or eight years from now, the Trump wing will be a little more traditional, a little less and will be blended into the party just like the evangelical Pat Robertson voters were after the 1988 election. ” “At least,” he added, “I hope that’s what’ll happen. ” | 1 |
Behind the headlines - conspiracies, cover-ups, ancient mysteries and more. Real news and perspectives that you won't find in the mainstream media. Browse: Home / Election Mirrors War between Masonic Factions Essential Reading Bloody Bill Clinton – American Caligula By wmw_admin on September 1, 2006
The real legacy of Clinton’s term of office: the chilling body count of those connected with him, who died in unusual or suspicious circumstances Hellstorm – Exposing The Real Genocide of Nazi Germany (Full Documentary) By wmw_admin on May 10, 2015
What happened in the aftermath of World War II has been one of the darkest and best kept secrets in world history. Letter from James Abourezk, former US Senator from South Dakota to Jeff Blankfort on the Israel Lobby By wmw_admin on December 8, 2006
More than being an insider’s confirmation of the power of the pro-Israel lobby over Congress, the former US Senator’s letter also calls into question Noam Chomsky’s increasingly suspect looking motives Adam Weishaupt By wmw_admin on June 29, 2005
The founding of the Illuminati and one of the key players behind the genesis of the New World Order This Will Shock You To The Core: 9/11 from Cheney to Mossad By wmw_admin on September 13, 2015
Rebekah Roth has uncovered new “bombshell” evidence relating to Dick Cheney, Israeli art students, Mossad bomb experts and 9/11 Dov Zakheim 9/11 Mastermind Video By wmw_admin on May 15, 2010
Using legal injunctions, Dov Zakheim’s lawyers forced this website to remove an article we posted with the same title; which tells us he may have something to hide. Seems like others also think so as this video indicates. Watch it while you still can An oldie White Zimbabwean has her say By wmw_admin on January 7, 2009
A human story from the hellhole Zimbabwe has become – with the West’s acquiescence of course. For although Western leaders may criticise him publicly, they opened the way for Mugabe’s ascent to power, just as they did with Saddam | 0 |
Back in June, three days after Donald Trump announced his candidacy, I predicted that the most mischievous pranksters on the internet would rally around him — and that they’d represent a significant electoral and cultural force. [I predicted that his campaign would focus on trolling the lazy, entitled Establishment elites the American people hate so much. I predicted this combination of sass would prove almost impossible for feeble opponents like Jeb Bush to overcome. As always, I was right. By the way, regular readers of this column will know how much I hate to toot my own horn, but I also predicted Trump would perform well with blacks. Polling shows him at anywhere between 12 and 25 per cent with black voters in a general election with Clinton. That’s more than double what the GOP normally achieves. Trump’s supporters have treated the campaign as one long trollfest. First Jeb, then Marco and finally Lyin’ Ted all stumbled and fell before the chaotic power of Trump’s troll army. Facing a hilarious combination of YouTube remixes, and Photoshop mashups, Trump’s opponents were subjected to ridicule from the cultural powerhouses of the web. The internet made them look stupid. The internet made them look weak. And what begins on and leaks out into Twitter has a way of colouring media coverage and, ultimately, public perception, even among people who don’t frequent message boards. TV commentators often talk about Trump’s preternatural power to indelibly “brand” his opponents, from “ ” Jeb to “Little” Marco and “lying” Ted. No matter how crude and simplistic the labels, they always seems to stick, dumbfounding political observers who are used to candidates competing for the “high road. ” The strategy of GOP bigwigs appears to be: “lose badly, but remain virtuous. ” The power of Trump’s branding is partly down to the media’s hunger for drama, and partly thanks to his business acumen — but it’s also in large part due to his internet supporters, who have an uncanny ability to create and popularise cultural tropes. Or, as we on the internet have come to know them, memes. Part of this involves taking Trump’s campaign victories, his slogans, and his “brands” and using the power of the web to amplify them. Trump’s repeated humiliations of Jeb Bush were overlaid online with Sad Romance, an tragic violin tune that was already a web meme. “Little” Marco, of course, like another but diminutive conservative figure, was repeatedly photoshopped to make him look like a dwarf. Meanwhile, YouTube sensation “Can’t Stump The Trump” (whose name, naturally, was a nod to an Trump meme) has attracted more than 5 million views on YouTube just by remixing Trump’s debate performances, adding air horn noises whenever the candidate scores a particularly effective zinger. Trump’s pledge to “build the wall” has also been seized upon by the internet. Countless jokes, GIFs and videos can now be found around the web dedicated solely to the Great Wall of Trump. This meme has gone so viral, it still gets the biggest cheers at Trump rallies. Establishment types no doubt think this is all silly, schoolyard stuff. And it is. But it’s also effective. And it’s not just effective with the young ‘uns, either. Older generations may not be as as millennials, but it doesn’t take them long to catch on. One of our staffers’ old parents enjoyed Can’t Stump