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At the beginning of every month, subscription streaming services add a new batch of movies and TV shows to their libraries. And at the beginning of every month, we’ll send you a newsletter with a list of the ones we think are most interesting, broken down by service. Everything mentioned is available to stream starting today, Oct. 1, unless otherwise indicated. To receive this information in your email inbox every month, subscribe to Watching, a newsletter that sifts through the overwhelming number of movies and TV shows, directs you to the best ones and tells you where you can watch them. For examples of what those newsletters look like, head on over here. ‘Quiz Show’ This Robert film, about a 1950s TV scandal that led to congressional hearings, offers a hit of midcentury style and one of the worst accents to ever appear on a movie screen. (Rob Morrow is good, but his Boston brogue is wicked bad.) John Turturro and Ralph Fiennes are characteristically fantastic as the rival game show participants. ‘Dheepan’ When this film by the French director Jacques Audiard made its debut in May after showing at Cannes the year before, A. O. Scott wrote that “this story of a makeshift family, tossed from a distant war zone into a French housing project, looked to many festival observers less like a work of cinematic art than like a news bulletin. ” (Oct. 3) ‘13th’ Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) directs this documentary about mass incarceration and racial inequality in the United States. The movie, which takes its title from the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, opens in select movie theaters on the same day. (Read Manohla Dargis’s review.) (Oct. 7) ‘Black Mirror,’ Season 3 After finding success in America on Netflix, this dystopian anthology TV series returns with six dark episodes, including installments directed by Joe Wright (“Atonement”) and Dan Trachtenberg (“10 Cloverfield Lane”). (Oct. 21) ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ This is neither the first nor the second entry in the “Kung Fu Panda” series. (Oct. 26) ‘The Fall,’ Season 3 At Watching, we’ve received a handful of emails every month for the past asking, “When is the new season of ‘The Fall’ going to hit Netflix?” For those of you who are that invested in this British serial killer drama starring Gillian Anderson, now you know. (Oct. 29) Also of interest: “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Grizzly Man,” “Gentleman’s Agreement,” “Once Upon a Time in the West,” “Three Kings,” “Titanic,” “Unforgiven. ” ‘Before Sunrise’ ‘Before Sunset’ Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, walking and talking, beautiful European locales, romance and longing. “Before Sunrise” (1995) the first film in the director Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy, is cute and cringing in equal measure, as young love often is. “Before Sunset” (2004) which looks at the same characters about a decade later, is a knockout, simultaneously melancholy and hopeful. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Look, any version of Jane Austen’s novel is going to suffer in comparison next to the beloved 1995 TV version starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. But this 2005 adaptation directed by Joe Wright (“Atonement”) looks beautiful, and Keira Knightley is radiant. ‘Goliath,’ Season 1 David E. Kelley is one of the kings of the TV legal series — ”L. A. Law,” “The Practice,” “Ally McBeal” — and he returns to the genre with this series starring Billy Bob Thornton as a dissolute former lawyer who happens onto a big case. Don’t expect much humor here, though there’s something charming about Mr. Thornton’s casual line delivery. (Oct. 14) ‘Good Girls Revolt,’ Season 1 In the early 1970s, a group of female researchers at “Newsweek” sued the magazine for gender discrimination, claiming that only men were considered for or appointed to the positions of reporter and writer. If you’re interested in the era, the news industry, “Mad Men” vibes or often think of this GIF, then this might interest you. You can watch the pilot now. (Oct. 28) Also of interest: “Chinatown,” “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2,” “The Last Waltz,” “Misery,” “Secretary,” “Slap Shot,” “Spectre” (Oct. 21) “Timecrimes,” “Training Day,” “ ” “The Warriors,” “The Witches. ” ‘Deadpool’ Ryan Reynolds, in one of the year’s biggest hits, proves that it’s O. K. to curse in a superhero movie. (Starting at 8 p. m. Oct. 1.) ‘By the Sea’ Angelina Jolie Pitt wrote and directed this beautiful, if languid, film in which she and Brad Pitt play a couple whose marriage is falling apart. And now we can all watch it. It’s like HBO knew or something. (Starting at 8 p. m. Oct. 13.) Also of interest: “28 Days Later,” “Drumline,” “Eastern Promises,” “Poltergeist,” “” “ 2. ” ‘Carol’ Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in a Todd Haynes movie. Ravishing. (Starting at 9 p. m. Oct. 8.) ‘45 Years’ This British domestic drama has a premise for such a quiet film. On the eve of their 45th anniversary, Kate and Geoff’s domestic boredom is shaken by a letter announcing that the body of Geoff’s former lover, who died after falling into a Swiss ravine decades ago, has been found in a melted glacier. This film consists primarily of the actors Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay talking and getting lost in their own private reveries and it’s utterly gripping. (Starting at 7:15 p. m. Oct. 8.) Also of interest: “Blue Velvet,” “The Descent,” “The Original Kings of Comedy. ” ‘Chance,’ Season 1 Hugh Laurie, who played Dr. House in the series “House” plays Dr. Chance in a new series called “Chance. ” That’s an amusing fact, but Mr. Laurie’s new venture is nothing like Fox’s hit “ ” series. Here, he plays a San Francisco neuropsychiatrist in this dark and tense series that, like the novel it’s based on, feels like a take on the Hitchcock’s “Vertigo. ” (Starting at 7:15 p. m. Oct. 8.) ‘Spectre’ Daniel Craig starred in “Casino Royale” and “Skyfall,” two of the James Bond franchise’s best entries. So maybe let’s forgive him this effort. Does it matter that it’s silly for two people to take a train out into the middle of the desert when they look as good as they do above? (Oct. 21) Also of interest: “Carrie,” “Chinatown,” “How to Survive a Plague,” “Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2,” “Platoon,” “Room 237,” “Secretary,” “Swingers,” “The Blair Witch Project,” “Thirteen Days,” “The Warriors. ” Starz“A Band Called Death” — In Detroit in the three black teens formed a rock band named Death, recorded some music and disappeared. A 2009 article in The New York Times headlined “This Band Was Punk Before Punk Was Punk,” reintroduced its music to the world. This 2013 documentary tells Death’s fascinating story. Acorn“Casanova” (Oct. 3) — This 2005 British TV movie stars David Tennant (the Doctor in “Doctor Who,” Kilgrave in “Jessica Jones”) as the title character. As a reviewer for The New York Times wrote then, the film has “a lively pace, a warm spirit, a contagious sense of fun, some very pretty European settings and Peter O’Toole as the title character in his later years. ” SundanceNow Doc Club“The Bureau” (Oct. 3) — This French series stars Mathieu Kassovitz (“Amélie”) as an intelligence agent who returns to Paris after years undercover in Damascus. If you’re looking for a smart, talky, foreign spy series (though one without much action) this one’s for you. Sign up for the Watching newsletter to get expert film and TV recommendations like this straight to your inbox. | 1 |
Berkeley Protesters Demanding Segregation Force White Students to Cross Creek in Woods to Go to Class Oct 28, 2016 Previous post
It wasn’t long ago that stories of student protests, and their demands for college “safe spaces,” dominated media headlines.
While some of that fervor seems to have died down, the outrage at University of California, Berkeley appears to be as strong as ever.
Over the weekend, Berkeley students staged a days-long protest demanding that they be given additional “spaces” on campus — and even took to specifically targeting people based solely on the color of their skin. | 0 |
Tweet Widget by Horace G. Campbell
From championing impunity for suspected masterminds of crimes against humanity, to frustrating African liberation and unity by working in cahoots with Empire; from publicly supporting Israel's desire to join the African Union, to being a conduit for illicit financial flows from Africa; Kenya is fundamentally unfit to lead the AU. A deeply entrenched kleptocracy has ruined Kenya and actively undermined African interests for over half a century. Can Kenya lead the African Union? by Horace G. Campbell
This article previously appeared in Pambazuka News .
“ At every step of the way since 1963, Kenya worked against African independence.”
Introduction
The African Union will choose a new Chair of the AU Commission in January 2017. There are six candidates for this position, viz. Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi of Botswana, Farki Mahamat of Chad, Agapito Mba Mokuy of Equatorial Guinea, Amina Mohamed of Kenya, Abdoulaye Bathily of Senegal and Jakaya Kikwette of Tanzania. The post of Commission Chair became vacant after the expiration of the term of South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who had been at the helm since 2012 and did not apply for a second term.
At the last AU meeting held in July in Kigali, the election was suspended because, after seven rounds of voting, none of the top three contenders from Botswana, Equatorial Guinea and Uganda obtained the required two-thirds majority. Since the suspension of the process, Specioza Wandira Kazibwe of Uganda dropped out and three new candidates have appeared. Kenya has offered the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs to lead the African Union. The government of Kenya has embarked on a multimillion-dollar diplomatic offensive to persuade Africans that Kenya should lead the African Union. Should Kenya lead the African Union?
Let’s begin this analysis by going back 53 years ago. At the dawn of independence in 1963, the political leaders in Kenya under Jomo Kenyatta and Oginga Odinga had agreed that, after independence, all British troops would leave Kenya. A few weeks after independence in December 1963, the so-called “Shifta rebellion” began and the political leaders of Kenya requested Britain to maintain their armed personnel in Kenya to assist in crushing the “rebellion.” The British troops have remained in Kenya since then.
Was Britain instrumental in fomenting this “Somali question” within Kenya? This and related questions have become pertinent as the records of the British are open and we know of the findings of the Northern Frontier District (NFD) Commission along with the debates within Britain over the future of Somalia. Fifty-three years later, Somali descendants who live in Kenya are still being used as political football as Kenya has vowed to close the largest refugee camp in the world, the Dadaab, that hosts mostly Somali refugees following the collapse of their state in 1991.
Kenya is fighting the so-called war on terror in Somalia and there are credible reports that this has been a very lucrative business venture for sections of the financial and sugar barons in Kenya.
“Kenya had been used as a base to foil genuine support for decolonization, and since the so called ‘War on Terror’ Kenya has been serving as an ally of the US.”
It is this section of the barons that leads Kenya that has now put forward the name of Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed to be the next head of the AU Commission. It is in this context of the lobbying by the Kenyan government that this author wants to put forward a number of reasons why Kenya cannot lead the African Union.
The political leadership of Kenya since President Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and now Uhuru Kenyatta has been servants of imperial intrigue and skullduggery to undermine African independence and Unity. Kenya had been used as a base to foil genuine support for decolonization, and since the so called ‘War on Terror’ Kenya has been serving as an ally of the US providing the political support for the US Africa Command and activities of the West in the Indian Ocean region.
For a short while when the questions of the killings with impunity suggested the possibility of international justice, the present Kenyan leadership of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto (both indicted for crimes against humanity) embarked on an overheated campaign to represent themselves as African nationalists opposed to imperial machinations of the International Criminal Court. Kenyan diplomats, with Amina Mohamed in the vanguard, led a diplomatic offensive against the ICC and since the charges have been dropped against President Kenyatta and Ruto, the leadership has been going on overdrive to harness international support for the accumulation of prowess of the barons in Kenya.
These political forces hosted President Barack Obama for a global “entrepreneurship” conference in August, 2015, followed by Pope Francis’s visit in November. Kenya hosted the 10 th Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization in December 2015 and in 2016 hosted the meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). These latter meetings set back the agenda of Africans who had been struggling within the WTO for the rich countries to accede to the DOHA development round. While scuttling the African agenda in the WTO and without notice withdrawing its “peacekeeping” forces from South Sudan, the Kenyan leadership is asking Africans to support Amina Mohammed for the top position as AU Commissioner.
In light of the aggressive diplomatic forces of the Moroccan leadership to reverse the position of the African Union on the independence of Western Sahara, it will be important for progressive forces within the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) to raise their voices about the present diplomatic campaign of not only Kenya, but also the other countries, Botswana, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and Senegal who have fielded candidates for the position of AU Commissioner. Below we detail the number of reasons for opposing the leadership of Kenya at this historical moment.
Illicit financial flows from Eastern Africa
The number one reason why Kenya cannot lead the African Union is that Kenya has been a base for illicit financial flows out of Eastern Africa. Most of the fraudsters that steal from their societies have a base in the real estate and financial sectors of Kenyan society. Two years ago the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) estimated that economies of Africa lost approximately US$1Trillion and about US $50 billion per year from illicit financial flows. The Report of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa drew attention to the varying forms of fraud that had been employed to export capital from Africa, noting that,
“Some of the effects of illicit financial outflows are the draining of foreign exchange reserves, reduced tax collection, cancelling out of investment inflows and a worsening of poverty. Such outflows which also undermine the rule of law, stifle trade and worsen macroeconomic conditions are facilitated by some 60 international tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions that enable the creating and operating of millions of disguised corporations, shell companies, anonymous trust accounts, and fake charitable foundations. Other techniques used include money laundering and transfer pricing.”
This High Level Report went on to highlight the role of Kenya in illicit financial flows out of Africa: “Kenya is believed to have lost as much as $1.51 billion between 2002 and 2011 to trade misinvoicing. The role of IFFs and their adverse effect on the country’s GDP cannot be ignored. A recent study shows that Kenya’s tax loss from trade misinvoicing by multinational corporations and other parties could be as high as 8.3 per cent of government revenue, hampering economic growth and resulting in billions in lost tax revenue.”
It does not take rocket science to grasp the fact that all of the malfeasance of disguised corporations, shell companies, anonymous trust accounts, fake charitable foundations, money laundering and transfer pricing are present in Kenya. From the period of 1960 and the gold scandals from Eastern Congo, Nairobi has been the base for money laundering in Eastern Africa. Illicit funds from the Eastern DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Southern Sudan and Somalia all pass through the money laundering facilities of Kenya. Other illicit money grabbers from as far afield as Nigeria use the recourses and networks of the Kenya financial barons; the real estate boom in Kenya in the past fifteen years is directly linked to these fraudulent funds being laundered in Kenya.
“From the period of 1960 and the gold scandals from Eastern Congo, Nairobi has been the base for money laundering in Eastern Africa.”
Most recently, there was a report on the nexus of corruption and conflict in the Sudan, which brought out revealing figures on the extent of the real estate holdings in Nairobi and of the top officials of the South Sudanese state. Entitled War Crimes Shouldn't Pay [2] , the report found that "top officials ultimately responsible for mass atrocities in South Sudan have at the same time managed to accumulate fortunes, despite modest government salaries".
Kenyan bureaucrats and financiers have been implicated in the top four ways of draining valuable resources out of South Sudan: (a) extractive services, (b) the military state (c) state spending and (d) money laundering.
Questions on the complicity of Kenya in the debacle of the struggles between differing factions in South Sudan increased after Kenya decided to pull its troops out of South Sudan after the Secretary General of the United Nations sacked the Kenyan commander of the UN “peacekeeping” forces in South Sudan.
When the High Level Panel outlined the extent of illicit financial flows out of Africa, they had given clear recommendations as to how to stop these forms of drainage out of Africa. The Panel called for member states of the African Union to inter alia: (a) Determine the nature and patterns of illicit financial outflows from Africa; (b) Raise awareness among African governments, citizens and international development partners of the scale and effect of such financial outflows on development; and (c) Propose policies and mobilize support for practices that would reverse such illicit financial outflows.
It is the expectation of millions of the working poor in Africa that their representatives at the African Union would be at the forefront of calling for the return of stolen assets to African societies. One would have expected that because Kenya has been so prominent in the business of money laundering, the loudest calls for ending these forms of capital accumulation would come from inside the society. However, as one component of the disorientation of activists, the NGO mentality predisposes many to seek solutions from “donor agencies” without understanding that these so called “donors” form an essential link in the chain of draining resources out of Africa.
Instead of robust voices exposing the role of Kenya in money laundering, the Kenyan political leadership has invested millions of dollars to send Vice President William Ruto on a spirited tour proclaiming the candidature of Amina Mohammed. On these trips to other African countries, Ruto has been proclaiming the virtues of Kenya as a base for trade and investment.
War on terror as a business in Kenya
The second reason for objecting to the bid for Kenya to take over the position as AU Commissioner relates to the role of Kenya in Somalia and the fact that the so-called “Operation Linda Nchi” has for all intents and purposes been a business venture by the sugar and military barons of Kenya. The African Union had committed its reputation on the future of peace in supporting African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). However, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia have played geo-political games with the lives of the people of Somalia and there is credible evidence that this Kenyan mission has been using the peacekeeping mission as a business venture. For years the United Nations Monitoring Group for Somalia has been reporting on the scale of the involvement of AMISOM troops in the sale of charcoal and sugar using the port of Kismayo under the control of AMISOM.
When progressive forces in Eastern Africa did not take up the issue vigorously, a group named Journalists for Justice documented the reality that elements from the Kenyan army have been involved in a US$400 million sugar smuggling racket in Somalia and have also funded militants that they were supposed to be fighting. Far from fighting the Al Shabaab, the Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) are “in garrison mode sitting in bases while senior commanders are engaged in corrupt business practices.” This report [3] on Kenya’s Criminal Racket in Somalia has produced enough evidence to corroborate the information that has been produced for nearly a decade about how war is a business in Somalia.
Progressives have shirked from quoting from the reports of this organization in so far as the organizations also seek to use information on KDF involvement in racketeering in supporting the voices of those calling for the disbanding of the African Union.
Layering and the barons of Kenya
Apart from investigative journalists who have been documenting the war business in Somalia very few scholars have actually interrogated how the global war on terror feeds into the illicit global economy. It has been estimated by the World Economic Forum that the international illicit economy is valued at over US $3.8. trillion. This means that in terms of GDP, the illicit economy is among the top 10 economies in the world. It is in this global illicit economy where one finds the layering of barons with the financial barons at the top of the food chain. Next to the financial barons are the real estate barons, the land grabbers/barons, the sugar barons involved in smuggling and illegality, the drug barons – (see cases of cocaine smuggled as sugar), education and business of procurement, barons in hospitals and medicine – (see the Constant Gardner and Kenya as a place for fake drugs), military and security barons – war on terror as a business venture – ethnic and regional power brokers, political fixers and counterfeiting barons.
“If we do not fight the cartels, we become their slaves.”
These barons form the base for the Kenyan capitalist class and they have an agreement among themselves to divide the working peoples of Kenya on the basis of ethnicity, regionalism and religion. In the particular case of Kenya, there is public knowledge of the criminality of the cartels with the former Chief Justice Dr. Willy Mutunga raising questions of how these barons and cartels pose a threat to the wellbeing and security of the peoples of Kenya and East Africa. He had noted that, “The influence of the cartels is overwhelming. They are doing illegal business with politicians. If we do not fight the cartels, we become their slaves. But leaders who do take on the cartels must be prepared to be killed or exiled.”
The statement of the Chief Justice provides the context for better understanding the spate of killings that have been labeled as “terror” attacks since the Kenyan Defense Forces invaded Somalia in 2011. A series of high profile incidents such as the Al-Shabaab siege of the Westgate shopping center in Nairobi that left 67 people dead, ensured that there was international support for counter-terrorism in Kenya. This was followed by the killing of approximately 68 people in Mpeketoni, Majembeni and Poromoko at the coast in June 2014; the killing of 28 people in a bus in Mandera in November 2014; the killing of 36 people in a Mandera quarry in December 2014; and the killing of 147 students on the campus of Garissa University College in April 2015. It is these kinds of killing with impunity that disqualify Kenya fundamentally since the aggressive stand on the ICC was not accompanied by an equally aggressive stand to pursue the perpetrators of the post-election killings in Kenya in 2008.
Kenya undermining the African cause at the WTO
One of the supposed strong points of Amina Mohamed was her leadership of Kenya at the 10 th Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization in December 2015. Prior to the WTO meeting in Seattle in 1999, Kenyan intellectuals had been at the forefront of challenging the intellectual property rights claims of the pharmaceuticals. After the debacle in Seattle, the Global South had organized collectively to ensure that the rules of international trade did not continue to deepen the impoverishment of the billions of poor farmers in the South. Since 2001, there had been negotiations with the former colonized peoples over the future rules in a round of negotiations that had been named after the city of Doha, Qatar. From the moment of those negotiations in November 2001 until December 2015 there had been nothing but duplicitous back and forth between the North and the peoples of the South. The designation of these negotiations as the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) never seriously considered addressing the obstacles placed in the global trading system to foster real trading cooperation, which supports socioeconomic transformation in the South.
From the formation of the WTO the African members along with others from the Global South had taken a collective stand on the hypocrisy of the North in relation to trade and investment, intellectual property and agriculture. Since the WTO came into existence, the countries of the European Union and North America failed to live up to the expectations at the end of the Uruguay Round that they would liberalize their agriculture sector and significantly reduce their subsidies. In the particular case of farmers from Africa, there had been opposition to the subsidies granted to European farmers, while African farmers live in poverty.
In the particular case of African cotton exporters – Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali – collectively known as the Cotton 4 or C-4 – they had successfully urged fellow WTO members to stand with Africa on questions of food security and the outstanding questions of subsidies. At the Nairobi 10 Ministerial Meeting, Amina Mohamed as Chairperson of the meeting jettisoned the claims of the Global South and hurriedly agreed to exclude the “African Issues” before the WTO. The newspapers of the financial barons in Kenya then proceeded to publicize the outcome pointing to a nebulous “Nairobi package” that postponed real discussions of the trade war against the South by the North.
Somalia a political football: Question of oil and gas discoveries
Attention had already been drawn to how the question of Somalia has been manipulated for the past fifty years by the Kenya barons. The manipulation of the poor refugees reached new heights as the Kenyan leadership has threatened to close the largest refugee camp in the world.
The anti-Pan African position of the Kenyans reached new lows over the question of the demarcation of the land and sea boundaries. After Kenyans had agreed with the British to maintain the Northern Frontier District as part of Kenya in 1964, there were questions as to the real boundaries between Kenya and Somalia. These questions became more urgent after oil and gas companies began to explore the very large reserves of oil and gas from the Somalia coast through Kenya, Tanzania, down to Mozambique. Faced with differing maps from the colonial offices of Britain and Italy, the Kenyans and Somalians have been disputing a narrow triangle off in the Indian Ocean, about 100,000 square kilometers (62,000 square miles). Capitalists and speculators from Kenya, Somalia and their external supporters covet this area because it has a large deposit of oil and gas. Neither the political leaders of Kenya nor the possible leaders of Somalia offered a Pan-African vision of shared responsibility and cooperation to develop the resources in order to benefit the peoples of Africa. Instead, Kenya sought to use their legal, economic and regional muscle to start exploration and to begin discussions with foreign oil companies.
Faced with the aggressive position of the Kenyan barons, the Somalis decided to take the matter to the International Court of Justice. Kenya objected to legal arbitration of an area that should not be disputed if Kenya supported the goals of a future united Africa. The position of Kenya thus far on border issues in Eastern Africa goes against the spirit of the African Union’s position with respect to Delimitation and Demarcation of Boundaries in Africa.
Kenya ineligible to lead Africa at this point
From the above reasons, this author wants to remind readers of the role of Kenya in becoming the champion of Israel and hosting the Israeli Prime Minister in July of 2016. The Kenyan President proudly claimed that Kenya would be an advocate for Israel before the African Union. This leadership under Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto and Amina Mohammed has thus agreed to undermine the Pan African position of supporting the self-determination of the Palestinian peoples.
One can raise similar questions with respect to the real commitment of Kenya to continue to respect the rights of the peoples of Western Sahara. For the past two years the government of Morocco has been on an intense campaign to rejoin the African Union. In principle, progressive Africans welcome the return of Morocco to the African Union, but it must be spelt out clearly to Morocco that their return will be without conditions. That is, the political leadership of Morocco cannot demand that Africa drop recognition of the Polisario leadership. The summit of the African Union in January 2017 will be a testing ground to see how many societies of Africa will stand firm against Morocco and their supporters in France.
If not Amin Mohammed, then who?
Of the current six candidates to lead the African Union, the one candidate with a clear track record of commitment to the goals of Pan Africanism is Abdoulaye Bathily of Senegal. As a progressive historian, Bathily made his mark among a generation of intellectuals. Unfortunately, however, this position of the AU Commission Chair is being pushed by the government of Senegal with both France and Morocco dictating the foreign policy choices of Senegal. Without this subservience to France and Morocco by the Senegalese leadership, Bathily would be the obvious choice.
The candidacies of Chad, Botswana and Equatorial Guinea already foundered at the meeting of the African Union in Kigali. Like Senegal, the government of Chad fronts for western interests and Chad was one of the few countries to send troops to fight with NATO to destroy Libya. Africa needs to take an independent position on the question of the manipulation of the so-called war on terror and on this matter, Chad ranks with those who need to account for their relationship with Boko Haram.
Jakaya Kikwete has been a colorless leader of Tanzania for ten years. His friendship with leaders of the George W. Bush party in the USA will raise questions; however, with the arrival of Donald Trump, that faction of the US militarists, the Bush faction is no longer in the driver’s seat.
African intellectuals and activists cannot afford to be bystanders at this moment. In this short essay, this author has pointed out how at every step of the way since 1963, Kenya worked against African independence. During the anti-apartheid struggles, Kenya supported UNITA and the MNR and for good measure, western security established the banking infrastructure for illicit dealing through Bank of Credit and Commerce International. There was the formation of the “Safari Club” C France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Morocco and the conservative elements of the USA – to support the apartheid regime in South Africa and the conservative leaders of Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
“The one candidate with a clear track record of commitment to the goals of Pan Africanism is Abdoulaye Bathily of Senegal.”
Since the global war on terror, Kenya has participated in the rendition programs of the US intelligence agencies and stepped up their business operations by working with the CIA to fund groups such as the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (APRCT). ARPCT was a coalition of military entrepreneurs who understood war as a business and knew how to manipulate western intelligence agencies.
According to a report in the Washington Post in 2006, “Despite its name, the ARPCT probably does little to combat terrorism and is more interested in maintaining the lawless status quo in which the warlords thrive. Experts say the moniker is an attempt to make the group appealing to Western governments, highlighting their battle against the spread of an Islamic militia.”
Ten years after this exposure, organizations such as the Bell Pottinger group continue to wage information warfare against Kenyans and Africans on the so-called terrorist threats in Eastern Africa. If Kenya had spent every cent that it has been spending on Operation Linda Nchi on building schools, roads, hospitals and water supply systems in Somalia, then the issues before Africa and the African Union would be very different from the divisive questions of illicit trade in sugar, charcoal and the question of boundary demarcation.
That eastern Africa continues to be strategically important to western security interests can be gleaned from the patience that the British exhibited in ensuring that Kenya maintained a military agreement with Britain for Britain to base troops in Kenya. In this case, Britain is acting as a front for US military interest. Kenya is important strategically to the U.S. Access to Kenyan air and a seaport facilitates imperial capabilities to project air and naval power in the Indian Ocean.
The political leadership of China has bought into the idea that the Kenyan leadership is anti-imperialist because the leaders were taken to The Hague and the ICC. This kind of analysis by Chinese strategists exposes their limited understandings of class struggles in Eastern Africa and the history of Kenya selling out Africans. From time to time newspapers and journalists revisit the scandals after scandals [4] with respect to primitive accumulation in Kenya.
Conclusion
What needs to be understood is that Kenya’s Goldenberg or Anglo Leasing scandals and others are components of a model of capital accumulation in the illicit global economy. This illicit global economy is a legitimate component of the financialization forms of capital that diminishes real production and commerce.
When the AU was formed, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) had been mandated to bring to the fore the questions that affect Africans in all six regions. It is in this context where there needs to be new focus of the AU. At the last meeting in Kigali, there were feeble efforts to raise revenues for the AU. None of the governments took seriously the illicit global economy and the recommendations of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows. The western “donors” dominate the discussions on how to stem financial flows and downplay the importance of the return of stolen assets. Kenya was quite willing to raise the question of reparative justice with respect to the crimes of Britain during the colonial wars, but that same Kenyan leadership refuses to support the reparative claims of the global African community. Horace G. Campbell is Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University and the newly appointed Kwame Nkrumah Chair at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. | 0 |
After six years of a prolonged drought in California, it is all but over. On Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown ended the drought emergency for the vast majority of the state. The drought had reduced Folsom Lake, a major reservoir in Northern California, to less than a third of its capacity in 2015, and all but wiped out the Sierra Nevada snowpack. Friday’s announcement, though, was about as symbolic as it was pragmatic. It marked the formal end to a water shortage that had already been erased by a winter of plentiful rain and snow. Many of the state’s most stringent drought rules were eased months ago. Mr. Brown declared a drought state of emergency in January 2014 as the state suffered through one of the driest years in its history. Then, in April 2015, he took to a barren field that typically would have been covered with snow to order a 25 percent reduction in urban water use. As the drought dragged on, state officials worked to craft and then enforce rules aimed at restricting how much water Californians could use — and what they could use it for. To help urban dwellers cut their water consumption, many California water suppliers set up rebate programs to get residents to rip out their thirsty lawns and to replace them with foliage and ground cover using alternate materials, like gravel. But the state’s hydrologic picture brightened significantly beginning in October 2016, when a series of massive storms drenched Northern California. The rain and snow continued through the winter, swelling major reservoirs to the point that officials were forced to make releases. Meanwhile, the state’s snowpack made an impressive recovery. As of Friday, the water content in the state’s snowpack was about 160 percent of what is considered normal for this time of year. By comparison, the snowpack was reported as about 5 percent of average the day Mr. Brown stood on the barren field and ordered mandatory water conservation. Consequently, Mr. Brown lifted the drought emergency on Friday for all but four Central California counties — Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Tuolumne — which were among the hardest hit. According to the order, Californians managed to slash their water use by more than 22 percent between June 2015 and January 2017. And even as state officials unveiled a plan to continue water conservation in the years ahead, some prohibitions against wasteful water practices — like hosing off a sidewalk — will remain. “This drought emergency is over, but the next drought could be around the corner,” Mr. Brown said in a statement. “Conservation must remain a way of life. ” | 1 |
india , russia , indo-russian cooperation Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, during their meeting at Taj Exotica Goa, India. Source:RIA Novosti On Oct. 15-16 Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to India to participate in the annual BRICS summit held this year in Goa. Apart from discussing the future work of BRICS, the Russian leader held talks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a wide spectrum of issues on the bilateral agenda. To discuss the results of the talks and the impact of recent military drills on Russia-India relations, Russia Direct reached out to Vyacheslav Trubnikov, member of the board of directors of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to India (2004-2009). He explained why one should not worry about the future of Russia-India relations and shared his view on the closure of Russian media outlets working in Indian languages.
What is the most important result of the Russian President’s visit to India in the context of Russia-India relations? What was the main takeaway? The key result is the confirmation and further development of the privileged status of Russia’s strategic ties with India. During the visit 20 documents were signed and though, of course, some of them were more important than others, I think that a very serious step forward was made. I wouldn’t say that it is a breakthrough in bilateral relations – it’s rather a gradual development. Vyacheslav Trubnikov. Source: Boris Prihodko/RIA Novosti Today, the scale of our cooperation is growing and the important factor here is that both countries share common approaches to current developments in the international arena. This was expressed in the joint statement titled “ Partnership for Peace and Stability on the Planet .” This is a very important document, which apart from bilateral relations, also helps to form our understanding of how the future polycentric (i.e. multipolar) world might look like. Deputy Foreign Minister of India Sujata Mehta once called Indian foreign policy a “flexible multilateralism,” which I would interpret as a multi-vector foreign policy. The recent negotiations between Putin and Modi showed that Indians are very close to the Russian perception of a multi-vector foreign policy and the countries often have the same or very similar approaches to any particular issue. This is the main takeaway from Putin’s visit. What is more, the leaders considered a wide group of current problems from very pragmatic standpoints that were transparent to each other. It is very important that the countries have managed to maintain the ability to understand each other very well. Sometimes representatives of both sides – such as government officials, diplomats, military leaders and experts – find themselves as prisoners of Soviet-era stereotypes or, on the contrary, think that everything remains as it is and nothing is changing. These are polar-opposite attitudes. The key here is that both sides take into account the interests of each other in pursuing their own national goals. The relationship India and Russia share is indeed one of privileged status and strategic importance. What about economic ties? What is being done to improve the current situation and fulfill the huge potential of cooperation in this area?
India is Russia's especially privileged strategic partner: Putin We have a very limited trade turnover. There is no doubt about it. The countries have outstanding political relations, but the trade turnover does not reflect the vast economic potential. The volume of mutual investment does not reflect our capabilities as well – today they are at a level of $12 billion with $8 billion coming from India. So Indians are much more active in this respect, maybe due to their experience in working in foreign markets. RD: What about economic ties? What is being done to improve the current situation and fulfill the huge potential of cooperation in this area? Russia’s strong orientation to the West led to Russian companies being more interested in European and U.S. markets. Despite the sanctions, our missiles are still being produced in the U.S. Americans continue to cooperate when they have no option, notwithstanding the sanctions. Speaking about Russia’s pivot to the East, from my view, is not entirely correct. It is simply an alignment of our relations with the rest of the world. And now efforts are being made in this direction. The key thing here to understand is that the memoranda of mutual understanding only show the willingness of sides to cooperate. We can only talk about something when the contract is signed and sides are starting to implement it. This is a step-by-step work. Take, for example, the decision to create a free trade zone with India, which is due to be made in December by the Eurasian Economic Union. It’s not simple and it will require us to think about how to develop this aspect of our relationship. Discussing logistics will be key here. The establishment of economic corridors and energy bridges will require a lot of work on the ground. This can only be done gradually after necessary agreements are prepared and then signed. This is a serious question that requires a lot of time. Another example is the program signed between the Russian Ministry of Energy and India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to expand cooperation between the two countries in energy. This program will have to be fulfilled by specific projects and contracts later, and then it can be implemented. The countries are quite far away from each other and the questions of logistics and transportation of energy products will be crucial. All this work will be done gradually, stage by stage. The fact that the countries have set 2025 as a due date shows that both of them have considered this issue with responsibility. Overall, I would say that the cooperation now is moving in the right direction and is likely to provide a basis for future breakthroughs in trade turnover and energy cooperation. While the demand for energy in India is growing, the country does not enjoy many of its own energy sources, so that will give the basis for more active cooperation with Russia.
Russia and India: A civilizational friendship What is your position towards the closure of many media outlets in Russia working in Indian languages? What are the implications of that?
I’m strongly against it. The liquidation of media coverage that previously was done in eight Indian languages leads to a situation when Indians have less and less knowledge about Russia. The situation is similar in Russia as well: Russian businessmen don’t know how India looks like today. That’s why they are very cautious about entering the Indian market. Indian bureaucracy is sometimes a push-off factor, but the Modi government is making steps to liquidate many of the bureaucratic obstacles changing the tax system and making the environment for foreign investors more transparent. But if our businessmen don’t know about it, they will not go there. The same is applicable to Indians, though they know us a bit better. However, they get their information mostly from Western sources. Economic cooperation requires a systemic approach and in this respect I support the upcoming opening of the office of the Russian Export Center in India. People working there will be researching the developments on the Indian market and business climate. Once the TASS news agency had a correspondent in Delhi to report on the situation in the Indian market. Today I don’t know if someone is doing or is able to do this. All this leads to a situation when the countries don’t even know about the opportunities existing for effective cooperation. For instance, India’s southern states allow for all-year shipbuilding as opposed to Russia’s traditional shipyards, where the construction takes place only half a year. If India and Russia developed joint shipbuilding projects in India’s southern states that could benefit both states. The problem here is the lack of information about each other, which leads to missed opportunities. The interview is abridged. Read the full version published by Russia Direct . Facebook | 0 |
The Los Angeles Times editorial board is requesting President Donald Trump to “revive” the infamous ‘Gang of Eight’ amnesty legislation that would have legalized some 12 to 30 million illegal immigrants in the U. S.[In the L. A. Times editorial, Trump’s current immigration enforcement measures were blasted as “bullying” and the deportation of illegal immigrants was slammed for allegedly creating “more problems than it solves. ” Instead, the L. A. Times editors said the ‘Gang of Eight’ amnesty legislation, which Sen. John McCain ( ) and Sen. Marco Rubio ( ) both heralded in 2013, is the answer to the current immigration problem facing the U. S. Most of the 11 million people living in the country illegally have been here for more than a decade, and have become entwined in the fabric of communities despite their illegal status. They are longtime neighbors and friends, the parents of American children, and workers who fill a significant percentage of the jobs in the agriculture, construction and service industries. Kicking them all out creates more problems than it solves. So rather than rousting those who established themselves here years ago without permission and otherwise have not broken significant laws, the administration should work with Congress to revive the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill and tackle this issue in a humane, pragmatic and manner that emphasizes what is best for the country. In fact, most Americans support immigration and immigration reform, and want a path for legalization for those who have been longstanding productive members of American society. At the risk of belaboring the obvious, immigration — despite society’s occasional surges of xenophobia — made this country. Not only does it define the nation’s past, it will define the future, as well. Yes, it needs to be orderly and controlled, which is why responsible national leadership is crucial. Instead, we get bellicosity and . With Republicans controlling both Congress and the White House, the immigration system is theirs to fix. They need to get to it, rather than pursuing draconian, legally unsound and disruptive enforcement strategies. Amnesty has long been denounced by Trump and his Attorney General Jeff Sessions for its rewarding of legal status to what they see as and in the illegal immigration system. That viewpoint by Trump and Sessions has not stopped efforts by more GOP senators and congressmen. Sen. Thom Tillis ( ) most recently introduced an immigration overhaul legislation that would include amnesty for the millions of illegal immigrants in the U. S. as Breitbart Texas reported. John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder. | 1 |
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Today James talks to Nomi Prins, author of books like All The Presidents Bankers, about her recent article “The Central Bank Power Shift from West to East, Game of Thrones Style.” We talk about the changing economic and monetary landscape and how the locus of central bank power is shifting to the East, with players like the People’s Bank of China gaining in prominence and former US/EU lapdogs like the IMF becoming brokers for these new power players in the new world financial order.
SHOW NOTES AND MP3: https://www.corbettreport.com/?p=20523
WATCH THIS VIDEO ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/26uklwiH7Wk | 0 |
SAN FRANCISCO — The investor pressure began building on Marc Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce. com, two weeks ago. On Sept. 23, news broke that Mr. Benioff’s company was in discussions to buy the troubled social media company Twitter. Inside the offices of hedge funds and mutual fund companies on Wall Street and elsewhere, investors in Salesforce immediately began to question the rationale for buying Twitter. They were not happy. The investors made their concerns known to Mr. Benioff. In emails and other communications, the shareholders told the chief executive and Salesforce’s investor relations team that they disapproved of a with Twitter. The effort was led by Fidelity Investments, the mutual fund firm that is Salesforce’s largest shareholder, with about 14 percent of the company. At least one Fidelity portfolio manager emailed Salesforce about the deal being a bad idea, according to people briefed on the correspondence, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the communications were private. Other Salesforce investors, including hedge funds, said they would sell the company’s stock, according to two people with knowledge of the communications. By this Wednesday, when Mr. Benioff spoke at an investor meeting at a San Francisco hotel, his language about any deal had turned conciliatory and defensive. “I read all of your notes, you probably know that,” Mr. Benioff said. “I also read your emails. And as I digest all of that information, this is actually the No. 1 thing that has been on my mind. In some cases we have been unusually surprised and we have had to do a reset. ” The pushback offers a window into how big investors can exert pressure on deals behind the scenes. Salesforce is particularly vulnerable to what its large institutional investors think because the unprofitable online software company relies heavily on its stock to make acquisitions and pay employee compensation. As a result, the company needs to keep investors happy for its share price to continue going up. Salesforce declined to comment, as did a representative from Fidelity. It is unclear whether or not Mr. Benioff will continue to pursue Twitter. One person involved in the negotiations said that, for now, Salesforce’s shareholders have halted a potential deal. For Twitter, that would mean that its options have narrowed. The social media company had been talking to potential buyers, as well as considering divestitures and layoffs to focus its business. But companies including Google, Apple and Disney are not interested in buying Twitter, people at those companies said, and Salesforce appeared to be one of the last interested parties. Twitter as well as Google and Apple declined to comment. Disney did not respond to calls. Recode earlier reported that Google, Apple and Disney would not make bids. Even though Salesforce is a company, in some ways Mr. Benioff still runs it like a making promises of boundless growth and equity riches for all employees. Salesforce does not have much cash on hand — just over $1 billion as of the end of July — compared with other tech companies, which makes it important that shareholders continue to buy its stock and enhance its value. Unlike behemoths like Microsoft, Apple and Oracle, which can turn to their cash hoards for deals, Salesforce must use a combination of stock and borrowed money to buy companies. If shareholders were to sell and drive down the value of Salesforce stock, that would hurt Mr. Benioff’s capabilities. Salesforce needs to aggressively acquire companies to keep its revenue growing as its core business, software, slows, said Mark Moerdler, a senior research analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. The company’s reliance on stock can sometimes be a negative. Earlier this year, for example, Salesforce offered a higher per share price than rivals to buy the professional site LinkedIn. Yet LinkedIn ultimately took a lower offer from Microsoft that was all in cash. Salesforce also depends on stock to pay its employees. During the company’s fiscal year ended Jan. 31, it paid out $593. 6 million in compensation, about 8 percent of its total sales. The recent investor pushback puts Mr. Benioff, who has long been a shareholder darling, in an unfamiliar position. Salesforce shares have zoomed higher since pricing at $11 in its initial public offering to around $71 now, as investors clamored to own a piece of one of the first companies to successfully convince big enterprises to rent out software that is stored in the cloud, rather than own it and run it themselves. But after the Twitter news broke, investors pushed the stock down by as much as 8 percent over the next 10 days. On Wednesday, during Mr. Benioff’s investor meeting where he sometimes gazed upon his own image projected on an enormous screen above the crowd, he bristled at times over the shareholder reaction. “Well, what about this one deal right here!” Mr. Benioff said, using a shrill and mocking voice to imitate one shareholder email. “I mean the kind of things that I have been reading in the emails are so extreme I am like, Jesus, do they really think that we would do a deal at that level?” Mr. Benioff emphasized that he is a careful deal maker who is sensitive to what any acquisition might mean for Salesforce’s shareholders, which include large, influential institutions like T. Rowe Price, BlackRock, Sands Capital Management and Harbor Funds. “I don’t believe in running the company like a lone wolf,” he said, pointing to his board members who sat in the front row. But he still left the door open, ever so slightly, for future acquisitions. “We believe innovation happens not just in Salesforce, but in other companies,” he said. | 1 |
After Tom Casperson, a Republican state senator from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, began running for Congress in 2016, he assumed the family of Betsy DeVos, Donald J. Trump’s nominee to be education secretary, would not oppose him. The DeVoses, a dominant force in Michigan politics for decades with a fortune in the billions, had contributed to one of Mr. Casperson’s earlier campaigns. But a week before his primary, family members sent $24, 000 to one of his opponents, then poured $125, 000 into a “super PAC,” Concerned Taxpayers of America, that ran ads attacking him. The reason, an intermediary told Mr. Casperson: his support from organized labor. “Deceitful, dishonest and cowardly,” was how Mr. Casperson’s campaign described the ads, complaining that the groups running them “won’t say who they are or where their money is coming from. ” On Primary Day, Mr. Casperson went down to defeat. In announcing his intention to nominate Ms. DeVos, Mr. Trump described her as “a brilliant and passionate education advocate. ” Even critics characterized her as a dedicated, if misguided, activist for school reform. But that description understates both the breadth of Ms. DeVos’s political interests and the influence she wields as part of her powerful family. More than anyone else who has joined the incoming Trump administration, she represents the combination of wealth, ideology and political hardball associated with a family of billionaires: Charles and David Koch. “They have this moralized sense of the free market that leads to this total program to turn back the ideas of the New Deal, the welfare state,” Kim a historian who has written extensively about the conservative movement, said, describing the DeVoses. Ms. DeVos declined to be interviewed for this article. Like the Kochs, the DeVoses are generous supporters of think tanks that evangelize for unrestrained capitalism, like Michigan’s Acton Institute, and that rail against unions and back privatizing public services, like the Mackinac Center. They have also funded national groups dedicated to cutting back the role of government, including the National Center for Policy Analysis (which has pushed for Social Security privatization and against environmental regulation) and the Institute for Justice (which challenges regulations in court and defends school vouchers). Both organizations have also received money from the Koch family. Indeed, the DeVoses’ education activism, which favors alternatives to traditional public schools, appears to derive from the same views that inform their suspicion of government. And perhaps more than other billionaires, the DeVoses couple their seeding of ideological causes with an aggressive brand of political spending. Half a dozen or more extended family members frequently coordinate contributions to maximize their impact. In the 2016 cycle alone, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, the family spent roughly $14 million on political contributions to state and national candidates, parties, PACs and super PACs. All of this would make Ms. DeVos — whose confirmation hearing has been delayed until next week amid mounting pressure that her government ethics review be completed beforehand — very different from past education secretaries. “She is the most emblematic kind of oligarchic figure you can put in a cabinet position,” said Jeffrey Winters, a political scientist at Northwestern University who studies economic elites. “What she and the Kochs have in common is the unbridled use of wealth power to achieve whatever political goals they have. ” Ms. DeVos, 59, grew up in Holland, Mich. the daughter of a conservative auto parts magnate who was an early funder of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group. When she married Dick DeVos in 1979, it was akin to a merger between two royal houses of western Michigan. Her husband’s father, Richard Sr. of the multilevel marketing company Amway, was an active member of the Christian Reformed Church that preached a mix of social conservatism and . He once told the church’s official magazine that Chicago’s poor dwelled in slums because that was “the way they choose to live,” according to a Washington Post story from the 1980s. A fan of and pinkie rings, Richard Sr. wrote books with titles like “Ten Powerful Phrases for Positive People. ” A similar air hung over his business. Amway sales representatives, which the company calls “independent business owners,” make money both by selling the company’s products — everything from perfume to toilet bowl cleaner — and by recruiting other sales representatives. The Federal Trade Commission once investigated the company for running a pyramid scheme before concluding that it had misled potential recruits about how much they could expect to earn. The flip side of the family’s proselytizing for capitalism, according to Professor has been an effort to dismantle much “that would counterbalance the power of economic elites. ” Amway funded a nationwide ad campaign in the early 1980s, protesting high taxes and regulations. Not long after, the company pleaded guilty to cheating the Canadian government out of more than $20 million in revenue. The family had a more winning public face in Dick DeVos, who combined the practiced empathy of a pitchman with the entitlement of an heir, spending over $30 million on an unsuccessful run for governor of Michigan in 2006. The Detroit Free Press described him that year as the wealthiest man to seek office in the state’s modern history. Betsy DeVos, who served as chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party for most of the decade between 1996 and 2005, has often played the role of strategist in the relationship. She was a key adviser in her husband’s run for governor and publicly brooded that he had been too gentlemanly in his first debate against the incumbent. “He’s very good with people, a retail politician who looks you in the eye, shakes your hand, listens to what you say,” said Randy Richardville, a former Republican leader of the Michigan Senate, describing the couple’s strengths. “I would never underestimate Betsy DeVos in a knife fight. ” Ms. DeVos has sometimes lacked her husband’s finesse, once famously blaming many of the state’s economic woes on “high wages. ” She has won detractors, by their account, by browbeating legislators into voting her way. “Betsy DeVos was like my granddaughter at the time,” said Mike Pumford, a former Republican state representative who once clashed with her. “They were both sweet ladies as long as they kept hearing the word ‘yes.’ They turned into spoiled little brats when they were told ‘no. ’” But Ms. DeVos has often made up for what she lacks in tact through sheer force of will. Mr. Richardville said he and Ms. DeVos disagreed over term limits, which she supported as party chairwoman and he opposed: “I said, ‘I don’t think you should be setting policy. You should be supporting those of us who do make policy.’ But she never backed down. ” While Dick and Betsy DeVos appear to practice a more tolerant form of Christianity than their parents — Ms. DeVos has spoken out against bigotry — as recently as the early 2000s they funded some groups like Focus on the Family, a large ministry that helps set the political agenda for conservative evangelicals. They have also backed groups that promote conservative values to students and Christian education, including one with ties to the Christian Reformed Church. Their economic views are strikingly similar to the elder Mr. DeVos’s. According to federal disclosures, Amway, which Dick DeVos ran between 1993 and 2002, has lobbied frequently over the last 20 years to reduce or repeal the estate tax. Only the top 0. 2 percent wealthiest estates paid the tax in 2015. The company has also opposed crackdowns on tax shelters. Ms. DeVos has been an outspoken defender of unlimited contributions known as soft money, which she described in a 1997 editorial as “ American dollars that Big Brother has yet to find a way to control. ” After Congress later passed a major campaign finance reform bill, a nonprofit that Ms. DeVos helped to create and fund masterminded the strategy that produced Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court decision laying the groundwork for super PACs funded by corporations, unions and individuals to raise and spend unlimited amounts in elections. And then there are the family’s efforts to rein in the labor movement. Through their contributions to think tanks like the Mackinac Center, as well as Mr. DeVos’s direct prodding of Republican legislators, the family played a key role in helping pass Michigan’s legislation in 2012. The legislation largely ended the requirement that workers pay fees to unions as a condition of employment. Unions in the state bled members in 2014, the first full year the measure was in effect. Allies say the DeVoses fight for their beliefs. “Betsy and Dick see themselves as principled conservatives,” said Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute. “It kind of seems healthy and admirable to give resources to folks who are going to fight for causes you believe in. ” But the fights can appear to be as much about consolidating power as ideology. Unions were arguably the family’s most formidable political opponent in Michigan, one of labor’s traditional strongholds. The DeVos family’s roots as education activists date back at least to when Richard DeVos Sr. was running Amway and an institute based at the company’s headquarters trained teachers to inject principles into their curriculum. According to an interview Ms. DeVos gave to Philanthropy magazine, she and her husband became interested in education causes when they began visiting a Christian school that served children in Grand Rapids in the 1980s. “If we could choose the right school for our kids” — by which she appeared to mean primarily private schools — “it only seemed fair that they could do the same for theirs,” she told the magazine. The family spent millions of dollars on a ballot proposal in 2000 asking if Michigan should legalize vouchers, in which students can use taxpayer money to attend private schools. Many critics, like the education historian Diane Ravitch, argue that the point of vouchers is to destroy public education and teachers’ unions. The group Americans United for Separation of Church and State has documented how conservative Christians have long supported vouchers, which could fund religious schools. After voters objected by more than a ratio, Dick DeVos gave a speech at the Heritage Foundation saying such efforts would have to shift to state legislatures, where groups backed by donors could offer “a political consequence for opposition, and political reward for support of education reform issues. ” It is not unusual for the wealthy — who devote nearly 50 percent of their philanthropic dollars to education, according to the group — to spend aggressively in the political realm to impose their preferred reforms. Even by these standards, however, the DeVoses stand out for the amount of money they spend trying to advance their goals through politics rather than philanthropy, such as research into reforms or subsidizing schools. As Sarah Reckhow, an expert on education philanthropy at Michigan State University, put it: “The DeVoses are like: ‘No, we know what we want. We don’t need to have all this window dressing. ’” Ms. DeVos has led two nonprofits that have spent millions of dollars electing governors and legislators sympathetic to school vouchers around the country. Matt Frendewey, a spokesman for one of the groups, said the efforts had frequently been bipartisan, and that the amount of money they had spent has been dwarfed by contributions from teachers’ unions opposed to reform. Yet in Michigan, at least, the family’s political strategy has not been subtle. After he defied Ms. DeVos on a key charter school vote, Mr. Pumford, the former Republican legislator, survived an effort by the Great Lakes Education Project, a nonprofit the DeVoses bankrolled, to defeat him in his 2002 primary. But shortly after, the House speaker told him the Education Committee chairmanship he coveted would not be forthcoming. “I said, ‘Why? ’” Mr. Pumford recalled. “He said: ‘You know why. The DeVoses will walk away from us. ’” Mr. Pumford added: “She told me that was going to happen. ” (Rick Johnson, the House speaker, said he did not recall the conversation but also that he had not promised Mr. Pumford the chairmanship and would not have explained his reasons for withholding it.) Over time, the Great Lakes Education Project helped elect Republican majorities sympathetic to the DeVoses’ agenda. But the DeVoses’ lobbyists and operatives also discovered less messy ways to advance legislation. Late one night of their last workweek in 2015, the Michigan House and Senate were about to approve some uncontroversial changes to campaign finance law, when the bill abruptly grew by more than 40 pages. After the legislators discovered what they had voted for, many said they were horrified. Tucked away in the new pages was a provision that would have made it much harder for local bodies like school boards to raise money through property tax increases. “Michigan schools will likely suffer the brunt of the impact because the vast majority rely on periodic voter approval of local operating levy renewals for property taxes,” the ratings agency Moody’s wrote of the measure the following month. “I was fooled into voting for something I opposed,” said Dave Pagel, a Republican representative. “I consider it the worst vote I’ve made. ” The chief culprits, according to Mr. Pagel and others at the state Capitol when the bill passed, were lobbyists closely tied to the DeVoses. Tony Daunt, a spokesman for the Michigan Freedom Fund, a nonprofit headed by the DeVoses’ longtime political aide, and whose political spending arm they have funded generously, said the group was “part of the discussion process with people in the legislature” about the proposal and “had consistently expressed support for the policy. ” The law was later blocked by a federal judge, but the group has vowed to try again. Ms. DeVos’s advocates see in these fights the toughness to take on entrenched opponents of expanding reforms like charter schools and vouchers. In promoting Ms. DeVos in The Washington Post, Mitt Romney, the Republican Party’s 2012 presidential nominee, emphasized that her wealth gave her the independence to be “someone who isn’t financially biased shaping education. ” He added, “DeVos doesn’t need the job now, nor will she be looking for an education job later. ” But critics see someone with an unmistakable agenda. “The signs are there that she will do something radical,” said Jack Jennings, a former general counsel for the House education committee. “Trump wouldn’t have appointed this woman for this position if he didn’t intend something radical. ” | 1 |
We Are Change
This graphic, courtesy of The Atlantic, highlights the disparity in flight hour costs for various aircraft in the US fleet.
LUZERNE, Mich. – Officials say a mechanical failure is believed to have caused the release of six training bombs and a training missile from a military plane over Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula.
No one was injured due to the release, which WWTV and WPBN report happened Oct. 25 over Oscoda County.
The training weapons were on a plane heading to Camp Grayling from Selfridge Air National Guard Base in suburban Detroit when they fell off.
Lt. Col. Matthew Trumble, director of the Camp Grayling Air Gunnery Range, says it’s a “rare” situation.
The Guard says the missile was non-explosive and the six training bombs can release smoke so that pilots can see where they land.
In a bizarre end to a military exercise, that ended with training bombs accidentally falling from the sky, as a group of fighter jets heading to Camp Grayling from Selfridge were forced to turn around when they realized a rack of training munitions on one had reportedly accidently fell off.
The Michigan National Guard says the bombs and missile were found near Luzerne.
Learn More:
http://www.9and10news.com/story/33576…
http://www.local10.com/news/training-weapons-inadvertently-fall-from-plane-in-michigan
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Republicans are fond of blaming the media for their troubles, but never blaming voters for utterly rejecting their party’s platform of racism, hatred and economic inequality. To some Republican voters, it will even come as a surprise that Donald Trump loses next week’s election, but the signs were all there and here’s an excerpt from just one of the rare Fox News stories that admits it: “ ‘Sleeping Giant’ awake and roaring – early voting shows high Latino turnout “:
The tens of millions of early votes cast point to strength from Democratic-leaning Latino voters, potentially giving Clinton a significant advantage in Nevada and Colorado. With more than half the votes already cast in those states, Democrats are matching if not exceeding their successful 2012 pace, according to data compiled by The Associated Press.
Latinos, another group that Democrats have been banking on, are turning out in larger numbers than anticipated, and they very well may be the ones who give the party’s presidential nominee the margin of victory. “We are seeing the trajectory of the election change in some states, but Democrats are also making up ground,” said Michael McDonald, a University of Florida professor and expert in voter turnout.
They don’t let Sean Hannity or Lou Dobbs on to Fox News Latino, which is probably why it actually publishes some factual stories, unlike Fox News or Fox Business, who just today had to retract an entirely false story about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, Univision exit polling is showing that Latinos have the same high level of regard for Hillary Clinton in Florida that they have for President Barack Obama. This level of support is considered key to the Democratic nominee’s strategy to win the Sunshine State, which would act as a firewall, closing almost all of the Republican nominee’s paths to the presidency. The Miami Herald reports :
Hillary Clinton has hit a key marker among Florida Hispanics, according to a new poll: She’s reached the level of popularity that helped President Barack Obama win the nation’s largest battleground state in 2012.
Sixty percent of Florida Latinos favor Clinton, the Univision News poll shows. That’s the same number that voted for Obama four years ago, according to exit polls from that election.
The polls further indicate that Hillary Clinton will probably get at least 60% of the latino vote in Florida, but there’s 9% of the sample that is still not decided, so it could be much higher by the time election day finishes.
Politico is reporting that the Democratic nominee’s 30-point lead amongst Latino voters in Florida isn’t just a problem for Trump, but that for the entire GOP it’s a “terrifying” prospect. For the wing of the Republican party that likes to win elections, this poll is probably invoking the moment where they see their party’s entire electoral history as the party of Lincoln flash before its eyes, which can only mean that the end of the decadently twisted Grand Old Party is near.
Republicans wrote an autopsy of their party after their politics of division, hatred and the 47% blew the 2012 election, which declared the GOP dead in the water. Particularly, the report cited the Tea Party’s radical anti-immigration policies, racist dog whistles and the war on women.
Luckily, that spurred the rank and file GOP voters in 2016 to pick an orange zombie Presidential candidate, a man who has turned off women and latinos like a switch, and added muslims, finished off black people and finally convinced college educated voters to trust that the Democratic party is the only rational political actor that can be trusted.
Donald Trump’s “safe zone”– THE Fox News Network – is reporting a massive turnout in the latino communities the Republican candidate so despises.
Now, there is absolutely no way he can claim that the election is rigged next Tuesday night when all of the major news networks pronounce his campaign dead, and the Republican Party along with it. | 0 |
Twitter refuses to verify the official account of WikiLeaks’ founder and editor Julian Assange, despite his accumulation of over 100, 000 followers. [“This is absurd,” Assange tweeted on Wednesday, along with a screenshot of Twitter’s verification rejection. “We’ve been trying to verify this account since early October. ” @jack This is absurd. pic. twitter. — Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) March 14, 2017, @CoCoCousine @AssangeFreedom @jack We’ve been trying to verify this account since early October. — Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) March 14, 2017, Assange criticized Twitter’s verification standards, adding, “Twitter has binary class system with proximity to power represented by ‘blue tick’ insignia. I am enjoying being one of its deplorables. ” Twitter has binary class system with proximity to power represented by ’blue tick’ insignia. I am enjoying being one of its deplorables. — Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) March 15, 2017, As explained by Mashable, “Twitter typically verifies celebrities and accounts ‘determined to be of public interest’ with a tick,” letting users know that it is the real account of the individual or company. Though WikiLeaks’ account is verified, Assange has been repeatedly denied a verification badge on his own account of over 113, 000 followers. Breitbart Tech has reached out to Twitter for comment. Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook. | 1 |
I thought the grim lesson of the robots was so obvious it barely deserved comment, but comment I did … and soon discovered plenty of people do need this lesson explained to them:[BurgerFlipBot calculates that the true minimum wage is, always has been, and always will be ZERO. https: . — John Hayward (@Doc_0) March 10, 2017, It’s time for a little primer in BurgerFlipRobot economics, with a little help from the friendly (and ) folks in my Twitter stream. I decided not to reprint any Tweet except my own, because I don’t wish to embarrass anyone. Quite the contrary — I think even my more hostile correspondents were asking very good questions about robots, perhaps even better than they realized. Rest assured all of the following objections were thrown at me by real people. I have paraphrased them slightly and edited out profanity as needed. What do you mean, the “real minimum wage is zero?” The true minimum wage is $0. 00. Zip, zero, nada. It doesn’t matter what any government entity declares the minimum wage must be. Business owners always have the option of not hiring you, and therefore paying you nothing. I don’t mean this in a grand, abstract, “well duh” sense. I mean you. You personally, dear reader. Every time you apply for a job, and the prospective employer thinks you might be worth hiring, he also has the option of saying “no” and paying you nothing. He is more likely to say no if the mandatory minimum wage plus overhead — the real cost of hiring you, less than half of which you see on your paycheck — is higher than the value of your labor. That’s important to remember, because jobs tend to be positions. The labor isn’t worth much, but it does have some value. The problem is that the value is sometimes going to be less than what the employer is required by law to pay if he says yes to the . Frankly, jobs are a gamble for employers, and the odds aren’t great. It costs money to train new employees. High overhead costs must be covered. The new guy may very well quit or need to be fired before the investment made in hiring him is recouped. people have thin resumes and minimal career capital to protect, so it’s difficult to tell if they can be trusted. Hard work plus low pay leads to disgruntled employees. Employers simply don’t know if young workers, or older people the workforce after a long jobless period, can be trusted not to steal or give free stuff to their friends, but also to appear on time for their designated shift, to keep their hair short, their fingernails clean and their uniforms unstained. Hiring them is a huge roll of the dice for business owners who already have many, many other problems to solve. The machines that replace human workers don’t cost zero. They aren’t free! No, and no one said they were. Arguing with a point nobody made is impolite. The point is that machines can cost much less than human employees, over a long period of time. They don’t quit suddenly unless the electricity is turned off, they don’t sneak a few sawbucks from the cash register, or throw a fit in front of customers, or stage angry protests to demand higher minimum wages. Even though machines do cost some money to buy and maintain, it is also true that business owners still do not have to buy a machine or a person’s labor and time, so the eternal minimum wage of human workers remains at zero. Of course, when the cost of the machines begins to drop below the minimum legal cost of hiring human labor, then human workers are going to have a fundamental problem. Upgrading and maintaining BurgerFlipBot will cost a lot of money! Yes, but it will cost less money next year, and maybe even less than the cost of the least diligent kitchen crewmembers. Too many Americans have no idea what it’s like to run a business. They don’t even know how much their own employers are shelling out for their labor. It won’t take long before BurgerFlipBot and its cousins become so much cheaper than human staffers — and then hiring unreliable, untrustworthy or unskilled people becomes actually . Once that happens, the trend will just accelerate as more robots purchases fund the development of better and cheaper robots. If you are reading this on a cell phone, you hold the proof of this proposition in the palm of your hand. Imagine how cheerful and happy BurgerFlipBot Series 7 will be when it greets you when you enter the joint. Another nice thing about BurgerFlipBot is that installing and maintaining it will probably be cheaper than complying with the maze of regulations surrounding the most politicized resource in our economy: human labor. Even if the FDA inspects the hell out of automated restaurants, it probably won’t approach the compliance cost of dealing with the paperwork for human labor — and who knows what new mandates and restrictions politicians will add to human labor over the next decade or two? The robot is crude and slow! It could never replace me! This is just propaganda to scare me out of demanding a fair living wage! BurgerFlipBot is crude and slow now, but it should hardly be necessary to explain to any denizen of the 21st Century that machines get better over time, especially when demand for the machines gives the designers enough money to make improvements. For the time being, human labor is often objectively superior to robots. The problem is that it might not be superior enough to justify the high cost and hassle of employing humans. The poor folks who don’t understand what’s going on with automation and the minimum wage were criminally miseducated by schools that didn’t teach them about elasticity. To put it very simply, elasticity means price affects supply and demand gradually. Many factors contribute to how much a given increase in price will affect supply and demand. Some goods have inelastic supply and elastic demand, or vice versa. Gasoline is a common example of an inelastic product because demand only changes a little as the price fluctuates. People still need gas, even when it’s expensive. When central planners daydream about using gas price increases to reduce America’s carbon footprint, they need to threaten gigantic hikes of $9 or $10 per gallon. Conversely, the demand for each brand of beer is fairly elastic — raise the price of Bud Light and people will quickly switch to Coors Light. Let’s be blunt about the elasticity of labor: both supply and demand are far more elastic than most people imagine. Raise the cost of labor enough, and employers will quickly make do with less or develop robots to human work. Make welfare benefits generous enough, and people will quickly stop supplying cheap labor. Management still wants cheap labor for basic work, so they’ll find it elsewhere. The younger generation is much more willing to deal with machines in commercial environments than older people were. They’re willing, and often eager, to conduct a wide range of transactions without human assistance — ordering from Amazon. com instead of shopping in a store, for example, or ordering food from a touch screen at a restaurant instead of speaking with a cashier. Resistance to automation is melting away before our very eyes. This melting is rapidly closing the value gap between human and machine labor. Unfortunately, that revolution is occurring at the same time human labor is becoming problematic due to poor education, bad worker attitudes, and demands for a higher minimum wage. consumers will forgive many errors by BurgerFlipBot if the food stays cheap. The danger is not that restaurants will abruptly stop hiring humans and roll out BurgerFlipBot nationwide as soon as the minimum wage hits $15, $18, or $20 per hour. The danger is that artificially inflated wages gradually make automation more appealing, while improvements in technology and changing customer attitudes gradually remove the drawbacks of automation. Okay, so we lose some jobs to these robots. So what? Those jobs stink anyway. It’s better to work as a BurgerFlipBot repair technician than slave over a hot grill for crap wages! This brings us back to the searing truth of “the true minimum wage is zero. ” jobs are important to society and to young people. Sacrificing a huge number of them to create a few maintenance jobs will not be pleasant for the people can qualify to work on a grill, but cannot work on a complex robot. Far too much of our labor argument is dominated by puerile sentiments like “everyone deserves a living wage. ” This is not about what people deserve. It’s about what they can earn. Many people who could prosper if they began as are not ready to work as BurgerFlipBot technicians. Automation and robots threaten to demolish the to the workforce for a vast number of young, and marginal employees. Artificially increasing the cost of labor by jacking up the minimum wage will accelerate that demolition. In earlier times, labor activists were confident that business would eventually buckle to their demands, because the bottom line was no employees = no business. That is no longer true. Employers generally still prefer human labor, but the variables are changing. In a nation with tens of millions of workers, a 10 percent reduction in demand for labor means a lot of people will lose their chance at employment, possibly forever. Many or people financed good career paths by starting out in humble jobs. They prospered from flipping burgers, even though they only flipped burgers for a couple of years. Combine automation with artificially increased competition for work from mass immigration, and the result will be a large number of people who never get a chance at working their way out of poverty. They’ll never really learn how to work. Furthermore, BurgerFlipBot doesn’t pay taxes. Our current social welfare system demands steady input from human workers forking over payroll taxes to the government. The ratio of taxpaying workers to dependents has already become dangerously low. It’s simply amazing to watch people who are comfortable with our entitlement system or want even more entitlement spending for benefits such as health care, cavalierly assume the current system is sustainable with a smaller workforce working better jobs. Well, automation will happen no matter what minimum wage we demand, so we’re screwed anyway. Don’t give up hope. Elasticity is the key concept to remember. Jacking up labor costs makes it more likely human jobs will be replaced, and makes it more likely the replacement will happen soon. That’s bad news for a society that is still struggling to reconfigure its education system to improve the value of human capital. Increasing the incentives for employers to ditch humans for machines quickly leaves us with less time to improve the workforce and develop new avenues for human employment. It matters a great deal how quickly these changes happen. Some people blithely assume workers can simply switch jobs after robots take their positions. That takes time, both to train the workers and to create the new jobs. We’ve allowed foolish politics on economics, education, and immigration to run down the clock. Take a look around at all the machines you see this weekend, and all the ways has replaced retail activity. Consider the grim proof that social welfare spending is no substitute for work, even if lavish benefit programs were sustainable. Understand that once BurgerFlipBot is on the job, it’s very unlikely human workers will ever take its job away. We can’t stop progress or robots, but we can adopt wise policies that maximize both supply and demand for human capital, encouraging employers to pay the best price for labor. Right now, we’re trying to force them to pay more than the labor is really worth because our government has not been able to establish a better set of labor, immigration and education policies. BurgerFlipBot is a symbol of that government failure — and a stark warning of what lies at the end of that road. | 1 |
On a residential block of Union Street in Brooklyn, everyone seemed to have known Andre Lane, the neighborhood fixture with the body of a fighter and a great singing voice who appeared a little off but was considered harmless. Now, they all want to know who killed him in the public housing complex around the corner. Mr. Lane, 26, who had a lengthy history of mental health problems, had survived a brutal beating at the hands of correction officers at Rikers Island, New York City’s main jail complex, in 2012. But he was shot and killed on Wednesday night as he struggled to remake a life that had been difficult from the start. People in the Brownsville neighborhood where Mr. Lane lived and died could not make sense of his death. “He didn’t bother nobody,” Byron Jenkins, 49, said. “Everybody knew Andre had a mental problem. Once he had an argument with somebody, he calmed down. “I don’t know what took place” on Wednesday, Mr. Jenkins continued, “but he shouldn’t have died like that. ” Mr. Lane was shot around 10:30 p. m. the police said, inside 682 Ralph Avenue, one of five red brick apartment buildings that make up the Ralph Avenue Houses. Bullets struck him in his torso and right arm, the police said, and he was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital Center. Residents said they heard a boom, followed by the pop of five gunshots. From her kitchen on the fourth floor of the building, Joan, 51, said she saw the reflection of people’s feet running from the building in a glass door across the street. Her partner said he saw through a bedroom window the flash of a gun firing in the lobby. Like many of her neighbors, Joan declined to give her surname because she feared retaliation. Investigators were still trying to find the gunman as well as witnesses to help them piece together what happened before the shooting. But they faced the formidable task of penetrating the silence of a neighborhood terrorized by gangs, and where mistrust of the police and fear of retaliation for cooperating with them stymie efforts to catch criminals. Mr. Lane’s family has searched the neighborhood for answers. Tyesha Lane, 30, one of his sisters, hovered behind the police tape at the entrance to the Ralph Avenue building on Thursday, while investigators took photographs of an apartment on the first floor. The door had been broken down and the occupants had not returned. “My brother’s been through so much throughout his life,” Ms. Lane said. “And to learn that his life was taken from him that way, I’m heartbroken. He was never given a fair shot at life. ” Their mother, Isis Lane, laid a Bible on the sidewalk opened to Psalm 23, which portrays God as a shepherd guiding his flock. At night, the candles that surrounded the book flickered as the wind lifted its pages. Ms. Lane had been addicted to crack cocaine when her son was born on Oct. 12, 1989. He had schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and attention deficit disorder. Mr. Lane and two of his sisters were raised by their aunt Marvenus Lane Nicholson, who took him to church, where he sang in the choir, her daughter Tanya Ragoonanan, 39, said. Ms. Nicholson died in June 2012 after a heart attack. By then, Mr. Lane had dropped out of high school and had been arrested several times for jumping subway turnstiles, arguing with police officers and fighting, Ms. Ragoonanan said. He was an adult, and it had become much harder for his family to get him help, she added. “He was hyper, but they didn’t care because he was grown,” Ms. Ragoonanan said. “The system really railroaded him. ” Six months after Ms. Nicholson’s death, Mr. Lane was in solitary confinement at Rikers on a cellblock reserved for mentally ill inmates. He was beaten by guards on Dec. 17 after splashing a liquid on them after the inmates were told they might not be fed dinner that night. Mr. Lane was one of 129 inmates who sustained serious injuries in altercations with guards at Rikers Island in cases that were documented in a secret study by the city’s health department, which handles medical care there. The study, which revealed a culture of brutality perpetrated by correction officers at the jail complex, was uncovered in 2014 during a investigation by The New York Times. Prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges against the officers who beat Mr. Lane. The city has hired a consulting firm to plan reforms at its troubled jails. After his release, Mr. Lane told his family he never wanted to go back to jail. But he struggled to find stability and to stay out of trouble. He was due back in court as soon as Tuesday to face misdemeanor charges stemming from six different arrests, one from February 2013 and five between October 2015 and May 2016, according to court records. On May 18, he was arrested after the superintendent of an apartment building on Ralph Avenue said he broke the glass entry door, according to court records. Samira Hickman, 49, said it took about a dozen police officers to subdue him. His strength, she said, was “unbelievable. ” After he was released on May 24, he got a job at the J. Q. Grocery Store, a deli where a picture of a smiling President Obama hangs near a painting of the Last Supper in which Jesus and his disciples all have brown skin. Earl Morgan, the cashier, said Mr. Lane stocked the freezers and did odd jobs. Veronica, who lives in the neighborhood and declined to give her surname, said Mr. Lane had recently asked her to tutor him in math and reading. At a vigil on Friday on St. Mark’s Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where Mr. Lane lived as a child, his family and friends erected a memorial for Dre Blacc, as he was known. They sang parts of songs he had made up, and laughed about his antics. Peter Hepburn Jr. 34, said the rain that fell the morning after Mr. Lane died gave him hope that his friend had made it to heaven. Mr. Lane had struggled his whole life “trying to feel complete,” he said. “And the only way that he could really actually achieve that out here is through actually meeting with God himself,” Mr. Hepburn said. | 1 |
Activists in 45 states and the nation’s capital are rallying Saturday to urge Congress and President Donald Trump to eliminate taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood — the nation’s largest abortion business. [It’s their turn now: march against Planned Parenthood on Saturday — https: . @washtimes #protestPP, — Jennifer Harper (@harperbulletin) February 10, 2017, #ProtestPP — a coalition of state and national groups — is organizing the event and is primarily sponsored by Citizens for a Society, Created Equal, and the Action League. The event will feature protests outside over 200 Planned Parenthood facilities across the United States. Demonstrations are also taking place at the London headquarters of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, which was recently defunded by Trump’s executive order. The next #ProtestPP rallies will take place on Saturday, February 11. Be there! https: . #prolife pic. twitter. — secularprolife (@secularprolife) February 1, 2017, “The federal government has been subsidizing Planned Parenthood to the tune of more than $430 million annually,” explains Eric Scheidler, national organizer of #ProtestPP. “This, at the same time that the nation’s largest abortion provider holds $500 ticket fundraisers and charges a woman about $500 to abort her baby. On top of that, Planned Parenthood is trafficking baby body parts. Taxpayers are sickened to see their money spent in support of these atrocities. ” Scheidler adds: This is a nationwide event, but at the same time it is a local community concern. As citizens gather to encourage Congress to quit sending money to an organization that specializes in killing children, they are also declaring that they do not want Planned Parenthood to continue operating in their neighborhoods. Citizens for a Society director Dr. Monica Migliorino Miller also states, “The defunding of Planned Parenthood is a matter of moral principle. Not a single cent of American tax dollars should go to an organization that kills innocent human life. ” #ProtestPP #POTUS #maga, Until which time people have had enough of the attacks on our culture and way of life. Are you ready to stand? pic. twitter. — Christian Warrior (@gblair1987) February 11, 2017, #ProtestPP says that, contrary to Planned Parenthood’s claims to be a provider of women’s health care, it is “not a general health care service provider. ” activists are urging Congress and Trump to eliminate Planned Parenthood’s funding and redirect it to other federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) that provide more comprehensive care for women and families, without providing abortions. I believe they are saying ”planned Parenthood tells lies” #ProtestPP #defundpp — Not sure pic. twitter. — Life Line (@LifeLineMI) February 11, 2017, The coalition also asserts, “[F]raudulent Medicaid claims, fetal tissue harvesting, and documented health code violations show Planned Parenthood’s systemic disregard for accountability to taxpayers. ” The protests are taking place as the Republican Party has control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, and Dr. Tom Price — a physician — has just been confirmed as the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Planned Parenthood and its supporters are also planning Saturday as well. ” … we are a champion of one of the most radical ideas in history — that a woman’s body is her own.” — @dawnlaguens https: . pic. twitter. — Planned Parenthood (@PPact) February 10, 2017, “We are closer than we’ve ever been to defunding Big Abortion — Planned Parenthood. Now is the time for a groundswell of grassroots efforts,” comments Mark Harrington, national director of Created Equal. “We call on Congress and President Trump to reallocate those funds to health centers which help women without killing babies. ” “Americans want to end taxpayer funding of abortion — that includes stopping taxpayer funding for the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, and ensuring any Obamacare replacement is and does not allow tax dollars or tax credits to pay for health care plans that include abortion,” says Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Planned Parenthood is a business that has performed more than 300, 000 abortions in the last three years for which data are available. They do not need or deserve taxpayer dollars, and redirecting their federal funding to rural and community health centers would be a victory for women’s health. ” Dannenfelser notes that FQHCs “outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities 20 to 1 nationwide and provide far more services. The majority of Americans want taxpayer funding to go to real women’s health care, not abortion. ” “This Saturday, that majority will let their voices be heard at #ProtestPP gatherings nationwide,” she adds. . @PPact Nationwide protests planned this weekend to defund America’s Abortion Corporation. #ProtestPPhttps: . — Live Action News (@LiveActionNews) February 11, 2017, | 1 |
Singers Katy Perry and Cher will be among the thousands of women expected to travel to the nation’s capital for the Women’s March on Washington to protest Donald Trump’s inauguration this month. [Ugly Betty actress America Ferrera, chair of the organization’s “artist table,” said the march is about standing up to the incoming administration. “Since the election, so many fear that their voices will go unheard,” Ferrera said in a statement. “As artists, women, and most importantly dedicated Americans, it is critical that we stand together in solidarity for the protection, dignity, and rights of our communities. Immigrant rights, worker rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQIA rights, racial justice and environmental rights are not special interests, they affect us all and should be every American’s concern. ” Actresses Scarlett Johansson, Zendaya, Debra Messing, and Julianne Moore and talk show host Chelsea Handler are also expected to participate in the January 21 event. Comedian Amy Schumer — who initially vowed to move to Spain if Trump won, and later said the statement was a joke — took to Instagram last month to encourage her five million followers to join her at the march. “January 21 I’ll be there,” the Trainwreck star wrote. “Who’s coming with me? The group wants the event to “send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. ” “The rhetoric of the past election cycle has insulted, demonized, and threatened many of us — immigrants of all statuses, Muslims and those of diverse religious faiths, people who identify as LGBTQIA, Native people, Black and Brown people, people with disabilities, survivors of sexual assault — and our communities are hurting and scared,” the organization says. Handler, who wrote a essay shaming “white female” Trump supporters, is expected to host a separate march in Park City, Utah during the Sundance Film Festival. “I’m honored to join the Women’s March on Washington Artist Table,” Handler said. “By hosting a sister march in Park City, our Women’s March on Main will help send a message to the incoming administration that attacks on Planned Parenthood and our fundamental human rights are unacceptable and if we have to for rights we have already fought for and won, we will do it louder and stronger, with men by our side. ” Actress Scarlett Johansson said: “The new administration may be very vague about specifics, but one thing has been made very clear their intentions of reducing the availability of Women’s Healthcare and attacking her reproductive rights. I am marching on Washington to let our next president know that we, men and women alike, will not stand down or be silenced and will fight to protect our bodies and our choices. ” The Women’s March on Washington has not been without controversy. As the New York Times reports, some organizers of sister protests across the country and volunteers for the Washington D. C. march believe that the “march for all women” has, in manny cases, turned “into a march for black women. ” Between committed supporters and online RSVPs, the event organizers are expecting over a million marchers in the nation’s capital and across the country to support their efforts. Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson | 1 |
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Why Trump Won; Why Clinton Lost November 9, 2016
Exclusive: Hillary Clinton’s stunning defeat reflected a gross misjudgment by the Democratic Party about the depth of populist anger against self-serving elites who have treated much of the country with disdain, writes Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry
In the end, Hillary Clinton became the face of a corrupt, arrogant and out-of-touch Establishment, while Donald Trump emerged as an almost perfectly imperfect vessel for a populist fury that had bubbled beneath the surface of America.
There is clearly much to fear from a Trump presidency, especially coupled with continued Republican control of Congress. Trump and many Republicans have denied the reality of climate change; they favor more tax cuts for the rich; they want to deregulate Wall Street and other powerful industries – all policies that helped create the current mess that the United States and much of the world are now in. A sign supporting Donald Trump at a rally at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona. June 18, 2016 (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
Further, Trump’s personality is problematic to say the least. He lacks the knowledge and the temperament that one would like to see in a President – or even in a much less powerful public official. He appealed to racism, misogyny, white supremacy, bigotry toward immigrants and prejudice toward Muslims. He favors torture and wants a giant wall built across America’s southern border.
But American voters chose him in part because they felt they needed a blunt instrument to smash the Establishment that has ruled and mis-ruled America for at least the past several decades. It is an Establishment that not only has grabbed for itself almost all the new wealth that the country has produced but has casually sent the U.S. military into wars of choice, as if the lives of working-class soldiers are of little value.
On foreign policy, the Establishment had turned decision-making over to the neoconservatives and their liberal-interventionist sidekicks, a collection of haughty elitists who often subordinated American interests to those of Israel and Saudi Arabia, for political or financial advantage.
The war choices of the neocon/liberal-hawk coalition have been disastrous – from Iraq to Afghanistan to Libya to Syria to Ukraine – yet this collection of know-it-alls never experiences accountability. The same people, including the media’s armchair warriors and the think-tank “scholars,” bounce from one catastrophe to the next with no consequences for their fallacious “group thinks.” Most recently, they have ginned up a new costly and dangerous Cold War with Russia.
For all his faults, Trump was one of the few major public figures who dared challenge the “group thinks” on the current hot spots of Syria and Russia. In response, Clinton and many Democrats chose to engage in a crude McCarthyism with Clinton even baiting Trump as Vladimir Putin’s “puppet” during the final presidential debate.
It is somewhat remarkable that those tactics failed; that Trump talked about cooperation with Russia, rather than confrontation, and won. Trump’s victory could mean that rather than escalating the New Cold War with Russia, there is the possibility of a ratcheting down of tensions.
Repudiating the Neocons
Thus, Trump’s victory marks a repudiation of the neocon/liberal-hawk orthodoxy because the New Cold War was largely incubated in neocon/liberal-hawk think tanks, brought to life by likeminded officials in the U.S. State Department, and nourished by propaganda across the mainstream Western media. Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona. June 18, 2016. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
It was the West, not Russia, that provoked the confrontation over Ukraine by helping to install a fiercely anti-Russian regime on Russia’s borders. I know the mainstream Western media framed the story as “Russian aggression” but that was always a gross distortion.
There were peaceful ways for settling the internal differences inside Ukraine without violating the democratic process, but U.S. neocons, such as Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, and wealthy neoliberals, such as financial speculator George Soros, pushed for a putsch that overthrew the elected President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.
Putin’s response, including his acceptance of Crimea’s overwhelming referendum to return to Russia and his support for ethnic Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine opposing the coup regime in Kiev, was a reaction to the West’s destabilizing and violent actions. Putin was not the instigator of the troubles.
Similarly, in Syria, the West’s “regime change” strategy, which dates back to neocon planning in the mid-1990s, involved collaboration with Al Qaeda and other Islamic jihadists to remove the secular government of Bashar al-Assad. Again, Official Washington and the mainstream media portrayed the conflict as all Assad’s fault, but that wasn’t the full picture.
From the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, U.S. “allies,” including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Israel, have been aiding the rebellion, with Turkey and the Gulf states funneling money and weapons to Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front and even to the Al Qaeda spinoff, Islamic State.
Though President Barack Obama dragged his heels on the direct intervention advocated by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama eventually went in halfway, bending to political pressure by agreeing to train and arm so-called “moderates” who ended up fighting next to Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front and other jihadists in Ahrar al-Sham.
Trump has been inarticulate and imprecise in describing what policies he would follow in Syria, besides suggesting that he would cooperate with the Russians in destroying Islamic State. But Trump didn’t seem to understand the role of Al Qaeda in controlling east Aleppo and other Syrian territory.
Uncharted Territory
So, the American voters have plunged the United States and the world into uncharted territory behind a President-elect who lacks a depth of knowledge on a wide variety of issues. Who will guide a President Trump becomes the most pressing issue today. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaking with supporters at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona. March 21, 2016. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
Will he rely on traditional Republicans who have done so much to mess up the country and the world or will he find some fresh-thinking realists who will realign policy with core American interests and values.
For this dangerous and uncertain moment, the Democratic Party establishment deserves a large share of the blame. Despite signs that 2016 would be a year for an anti-Establishment candidate – possibly someone like Sen. Elizabeth Warren or Sen. Bernie Sanders – the Democratic leadership decided that it was “Hillary’s turn.”
Alternatives like Warren were discouraged from running so there could be a Clinton “coronation.” That left the 74-year-old socialist from Vermont as the only obstacle to Clinton’s nomination and it turned out that Sanders was a formidable challenger. But his candidacy was ultimately blocked by Democratic insiders, including the unelected “super-delegates” who gave Clinton an early and seemingly insurmountable lead.
With blinders firmly in place, the Democrats yoked themselves to Clinton’s gilded carriage and tried to pull it all the way to the White House. But they ignored the fact that many Americans came to see Clinton as the personification of all that is wrong about the insular and corrupt world of Official Washington. And that has given us President-elect Trump.
Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, America’s Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com . | 0 |
By Alexa Person
Friday, October 14, 2016, one day after President Obama issued an Executive Order regarding space weather events , the Earth’s magnetic shields collapsed and the energetic streams of energy flowing around Earth (solar winds) completely changed direction. These events corresponded with a severe geomagnetic storm that can be tracked in the satellite video below.
A massive plasma wave literally washed over our planet. This wave consisted of high frequency energy bearing Ascension codes and these codes arrived in the form of Light, otherwise known as photons. My ascended Twin Flame, Ahy, has taught me a great deal about these photon packets, which I now understand to be Amplituhedrons.
Satellite Imagery and Executive Order regarding Space Weather
Since this event took place, I’ve seen a dramatic rise in a number of unexpected side effects:
Stillness. More than usual. It’s as if Gaia is allowing us to experience a “pause” while we are given a chance to integrate the energy bombarding her 4th Density. Time has vanished. And along with it, urgency has disappeared. Everything is getting done, but any anxiety associated with the completion of tasks is nonexistent. Profound sense of peace. Conscious contact with our Higher Dimensional Selves. Body temperatures rising unpredictably and dramatically while at rest. Powerful Light energy intermittently discharging through the skin and/or spine causing intense tingling sensations. Increased focus. Unconsciously shielding the Mind/Body/Soul. Increased contact with the Higher Self. Appetite fluctuations paired with conscious eating. Fatigue. Increased sensitivity, joy and clairvoyant abilities. Due to the onset of my own side effects earlier last week, I cancelled appointments and managed only the most pressing responsibilities. Knowing it was important to be still with this energy, I chose to isolate myself with the intention of integration. I noticed that within the stillness, I desired my own energy. Pushing back all my Guides and other external energies, I found myself hibernating within the stillness of my own I AM Presence.
I normally do not review journal entries once they are written, but I was specifically guided to share these two entries.
The following writings took place before and after the plasma wave moved over our planet. The passages are excerpts taken directly from my journals. For the sake of authenticity, I have kept the copy in tact and have not altered it in any way. It is my prayer that they are of some assistance. If only one person finds any guidance in what I share, I will consider these efforts a success.
Journal Entry I I entered a deep meditation and experienced an intense connection with the Amplituhedon. Elementals and the Cardinal Directions gathered and assisted me in moving it [Amplituhedron’s energy] outward in every direction; 360 degrees it moved away from the Earth’s core. Multiple crystalline Amplituhedrons swirled away from the center at tremendous speeds. As they moved, I felt a rush and connection with them.
Working with the Amplituhedrons was different this time. Instead of moving through each individual layer of the Earth, I connected intensely and instantaneously [with the energy], moving it upward into the Christos Grid and the Magdalen Grid, only to turn my attention outward to reconnect this radiant pink light with the Sun and the Great Central Sun.
I had an epiphany. I felt my consciousness proclaim: “I am fine. I am where I need to be. I am in Service of Others. I am positioned exactly where we decided I would be.”
No longer do I yearn to fly off the Earth and leave her for my higher, familiar realms. I know my job is right here in the NOW. This is the moment I’ve been waited for, the one we have all waited for: the Harvest.
My mind continually wanders past the multiverses and I consider who or what gazes down at the honeycomb mazes of life and wonders, “Do they have any concept of anything grander?”
And so it goes, I guess: one atom building against another and so on-the Divine Matrix.
Shortly after this entry, I had another moment with the Amplituhedron that directly related to everyone on the planet.
Journal Entry II As it connected to Gaia, I wondered if I needed to visualize the Amplituhedrons. Suddenly, I began moving the energy upwards from the center Earth’s Amplituhedron and called upon the Elementals and cardinal directions for assistance. It wasn’t as dramatic as before, but it moved incredibly fast, much faster than other times.
As I got to the surface where I joined with all mankind again, something different took place. I found myself standing with hands cupped open in front of me, manifesting another Amplituhedron. This one revolved in the air, spinning just in front of the heart chakra of every human being. It remained there, revolving in a holding pattern, waiting to be accepted.
We are all being asked to consciously step into the new frequencies coming into the planet. It is accepted by Free Will.
I watched and marveled at the beauty of this geometry floating before the abstract representation of ALL people.
The Amplituhedron then rose into the blue sky and lowered itself into brilliant blue water where it turned 45 degrees to the right and lodged itself into the Earth. A second Amplituhedron revealed itself and remaining upright, hovered far in front of the one buried beneath the water in the soil.
Two identical Amplituhedrons remained before me. One buried at a right angle within the Earth and a second levitating in another realm, completely unhindered by the other.
Confused, I asked my Higher Self what this scene meant and I received a brief, yet lengthy (this is how it works) explanation of how 3rd Density will phase out.
The Earth’s timelines are wobbly, splicing, and we are being asked to choose our path. Some people will bury themselves in the gravity of the Earth’s illusion and others will transcend it. But all is in order and perfection, as there is no judgment. All paths ultimately lead to the same place-Source. Some paths are merely shorter than others.
The time has come. Frequencies are being evaluated and put into order. There is little time to reevaluate and alternate paths. The difficulty lies in the trajectory of assimilating the lessons of Unity Consciousness.
Holding Space for the Higher Self Immediately after experiencing the double Amplituhedrons, I thought about an exercise I did a long ago:
My cells were in solitude I spoke to my cells I brought Light into my cells Activating the “junk DNA” As a result, my body became conscious of me, thus I “awakened to myself”. Just as my cells became aware of me, it was my job to hook into the greater sea of Unity Consciousness and look past the 3rd Dimension. I strove to higher ground, ever-seeking a higher frequency of consciousness, praying my Higher Self would bless me with a “sign”. Thankfully, I quieted my mind long enough to allow this “sign” into my consciousness.
The irony is our Higher Self is always communicating with us. The problem is that we are so contaminated by the illusion of the 3rd Dimension and everything it offers that we don’t listen. Distractions have the intention and priority to become unavoidable. Technology, addictions, entertainment and vices never sleep. They rage 24 hours a day. In an age of instant gratification, Stillness is not rewarded. So how does the Higher Self reach us?
If we are wise enough to practice stillness via meditation or other sacred practices, the Higher Self will communicate and the threshold between the illusory offerings of this dimension and higher ones will be broken. Contact made, the upward reaching cycle continues. As activated beings we begin to see the Universe(s) through the lens of Unity Consciousness.