The Trump so much that they watched five of the videos . Meme propaganda is funny, memorable, persuasive — and it works. Still, the Establishment doesn’t care. They’d rather take the high road and lose than go down in the dirt and win. Well, they’re getting what they wanted! Trump’s internet army did more than just riff on his media performances, of course. The relationship between the candidate and his mischievous internet brigade is deeply symbiotic. As well as reacting to Trump and the campaign, the internet has created and popularised its own memes, sometimes out of thin air. Take the hilarious, infamous comparison of Ted Cruz to the Zodiac Killer. Although it was started by a progressive on Twitter, it was popularised by Trump supporters. Before long, the meme made its way out of obscure internet communities and into the national media. It got so bad that Heidi Cruz actually had to respond to the rumour, telling voters a day before the Indiana primary that “my husband is not the Zodiac Killer!” In another case of a meme reaching the real world, during his victory speech in Indiana, Trump himself referenced the “Trump Train” — a meme that had been created and popularised by the internet. For web trolls, having one of their pranks garner national attention is the Holy Grail. They call it “meme magic” — when web memes become so influential they start to affect events. Trump’s candidacy affords the internet the ability to do so virtually every day. No wonder they love him. Other memes are out there just for the fun of it, but they still help to cement Trump’s reputation as an engine of chaos. There are depictions of Trump as the “God Emperor” of Warhammer: 40, 000 mythology. There are depictions of Trump as Pepe the Frog, one of the ’s most popular memes. The internet had a minor heart attack when Trump retweeted one such depiction from his Twitter account — along with a link to a Can’t Stump The Trump video. ”@codyave: @drudgereport @BreitbartNews @Writeintrump ”You Can’t Stump the Trump” https: . pic. twitter. ” — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2015, The mirthful, prankish nature of Trump’s young supporters was revealed again in the closing hours of Ted Cruz’s campaign, when Cruz made the mistake of trying to engage them directly. The university debate champ no doubt expected to have a heated, but ultimately with Trump’s supporters. But they were playing an entirely different game. He received a stream of memes and ridicule instead. Arguing with denizens of Twitter and internet forums is almost always a losing proposition, as Cruz would know if there were anyone on his campaign team who understood the culture. . @tedcruz crosses the street to confront @realDonaldTrump backers on the sidewalk https: . — Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) May 3, 2016, Elsewhere, a Bernie supporter — another constituency which enjoys a particularly young and effective web presence — offered Cruz a handshake before rapidly withdrawing it and yelling that the candidate “looks like a fish monster. ” Juvenile? Yes. But the kids know this stuff will go viral. The press laps it up. And voters at home don’t want to associate with candidates who keep showing up as the butt of the joke. WATCH: Protester fakes out Ted Cruz with handshake, tells him he looks like a fish monster: https: . https: . — Good Morning America (@GMA) May 3, 2016, Before he bombed out, Cruz tried to tread into meme territory himself with a cringeworthy video of Simpsons impressions. It might have scored points with young voters, oh, say 15 years ago. It didn’t work. Cruz, bless him, was so terminally unhip that he fed the Trump meme brigades on a daily basis. While not as as the disastrous Jeb, he certainly wasn’t Mr. Smooth. From not helping Carly Fiorina up after her fall on a campaign stop in Indiana, to accidentally elbowing his wife in the face twice after his concession speech, there was always something awkward about the oleaginous Cruz. There are some people who are at one with the web, and Cruz wasn’t one of them. I knew little of meme culture before 2014, but after we discovered each other, it wasn’t long before I became a walking, living, breathing meme myself. I don’t know if Donald Trump spends time thinking about 4chan, but he has a character and a style that is perfectly in tune with what the web’s miscreants are looking for. And it’s clear from his Twitter account and speeches that he knows what’s going on and enjoys it. Among the Republican field, Trump was the only candidate who enjoyed a base of support that was truly . He combined Ron Paul’s strange ability to mobilise the internet’s meme brigades with an unstumpable media profile. Caught between the hammer of Trump’s media machine and the anvil of his online troll army, The Donald’s opponents never stood a chance. Trump understands the internet, and the internet might just propel him into the White House. Meme magic is real. Follow Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) on Twitter and Facebook. Android users can download Milo Alert! to be notified about new articles when they are published. Hear him every Friday on The Milo Yiannopoulos Show. Write to Milo at milo@breitbart. com. | 1 |
Waking Times
Black Friday is here, November 25th, 2016, the day after Thanksgiving. People are literally killing each other and fights are breaking out in many places, while people shop for consumer goods that can be purchased on any other day, or even online. Billions of dollars will be spent on non-edible goods today in a telling display of cultural insanity.
This is the sort of thing happening right now: Welcome to the Modesto mall… pic.twitter.com/IWWfMJh5lj
— Frankryan (@FrankryanM) November 25, 2016
Black Friday has been pushed onto the public by retail associations with the help of corporate media, and the cultural phenomenon is spreading to many countries around the world. People go for it, they love it. They are part of something. There will be publicity and drama and intrigue. It will be on TV. The world will be watching, so get out there and be insane.
But why? Why do people behave this way?
Is it really to save money? No. Better deals can be found before and after Black Friday , this is no secret, and if money were really the issue, people would shop online to find better deals while also saving their time and gas.
Are the available goods hard to get? No. The same crap is always for sale everywhere, and we’re not talking about food here. There is no food shortage right now. None of this necessary.
Is it about enjoying a day out shopping with family? No, because after all, who likes navigating crowded parking lots, or standing in lines for hours in cold weather? Who enjoys risking exposure to mob violence, since we all know this is what happens?
It is really about getting ready for Christmas or the spirit of giving? No.
It has more to do with participation in a ritual that has been thrust upon our society as a way of advertising and normalizing the insanity of the consumer culture, and of getting us more spiritually hooked on the matrix. Of activating the mass reptilian brain. Of weaponizing the public .
Here, people fight like maniacs over toilet paper. Toilet paper. Seriously. Ritual Insanity, Herd Mentality and The Purge
This phenomenon has become a ‘thing’ in recent years and it’s now pushed on the public as a tradition, albeit a tradition with no roots and no meaning.
It seems more like a test or some kind of emergency broadcast system, but instead of warning us to danger, it is calling us to go berserk in an orgy of chaos. A call to purge our common senses, to lose ourselves in the herd, to indulge in a ritual for the sake of being part of something.
Participation in the Black Friday ritual is a pledge of allegiance to the Matrix , the global scheme that enslaves us with debt , misleads us with false idols, tricks us with shiny trinkets and mass-produced baubles, all in ploy to steal our energy, time and our lives.
When we opt-in and play this game we miss out on the connection to life and relationship, to spirituality and compassion, to the natural world. But most importantly we turn a blind eye to the corruption, evil and authoritarianism in our world today. We ignore the connection between these goods and the slave labor and environmental destruction required to bring them to mass market. READ: The Holidays Are Coming… Time to Stock Up On Slave Made Goods From China?
Black Friday is an attempt to cast some a spell on the public, like the cremation of care ceremonies conducted by the world’s overlords, it’s a ritual of dark power. It is black magic, and the resulting violence and madness are proof of this. It’s a ceremony that invites us to forget our humanity. An invitation to shamelessly activate and engage in all the elements mind control and group think and conformity. To dive blindly into a moral vacuum. To worship the culture of death.
Are you participating in this?