The Solar System then becomes a multiverse. The multiverse soon becomes part of a system of multiverses, and so on, whereas before releasing fear, there was merely one Solar System-the ego.
And so, the cycles continue, but where do they end? What happens after we traverse multiverses? Is there a designer? Multiple designers? Are they wondering when we will begin to ponder their existence?
If Nassim Haramein’s model is correct, there is no ending. The fractal can be drilled down in either direction. Density is irrelevant.
Video-Nassim Haramein 2015 The Connected Universe
More Information on Nassim Haramein’s Fractal-Holographic Universe .
Something to ponder… We are all dreamers dreaming the dream, so why not make it a loving one?
We ALL have the opportunity to raise our frequency, step into these new algorithms of Light and integrate them into our resonate fields. It merely requires dropping fear and embracing Love. Forgive. Be more kind to people.
Love & Light,
Alexa Person
Alexa Person is and Alchemist of Light, an author and a professional speaker. Born “awake” and gifted with the full spectrum of clairvoyant gifts, Alexa is committed to shifting individuals into a higher alignment of their own Divine Male-Female frequency. Her regular public speaking engagements include her work as a Medium and a Certified Akashic Records Consultant. alexaperson.com
Source: In5D
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The election of Donald J. Trump gives the Republicans in Congress a chance to act on their desire to get rid of Obamacare, a wish that Mr. Trump mostly says he shares. Aaron E. Carroll and Austin Frakt, the health policy analysts for The Upshot, discuss: Then what? Aaron: I think it’s safe to say few in Congress thought they would have this opportunity. But like the proverbial dog who has finally caught the car, after untold futile attempts, Republicans have finally come within reach of repealing the Affordable Care Act. Now comes the essential question: Will they actually do it? They’ve been promising it forever, but I am still skeptical that it will happen. I believe you disagree. I’m going to let you go first. Why do you think they’ll do it? Austin: I think they’ll do it because they so thoroughly own the idea of repeal, having passed bills to repeal, partly repeal, delay or defund the A. C. A. in the House something like 60 times. Just the other day Senator Mitch McConnell endorsed repeal (again). The House and Senate also agreed to do so, in large part, in a budget reconciliation bill earlier this year. The only thing that prevented it was that President Obama vetoed it. I doubt Mr. Trump would do the same if given a similar opportunity. Now, I know that a budget reconciliation dismantling of the law is not a full repeal, because according to the rules it can only touch provisions. This excludes things like requiring insurers to take all comers for premiums that vary only by age and smoking status or preventing them from imposing coverage caps and lifetime limits, among other measures. I also must add that I’m much less confident of a repeal (or partial repeal) without agreement on a replacement. But I’ll turn it back to you, Aaron. Do you think the G. O. P. has to offer a full replacement to get its members to sign on to repeal? Or can it offer something that would cover fewer people and with fewer benefits? Aaron: I think they can get away with slightly fewer people and somewhat skimpier benefits, but not too much. There’s a part of me that thinks many in Congress were always so willing to vote for a “repeal” because they knew it had no chance of being signed into law. They got credit for the vote without ever having to face the downside. Actually repealing without replacing would mean effectively stripping more than 20 million people of their health insurance, without anything in return. This would be an unmitigated political disaster. The stories — of people with cancer, diabetes and more who were suddenly stripped of their insurance and left out in the cold — would very likely dominate our discussion for months. That leaves more than enough time to lead to significant repercussions in the 2018 midterm elections. With no Democratic leaders in any branch of government to blame, I think this would be akin to what happened in the 2010 elections, but in reverse. Now, if they can coalesce around a “replace” plan that doesn’t leave too many people out, then I think they could move forward. But in all the years since the A. C. A. was passed, Republicans haven’t been able to do that. Do you think they can? What do you think that plan would look like? Austin: One way to get from repeal to replace that minimizes immediate political risk is to pass a plan that doesn’t call for repeal for several years, at least after the 2018 midterms, though possibly after the 2020 election. Between now and then, there would need to be some kind of transition to whatever replaces Obamacare that didn’t just dump people off coverage with no alternative. But the alternatives could just be not as comprehensive or costly. Absolutely there will be bad stories. But keep in mind, there will be bad stories under Obamacare, too. Rocketing premiums, huge cost sharing and markets with few choices is not a recipe for political success. Republicans now own the task of fixing those things and doing so in a way that does not look as if they’re making Obamacare better. They’re actually in a tough policy spot. They’ll get the blame if they don’t fix or repeal the A. C. A. and they’ll get the blame if they don’t replace it with something people like better. Health policy is a very difficult and thankless task. I think they’ll opt for something they can call repeal and replace, but they could also just let Obamacare struggle and die. Neither looks good. One other way to get out from under the issue is to kick it to the states. Do you think a Trump administration, working with a G. O. P. Congress, will offer greater flexibility to states to design their own coverage plans that could diverge from Obamacare? If so, what are some ideas states might try? Aaron: I think it’s very likely those in Congress could punt Medicaid to the states. For years, they’ve been trying to change Medicaid funding to a block grant that they can then constrain over time. This will be enticing for them because it will allow them to reduce Medicaid spending in the future, while forcing states to make the tough decisions — and take the blame — for cuts in either beneficiaries or services. Fixing the markets for those who are getting health insurance through the Obamacare exchanges, though, is a different story. Without some sort of market regulation, which they’ve generally been opposed to, the same problems that existed . C. A. with respect to conditions and individual ratings will exist. Many people will become uninsured. Annual and lifetime limits could reappear. Lots of people will have problems getting insured. Moreover, I have yet to be convinced that a significant number of Republicans in the House might coalesce around such a plan. Maybe for Medicaid, but I’m not sure about the exchanges. Even if they could, it’s likely the Democrats in the Senate would try to filibuster either of these plans. Don’t you think? Austin: Yes, I think Democrats would filibuster anything they could. The filibuster is not set in stone. A Senate majority can change it, and some are already calling for the G. O. P. to do so. But that doesn’t appear to be what the Senate will do — they’ll retain the filibuster. This could play to their favor, since they can propose things they like, let the Democrats filibuster them and take the blame when repeal kicks in with no replacement. Perhaps that’s another way for Republicans to get out of their political bind. Aaron: I’m sure we’ll have more to discuss as President Trump’s administration comes into power. | 1 |
Broadway rang out 2016 with a very big bang. The 33 plays and musicals running last week brought in a whopping $49. 7 million, making it the week in Broadway history. It was also the week on record, with 359, 495 people seeing Broadway shows. All around Times Square, records were toppled like pins in a bowling alley: It was the best week ever for shows like “Chicago,” “Jersey Boys” and “The Lion King” the most money ever grossed at multiple theaters built more than a century ago (for example, $911, 000 by “Oh, Hello” at the Lyceum, which was built in 1903) the most performances ever by a single show during a period (17, by “The Illusionists”) and the most money ever grossed by a single show ($3. 3 million, by “Hamilton”). An astonishing 24 shows grossed more than $1 million last week, including seven that grossed more than $2 million, according to figures released Tuesday by the Broadway League. Three shows topped the $3 million mark: “Hamilton,” “Wicked” and “The Lion King. ” The grosses for the week ending Jan. 1 were 63 percent higher than the previous week, and 15 percent higher than the same week the previous year (even though there were five more shows playing at the same time last year). Why? The most significant factor appears to be pricing: The base prices for many Broadway shows are high, and the premium prices charged over the holiday period were even higher. shows had an average price over $100. And for “Hamilton,” now the industry leader in pricing, the average price was $310, and the top price was $998. (That’s the price charged by the box office the first time a ticket was sold many people paid higher prices purchasing from resellers.) There were other factors contributing to the Broadway bonanza. New York City was wrapping up a banner year for tourism: an estimated 60. 3 million visitors, up from 58. 5 million the previous year, according to Christopher Heywood, a spokesman for NYC Company, the city’s tourism agency. The period between Christmas and New Year’s is always popular for tourists — and lucrative for Broadway — but especially so this winter, because Christmas and New Year’s fell on weekends, and many people took off work the week in between. Multiple shows that aim heavily at tourists did extraordinarily well. For example: Cirque du Soleil’s first Broadway venture, “Paramour,” had its best week yet, at $1. 9 million, and “The Phantom of the Opera,” the Broadway show and a reliable barometer for tourist traffic, had its best week too, also at $1. 9 million. Broadway took advantage of the expected high tourism last week by staging more performances. The usual Broadway schedule sees shows staged eight times a week, but last week 25 shows had nine performances. And then there was “The Illusionists,” a holiday season magic show, which managed to have 17 performances by scheduling shows three times a day Monday through Friday, and then twice on Sunday. Other factors: Broadway is on an upswing. Grosses and attendance have been growing for several years, and the current season has already featured strong starts for three new musicals: “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” “A Bronx Tale” and “Dear Evan Hansen. ” “The record just broken for both attendance and grosses for the last week reflects the continuing success of the range of theater being produced on Broadway,” said Charlotte St. Martin, the president of the Broadway League. Several shows that had announced closing dates had a surge of patrons. “Matilda” closed on Sunday after its best week ($1. 9 million) and “Jersey Boys,” which closes on Jan. 15, set a record, too ($1. 8 million). Some plays benefited as well: “The Humans,” which won the Tony for best new play last year, grossed an impressive $815, 000 as it prepared to close on Jan. 15. Of course, the good news is not likely to last. January and February are generally soft months for Broadway. Thirteen shows are scheduled to close between Dec. 31 and Jan. 29, as theaters clear the decks for a round of openings in late winter and spring. | 1 |
UN out of America
America out of the UN | 0 |
Massive Spherical Space Object Disturbed NASA’s Satellite H1
NASA still won't talk about a giant mysterious spherical object that sometimes becomes visible in the vicinity of the Sun.
Now, it seems a massive unknown force disturbed NASA’s satellite H1 on November 17, 2016 which almost led to an equipment malfunction.
On November 16, the satellite was still functioning normally then on the 17th something disturbed the satellite but the H1 camera still managed to capture images and one day later the 18th everything returned to normal.
Images captured on the 17th show a giant spherical object which was probably the cause of the incident.
Whether the object is one of the giant extraterrestrial or interdimensional spacecraft, which are accessing our solar system, using the Sun as a stargate or an unknown celestial body like the famed planet Nibiru, it is clear what happened on the 17th was not the result of an equipment failure.
Note: Planet Nibiru – This mysterious object has been researched by Intellihub’s Shepard Ambellas for over 25 years and is likely the basis for all emergency preparations by world governments which we’ve seen transpire over the last three decades after the object was discovered during the Regan Administration by NASA’s IRAS telescope.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
UFO Sighting Hotspot SOURCE | 0 |
QUICK, IS KLM a brand of milk, the call letters for a radio station or a Dutch airline? Frequent fliers probably know the correct answer, but market research shows that many Americans often think KLM means either milk or music. So the airline, which is formally known as Royal Dutch Airlines, is embarking on an advertising campaign that is heavy on humor to explain what the letters mean. “The brand has not been so visible, but we want people to know it’s an airline, and that it’s Dutch,” said Christophe Attard, the vice president of marketing for Air . The carrier, whose name in Dutch is Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, merged with Air France in 2004, but the branding for the two airlines is separate. “We wanted KLM to reflect the nationality of the country,” Mr. Attard said. “It’s friendly and innovative. ” And the humor is . Ken Marino, an American actor who starred in the NBC sitcom “Marry Me,” wryly comments on questions such as “What is an airline?” and “What is a flight attendant?” He delivers his remarks with an exaggerated sincerity intended to provoke a smile or a chuckle from social media viewers, who are the target audience of the video. The humor makes a product or service more approachable, said John Limotte, chief executive of Mustache, a video production company based in Brooklyn that worked with KLM on the campaign. “It’s not a or broadly comedic humor, but more of a charmingly clueless approach where stating the obvious is likable,” he said. The approach underscores KLM’s effort to solidify its American market, where it currently has eight gateways for passengers to fly directly to Amsterdam. The Dutch carrier is striving to keep its footing against competition from rivals, as well as carriers based in the Middle East that are trying to expand their service networks. And, like other airlines, KLM must contend with the impact of terrorist attacks on its leisure travel business. KLM said traffic is 15 percent of its business, and it has experienced a 7 percent increase in traffic between the United States and Europe since 2014. “The United States, for decades and in the future, serves as the backbone of our worldwide operations outside of Europe,” said Pieter Elbers, KLM’s president and chief executive. “It is an incredibly important market to the company. ” Last year, KLM expanded its business between Amsterdam, Atlanta and Los Angeles, and began direct service between Salt Lake City and Amsterdam this year. In November, the carrier plans to introduce direct service between Amsterdam and Miami. The airline must first ensure that American travelers know what it is. The company commissioned a consumer awareness survey two years ago to gauge familiarity with its brand. The survey, conducted by phone and in person at airports, found that potential customers did not have a clear idea that KLM was an airline, Mr. Attard said. One reason could be that KLM and Air France partner with Delta Air Lines on flights, so tickets show Delta’s name first. The Dutch carrier’s name was little seen in the United States for years because of a joint venture from 1997 to 2009 with Northwest Airlines, which handled sales in North America. That ended after Northwest’s merger with Delta. Currently, KLM and Air France — members of the SkyTeam global airline alliance — offer a points program called Flying Blue but market their brands individually. To distinguish KLM’s separate identity, the carrier decided to refresh its brand: It retained its blue letters on a white background and longstanding logo, a crown, but enlarged it. Mustache developed four brand identity videos with the droll humor KLM was seeking. The creative agency drew attention to its understated humor with its 2014 travel video series on the Netherlands, called “Holland. The Original Cool. ” The first video in the series received more than a million views on YouTube. Humor in advertising is appealing “because the entertainment aspect is the hook to get people to watch,” said Michael Lewis, an associate professor of marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. “It gives legitimacy to a brand that’s less familiar,” he said. “That is more important for KLM than for carriers like Air France or British Airways, which have the country in their name. ” Mr. Lewis added: “But while differentiating brands has been a holy grail for airlines, more consumers are viewing the airline trip as a commodity product. It’s the ability to go to point A, then to point B, except, perhaps, for frequent fliers who still want to have access to upgrades and airport lounges. ” Mr. Attard, however, said market research showed a perceptional difference between KLM and Air France, which he said was viewed as snobbish and expensive. KLM wanted to underscore its innovation, which the airline had demonstrated through a partnership with Facebook that enabled booking flights via the Messenger app, he said. KLM’s new campaign will appear on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, as well as on a site, ItsAnAirline. com. It will feature interactive elements, including letting visitors earn loyalty points by finding hidden objects. | 1 |
On Thursday’s Breitbart News Daily, SiriusXM host Raheem Kassam asked John Bolton about allegations that former National Security Adviser Susan Rice abused intelligence resources to spy on President Obama’s political opponents, including Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. [“I think she absolutely deserves the opportunity to clear her name, under oath, before several congressional committees,” Bolton responded. “And probably so do a lot of other people in the Obama administration, right up to and including the president. ” “You know the famous question that Sen. Howard Baker asked repeatedly during the Watergate hearings: ‘What did the president know, and when did he know it?’ That question needs to be put to Barack Obama,” he recommended. John Bolton is a former U. N. ambassador, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and head of the BoltonPAC political action committee. Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a. m. to 9:00 a. m. Eastern. LISTEN: | 1 |
Geologists have discovered in Greenland evidence for ancient life in rocks that are 3. 7 billion years old. The find, if confirmed, would make these fossils the oldest on Earth and may change scientific understanding of the origins of life. Experts are likely to debate whether the structures described in the new report were formed biologically or through natural processes. If biological, the great age of the fossils complicates the task of reconstructing the evolution of life from the chemicals naturally present on the early Earth. It leaves comparatively little time for evolution to have occurred and puts the process close to a time when Earth was being bombarded by destructive asteroids. The fossils were discovered four years ago but not publicized while the geologists, a team led by Allen P. Nutman of the University of Wollongong in Australia, checked out their find. “Of course one felt very excited, but we’re not the rushing types and we took our time,” Dr. Nutman said. “We kept it secret because we wanted to present it in the most robust way we could manage. ” The fossils were part of an outcrop of ancient rock that had lost its usual snow cover. The rock layer forming the outcrop, known to geologists as the Isua supracrustal belt, lies on the southwest coast of Greenland and is some 3. 9 to 3. 7 billion years old. Researchers earlier had claimed that Isua rocks had a chemical composition indicative of life, but critics said this mix of chemicals could have arisen through natural processes. The new fossils, described on Wednesday in the journal Nature, are the first visible structures found in the Isua rocks. They are thought to be stromatolites, layers of sediment packed together by microbial communities living in shallow water. They are some 220 million years more ancient than the oldest previously known fossils, also stromatolites. Those are 3. 48 billion years old and were discovered in the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia. The new report “provides the oldest direct evidence of microbial life,” said Gerald Joyce, an expert on the origin of life at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. Dr. Nutman said there was a “diminishing probability” that older fossils will ever be found. Rocks from this period are very rare. Those that survive have been cooked to such high heats by geological processes like that evidence of fossils and sedimentary layers is destroyed. Most of the Isua rocks have been cooked in this way. Only the small outcrop now discovered, measuring some 98 by 230 feet, avoided intense heating. Through this chance escape, the little patch throws a narrow shaft of light onto events close to the dawn of life on Earth. The rocks contain several small cones, the tallest just over an inch and half. The cones have a layered structure that resembles the bands of sediment gathered and cemented together by the microbial communities that form today’s stromatolites. Because of the importance of the claim made by Dr. Nutman and his colleagues, considerable discussion can be expected before their interpretation of the structures as evidence of life is generally accepted. Certain features “are fairly credible hallmarks of microbial activity,” Abigail C. Allwood of Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory wrote in a commentary accompanying the Nature article. They have a few features that make them “interesting and possibly biological,” she added in an email. Another expert in the early Earth’s environment, Tanja Bosak of M. I. T. said the structures do resemble modern stromatolites but their origin “will be hotly debated,” given there is no sign of certain features that might bolster the case for biological origin, such as crinkling in the layers of sediment. Several different species of microbes are involved in stromatolite creation. The Isua structures, if indeed stromatolites, would represent fairly evolved organisms. Dr. Nutman argues that life must therefore have originated even earlier, probably in the late Hadean stage of Earth’s history, which lasted from 4. 65 billion years ago — when the planet formed from debris in orbit around the sun — to 4 billion years ago. But the Hadean was so called because of the hellish conditions thought to have prevailed, including cataclysmic meteorite impacts that boiled the oceans into steam and turned Earth’s surface into molten lava. The largest of these impacts, at 4. 5 billion years ago, tore a piece from Earth that became the moon. It is difficult to see how life could have begun under such circumstances. But some geologists now favor a milder version of the Hadean, with the rain of asteroids quickly tapering off after the moon was formed. The early sun was much weaker then, and the threat to life, in this view, would not have been molten lava but frozen oceans, a calamity that may have been averted by a surge of greenhouse gases. “The largest Hadean impacts may have been severe, but not . Once life had developed to the point that it could spread across the planet, it would have been hard to wipe out,” said Jack Szostak, an expert on life origins at Harvard Medical School. But the chemistry of life favors an origin on land, not the deep ocean, he said. Still, even when the Hadean ended, a final rain of large asteroids descended on Earth at the beginning of the ensuing Archaean stage, possibly set loose when the giant planets Saturn, Uranus and Neptune drifted out into the Kuiper belt of asteroids. This cataclysm, known as the Late Heavy Bombardment, hit Earth between 3. 9 and 3. 8 billion years ago. Dr. Nutman believes life could have survived through the end of the Hadean and the bombardment. Some geologists, he notes, now think the asteroid impacts were spread over time, lessening their effects. “The Late Heavy Bombardment is becoming less heavy as the years go by,” he said. But others believe the bombardment was no light peppering. Evidence of these ancient craters has vanished from Earth but is still evident in the pockmarked face of the moon. And for every crater on the moon, 20 would be expected to have been made on Earth. The moon has two craters more than 600 miles across that were created during the Late Heavy Bombardment. Some 40 craters this size may have been gouged out of our planet in the same interval, said William F. Bottke, an asteroid expert at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo. By comparison, the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago left a crater only 110 miles in diameter. If life on Earth did not begin until after the Late Heavy Bombardment, then it had a mere 100 million years in which to evolve to the quite advanced stage seen in the new fossils. If so, Dr. Allwood wrote, then “life is not a fussy, reluctant and unlikely thing. ” It will emerge whenever there’s an opportunity. But the argument that life seems to have evolved very early and quickly, so therefore is inherently likely, can be turned around, Dr. Joyce said. “You could ask why, if life were such a probable event, we don’t have evidence of multiple origins,” he said. In fact, with trivial variations, there is only one genetic code for all known forms of life, pointing to a single origin. | 1 |
The gunman in a shooting rampage at a Florida nightclub, identified as Omar Mateen, would seem, in retrospect, to have been the kind of person who should not have been able to buy a gun. His former wife described Mr. Mateen as mentally unstable and abusive. A at the security company where he worked recalled him talking “about killing people all the time. ” And the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated him for possible ties to terrorism. Yet, just as was the case with a long line of other mass shootings, nothing prevented the Orlando gunman from legally buying the weapons he used. The explanation, as confounding as it may be for those who favor tougher gun restrictions, has its roots in a civic value that crosses the political divide: the right to due process. The pattern is, by now, numbingly familiar. Jared Loughner, who in 2011 shot Representative Gabrielle Giffords in the head and killed six others in Tucson, had exhibited alarming signs of mental illness, yet legally bought the Glock handgun used in the shooting just a few weeks earlier. A month before Aaron Alexis killed a dozen people in 2013 at the Washington Navy Yard, the police in Rhode Island visited him after he called them to complain that he was hearing voices and that people were following him and harassing him with a microwave machine. Nevertheless, shortly after, he was able to legally buy the shotgun he used in the shooting. The phenomenon occurs again and again on a more humdrum, daily basis, involving far less spectacular shootings. In 2010, in Oklahoma, Barbara Diane Dye was shot and killed by her husband in a bank parking lot. Two weeks earlier, she had filed an emergency order of protection against him, explaining that her husband had repeatedly threatened to kill her and that she feared he would turn violent when he received divorce papers. As they waited for a court hearing needed for a full protection order, Ms. Dye and her family begged the local police to take away his guns. The issue with these cases and countless others is the way federal gun prohibitions have been drawn up, seeking to balance what the Supreme Court decreed in 2008 was a constitutional right to bear arms against the potential threat to public safety. Most of the federal criteria that bar people from buying or possessing guns under federal law require some sort of legal adjudication: a felony conviction, for instance an involuntary commitment to a mental institution, a process that typically requires a judge’s decree a full protection order that includes the opportunity for a hearing. It is a relatively high bar, given the range of behaviors that might set off alarms about someone having a gun. While Mr. Mateen might have exhibited worrisome red flags, his behavior had never risen to the level that involved a court process, or some other official proceeding, that would have blocked him. The same applies to Mr. Loughner and Mr. Alexis, as clearly mentally unstable as they both were in retrospect. In Ms. Dye’s case in Oklahoma, her husband had not yet been given the opportunity to contest the allegations against him in a court hearing on the order of protection, which could have led to his being barred him from having guns. The issue of due process, in fact, is at the heart of why gun rights advocates have resisted so strenuously a proposal to bar people on federal terrorism watch lists, or who have otherwise been suspected by the authorities of ties to terrorist groups, from buying guns. (Mr. Mateen was on a watch list from 2013 to James B. Comey, the F. B. I. director, said, but not earlier this month when he bought the guns used in the shooting.) People on the watch lists, which can include tens of thousands of names, have no opportunity to contest their inclusion in a court of law, gun rights proponents point out. And taking away a constitutionally protected right, they argue, should carry a much greater legal bar. The measure was defeated six months ago by Republicans in Congress, but Senate Democrats, including Dianne Feinstein of California and Bill Nelson of Florida, said on Monday that they would renew their push for a vote on the legislation. “I hope every member of the House and Senate had time for quiet reflection yesterday to ask what we could have done to prevent this tragedy,” Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, said on Monday. “I’m so sorry. I’m heartsick, I’m basically sick by our inaction. It’s shameful the United States Senate has done nothing — nothing — to stop these mass shootings. ” Just one Republican, Senator Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, voted in favor of the proposal in December, but Democrats said that they believed that Republicans would come under new pressure. It is a sign of where the gun debate is in this country at the moment that even the gun bill of 2013, the most ambitious proposal for tightening federal gun laws in recent years, would have been powerless to block Mr. Mateen’s purchase of a gun. That is because the measure, proposed after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn. was focused on expanding existing federal background checks on guns to a greater array of gun transactions, particularly those made through “private sales” at gun shows or online. Only in a handful states — New York and California are among those that stand out — have lawmakers sought to tighten the legal threshold to include red flags that extend substantially beyond the federal criteria. New York passed a law in 2013 after Newtown that compelled mental health professionals to report any patient “likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to self or others,” a process that could lead to the person being prohibited from buying and possessing firearms. But, by late 2014, the list had swelled to some 34, 500 names, raising concerns even among some mental health professionals that some in the database were not truly dangerous. California, for its part, introduced this year something lawmakers called a “gun violence restraining order,” in which family members or law enforcement officials can petition a judge on an emergency basis to order people to surrender their firearms, pending a full hearing, because the individuals pose a danger to themselves or others. The weapons could then later be returned, if a person successfully contests the removal in court. Gun control proponents, seeking to expand the restraining orders to other states, hope the hearing process for the orders give them a convincing way to counter the due process arguments from opponents. An alliance of gun control supporters are now trying to secure enough signatures to get a similar firearm restraining order on the ballot in November in Washington State. Ultimately, it is a question that promises to resurface, given the protracted nature of the gun debate in the United States: Where should the line be drawn? | 1 |
Nearly nine years after mocking “bitter” Americans who “cling to guns or religion,” President Obama used a column in the Harvard Law Review to assert that prayer in America is insufficient America needs gun control. [Politico reports it was April 5, 2008, when Obama spoke to Democrat Party donors in San Francisco, saying: You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or sentiment or sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations. On January 5, 2017, he wrote in the Harvard Law Review: But as I’ve said many times: “[O]ur thoughts and prayers are not enough. ” They alone won’t “capture the heartache and grief and anger we should feel,” and they do “nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America. ” We have a responsibility to act. Obama went on to make clear that his emphasis on acting — on doing something — was an emphasis on passing more gun control: Congress should pass the kinds of commonsense reforms supported by most of the American people — from investing in access to mental health care, to expanding background checks, to making it possible to keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists. The actions we take won’t prevent every act of violence — but if even one life is spared, they will have been well worth it. He did not mention that the United States already has background checks, and such checks have proven to be mass attackers’ method of choice for acquiring firearms. Nor did he mention that all the hype about using lists to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists is just that: hype. After all, the San Bernardino attackers, the Orlando Pulse attacker, and the recent Ft. Lauderdale airport attacker were not on any such list. Obama and Democrats’ methods, therefore, are not measures that will stop crime or make Americans safer. AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart. com. | 1 |
WASHINGTON — Facing mounting pressure over civilian casualties in American airstrikes, the United coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria said on Saturday that it was likely that at least 229 civilians had been unintentionally killed by its operations since they began in August 2014. In February, the last month covered by the report and the first full month of the Trump administration, four such civilians were killed, the coalition said. The assessment, issued monthly, therefore does not include the March 17 strike against a building in Mosul in which scores if not hundreds of civilians were killed, according to Iraqi witnesses. That strike is under investigation. The coalition’s overall count is far less than estimates by some human rights groups. Airwars, a nongovernment organization that monitors reports of civilian casualties in international airstrikes, has asserted that at least 2, 831 civilians are likely to have been killed as of March 28 by the coalition’s air attacks since August 2014. The worries about civilian casualties have grown as Iraqi forces push to take western Mosul from the Islamic State with the help of American and allied air power, rockets and artillery. President Trump has vowed to step up the fight against the militants, though the basic strategy in Mosul was set by American commanders during the Obama administration. “We take the issue of civilian casualties seriously, every day, not just when it makes news,” said Col. John J. Thomas, the spokesman for the United States Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East. Colonel Thomas added that the command, in an effort to be “fully transparent,” was sharing information on unresolved cases and was even describing episodes that military personnel had reported up the chain of command but had not received public attention. Chris Woods, the director of Airwars, asserted that while the Central Command had been working to improve its casualty counts, it was still lagging behind. “Certainly, both Centcom and the coalition have put a lot of effort into improving their casualty monitoring process, and we have been in extensive dialogue with them,” Mr. Woods said in a telephone interview from London. “But despite these improved resources, both Centcom and the coalition appear unable to keep up with the number of allegations,” Mr. Woods added. “Given the intensity of operations in Mosul and around Raqqa, that gap continues to grow. ” Raqqa, in Syria, is the Islamic State’s capital. In western Mosul, hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped, and airstrikes are an essential part of the operation. The Iraqi military has suffered enormous casualties — 284 Iraqi troops were killed in the first 37 days of the offensive to take western Mosul — and it depends on American firepower to advance. American military officials also allege that Islamic State fighters have herded Iraqi residents into buildings, calculating that escalating civilian casualties would prompt American commanders to slow the pace of airstrikes. But critics say that the firepower that is being applied is so extensive that civilians are being put in danger. During a recent week in Mosul, the United coalition carried out attacks with 700 bombs and rockets and 400 more strikes with Himars missiles, according to military officials. With the United States unwilling to play a major ground combat role in Iraq and Syria, air power has become increasingly important. Between August 2014 and February 2017, the coalition carried out 18, 645 strikes. According to data made public on Saturday by the command that is directing the campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, there were 37 reports of possible civilian casualties related to the operation to evict the Islamic State from the eastern half of Mosul, which began in . But 12 of these were deemed upon investigation to be “noncredible,” sometimes because no coalition strikes had been carried out in the area. In five cases, the command found that the reports of civilian casualties were “credible. ” In a Feb. 16 strike on a site that the military said was being used to make or hide an Islamic State car bomb, two civilians were killed when they entered the target area after the munition was released. cases of possible civilian casualties are still being assessed, including an April 2015 strike near Mosul. That case was reopened after new information was received. In the March 17 strike in Mosul, which led to the building collapse, American officials have acknowledged that the United States had a role, but said that the munition used should not have been powerful enough to bring down a building. They are examining whether the American strike might have set off a larger blast from explosives set by militants. | 1 |
WASHINGTON — There is a basic fact about Syria’s civil war that never seems to change: It frustrates any attempt at resolution. Despite many offensives, peace conferences and foreign interventions, including this week’s Turkish incursion into a border town, the only needle that ever seems to move is the one measuring the suffering of Syrians — which only worsens. Academic research on civil wars, taken together, reveals why. The average such conflict now lasts about a decade, twice as long as Syria’s so far. But there are a handful of factors that can make them longer, more violent and harder to stop. Virtually all are present in Syria. Many stem from foreign interventions that were intended to end the war but have instead entrenched it in a stalemate in which violence is and the normal avenues for peace are all closed. The fact that the underlying battle is multiparty rather than also works against resolution. When asked what other conflicts through history had similar dynamics, Barbara F. Walter, a University of California, San Diego, professor and a leading expert on civil wars, paused, considered a few possibilities, then gave up. There were none. “This is a really, really tough case,” she said. Most civil wars end when one side loses. Either it is defeated militarily, or it exhausts its weapons or loses popular support and has to give up. About a quarter of civil wars end in a peace deal, often because both sides are exhausted. That might have happened in Syria: The core combatants — the government and the insurgents who began fighting it in 2011 — are quite weak and, on their own, cannot sustain the fight for long. But they are not on their own. Each side is backed by foreign powers — including the United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and now Turkey — whose interventions have suspended the usual laws of nature. Forces that would normally slow the conflict’s inertia are absent, allowing it to continue far longer than it otherwise would. Government and rebel forces are supplied from abroad, which means their arms never run out. They also both draw political support from foreign governments who do not feel the war’s costs firsthand, rather than from locals who might otherwise push for peace to end their pain. These material and human costs are easy for the far richer foreign powers to bear. This is why, according to James D. Fearon, a Stanford professor who studies civil wars, multiple studies have found that “if you have outside intervention on both sides, duration is significantly greater. ” The ground battles also include Kurdish militias, who have some foreign backing, and the Islamic State, which does not. But and opposition forces are focused on one another, making them and their sponsors the war’s central dynamic. Foreign sponsors do not just remove mechanisms for peace. They introduce mechanisms for an stalemate. Whenever one side loses ground, its foreign backers increase their involvement, sending supplies or air support to prevent their favored player’s defeat. Then that side begins winning, which tends to prompt the other’s foreign backers to up their ante as well. Each escalation is a bit stronger than what came before, accelerating the killing without ever changing the war’s fundamental balance. This has been Syria’s story almost since the beginning. In late 2012, as Syria’s military suffered defeats, Iran intervened on its behalf. By early 2013, government forces rebounded, so wealthy Gulf states flooded support to the rebels. Several rounds later, the United States and Russia have joined the fray. These foreign powers are strong enough to match virtually any escalation. None can force an outright victory because the other side can always counter, so the cycle only continues. Even natural fluctuations in the battle lines can trigger another round. Over the last year, for example, the United States has supported Syrian Kurds against the Islamic State. As the Kurds grew strong, this alarmed Turkey, which is fighting its own Kurdish insurgency. This week, Turkey intervened to seize the Syrian town of Jarabulus, backed by the United States, in part to prevent Kurds from taking it first. (The United States backed this effort, too, in case the alliances weren’t complicated enough already.) “We tend to think this is as bad as it can get,” Professor Walter said. “Well, no, it could get a lot worse. ” Syria has seen repeated indiscriminate mass killings of civilians, on all sides. This is not driven just by malice, but by something more powerful: structural incentives. In most civil wars, the fighting forces depend on popular support to succeed. This “human terrain,” as counterinsurgency experts call it, provides all sides with an incentive to protect civilians and minimize atrocities, and has often proved decisive. Wars like Syria’s, in which the government and opposition rely heavily on foreign support, encourage the precise opposite behavior, according to research by the political scientists Reed M. Wood of Arizona State University, Jacob D. Kathman of the State University of New York at Buffalo, and Stephen E. Gent of the University of North Carolina. Because Syria’s combatants rely on foreign sponsors, rather than the local population, they have little incentive to protect civilians. In fact, this dynamic turns the local population into a potential threat rather than a necessary resource. The incentives push them to “utilize collective violence and terror to shape the behaviors of the population,” the researchers found. The images we see of dead mothers and children may represent not helpless bystanders but deliberate targets, killed not out of madness or cruelty but out of coldly rational calculation. Severe, indiscriminate attacks on civilians bring little risks and substantial benefits: disrupting the enemy’s control or local support, pacifying potential threats, plundering resources and others. forces have conducted by far the most attacks against civilians, but opposition fighters have led some as well. Among the insurgents, individual groups that refuse to attack civilians end up at a disadvantage compared with the groups that will. Stalemate is also driven by uncertainty. No one is sure what a postwar Syria would look like or how to get there, but everyone can imagine a worse situation. This creates a status quo bias, in which combatants are more worried about preserving what they have than risking it to pursue their broader goals. As Professor Fearon of Stanford put it, “It’s more important to stop the other side from winning than it is to win yourself. ” Each foreign power understands it cannot win, but earnestly fears that a victory by the other side would be unbearable. Saudi Arabia and Iran, for example, see Syria as a battleground in their regional power struggle, the loss of which they believe could endanger their own regimes. Even if Syria’s war hurts everyone in the long term, guaranteeing more extremism and instability, fears of defeat pull everyone toward maintaining a perpetual, unwinnable draw. This is exacerbated by the dynamics of loose coalitions. Each side consists of several actors with wildly different agendas and priorities. Often, all they can agree on is that they wish to avoid defeat. It is strategy by least common denominator. There is reason to believe that Russia, for example, would like President Bashar of Syria to step down, or at least make some concessions for peace. But Russia can’t force him to act, nor can it simply quit Syria without abandoning its interests there. Mr. Assad, meanwhile, might want a fuller Russian intervention that brings him victory, something Moscow is unwilling to provide. The result: Mr. Assad stays in place, and Russia intervenes only enough to keep him there for now. The Syrian government and the insurgents fighting it are internally weak in ways that lead them to prefer a stalemate, no matter how terrible, over almost any viable outcome. Syria’s top leaders belong mostly to the Alawite religious minority, which makes up a small share of the country’s population but a disproportionate share of security forces. After years of war along demographic lines, Alawites fear they could face genocide if Mr. Assad does not secure a total victory. But such a victory appears extremely unlikely, in part because the Alawites’ minority status gives them too little support to restore order with anything but violence. So Syria’s leaders believe that stalemate is the best way to preserve Alawite safety today, even if that increases risks for their future. Syria’s opposition is weak in a different way. It is fractured among many groups, another factor that tends to prolong civil wars and make them less likely to end peacefully. A study of every United Nations peacemaking effort since 1945 found that it succeeded in resolving of civil wars, but only of multisided ones. Syria’s battlefield is a complex polygon, with an array of Syrian rebel groups that include moderates and Islamists affiliates of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State Syrian forces and outsiders like the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and foreign fighters who join in the name of jihad. Each of these factions has its own aims, which narrow the terms of any possible peace deal. Each also has an incentive to compete with other groups for resources during the war, and for concessions afterward. This is why multisided oppositions tend to fail. Even if they overthrow the government, they often end up in a second war among themselves. The only certain way to break the logjam is for one side to surge beyond what the other can match. Because Syria has sucked in two of the world’s leading military powers, Russia and the United States, that bar could most likely be cleared only by a invasion. In the best case, this would require something akin to the yearslong American occupations of Iraq or Afghanistan. In the worst, invading a war zone where so many foreign adversaries are active could ignite a major regional war. Another way that such wars can end is that one foreign backer changes its foreign policy and decides to withdraw. This allows the other side to win quickly. But in Syria, because each side is backed by multiple foreign powers, every sponsor on one side would have to drop its support at the same time. Peace deals often succeed or fail on the question of who will control military and security forces. In Syria, this may be a question without an answer. It’s an issue not of greed, but of trust. After a war as brutal as Syria’s, in which more than 400, 000 people have been killed so far, the combatants reasonably fear they will be massacred if the other secures too much power. But a deal that would give the parties equal military power creates a high risk of relapse into war. So does allowing rebels to keep their arms and independence — a lesson the world learned in Libya. At the same time, there has to be some sort of armed force to restore security and clean up any remaining warlords or militias. Often, the solution has been for an outside country or organization, such as the United Nations, to send peacekeepers. These forces keep everyone in check during the country’s transition to peace and provide basic security in a way that won’t spur either side to rearm. But what country would volunteer its citizens to indefinitely occupy Syria, particularly with the cautionary tale of America’s experience in Iraq? Any foreign force would make itself a target for jihadist terrorists, and most likely face a yearslong insurgency that could cost it hundreds or thousands of lives. Professor Fearon, listing the ways that Syria’s war cannot end, said that in the best case, one side would slowly grind out a victory that would merely downgrade the war into “a somewhat insurgency, terrorist attacks and so on. ” The worst case is significantly worse. According to a 2015 paper by Professor Walter and Kenneth M. Pollack, a Middle East expert, “Outright military victory in a civil war often comes at the price of horrific (even genocidal) levels of violence against the defeated, including their civilian populations. ” This could bring entirely new conflicts to the Middle East, they found: “Victorious groups in a civil war sometimes also try to employ their newfound strength against neighboring states, resulting in interstate wars. ” This is not a drift that anyone wants, but it is the direction that Syria’s many domestic and foreign participants are pulling the country, whose darkest days may still be ahead. | 1 |
WASHINGTON — In Sonny Perdue’s telling, Georgians were growing weary of the corruption and scandals in their state when he took over as governor in 2003 — a time when he gave his own version of a “drain the swamp” pledge. “My first goal as governor is to restore public trust in state government by changing the culture of state government,” Mr. Perdue told a leadership conference at Kennesaw State University in April 2003. “Our form of government depends on a mutual bond of trust between the people and their government. But people have become cynical about their government. ” But Mr. Perdue, a Republican who is awaiting confirmation to serve as President Trump’s agriculture secretary, became a target of frequent criticism that he was failing to honor his own ethics pledge during his eight years as governor. The criticism centers on the fact that, as Mr. Trump has, he continued to own or help run his family business ventures — four companies — while serving as governor. Mr. Perdue is one of the last cabinet members awaiting Senate confirmation. No date has been set for his confirmation hearing a holdup in the release of paperwork accompanying his nomination by the federal Office of Government Ethics has been blamed for the delay. The office must examine Mr. Perdue’s proposal to avoid conflicts of interest while running the U. S. D. A. as the department is known, which may include selling off some of his farming assets. Before his tenure as governor ended in 2011, 13 complaints had been filed against Mr. Perdue with the State Ethics Commission, which on two occasions ruled that the governor had violated state ethics laws. The commission took the unusual step of fining Mr. Perdue while he was governor. There were numerous other questions, including some about the role of Mr. Perdue’s personal lawyer — also a state legislator — in pushing a bill through the legislature that included a special provision that gave Mr. Perdue $100, 000 in state tax relief. And, when his tenure as governor was coming to a close, Mr. Perdue met with Georgia officials who oversee the state’s ports to discuss use of a terminal for a family business, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta . Soon after he left office, in fact, he opened a new company that specialized in exporting products through Savannah. “When you are a public official you are supposed to be acting entirely on behalf of the public and not for ” said Yasha Heidari, former senior legal counsel to the State Ethics Commission. “Looking at his record, as both an attorney and a citizen of the state, I had serious concerns. ” In a written statement, a spokeswoman for Mr. Perdue rejected that assessment, saying that the frequent criticism he faced while governor was largely politically motivated. “There hadn’t been a Republican governor in Georgia for 135 years,” the statement said. “Governor Perdue was the David who slew the Democrats’ Goliath. ” During the wait for Mr. Perdue’s confirmation hearing, some in the farming industry have come to his defense. “I don’t think you are going to find a man any more honorable than Sonny Perdue,” said Zippy Duvall, a Georgia cattle and poultry farmer who is the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, adding that he had known Mr. Perdue for about a decade. “He is as ethical as they come. ” Born into a family of farmers, Mr. Perdue played college football as a at the University of Georgia, and later worked briefly as a practicing veterinarian. He rose through the ranks of the state legislature and, in the late 1990s, switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican because, he said, the state party had lost its focus on family values. One of Mr. Perdue’s first acts after he was sworn in as governor in January 2003 was to sign an executive order establishing a new code of ethics for executive branch employees. The order, which applied to the governor himself, prohibited state employees from using their powers for “any financial or other personal benefit” and barred them from taking any gifts worth more than $25. “In carrying out their official duties and obligations, all officers and employees of state government must work solely for the public good, striving vigilantly to avoid even the appearance that their actions are motivated by private or personal interest,” the 2003 executive order said. But Mr. Perdue ended up collecting at least $25, 000 worth of benefits or gifts during his years as governor, state records show. The gifts ranged from tickets to a Nascar race and football games to flights paid for by Altria, the tobacco company, and by CSX, the railroad giant, according to a 2010 report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal nonprofit group. Mr. Perdue’s spokeswoman, in the written statement, said that none of these gifts violated the ban because the “trips were for official state business and were perfectly acceptable as saving taxpayer funds. ” “The gifts were to the state,” the statement read, “not to the governor. ” The fine by the State Ethics Commission in 2005 came after the commission concluded that Mr. Perdue had failed to properly report the use of an airplane owned by one of his family’s businesses for a trip. The commission also found that he had taken campaign contributions in amounts that exceeded state limits from several donors — including a political action committee run by SunTrust, the bank. Mr. Perdue called the violations technical, and the investigation politically motivated. Teddy Lee, the executive secretary of the State Ethics Commission, was fired from his job in January 2006, and in an interview he blamed Mr. Perdue for his firing. Mr. Lee had served in the job under four governors. “This looked like a political hit to me,” Mr. Lee said. Mr. Lee’s dismissal came as Mr. Perdue was seeking and just months before his largest scandal emerged, over a $100, 000 state tax break he received thanks to a legislative maneuver engineered by a lawmaker who was also his personal lawyer. The focus of the controversy was a piece of property in Florida that Mr. Perdue purchased in 2004. The purchase allowed him to defer paying federal capital gains taxes on a separate piece of Georgia land — which he had previously sold at a profit. When that transaction was completed, Mr. Perdue still owed Georgia about $100, 000 in state taxes. Then, Mr. Perdue signed a bill the following year eliminating that state tax obligation — as state law was changed to allow rollover relief on capital gains, even if the new property being purchased was out of state. During deliberations on the legislation, Larry O’Neal, a member of the Georgia House of Representatives who also worked part time as a personal lawyer for Mr. Perdue, intervened to make the change in that provision retroactive. That meant it would cover Mr. Perdue’s 2004 land deal, saving the governor $100, 000, The reported at the time. Mr. Perdue’s spokeswoman said the change in state law was not intended to benefit Mr. Perdue. “It benefited all Georgians,” the statement said. Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that keeps a close watch on policies at the Agriculture Department, said he had questions about Mr. Perdue’s fitness to take over the department. “Given his record of and conflicts of interest as governor of Georgia, it is fair to ask if he is fit to run a $ federal agency,” Mr. Faber said. But Mr. Duvall, of the American Farm Bureau Federation, believes the opposite. Mr. Duvall said that as a former farmer, Mr. Perdue is just what the nation needs to run the department. “He has worked on a farm and owned businesses that buy and sell grain domestically and internationally,” Mr. Duvall said. “It ought to be a requirement that someone who runs the U. S. D. A. knows something about farming. And Sonny certainly does. ” | 1 |
MONTERREY, Nuevo León — Authorities in this state have arrested one of the men allegedly responsible for having robbed, kidnapped and murdered two beer delivery men earlier this month. [As Breitbart reported, since early February, families from Nuevo Leon have been reporting robberies at gunpoint by highway men. The robberies and kidnappings have taken place along the highway and near the international bridges in Reynosa. The crimes have also been reported near the city of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, along the roads that connect Ciudad Victoria with the Texas border. Recently, Jose Alberto Torres Gomez and Romel Guadalupe Cano Hernandez, both beer delivery men with the Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma beer company, had left the warehouse in San Fernando, Tamaulipas. The two employees were making their regular beer deliveries when they were kidnapped. Three days later, authorities in Nuevo León received a phone call about two bodies dumped near the 30 kilometer marker along the highway that connects China, Nuevo Leon, with Mendez near the Tamaulipas border. The men’s clothing, along with their physical appearance, helped Nuevo León’s ministerial police connect the bodies with the kidnapping report. Relatives of the victims took to social media for information about the fate of their loved ones. A law enforcement official with the Nuevo León Attorney General’s Office revealed to Breitbart Texas that the beer delivery truck had a GPS tracker which helped authorities locate the vehicle in the town of General Bravo. Based on the investigations of the case, authorities in this state were able to arrest Ricardo Gonzalez Flores near General Bravo. Gonzalez remains in police custody on two homicide counts and one count of robbery. Authorities revealed that they are working on arresting a second gunman tied to the case. Gonzalez is also under investigation for his role in the theft of fuel in the region. Such acts have long been used by Mexican cartels to supplement income. 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 Tony Aranda from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon and “J. M. Martinez” from Piedras Negras, Coahuila. | 1 |
Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus said President Donald Trump did not have an “understanding” of the role of courts” and added that he didn’t “understand the role of America. ” Marcus said, “I think there there is a lot of fallout here. Mike talked about how you can’t run the government by improv, and Vice President Pence talked about Washington niceties. These aren’t just Washington niceties, they are questions about whether you can run this government. And there is lasting damage here in his relationships with congress, in his relationship with the country, which saw these terrible stories of people needing medical treatment being denied, in the relationship with his court, in his relationship with the world. ” “And a more fundamentally, the lesson of the week to me is that we have a president who fundamentally is not understanding the role of courts, this tweet about judges was not just, you know, something that we should ignore, and he doesn’t understand the role of America as it has historically been in the world as a beacon of hope and welcoming place for refugees,” she added. Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
Scientists Say Signals From Space are Probably Aliens
Andrew Anglin Daily Stormer October 29, 2016 Some of these aliens live to serve and don’t act like the Blacks at all.