Enjoy this presentation from Russell Brand about the ‘tradition’ of Black Friday. He appropriately calls it, ‘Christmas for Satan.” Read more articles by Dylan Charles . About the Author
Dylan Charles is a student and teacher of Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Qi Gong, a practitioner of Yoga and Taoist arts, and an activist and idealist passionately engaged in the struggle for a more sustainable and just world for future generations. He is the editor of WakingTimes.com , the proprietor of OffgridOutpost.com , a grateful father and a man who seeks to enlighten others with the power of inspiring information and action. He may be contacted at . Like Waking Times on Facebook . Follow Waking Times on Twitter . This article ( Black Friday – The Pledge of Allegiance to the Matrix ) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Dylan Charles and WakingTimes.com . It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement. ~~ Help Waking Times to raise the vibration by sharing this article with friends and family… | 0 |
Support Us ‘Conspiracy Theorist’ Max Spiers Found Dead Days After Texting His Mother to Investigate if Anything ‘Happened to Him’ 0
British conspiracy theorist and UFO expert Max Spiers was found dead on a sofa after vomiting ‘black liquid’. This happened only days after texting his mother about investigating if something happened to him.
Max Spiers, a 39-year-old father of two was found dead on a sofa in Poland, where he was invited to speak on conspiracy theories and UFOs. This happened in July and, since then, no post-mortem examination were carried out on his body. The death was ruled to be from ‘natural causes’.
– Advertisement –
Days before his death, Spiers texted his mom:
“Your boy’s in trouble. If something happens to me, investigate”.
Spiers, who claimed to be a survivor of a secret government ‘super soldier’ program, died suddenly after vomiting ‘black liquid’. His mother Vanessa Bates, an English teacher, told journalists:
“He was making a name for himself in the world of conspiracy theorists and had been invited to speak at a conference in Poland in July. He was staying with a woman who he had not known for long and she told me how she found him dead on the sofa. But I think Max had been digging in some dark places and I fear that somebody wanted him dead.”– The Telegraph, UFO expert Max Spiers’ death prompts conspiracy theories
Bates believes that Spiers might have been poisoned.
“Max was a very fit man who was in good health. All I have is a death certificate from the Polish authorities that it was from natural causes, but no post-mortem was done so how can they tell that?
They are also refusing to release any paperwork about it to me because, absurdly, I don’t have his written permission.
He has a brother, Josh, and sister, Becky, who are both devastated, as are his two boys. We all want answers to this and I will continue to fight to get to the truth.”– Ibid.
Spiers’ financé Sarah Adams told Yahoo! News that he was about to expose ‘black magic’ and well known politicians and celebrities. “We were used to getting death threats or stuff like that from people but I think this time it seemed rather real. He’d been sent threats saying that him and me were going to die. He was going to expose black magic. He was going to expose some of the stuff that he was working on involving political leaders and celebrities. He planned on coming back here seeing his family and I was going to have his child. He had messaged me hours before. It definitely couldn’t have been anything like suicide or something like that.”– Yahoo! News, Here’s what conspiracy theorist Max Spiers was about to reveal before his death North East Kent coroner’s office said that an investigation into Mr Spiers’ death was in its “very early” stages. Was Spiers’ poisoned because he knew too much? Was he about to say too much? One thing is for sure, this death cannot be more suspicious. | 0 |
Tourists from China are avoiding France amid surging violence and crime, a Chinese tourism expert has said, reporting that customers are turning to Russia as a safer destination. [President of the Chinese Association of Travel Agencies in France, Zhou, said “increasingly violent” thefts and assaults are turning France into “one of the worst destinations for foreign tourists”. Mr. Zhou, a representative for major Chinese travel agency Utour in France, reported a steep decline in visitor numbers from Asia, and said many tourists are now looking to Russia as a less dangerous holiday destination. “In 2016, there were 1. 6 million Chinese tourists compared to 2. 2 million in 2015. The number of Japanese tourists dropped 39 per cent, and Koreans 27 per cent. Our tourists have turned to Russia, which is less attractive but at least it is a safe country. For Putin, it is an economic windfall” he told Le Parisien. Rising violence and aggression account for the drop, according to Mr. Zhou, who said: “For a number of Chinese tourists, the dream of visiting France and Paris has turned into a nightmare. “[Chinese tourists] are robbed in the palace of Versailles, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in front of their hotel, as they leave the coaches … In high season, not a day goes by without tourists being assaulted. ” Violent incidents in France have “sparked panic” on social media in Chinese, Mr. Zhou said, recalling one in which an man was seriously injured as he tried to resist thieves, and he reported how female tourists have been pushed to the ground while criminals steal bags containing all their papers. Having lived in France for 25 years, Mr. Zhou said he has borne witness to the country’s deteriorating security situation over the decades, which has resulted in Paris ranking “number one in Europe in terms of the upsurge in delinquency”. While so far there are no organised campaigns calling on Chinese tourists to avoid visiting France, the experienced travel agent said that a boycott “has already begun” with “several Asian operators preferring to divert Asian tourists to Italy, Spain, and Russia”. Paris’s regional tourism office last year reported a slump in visitor numbers to the city, and attributed some of the decline to terror fears, as more than 200 people have been killed in Islamic terror in France since 2015. | 1 |
Here's something interesting from The Unz Review... Recipient Name Recipient Email =>
I am surprised that Hillary and the presstitutes haven’t blamed Putin for FBI director Comey’s reopening of the Hillary email case. But they have done the next best thing for Hillary. They have made Comey the issue, not Hillary.
According to US Senator Harry Reid and the presstitutes, we don’t need to worry about Hillary’s crimes. After all, she is only a political woman feathering her nest, like political men have been doing for ages. Why all this misogynist talk about Hillary? It is Comey’s alleged crime that is important. This woman-hating Republican violated the Hatch Act by telling Congress that the investigation he said was closed was reopened. A very strange interpretation of the Hatch Act. It is OK to tell that a candidate for president is cleared duing an election but not to say that a candidate is under investigation.
Comey violated the Hatch Act when he, on orders from the corrupt Obama Attorney General, announced Hillary clean, and thereby used the prestige of federal clearance of Hillary’s violation of national security protocols to boost her standing in the election polls.
Actually, Hillary’s standing in the polls is based on the pollsters over-weighting Hillary supporters in the polls. It is easy to produce a favorite if you overweight their supporters in the poll questions. If you look at the crowds attending the two candidate’s public appearances, it is clear that the American people prefer Donald Trump, who is opposed to war with Russia and China. The election settles no greater issue.
This has the ruling American Oligarcy, for which Hillary is the total servant, concerned. What are they going to do about Trump? Will his fate be the same as John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, George Wallace? Time will tell. Or will a hotal maid appear at the last minute in the way that the Oligarchy got rid of Dominic Strauss-Kahn?
All of the American and Western feminists, progressives, and left-wing remnant fell for the obvious frame-up of Strauss-Kahn. After Strauss-Kahn was blocked from the Presidency of France and resigned as Director of the IMF, the New York authorities had to drop all charges against Strauss-Kahn. But Washington had succeeded in putting its French vassal, Sarkozy, in the presidency of France.
This is how the American Oligarchy destroys those it suspects might not serve its interests. The corrupt self-sereving Oligarchy makes sure that it owns the government and the media, the think tanks and increasingly all of the major universities, and, of course, through the presstitutes, Americans’ minds.
The Oligarchs are now hard-pressed to rescue Hillary as US president, so let’s see if the Oligarchs can once again deceive the insouciant American people.
While we wait, let’s concern outselves with another important issue. The Clinton crime syndicate in the closing years of the 20th century allowed a small handful of mega-corporations to consolidate the US media in a few hands. This vast increase in the power of the Oligarchy was accomplished despite US anti-trust law and the American tradition of a dispersed and independent media.
But really, what does federal law mean to the One Percent. Nothing whatsoever. They are immune to it. Hillary’s crimes might cost her the election, but she won’t go to jail.
Not content with 90% control of the US media, the Oligarchy wants more concentration and more control. Looks like they will be getting it, thanks to the totally corrupt US government.
The Federal Trade Commission is supposed to enforce US anti-trust law. Instead, the corrupt federal agency routinely violates US anti-trust law by permitting monopoly concentrations of business interests.
Because of the failure of the federal government to enforce federal law, we now have “banks too big to fail,” unregulated Internet monopoly, and the evisceration of a dispersed and independent media.
There formerly was a field of economics known as anti-trust. Ph.D. candidates specialized in and wrote dissertations about public control of monopoly power. I assume that this field of economics, like the America of my youth, no longer exists. | 0 |
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