Aliens!
New York Post :
A team of astronomers believes that strange signals emanating from a cluster of stars are actually aliens trying to tell the universe they exist.
The study, which appeared in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific , analyzed the odd beams of light from 234 stars â a fraction of the 2.5 million that were observed.
The bizarre beacons led the paperâs authors, Ermanno F. Borra and Eric Trottier from Laval University in Quebec, to conclude that itâs âprobablyâ aliens.
âWe find that the detected signals have exactly the shape of an [extraterrestrial intelligence] signal predicted in the previous publication and are therefore in agreement with this hypothesis,â wrote Borra and Trottier.
They also note that their findings align with the Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ETI) hypothesis, since the mysterious activity only occurred in a tiny fraction of stars. The hypothesis also suggests that an intelligent life force would use a more sophisticated optical beacon than, say, radio waves to reveal its existence.
Researchers sifted through data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey â an 8-foot-diameter telescope in Sunspot, New Mexico â to separate natural signals from ones that appeared generated.
But there are more skeptics than not , including the authors themselves, who acknowledge the hypothesis still needs work. For starters, the data need to be verified by at least two other telescopes and all natural causes need to be ruled out.
âAlthough unlikely,â the study notes âthere is also a possibility that the signals are due to highly peculiar chemical compositions in a small fraction of galactic halo stars.â
The chief of NASA, Charles Bolden, has released a statement on the potential aliens, saying: “If dey aliems wanga pop-off, we ready to pop-off. Dem muffugguhs ain’t no shit. We her in da earf, we strait muffuggen rawl-oot. Da fug dem aliems fink dey is? Muffugguh all fugg u ass up, nigga, shit bitch. We killen erebuddy out here, we dont giv a fuq.” NASA head Charles Bolden responded to the potentiality of aliens with what appear to be violent threats.
Barack Obama backed-up Bolden’s statements, saying “He be a stone-cone nigga, dat Bolden. Ah aint fux wif dat nigga. Ifn dem aliems gon fux wif dat nigga, it be like w . Nigga bitch out this muffuggeh, shii t.” | 0 |
Scandalous Video Footage From Anonymous Exposes Huma and Hillary
( N.Morgan ) The hacktivist group known as Anonymous presents evidence in the video below that incriminates Hillary Clinton’s top aide, Huma Abedin for having deep ties to the the terrorists who funded the 9/11 tragedy.
Hillary Clinton’s political career has been shrouded in lies, conspiracies, and crimes, that her and Bill have always managed to slither out of, unscathed.
The terrorists who funded 9/11 also donated very generously to the infamous Clinton Foundation.
This latest exposure by Anonymous is a serious issue that voters need to take into consideration before voting next week.
Where does Hillary Clinton’s loyalties lie and with whom?
To read more and see the important video, click here . | 0 |
A Colorado man is accused of using an Army medical kit to remove a transgender woman’s testicles. [James Lowell Pennington, 57, who does not have a license to practice medicine in Colorado, was arrested Thursday and charged with felony reckless aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, the Denver Post reported. Police called Pennington in for an interview, which he agreed to after the victim was taken to a hospital for excessive bleeding. Pennington told investigators that he willingly performed the procedure at the victim’s apartment in Denver, KUSA reported. Detectives said he used an Army surgical kit that contained a scalpel, lidocaine, medical dressing, and other medical equipment. According to a record of the interview, the suspect “used the scalpel and surgically disconnected and removed the victim’s two testicles and then sutured the opening back up. ” The victim’s wife was with the victim throughout the procedure. Pennington allegedly told them to call 911 if any problems occurred after the procedure. The victim’s wife told police she called 911 after a large amount of blood poured out from the wound when she was changing his dressing. Paramedics called the police. Doctors could not reattach the testicles because of the time that passed between the procedure and the 911 call. The victim suffered serious injuries that run the risk of “permanent disfigurement,” according to the affidavit. Police say Pennington is a licensed pilot, not a medical professional in Colorado. | 1 |
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Nothing ought to be plainer, and yet nothing is more obscured, than the meaning of the Islamic concept of jihad. Even if its meaning were at all unclear, every day Islamic jihadists do their best to remind us of what it is. The confusion arises, of course, from the fact that jihad and related concepts are the object of a massive misinformation and disinformation campaign, making books such as William Kilpatrick’s The Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad so vitally necessary.
Kilpatrick covers that propaganda campaign ably in this lucid and genial book, which not only explains from Islamic texts and teachings why ISIS and Boko Haram (and other jihad terror groups) are not only not un-Islamic, as is frequently claimed, but quintessentially Islamic – for the Qur’an, as Kilpatrick explains, commands jihad, and Muhammad, who is considered in Islamic theology to the perfect man, to be imitated by Muslims whenever, wherever, and however possible, not only commanded jihad warfare but waged it himself.
Kilpatrick also helpfully takes up common objections to this line of argumentation – notably the question of why, if Islam really teaches warfare against unbelievers and their subjugation under the hegemony of Islamic law, most Muslims are peaceful. “Peaceful Islam,” Kilpatrick points out, “which Western leaders are counting on to win out over the more violent versions touted by the terrorists, is a holdover from the long-dead colonial era.” Indeed so: the formulation of jihad as primarily an interior spiritual struggle was touted by Islamic scholars at the height of the colonial period, so as to allow for accommodation of the colonial occupiers, who weren’t going away in the foreseeable future. Once they did abscond, however, the conditions that called forth such accommodative teachings no longer existed, and Saudi-funded jihad preachers traversed the globe calling Muslims back to jihad, “the forgotten obligation” of warfare against unbelievers.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad shows that this transition had nothing to do with poverty among Muslims or discrimination against them, and indeed, that no conciliation or concession on the part of Western non-Muslims will ever blunt the force of the jihad imperative, since it is rooted in Islamic theological principles that are not susceptible to the prevailing political winds.
The most valuable sections, however, of this useful and engaging book are the second, “Jihad Without Bombs,” and the third, “Defeating Jihad.” For even as violent jihad becomes an increasingly common feature of the Western landscape, more insidious and damaging in the long run may be the stealth jihad that proceeds due to the appeasement policies that Western governments indefatigably pursue, and the politically correct straitjacket on the public discourse that has for well over a decade now hindered, and usually prevented outright, honest discussion in the mainstream media of the nature and magnitude of this threat. Kilpatrick points out that “according to Reporters Without Borders, the U.S. has dropped to forty-sixth place in press freedom.” One of the principal ways in which the press today reveals itself to be a mouthpiece of moneyed elites is in its deliberate attempts to obfuscate the ideological roots of the jihad threat, and its ongoing campaign, every time there is a jihad attack, to inundate us with articles explaining that Islam is really quite wonderful and has nothing to do with this violence, nothing at all.
But Kilpatrick details how the media and governing elites are not in the least singular in appearing determined to foster complacency and ignorance among the people they should be enlightening and protecting. The churches are in on the act as well: “Christians,” writes Kilpatrick, “have been lulled into complacency by the oft-repeated emphasis on the similarities between their faith and the faith of Muslims” – an emphasis all too many Church leaders, including, of course, Pope Francis, relentlessly hammer home, heedless of the danger in which they are putting their flock by leaving them intellectually, spiritually, and physically defenseless in the face of an advancing and growing threat.
That’s why the most apposite sentence in this entire book is the second sentence of the chapter headed “Strategies for Victory”: “First we’ve got to get serious.” The West suffers from a collective lack of seriousness that could, in the end, be fatal. The frivolity is at the top, fueled by globalist internationalists who are using the complacency the media, the government and the Church are fostering for their own ends. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad is the perfect book for those who don’t know just how bad things are, and how likely they are to get even worse – as well as for all who wish to chart a way out of this madness. It can be done. William Kilpatrick does it, quite well, in this book. | 0 |
TUCSON, Arizona — Sinaloa smugglers and migrants are growing more violent against U. S. Border Patrol agents in the Tucson sector as penalties for their crimes stiffen. Realizing that being caught now means almost certain prosecution and incarceration, the smugglers and migrants are increasingly becoming violent with Border Patrol agents in remote border regions in efforts to escape and evade justice. [Border Patrol Agent Art Del Cueto, speaking to Breitbart Texas in his role as National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) spokesman, stated, “The smugglers are definitely becoming more violent with our agents. They now try to evade arrest and even use force to get away from us where during the Obama years they would joke with us and not mind being caught. They knew, back then, that they would get away with violating our laws. ” Agent Del Cueto continued, “We are talking about significant force and violence being used against our agents. Very recently, one smuggler slammed a large rock into the side of an agent’s head. ” The growing violent tendencies are not limited to the cartel’s drug smugglers, according to Agent Del Cueto. “Even the illegal aliens who aren’t smuggling dope are growing more violent as they now face consequences for illegally entering. Before they would be let go the next day or so, now they face incarceration for illegally entering. They are willing to do anything possible to evade us. ” With the increased aggression levels on the part of the foreign nationals, the agents are forced to be on a higher alert level and willing to use higher level of force to defend their lives. Agent Del Cueto stated, “It’s a concern because when we use force we are put under a microscope and everything we do is scrutinized by different investigative bodies. There was a culture of destroying the lives of Border Patrol agents during the past presidential administration and unfortunately, that culture hasn’t yet completely dissipated. ” Though the Sinaloa Cartel or Federation controls the U. S. border in this sector, the cartel is actually a collective of numerous regional criminal groups that simply operate under the banner of “Sinaloa Cartel. ” The Tucson sector is largely controlled by two of such regional groups, Los Memos and Los Salazar. The groups are engaged in frequent clashes with each other and Los Salazar has begun using armed scouts to enter U. S. territory, according to sources in Border Patrol who asked to remain anonymous. One source told Breitbart Texas, “We have them on video with but we haven’t caught them. They most likely wouldn’t use them on random U. S. citizens, but have them for rip crews and to prevent Los Memos or U. S. gangs from stealing their drug loads. Be careful in the Huachuca Mountains right now. ” Brandon Darby is managing director and of Breitbart Texas. He the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart. com. (Disclosure: Breitbart Texas sponsored the Green Line podcast for the NBPC in an effort to provide a platform for agents to inform the public about the realities on the border and what Border Patrol agents face. Director Brandon Darby received an award from the Laredo chapter of the NBPC for his work in helping to defend and bring a voice to Border Patrol agents. Breitbart News assisted in covering funeral costs for a slain Border Patrol agent previously.) | 1 |
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed ready to side with Bob McDonnell, the former governor of Virginia who was convicted of public corruption and faces two years in prison. Justices across the ideological spectrum said the laws under which he had been convicted gave prosecutors too much power to say that routine political favors amounted to corruption. “It puts at risk behavior that is common,” said Justice Stephen G. Breyer. “That is a recipe for giving the Justice Department and prosecutors enormous power over elected officials. ” Mr. McDonnell, a Republican, was prosecuted on charges that he had used his office to help a businessman, Jonnie R. Williams Sr. who had showered the governor and his wife with luxury products, loans and vacations worth more than $175, 000. The gifts themselves were legal, and the question in the case was whether they were part of a corrupt bargain in which Mr. McDonnell reciprocated by using the power of his office to help Mr. Williams. Mr. McDonnell, who attended the argument on Wednesday, arranged meetings for and attended events with his benefactor. But Mr. Williams, whose company made a diet supplement, did not have any real success in obtaining support for his product from the state. A jury found that Mr. McDonnell’s actions amounted to corruption, and a federal appeals court upheld the conviction. Noel J. Francisco, a lawyer for Mr. McDonnell, said his client should not have been convicted, as he did not “make a government decision or urge someone else to do so. ” The corruption laws, he added, were “not meant to be comprehensive codes of ethical conduct. ” Michael R. Dreeben, a lawyer for the federal government, said such a narrow definition was “a recipe for corruption” that would “send a terrible message to citizens. ” Justice Breyer responded that “I’m not in the business of sending messages in a case like this,” adding, “I’m in the business of trying to figure out the structure of the government. ” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy also sounded frustrated, saying that “the government has given us no workable standard” to distinguish political favors from criminal acts. Mr. Dreeben took a hard line, saying that a vacation or an expensive lunch traded for arranging a meeting could be sufficient. But he added that it was hard to prove criminal intent. Justice Kennedy reacted with sarcasm. “You’re going to tell the senators, the officials with the lunches, that ‘don’t worry, the jury has to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt,’” he said. Some justices said that even the standard urged by Mr. McDonnell’s lawyer converted too much ordinary conduct into a crime. “The word ‘influence’ is too broad,” Justice Breyer said, “because every day of the week politicians write on behalf of constituents letters to different parts of the government, saying, ‘Will you please look at the case of Mrs. who was evicted last week? ’” Justice Kennedy said he would limit the definition of unlawful corruption to the “exercise of governmental power to require citizens to do or not to do something, or to shape the law that governs their conduct. ” Asking another official to have a meeting with a donor, he suggested, was not enough. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who seemed sympathetic to the government, probed the implications of such a standard, asking Mr. Francisco whether it would be lawful to charge $1, 000 for a meeting. “If there’s no indicia that you’re actually trying to influence the outcome, and it really is just a meeting, yes,” Mr. Francisco said. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said it might matter who was arranging the meeting. “If it’s the president who calls and says, ‘I want you to look at this matter for my constituent,’ that might exercise considerably more influence,” he said. But Chief Justice Roberts was considerably more animated and skeptical in questioning Mr. Dreeben, the government’s lawyer. The chief justice quoted from a supporting brief filed by several former White House counsels of both parties who warned that if the decision were upheld, it would “cripple the ability of elected officials to fulfill their role in our representative democracy. ” “I think it’s extraordinary that those people agree on anything,” Chief Justice Roberts said. Last year, the Supreme Court allowed Mr. McDonnell to stay out of prison while the court considered whether to hear his case, McDonnell v. United States, No. . That unusual order was a powerful hint that the court might be inclined to rule in his favor. In their Supreme Court briefs, Mr. McDonnell’s lawyers relied on the Citizens United decision in 2010, in which the Supreme Court said that “ingratiation and access” were “not corruption. ” That year, the court ruled in favor of a former Enron executive, Jeffrey K. Skilling, saying that a federal anticorruption law governing “honest services” applied only to bribes and kickbacks. On Wednesday, Chief Justice Roberts noted that three members of the court — Justices Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, who died in February — would have gone further in the Skilling case and ruled that the law was unconstitutionally vague. “Maybe the experience we’ve had here,” the chief justice said, “and the difficulty of coming up with clear enough instructions suggests that the caution the court showed at that point” — in construing the law narrowly rather than striking it down — “was . ” Mr. Francisco, who had a good day, stumbled near the end of his presentation, referring to Justice Ginsburg as “Justice O’Connor. ” “That hasn’t happened in quite some time,” Justice Ginsburg said. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, retired in 2006. Mr. Dreeben’s outing was rockier, but it ended in a tribute from Chief Justice Roberts, who congratulated him on presenting his 100th Supreme Court argument, a rare achievement. While a majority of the justices seemed inclined to vote in Mr. McDonnell’s favor, it was not clear that they would agree on a rationale. As Justice Breyer put it, Mr. McDonnell’s case presented “as knotty and complicated and difficult and basic a problem as I can think of. ” | 1 |
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Emails show Clinton staff knew about private server in 2014 October 28, 2016 Hillary Clinton waves to the crowd after delivering her "official launch speech" at a campaign kick off rally in Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island in New York City, June 13, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
John Podesta’s Wiki-leaked Gmail shows that would-be-staff of Hillary Clinton’s campaign openly discussed her use of the private email account back in Summer 2014, but were told not to worry because “everything was taken care of.” John Podesta, Clinton campaign chairmen: “Did you have any idea of the depth of this story?” Robby Mook, Clinton campaign manager: “Nope. We brought up the existence of emails in reserach [sic] this summer but were told that everything was taken care of.” At the time of the exchange, Clinton had not officially announced her candidacy. According to NY Times: Clinton exclusively used a private email account while serving as secretary of state. Clinton violated State Department and Obama administration policies regarding email use. Clinton also flouted the Federal Records Act, which requires government officials to return their work product to their governing agency. Clinton did not give the State Department her work-related emails until Dec. 5, 2014. The State Department and Clinton’s legal team began negotiating the hand-over of Clinton’s emails in Summer 2014. Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s State Department chief of staff and her personal attorney: Led discussions with State Department about the email hand-over. Mills was also in frequent contact with Podesta and Mook in 2014.
(WASHINGTON, DC) Members of what would become Hillary Clinton’s campaign team discussed her use of a private email account as secretary of state in Summer 2014, months before her email practices were publicly revealed. But an email released on Thursday shows that Robby Mook, Clinton’s campaign manager, was not overly concerned about the issue at that time because he was told that “everything was taken care of.”
It is not clear what Mook meant by the cryptic statement, which he made in an exchange with Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
The email, which was hacked from Podesta’s Gmail account and released by WikiLeaks, is the first to show that the Clinton team was caught almost completely off guard by The New York Times’ March 2, 2015 story about Clinton’s email usage.
“Did you have any idea of the depth of this story?” Podesta asked Mook in the email.
“Nope,” wrote Mook. “We brought up the existence of emails in reserach [sic] this summer but were told that everything was taken care of.” | 0 |
Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Sign up.) California has the nation’s strictest gun laws. There is a waiting period, a written test and a number of restrictions on guns and gear. Some voters pondering Proposition 63 have asked: Haven’t we done enough? Gavin Newsom, the lieutenant governor, says no. He’s developed the initiative that would push the state’s gun limits even further. Under Proposition 63, ammunition purchasers would be treated similar to gun purchasers. Before a Californian could buy even a single bullet of any kind, he or she would need to pay a fee of up to $50 and wait up to 30 days to obtain a permit. “The game changer in the country is going to be ammunition background checks,” Mr. Newsom, who is running for governor in 2018, said in a phone interview. Proposition 63 has drawn vehement opposition from civil liberties and policing groups who argue that it would make Californians less safe and impede law enforcement. What’s more, they note, the state already created a law this year that added background checks for bullet buyers at the point of sale. (Mr. Newsom said that bill did not go far enough.) Critically, opponents say, the wait time could put people in danger. In one of the opposition group’s campaign ads, a lone woman is depicted pulling a gun against an attacker in a dim parking lot, only to pull the trigger and hear the “click” of an unloaded weapon. “All Proposition 63 seeks to do is pile on 34 more pages of more complex legalese on an already byzantine system of gun laws,” said Sean Brady, counsel for the Coalition for Civil Liberties. Proposition 63 also adds new felony charges for stealing firearms, broadens a ban on large capacity magazines and requires all felons to surrender their guns, among other measures. Since 2000, the rate of gun violence in California has fallen by about 20 percent, according to Garen J. Wintemute, an epidemiologist who studies firearm violence at U. C. Davis. Whether that can be credited to tough gun measures is a subject of disagreement. But firearm dealers say at least one outcome of the debate is certain: more sales. Californians have been buying more guns than ever — last year, more than 890, 000. Dig into analyses of all 17 statewide measures by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, CALmatters and Ballotpedia. • With dirty tricks and veiled charges of religious intolerance, a campaign in Irvine reflects the turbulent currents of American politics. [The New York Times] • An investigation into a $72 million apartment complex in Los Angeles raised questions about the influence of cash on the political process. [Los Angeles Times] • With polls showing the state poised to legalize recreational marijuana, some cities are scrambling to pass temporary bans. [The Mercury News] • Mike Cernovich is a social media mastermind of the . He operates out of Southern California. [The New Yorker] • By one intriguing measure, the West, not the South, has the highest poverty rate in the country. [The New York Times Editorial Board] • San Diego’s once thriving card room industry is struggling mightily, done in by a law passed in the 1980s. [San Diego ] • San Francisco’s most expensive home sold in October for nearly $22 million. Now we know the buyer: a tech billionaire. [SFGate. com] • Norman Brokaw, who rose from mail clerk to top mogul at the William Morris talent agency, died in Beverly Hills. He was 89. [The New York Times] • The Irvine Meadows amphitheater closed its doors after hosting music’s biggest names for 35 years. [Orange County Register] • Joe Ide’s debut novel, “IQ,” set in Long Beach, kicks off what is likely to be a madly lovable new detective series. [The New York Times] • Scientists discovered a species of millipede with 414 legs and four penises in a California cave. [The New York Times] Alexander von Humboldt — whose California namesakes include a county, a university and multiple parks — was the foremost scientist of his time. Before Charles Darwin, the Prussian geographer was the first to establish an understanding of ecosystems in the early 1800s. “The Invention of Nature” is the first biography of Humboldt in English in many years and its author, Andrea Wulf, was in California over the past few weeks to talk about it. We caught up with her over email. What do you think Californians might be most surprised to learn about Humboldt? What do you most admire about him? You make the case that he is the forgotten father of environmentalism. Why do you think he’s not better known? Do Humboldt’s insights continue to hold relevance today? How? California Today goes live at 6 a. m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes. com. The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Davis. Follow him on Twitter. California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended U. C. Berkeley. | 1 |
The actress Taissa Farmiga (“The Bling Ring,” “American Horror Story: Murder House”) reads “Friends Without Benefits” by Hannah Selinger, an essay about romantic infatuation and learning to finally let someone go. You can also hear the episode on iTunes and Stitcher. Afterward, we’ll talk with Ms. Selinger, a freelance writer and wine sales representative living in New York, and the Modern Love editor Daniel Jones. Ms. Farmiga stars, with Ethan Hawke, John Travolta and Karen Gillan, in “In a Valley of Violence. ” Follow Hannah Selinger on Twitter and Taissa Farmiga on Twitter and Instagram. | 1 |
Previous Obama, Clinton and Putin Play on the Same Team-America Has Been Betrayed
Obama and Putin are playing on the same team. They have a mutual goal. A close examination of the facts reveal that Obama is in bed with the Communists and is intent on the destruction of America. Hillary Clinton is part of the same cabal. If you don’t think so, ask yourself how she was able to sell 20% of America’s uranium to the Russians?
This article will demonstrate that B. Obama (Soetoro) is the manifestation of a decades-old plot designed to subvert the leadership of the United States, thus making America vulnerable to being conquered. Is America Worth Dying For?
I loathe the government that we are forced to endure every day, don’t you, with every communication you engage in being monitored by a bunch of government voyeurs? However, I do love my country, the American people and the ideals for which we stand (e.g. one nation under God). America’s present government is not worthy of one ounce of respect. However, the American Constitution and our traditions are indeed worth fighting for, but not with Obama at the helm.
I have often wondered if I had been a soldier in the Texan Army, would I have stayed, fought and died at the hands of Santa Anna’s forces at the Alamo? If I had been a defender at Bataan, Wake Island, or Guam, in the early days of World War II and I knew death was certain, would I stand my post to the last minute? I would, if I knew my sacrifice was honorable and my leadership was patriotic and willing to make the same sacrifice. America Will Soon Stand Alone
As I have documented over the past several weeks, America will soon stand alone , with perhaps, only England as our last ally. Europe will soon be under the Russian sphere of control because of energy dependence on Russia. As a result, NATO will disintegrate. China has married their economy to the Russians based upon gas and oil and we will someday soon face their soldiers on the battlefield which will take place in our neighborhoods. Seemingly all of Latin America has turned their backs on the US and is allowing for Russian military bases and accepting Russian military equipment, thus, making a Red Dawn scenario a near certainty.
America stands on the edge of virtual extinction. The only question is whether Putin, after totally destroying the Petrodollar, will allow America to slowly crumble, or use the combined forces of the United Nations (e.g. North Korea, China, Latin America and Russia to invade). Either way, people like ex-CIA agent, Dr. Jim Garrow boldly proclaim that eventually 90% of all Americans will be left dead. And isn’t that figure consistent with the globalist expressed desire to reduce the North American population by 90%?
And how does Obama respond to these threats? He has announced that he is reducing the American military to pre-World War II levels in yet another act of treason against the American people.
Back to the fundamental question, should we stand our ground and fight to the death? The answer is yes. However, I will not follow the psychopathic criminal that is in the White House. If America is to fall, and most of us will perish, we should not fall with a traitor at the helm. Though the heavens may fall, treason must not be allowed to prosper. The man with 11 social security numbers, several names (e.g. Barry Soetero) must not be allowed to remain in power. If I am to fall in defense of my country, I will do so with fellow Americans, not by following some mongrel masquerading as an American. Obama Is the Soviet Fulfillment of Generations of Planning
After Viktor Suvorov, a former Russian intelligence analyst, defected to England, he revealed Russia’s top-secret plans to attack the United States at some future date after undermining the United States from within through the subversion of their political leadership. Suvorov had worked as a Russian intelligence analyst as well as having worked for the GRU and with elite Russian special forces, Suvorov, warned the Americans of Russia’s true intentions after the Russian high command had succeeded in getting Pentagon officials to let down their guard and engage in a high level, but mostly one-sided, technology transfer . And under the wrong President (i.e. Obama), America would be weakened to the point to where it could not adequately defend herself.
Anatoliy Golitsyn, a high-ranking KGB defector fled to the United States in order to warn Americans about the secret Russian plan to attack the United States. Golitsyn is generally considered to be among the first and most revealing on the subject of the secret Russian plans to attack America after faking the demise of the old Soviet Union. He authored the The Perestroika Deception in which Golitsyn wrote about the deceitful intent behind the Leninist strategy which the present-day Communists are actively pursuing as they fake American style democratization efforts in Russia. From within, American leadership would be compromised in key positions, and the fall of America would be orchestrated from within and under the leadership of an Obama type of President. Golitsyn and Suvorov were only two of dozens of Soviet defectors who told exactly the same story dating back to the 1960’s. Obama Is the Pawn of the Russians to Conquer America
From the official files of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, we find Allen Hulton , a 39 year veteran of the postal service, who provided a sworn affidavit to Maricopa County, AZ. Sheriff investigators.
Arpaio was leading an investigation to determine whether or not former foreign college student , Barack Obama, was eligible to be placed on Arizona’s 2012 election ballot. After reviewing Hulton’s affidavit, it is apparent that 1960’s communist agitators and revolutionaries from the communist-inspired Weathermen Underground, Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn were in fact the de facto adoptive parents to this foreign student destined to become the first illegitimate President of the United States. As a result, Obama was treated to the finest Ivy League education that communist backed money could buy as Hulton maintains that the Ayers told him that he was financing the education of a promising foreign student at Harvard. Hulton also testified that he met Obama while at the Ayer’s home and he asked Obama what he going to do with all his education, to which Obama politely answered, “I am going to become the President”. Readers should take note that this is an affidavit, and as such, is formally considered to be evidence, not conjecture or hearsay. There can be no other conclusion that the criminally convicted communist terrorist, Bill Ayers, began grooming Obama to become America’s first communist President during Obama’s college years. Their relationship continues into the present time as it is on record that Ayers visited the White House in August of 2009. Please note the words “foreign student”, which makes Obama ineligible to be in the White House.
Obama’s communist affiliations continued well into his adulthood and because of the good work of Joel Gilbert who discovered that Obama was active with a Weathermen Underground support group known as The May 19th Communist Organization, in New York. Perhaps, this is why Ayers was visiting the White House. And speaking of Ayers and Dorne, adding more fuel to this communist fire, it is interesting to note that both Senior White House Advisors, David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett were both Weatherman Underground “ Red Diaper Babies , in which they were the sons and daughters of well-to-do parents who desired communism and lived out their dreams through their children’s revolutionary activities. Other notable red-diaper babies also include such notables as Rahm Emanuel and Eric Holder . Jarrett’s situation is particularly interesting in that her family and the Ayers family have been multi-generational friends which also included a marriage between the two families. Much of the Obama administration is a nest of communists and this should serve to gravely concern every American citizen. It was Ayers and Dorne who launched State Senatorial candidate Obama’s political career from their Hyde Park, IL. living room according to the late Larry Grathwohl a former FBI undercover operative who penetrated the Weathermen Underground. Hollywood could not write a movie this good, with this much intrigue.
Frank Chapman , a communist activist and a member of the communist front group known as the World Peace Council. Chapman clearly used the term “mole” to describe Obama. He said Obama’s political climb and subsequent success in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries was “a dialectical leap ushering in a qualitatively new era of struggle.” Chapman further stated that, “Marx once compared revolutionary struggle with the work of the mole, who sometimes burrows so far beneath the ground that he leaves no trace of his movement on the surface. This is the old revolutionary ‘mole,’ not only showing his traces on the surface but also breaking through. “ The Communist Party USA backs Obama to the hilt. ” It is clear that Obama is their man! Obama is Putin 2.0.
The Middle East is turning away from the Petrodollar. Europe will soon abandon the dollar to buy Russian gas. The Petrodollar is the only thing of value backing the dollar. When the fall of the Petrodollar is complete, it will not take 30 days to witness the complete and utter destruction of this economy. Dr. Garrow believes when the economic collapse arrives, it will be masked with an EMP attack designed to accelerate the process of decline. In this scenario. the Naval War College predicts 90% of us will be dead within two years under these circumstances! And what is Obama doing about all of this? He is doing nothing!
To those who think this is far-fetched, read on and see what the defectors tell us is coming and it will be hard to deny Obama’s complicity. Golitsyn’s Blueprint for Obama
According to Golitsyn, the short-term strategic objective of the Russians is to achieve a technological convergence with the West solely on Russian terms and mostly through a series of one-sided disarmament agreements. He also stated that the Russians and the Americans would engage in joint military exercises just prior to America’s fall and this is exactly what we find when we look at the historical record under Obama.
“In 2010, American soldiers participated in the 2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade alongside its European allies and members of the CIS , marking the first time American soldiers have ever participated in the annual event on May 9.
In 2010, American and Russian special forces conduct their first joint operation in Afghanistan and destroy four drug-producing labs that make heroin on October 31. (S. Shuster (Oct.2010). Russia returns to Afghanistan for drug raid . TIME World. Retrieved 6 February, 2010).
In 2012, the United States, Russia and NATO hold missile defense exercises in Ottobrunn, Germany from March 26 to March 30.
In 2012, Russian troops are allowed into the United States for the first time to participate in a joint U.S.-Russia military drill in Colorado on April 25.
In 2012, American and Russian navies participate in the RIMPAC 2012 naval exercises from June 29 to August 3 and this process is ongoing.
In 2012, The United States and Russia hold joint naval exercises in the Norwegian Sea on August 22.
In 2012, Russia sends aid to the United States in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on November 11.
In 2013, American, Russian and NATO military forces perform a counter piracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden on February 26.
In 2014, The United States, Russia and NATO announce plans to conduct a joint naval operation in the Mediterranean to protect a U.S. ship that will destroy Syria’s chemical weapons on February 14.”
There are literally dozens more of these bilateral cooperative efforts involving the military forces of Russia and the United States. This is following a time when leaders like George Bush placed a missile shield in Poland and beefed up our support of NATO. It is clear that Obama is in bed with the Russians. AND PUTIN, OBAMA AND CLINTON ARE IN BED WITH THE GLOBALISTS WHO WANT WORLD WAR III. Golitsyn and the Scissors Plan
Golitsyn stated that Russia, after lulling America to sleep, will join with China in order to attack the United States from both the outside and inside as he detailed that “ In each of these the scissors strategy will play its part; probably, as the final stroke, the scissors blades will close. The element of apparent duality in Soviet and Chinese policies will disappear. The hitherto concealed coordination between them will become visible and predominant. The Soviets and the Chinese will be officially reconciled. Thus the scissors strategy will develop logically into the ‘strategy of one clenched fist’ to provide the foundation and driving force of a world communist federation…before long, the communist strategists might be persuaded that the balance had swung irreversibly in their favor. In that event they might well decide on a Sino-Soviet ‘reconciliation.’ The scissors strategy would give way to the strategy of “one clenched fist.” The enemies now are gathered from within . At that point the shift in the political and military balance will be plain for all to see.
The inking of the recent energy deal which married the economies of the Russians and the Chinese is the manifestation of Golitsyn’s revelations.
As I stated earlier, the death of the Petrodollar means that you will not a have job to go to tomorrow. Because of Obama, the Chinese own our money. Which means they own your mortgage, retirement and savings accounts. Everything you own, is controlled by the Chinese. Soon, they will be coming to collect.
My insider military sources, as well as Dr. Garrow, tell me that plans for an American guerrilla warfare resistance are being put into play as we speak. This means that millions of us are going to die at the hands of foreign invaders and from being caught in the crossfire. Conclusion
I no longer believe in the America political process and for good reason (e.g. electronic voting machines). George Soros has proven what a rigged system we live under. Remember, Traitor-In-Chief #1 is Obama. Traitor-In-Chief #2 is Clinton and Hillary is the closer. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SOLD OUT FROM EVERY POSSIBLE ANGLE. | 0 |
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?” More than 46 million Britons have registered to vote in Thursday’s referendum, and polls show a statistical dead heat. Proponents and opponents frantically campaigned for a final day. Twitter users tried to lighten the bitter debate, posting photos of their pets as #CatsAgainstBrexit, #DogsForBrexit and the like (even a few hamsters). _____ 2. Dozens of Democratic representatives staged a on the House floor to demand that the Republican majority hold a vote on a measure before a weeklong recess begins Friday. The Republican House leaders halted the session, cutting off the broadcast of the Democratic protest. _____ 3. Donald Trump tried to refocus his campaign after a rough few days. He made his most sustained attack on Hillary Clinton, calling her “a liar” in a speech that included many inaccurate and misleading statements. Mrs. Clinton, who on Tuesday criticized Mr. Trump’s business and economic ideas, laid out her vision for the U. S. economy. And the Libertarian Party’s candidates, former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico and former Gov. Bill Weld of Massachusetts, held a town hall tonight. _____ 4. Wildfires burned in at least eight Western states and Alaska, with 31 clustered in a swath of Arizona and New Mexico blistered by a heat wave. Above, Los Angeles clouded in smoke. The Midwest braced for severe thunderstorms that could push across to the Eastern Seaboard. _____ 5. Sunday will see the formal opening of a new set of locks meant to ensure that the historic Panama Canal can handle the new, giant ships crucial to a hyperglobalized world of trade. But our investigation — interviews with contractors, canal workers, maritime experts and diplomats, and reviews of public and internal records — reveals construction flaws that leave the $3 billion project’s safety and economic viability in doubt. _____ 6. The golfer Rory McIlroy withdrew from the Rio Olympics because of concerns about the Zika virus, a loss that may encourage more athletes to skip the Games. The event, set for August, has been diminished by the banning of Russia’s track and field team and Bulgaria’s over doping. It has also been plagued by construction, pollution and national economic troubles in Brazil. _____ 7. One of the world’s longest conflicts appears to be nearing an end after more than 50 years. The Colombian government and FARC rebels said they had agreed to a at talks in Havana and would hold a ceremony on Thursday. Peace is “not an illusion now, it’s a promise,” the rebels tweeted. _____ 8. A woman close to Prince described for the first time publicly what happened the night he blacked out on a private jet, just days before his fatal overdose. The singer Judith Hill, who was on the plane, said she raised an alarm after “his eyes fixed” and he became unconscious, forcing an emergency landing, treatment with an opioid blocker and hospitalization. She said he promised her that he would get help: “That’s the part that breaks my heart, because he was trying. ” _____ 9. Scientists reported an unnerving discovery: three species of clam that suffered from contagious cancer. The worry isn’t that they could infect humans — rather, that infectious cancers may be more widespread than previously understood. _____ 10. Discussions of measures proliferated a day after a visitor to Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page noticed that a photo showed his computer camera and microphone jack covered with tape. Security experts say those are sensible precautions everyone should consider, to prevent a takeover by a kind of malware called a trojan — “ratting” for short. _____ 11. “i nvr felt this dark. ” One of our most riveting stories today retraces the steps of a athlete from Columbus, Ohio, who committed suicide. A dedicated wrestler and football player proud of his tolerance for pain, Kosta Karageorge sustained at least 15 concussions. Tormented by erratic thoughts and excruciating headaches, he climbed into a garbage Dumpster and shot himself. _____ 12. Finally, more than a million fans flooded the streets of Cleveland to celebrate the Cavaliers’ N. B. A. title. Some slept on the streets overnight to get a good spot for the parade, which lasted more than four joyous hours. “I’m nothing without you all,” LeBron James said to crowds. “Get ready for next year. ” _____ Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p. m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a. m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a. m. Sundays. Want to look back? Here’s last night’s briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 1 |
As of this writing, the increased U.S. troop presence in Eastern Europe includes a battalion-sized element of American troops being emplaced in the Suwalki Gap, Polish territory that borders Lithuania in a 60-mile stretch of corridor. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that 600 Russian and Belarussian airborne troops conducted training exercises in Brest, on the Belorussian-Polish border only a few miles from where the U.S. forces are deploying in Poland. This on the heels of Britain deploying 800 men, tanks, and jets to Estonia, along with pledges of Challenger 2 tanks, APC’s (Armored Personnel Carriers), and drones. Two companies of French and Danish Soldiers will join the British in the deployment to Estonia.
For the first time since 1945, Norway has violated its treaty with Russia (then the Soviet Union) not to station foreign troops on its soil. A company of U.S. Marines will soon be stationed for a 6-month deployment in Norway. The situation is heating up in Ukraine, according to a report on fort-russ.com entitled Ukraine Moves Massive Force up to Lugansk Frontline , published October 28, 2016 . The report reveals the Ukrainian Army is deploying 3,500 soldiers and 200 armored vehicles of the 15 th Motorized Infantry Brigade to Krasny Oktyabr in the district of Lugansk in Eastern Ukraine. For the first time in history, Romanian airspace is being patrolled by the RAF (Royal Air Force) of Britain.
In addition, the Ukrainian National Guard is deploying a tactical company equipped with 82 mm mortars and AGS-17 auto grenade launchers, along with APC’s and missile launchers. A separate reconnaissance battalion named the “Night Shades,” a nationalist volunteer battalion will be deploying to Lugansk as well. No doubt they will receive a “warm” reception, as the fighting has been ongoing in the region for more than two years. The area is a severe flashpoint, as the separatists are ethnic Russians of Ukrainian nationality who wish to secede in the manner that Crimea did…Russia annexed them after the popular vote to leave Ukraine. Now (since December 2015) the Congress gave the green light to send weapons and munitions to Ukraine; the “holdup” is due to Obama not wanting to jeopardize the election of Hillary Clinton, as the Russians have stated weapons to Ukraine means war with the U.S. and NATO.
Meanwhile the Varshankya-class stealth subs are deploying into the Black Sea as the Russian fleet is moving toward Syria. The Russian and Syrian armies continue to bomb and attack the al-Nusra/Jabhat Fatah ash-Sham fighters emplaced in the city of Aleppo. The mainstream media, meanwhile, is faltering in its attempt to create a “sacred U.S.-coalition crusade” to “free the city of Mosul,” as the offensive is not working quite as planned. There are also reports that the U.S. government has plans to “navigate” Islamic terrorists from Mosul into Syria, to cause more problems for Assad and the Russians; the mainstream media is notoriously silent on the collateral damages being caused by the U.S.-led Mosul attacks, in which U.S. aircraft are supporting with bombing missions.
Let’s be clear on this: The U.S. is beefing up conventional forces of American troops into Eastern Europe and convincing NATO countries to augment these deployments with soldiers and equipment. The Russians have been responding with opposing counter-deployments to offset the U.S.-NATO movements. The aggressive stance is being taken by the U.S.-NATO-IMF hegemony in its military buildup in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, the very “backyard” of Russia.
The bottom line: the stage is being set to start WWIII on the slightest provocation.
The domestic perspective yields that just a few weeks after the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) transfer from U.S. control to (basically) the UN on October 1, 2016, the U.S. has had a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack from hackers on October 21, 2016 affecting the east and west coast of the U.S. as well as Texas and part of Europe. Just one week before, on OCtobr 13, 2016 Obama signed an Executive Order for Space Weather anomalies just “in case” some “space weather anomaly” were to cripple the power grid and electrical infrastructure of the United States.
Something even worse that happened may really tie into this.
Last week it was reported by the U.S. Army that Major General John Rossi had committed suicide . Rossi had been slated to take over as the Commander of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, and the Army Forces Strategic Command. General Rossi was about to complete 33 years of service and was only 55 years old. He was “found” at Redstone Arsenal, and the Army just ruled it a suicide. The Daily Mail on dailymail.co.uk reported that a U.S. government official told USA Today: “It seemed that Rossi was overwhelmed by his responsibilities” as a potential reason for his suicide.
The problem is, he committed suicide on July 31, 2016…and it’s taken two months for the Army to rule it as being a suicide?
With the command assignment, Rossi would have been privy to every procedure and protocol to defend the United States against an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) attack or an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack or event . He would know everything from the “top” down: that is, the Commander-in-Chief (Obama) would have to foster a one-on-one relationship with the man who would hold the key post to defending against a foreign missile attack.
Maybe this time the missile would not have been foreign, or if it was? It may not have been the leader of a foreign country to direct it against the United States.
It is almost impossible to believe that a Major General of the United States Army just receiving a top command post, a 55-year-old soldier…a general officer…with 33 years of service, a wife, and a loving family would “off” himself because of being “overwhelmed by responsibility.” Men such as Rossi (the highest-ranking member of the military to do such a thing) do not shirk responsibility: they meet it, head on. The whole thing stinks of a purge , in the manner that the entire military of the United States has been purged of hundreds of senior General Staff officers, Admiralty, and Senior Noncommissioned Officers…replaced by “yes” men over the course of Obama’s term.
The whole thing stinks of an assassination : no suicide note, no real press coverage, and nothing from his friends, family, or fellow soldiers. This occurs, and then Obama signs his Executive Order to “protect” us from the dreaded space anomaly that will take down our infrastructure. Could this have possibly been a suicide? Think of all of the heartache and grief his family is going through with his loss. What about the benefits and retirement that his family would lose with such an act? If he really committed suicide, then it was probably because he found out about something so heinous, so vile that would occur to the U.S. that he couldn’t live with it and probably couldn’t stop it.
Bottom line: Was he terminated when he wouldn’t go along with a false flag EMP-plan conceived by Obama to take down our grid, cripple our response time, and set the stage for martial law and the suspension of all rights under the Constitution of the United States?
As I have mentioned in the past, I repeat once again:
The next war will be initiated by an EMP device detonated above the continental United States followed by a limited nuclear exchange and then conventional warfare.
I never said that it wouldn’t be Obama who initiated the EMP device, and in all probability if he doesn’t initiate it…he’ll either provoke it, allow it, or request it. We haven’t even mentioned the voting (early voting) taking place where fraud is occurring in Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, and Florida, among others. The illusion of the vote: the joke of the year, but the joke is on us.
And Obama is the joker, setting the stage for the transfer of power. That transfer is not going to occur with the losing candidate (in either case) going gently into that good night. The stage is set for a war to begin. The stage is set for a false flag operation to take down our grid. The stage is set to steal the election for Clinton or declare it null and void. Within the next few weeks, the future of the United States will be decided…with or without the consent of the governed.
Jeremiah Johnson is the Nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne). Mr. Johnson is also a Gunsmith, a Certified Master Herbalist, a Montana Master Food Preserver, and a graduate of the U.S. Army’s SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape). He lives in a cabin in the mountains of Western Montana with his wife and three cats. You can follow Jeremiah’s regular writings at SHTFplan.com or contact him here .
This article may be republished or excerpted with proper attribution to the author and a link to www.SHTFplan.com .
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The Threat Is Real And Imminent: The Next World War Will Be Initiated By A First Strike Utilizing An EMP Weapon | 0 |
BALTIMORE 2016 Bill the eighth
This guy is real genius isn’t he? He is too stupid to realize all of those tweeter posts and Youtube videos are going to come back and bit him in the rear? Oh well, he will have plenty of time to think about his stupidity while he sits in a jail cell. doodaa
Would you hire this guy? Lancifer Wildwood
You don’t need a job when soros the nazi funds you….geesh I don’t even live in the US and I know that! Koolz
Jews created Black Lives matter and these guys get paid pretty well for there acting up at any protest. Black Lives Matter the very name creates violence. Purple lives Matter Hunter
Bingo!!!
You know, I wonder if / when “somebody in the know”, were to release nasty-jew George Soro’s travel itinerary…to the “right people”…
…hey Georgie…watch-out…payback can be a BITCH Zone43
50 Rabbis marched with them in Ferguson. owr
Jews are truly racist. M Saurette
so, the plan is to be more violent, more racist, more destructive. And the goal is to have blacks NOT be targeted by police? Good luck with that. owr
It won’t just be the police targeting rioting blacks.The average white is ready fearfully cautious of black thugs. The thugs know this and they try to intimidate whites by flaunting theirs MTV image of the ‘Gangsta’ by learning the right facial expressions, and wearing their pants on their ass. Stacking gang signs, even if not in a gang to appear knowledgeable about such things. It might work with some of the girls, but to the average young white male it is perceived as a potential threat. The primary difference between white males and black males is that only 30%, on average, black males are not convicted felons, and cannot legally possess a firearm. On the other hand nearly 80% of white males have no felony conviction, and can, or do possess legal firearms. Blacks are 13% of our population. Whites are a little under 70%. There are also a huge number of pissed off white veterans of Vietnam, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, who would not mind a little domestic house cleaning. You can bet your ass, and not be afraid of losing it, that these Vets are Trump supporters. Be careful what you wish for. The real world is not MTV, or a gangsta movie. Cornczech
This morning on my walk to the Howard Redline stop in the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago, IL…..I was called out to by a black woman: “Hey, F* YOU, White B#tch!” The sad part, because I had to stop acting and looking scared a few years back when I first MOVED to this hood, (sometime after Obama became King), is that I am USED to this kind of thing, so I started to giggle after that outburst…yes, the abuse got worse …but…I get this at least once a week when I walk to the store, to the EL….to the bank……so (shrug).
I have never called a black man or woman a nigger…(I bet I get blasted or removed or censored for that…but I get called whitey, hillbilly…(I’m a Cracker, let’s get THAT straight!), and a myriad of other race specific names…..I have even been assaulted for being white and standing up for myself…(I am a female, by the way….so, I have OTHER stories about my lovely experience living in CHICAGO…the next Detroit….)
So how am I a racist? I grew up in Texas and never had problems or saw violence..or had violence perpetrated against me…..since I came here…
So tell me again how I am a racist?
My LAST question is: WHEN DID AMERICA come to such a SAD STATE? owr
My suggestion is to get out of Chicago, it will be a pure hell-hole in the coming depression. Go back to Texas, the economy is much better there, and race relations are as well. Ted Dura
oh joy Trump to dump 40 million mexicans and open season on rioting niggas–See its True !
TRUMP WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN !! Guillotine_ready
Why wait? Burn your houses down now!! doodaa
And your liquer store! GORDON
Sheesh can we all just get along , we’ve seen how well having a black president worked out ? Thank God I live where it’s cold and the black populous is to a minimal ! Thank God all you do is kill each other anyway !
Will the HUMAN RACE ever grow up? Sheesh! This is so stupid. Does a Siamese cat hate the Prussian Blue because it’s a different ‘breed’? Does and Irish Setter hate the Black Lab because. . .
Man, people are the most un-evolved, unreasonable. . . doodaa
Unfortunately, this has been going on since humans became self aware. Will we ever evolve? Not in our genes. Jo Peter
Actually the ‘good fences make good neighbors’ tendency toward self segregation followed by more or less peaceful voluntary trade appears more or less universal, and it’s only the radical liberal cultural Marxism nonesense that is making this unworkable in the west (and this is mostly to blame on the mechanations of one particular tribe that’s ‘white’ when it benefits them but who hold no actual allegiance to the white race, we all know who they are.) doodaa
Do you think maybe “GOD” knew what he was doing when he segregated races by continents? Jo Peter
That is certainly a valid way to look at it. Some people view the order of the universe as through an impersonal ‘nature’ force, and others consider it a conscious design by an intelligent creator. In the end there is little practical difference when it comes to the specifics like this, since either way it worked before we broke it.
Well, some of us are OK. I’ve dated outside my race, and I miss my buds of the past who I spent time with who weren’t fellow ‘honky-gringo-crackers’. fujak
typical….blacks want democracy but only if and when it suits them woody
This country needs a good cleansing, bring it on brotha! Bruce Regael
We need LA Riots everywhere with police standing down. I’d love for them to bring the riots to the nice white liberal neighborhoods where those agent provocateurs riling up minorities always tend to hide after they fan the flames. If anyone needs to pay its white liberals. They’ve been playing puppet master for far too long using racial politics against conservative white people.
Time is coming where we’re going to have to put the boots to their throats or force the minorities to kick their teeth in. doodaa
Black folks will be OK. There is no bag limit on dumb niggers. Jo Peter
Indeed. The ones that long ago accepted the cultural superiority of the west are allies. They can’t choose what genes they’re born with but they can side with good against radical liberal insanity. doodaa Zaphod Braden
AMEN !!! Sanders was born and raised in the New York City borough of Brooklyn and graduated from the University of CHICAGO in 1964. While a student, he was an active civil rights protest organizer for the CONGRESS OF RACIAL EQUALITY and STUDENT (not really)NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE. Bernie ran to Vermont in 1968, to get away from BLACKS to raise HIS family in SAFETY Sanders switched PARTIES, BETRAYED the Veterans, and instigates the Blacks and then RUNS AWAY. In January 1962, Sanders led a rally at the University of Chicago administration building to protest university president George Wells Beadle’s segregated campus housing policy. “We feel it is an intolerable situation when Negro and white students of the university cannot live together in university-owned apartments,” Sanders said at the protest. But then Sanders ran to SAFE LILLY WHITE VERMONT to raise HIS children far away from those Blacks he wants you to live with. doodaa Cindyejohnson1 “my .friend’s mate Is getting 98$. HOURLY. on the internet.”…. two days ago new Mc.Laren. F1 bought after earning 18,512$,,,this was my previous month’s paycheck ,and-a little over, 17k$ Last month ..3-5 h/r of work a days ..with extra open doors & weekly. paychecks.. it’s realy the easiest work I have ever Do.. I Joined This 7 months ago and now making over 87$, p/h.Learn. More right Here o!507 http://GlobalSuperEmploymentVacanciesReportsWorld/GetPaid/98$hourly …. .❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦:❖:❦ o!507………. Jones
This is the classic ” lets get dumb ass to do the dirty work for us” trick. This dude is being played by the same people who will drop his ass on the street when theyre done with him. Inciting race wars and turning people against each other. This dude is a total looser. The only rapping he should do is with some tape around his flappy mouth. Someone give this dude a hug and ask him if hes making the world a better place by being a dick. Jolly Roger
This moron is just a tool, paid by rich people to incite racial tensions, with the usual hollow threats designed to intimidate white people as part of their ongoing divide-and-conquer agenda.
“We don’t want to work. We don’t want to go to school. We demand to be handed everything we want, and if we don’t get it, we’ll attack white people.”
Shut up, you idiot, and go back to your zoo.
No intelligent debate. No civilized discussion. Just a gang of RACIST thugs trying to intimidate people based on their skin color. Tell me more about “equality”.
I hate to participate, or even respond to a racist tirade, but these Soros-funded useful idiots may make it necessary. Just be ready to mow ’em down along with the wetbacks, just in case they make that necessary. doodaa
Nigga’ just might get his ass shot. L Garou
Is that an admission of retardation, or shall we produce his test scores to prove it? doodaa
I thought all lives mattered until this dumb nigger started talking. Now I wonder. owr
They are being programmed by George Soros to be agent provocateurs to create racial tension to allow for martial law to occur in order to keep the establishment as is. Clinton will insure this if elected. 8s5s5
To help payoff my student-loans I worked as a NYC teacher in “troubled” neighborhoods for ten years. During those ten years I saw delinquents call each other “niggas” hundreds of times every single school day. If I had done it once, I would have been fired that same day. They punched each other, stole from each other, and from the faculty, vandalized the school, threw brand new text books out the window but the state and federal funds continued to pour in, very much contrary to popular belief.
They actually got more money then the nicer areas. When I was finally able to move to a “good” school district, I couldn’t believe it. When I told the children (99% Caucasians) to take a a book and read quietly they actually did it. No exaggeration, you good actually hear your own respiration, that’s how quiet it was!!! And yes, you can find some schools with 95-99% white student population. I was never a “racist” but this was too much. The difference is incredible!!! Unfortunately if you notice a obvious behavioral difference between races, you are labeled as some kind of a bad person and the general public has learned to accept this word “racist” as derogatory regardless of the evidences that may exist, and we all know that they do exist. This denial has successfully forced illogical integration, the destruction of our liberty and country and the rise of economic fascist billionaires. Donald Trump, the only billionaire to go against is fellow elites is being completely typecast as “the rich white guy that must be a racist.” He is probably the one and only chance the middle class and the poor class will ever see again for justice in this country. The last man to have had his courage was President JFK. owr
To actually be a nigger, one must learn to be one. They have plenty of role models to copy. It’s a matter of choice. nobody
Lol… what a dumb ass! It’ll be a hoot watching video of these “tough” guys(gals?) getting their butts whomped after they destroy mostly their own slums, and if we’re lucky a few other choice places. desertspeaks
“we will incite riots everywhere if trump wins” translation, we know if trump wins, we’ll have to get jobs to pay rent, food etc. and being societal parasites, we don’t want actual jobs, just free shit! owr
Culture is learned in the home, and in school. “Granny was on total entitlements, so was momma, so is sista, so is my daddy where-ever and who-ever he is. So why I has ta lern all this white shit in school, I quit when I’m 16 and be worken the streets, the man..he be givn me food-stamps evey month that I can sell fo beer and cigarettes. Man, we got it fucken made.” Zone43
They will stay in the cities, cry baby’s. Strayhorse
What government really fears is when other than people of color, were to take to the streets. That’s why the government and the controlled media hide the truth about crime, racist crime perpetrated against other than people of color. When other than people of color awakens to the truth about crimes against them, L.A., Ferguson, and riots of their kind would pale against the response levied against the government for allowing the crimes against other than people of color to continue as it does today. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 DOES NOT offer any protection for other than people of color. That’s NOT was it was passed for! Other than people of color have NO federal or state protections against prejudice, injustice and inequality. nightwisp
The 14th amendment and the civil rights act of 1964 made their rights equal to the white man. If the white man is gone, they are equal to nothing. They will have no rights. owr
We are all slaves to the corporations, debt slaves. owr
That is precisely why the libs began the fake and un-natural PC agenda, to erode the 1st amendment. Raymond McGraw
You are surely as you called it…“NIGGA’S.Does not make a hill of difference who.what where or why.You were just born to riot.You have failed to look at the true one who has enlslaved you the last 8 years in the liberals and there government.Now you have become pawns working for them.Of course you have not realized that either.When the true one wins this and he will. You can then say Gee! Mr .Trump wished I had listened to you. D Urge
He’s right WE have been too nice.
TRUMP 2016 Lancifer Wildwood
I’m not sure this person of colour knows what he/they (whatever the frick) are up against if it comes down to it? The inner city shit holes they are seemingly incapable of building up into prospering neighbourhoods are NOT the rest of the US from my travels there. nightwisp
* YAWN * please pass the popcorn… Josephine Dorion
NO, THE WHITES AIN’T SCAYRED OF YAH. BE PREPARED TO BE EXTERMINATED. Ed Troyer
I see bulldozers, flame throwers…. jake
wow, doesn’t this show how clueless, americans trully are. almost makes one want to tell the trump campaign how to beat the voting fix. where are these guys and gals going to wreak havoc? in the cities where unarmed gay and mainly democrats live, black people, spanish, and poor people in general. poop where you eat, that is a controlled serf. show how your an oreo banker slave. when you get to the rural areas, the black, white, and spanish, rural people will be waiting. you won’t stand a chance, against the unified rural people. after following the banking oversears orders, to destroy yourself and your families based on unknown fears, do you think you’ll be going to valhalla, for following the bloodcults, marching orders, to divide and conquer. killing people who don’t have any more say than yourself, because a banker said it was so, priceless. Michael
That would be instant death for the 3/5th’s, 14th amendment black United States citizens. This country was created by old white men to protect the white race. This is why the Jewish run media are promoting the blacks to riot. In fact black folks if your going to go after a group you might want to think about going after the Jews in the media. As they’re the one’s that have set you up to fail. Here’s a sweet piece of history the majority of the Negroes don’t know. Israel Cohen, the General Secretary of the World Zionist Organization, in his 1912 book “A racial program for the 20th Century”. And, read into the Congressional Record by Congressman Thomas Abernathy, U.S. House of Representatives Mississippi, 4th District on June 7, 1957, Volume 103, top of page 8559: Israel Cohen penned “We must realize that our party’s most powerful weapon is racial tension. By propounding into the consciousness of the dark races that for centuries they have been oppressed by the whites, we can mould them to the program of Negro minority against the whites, we will endeavor to instill in the whites a guilt complex for their exploitation of the Negroes. We will aid the Negroes to rise in prominence in every walk of life, in the professions and in the world of sports and entertainment. With this prestige, the Negro will be able to intermarry with the whites and begin a process which will deliver America to our cause.” So black folks before you embark on a suicide mission learn some real history and the true cause of your plight. As your anger is miss directed and you will be engaged as belligerents and enemy combatants. Live in peace, be well, and do your homework before you attempt something rash and dangerous. Rick
It’s coon hunting season once again! Allan Munroe
I don’t know what color you are but I do know you are a Fucking Nigger ,,,soon you will know what it feels to be without hope just as I felt since you Voted into office That Fucking Ass Kissing Brother of the Muslim Brotherhood , who did all he could do except suck the Dick of the King of Saudi Arabia on National T.V. , all while trying to completely destroy USA but he didn’t learn enough in school regarding the Constitution of the USA. Soon Mr. Trump will be writing down names & kicking ASS ———-Niger Clean Kut
Not only do Trumpets have the tactical military training, and are stockpiling ammo, bombs, grenades and other weapons… They’ve been WAITING FOR THE DAY they can legally open fire on blacks and liberals for DECADES. They are SO ready… Trump says he will pay their legal fees and they feel emboldened.? det0918
What a loser ….he is what you get when raise your children with violence, hit, beat and threaten your children, you get violent minds…who see no other way but to threaten other people and perpetrate on them what was done to them by their own parents- yes, it’s white people’s fault your life sucks.
…amazing how many blacks are able to live life like the rest of us…in peace…. but you can’t manage it …so it must be someone else’s fault …who do white people blame when their lives suck? C.A.Martin
Well Poe just remember there are ten times as many whites (many well armed) as blacks and your not exactly on good terms with the Hispanics as well. Self immolation is just not a good way to go. But go for it, burn baby burn. Maus
They will destroy America one liquor store, one Best Buy and one Footlocker at a time! Zaphod Braden
That nigga is the PROPERTY of George Soros. Zaphod Braden
This moron should go visit Bernie Sanders —— in VERMONT Sanders was born and raised in the New York City borough of Brooklyn and graduated from the University of CHICAGO in 1964. While a student, he was an active civil rights protest organizer for the CONGRESS OF RACIAL EQUALITY and STUDENT (not really)NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE. Bernie ran to Vermont in 1968, to get away from BLACKS to raise HIS family in SAFETY Sanders switched PARTIES, BETRAYED the Veterans, and instigates the Blacks and then RUNS AWAY. In January 1962, Sanders led a rally at the University of Chicago administration building to protest university president George Wells Beadle’s segregated campus housing policy. “We feel it is an intolerable situation when Negro and white students of the university cannot live together in university-owned apartments,” Sanders said at the protest. But then Sanders ran to SAFE LILLY WHITE VERMONT to raise HIS children far away from those Blacks he wants you to live with. Zaphod Braden
He just qualified — as a DOMESTIC TERRORIST: Hussein Obama claims Congress “must do it’s Constitutional DUTY” by accepting his nominee, but Hussein REFUSES to do HIS Constitutional DUTY of evicting illegal invaders and securing OUR borders “during a time of war on terror”. Hussein is the Chief Executive. Hussein’s PRIMARY CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY is to enforce the laws, yet he REFUSES to do so.
“our” politicians take oaths to uphold the LAW and the Constitution. When they REFUSE to, when they openly DEFY and circumvent the LAW, they FORFEIT their “Governmental Immunity”. Every Politician who goes on record as supporting ILLEGAL INVADERS should be held financially responsible for PAYING REPARATIONS for the crimes done by the ILLEGALS. Start CIVIL FORFEITURE on the assets of Politicians that cover for ILLEGAL INVADERS. RESOURCES | 0 |
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the .) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. EgyptAir Flight 804, an Airbus A320, veered suddenly en route from Paris to Cairo and crashed into the Mediterranean with 66 people aboard. Egypt’s civil aviation minister acknowledged that the cause might be terrorism. That was in a sharp contrast to Egypt’s reticence last October, when a Russian airliner went down over the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. _____ 2. Our latest New York News poll shows that, despite Bernie Sanders’s fervent efforts to siphon support from Hillary Clinton, most Democratic voters think she will be able to unite the party. And most Republican voters believe their party leaders should support Donald Trump even if they disagree with him. Both candidates face major resistance from key voting blocs. Mrs. Clinton would win in a with Mr. Trump, if it were held now, 47 percent to 41 percent. But Mr. Sanders would beat Mr. Trump . _____ 3. “Unless you suspend the Constitution and instruct the police to behave as if we live in North Korea, it ain’t happening. ” That was a former secretary of Homeland Security, speaking of Mr. Trump’s promise to deport 11 million immigrants. Experts who have closely examined some of his pledges warn of astronomical costs and violations of basic rules of science, engineering and law. _____ 4. Federal prosecutors believe they know the secret of at least some of the financial success of William Walters, the high roller considered one of the best sports gamblers in the country: insider trading. They accused him of receiving from Thomas Davis, the former chairman of the huge milk processor Dean Foods, who was also charged. _____ 5. Care for a little virtual space travel? The Times used data from NASA’s recent flyby of Pluto in a joint project with the Lunar and Planetary Institute and the Universities Space Research Association to build a detailed virtual planetary visit. Download our NYT VR app, and enjoy a pretty amazing show. _____ 6. Morley Safer, the genial fixture on CBS’s “60 Minutes” for more than five decades, died. He was 84 and had retired just last week. As a war correspondent in his youth, he was one of the few U. S. reporters covering Vietnam who broke away from scripted press briefings and brought battles — and official contradictions — into Americans’ living rooms. _____ 7. As it happens, some Vietnamese are so nervous about Chinese expansionism that they are lobbying for U. S. forces to return to their base at Cam Ranh Bay. President Obama arrives in Vietnam on Sunday, and a return may be part of talks over a deal to allow the country to buy lethal arms. _____ 8. And a Vietnam veteran, Herbert Donahue, helped inspire law students to join him in trying to win clemency for U. S. service members convicted of killing Iraqi and Afghan civilians. One of the students said he had come to understand “how confusing things were on the ground in Iraq, how arbitrary the brutality was. ” A surge of bombings there over the last week killed more than 200 people. _____ 9. A storied golf club in Scotland was dropped as an official site of the British Open after voting narrowly to continue to exclude women as members. A significant majority of the Muirfield Golf Club’s members wanted to open the doors, but the measure fell 35 votes short of the required majority. _____ 10. One of our stories today is about a new trend in weddings. Or rather, in breaking them off. Where jitters were once focused on doubts about one’s partner, young people now appear to be discovering disquiet about the institution of marriage itself. “A pending marriage brings up issues of personal identity,” explained a psychotherapist with a premarital coaching practice. _____ 11. Finally, good news for California. A relatively wet winter and a year of successful conservation has eased the state’s water crisis. So as of June 1, the most drastic limitations on urban water use will be suspended. “We are still in a drought, but we are no longer in drought,” the head of the state water board said. _____ Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p. m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a. m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a. m. Sundays. Want to look back? Here’s last night’s briefing. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes. com. | 1 |
The Vision Thing
By Paul Edwards
That this election is an abysmal disgrace is nationally acknowledged; that it is absolutely unique is not, although its undeniable. Never before has virtually the entire mainstream media avidly, emphatically endorsed one Presidential candidate while furiously, contemptuously vilifying the other. Never has a sitting President joined in general denunciation of a candidate. With ten days to go its affirmed by most key sources that Donald Trump cant win and Hillary Clinton will. Many pundits predict a landslide for her. Assume it. What then? The most hated President-elect ever will not be loved by the Congress she will confront. Even with a majority in the Senate--just possible--and in the House--not--prospects for a legislative agenda, should she have one, are non-existent. What Obamas phony charm failed to achieve, Hillarys lack of it will scarcely obtain. This presages four more years of stasis and nullity, of social and economic rot, financial chicanery, and national decay. As regards the composition of the Supreme Court--the panicky Liberal pitch for being with her--unless she nominates hidebound conservatives, which is probable, not a single selection will be confirmed during her term. So... paralysis in Congress, reaction in the Court; two limbs of government neutralized, gives us rule by a disliked, distrusted figurehead with the full power of Wall Street and the Imperial War-loving Establishment behind her. What then will be accomplished? First, the interests of The Empire will be promoted at least as robustly as in Obamas eight years of sycophancy. Including his Rube Goldbergian Obamacare, still foundering and gouging, nothing of any benefit to Americans was achieved under this charlatan who perfected the skill of describing an airplane crash as a triumph of gravity. So what will she do in office? Well, start with what she wont do. She wont make any effort to restrain The Big Casino, the Gold Sacks Mafia. They made her an offer she couldnt refuse. She wont attempt any closing of the inequality gap. That would entail clipping her base--Our Crowd of the Hamptons, Palm Beach and Beverly Hills. She wont meddle with Sick Care--fool me once...--or, corporate tax enforcement. Her Big Donors dont want to pay them and why should they, right? She can just let Labor die of its own raging leukemia. College grads have to stay in their parents basements and service their college debt via Macdonalds because Arbeit Macht Frei. No need to do anything about Global Warming so long as you denounce it boldly at international meetings. Best leave the environment in the hands of those who can turn idle nature into money. Besides, the solution to pollution is dilution and clearcuts grow back in a millenium or so. On the minor agenda, she knows there are still small poor countries who require our R2P and cluster bombs. Others have resources that, with the odd military coup or assassination, should come on line nicely. Africa, say, has low-hanging fruit, and the Latin American mess needs our firm hand to prevent Lefty dictators diverting perfectly good profits to their own societies. Turning to the major crises, Exceptionalism requires that they be made far bigger. Our Defense Industries cant be expected to muck along forever on paltry brushfire wars: Iraq, Afghanistan--though in fairness theyve profuced steady income streams--and Libya, no bonanza, and Syria, which Putins diabolical meddling prevented blossoming as we hoped. Still, theres no earthly reason we cant achieve a profitable Third World War simply by refusing to take the bait of Satanic Putins wimpy peace offers and calling them what they really are: a mortal threat to our Capitalist System. So much for her first Hundred Days. Beyond the panicked cheerleading of the Imperial Elite--those that the late, great George Carlin referred to as your owners--and their failing organs of crowd manipulation, and beyond the day Clinton takes office if their hopes are consummated, America faces a cataclysmic crisis of governance; one of the order of magnitude of the secession of The South under Lincoln. Clinton and Trump are the physical, mental and emotional symptoms of that crisis. Our dead system must, and will, have catharsis. Which of them precipitates it may not greatly matter. Or it may mean everything. As Brutus said at Philippi: Oh, that a man might know the end of this days business ere it come; but it sufficeth that the day will end and then the end is known.
Paul Edwards is a writer and film-maker in Montana. He can be reached at: [email protected] | 0 |
PARIS — The square at the center of the Louvre, dominated by I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid, was desolate early Friday morning, save for a few tourists taking selfies. The museum was closed to visitors, as Paris experienced its worst flooding since 1982 — but inside, staff members and volunteers had worked around the clock to remove artworks from the threat of the rising waters of the Seine River. I was part of a small group of journalists whom the French culture minister, Audrey Azoulay the museum’s president, Martinez and other officials took on a tour of the strangely vacant museum on Friday afternoon. (Broadcast journalists were given priority we scribblers tagged behind, straining to hear what was said.) We were led through the Denon Wing, home of the “Mona Lisa” and usually the most crowded of the museum’s three wings. Rooms packed with Renaissance and Baroque Italian masterpieces were ghostly. The “Winged Victory of Samothrace” was bereft of its usual admirers. Inside the galleries containing Greek and Roman antiquities, the situation was more chaotic. Near the “Venus de Milo,” storage boxes were piled atop one another. Boxes completely encircled some sculptures, like one of a crouching Aphrodite from the third century B. C. At the other end of the room, the goddess of wisdom, Athena, kept an eye on the metal drawers stacked to her side. The Hellenistic gallery had become just another storage room for treasures from elsewhere in the Louvre. Some 150, 000 artworks in storage rooms, and an additional 7, 000 pieces in galleries, were deemed vulnerable to flooding, and many of them were moved to higher floors starting on Thursday evening. Museum officials activated a plan established in 2002. The plan includes, among other things, an inventory of all works that would need to be transferred to upper floors of the museum and plans to slow the spread of any water entering the museum. Although the Seine was expected to crest by Friday evening at around 20 feet, and no water had entered the museum thus far, officials were taking no chances. The works that were in storage were the easiest to handle. “It took us less time than we thought, because the artwork was already in containment boxes, so we just had to move them from one floor to an upper one,” said Adel Ziane, the museum’s deputy director of communications. The most painstaking work involved the removal of works from display cases. Yannick Lintz, the head curator of Islamic art at the Louvre, posted to Twitter images of the display cases, emptied after a long night of work, and of the plastic storage crates where the objects were wrapped and packaged. In some galleries, it looked as though a family was about to move in — or out. Boxes were subdivided by foam boards, creating spaces for vases and other precious objects. A seemingly abandoned ancient frieze sat on a wooden pallet on the floor of one gallery, half wrapped in plastic sheets. “For the artwork which was exhibited and not in storage, like for the department of Islamic art, we had to move the pieces from their window displays,” Mr. Ziane said. “We have a team of managers who take care of handling the artwork, and a team of curators who watch over everything. ” For all its complexity, it was nothing like when the museum was stripped of its masterpieces ahead of the German invasion of France in 1940. “Walls of Louvre Blankly Stare While Treasures Rest in Vaults,” a headline in the European edition of The New York Herald Tribune declared. The museum was partly reopened during the German occupation, but without its top masterpieces, which were hidden in secret locations across France. (Nazi officials eventually discovered the location of most of them, but decided to leave them in place.) The 2002 plan, for all its detail, does not prioritize among works of art. How, in a palace of treasures, can one select the very best? “It is difficult to say which one is more valuable,” Mr. Ziane said. “They are all priceless, and we decided the evacuation according to their risk of exposure. ” Besides Islamic art, the staff also moved works from Coptic displays and most of the Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities in storage. Mr. Martinez, the museum’s president, said it was difficult to estimate the total number of works moved, but he said it amounted to “thousands and thousands. ” Officials were monitoring the levels of the Seine constantly, he said, to see if they needed to move even more works. “The situation is changing hour per hour — it is still difficult to know when we are going to reopen,” he said. Earlier this year, the museum did a training exercise, simulating a flood situation, involving in the Islamic art department. That helped the process this week move more smoothly. But in the long run, the Louvre plans to move more artworks that are not on display to another location. By 2019, it intends to store nearly all those works in the regional branch of the Louvre in Lens, about 125 miles north of Paris. Tourism is a big driver of the French economy, and Ms. Azoulay, who became culture minister in February, took pains to emphasize that things were under control. ”For now, the artworks of the Louvre are not in danger,” she said. “We have anticipated the situation and the emergency plan worked quite well. ” Other institutions, however, were less fortunate, particularly those in the Loire Valley. The Musée Girodet in Montargis, devoted to the work of the Romantic painter Girodet, was heavily damaged. In the Loire Valley, bridges sustained damage and antique furniture was destroyed at the Château de la which only recently reopened after a renovation. About 25 miles away, the Château de Chambord, a Unesco World Heritage site, was heavily damaged. And the gardens of the Château de about 130 miles southwest of Paris, were completely submerged. “It is such a waste, because we had just finished two years of restoration work,” said Philippe Bélaval, the president of the National Monuments Center of France. | 1 |
HONG KONG — There were no banners. No raised fists. As night fell on Tuesday, more than a thousand protesters dressed in black held a silent march through the central business area of Hong Kong. They took care not to jaywalk. Then they quietly dispersed into the night. Collectively, the participants in the march had more power than most demonstrators. They were Hong Kong lawyers, angered by China’s move on Monday to effectively rewrite a clause in Hong Kong’s charter in order to prevent two young politicians from taking office as legislators. As a group, Hong Kong’s lawyers say Beijing’s decision to step into a legal case in this city has dealt a blow to its judiciary, famed for its fairness and independence and central to Hong Kong’s success as a global financial hub. The local bar association called the decision, announced by China’s Parliament, “unnecessary and inappropriate” and damaging to the concept of “one country, two systems” that has allowed this former British colony to maintain considerable autonomy from the mainland since the 1997 handover of sovereignty. But many practicing lawyers and legal scholars here also say that Hong Kong’s judiciary will have to implement the decision, and in doing so will apply legal standards evolved over centuries of precedent — common law — that may soften or perhaps even stymie Beijing’s will. “We have to show the world that this is not the accepted norm,” said Dennis Kwok, a lawyer and organizer of the march who also serves on Hong Kong’s Legislative Council. “It does damage to ‘one country, two systems’ but at the same time we do have faith in the legal system. ” It is a phenomenon that China may not have foreseen: the artful implementation of a Communist legal diktat in a delicate, system where judges wear wigs, are often educated in England and are trained to make rulings that protect civil liberties. China’s government, accustomed to law being a mere appendage of state power, may be in for an unpleasant surprise. “I don’t think we should underestimate the power or resilience of the common law to protect the autonomy and rights of the Hong Kong people,” Cora Chan, an associate professor who focuses on constitutional law at the University of Hong Kong, said in an interview. “The irony here is Hong Kong courts, being common law courts, would be using common law techniques to interpret an interpretation handed down from a Leninist legal system,” Professor Chan said. Beijing’s interpretation, issued on Monday by a committee in the National People’s Congress, specifies that office holders in Hong Kong have to “sincerely and solemnly” take loyalty oaths or be forced to vacate their posts, with no chance for a redo. The ruling came after the two young politicians, Sixtus Leung, 30, and Yau 25, inserted a derogatory term for China in their oaths. That infuriated Beijing, which bristles at any talk of separatism. The interpretation of an article in the territory’s governing Basic Law was to compel Hong Kong courts and its Legislature to force the duo to vacate their office, and no lawyer interviewed expected the courts to come to their rescue. But Eric Cheung, who teaches law at the University of Hong Kong, said it was possible that the Hong Kong court that is adjudicating their case could rule that Beijing’s interpretation was not retroactive. That may give the duo a chance to retake their oaths, though he said it would take a brave judge to make a ruling that could invite a new, even more specific, interpretation from Beijing. The Chinese interpretation was also aimed at preventing people who back Hong Kong’s independence from running for office. In July, Hong Kong’s government introduced a new loyalty pledge, requiring that candidates sign a document acknowledging that the city is an “inalienable part” of China. Several candidates were disqualified and went to court that case has not yet been decided. A judge could make a narrow ruling that Beijing’s interpretation applies only to taking oaths, which candidates, as opposed to officeholders, do not have to do. “If the Chinese government’s ultimate aim is to keep separatists out of the Legislature, then this interpretation is not going to be able to do that,” said Simon Young, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong. Several lawyers pointed out that Beijing’s ruling was novel because it effectively amended the Basic Law, which serves as Hong Kong’s Constitution. “If you look at it closely, it is more like an amendment, or an addition,” said Peter Chiu, who participated in Tuesday’s march. That is problematic, because amendments to the Basic Law must be approved by the entire National People’s Congress, which meets once a year, in March. That raises the possibility, however remote, that Hong Kong’s highest court, the Court of Final Appeal, may rule that Beijing’s interpretation, which has not been approved by the entire National People’s Congress, is an amendment and not enforceable, Professor Chan said. That is the nuclear option. In 1999, the Court of Final Appeal found that it had the power to declare “invalid” acts by the Chinese Parliament or its standing committee that violated the Basic Law, Professor Chan said. That kind of weapon — “hard legal controls,” in her words — is most effective when it is not used. “Simply claiming that courts in Hong Kong have those powers might well give an incentive to China to exercise restraint in issuing decisions or interpretations on Hong Kong,” she said. | 1 |
Home This Month Popular 6 Things Indian Guys Have To Understand When Learning Game 6 Things Indian Guys Have To Understand When Learning Game February 3, 2013 164 Comments Culture
As a guy of Indian ethnicity there are some obstacles you have to overcome in order to have a balanced game. Circumstances can dictate what these are but following my last post a red pill infused Indian pal of mine and myself had a conversation about what these obstacles are: 1. Let go of limiting beliefs about being an Indian in the Western world
What do I mean by “limiting beliefs”? There is a particular mindset among Indian guys that they can only get with Indian girls. You must let go of these fears dictating that your ethnicity holds you back in what you can do. Being Indian does not mean you have to work in IT, accounting, business, construction or own a corner shop as in the same way it does not mean you have to date Indian girls. 2. Let go of your mummy’s sari
It’s something I’ve noticed among the large Indian community here in London: there are a large number of mummy’s boys, men who are afraid to stand up to their mothers and what they want themselves. No one wants to disrespect their parents but also at the same time standing up for what you want should be your primary objective. Many a man will ‘settle’ with their girlfriends due to pressure from their mothers. As one acquaintance said, he preempted conflict by just doing what his mother wanted, even though he does not love the girl he married. 3. Let go and expand beyond your Indian comfort zone
Your extended family plays a large part of your life (not a bad thing), but a lot of guys also have their friends circle exclusively Indian. Expand your knowledge, gain new friends, travel, and learn new languages. It’s a difficult transition to move from becoming over reliant on this little setup to independence from all influence, but it can be done and it will benefit your internal well being. The thing to remember is you are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with. It is highly likely none of your existing five friends will agree with your path into game. They will tell what is ‘best for you’ but in essence this is them subconsciously pulling you back down to their value as you increase your own. 4. Stop putting white women on a pedestal
White women are easy, white women are fun, white women are flirts, white women are great at sex or white women are sluts. Whatever white women are, as an Indian guy you must stop putting them on a pedestal for being all these sexually related things that you think Indian girls are not. There is no magical things that white women do that others do not. Besides, there is not a certain place in the world where white women will see you and jump on your cock as there is not a certain Bollywood film that will make a white woman gush all wet and demand you ravage her Aryan style. White woman pedestalization can be categorized as an inferiority complex displayed by Indian men. Stop thinking you’re inferior to any woman regardless of her ethnic/racial origins. 5. Understand that Indian girls are not different and are not more chaste
Being constantly around these Indian girls at family gatherings, community events and religious events makes you programmed into believing that you will marry one for certain because of their chaste and low promiscuity. A strong belief that Indian girls don’t ride the cock carousel is blind faith because they do. In fact, all women in the western world do regardless of culture and their strong family traditional values. They are women, they get pussy tingles to the same game as white, black, Asian, orange, maroon and kiwi women. They have the same subconscious processes as all women that help them place a value on a man and inevitable slamming and spunk gobbling if he passes with flying colors. In a Western society these girls have the same external pressures and influences that appeal to their inner slut as much as any other woman. Your objective as a man is not to fall into the line of romantic thinking that they are different. 6. Do not be afraid of The Man
There’s a man, a dominant man, somewhere in your family. He dictates, he dominates, and he makes the decisions. You have a fear of causing him displeasure. You do as he says as he’s done the leading since your father emptied his ball sack into your mother. Stop. As much as a lot of Indian men have pressures from being mummy’s little lad, there’s plenty of them that disintegrate under the pressure of their fathers or uncles. Avoiding conflict is prevalent in your attitude, you do as you are told even though your mind is telling you this is not in your interest and possibly not in the wider interests of those close to you but you do it, as Uncle or Dad has told you to.
No one is telling you to fight, but start slowly, speak out, say what you think is best for you, get out of your shell and decide how you will live your life, not how Dad thinks you should live your life. You might be scared of the conflict and dissuade yourself from it but trust me when you finally grow some balls and exude some confidence and ability in yourself, these men will respect you, see you as equal, and place trust in your decisions.
This list could also apply to other cultures who follow similar dynamics to Indian culture, but don’t stop at the above and think that’s all you have to do—you still have to hit the ground running and approach just like any other guy learning game. | 0 |
The father of the man accused of carrying out bombings last weekend in New York and New Jersey said that, two years ago, he warned federal agents explicitly about his son’s interest in terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and his fascination with jihadist music, poetry and videos. In a series of interviews with The New York Times on Wednesday and Thursday, Mohammad Rahami, whose son Ahmad Khan Rahami has been charged with using weapons of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, recounted his interactions with the Federal Bureau of Investigation after he raised his concerns about his son. While Mr. Rahami has spoken briefly about his contact with the F. B. I. the interviews this week provided his most detailed public account so far. His description of that contact differs starkly from the one given by law enforcement officials, who on Thursday challenged the father’s account, saying he did not provide the F. B. I. with many of the details about his son that he now says he did. Mr. Rahami’s contact with the authorities began in August 2014, when the local police in Elizabeth, N. J. responded to the family’s home after a domestic dispute in which Ahmad stabbed his brother, according to court records. Law enforcement officials familiar with the case who would discuss it only on the condition of anonymity said that Mr. Rahami called his son a “terrorist” when talking to local police, which led to the F. B. I. ’s involvement. Mr. Rahami said that during the course of the investigation he told agents from the bureau everything he knew about his son’s activities. “I told the F. B. I. to keep an eye on him,” he said. “They said, ‘Is he a terrorist?’ I said: ‘I don’t know. I can’t guarantee you 100 percent if he is a terrorist. I don’t know which groups he is in. I can’t tell you. ’” But he said he had laid out his concerns, specifically related to what he described as his son’s emerging infatuation with Islamic extremism. “The way he speaks, his videos, when I see these things that he listens to, for example, Al Qaeda, Taliban, he watches their videos, their poetry,” he said he told the federal agents. In the interviews, the elder Mr. Rahami spoke about his son’s admiration of Anwar who was once Al Qaeda’s leading propagandist and is popular with followers of the Islamic State, and also recalled that his son watched Mr. Awlaki’s videos. The F. B. I. in a statement earlier this week, said it had conducted an assessment of Ahmad Rahami that included interviews with his father, a review of bureau databases and public records, and checks with other agencies. The assessment did not turn up anything that warranted further inquiry, and the matter was closed, the agency said. A senior law enforcement official familiar with the assessment said that “During its assessment on Ahmad Rahami, the F. B. I. initiated contact with his father, who had expressed concern over his son’s internet use as well as some of his associates. Ahmad Rahami’s travel revealed no information that tied him to terrorism” “At no time,” the official said, “did the father advise interviewing agents of any radicalization or alleged links to Al Qaeda, the Taliban or their propaganda. Furthermore, database and interagency checks, to include reviews of Ahmad Rahami’s travel, revealed no information that tied him to terrorism. ” When agents first interviewed the elder Mr. Rahami on Aug. 26, they asked him about his comments to the local police, according to some of the officials. The father told them that he was referring to gangsters and criminals, not terrorists, the officials said. But Mr. Rahami’s father told the F. B. I. that he had walked by his son’s room and observed him watching a YouTube video of explosions, the officials said. It was unclear what kind of explosions were in the video. On Sept. 12, 2014, the F. B. I. returned and told the father that his son had been cleared of any connection to terrorism, and on Sept. 19, the review was formally closed. The father said he was not surprised by the F. B. I. ’s findings. He repeated that his son was not a terrorist but had been hanging out with “bad people,” officials said. When told on Thursday that law enforcement officials contradicted his version of events, he said, “It’s a lie,” and that he stood by his account. Law enforcement officials said that investigators did not interview Ahmad Rahami because he was in jail when the F. B. I. was conducting its review. If he was represented by a lawyer, agents would have had to request an interview through the lawyer. It is unknown whether such a request was made, and it is far from certain that a lawyer would have agreed. By the time Ahmad Rahami was released from jail, the F. B. I. had concluded its review. “They didn’t do their job,” his father said in one of the interviews with The Times, which were conducted in his native language, Pashto. John Miller, deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism for the New York Police Department, outlined the challenges facing agents as they investigate such cases — especially given the number of people they look into and the threshold that must be met to take action. “If you have that many contacts with that many people over that period of time, it’s increasingly likely that the next time something happens, it’s going to involve somebody that you knew, heard about, investigated, bumped or otherwise checked out,” Mr. Miller said on Wednesday at a congressional hearing about the bombings. “Now, that’s a good thing in that, when you’re assessing who to look at first and they come up in those records, it gives you a basis to go forward. It’s also a liability in that people have somewhat of a misconception about our ability to put someone under surveillance, leave them there indefinitely. ” The F. B. I. ’s assessment of Ahmad Rahami was the second time he had to the attention of the federal authorities. Five months earlier, in March 2014, when he returned from a nearly yearlong trip to Pakistan, Mr. Rahami was flagged by customs officials, who pulled him aside for a secondary screening. Still concerned about his travel, officials notified the National Targeting Center, a federal agency that assesses potential threats, two law enforcement officials said. That report was reviewed by the F. B. I. when it conducted its assessment of Mr. Rahami in August. It is not known how much detail the report contained about Mr. Rahami’s activity while he was overseas. Investigators are focused on the time that he spent abroad and are looking into whether he received any training in and whether he is connected to any wider terrorist network. “His travels give us these two distinct choices, both of which are bad,” said a senior counterterrorism official, explaining that a trip that Mr. Rahami took to Turkey raised the possibility that he crossed the border to Syria and met there with operatives from the Islamic State, while his travel to Pakistan raises the possibility that he had contact with Al Qaeda. The official said that some investigators involved in the case believe that the variety of explosive devices Mr. Rahami is suspected of constructing suggested that he did have some training beyond reading instruction manuals online. Mr. Rahami is accused of building 10 bombs. One exploded in Lower Manhattan, injuring 31 people another exploded in Seaside Park, N. J. but no one was injured. Five were discovered on Sunday night outside a train station in Elizabeth, N. J. “Most guys who go on the internet make one type of bomb,” the official said. “Here’s a guy who did two types of pressure cooker bombs and two different kinds of pipe bombs,” he added. “It suggests to us that he didn’t just look up ‘Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom,’” the official said, referring to an instruction manual published in the Al Qaeda online magazine Inspire, “but that he might have been somewhere and learned to make this stuff. ” A notebook recovered from Mr. Rahami after he was shot and taken into custody by the police in New Jersey suggests that he took much of his inspiration from the Islamic State and one of their founders, Abu Muhammad — who recently called on Muslims around the world to spill the blood of Westerners and nonbelievers wherever they found them. Mr. Adnani was killed in an American drone strike in August. While much of the writing in the journal is illegible because the book was punctured by a bullet and splattered with blood, what can be read indicates that Mr. Rahami may himself have been frustrated in his attempts to reach Syria and was using that as justification for committing terror at home. One page has the word “blocked,” followed by: “You should have let us meet death overseas. ” Investigators have not been able to interview Mr. Rahami since his arrest because he remains “incapacitated and intubated,” according to Paul J. Fishman, the United States attorney for New Jersey. “As such, he is not in sufficient physical health for presentment to the Court — even at a bedside proceeding,” Mr. Fishman wrote in a letter filed in federal court on Thursday. Investigators hope to learn more about Mr. Rahami’s life and travels from his wife, Asia, who one of the law enforcement officials said was now back in the United States after being detained in the Middle East while traveling from Afghanistan. Another senior law enforcement official said the F. B. I. did not believe she had knowledge of the plot. The officials said she had bought tickets for her trip well before the bombings. Mr. Rahami’s father said he had been worried for some time about the direction his son was heading, well before he spoke to federal agents and well before his son’s domestic dispute. He described his son’s internet activities as “a disease,” akin to an addiction. After the 2014 dispute, he said, he visited his son in jail. Ahmad Rahami asked his father for forgiveness, but he said he would not forgive his son until he was sure that Ahmad was not a terrorist and that the F. B. I. had cleared him. “The F. B. I. came back to me and said he’s clean,” Mohammad Rahami said. “They didn’t find anything on him. But they didn’t interview him. ” “I still had my doubts,” he said. “I was never 100 percent clear. ” At that point, he said, he decided not to pursue the charges stemming from the domestic dispute. Court records show that a grand jury declined to indict Ahmad Rahami on the charges. The father said he believed he did his duty by sharing his concerns with law enforcement. “What was required of me, I did,” he said. “And he’s not a kid — he’s 28 years old. ” | 1 |
VIDEOS Alert on Russian border over alleged “Cyber Attacks” and “Propaganda” NATO is placing 300,000 troops on high alert near Russia's border who will be ready for deployment within two months By Whitney Webb - November 9, 2016 While the attention of the US public is decidedly focused upon the outcome of today’s presidential election, US-controlled NATO has announced an unprecedented escalating of its aggressive encirclement of Russia with military assets and troops. Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement that 300,000 troops have now been placed in a state of “high alert” in order to deter Russia who, according to NATO, has been “much more active in many different ways.” This new activity includes “Russia using propaganda in Europe among NATO allies,” which Stoltenberg says is “exactly the reason why NATO is responding […] with the biggest reinforcement of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War.” Adam Thomson, an outgoing representative to NATO, has estimated that the new 300,000 troops would be capable of deploying within 180 days, adding that speeding up the speed of deployment is of great importance. Though “propaganda” was cited as the main reason for the latest NATO build-up against Russia, the measures also come on the heels of Russia’s alleged involvement in “cyber attacks” on the US, despite no concrete evidence, as well as the nuclear war drills it has held domestically. In addition, NATO accused Moscow of deliberately provoking NATO by sending hundreds of paratroopers to a Serbian airbase, just 150 miles from where NATO forces were involved in disaster relief exercises in Montenegro. In response, Igor Sutyagin, an expert at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies told the UK’s Sunday Express that if “Russia wants to show that it can intimidate NATO, NATO saying to Russia, “If you show up, we’ll be there as well.” Frankly, all of these latest accusations coming from NATO are completely absurd. For one thing, the accusation that Russia was involved in “cyber attacks” or recent hacks is admittedly based on speculation by various US intelligence officials as no concrete evidence has been found to date implicating the Russians. In addition, the statement that said US Intelligence was “confident” Russia was responsible due to such speculation was authored by James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence who lied to Congress under oath regarding NSA surveillance. If Clapper lied to the Congress once, what’s to stop him from lying to the American people? Furthermore, NATO are the clear aggressors here as they have been carrying out an unprecedented build-up on Russia’s border since 2014, placing numerous troops and military hardware in close proximity to Russia as well as carrying out massive military drills. This, along with this newly announced escalation and the rise of neo-McCarthyism in the West, has convinced many, including Russians, that NATO and the West are preparing for a full-scale war against Russia. However, most ridiculous of all is that this latest NATO announcement of troop deployment was spurred by the use of so-called Russian “propaganda,” a clear attack on news outlets related to Russia such as RT and Sputnik. RT has already been feeling the heat as their UK branch had its bank accounts closed without warning. Though Russia’s supposed use of “propaganda” prompts a military response from NATO, the US and the West have suffered no consequence for its own obvious use of propaganda against Russia and its allies, including this TIME magazine cover . Propaganda was once illegal within the US, but the passage of the 2012 NDAA changed all that, meaning that the West is also definitely using propaganda. Where’s the outrage? The fact that NATO’s narrative is so blatantly one-sided should be enough proof to us all that there’s more to the story than NATO is letting on. | 0 |
During the Leadership Forum, speakers ranging from President Donald Trump to Sheriff David Clarke and NRA senior VP Wayne LaPierre put smackdown after smackdown on gun controllers and their surrogates in the media. [LaPierre made clear there would be no apologies for the smackdowns. Rather, he pointed out that one of the things the American people love about the NRA is the fact that the group speaks truth. LaPierre said: For the last quarter of a century, in poll after poll, whether it’s Gallup or NBC or The Wall Street Journal, Americans have said they view the NRA more favorably than both chambers of congress or either national political party … . The majority of Americans admire and trust the NRA because we always say out loud what we believe. We speak the truth, even when it may be hard, and we fight like hell to defend it. In light of the NRA’s voice for truth, Breitbart News pulled together eight Amendment smackdowns, along with a bonus smackdown at the end. Most of the smackdowns require no commentary. Colonel Allen West — West said, “Here I stand as a son of Atlanta, a native Georgian, and a board member of the oldest civil rights organization that this country has ever known: the National Rifle Association. ” Sheriff David Clarke — Clarke said: “We won a huge battle last November but we did not win the war. You see, our fight for freedom continues in earnest. You see, these rat bastards on the left never give up … for them defeat is never final, election defeats don’t matter. It’s simply a time to regroup and continue their assault on our constitution, the rule of law, liberty, and American exceptionalism. ” Chris Cox — Cox recounted a conversation he had with President Trump after the inauguration, saying, “[It got so] ridiculous that the media, they were even lying about the number of people who watched [[President Trump’s] inauguration. I told him that the only number that mattered was the number of people that watched Hillary Clinton’s inauguration — ZERO!” Senator Ted Cruz — Cruz said, “When the election results came in we heard a piercing wail of agony, as mainstream media reporters shrieked in horror because the American people had risen up and defied Washington, defied the mainstream media, defied pundits, and said, ‘We will defend our constitution and we will defend our freedom. ’” Wayne LaPierre — After listing the mainstream media’s failure to report the truth regarding the devious goals of Democrats and gun control groups around the country, LaPierre asked, “When did the media stop being journalists and start becoming PR flacks for the destruction our country?” President Donald Trump — After recounting the way he ran and won on the Second Amendment with the NRA’s endorsement, President Trump laughingly told the thousands of attendees at the Leadership Forum to be ready to be wooed by Democrats, “I have a feeling that in the next election you’ll be swamped with candidates, but you’re not going to be wasting your time. You’ll have plenty of those Democrats coming over and you’ll say, ‘No Thanks’ or ‘No Sir’ — ‘No Ma’am’ perhaps ‘Ma’am’ — it may be Pocahontas, remember that. ” Amid applause Trump said, “You came through for me and I am going to come through for you. ” Chris Cox — Cox stressed that while Trump’s election changed everything for gun owners, it changed nothing for the media and Hollywood, And he made clear it didn’t change gun controllers’ determination either, saying, “Michael Bloomberg, he’s still short, rich, and angry. ” Colonel Allen West — “The oldest civil right, the oldest individual right, the thing that enables us to be this great independent country, is that we will not become subjects, we will not let anyone take away our guns we will not allow anyone to subjugate us under a tyrannical rule. ” BONUS SMACKDOWN — LaPierre said, “Bernie Sanders was not ‘a movement,’ as fawning media called his campaign. Bernie is a political predator of young voters who were lied to by school teachers and college professors” — LaPierre said young voters were told “free, free, free, for me,” but “no one told the truth about how all that stuff was going to be paid for. ” Nevertheless, LaPierre made clear that the media was in on the play because socialism would have aided in the goal of disarming and enslaving the American people. AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart. com. | 1 |
The deathbed confession of a former CIA operative once again confirms that aliens are a real presence on our planet, raising our hopes that 2016 will forever go down as the Disclosure Year. The former agent, who has chosen to maintain his anonymity, said that he was first introduced to the extraterrestrial quandary in the late 1950s.
“I was coming into the Army fresh off the farm, so I really didn’t have much knowledge of anything, so my boss filled me in on Project Blue Book and what they had found so far concerning Greys and aliens and the Roswell incident.”
The secrecy of his mission was of the utmost importance, so the ex-CIA agent was forbidden from disclosing any details pertaining to his line of work, not even to his family. He claimed he was coerced into vowing he would not speak of this subject for a period of 50 years. That time interval ended in 2010, prompting the aging man to spill the beans. What he reveals is a complex mass of cover-ups leading all the way up to the highest governmental positions.
On one occasion, he recalls his superior being instructed by president Eisenhower to fly over to Area 51, find whoever was in charge and demand that he reported to Washington. The activity over there was so anomalous that even the chief of state was in the dark.
The information revealed by the former agent is on par with Bob Lazar’s disclosure of the S4 facility and the activities that took place at the base.
“They had different garage door openings and in these openings they had different saucer crafts. The very first one had the Roswell craft in. It was kind of crashed up but apparently every alien that was in it died except for a couple.”
He describes the Roswell craft as a “really strange” UFO that looked like it was made up of “really heavy aluminum foil.” It only weighed around 150 to 300 pounds and the propulsion system was most likely antigravitic.
During the same visit, the CIA operatives witnessed a film showcasing the autopsy of one of the crash victims. But there were also live aliens being kept at S4 and his supervisor was allowed to participate in the interviewing of one such creature.
The agent described the alien as looking ‘oriental’, with a small body, a disproportionately-large head, large eyes and with small slits instead of ears.
There’s no way the CIA agents confused the UFOs they saw with whatever secret aircraft was being developed at that time. Following their visit to the S4 facility, the CIA agents also traveled to Area 51, located several miles north. There they saw the U2 spy plane, which of course, they didn’t know existed, but it was more than obvious that this was man-made while the other crafts clearly weren’t.
Afterwards, the CIA agent and his superior officer flew back to Washington, where they debriefed President Eisenhower on the situation. Richard Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover were also present.
“He [Eisenhower] was totally shocked. He appeared for the first time to be worried.”
The former agent’s admissions came at a cost, though. A short while after speaking with UFO investigator Linda Moulton Howe, he was apprehended by the Men in Black.
“I was going to a grocery store when two guys in black suits came out of a black Lincoln Town Car and came over to see me. They told me that I’d better not publish anything or talk to Linda about any more things.”
They succeeded in intimidating him. But that was before the interview below took place. As an old man whose time is almost up, the former CIA operative felt he should ignore their warning and disclose what he knew.
“I feel much better having talked about it,” he told Richard Dolan. “I kind of feel like there’s a load off my shoulders because I have an awful lot of secrets I’ve kept over the years.”
More than 50 years have passed since the events described by the CIA agent took place. Nowadays, more and more people believe we’re on the brink of disclosure. Some even speculate that President Obama will take up this mission before leaving the White House or by the end of the year.
That is also the opinion of U.S. lobbyist Steve Bassett, director of the Paradigm Research Group and the only official UFO disclosure lobbyist in the United States. He is convinced the White House has known about the existence of extraterrestrials for several decades now. It’s about time the rest of the world knew.
“ET is real, we have got beyond that,” Bassett said. “We are going to get disclosure this year. I am not sure who will win the election, but I think Obama will be the disclosure president. He will be looking at a Nobel Prize for making an announcement like that. I am 85 per cent sur Obama will make the announcement before he leaves office and within days the [United Kingdom’s] Prime Minister will follow. I am trying to force Obama to make the disclosure. I think we are going to get there,” he added.
Lately, there’s been much talk of disclosure.
Leaked e-mails between former chief of staff John Podesta and astronaut Edgar Mitchell show that the two were planning to arrange a meeting with Obama to discuss releasing the truth from custody .
“Five decades of UFO information have dramatically shifted the public awareness of an extraterrestrial presence,” Mitchell wrote. “And yet, our government is still operating from outdated beliefs and policies. These are detrimental to trust in government transparency, science, religion and responsible citizenry embracing the next step in our country’s space travel and research.”
The former astronaut was one of the biggest proponents of alien life and his death in February of 2016 was a blow for the pro-disclosure community. But it looks like we might have a chance at winning this.
In an interview with CNN, Podesta let the world know that it’s high time the government “released any evidence” of alien life.
“The U.S. government could do a much better job in answering the quite legitimate questions that people have about what’s going on with unidentified aerial phenomena.”
Heck, even the Vatican’s on board with disclosure . Huh, who would’ve thought it possible?
In 2015, Father Jose Funes, the Pope’s chief astronomer said that the Vatican believed life on other planets is not only possible, but highly likely. Furthermore, he stated that the existence of aliens does not contradict the Bible or the Christian belief system.
“The Bible is not a scientific book,” Funes said. “If we look for scientific responses to our questions in the Bible, we are making a mistake. It answers great questions like ‘what is our role in the Universe?’”
Still don’t believe in the upcoming disclosure? Good, that means you’re prepared for anything.
Source: UFOholic
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Posted on October 31, 2016 by Daisy Luther
Oh, Loretta.
I’ll bet that AG Loretta Lynch is shaking in her boots right now, because when Hillary Clinton goes down, Lynch’s career will go down with her. Heck, maybe they’ll even be cellmates.
Loretta Lynch’s ties to the Clintons go back to 1999 when then-President Bill Clinton appointed her to run the Brooklyn US Attorney’s office. She left in 2002 and went into private practice, but returned to the Brooklyn office in 2010 at the behest of President Barack Obama. ( Here’s her official bio. )
In 2015, she was sworn in to become the 83rd Attorney General of the United States, taking the place of the blatantly corrupt Attorney General, Eric Holder , who will probably be most famous for his roles in the Fast and Furious operation, inciting racial tensions, and his mishandling of the Lois Lerner/IRS debacle. First, there was the secret airplane meeting with Bill Clinton
It all started to publicly go downhill for Lynch during the first investigation into Hillary Clinton’s carelessness with national secrets via her home email server . Right before FBI Director James Comey was to meet with Hillary Clinton to interrogate her about the subject, Lynch was busted having a secret meeting with Bill Clinton . The Washington Post reported:
Clinton’s private, unplanned meeting with Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch at the Phoenix airport last week, coming at a time when the Justice Department should be nearing completion of its examination of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server for her emails as secretary of state, will inevitably — and negatively — affect public attitudes about that investigation…
…Lynch has tried to make amends, though not without leaving some confusion in her wake. In a conversation Friday with Washington Post editorial writer Jonathan Capehart at the Aspen Ideas Festival, she insisted again that the conversation was innocent — about grandchildren and golf and such — and did not touch on the investigation of the emails. But she said she recognized that others would not see it that way. “The fact that the meeting that I had is now casting a shadow over how people are going to view that work is something that I take seriously, and deeply and painfully,” she said.
Lynch said that she would “be accepting” whatever recommendation the career prosecutors and FBI Director James B. Comey bring her — though she did not say she would remove herself completely from the case. She also said she had made that decision some months ago but was only now making it public.
Of course, it was all much easier for Lynch to abide by the decision when Comey miraculously found that Hillary Clinton was not criminal in her negligence with national secrets.
Now, though, people are asking questions about that ill-founded meeting. Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit for “all records” related to the illicit meeting between Attorney General Lynch and former President Bill Clinton .
“On June 29, 2016, Attorney General Loretta Lynch is reported to have met privately with former President Bill Clinton on board a parked private plane at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. The meeting occurred during the then-ongoing investigation of Mrs. Clinton’s email server, and mere hours before the Benghazi report was released publicly involving both Mrs. Clinton and the Obama administration. Judicial Watch filed a request on June 30 that the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General investigate that meeting.”
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump suggested that during that meeting, Bill Clinton may have offered to extend Lynch’s position in the AG’s office during a Hillary Clinton administration. Then she blocked a congressional investigation into the notorious Iranian ransom payment.
Last week, AG Lynch blocked a congressional investigation into the cash payments that the Obama administration made to Iran by pleading the Fifth. The Washington Free Beacon reported:
Attorney General Loretta Lynch is declining to comply with an investigation by leading members of Congress about the Obama administration’s secret efforts to send Iran $1.7 billion in cash earlier this year, prompting accusations that Lynch has “pleaded the Fifth” Amendment to avoid incriminating herself over these payments, according to lawmakers and communications exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon …
…“It is frankly unacceptable that your department refuses to answer straightforward questions from the people’s elected representatives in Congress about an important national security issue,” the lawmakers wrote. “Your staff failed to address any of our questions, and instead provided a copy of public testimony and a lecture about the sensitivity of information associated with this issue.”
“As the United States’ chief law enforcement officer, it is outrageous that you would essentially plead the fifth and refuse to respond to inquiries,” they stated. “The actions of your department come at time when Iran continues to hold Americans hostage and unjustly sentence them to prison.”
How very judicial of her. Lynch tried to shut Comey up about the new investigation into the Clinton emails.
Now, even the mainstream media can’t turn its head.
Earlier I wrote about the fact that FBI Director James Comey made the decision on his own to go public about the new investigation into the Hillary Clinton emails. But let’s talk a little further about Lynch’s desperate attempts to shut him up.
The New York Times reported that the Justice Department “strongly discouraged Comey” against releasing the information: The day before the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, sent a letter to Congress announcing that new evidence had been discovered that might be related to the completed Hillary Clinton email investigation, the Justice Department strongly discouraged the step and told him that he would be breaking with longstanding policy, three law enforcement officials said on Saturday. Senior Justice Department officials did not move to stop him from sending the letter, officials said, but they did everything short of it, pointing to policies against talking about current criminal investigations or being seen as meddling in elections.
How interesting that it’s seen as “influencing the election” to investigate someone now but it wasn’t back when she was investigated and not charged. I’m not sure exactly how that works, but according to USA Today (emphasis mine), a “…federal official familiar with Comey’s decision said Saturday that the FBI director considered the attorney general’s advice during a spirited discussion of the matter Thursday and early Friday but felt compelled to act.” Do you remember Janet Reno?
Poor Janet was another Attorney General who went down for the Clintons. She was also sworn in as AG under Bill Clinton, and many questioned her appointment at the time. According to a report in the Chicago Tribune :
She arrived in Washington from Miami as Caesar’s wife, and so she has remained. She was ignorant and independent of insider D.C. and has stayed that way. Bill Clinton never much liked her and never confided in her, and she reciprocated.
She became AG just in time to take the fall for the debacle in Waco , actually. According to History.com
The Waco standoff had already begun by the time Janet Reno became the first female attorney general on March 12, 1993. She approved the FBI’s tear gas plan the following month, explaining that negotiations with the Branch Davidians had stalemated and that the children inside the compound were at risk. “We will never know whether there was a better solution,” Reno said in 1995. “Everyone involved … made their best judgments based on all the information we had.” Nonetheless, a Republican-led congressional report called her decision “premature, wrong and highly irresponsible.” She was also criticized when facts emerged contradicting some of her earlier statements.
The Tribune post continued to discuss Reno’s position as a scapegoat:
Every day since she took office , she has been supervising at least one probe embarrassing to Clinton–Whitewater, fundraising, Lewinsky, China espionage, etc. Clinton can’t afford the political beating he would take if he cashiered her.
…But no such attorney general could have survived the Clinton scandals, much less survived them with her own reputation–and her department’s–intact.
Attorney Generals who have anything to do with the Clintons don’t seem to fare too well. They end up so embroiled in Clinton scandals that they, too, are pulled down into the mire, regardless of what their intentions were when they started out. Lynch can see her future…and it has something to do with “Help Wanted” ads
The last time Lynch was involved in the Clinton email kerfuffle, she promised to abide by FBI Director James Comey’s recommendation .
I wonder if she’ll make that same promise this time?
She really can’t, because if she does, it will show she was complicit with the Clintons the last time around, and also this time when she decried Comey’s release of information about the investigation.
I wonder if she and Hillary Clinton will be able to get adjoining cells when/if the truth comes out.
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Becky Akers https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/admittedly-ingenious-low/
“ Before Comey’s letter to Congress, Clinton’s campaign had watched with mixed feelings as her standing in poll after poll improved and Trump faltered amid a string of sexual assault accusations. ‘In the last week, I think the Clinton campaign was worried it was going to become too easy and that people would feel that,’ said Mo Elleithee, who worked on Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential campaign. ‘Now there’s a reason for all of our supporters to believe it’s going to be hard.'”
And so Hitlary’s “campaign now has a way to convince Democrats who might have considered skipping voting that their nominee needs their support.”
Are there no depths to which the media’s blatantly biased, utterly craven curs won’t sink? 4:26 pm on October 31, 2016 | 0 |
by PAUL FASSA report this ad
There has been a dramatic increase in neurological diseases linked to aluminum toxicity . The blood brain barrier doesn’t stop aluminum’s intrusion into our gray matter. Aluminum accumulates and remains in tissue that doesn’t have a rapid cellular turnover. report this ad
Apoptosis is the natural cell death and replacement process that occurs throughout the body, excluding cancer cells. Cancer cells keep reproducing and colonizing into tumors unless apoptosis is introduced or the cells are outright killed from chemical compounds, both natural and synthetic.
Aluminum accrues to toxic levels over time in slow apoptotic cell turnover tissues, such as bone matter, the heart and the brain. The brain and its associated nervous system is where diseases such as Alzheimer’s , Parkinson’s, MS, chronic fatigue and other neurological or auto-immune diseases manifest, including the complete autistic spectrum, from learning disorders to full blown autism.
There is no shortage of aluminum toxins in our environment. It’s in cookware, beverage containers, foil, cigarette smoke, cosmetics, antiperspirants, sunscreen, antacids, and those ubiquitous chemtrails that most ignore from which aluminum nanoparticles can be breathed into our lungs and routed directly into our blood or through the sinuses into our brains.
Aluminum is in all vaccines. Injecting aluminum bypasses the possibility of eliminating it through normal channels. Straight into the blood it goes to be carried into the brain and heart, adding to their accumulated aluminum toxicity loads. report this ad
According to Dr. Chris Exley, PhD, we have come into the aluminum age. Many trolling commentators love to explain how aluminum is the must common mineral on the planet and therefore it’s harmless. Dr. Exley has dedicated over two decades of his scientific life to researching aluminum toxicity. He calls the period of time from the early 20th Century to now the “Age of Aluminum.”
Before then, aluminum remained in the ground as the most abundant mineral in earth that hadn’t yet been mined. Dr. Exley claims mining aluminum and using it in so many ways corresponds to the marked increase of neurological diseases.
Dr. Chris Exley’s Message to the 2011 Vaccine Safety Conference
A key aspect of his conference delivery concerned helping vaccinated kids improve their neurological damage. Ironically, it involves the second most abundant mineral in mother earth – silica. Exley has put kids who had autism spectrum disorders or other neurological damage from vaccinations on a form of silica known as silicic acid with excellent results.
Silicic acid is basically oxygenated silica. Exley considers this the best and most bio-available way to get silica through the gut and into the blood, then into brain matter where it binds with the aluminum molecules and leads them out of brain cell tissue safely through the urine.
He had used a Malasysian mineral water called Spritzer on aluminum toxic children suffering from autism spectrum disorders with significant success. Aluminum is in almost all vaccines. Later he and his team had 15 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients use that water at the same rate of one liter per day for 13 weeks.
Aluminum levels were lower by anywhere from 50 to 70 percent in all the subjects involved, and of the 15 AD patients, eight no longer deteriorated and three actually showed substantial cognitive increase. Perhaps coconut oil is better for reversing AD, but mineral waters high in Orthosilicic or ionic silicic acid will reduce aluminum toxicity in the brain to help ward off AD.
The more USA accessible mineral waters with similar levels of silicic acid to Spritzer, which can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, are Volvic and Fiji. My personal favorite is Fiji because it has the highest level of ionic suspended silica as silicic acid and is the least expensive. I’ve seen it in WalMart at $1.99 per liter.
Also, People’s Chemist Shane Ellison analyzed various water bottles and said Fiji water bottles are free of BPA and “its chemical cousins”. Others he rates highly as BPA free are Voss, Evian, and Smart Water.
The suggested protocol is at least five days consuming a 1.5 liter bottle of water daily. More is required for high levels of aluminum toxicity. Dr. Exley considers drinking the whole bottle within an hour as the most efficient method of detoxing aluminum from the brain.
Dr. Exley explains that there are three commercial bottled waters listing silica amounts as milligrams (mg) per liter on the bottle. Fiji has the highest amount of the three. Neither of us is affiliated with Fiji.
Silica mineral waters can be supplemented to help prevent dementia. Obviously it can also be used as an adjunct with pure cold pressed coconut oil to stop early onset Alzheimer’s or even reverse most of the symptoms after AD symptoms appear. More on coconut oil for Alzheimer’s can be found here .
Aluminum (Al) is passed out through the urine when one supplements silica sufficiently. It seems there’s little danger of taking too much, as long as adequate water is consumed and vitamin B1 and potassium levels are maintained.
More About Silica
Silica helps ensure collagen elasticity of all connecting tissues in the body, including tendons and cartilage. This reduces aches and pains and maintains your body’s flexibility. It has also been determined that high levels of blood serum silica keep arterial plaque from building and clogging blood vessels.
A major culprit for arterial plaque has recently shifted from cholesterol buildup to arterial calcification from serum calcium that is not absorbed as bone matter. It’s known that silica is an important part of building bone matter.
Without sufficient silica, magnesium, and vitamin K2, calcium doesn’t become part of bone matter and remains in the blood to potentially calcify in the soft tissue of inner artery walls and the heart.
Silica is vital for keeping strong bones and a healthy cardiovascular system. This qualifies silica as an essential anti-aging mineral that is much more than a skin deep beauty mineral. Other good sources of silica are the herb horsetail, cucumbers, and diatomaceous earth powder.
Although these three other sources are helpful for the recent aforementioned reasons, they lack the ionic suspension of silicic acid found in the mineral waters to penetrate the blood-brain barrier. I just found these other sources for ionic silica or silicic acid as well, here and here .
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. Paul’s valiant contributions to the health movement and global paradigm shift are world renowned. Visit his blog by following this link and follow him on Twitter here . | 0 |
Next Prev Swipe left/right This woman was photobombed by a rat and turned into Rat Woman Redditor rosedwaterman posted this charming picture of herself being photobombed by a rat, presumably a pet one since she doesn’t look particularly phased by the event. Perhaps her fellow Redditor IDistributeCoke is right in their comment “She’s just got a bit of a rattitude.” | 0 |
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the state’s spending on public education was unconstitutionally low, dealing a new blow to Gov. Sam Brownback, who is facing a rebellion from his own Republican Party over his trademark doctrine. In a unanimous ruling, the court said black, Hispanic and poor students were especially harmed by the lack of funding, pointing to lagging test scores and graduation rates. The justices set a June 30 deadline for lawmakers to pass a new constitutional funding formula, sending them scrambling to find more money to pay for a solution. This is the second time in about a year that Kansas’ highest court has ruled against the state’s approach to paying for schools, just as Mr. Brownback finds himself wrestling with growing budget deficits and as his relations with fellow Republicans have deteriorated to new lows. Mr. Brownback, who has made cutting taxes and shrinking government the centerpiece of his administration since taking office in 2011, championed the largest tax cuts in state history, turning Kansas into a national testing ground for his staunchly conservative philosophy. But the state has since struggled with gaping deficits, and patience has run thin, even among some former allies. Just last month, the Legislature approved a tax increase that would have raised more than $1 billion to help narrow the budget gap — a bold rejection of Mr. Brownback’s vision. In the end, the governor vetoed the measure, and he barely survived an override attempt. The school funding ruling now adds yet another layer of fiscal trouble for Kansas and political tumult for Mr. Brownback. “Either the governor will have to bend, or we have to get enough votes in the House and Senate to override him,” Dinah Sykes, a Republican state senator, said, noting that lawmakers will have to get to work immediately to find money in the budget to satisfy the court’s requirements. “I thought that the tax plan that we put on his desk that was vetoed, I thought that was a compromise,” Ms. Sykes said. She added that lawmakers now had to prepare to find a legislative solution — with or without the governor. “We just have to dig in and figure out how to solve this problem,” she said. The court did not specify how much more money was needed for the state’s schools, but finding any could prove difficult. Current budget deficits reach into the hundreds of millions. “I think there’s a clear supermajority of legislators that want to move away from Brownback economics and the failed tax experiments,” said State Representative Jim Ward, the Democratic leader in the Kansas House. “Now the school decision expedites the importance of getting that done sooner rather than later. ” Mr. Brownback, who is barred by term limits from seeking next year, has faced plunging approval ratings and increasingly criticism from the moderate wing of the Republican Party. In a statement, he acknowledged that some students in Kansas had not received a suitable education, calling for a new funding formula to “right this wrong. ” “The Kansas Legislature has the opportunity to engage in transformative educational reform by passing a school funding system that puts students first,” Mr. Brownback said. “Success is not measured in dollars spent, but in higher student performance. ” He made a pitch for schools outside of the public education system, suggesting that parents “should be given the opportunity and resources to set their child up for success through other educational choices. ” School funding consumes about half of Kansas’ budget, and its political salience cuts across party lines. Kansas prides itself on its public schools, and, in many small towns, the high school serves as a community anchor. The right to a suitably funded education is enshrined in the state Constitution. The current lawsuit was prompted by a slide in education financing that began after the recession under Mr. Brownback’s predecessor as governor, Mark V. Parkinson, a Democrat. But the school funding mechanism has been litigated in Kansas courts for years, and there are sharp regional distinctions in how the issue is viewed. In the affluent Kansas City suburbs, where test scores are high, many want to preserve special taxes that benefit their local school districts. In rural and urban parts of the state, where incomes are lower and academic performance sometimes lags, plans to provide more funding for minorities and poor students have greater resonance. “Because of the budget cuts, frozen budgets, we’ve had to eliminate almost all of our extended learning time,” said Alan Cunningham, the superintendent of Dodge City Public Schools, a district where the first language of a majority of students is not English. “Those kids are not able to get the time they need to learn the things that they need to learn to be successful,” Mr. Cunningham said. In its ruling, the court detailed statistics that showed and Hispanic students, as well as poor students and those learning the English language, lagging behind their peers academically. Cynthia Lane, the superintendent of public schools in Kansas City, Kan. where more than 80 percent of students come from households and qualify for free or lunches, said lawmakers needed to make special provisions for disadvantaged children in the new funding plan. “For a decade, we have been cutting support — we have been offering less tutoring, less support, less enrichment,” said Dr. Lane, whose school district was one of the four plaintiffs in the case before the Supreme Court. “So this ruling today gives me great hope that we can start talking about our aspirations, not just worrying about protecting where we are. ” James E. Ryan, the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said that courts in school finance cases frequently order state legislatures to come up with funding formulas that are fair — and Kansas was no exception. “What you see in Kansas you see in states across the country,” he said. “Namely, that there is an achievement gap between poorer kids and more kids, and between white students and students of color. ” Mark Tallman, a lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards, said he was pleased with the court’s ruling and hopeful that it would result in more resources in schools. He also said the ruling was an indication that the political winds in Kansas had shifted against Mr. Brownback, particularly with a more moderate Legislature voted into office in November, when Democrats gained 13 seats. “I do think that this Legislature is much more interested in funding education,” Mr. Tallman said. “I think the election results suggest that voters are seeing problems with our funding system that they want to address. ” For now, Mr. Brownback has shown a willingness to use a veto pen, leaving it uncertain whether lawmakers can agree on a new school funding plan by the June deadline, and whether they can raise enough revenue to support it. “You have enormous political will in Kansas to make the changes necessary,” Mr. Ward, the Democratic lawmaker, said, “and any politician obstructing that does it at their own peril. ” | 1 |
Monday at the White House press briefing, press secretary Sean Spicer took on ABC News’ Jonathan Karl for interrupting a question by the AP’s Julie Pace. When Spicer asserted the role of Paul Manafort in the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump was ultimately a small one, Karl objected. Spicer shot back, “Hey Jonathan, hold on can you stop interrupting other people’s questions? Hey, Jonathan somebody is asking a question. It’s not your press briefing. Julie is asking a question. Please calm down. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
Monday on Bloomberg TV, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez predicted because of what he called a GOP overreach, the Democratic Party would retake both chambers of Congress in 2018. Perez said, “What Republicans have to do is understand is that we need a budget that reflects our values. When you try to cut Meals on Wheels, when you cut investments in education, when you propose to cut the budget of the National Institute of Health by billion dollars, you are cutting that lifeline of research investment that saves lives. Right now what we are seeing plain and simply is that the Republicans are overreaching. That is why we are going to win seats like the congressional seat in District 6 down in Georgia. That is why we are competitive and on the verge of upsets elsewhere. And that is why I think we cannot only take over the House in 2018, but we can take the senate back as well. ” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 1 |
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Two weeks before the most outrageous presidential election in history, the stakes for the economic future of our country are high. There is no question that the U.S. economy is in terrible shape and that the policy decisions made in the last ten years have negatively affected everyone who trades, invests, and use the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency. Are voters going to choose free market economic recovery with Trump or global collectivism with Clinton?
The government statistics claim that there are officially 8 million unemployed but the actual unemployment numbers are closer to 16 million people. The reported labor force of almost 156 million in 2000 has shrunk to 152 million today. The reported number of Americans “not in the labor force” is an astonishing 94 million. These are discouraged workers who are no longer counted as unemployed. This explains why this administration’s unemployment numbers are so rosy and low. For up to date numbers, visit the national debt clock here. http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Our national debt is astronomical, approaching $20 trillion while GDP is below $19 trillion. We already owe more than we make in a year in final goods and services. Gross debt to GDP ratio is 106.38 percent. The U.S. total debt is $67 trillion. However, if we add all the unfunded liabilities such as Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and Obamacare , the figure jumps much higher.
The federal budget deficit (the difference between taxation and spending) is almost $6 trillion for this year. The more indebted we are to the rest of the world and to each other, the less money will be available for future generations to improve their standard of living and to defend themselves.
There are approximately 119 million U.S. taxpayers and approximately 124 million full-time workers. The biggest part of the revenue from taxation is spent on entitlements. Somehow, Social Security, a fund established with automatic paycheck contributions, has been lumped in with entitlements as if the Social Security fund did not belong to the tax payers but to the government.
Our Congress loves to spend money on entitlements because the recipients vote them back into office. Revenue to GDP ratio is a positive 35.6 percent but spending to GDP ratio is a red 36.04 percent.
During the third presidential debate, Hillary Clinton said that she would make sure public college education will be free, that parents will not receive a bill for their children’s college degree, and she will do it by not adding one penny to the national debt.
After fact checking the statement, it turns out to be not true. One source claims that $500 billion will be added to the national debt in the next 10 years while the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that “$200 billion will be spent on infrastructure, financial aid for college students, and early childhood education.”
The current student loan debt is $1.4 trillion and growing. There are 50,182,018 public school students who will eventually take advantage of this “free” college offer Hillary Clinton has made. Who is going to pay? Taxpayers, of course, will be saddled with the cost.
Additionally, how is she going to create jobs to employ college graduates if her plan includes raising taxes? Employers create jobs when their taxes are decreased. NAFTA, which was President Bill Clinton’s achievement, has exported many manufacturing jobs overseas. Hillary Clinton supports the highly secretive Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would finish off the manufacturing sector in this country, leaving the United States as a service economy.
We now have 12,500,256 manufacturing jobs left in this country. In 2000 we had 19,462,745 manufacturing jobs. There are about 120 million private sector jobs but large companies are pushing for more H-1B visas to import cheap technical labor from India and other foreign nations, leaving seasoned employees out of a job and having to train their replacements. More college graduates living in their parents’ basement will have to work as baristas in coffee shops.
Trump is in favor of school choice and wants to end Common Core. He favors the reintroduction of Vocational and Technical education, as well as making two and four-year college education affordable.
Donald Trump wants to renegotiate NAFTA and to withdraw from TPP. He wants to end foreign trade abuses and currency manipulation by China. He wants to repatriate our own companies by reducing corporate taxation significantly and by establishing tariffs to prevent companies from leaving in the first place. He wants to offer middle class tax relief that would help create 25 million jobs. He wants to simplify the tax code.
Trump wants to create jobs by lifting regulatory restrictions on fossil fuel exploration and all mining. He wants to “lift road blocks that prevent the Keystone pipeline from moving forward.”
Trump wants to cancel payments to the United Nations Climate Fund and use the money to fix our water and environmental infrastructure.
Hillary Clinton wants to expand illegal immigration and open borders while Trump wants to cancel federal funding of sanctuary cities that harbor criminal illegal aliens. He will “suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur.”
He will establish punishments for visa overstays, for repeat criminal offenders, and multiple illegal border crossings. Adamant that he will build the wall with Mexico, Trump promises to remove criminal aliens from the U.S. and to cancel visas to countries that won’t take them back.
Restoring the rule of law, dismantling criminal gangs, establishing a task force on violent crime to help police, cleaning up corruption, and admitting immigrants who have been thoroughly vetted, who want to be a contributing part of our country, should go a long way to begin the process of healing our nation.
Hillary wants to continue President Obama’s policies, including the admittance of many more “refugees” from countries that are inimical to us.
While Hillary wants to develop Obamacare into a one payer system, Trump wants to “repeal and replace” the very costly and unaffordable Affordable Care Act which has made healthcare premiums unaffordable for so many Americans who were forced to drop their insurance and just pay the tax penalty.
Trump favors health savings accounts, letting states manage Medicaid funds, and allowing Americans to buy insurance across state lines. Cutting the red tape at the FDA is also on his radar. He promises to fix VA hospitals and to allow veterans to be treated by their chosen doctor in any private or public hospital.
Will Trump have the opportunity to replace Justice Scalia or will Hillary alter the composition of the Supreme Court, turning it into a bastion of progressivism for generations to come?
Trump promises to expand and strengthen our military, to guard our First and Second Amendments, and to protect our Constitution.
It is time that American hard-earned dollars take care of Americans first instead of providing for the rest of the world to the detriment of poor Americans, redistributing our wealth through schemes that the globalists behind Hillary Clinton have devised. Americans want to have secure borders, sovereignty, one language, self-determination, and economic prosperity through free markets not through collectivism. shares | 0 |
39 UTC © Hikmet Durgun The Daesh terrorists' combat capabilities are nearly exhausted, and they are no longer capable of preventing Mosul from being liberated by Iraqi and Kurdish troops, Yazidi fighter Newsal Haci told Sputnik Turkey. In an interview with Sputnik Turkey, Yazidi soldier Newsal Haci, who serves with the Iraqi army, pointed to the inability of Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) to resist the liberation of Mosul, where he said the terrorists' combat capabilities' are already running out. He added that the Iraqi army is sweeping through territory formerly held by Daesh terrorists, and that the Iraqi forces currently need to cover just five kilometers to reach Mosul. © Sputnik/ Hikmet Durgun Yazidi fighter Newsai Heci "We are fighting for a democratic and secular Iraq, and we intend to liberate Mosul and the Yazidi people from Daesh terrorists at all costs," according to Haci. The Yazidis, an indigenous ethnic group with their own religion and customs, have been routinely oppressed and even enslaved under jihadist rule. "The jihadists' efforts are running out, and they already cannot conduct full-blow military activity, and are instead focusing on staging car bomb and trap mine explosions," he said. © Sputnik/ Hikmet Durgun A Yazidi fighter taking part in the Iraqi army's operation to liberate Mosul. Haci added that it is due to the fact that Daesh can no longer fight as they did before that the terrorists started to resort to such tactics. "We continue to move forward. To date, we have managed to kill more than 80 jihadists," he concluded. © Sputnik/ Hikmet Durgun Yazidi fighters taking part in the Iraqi army's operation to liberate Mosul. Meanwhile, Fezile Mustafa from the village of Terzilla near Mosul which was recently liberated from Daesh terrorists told Sputnik that she and her five children would only return to the village after the Iraqi army drives Daesh out of Mosul. © Sputnik/ Hikmet Durgun She said that "it is simply impossible" to return to Terzilla now that the village had been sacked and her home destroyed. "We will return only after Mosul is liberated. Perhaps more than anything else, we want two things, namely, the liberation of Mosul from Daesh and to return home," she added. © Sputnik/ HİKMET DURGUN Hezale Mustafa On October 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the start of a military operation to retake Mosul from Daesh. According to local media, about 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and 4,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are taking part in the operation, which is backed by the airstrikes being carried out by the US-led international coalition. Earlier this week, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that Turkish artillery and tanks are supporting Peshmerga's efforts to liberate Mosul, adding that if necessary Turkish air forces may assist in in the military operation. Comment: The US also seems optimistic retaking Mosul: US Central Command Expects More Resistance From Daesh Militants in Mosul US Central Command's Gen. Joseph Votel said that despite obstacles he is confident that Mosul would be retaken. The US Central Command's Gen. Joseph Votel warned Wednesday that, as an operation to liberate Mosul progress, the resistance of Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) terrorists will increase. "I would expect we are going to run into more obstacles [and] more VBIEDs [vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices]. They've had a long time to prepare for that fight, so all of that we're going to contend with here very, very soon," Army Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of the Pentagon's unified command for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, told NBC. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of the US-led Combined Joint Task Force fighting Daesh, confirmed the information, adding that the Daesh deployed an "extraordinary" number of rockets and VBIEDs in Mosul. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence that Mosul would be retaken. | 0 |
Singer Joy Villa donned a dress with the “Make America Great Again” slogan at the Grammys Sunday night, thanks to the help of one San Diego fashion designer. [Andre Soriano of La Mesa designed the dress to represent “love and togetherness” in addition to making a statement, KSWB reported. “I took my Trump flag from the front of my house and made the gown for her,” Soriano said. “We have to support our president. ” Villa walked the red carpet wearing a white cloak before taking it off to reveal the red, white, and blue Donald dress. Villa posted a picture of herself wearing the dress after the show on Instagram. “Go big, or go home. You can either stand for what you believe or fall for what you don’t,” the post read. “Above all make a choice for tolerance and love. Agree to disagree. See the person over the politics, carry yourself with dignity, always. ” Villa also held a purse shaped like a sacred heart. Soriano said they selected the purse to represent love, family, and togetherness. “We have to bring this country back,” he said. “There are a lot of people who don’t agree with our president, but they should give him a chance. Villa’s album sales spiked to the top spot on Amazon’s list of top 100 digital albums, and made it high on the iTunes top albums list after she wore the dress. | 1 |
Nanobots causing overwhelming depression. Not far off the end now... page: 1 Hello ATS I'm subject to a fierce experiment, or, how it feels to me : torture. I'm not an expert on biology or how the brain works in detail, so forgive me if this post is a little simplistic. Basically I've nanobots (which supposedly don't exist) in my brain, an,d (I assume) they act on my brain chemicals in such a way as to cause chronic depression...suicidal depression in fact. To cut to the chase, as you say in the USA, they also electrocute my nerves (ALL AT ONCE), causing agonising pain! The 'bots are remote/radio controlled by the English SS (and they ARE very similar to the Nazi SS in their treatment of me, I think). So basically, I hear voices (The SS again), and am suffering from feelings that I want to die. About my quite happy 'previous life' before this happened : I was just a young lad who e naonwanted career in computer programming and studied Math/Maths to a high standard (my tutor said I was doing the work of a professor), and still lived at home bashing away at my computer to try and achieve my ambition. As a lot of you will know though COMPUTING is a conspiracy theory too (ie it's not all it states it is). So I suppose I'm doubly unlucky. Why they can't just use a monkey, instead of driving me to my death I don't know, I really dont. Anyways, oh I forgot...the nanobots block the action of nearly ALL the psycho-active drugs I've tried liked anti-depressants etc. | 0 |
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Two stunningly depressing things happened in America on Thursday evening that demonstrate just how differently the country treats its citizens based on race – and they happened more or less at the same time.
In North Dakota, police driving armored vehicles (yes, like tanks) and armed with rifles, sound cannons, and shotguns loaded with “nonlethal” beanbags marched in formation to shut down peaceful protesters opposing an oil pipeline. A few states over in Oregon, a jury found that the violent militia group which led an armed occupation of a federal wildlife reserve was innocent of all charges and free to go . America is two countries with two different sets of rules, and Thursday evening highlighted that fact in stunning detail.
On Twitter, user @theshrillest put the juxtaposition in all its glory in a single screengrab. His twitter feed was a mixture of stories about the violent suppression of a peaceful protest led by a Native American tribe directly affected by the environmental impact of the oil pipeline and news of the release of the Bundy militia – a group of out-of-state rabblerousers who believe the federal government should be disbanded.
— 🇺🇸 (@theshrillest) October 27, 2016
This is the second time the Bundy family threatened to kill federal agents and expressed a desire to lead a revolution only to see zero charges stick to them. The group will now get to return to Nevada, just in time for an election in which many conservatives are openly stating that they plan on taking up arms if Trump loses. On November 8th, I'm voting for Trump.
On November 9th, if Trump loses, I'm grabbing my musket.
You in?
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) October 26, 2016
In short, it’s a scary time to be a democracy. An Oregon jury just gave every white male in the country a not-so-subtle nod that violence against the government will be met with a look the other way when it comes time to a trial.
Featured image via Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office/Getty Images Share this Article! | 0 |
WASHINGTON — President Trump spoke by telephone with the acting director of the National Park Service the day after his inauguration to ask why someone from the agency had shared someone else’s Twitter post giving an unflattering comparison of his inaugural crowd, according to Mr. Trump’s deputy press secretary. “It was a, ‘What’s going on?’ type of thing,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House spokeswoman, said on Thursday evening. “Why is the National Park Service tweeting out comparison photos? That was the bigger issue there. ” During the call, Mr. Trump also asked the National Park Service’s acting director, Michael T. Reynolds, if he could produce further photographic evidence of the size of his inaugural crowd, according to a second person briefed on the Jan. 21 telephone call between the two men. Since becoming president, Mr. Trump has repeatedly expressed outrage toward the news media for what he believes is a deliberate attempt to undermine his legitimacy by understating the size of the crowd that attended his and speech. One of those instances happened on Inauguration Day, when an employee of the National Park Service used the agency’s Twitter account to share someone else’s post of images comparing the inaugural crowds in 2009 and 2017. The images, originally posted by a New York Times reporter, showed the 2009 crowd to be much larger. Mr. Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, expressed outrage the next day during a forceful statement at the White House in which he lashed out at the press and claimed, inaccurately, that Mr. Trump had drawn “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration. ” Mr. Spicer later said he was talking about a combination of television and online audiences. That same morning, before Mr. Spicer’s statement, Mr. Reynolds received a message from the White House that the president wanted to talk to him. They connected in the early afternoon, according to one of the people who was briefed on the call and asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it. The new president asked for additional photos that could confirm his view of his crowd size. A park service spokesman, Tom Crosson, said he could confirm that a call took place between Mr. Reynolds and the president, but he would not describe the content. The call was first reported by The Washington Post. Mr. Reynolds could not be reached for comment. The fact that Mr. Trump sought out Mr. Reynolds to discuss the Twitter message and seek more proof of the size of his crowd during his first full day as president is further evidence of the anxiety that he has demonstrated when people raise questions about the extent of his public support. As a candidate, he frequently commented on the size of his rallies, and when he became he repeatedly spoke about the magnitude of his Election Day victories in states that few people thought he would win. Some political commentators had speculated that Mr. Trump’s focus on the magnitude of his support would fade once he took office, as the election became less important than the issues facing him. But his frustration about the size of the inaugural crowd is continuing. During an interview with David Muir of ABC News this week, he talked about it, saying: “We had a massive crowd of people. We had a crowd — I looked over that sea of people and I said to myself, ‘Wow.’ And I’ve seen crowds before. Big, big crowds. That was some crowd. ” He also walked Mr. Muir over to a panoramic picture of the crowd hanging in a hallway in the West Wing. Ms. Sanders said Mr. Trump’s decision to call Mr. Reynolds is a reflection of what his supporters find appealing: his willingness to do something himself when he thinks it needs to be done. “The reason that people like him is because he takes action himself,” she said. “If he sees something that’s an issue, he picks up the phone and directly engages to fix it. ” | 1 |
Print Email http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/president-trump-man-made-global-warming.html Man-made global warming is a hoax perpetuated by the elite to make money and damage the U.S. economy, according to President-elect Donald Trump – and America isn’t going to stand for it anymore. “Obama thinks it’s the number one problem in the world today. I think it’s very low on the list,” Trump said on the Hugh Hewitt show, indicating a major shift in U.S. policy. Trump continued: “You know in the 1920s people talked about global cooling, they thought the earth was cooling. I believe there is weather and I believe there is change and I believe it goes up and it goes down and it goes up again and it changes depending on years and centuries.“ Pointing out that U.S. manufacturing and the economy as a whole has suffered since climate change rules were introduced by global organizations – making everybody poorer, except the elites who profit from the fearmongering – Trump has promised to make America competitive again.Trump is putting his money where his mouth is. According to a member of his transition team, the President-elect is looking at ways to withdraw as quickly as possible from a costly global climate agreement currently being ratified in Morocco. Since Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s election, governments ranging from China to small island states have reaffirmed their support for the agreement at climate talks running until November 18 in Marrakesh, Morocco. But Trump believes the global rules and regulations will continue to harm the American economy and the President-elect wants out. “It was reckless for the Paris Agreement to enter into force before the election,” the source, who works on Trump’s transition team, told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Top Scientist Resigns: ' Global Warming is a $Trillions Scam — It has Corrupted Many Scientists ' 30,000 scientists agree with Trump A staggering 30,000 scientists have come forward agreeing with Trump that man-made climate change is a scam perpetuated by the global elite in order to make money. One of the experts is weather channel founder, John Coleman, who warns that huge fortunes are being made by man-made climate change proponents such as Al Gore . The weather has been so cold for so long that the global warming HOAXSTERS were forced to change the name to climate change to keep $ flow! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2014 If you’re still inclined to believe what Al Gore has to say about global warming, please consider the fact that since he embarked on his climate change crusade, flying around the world on his private jet, his wealth has grown from $2 million in 2001 to $200 million in 2016 – largely due to investments in fake “green tech” companies and the effective embezzlement of numerous grants and loans. From the National Review : “A 2008 survey by two German scientists, Dennis Bray and Hans von Storch, found that a significant number of scientists were skeptical of the ability of existing global climate models to accurately predict global temperatures, precipitation, sea-level changes, or extreme weather events even over a decade; they were far more skeptical as the time horizon increased.” Other mainstream news sources besides the National Review have also been courageous enough to speak out against the global warming propaganda – even the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed piece in 2015 challenging the Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) pseudoscience being pushed by global warming proponents. And, of course, there are the more than 30,000 American scientists (to date) who agree with Trump and have signed a petition challenging the climate change narrative – and 9,029 of them hold PhDs in their respective fields. Breaking: Global Warming Data FAKED by Government Many of those scientists who signed the petition were likely encouraged to speak out in favor of the truth after retired senior NASA atmospheric scientist John L. Casey revealed that solar cycles are largely responsible for warming periods on Earth – not human activity . Many more still are likely to sign the petition and speak out against the mainstream propaganda now that Trump has indicated a major change in U.S. policy. By Baxter Dmitry | 0 |
Republican nominee Donald J. Trump has been very vocal about his creepy sexual fetishization of his daughter Ivanka – and yet another deeply uncomfortable video has surfaced of him hitting on his daughter.
During a 2013 tapping of the “ Wendy Williams Show ,” Donald Trump and daughter Ivanka appeared together as guests.
Wendy asked each to name what they have in common, during a reoccurring segment called “Fave Five.” While Ivanka safely and logically responded, “real estate” and “golf.” Trump, however, gave the game an incestual twist, replying “Sex.”
Considering Donald J. Trump’s record at subjecting Ivanka to his perversion, this shouldn’t even be surprising, but it is absolutely disgusting. It is shocking and just plain gross. In 2006, Trump allowed Howard Stern the go-ahead to call Ivanka a “ piece of ass ,” and agreed with this assessment (no pun intended) of his daughter.
That same year he went on “ The View ,” telling the ladies that he wouldn’t disparage he posing for “Playboy” and that if she wasn’t his daughter he would be dating her. In 2003, he appeared with buddy Howard Stern, bragging about how his daughter’s has the “ best body ,” saying: “You know who’s one of the great beauties of the world, according to everybody? And I helped create her. Ivanka. My daughter, Ivanka. She’s 6 feet tall, she’s got the best body. She made a lot money as a model—a tremendous amount.”
Trump’s lack of discretion when referring to Ivanka is very, very weird and further proves that Trump is only capable of putting the women he interacts with into two camps: those he would have sex with and those he wouldn’t. That Ivanka is his daughter does not change this. She is a woman he would have sex with, and nothing more. He pitifully can’t even name anything they have in common. All that comes to mind is, as admitted by him, is sex.
Maybe Republicans should spend their time investigating Trump possibly molesting members of his own family instead of trying to needlessly take down Clinton, before her term (inevitably) starts.
Watch it here: | 0 |
The media latched on to a few absurdly overblown stories to keep the bad vibes flowing during President Trump’s first overseas journey. Editorial judgment is apparently easy to suspend when the opportunity to hype an odd photo or curious video clip presents itself. [The Orb: By far the most entertaining was the photo of President Trump, King Salman of Saudi Arabia, and President Sisi of Egypt posing with their hands atop a mysterious glowing white sphere. Internet wags had a field day coming up with humorous theories about the Orb, including the lively wag subdivision of Breitbart News, whose contribution made the New York Times roundup of merriment. A good time was had by all, but really, there’s nothing terribly mysterious about the Orb. It’s not a relic from some obscure desert nomad ritual given a gloss by the Saudis, or an alien artifact, or a leftover prop from the Lord of the Rings films. It’s just a translucent globe of the Earth with a very bright light inside, which makes it look weird in photographs. It’s part of the decor at the new Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh, and the three leaders were posing for a routine photo op. Evidently the management of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology has a keen sense of drama, as the New York Times describes the scene: “When the king and Mr. Trump touched it, background music of the kind that might accompany a reality show’s elimination sequence or introduce a cable news program soared and pulsed. The screens glowed with statistical displays and videos about fighting terrorism. ” That orb is destined to show up in a lot of selfies. The First Lady swats President Trump’s hand away: Shooting wars have gotten less coverage than a few seconds of video that appeared to show first lady Melania Trump evading President Trump’s attempt to hold her hand on the tarmac in Tel Aviv, while walking the red carpet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara. CNN analyzed what it called “the swat heard round the world” as if it were the Zapruder film, offering a variety of theories as to the meaning of Mrs. Trump’s 1. 5 seconds of body language. Verdicts ranging from “awkward” to “she hates his guts” were rendered. Mrs. Trump’s facial expressions and posture were scrutinized for signs of her dismay with the business of being first lady. Signals from distant stars that might host intelligent alien life are examined less carefully than the signals Melania Trump is supposedly sending. As for the well, the “experts” see nothing but brutish misogyny in his body language. None of that has anything to do with what people who actually know the Trumps say about the state of their marriage, but why let common sense ruin a good news cycle? If anyone needed further evidence that a great deal of modern reportage is driven by whatever “viral sensation” happens to float across the Twitter and Facebook pages of journalists, here it is. Hundreds of pages of news and commentary milked from one second of video is the best return on minimal effort since Jack planted a handful of magic beans and grew a beanstalk that punched through the stratosphere. Trump the President of Montenegro: The media flipped out over video from President Trump’s visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels that showed Trump apparently shoving the hapless Prime Minister Dusko Markovic of Montenegro aside, so he could claim a choice position in a group photo shoot. “The Balkan state is in the process of formally joining NATO, but membership, it seems, does not earn it a spot at the front of the line,” sniffed the New York Times. Now that you mention it, no, tiny nations that aren’t even part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization yet would not normally stand in front of the of the global hyperpower in a NATO group photo. Also, group photos are arranged by photographers and diplomatic staff, not shoving contests between world leaders. Of course, most of the media types trying to make hay out of the Trump Shove know this, since they work with photographers on a regular basis. Alas, even as new heights of media dudgeon were reached, Markovic ruined the fun by declaring he was not offended by Trump’s pat on the arm. “It didn’t really register. I just saw reactions about it on social networks. It is simply a harmless situation,” Markovic said. Then he blew up the rest of the narrative by noting, “It is natural that the president of the United States is in the front row. ” Trump attempts to dismember French president with brutal handshake: Not content with tossing the Prime Minister of Montenegro around like a sack of potatoes, Trump also came close to crushing the new French president’s hand at the NATO summit. According to the Washington Post, the only reason President Emmanuel Macron didn’t draw back a stump is that he was warned in advance about Trump’s gorilla grip. The ensuing encounter featured some of the most spectacular combat since Agent Smith faced off against Neo at the subway station: Macron strides along the blue carpet to the wall of world leaders walking toward him. As the president of the United States stretches out his arms in a “hey, buddy!” greeting of the newest member of the elite club, Macron veers to the right like a decoy Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House. Trump looks on as his French counterpart double kisses German Chancellor Angela Merkel and shakes hands with other leaders. When Macron does get around to greeting Trump, Trump goes for the . But Macron immediately yanks back and employs his left hand to try to hold down The Donald’s rising right arm as the insecure alpha tries to assert his dominance as cameras clicked. President Macron is but a student of . Melania is the master. Macron had to parkour his way across half of NATO headquarters to escape. Melania countered Trump’s iron fists with a mere twitch of her fingers. Veils at the Vatican: Melania Trump could not so easily evade the misogyny of the Catholic Church. The breathtaking hypocrisy of the Trump White House was laid bare when Mrs. Trump refused to don a headscarf in Saudi Arabia, but submitted to wearing a black veil at the Vatican along with Ivanka. How could the Trump women defy Islamic dress codes while obeying Catholic ones? This particular had a short shelf life, because most media organizations already knew the answer. They still tried to milk it with headlines like “Melania Trump Wears Veil, But Not a Headscarf,” but the body text of the very same stories admitted the Vatican’s dress code is and well known, while the Saudis did not even request she wear a headscarf. They don’t make such requests of visiting VIP women as a general rule. Furthermore, as Canada’s Globe and Mail noted, the Vatican is a holy site, and Mrs. Trump happens to be Catholic. She did not visit any holy sites in Saudi Arabia, where head coverings or the removal of shoes might have been required. The Trumps also respected religious traditions during their visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, which has a published dress code for visitors. Mr. Trump wore a yarmulke head covering when he became the first sitting U. S. president to visit the Wall. There are three main reasons we saw a brief shower of “Veil But No Headscarf” headlines: reporters noticed people were popping off about it on Twitter, they were hoping for a cheap “Islamophobia” hit, and they remembered Donald Trump criticizing Michelle Obama for not wearing a headscarf in Saudi Arabia. Try Googling stories about Melania and the headscarf from May 20th, and you’ll see a string of stories from virtually every mainstream media organization recalling that Trump “attacked” or “slammed” Mrs. Obama for declining to wear one. They’re also still pretty sore about conservatives mocking President Obama for bowing to the Saudi king, so they scrambled to make a story about Trump bowing too. The Memory Hole is very real, but there are some things the media does not forget. | 1 |
Should you embrace new age practices you deny Me Saturday Dec 06, 2014 at 02:20 pm My dearly beloved daughter, how is it that those who do not accept My Existence, or the Divinity of My Eternal Father, are so willing to embrace false gods all of their own making?When My Presence is felt by souls who reject My Existence, they feel a need to retaliate without compunction. They will scoff, ridicule, mock My Presence, whether this be in My Church, in books; in the Word or when I Am Present in other souls. The Presence of God is Omnipotent and it is felt in the most painful way by those souls who are in darkness. This is why they react with such venom to any mention of Me. These people have a deep ingrained hatred of Me and they fail to see how they can hate someone Who, in their eyes, does not exist.I warn those who embrace false spirituality and who idolize or obsess about anything that does not come from Me. If you open your souls to any spiritual realm, not of My Making, you will open the door to demons, who will cunningly entice you into their dark world. Whatever peace you believe you receive from new age practices will be short-lived. And as you seek more, you will then enter into a state where your conscience will be taken over by those enemies of God, until you are unable to release yourself from their domain. You will never find peace when you idolize false gods.The world is infiltrated with false doctrines, gods and religions. There is only one True God and you can only come to Him by recognising the Great Sacrifice He made when He sent Me, His only Begotten Son, to bring you salvation from the snares of the evil one.To those who do know Me, but who dabble in other doctrines, know this. Should you embrace new age practices, you deny Me. Should My Church acknowledge other creeds, that are not of Me, then they betray Me.The time when My birth is celebrated, by showing allegiance to other religions, that are not of Me, will be one of the greatest betrayals of the Truth. | 0 |
November 7, 2016 at 6:52 pm
So we are prepositioning enough equipment for a Marine Mechanized Task Force of 920 Marines 1000 Km from the Russian Boogie Man's border? Complete with 58 M1A1 MBTs? Talk about a total waste of Taxpayers money. In 2003 45,000 Marines barely made it to Baghdad, 545Kms against almost no opposition. The Marines fought mostly Fedayeen Saddam(determined fanatics yes, but with little or no military training) and prison inmates released once the invasion started ("fight the Americans or we shoot you now"). The Marines never encountered one opposing complete Iraqi Battalion, they did fight Company strength Iraqi Light Infantry 4 times and never came under coordinated Artillery fire. With timid leadership, a inept ability to maneuver off of the Hardball (Main Highway), complete abandonment of Doctrine nearly every ambush (the damn Task Force comes to a 2hr stop so 2 squads can engage 6 Hadjis for 20 minutes) and a real arrogance that precluded using Combat Multipliers (Intel, Artillery, Combat Aviation, SIGINT/ELINT, Civil Affairs or Linguists (3/4s Battalion CO dismounting & having Infantry assault dug-in Fedayeen Saddam in palm groves without preparatory fires while 5 M1s, 2 LAV25s and 8 AAV-7s are walking distance away with 120mm, 25mm, .50cal, and Mk-19s sitting at idle and the 81mm & 120mm mortars are less than 2Km away. Scary to think this Jackwagon is a MG in charge of thousands)The Marines arrived in Baghdad a week late 10 days after Fox and Ghost Troops 2/7CAV occupied the International Terminal at Baghdad Airport.3ID eliminateded 4 complete Divisions and 7 Separate Armored Brigades in active combat destroying 690 MBTs, 1150 AFVs and 1000+ wheeled vehicles. The 1st Marine Division did a excellent job of destroying the 17 Tanks that actually engaged the Marines.The Marines last 35Kms into Baghdad were actually cleared of Iraqi Armor by Fox and Ghost Troops of 2/7 CAV, on their third Thunder Run they turned South on Highway 6 and destroyed 44 Armored vehicles of the 41st Separate Brigade, 3 days before the Marines arrived late.The Marines performance in the CENTCOM operational area hasn't improved much over the last 13 years.Btw I was a 18E assigned as a Arabic IT, physically with 2nd LAR Bn, C Co, so I got to witness the entire 5 Star, 3 Ring Clusterfuck from the tip of the very dull Marine spear.Thats 800Km thru Norwegian Mountain passes and 200 across Europe's biggest swamp(in the Spring, Fall and Summer) or Ice Flat (in Winter) that can support Tanks on three narrow roads.Pretty sure the the Murmansk Military District Commander ISN'T shaking in his boots as he looks out at his 260 Thermobaric MLRS launcher vehicles and 640 T-80 & T-90 MBTs. | 0 |
Anchor @ChrisCuomo: ”There is something wrong with him [Trump] attacking a free press” https: . Monday on CNN’s “New Day,” host Chris Cuomo opined about President Donald Trump’s willingness to attack a “free press” in his public appearances. Cuomo acknowledged he was within his right to do so, but said given it is the role of the media to hold him accountable, there was something wrong with him criticizing the press. “There is a good chance the president of the United States is watching us right now,” Cuomo said. “He watches this show. He monitors the media. He criticizes it. All of that is within his right. But with power comes accountability. And there is something wrong with him attacking a free press. There is something wrong with him wanting to change the libel laws. ” Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor | 1 |
Posted on November 1, 2016 by Dr. Eowyn | 1 Comment
Two bioethicists — UK professor Julian Savulescu and Canadian professor Udo Schuklenk — are urging that medical schools not admit prospective students who object to abortion and euthanasia.
Julian Savulescu is director of the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, UK, and editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics ; Udo Schuklenk is the Ontario research chair in bioethics at Canada’s Queen’s University, and editor of the journal Bioethics .
In a co-authored article titled, “ Doctors Have no Right to Refuse Medical Assistance in Dying, Abortion or Contraception ,” published by the journal Bioethics on Sept. 22, 2016, Savulescu and Schuklenk maintain that: Patients’ have an absolute right to abortion and to euthanasia or “assisted dying”. The problem is that there are doctors who conscientiously object. These doctors are respected for their “integrity” and given the prerogative not be involved in providing patients with abortion, artificial contraceptives, and euthanasia. Physicians who refuse to abort and euthanize should be punished or even fired. Conscientious objectors should be barred from admission into medical schools.
Savulescu and Schuklenk write in the “Abstract” of their article:
“[T]here should be better protections for patients from doctors’ personal values and there should be more severe restrictions on the right to conscientious objection, particularly in relation to assisted dying. We argue that eligible patients could be guaranteed access to medical services that are subject to conscientious objections by: (1) removing a right to conscientious objection; (2) selecting candidates into relevant medical specialities or general practice who do not have objections; (3) demonopolizing the provision of these services away from the medical profession.
Some points made in their journal article by these two toxic men who actually pretend they are bioethicists:
(1) Anti-Christian:
Without naming it, Savulescu and Schuklenk blame Christianity — which they refer to only as “organized religion”— for the objection to abortion and euthanasia. As they put it:
“The more religious a society is, the more religious values are imposed on people. Many of the conscientious objection protections we are grappling with today were written into constitutional arrangements in times gone by when the influence of churches was significantly more powerful than it is today. In strongly Christian societies, like Ireland, abortion remains illegal…. [Atheists] Richard Dawkins got it right, when he noted, ‘religion is not simply vicars giving tea parties. There are evil consequences.’”
(2) Doctors should be denied the right to be a conscientious objector to abortion, euthanasia, and artificial contraception:
“Enlightened, progressive secular countries like Sweden, have labour laws in line with our arguments. Sweden provides no legal right of employees to conscientious objection. Employees could be sacked for failing to provide legal services under labour law. The same holds true, for instance, for Finland…. These countries have resolutely prioritised patient access to care over the protection of doctors’ idiosyncratic moral convictions with regard to these services. Other countries ought to follow Sweden and Finland…. Conscientious refusal to provide contraception is common and mistakenly supported by medical boards and medical associations…. For religious GPs, obstetricians and pharmacists to refuse to provide the oral contraceptive pill is simply unprofessional. There is no requirement for a healthcare system to accommodate unprofessional behaviour…. If a professional norm [conscientious objection] is no longer fit for purpose, it should be changed.”
(3) Doctors who are conscientious objectors should be punished or perhaps fired:
“Doctors who did behave like this would be acting with a gross lack of professionalism and would therefore be subject to censure and appropriate remedies by their professional, statutory bodies…. [I]f society thinks contraception, abortion and assistance in dying are important, it should select people prepared to do them, not people whose values preclude them from participating. Equally, people not prepared to participate in such expected courses of action should not join professions tasked by society with the provision of such services.”
(4) Medical schools should deny admission to conscientious objectors:
“Therefore, even if we did not change the system for those already practising medicine, given that there is an oversupply of people capable and willing to become medical professionals, we should select those willing to provide the full scope of professional services, and those who are most capable. Medical schools and training programmes should carefully outline the nature of the job and screen for conscientious objection where it is relevant to job performance. Requirements of the job should be written into the contract.
(5) Abolish medical doctors’ monopoly on medical care by licensing non-physicians to perform abortion and euthanasia:
“Finally, if conscientious objection continues to be tolerated in medicine and results in treatment denial, alternative ways of guaranteeing reasonable and fair access to these goods ought to be provided. One way of doing this is to de-monopolize the provision of the relevant service. If the quality of such a service could match that provided by medical professionals, and sufficient supply could be ensured, then this would be a viable alternative. This would require new training, selection, regulatory and oversight procedures, which would be cumbersome and expensive. But there is no reason why only doctors could competently provide, for example, contraception, abortion or assisted dying services.”
(6) Conscientious objector doctors are like the Nazis:
“Part of the force behind respecting conscientious objection is a common commitment to ethical relativism: if that is what someone believes, then they are right to believe it, and that alone makes it a kind of truth…. But ethical relativism is practically ethical nihilism. If one accepted ethical relativism, the holocaust was, from the Nazi’s perspective, right.”
Lastly, I find it curious that Savulescu and Schuklenk, with degrees in medicine, cannot distinguish between “reign” and “rein”.
To “reign” is to be a sovereign or monarch; to “rein” is to curb. In their article, Savulescu and Schuklenk write that secular doctors who are conscientious objectors “ought to reign in their values too”.
Tsk, tsk.
To sign a petition to support the Life at Conception Act, click here .
~Eowyn | 0 |
UC Berkeley’s administration has replied to the recent letter sent to them by Berkeley College Republicans regarding the security fee for Breitbart Senior editor MILO’s event at the university on February 1st. [Breitbart reported this week that Berkeley College Republicans drafted a letter to Berkeley College administration relating to the recent $6000 security fee imposed on MILO’s February 1st event at the college. “Dear Chancellor Dirks, on behalf of the Berkeley College Republicans (“BCR”) we write in response to the University’s arbitrary and excessive, estimated $6, 370 security fee demand for the Milo Yiannopoulos event in Pauley Ballroom on February 1st. In effect, the University is restricting BCR’s constitutional rights to free expression on campus by charging fees for unsolicited security that amount to a tax on a “controversial” speaker. We are writing to request that this fee be waived in its entirety. The United States Supreme Court has held that “state colleges and universities are not enclaves immune from the sweep of the First Amendment. ” Healy v. James, 408 U. S. 169, 180 (1972). ” Further excerpts from the letter can be read here. Today Berkeley administration replied to the College Republicans. “Dear Berkeley College Republicans: “This responds to your letter to Chancellor Dirks which was sent by email to him and several other UC Berkeley administrators on January 11, 2017. ” begins the letter, The First Amendment does not immunize event sponsors from the requirement to reimburse the University for the reasonable cost of providing basic event security, so long as security fees charged are not arbitrary or . (See Cox v. New Hampshire, 312 U. S. 569, 577 (1941).) It is the regular practice of the University to charge event sponsors such fees based on factors such as the venue, the type of event, the number of anticipated guests, whether tickets are sold, and if the event is open to guests. The University has routinely and neutrally applied this policy to charge sponsors comparable fees for appearance of a wide range of speakers, including Anita Hill, Lewis Farrakhan, Will Farrell, Rand Paul, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and the Dalai Lama, and your claim that “Rio the best of BCR’s knowledge” security fees have not been charged for similar events is baseless. Similarly baseless is your contention that the University’s failure to give BCR special favorable treatment with regard to security fees is motivated by a desire to block your event. This charge is especially galling in light of the fact that UCPD and LEAD Center staff have, as you are well aware, dedicated substantial resources and many hours — including during the holidays and personal vacation time — to working with BCR to allow your event to proceed smoothly, while at the same time BCR leadership has frequently abused these efforts by being late for pre arranged meetings and conference calls or entirely unresponsive. You have also expressed concern about BCR’s ability to pay the basic security charge and asked that the normal security fee charged to all other event sponsors be waived for BCR. The University understands that BCR has sold 500 tickets for this event. The University is not in a position to treat BCR more favorably than other event sponsors nor to impose on the campus the out of pocket costs incurred by UCPD to provide basic support to student organizations’ events. The LEAD Center has provided BCR advice about additional revenue sources which may provide options for BCR to find funding. UCPD needs to receive a signed copy of the Police Services Request form promptly in order to approve the event from a security standpoint. If BCR decides that it cannot afford the event and must cancel, the University would appreciate receiving notice of that decision so that it can discontinue expending public resources on the planning process. Berkeley Assistant Dan Mogulof also contacted Breitbart to “stress and reiterate that the security estimates for this event were compiled not by the campus administration, but by sworn officers — law enforcement professionals — — in the University of California Police Department based on neutral, objective criteria. Just like every other event. ” When asked for comment, Troy Worden of Berkeley College Republicans stated, “The University of California, Berkeley makes a mockery of the the ideals of the Free Speech Movement by responding to the Berkeley College Republicans in so and a letter. They belittle our efforts to work with them to provide the security they demand for our event, and then bewail the extra hours they have to put in to systematically snuff out our right to free speech. Let this much be clear: the university is imposing a comically large financial burden on our club for security that we did not request in the first place. ” Worden continued, “It should be the burden of the university to ensure the political speech of all students — including conservatives such as the Berkeley College Republicans — is safeguarded from the mischief and violence of protesters. The lines are clearly drawn: the administration is bowing down to the demands of radical and liberal university professors at UC Berkeley rather than treating all student groups equally. We will unceasingly pursue legal action to secure our rights in this matter. ” MILO’s event is still currently set to take place on February 1st at Berkeley University. Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart Tech covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan_ or email him at lnolan@breitbart. com | 1 |
NBC Sports will take over the “Thursday Night Football” franchise this week at a suddenly promising point in an N. F. L. season that has seen viewership plummet by percentages in games. The decline has concerned league and network officials and has prompted questioning over its causes. Had the contentious presidential election kept viewers away from football, especially when games competed with debates between Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton? Were there too many bad matchups and too few star turns? Were fans fed up with long commercial breaks? Were they ignoring games for online highlights? N. F. L. Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested last week that the league was considering ways to improve the pace of games, from running fewer advertisements to speeding up video reviews. So, Sunday was a litmus test. If the election had diminished football audiences, then the conclusion of the campaigns might lure fans back. The results suggested that a cloud had begun to lift, and that compelling games played by marquee teams would keep fans engaged. Seattle’s exciting win over New England on Sunday night on NBC drew an average of 22. 5 million viewers, up 16 percent from the comparable game last season. Until then, NBC’s viewership had fallen by 18 percent this season, to 19. 3 million. Fox’s late afternoon broadcast of Dallas’s victory over Pittsburgh generated a preliminary overnight rating of a 17. 8, the highest for any N. F. L. game this season (although it fell 3 percent from the comparable game on CBS last year). But CBS’s slate of games Sunday afternoon tumbled 28 percent from last year. NBC takes over the Thursday night games starting with New Orleans playing Carolina, teams with . 500 records that might not give the network a lift to start its schedule. But with the election over — as well as the baseball postseason that ended with 40 million people watching the Chicago Cubs clinch the World Series in Game 7 — NBC is hoping to fare better than CBS and NFL Network did earlier this season. In five games through Oct. 20, CBS and NFL Network’s total viewership of 14. 7 million fell 16 percent from a year ago. CBS and NBC are paying the league a combined $450 million a year to carry five games apiece that they broadcast and NFL Network simulcasts. This is NBC’s first season on Thursday night games. CBS had carried eight games a season for two years. “I think we have very good games,” said Sam Flood, the executive producer of NBC Sports and NBCSN. “But we all know the back half of the season can be a bit of a crapshoot. You’re not sure who’s going to be great and who’s not going to be great. Who would have thought the Dallas Cowboys would be the best team in football right now, by their record? Minnesota started as the best team in the N. F. L. and has lost a few in a row. ” The Cowboys and the Vikings will play Dec. 1. NBC’s Thursday night schedule is a bit different from CBS’s, which took a break during Week 4. But NBC’s goes for six straight weeks because the Thanksgiving night game is part of its Sunday night package. “Our excitement is to have this run until the end of the season and into holiday shopping, which has a lot of advantages for our ad sales people,” Flood said Monday during a media gathering at a Manhattan restaurant. The N. F. L. has tried hard over the years to turn Thursday night games into an attraction that would bolster NFL Network and rival the older Sunday and Monday night franchises. The league has increased the number of Thursday night over the years, but it has found its biggest success in selling some of the games, first to CBS, and now to CBS and NBC, because broadcast networks reach larger audiences than a channel like NFL Network. But Thursday night games have been less attractive to players, who dislike the short week of preparation time after Sunday, and to fans who see that the mostly divisional matchups don’t generally rival those of other packages. The Thursday broadcasts have also become part of a discussion about whether the N. F. L. is overwhelming fans with too many games. Rodney Harrison, an analyst on NBC’s pregame show, said that he was looking less at the election as a factor in shrinking audiences than quality games. “The problem is you have to go back to earning the right to be on television rather than saying, ‘We have all these slots, on Sunday, Thursday, Sunday and Monday.’ ” The remark was targeted largely at the Thursday night package. teams play at least one game on the Thursday night package that is being carried by CBS, NBC and NFL Network. The other three play on Thanksgiving. | 1 |
posted by Eddie Olive Oatman was born in Illinois in 1837. At the tender age of 14, Olive’s family were travelling alone to seek a better life in California. On the fourth day of their journey, family was attacked by a group of Native Americans. Only three of the Oatmans survived the attack. Olive’s parents and four of their children were killed, and Olive’s brother Lorenzo was clubbed and left for dead. Fortunately, he eventually reached a settlement and was able to carry on his journey, believing his entire family dead. Olive and her seven-year-old sister Mary Ann were captured by the Yavapai people, and were sent to their tribe to be used as slaves. For over 60 miles, the two girls were led through the Sonoran Desert to the tribe’s village. After a year, a group of Mohave Indians visited the village and traded two horses, vegetables, blankets, and other trinkets for the captive girls. Head over to the next page to find out the incredible story of what happened next. Both Oatman girls were tattooed on their chins and arms, in keeping with the tribal custom. During 1855, the tribe experienced a dire shortage of food supplies and ten-year-old Mary Ann died of starvation, along with many Mohaves. Because Olive did not know that her brother had survived the massacre, she believed she had no immediate family left, and the Mohave raised her as their own. She was given a clan name, Oach, and a nickname, Spantsa, a Mohave word having to do with unquenchable lust. Head over to the next page to discover how Olive finally managed to escape. After several years, rumours eventually began to surface of a white woman living with the Mohaves. Finally, after some intense negotiations with the Europeans, it was agreed she should be set free. When she arrived at what was to be her new home, Olive was dressed in traditional Mohave attire, which meant she wore nothing above the waist. Olive’s topless look is one echoed in the present day by women’s movement leader Inna Shevchenko. The following video, which was shot during a far right rally in Paris, four topless Ukrainian feminists occupied a rooftop holding a sign that read “Sextermination for Nazism”. The women were eventually brought down by firemen and shielded from the attacking demonstrators by police. Source: | 0 |
Sana Mustafa considers herself “the privileged one” in the family. A Syrian refugee who made it to the United States, she has a college degree and an apartment in a quiet, village in the Hudson Valley. She speaks out, freely and without fear, about the rights of refugees like herself. “But I feel so much guilt,” she said. “My life is moving forward. Their life has been put on hold. ” She means her mother and younger sister, Ghena. They live as refugees in a border town in Turkey, fearful of saying too much. Ms. Mustafa’s father was picked up by the Syrian authorities nearly four years ago and hasn’t been heard from since. Her older sister, Wafa, fled to Germany. President Trump’s executive order freezing refugee resettlement also froze her family’s hopes of living together in the United States. The ensuing legal challenges to the order bring little clarity. About 2, 000 refugees are expected to come into the country over a period that was to start on Monday. But there are thousands more waiting in line overseas to join family members who are already here, like Ms. Mustafa. These families remain suspended in a state of uncertainty — and those who were able to get out say they feel a gnawing sense of guilt. In Knoxville, Tenn. an Iraqi woman who arrived five months ago has no explanation to offer her twin daughters, who are stranded back home. They cry every time she calls. In Clarkston, Ga. a Somali mother fears for her daughter, 20, who was supposed to come on Feb. 6, but remains in a refugee camp in Kenya. The family had fled Somalia after gunmen stormed their home and raped and killed another daughter. That memory only makes things worse. “I am unable to sleep or eat,” the mother, Habibo Abdikadir Mohamed, 38, said through an interpreter this past week. “I’m not sure she will be safe. I’ve already lost one daughter. I’m worried I will lose another. ” Exactly how many families are divided like these is not known. A United States government lawyer said Friday that 100, 000 visas had been revoked, while the State Department said the number was closer to 60, 000. The rules are changing so fast, it’s impossible to predict the fate of relatives left behind. On Jan. 27, Mr. Trump signed the order suspending the resettlement of refugees from any country for four months, adding that Syrians seeking asylum would be barred indefinitely. Syrians and nationals from six other countries, including Iraq and Somalia, would be unable to visit even if they had valid visas. Then, federal judges quashed the ban, at least temporarily. The State Department said it would allow refugees who had already been approved to fly to the United States, until Feb. 17. There were nearly 20, 000 people in that category — vetted and screened by multiple government agencies — according to the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency that arranged travel for the refugees. It was scrambling to get about 10 percent of them on planes to the United States in the next 10 days. That didn’t bring much comfort to Meathaq Alaunaibi of Iraq. Her husband worked for 10 years as a translator for the United States Agency for International Development in Baghdad. Their home was shelled in 2006, an attack that she believes was done by militants because of his work with American officials. Her husband’s hand was burned by a car bomb in 2014. Still, it took four years for their visa application to be approved, and last summer, the couple, their daughter and their son landed in Knoxville. But there was a new wrinkle. Because the process took so long, their twin daughters, Aisha and Fatima, had just turned 18. They were told that they would have to be screened anew. One is in medical school in Baghdad the other is in dentistry school in Kirkuk. Ms. Alaunaibi calls them every day, even if only to tell them to wait. “They just cry. ‘Why this happened to us? We love the U. S. A. We want to live in the U. S. A. ,’” Ms. Alaunaibi, 45, said of their response. “You know, they are young, they are ambitious, they are smart and responsible. So this is a shock to them. ” Ms. Mohamed, the Somali mother in Clarkston, was waiting anxiously to hear whether her eldest daughter would be among those who could come. Ms. Mohamed’s family arrived in Georgia on Jan. 18, after 10 years in a refugee camp in Kenya. She had fled Somalia after gunmen stormed her home and raped one of her daughters in front of her. Ms. Mohamed’s sister and were killed, too, so she took in her sister’s two children, in addition to her own seven. The last of the family, Batulo Abdalla Ramadhan, 20, was scheduled to leave Kenya on Monday. But then came the ban last month. Her travel was canceled, she called to tell her parents. They could hear the grief in her voice. “She’s always asking us, ‘What do I do? ’” said Ms. Mohamed’s husband, Abdalla Ramadhan Munye. “She feels hurt that we left her behind. Only thing we can do is to listen to her and feel her pain. ” Mr. Munye said he wanted to deliver a message to the first lady, Melania Trump. “As a mother,” he said, “she knows how difficult it would be to be separated from a child. ” Sana Mustafa from Syria said her parents had encouraged her and her sister to get out of the country as soon as they could after the Syrian civil war began. Ms. Mustafa received a fellowship funded by the State Department to visit Washington in the summer of 2013. “I applied, out of the blue, online, in the middle of the war,” she said. “My dad said, ‘Go. ’” That was one of her last conversations with him. A businessman known for his opposition to President Bashar ’s government, her father was picked up in July 2013, while Ms. Mustafa was in Washington. Her plans changed immediately. There was no chance of going back to Syria. She slept on the sofas of strangers who took her in. She applied for political asylum in the United States, and quickly got it. To make ends meet, she worked as a hostess at a restaurant, then as a babysitter. Through friends of friends, she landed a full scholarship at Bard College in upstate New York. She graduated last year. Her mother, Lamia Zreik, has not been as lucky. She fled with her other two daughters, Wafa and Ghena, after her husband was detained in 2013. They went to Gaziantep, Turkey — the border town now home to hundreds of thousands of Syrians — and in 2014, hoping to join Sana, applied for resettlement to the United States. They were interviewed four times — by United Nations officials, then by American officials. One year passed, then two. When Wafa, who had been supporting the family, got a chance to go to Germany, Ms. Zreik told her that she couldn’t possibly pass it up. “We had two options — either she stays or I work,” Ms. Zreik said by telephone from Gaziantep, where she works with Syrian children orphaned by the war. “And the first wasn’t really an option. ” In early January, the first bad news came: an email informing Ms. Zreik that she and her daughter would have to undergo more security screenings. Ms. Mustafa was visiting Gaziantep at the time. “Three years wasn’t enough for screening?” she said. “I was very devastated. I was actually very angry. ” For a while, neither of them told Ghena, 16, the bad news. Then came the executive order. Ms. Mustafa said Ghena had taken it the hardest. “She was very sad,” she said. “She said: ‘We’re not going anywhere. No one is taking us. ’” The family has applied for resettlement to France and Canada. Wafa, 26 and studying in Berlin, said she could not sponsor them to Germany until she could prove she could support them financially. Wafa’s own good fortune weighs on her. “I’m thinking about this every day,” she said. “I have to find a way to help my mom and my sister. ” For now, there’s no place they can be together. “I can’t express my deep anger,” Ms. Zreik said. “We are a small family. Without my husband, and each girl in a different country, we can’t see each other. ” | 1 |
MATURÍN, Venezuela — His name was Kevin Lara Lugo, and he died on his 16th birthday. He spent the day before foraging for food in an empty lot, because there was nothing to eat at home. Then in a hospital because what he found made him gravely ill. Hours later, he was dead on a gurney, which doctors rolled by his mother as she watched helplessly. She said the hospital had lacked the simplest supplies needed to save him on that day last July. “I have a tradition that in the morning of their birthdays, I wake up my children and sing to them,” his mother, Yamilet Lugo, said. “How could I do that when my son was dead?” Venezuela has suffered from so many ailments this year. Inflation has driven office workers to abandon the cities and head to illegal pit mines in the jungle, willing to subject themselves to armed gangs and multiple bouts of malaria for the chance to earn a living. Doctors have prepared to operate on bloody tables because they did not have enough water to clean them. Psychiatric patients have had to be tied to chairs in mental hospitals because there was no medication left to treat their delusions. Hunger has driven some people to riot — and others into rickety fishing boats, fleeing Venezuela on reckless journeys by sea. But it was the story of a boy with no food, who had gone searching for wild roots to eat but ended up poisoning himself instead, that seemed to embody everything that had gone wrong in Venezuela. The country’s economic crisis had spent months encircling his family, only to snatch away its son. His neighborhood, on the edge of what was once a prosperous oil boomtown, had long been running out of basics like corn flour and bread. The cutlery factory where Ms. Lugo had worked shut down in May because it could no longer obtain the materials to make plastic, joining many across the country that have gone idle. That left the family unable to buy what food was left. At the hospital, Ms. Lugo said, there was no respite. Like so many clinics throughout the country, the one in Maturín ran out of basic supplies like intravenous solutions, leaving the family to search the city and haggle with sellers in the hours before Kevin died. “This boy dies this way for no reason at all,” said Lilibeth Díaz, his aunt, looking at Kevin’s grave, his name etched in wet concrete by a friend’s fingertip. Kevin is the baby in the overalls in the picture on his mother’s wall, the one who earned the perfect attendance awards. They still hang on the walls, too. The markers in the kitchen wall ticked off his growth. By 12, he was about 4 feet 11 inches by 14, he was four inches taller. His name is scribbled in child’s writing on a light switch in the bedroom he and his mother shared. “Active Kevin” says another doodle on a cabinet there. On her cellphone, Ms. Lugo stared at a picture of her embracing her son last year, on the front porch he had painted yellow. She has changed a lot since then. Her collarbone now protrudes from her neck. “I weigh 40 kilos now,” she said, 88 pounds. Kevin was losing weight, too. By spring, everyone in the family was. Then José Rafael Castro, Ms. Lugo’s boyfriend and the only other breadwinner in the household, came home with bad news: The construction supply factory where he worked making cinder blocks had let him go because the owners could no longer find cement. First, the family ate mangoes. By summer, it had turned to yuca, which grew in a plot owned by a relative a short bus ride away. “This was our food morning, noon and night,” Ms. Lugo said. By July, there was no money even for the bus fare to the field, the family said. It started looking elsewhere. Kevin’s birthday was coming up. The family knew this would be his first without a cake, but it had devised a solution: A neighbor down the street was celebrating a birthday and had offered to set aside a slice of cake for Kevin. Still, the family needed something to eat that night. It had gone three days without food, and everyone was growing weak. There were few options. This was not the capital, Caracas, where food was often scarce in the barrios, but at least there was always another shop or seller to try. Nor was it the border, where foreign products could be bought. Instead, the family lived deep in Venezuela’s interior, where even cooking oil was scarce and products like bread and corn flour vanished almost as quickly as they arrived in stores. At times chicken was available, but the price was too high. Kevin and Mr. Castro had heard about an abandoned field a walk from their home where other neighbors had been foraging for bitter yuca. As they emerged from the field, four men with pistols surrounded them and demanded their cellphones, Mr. Castro said. It was a narrow brush with disaster, and the two men breathed a sigh of relief that they still had the yuca. They did not know the worst was to come. The family knew the risks of bitter yuca and had tried to dry it to extract the toxins, a practice used to make a dried bread served locally. “We had nothing else to eat,” Mr. Castro said. But by 11:30 p. m. on July 25, the night before Kevin’s birthday, the family was getting sick. Mr. Castro said he was vomiting. Kevin was on the floor. Because they had no car, an hour passed before they found a neighbor’s car to take Kevin to the hospital. As he finally left, Kevin remembered the piece of cake. “I will be back tomorrow for it,” Ms. Lugo recalled him saying. Yuca intoxication is treated with gastric suction, also called stomach pumping, and intravenous solutions, among other measures. But Kevin’s family said he had waited untreated for hours in the crowded halls of the Manuel Núñez Tovar hospital, without being examined by a doctor. Dr. Luis Briceño, the hospital’s director, said it was a common situation at his hospital, which is stretched thin. Sometimes his emergency room, with a capacity for 200 people, is packed with 450 patients seeking help. “There is always someone who doesn’t receive treatment,” Dr. Briceño said. He said medical shortages were so common that patients often had to find and buy their own supplies, like intravenous solutions, though he thought the hospital probably had some the night Kevin arrived. But Ms. Lugo said a nurse had told the family to go out and buy the intravenous solution itself. Relatives found it from a seller. The cost — about $4 — was more than they could afford. Finally, another family with extra bottles of the solution gave two to Kevin, but there was little change in his condition. Around 4 a. m. on July 26, the morning of his birthday, Kevin could barely speak. “His stomach felt like stone,” his mother said. Ms. Lugo was alone with her son. She recalled a black liquid oozing from his mouth. Then, at 4:45 a. m. Kevin was dead. The next morning, Jesús Maestre, a friend of Kevin’s, saw his friends gathered outside the hall in Kevin’s school. They were speaking in hushed tones. “They asked, ‘Did you hear what happened to Kevin? ’” he said. “Then it hit me — he was gone. ” Kevin’s coffin was trailed by a long parade of friends the day of his funeral, a path his mother retraces every Sunday when she visits the grave. On a recent day, she pointed out the Catholic church where he was baptized and the street he played on as a child. A cousin of his walked by. “Look at him,” she said. “They look exactly the same. ” And she said it again: “Since my mother raised me, and now with my children, we always had a tradition of singing ‘Happy Birthday’ in the morning. ” The day of the funeral, she sang the song before the coffin was lowered. “We did everything together,” Ms. Lugo said later, pointing to the headstone where her son’s name had been etched in wet concrete. Gesturing toward the empty plot beside it, she said, “They will bury me there one day. ” But back home, there were more mouths to feed. Ms. Lugo had given birth to another child two months before. Her daughter, Kimberlit, had recently given birth, too. The two spent an afternoon nursing the babies together on the porch. That was the only food in the household. There was nothing in the kitchen. | 1 |
Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Sign up.) The election of Donald J. Trump has left many California Latinos feeling on edge. But one Election Day outcome has given Latino groups that opposed Mr. Trump a measure of encouragement — the largest ever Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “It’s historic what actually happened,” said Chuck Rocha, a political consultant. Latinos now make up nearly 40 percent of California’s population. Election analysts said strong Latino turnout played a crucial part in contests throughout the West, including the election of Catherine Cortez Masto, of Nevada, who will become the first Latina senator. As a result, the Hispanic caucus will grow from 26 to 31 members, with more than a third from California. Representative Linda Sánchez, the caucus chairwoman, said members had already asked for a meeting with Mr. Trump. “Obviously, we are going to be pushing back on some of the really divisive and flawed policies that Donald Trump has discussed with respect to the Latino community,” said Ms. Sánchez, whose district includes southeastern Los Angeles. How much clout the lawmakers can wield on issues like immigration policy, a major concern, is uncertain given the Republican control of the White House and chambers of Congress. Nanette D. Barragán, a Democrat who won an open seat representing a heavily Latino part of Los Angeles, said many of her constituents were fearful about Mr. Trump’s plans. “I just think having us at the table being a part of the conversation is so very important with a president like this,” she said. On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump said he has nothing against immigrants but vowed to deport all of those who are in the country illegally, an estimated 11 million people. Speaking in an interview on “60 Minutes” that was broadcast on Sunday, the appeared to soften that stance, saying he would seek to deport just those undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds, and only up to three million of them. Salud Carbajal, who was elected to Congress from the Central Coast, said immigrant leaders have always supported efforts to deport people who have committed serious crimes. The question is how broadly a Trump administration would define the group. “Am I glad that he has lowered the number? Yes,” Mr. Carbajal said. But, he added, “The devil’s in the details. ” • “That is not our job”: The Los Angeles police chief said he would not help deport immigrants under a Trump administration. [Los Angeles Times] • Climate change, immigration and education: How a President Trump could change California, profoundly. [Opinion | San Diego ] • Loretta Sanchez went on a failed bid for California’s United States Senate seat. Now, her next move is unclear. [Los Angeles Times] • Google and Facebook are taking aim at purveyors of fake news after criticism that misinformation may have influenced the 2016 election. [The New York Times] • In a surprising reversal, Airbnb said it is ready to police its San Francisco hosts. [Mercury News] • Review: Apple’s new MacBook Pro laptops are thin and powerful, but the jury is out on the usefulness of the Touch Bar. [The New York Times] • NASA and FEMA rehearsed for the unthinkable: an asteroid strike on Los Angeles. [The New York Times] • The University of California and California State University are considering raising tuition for the first time in six years. [Los Angeles Times] • A photographer hung out in corners of Alice Waters’s celebrated restaurant Chez Panisse to create an intimate portrait of life there. [The New York Times] • Over the past year, the National Geographic Channel has turned itself inside out. “Mars” is the latest example. [The New York Times] • Corey Seager, a shortstop for the Dodgers, was a unanimous choice for the National League Rookie of the Year. [The New York Times] People once thought Yosemite’s El Capitan was unclimbable. It was this month in 1958 that Warren Harding, a Californian, proved them wrong, ascending the granite monolith for the first time. Mr. Harding, along with a series of partners, climbed the Nose route in stages over the course of 18 months. They fixed ropes to the wall that hung to the ground and allowed the climbers to quickly return to where they had left off. Altogether, it took about 45 days of climbing to reach the top in freezing weather on Nov. 12. The feat redefined what was thought possible in the infant sport, and ushered in an era of big wall climbing. Mr. Harding continued rock climbing through the 1970s, making about 30 first ascents in Yosemite and becoming a legend of the sport’s golden age. He died in 2002 at his home near Anderson in Shasta County at age 77. Today, the latest generation of elite climbers is taking the sport to new levels. Last year, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson scaled one of El Capitan’s most difficult routes, the Dawn Wall — without the benefit of ropes, other than to catch their falls. Some considered it the hardest climb in the world. California Today goes live at 6 a. m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes. com. The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Davis. Follow him on Twitter. California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended U. C. Berkeley. | 1 |
Stars Hollow, Conn. would make a great “Twilight Zone” setting. There is something unearthly about the adorable little town. The people are eccentric and hale and smiley — maybe too smiley. It feels cut off from the world — you can barely even get a cellular signal — as if, in the words of Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) “The entire town was constructed in a giant snow globe. ” But “Gilmore Girls,” being revived with a on Netflix on Friday, is the opposite of a horror story. It’s a comfort story. For seven seasons, then an afterlife in syndication and streaming, it poured its audience bottomless refills of quirk and the highly caffeinated repartee of Lorelai and her daughter and best friend, Rory (Alexis Bledel). There’s always the danger, with cultural nostalgia, that sweetness can tip over into something uncanny and eerie. There’s a fine line between celebrating the past and exhuming it. “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” stays, mostly, on the good side of that line. So many things are much like we remember them: Miss Patty’s ballet studio, the Sam Phillips “la la la”s on the soundtrack, the troubadour in the town square. But it really works because, for all its winks and callbacks and weaponized nostalgia, it also recognizes that things have changed. “A Year in the Life” was conceived as a kind of . The creator, Amy left the original series after six seasons (along with her husband and writing partner, Daniel Palladino) in a contract dispute. “Gilmore Girls” sputtered on for one final season, but Ms. wasn’t there to execute the ending that she had planned down to the series’ last four words. Though the does end on those four words, “A Year in the Life” is not, and can’t be, the final season we never got. The biggest reminder is a change forced on the show: Edward Herrmann, who played the patriarch Richard Gilmore, died in 2014. His loss becomes the emotional engine of the just as the original series was driven by the strain between Lorelai and her grande dame mother, Emily (Kelly Bishop) lingering from when Lorelai became pregnant with Rory at 16. “A Year in the Life” begins in early 2016, four months after Richard’s death, which has resurfaced bitter feelings between Lorelai and Emily. Rory, now a peripatetic journalist, comes home to figure herself out, see old friends and walk and talk with her mother through the town’s snowscape. On the surface, little has changed. Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) Lorelai’s old squeeze, is still haranguing the customers at his diner, though now over abuse rather than cellphone use. The references still fly, updated to include “Game of Thrones,” “Outlander” and man buns. But Rory is 32 now, the same age as Lorelai when the series began in 2000. (On one level, the entire is a “Wanna Feel Old?” listicle.) This is a story, down to the structure — four episodes, one for each season. Rory is feeling her age Lorelai is feeling her mortality Emily is feeling both heartbreak and the opportunity to change. The is sentimental but not maudlin, and Ms. Graham and Ms. Bledel quickly fall back into their comedic rhythm. “Wow. I’m winded,” Rory says after their first verbal tap dance. “Haven’t done that for a while,” Lorelai answers. There’s more of that and a parade of “Well hello, you!” cameos. You will likely be indulged no matter whom you consider the best supporting character. (The correct answer, by the way, is Paris Geller, Rory’s former classmate played by Liza Weil, who gets an update that shows off her brittle imperiousness.) “A Year in the Life” plays like a movie in four acts. The format establishes it, like Netflix’s “Arrested Development,” as something different from the series’ seasons. But there’s some bloat, including a “Waiting for Guffman” community musical interlude, featuring Christian Borle and Sutton Foster, that runs 10 minutes and would have been better at 10 seconds. And elements of Rory’s plot feel like they were intended more for a character in her early 20s — as Ms. originally planned — than one in her early 30s. Mostly, though, “A Year in the Life” succeeds at recreating the voice of “Gilmore Girls,” which is what creates the world of “Gilmore Girls. ” Like Lake Wobegon or Mayberry, Stars Hollow is a wish in the shape of a town, an idyll where everything is low stakes. Townspeople argue, but mostly over things like an international food fair or a proposed sewer system. They have decent, not overly demanding jobs, blue collar and white. Young adults who fail to launch can come home to their parents’ cozy houses (a running joke in one episode). Stars Hollow is not just a safety net, it’s a giant, fluffy featherbed. This is an eternal fantasy, but it’s well timed for the Thanksgiving weekend after an election that has made fractious Emilys and Lorelais of many relatives. (There are few political references beyond a quick allusion to “Brexit,” but it’s noteworthy that the story wraps in the fall, just as real America is about to head off to the polls.) In that sense, there is something sinister hiding, “Twilight Zone” behind its facade of quirky comity: our world. Call “Gilmore Girls” a bubble or, if you’re a romantic, a snow globe. It’s not a horror story, though, except that in the end the characters get to stay, and the rest of us have to leave. | 1 |
The legal record shows that Jerry Hartfield’s first murder conviction was thrown out on appeal, and for the next 32 years, he was not officially guilty of anything, not sentenced to anything. Yet he spent that time in Texas prisons, in what an appellate court now calls “a criminal justice nightmare. ” He was finally tried and convicted again in 2015, but on Thursday, Mr. Hartfield moved closer to freedom than he has been in decades. A state Court of Appeals ruled that he was not only denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial, but to a degree the court had neither seen nor imagined before it noted that the important precedents dealt with delays of three years, six years, eight years — not 32. The panel dismissed the indictment against Mr. Hartfield, who is developmentally disabled, in effect erasing the recent conviction. But it is still not clear whether, or when, he will get out of prison. Prosecutors could appeal Thursday’s ruling to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Texas’ highest criminal tribunal. The state Attorney General’s Office, which has argued against Mr. Hartfield, referred questions to the Matagorda County District Attorney’s Office, which did not reply to requests for comment. “We are deeply mindful that our conclusion today means that a defendant who may be guilty of murder may go free,” Judge Gina M. Benavides wrote for the Court of Appeals. “However, based on the United States Constitution, it is the only possible remedy. ” All told, Mr. Hartfield, now 60, has spent more than 40 years behind bars for the murder of a bus station ticket clerk. His case can seem like something out of absurdist fiction: a court ruling ignored or forgotten, an appeal dismissed by a court that agreed with the substance but said it had been filed under the wrong statute, a retrial after most of the evidence had been lost and witnesses had died, and an argument by prosecutors that Mr. Hartfield, himself, was to blame for the delays, and caused them intentionally. “Once you call this Kafkaesque, you can’t really call anything else Kafkaesque, because there’s nothing else remotely like this,” said David R. Dow of the University of Houston Law Center, one of the lawyers who represented Mr. Hartfield on appeal. “This was the perfect storm of everything that could go wrong with the criminal justice system. ” On Sept. 17, 1976, Eunice Lowe, a white woman, was killed where she worked, the Continental Trailways station in Bay City, southwest of Houston. The killer bashed in her head with a pickax, stole money from the station and took her car, and there was evidence of sexual assault after death. Mr. Hartfield, a black man, signed a confession that he later disavowed, and, crucially, investigators said he told them where to find Ms. Lowe’s car. Experts placed his I. Q. in the 50s or 60s, which his lawyers contend made him easily coerced by detectives, and unable to understand his rights or his confession. A jury convicted him and he was sentenced to death. But the Court of Criminal Appeals later overturned that verdict, ruling that a potential juror had been improperly dismissed for having doubts about the death penalty, and ordered a new trial. After years of legal wrangling, the high court ruling took effect in March 1983. Under Texas law at the time, prosecutors had a way to avoid a retrial and preserve the conviction — but only if they acted within a time frame set by the court. Because the trial error had to do with capital punishment, if the governor commuted the sentence to life in prison, then it would be as if the appellate court had never ruled, and the guilty verdict would remain in effect. That was apparently never communicated to the prison system. Mr. Dow said that Mr. Hartfield thought he was awaiting a new trial, but did not have the capacity to understand the delay or what to do about it. Whether the District Attorney’s Office understood what had happened at the time is unclear, but it never took steps to retry him, and the case lay dormant for the next 23 years. Prosecutors have argued that Mr. Hartfield had legal representation all along, because his original defense team remained his lawyers of record until a court formally dismissed them in 2013. But Mr. Hartfield’s new lawyers say he had no legal counsel from 1983, when the original team thought they were done with the case, until a federal court appointed a lawyer in 2008. Starting in 2006, a fellow inmate helped Mr. Hartfield file motions in various courts. Some were rejected outright, and at least one apparently went to the wrong office. One federal judge ruled in his favor, but another said he had to keep trying in state court. Finally, in 2013, Texas’ Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Mr. Hartfield’s conviction and life sentence were void, but his motions were also void. The motions were filed under a law applying to people who have been convicted, the court said, and there was no valid conviction on record in his case. He refiled under a different provision, and prosecutors finally sought a new trial. Mr. Hartfield’s lawyers said the charges should be dismissed because he was denied a speedy trial. Prosecutors argued that while the government was negligent, the defendant was partly to blame for the delays. For more than two decades, they said, he acquiesced in his imprisonment without trial, as a ploy to avoid the death penalty and to make it harder to mount a case against him. (The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that intellectually disabled people cannot be executed.) The District Attorney’s Office was able to locate just one of the 16 evidence exhibits used at the original trial, several witnesses had died, and at least one had dementia. The murder weapon was lost, along with blood and semen samples that could have yielded DNA. Ms. Lowe’s car no longer existed. But the trial court ruled that the case could proceed, and in 2015, 38 years after his first trial, Mr. Hartfield was convicted again and sentenced to life in prison. If that sentence were counted from the start of his time in prison, he would have been eligible for parole long ago. If he is released based on Thursday’s ruling, he would probably live with one of his two sisters, Mr. Dow said. “I’m not sure if he knows about this ruling yet,” Mr. Dow said. “I think it’s unlikely he really understands it very well. ” | 1 |
http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/bombshell-obama-clinton-podesta-soros.html The following information is a new and chilling piece of the Podesta-Clinton email puzzle. It has even stronger connections to pedophilia and Satanism and connects some of the most influential people in the US, including: Barack Obama, George Soros , John Podesta , Tony Podesta, convicted billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and James Alefantis who is "one of DC's 50 most powerful people". You will learn that George Soros donated $20k to 'Comet Ping Pong' pizza restaurant, owned by James Alefantis and where Obama goes frequently and even held a fundraiser. According to one email, Barack "Obama spent about $65,000 of the tax-payers money flying in pizza/dogs from Chicago for a private party." Lady Gaga (left) also attended Marina Abramovic's (right) Spirit Cooking Satanic "dinner" (it involves a mixture of blood, semen and breast milk) Pizza and [hot-]dogs are alleged pedophile codes for "young girls" and "young boys." You will see more references for yourself and, put into a wider perspective, the codes make sense. In the following infographic, by connecting the people in the 'Podesta Emails' and their alleged 'pedophilia codes' you will see strong references to: sex with children of both sexes and various ages ( pedophilia codes , such as: pizza = young girl, hotdog = young boy, etc.) images from the Satanic 'Spirit Cooking' dinner hosted by "artist" Marina Abramovic and attended by John Podesta and his brother Tony, James Alefantis, Lady Gaga, etc. leaked picture of John Podesta making reference to "elite" god Osiris, which was murdered and chopped into 14 pieces: references to Moloch, the god of child sacrifice multiple references to murder and cannibalism shady images of children posted by James Alefantis with the already mentioned pedophilia hashtags business logos that are very similar to symbols used by pedophiles to identify sexual preferences pizza restaurants that are possibly connected to this alleged Satanic network of pedophiles and child killers pictures of a metallic coffin pictures of an empty underground room containing the hashtags #killroom and #murder And let's not forget the "Sacrificing a Chicken to Moloch" email , where "chicken" is believed to be a code-word for "child." You can study the infographic here . By HumansAreFree.com / Exposed: Satanic Pedophilia Network in Australia — It Starts at the TOP, Just Like in the USA and UK | 0 |
AMATRICE, Italy — The chaos came in the middle of the night. People were screaming and dying in the darkness across Amatrice, a summer getaway in central Italy famous as the birthplace of a pasta dish made with tomatoes and pork cheeks. It was 3:36 a. m. when the 6. 2 magnitude earthquake hit, followed by a succession of strong aftershocks — including one nearly as strong an hour later — that flattened houses and buried residents in the rubble. Amatrice was the worst hit by the quake, which also damaged surrounding towns. As of Thursday morning, the deaths totaled 241, officials said. “Half the town no longer exists,” Mayor Sergio Pirozzi of Amatrice told reporters on Wednesday morning. He might have been too optimistic. By midday Amatrice, a quiet mountain town about 100 miles northeast of Rome, felt more like a ghost town. Ambulances raced along windy roads clogged with traffic and rubble as rescue teams searched for survivors. Using picks, shovels and hands, they scrabbled through the dust and debris of crumbled homes. They brought in dogs to sniff for the dead and injured beneath collapsed concrete and stone. A soft white dust was still swirling about the rubble piled in Amatrice. Stunned survivors — some with cheeks, others still wearing pajamas — wandered through the streets, unsure what to do. A father, holding a small child, pushed a wobbly stroller piled with plastic bags of clothing over a rocky path. A young girl sobbed into her mobile phone. “It’s all gone, the bar, the house, everything,” she said. The initial quake was comparable in intensity to one in 2009 in the central Abruzzo region that killed more than 300 people. The quake and aftershocks were felt as far away as Bologna, Rome and Naples. Camps were set up to house hundreds of homeless, and the authorities were also trying to account for an unknown number of tourists. “The number of missing people is undefined at the moment,” Immacolata Postiglione, the head of the emergency unit at Italy’s Civil Protection Agency, said at a news conference in Rome. With a permanent population of about 2, 000, Amatrice is a place where people know one another. Many had ties to Rome in one way or another, working there in the winter, running restaurants, bars and hotels, as food has always been part of the town’s culture. “If you closed the restaurants in Rome run by Amatriciani, you’d close half the restaurants,” said Maria Prassede Perilli, a resident who had been visiting her sister in Rome when the quake struck. Ms. Perilli said she had rushed back after her husband, Giacomo, called in the middle of the night in a frightened voice, telling her, “There’s been a terrible earthquake, you can’t even imagine. ” Her husband survived, she said, but his sisters and niece did not. The couple’s house was crushed. “It’s flat, like a book,” she said. For many residents who worked in Rome, August was the traditional month of rest and relaxation, enjoying Amatrice’s mild climate and fresh air after months of Roman smog. “You had dinners in the piazza, long tables with lots of people, someone would bring out a guitar to sing,” Ms. Perilli said. “It’s the mountain, it’s a good place to be. ” It was especially wrenching for her to bump into shocked friends and acquaintances. “They can’t find Alessandra, they can’t find Alessandra,” one woman who approached said of her niece, buried under the rubble along with her mother. Ms. Perilli commiserated. “I don’t want to listen to anything any more. It’s all: ‘Did you hear that he died, did you know that that entire family was buried wife, husband, child.’ I just can’t take it,” she said, eyes tearing. “I feel as though I am in a dream, and I’m hoping that one moment I’ll wake up. ” Nearby, diggers were lifting rubble into trucks. “Will they ever be able to rebuild this?” Ms. Perilli said. “It seems like the end of an era. ” Rescue teams representing a spectrum of police and armed forces, local civil protection agencies from around the country, as well as medical staff members worked through the day searching for survivors, but more often finding the dead. “This is positive as soon as the earthquake struck, people came from all over to help,” said Riza Sinani, a nurse from the nearby town of Rieti. “That doesn’t happen in every country, this outpouring of humanity and good will. ” Several people in Amatrice said the town had been full of tourists who came for the coming weekend’s annual Sagra dell’Amatriciana festival, which celebrates Amatrice’s native pasta sauce, using cured pork cheek known as guanciale, and grated pecorino cheese. The festival has been canceled. As sympathy and offers of support poured in from around the world, Pope Francis led pilgrims at St. Peter’s Square in praying for the victims, clutching a rosary in his right hand, and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi went to Rieti. Mr. Renzi praised rescue workers and volunteers and vowed to rebuild — a promise particularly important for Italians still furious about the long delays in reconstruction after the 2009 quake. The area’s most significant monument, the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, was unharmed, as were monuments in the city of Perugia. “We were saved by a miracle,” said Stefania Proietti, the mayor of Assisi, where in 1997 a devastating earthquake caused casualties and extensive damage to the city, destroying frescoes by Giotto and Cimabue in the basilica. For those in Amatrice, the immediate focus was on essentials: who was alive, and who was dead, or missing. Among those awaiting information was Laura Besanzoni, who stood behind a ribbon that cordoned off the main street, the Corso Umberto. A few palazzos still stood along the street, but piles of rubble lined both sides, offering glimpses of bright blue sky. “It’s like being in one of those countries at war,” Ms. Besanzoni said, looking at the devastation. Her family’s palazzo was left standing, she said, but she had no news of an aunt and two cousins. “We don’t know if they are dead or alive,” she said. Makeshift human corridors were created to bring people out. Some were alive, others were not. As one body was passed, wrapped in a plastic cover, one woman wailed: “That looks like Manuela’s hand!” A convent on the edge of town was virtually destroyed by the quake, the top two floors crushing the bottom. A young nun managed to escape, but said she feared that three nuns and four retirees had been buried. A high school teacher from Rome who vacations here every August said her home on the central Corso Umberto had been severely damaged but had not collapsed. The teacher, who identified herself only by her first name, Ilde, said the quake had struck with a loud bang. The buildings across the street from her and next door were destroyed. “Only the town tower was standing,” she said, describing scenes of panic, her neighbors screaming for help in the dark. “It was Dante’s ‘Inferno,’ it was apocalyptic, I don’t know,” she said. When rescuers came to escort her from her home, she said, she walked on rubble at least 10 to 13 feet high. In one square, families waited for news while diggers began tackling a pile of bricks and stones that had once been a home. One man had lost his father. Another, an uncle. “I can’t think of how many may still be in the rubble,” said one woman whose house withstood the quake while the neighboring ones did not. Amatrice is in an area prone to earthquakes, she said, “but we’ve never felt anything as violent as this. ” In the nearby Marche region, the village of Arquata del Tronto and the hamlet of Pescara del Tronto, also suffered major destruction. “When I arrived at the break of day, I saw a destroyed village, screams, death,” Bishop Giovanni D’Ercole of Ascoli Piceno, who visited Pescara del Tronto, told Vatican Radio. “I went to bless the bodies of two children buried under the rubble. ” | 1 |
Tweet Widget A Black Agenda Radio Commentary by Bruce A. Dixon
Under President Obama, Democrats threw away their mandate to fight for health care for. Instead they let insurance companies concoct Obamacare, sketchy policies, skimpy coverage, high deductibles and co-pays for half the uninsured and empty promises for the other half. A Gallup Poll confirms that 58% of Americans want to see Obamacare replaced with a single payer system to guarantee health care, not health insurance for everybody. Time For the Real Left To Double Down on Single Payer Medicare For All A Black Agenda Radio Commentary by Bruce A. Dixon
The Affordable Care Act, which President elect Trump promises to repeal and replace with nobody knows what, was never all it was cracked up to be.
The promise to deliver affordable health care was a key campaign issue in 2007 and 2008. But while most Americans demanded a single payer system to replace the private insurance companies, and guarantee health care for everyone, the 44 th president his corporate funded Democrats instead delivered Obamacare –- billions in tax dollars to insurance companies for policies with skimpy coverage and such high co-pays and deductibles that many families cannot afford to use their new health insurance. Worse still, Obamacare only provided these sketchy policies to about half the uninsured leaving the rest to the tender mercies of state governments which control Medicaid.
Ever since 2009 corporate Democrats have justified their treachery with claims that single payer Medicare For All was impossible to get through even the majority Democratic Congress of 2009 and 2010. Hillary Clinton also declared single payer dead on arrival should she be elected. But Hillary was not elected, and even though this is the fourth consecutive Republican dominated Congress, and Republican politicians hate Medicare For All just as much as their Democratic rivals, the popular mandate for single payer health care is very much alive.
A May 2016 Gallup Poll confirms that “...58% of U.S. adults favor the idea of replacing the law (Obamacare) with a federally funded healthcare system that provides insurance for all Americans.” The question for the left, however you read that term is what do we do about this? The answer has to be that we fight for what we know people want and need with all the means at our disposal. In the present era, the willingness to organize, to agitate, to educate, to demonstrate and to demand health care –- not health insurance, but health care for everybody as a human right is one of the markers by which we can tell actual flesh and blood leftists and their organizations from those who merely fake the funk until the next Democrat takes office. It’s worth noting that the Green Party’ candidates Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka were the only ones in this election calling for single payer health care.
A 2009 study by the National Nurses Union reveals that adoption of Medicare For All would create 2.6 million new jobs, from doctors and nurses to a host of health care professionals and technicians. That’s as many jobs as were lost in the 2007-2009 recession. It would inject #75 billion per year into the US economy, including $100 billion in wages alone. President Trump won in part because he told people he’d “bring back the jobs.” But steel mill jobs are imaginary, fictitious. Health care jobs are real.
The tens or hundreds of thousands in streets each night justifiably protesting the ascension of a crotch grabbing racist con man to the White House would be well advised to not repeat the mistake of Occupy a few years ago. They and others who want to be relevant in this new era urgently need to put forth some concrete demands which if struggled for will make them opinion leaders, and if won will improve the lives of millions. Quality single payer health care NOW is one of those demands.
Trump’s threat to dismantle Obamacare is an invitation for us to reopen the struggle for health care as a human right. And this time we know we’re struggling against Republicans AND Democrats.
For Black Agenda Radio I’m Bruce Dixon. Find us on the web at www.blackagendareport.com . Bruce A. Dixon is managing editor at Black Agenda Report and serves on the state committee of the Georgia Green Party. He can be reached via email at [email protected] . | 0 |
MADRID (AP) — If you’re taking a bus in the Spanish capital, be sure to keep your legs to yourself. [Madrid authorities on Monday started putting up signs banning the practice of ‘manspreading’ — opening one’s legs so wide you invade other’s seating space — on city buses as part of their new etiquette guidelines. EMT municipal transportation company says the sign is designed to discourage physical postures that bother people. The sign features an illustration of a man with splayed legs with a red ‘X’ above. The text beneath urges passengers to “respect the space of others. ” There are no sanctions or fines for those indulging in the practice. The bus company incorporated the ban following an internet signature campaign by a woman’s group, Mujeres en Lucha (Fighting Women). In their campaign petition, the women said it was a “very common practice. ” La @EMTmadrid añade una nueva señal a bordo del bus para evitar el #manspreading: ”Respeta el espacio de los demás”. https: . pic. twitter. — Ayuntamiento Madrid (@MADRID) June 6, 2017, “It’s not difficult to see women with their legs closed and very uncomfortable because there’s a man beside them who’s invading their space with their legs,” it added. The group said women were taught to sit with their legs together whereas men are ingrained with “the idea of territorial hierarchy, as if the space belongs to them. ” EMT said it felt its initiative, which also includes asking passengers not to eat or drink on buses, to keep their backpacks on or put their feet up on seats, was being well received. Again, there are no sanctions for any of these other requests. “When a person opens their legs so wide it disturbs others, this is rude,” said Alvaro Gomez Jordana Moya, 60, as he waited for a bus in Madrid. “It’s also uncomfortable having to ask someone, ‘Please, can you close your legs’. ” “It’s a problem because people don’t respect seating,” said another bus passenger Maria Carmen Ventosa, 46. “It should change things, if only out of respect for others. ” Madrid’s underground train company said it had no plans to follow suit. | 1 |
No wikileakes from Kim Dotcom... nothing... zip... zero And there never will be from this bankrupt wannabe criminal waiting to be extradited to the US. Page 1 Related Threads 1 Mail with questions or comments about this site. "Godlike Productions" & "GLP" are registered trademarks of Zero Point Ltd. Godlike™ Website Design Copyright © 1999 - 2015 Godlikeproductions.com Page generated in 0.007s (8 queries) | 0 |
Email Ever wonder what’s on the mind of today’s most notable people? Well, don’t miss our unbelievable roundup of the best and most talked about quotes of the day: “ I saw a contortionist fold herself into a box once, but there were no toys or food in the box, so I didn’t really see the point. ” —Paula Hawkins On flexibility “ When you’re this rich, you can pay a guy to breathe into your shoes to warm them up before you put them on. If you’re less wealthy, you can still afford to have someone do that. It’s really a matter of frugal spending and organizing a co-op in your neighborhood of people who take turns breathing into each others’ shoes. ” —Sheryl Sandberg On everyday luxury “ The skin of the avocado can hide many a secret. To remove it is to journey into mystery and madness. ” —Neil Gaiman | 0 |
LONDON — The Emmy and Tony Award winner Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”) will star as Howard Beale in a new stage adaptation of the bitingly satirical film “Network” scheduled to open at the National Theater in London this year, the theater announced on Friday. Ivo van Hove, the acclaimed international theater director, will stage the play, about executives at a struggling TV network and their Machiavellian maneuvers for higher ratings — including the manipulation of Mr. Cranston’s character, the “mad as hell” television host that Peter Finch played in the film. Lee Hall, the screenwriter of “Billy Elliot,” is adapting the screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky. Mr. van Hove, who won a Tony last year for directing a revival of “A View from the Bridge” on Broadway, is set to open the show in November on the National’s Lyttelton stage. The theater also announced that its hit production of “People, Places and Things” would travel to St. Ann’s Warehouse in New York in October. The actress Denise Gough earned reviews when she played the lead role, Emma, at the National in 2015, and later in London’s West End. She will travel to New York with the show. The theater announced the plays as part of a broader lineup for 2017 and 2018. Other productions include the world premiere of “Saint George and the Dragon” by Rory Mullarkey, which will be directed by Lyndsey Turner, who staged a production of “Hamlet” in 2015 starring Benedict Cumberbatch and a production of “Macbeth” starring Rory Kinnear. “Saint George” will open in October, and “Macbeth” in the spring of 2018. | 1 |
demonstrators took the streets of London Saturday afternoon, calling for further intervention against the Syrian regime. [Around 200 demonstrators marched through the centre of the UK capital for the “London against Chemical Warfare in Syria” protest. The organisers explained on their Facebook event: “Please join us this Saturday to say No to chemical attacks in Syria. Join us to ask the UK Government to protect civilians in Syria from these attacks. Join us to support Syrians as they struggle to survive against a regime determined to exterminate them. ” | 1 |
Bubble Trouble At US Banks By Lee Adler. Posted On Tuesday, November 8th, 2016 Following the balance sheet data from the Fed’s weekly H.4.1. and H.8 reports can be like watching grass grow for long stretches. I have pored over this data for 15 years and have sometimes wondered, “Why bother?” The answer is that over time we can note subtle changes in pattern that lead or reveal the changes in the season of the market. Right now is one of those times. You need to login to view this content.
David Stockman’s Contra Corner isn’t your typical financial tipsheet. Instead it’s an ongoing dialogue about what’s really happening in the markets… the economy… and governments… so you can understand the world around you and make better decisions for yourself.
David believes the world -- certainly the United States -- is at a great inflection point in human history. The massive credit inflation of the last three decades has reached its apogee and is now going to splatter spectacularly.
This will have lasting ramifications on how governments tax and regulate you… the type of work you and your family members will have available and what you get paid… the value of your nest egg… and all other areas comprising your quality of life. Login
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By Christina Sarich A newly opened lab can now detect microscopic levels of the herbicide most commonly used in Monsanto’s Roundup — glyphosate — in food and soil samples from all over the world.... | 0 |
. A Government of Scoundrels, Spies, Thieves, Ruffians, Rapists and Killers “There is nothing more dangerous than a government of the many controlled by the few.”— Lawrence Le... Print Email http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/a-government-of-scoundrels-spies.html “There is nothing more dangerous than a government of the many controlled by the few.”— Lawrence Lessig, Harvard law professor The U.S. government remains the greatest threat to our freedoms. The systemic violence being perpetrated by agents of the government has done more collective harm to the American people and our liberties than any single act of terror. More than terrorism, more than domestic extremism, more than gun violence and organized crime, the U.S. government has become a greater menace to the life, liberty and property of its citizens than any of the so-called dangers from which the government claims to protect us. Image: They Live film This is how tyranny rises and freedom falls. As I explain in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People , when the government views itself as superior to the citizenry, when it no longer operates for the benefit of the people, when the people are no longer able to peacefully reform their government, when government officials cease to act like public servants, when elected officials no longer represent the will of the people, when the government routinely violates the rights of the people and perpetrates more violence against the citizenry than the criminal class, when government spending is unaccountable and unaccounted for, when the judiciary act as courts of order rather than justice, and when the government is no longer bound by the laws of the Constitution, then you no longer have a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” What we have is a government of wolves . Worse than that, we are now being ruled by a government of scoundrels, spies, thugs, thieves, gangsters, ruffians, rapists, extortionists, bounty hunters, battle-ready warriors and cold-blooded killers who communicate using a language of force and oppression. Does the government pose a danger to you and your loved ones? The facts speak for themselves. We’re being held at gunpoint by a government of soldiers — a standing army. While Americans are being made to jump through an increasing number of hoops in order to exercise their Second Amendment right to own a gun, the government is arming its own civilian employees to the hilt with guns, ammunition and military-style equipment, authorizing them to make arrests, and training them in military tactics. Among the agencies being supplied with night-vision equipment, body armor, hollow-point bullets, shotguns, drones, assault rifles and LP gas cannons are the Smithsonian, U.S. Mint, Health and Human Services, IRS , FDA, Small Business Administration, Social Security Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Education Department, Energy Department, Bureau of Engraving and Printing and an assortment of public universities. There are now reportedly more bureaucratic (non-military) government civilians armed with high-tech, deadly weapons than U.S. Marines. That doesn’t even begin to touch on the government’s arsenal, the transformation of local police into extensions of the military, and the speed with which the nation could be locked down under martial law depending on the circumstances. Clearly, the government is preparing for war — and a civil war, at that — but who is the enemy? We’re being robbed blind by a government of thieves . Americans no longer have any real protection against government agents empowered to seize private property at will. For instance, police agencies under the guise of asset forfeiture laws are taking property based on little more than a suspicion of criminal activity. In one case, police seized $53,000 from the manager of a Christian rock band that was touring and raising money for an orphanage in Thailand. Despite finding no evidence of wrongdoing, police kept the money. Homeowners are losing their homes over nonpayment of taxes ( for as little as $400 owed ) and municipal bills such as water or sewer fees that amount to a fraction of what they have invested in their homes. And then there’s the Drug Enforcement Agency, which has been searching train and airline passengers and pocketing their cash , without ever charging them with a crime. We’re being taken advantage of by a government of scoundrels, idiots and cowards. American satirist H.L. Mencken calculated that “Congress consists of one-third, more or less, scoundrels; two-thirds, more or less, idiots; and three-thirds, more or less, poltroons.” By and large, Americans seem to agree . When you’ve got government representatives who spend a large chunk of their work hours fundraising , being feted by lobbyists, shuffling through a lucrative revolving door between public service and lobbying, and making themselves available to anyone with enough money to secure access to a congressional office , you’re in the clutches of a corrupt oligarchy . Mind you, these same elected officials rarely read the legislation they’re enacting, nor do they seem capable of enacting much legislation that actually helps rather than hinders the plight of the American citizen. We’re being locked up by a government of greedy jailers . We have become a carceral state , spending three times more on our prisons than on our schools and imprisoning close to a quarter of the world’s prisoners , despite the fact that crime is at an all-time low and the U.S. makes up only 5% of the world’s population. The Prison Industry in the United States: Big Business or a New Form of Slavery? Which is in contrast with... Netherlands is Closing 19 Prisons Because of Criminal Shortage . The rise of overcriminalization and profit-driven private prisons provides even greater incentives for locking up American citizens for such non-violent “crimes” as having an overgrown lawn . As the Boston Review points out, “America’s contemporary system of policing, courts, imprisonment, and parole … makes money through asset forfeiture, lucrative public contracts from private service providers, and by directly extracting revenue and unpaid labor from populations of color and the poor. In states and municipalities throughout the country, the criminal justice system defrays costs by forcing prisoners and their families to pay for punishment. It also allows private service providers to charge outrageous fees for everyday needs such as telephone calls. As a result people facing even minor criminal charges can easily find themselves trapped in a self-perpetuating cycle of debt, criminalization, and incarceration.” We’re being spied on by a government of Peeping Toms . The government is watching everything you do, reading everything you write, listening to everything you say, and monitoring everything you spend. This is George Orwell's 1984 on steroids. Omnipresent surveillance is paving the way for government programs that profile citizens, document their behavior and attempt to predict what they might do in the future, whether it’s what they might buy, what politician they might support, or what kinds of crimes they might commit . The impact of this far-reaching surveillance, according to Psychology Today, is “ reduced trust, increased conformity, and even diminished civic participation .” As technology analyst Jillian C. York concludes, “Mass surveillance without due process — whether undertaken by the government of Bahrain, Russia, the US, or anywhere in between — threatens to stifle and smother that dissent, leaving in its wake a populace cowed by fear .” We’re being ravaged by a government of ruffians, rapists and killers . It’s not just the police shootings of unarmed citizens that are worrisome. It’s the SWAT team raids gone wrong that are leaving innocent citizens wounded, children terrorized and family pets killed. For trying to run from the principal’s office . For, at the age of 12, getting into a fight with another girl . We’re being forced to surrender our freedoms — and those of our children — to a government of extortionists, money launderers and professional pirates . The American people have been repeatedly sold a bill of goods about how the government needs more money, more expansive powers, and more secrecy (secret courts, secret budgets , secret military campaigns, secret surveillance) in order to keep us safe. Under the guise of fighting its wars on terror, drugs and now domestic extremism, the government has spent billions in taxpayer dollars on endless wars that have not ended terrorism but merely sown the seeds of blowback, surveillance programs that have caught few terrorists while subjecting all Americans to a surveillance society, and militarized police that have done little to decrease crime while turning communities into warzones. Not surprisingly, the primary ones to benefit from these government exercises in legal money laundering have been the corporations, lobbyists and politicians who inflict them on a trusting public. Whatever else it may be — a danger, a menace, a threat — the U.S. government is certainly no friend to freedom. To our detriment, the criminal class that Mark Twain mockingly referred to as Congress has since expanded to include every government agency that feeds off the carcass of our once-constitutional republic. In fact, there’s a very good reason you don’t hear much in the way of specifics about the government’s tyranny from politicians: it’s because they can’t afford to upset the apple cart (i.e., jeopardize their posh lifestyles). So no matter which party wins the White House, controls Congress or appoints future Supreme Court justices, rest assured that the menace of the shadow government — the permanent, unelected bureaucracy that operates beyond the reach of the Constitution, the courts and the citizenry — will continue uninterrupted. Our backs are against the proverbial wall. The government and its cohorts have conspired to ensure that the only real recourse the American people have to express their displeasure with the government is through voting, which is no real recourse at all. The penalties for civil disobedience, whistleblowing and rebellion are severe. If you refuse to pay taxes for government programs you believe to be immoral or illegal, you will go to jail. If you attempt to overthrow the government — or any agency thereof — because you believe it has overstepped its reach, you will go to jail. If you attempt to blow the whistle on government misconduct, there’s a pretty good chance you will go to jail. For too long, the American people have been made to act like puppets dancing to a tyrant’s tune. We have obeyed the government’s dictates, no matter now extreme. We have paid its taxes, penalties and fines, no matter how outrageous. We have tolerated its indignities, insults and abuses, no matter how egregious. We have turned a blind eye to its indiscretions and incompetence, no matter how imprudent. We have held our silence in the face of its lawlessness, licentiousness and corruption, no matter how illicit. We have suffered. How long we will continue to suffer depends on how much we’re willing to give up for the sake of freedom. America’s founders provided us with a very specific explanation about the purpose of government and a roadmap for what to do when the government abuses its authority, ignores our objections, and establishes itself as a tyrant. We must choose between peaceful slavery (in other words, maintaining the status quo in servitude to the police state) and dangerous freedom . That will mean carving out a path in which we begin to take ownership of our government, starting at the local level, challenging the status quo, and raising hell whenever a government official steps out of line. By John W. Whitehead — Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His new book Battlefield America: The War on the American People . Whitehead can be contacted at [email protected]. / Cover image: They Live . 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November 14: Daily Contrarian Reads By David Stockman. My daily contrarian reads for Monday, November 14th, 2016. | 0 |
The rebooted “Ghostbusters,” starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon as an squad of ectoplasm fighters, sold $46 million worth of tickets in North America over the weekend, making it the earning film behind “The Secret Life of Pets. ” But even before any tickets had been sold, “Ghostbusters” was already surely the most movie of the year, attacked by angry male fans on the internet and hailed as a new milestone in Hollywood diversity. Wesley Morris, critic at large for The New York Times, joins its chief film critics Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott to survey the state of the debate now that people have actually seen the movie. The discussion may include spoilers. A. O. SCOTT The backlash was another of those reactionary that have become a fixture of our culture and our politics lately. The wounded will keep on whining about their ruined childhoods, but meanwhile the debate has moved in other directions. The movie’s feminist bona fides have been questioned, notably by Alyssa Rosenberg in The Washington Post, who wrote that she was “more dismayed by the idea that the uproar around ‘Ghostbusters’ has pushed feminists into championing Paul Feig’s remake” than by the misogynist outrage over the cast. And why is Leslie Jones’s character, the only nonwhite Ghostbuster, also the only nonscientist? I have to say it makes me very happy when big commercial movies provoke serious political arguments, but before we dive into that particular fray I want to make a few statements I trust will not be terribly controversial. 1) Kate McKinnon should be in every movie from now on. 2) The new “Ghostbusters” is like the old “Ghostbusters” in that it gives comic performers who gained popularity on television and in more provocative projects a chance to widen their appeal and increase their earning potential with a mainstream . 3) The old “Ghostbusters” isn’t that great to begin with. WESLEY MORRIS You’re right on all counts. Kate McKinnon joins my personal Taraji P. Stone “more, please forever” club. But the politics around this movie have nothing to do with the politics in this movie, of which, to Mr. Feig’s credit, there isn’t very much. His “Ghostbusters” isn’t defensive so much as pro forma and strangely sedate compared with the original movie and to what else these women can do (and have done). My favorite moments involved the characters being let off their leashes, like when Kristen Wiig is running around New York trying to tell the mayor and whoever else won’t listen that terror is afoot. That’s a great mode for her. As for Ms. Jones’s given occupation as a transit worker, it leaves me, once again, annoyed by the optics. If the other Ghostbusters were, say, Ms. Henson, Jada Pinkett Smith and Gabourey Sidibe as the scientists, and Ms. Jones’s Patty was still the subway worker, who’d care? But under the circumstances, it just seems like the same questionable, choice that movies have always made for black performers — and an excuse for the plot to ride the subway. But, look: She’s an equal member of the team and black people work in public transit. Politics! What do we make of the movie’s fetishization of Chris Hemsworth? He’s very funny as himbo . But somebody involved with this movie clearly thinks he’s utterly captivating — or politically necessary, too. A lot of the plot hinges on him being funny. And I actually found the comedic material to be there for him in a way it wasn’t for almost everyone else, especially Melissa McCarthy, who, maybe, shouldn’t be a straight man after all. I wanted gonzo from this movie and got dutiful. What’s wrong with me? MANOHLA DARGIS Gonzo is tough to find in the current landscape, which is radically different from what it was when the first movie opened in 1984. Given this, I think the new “Ghostbusters” succeeds on its own fairly narrow commercial mainstream terms, but with some dividends, including a pretty, ditsy secretary (Mr. Hemsworth) and the new Bill Murray (our collective crush, Ms. McKinnon). The only thing I would add is that Ms. McCarthy was already a significant draw in 2014 when Mr. Feig tweeted that he was making an “Ghostbusters. ” Oh, and one more thought: The most interesting thing about the reboot isn’t the movie itself but the misogynistic discourse that has swirled around it since this project was announced. I did my best to ignore the chatter before I saw “Ghostbusters” just because I avoid reading anyone else’s opinion about a movie before seeing it. I knew that there was a contingent of angry male fans of course there were. There are always men enraged by women’s autonomy, whether women are starring in a comedy reboot or “Thelma Louise” playing rock or video games demanding their reproductive rights running for president or, you know, doing anything that some men don’t want them to do. The depths of this rage betray a deep fear about a loss of male power that’s been central to the cultural, social and political landscape for decades. “Ghostbusters” turns on the threat of one apocalypse the irrational hatred toward it turns on another end time. SCOTT I think what pleased me most about this “Ghostbusters” was how — how chill — the movie was, notwithstanding the bombast of the climactic battle. I think we all agree that it has a generic, quality. That’s something it shares with the original, by the way, which far from being a transcendent masterpiece of cinematic imagination was a nice paycheck for the artists involved and an easy, inoffensive night out for the audience. Sorry if I ruined anyone’s childhood. Mr. Feig, like Ivan Reitman before him, has assembled a workmanlike about people at work. Professionalism may be the opposite of gonzo, but I think there’s something (dare I say it) radical about how this story is. Here’s a movie about female friendship and collegiality — which, of course, also entails rivalry, miscommunication and shifting allegiances — that feels no need to entangle any of its heroines in a heterosexual romance plot. Ms. Wiig’s character is distracted by the hotness of her secretary (I was reminded of Zero Mostel in the original “Producers”) but the real emotional stakes are between her and Ms. McCarthy. We don’t know if any of the Ghostbusters are gay, bi, straight, married, single, celibate, polyamorous or whatever. It’s not relevant. Any more than it would be in a western or a platoon picture or a Mafia epic or a movie about a bunch of tech bros building a . ( assignment: “Ghostbusters” is actually a remake of “The Social Network. ”) “Bridesmaids,” “The Heat” and “Spy” may have had naughtier (and funnier) jokes, but they were also careful to include flourishes and semiplausible love interests. “Ghostbusters” doesn’t do that. Nor does it pander to the male gaze. And it’s not really out to prove that women can be strong or funny or handle powerful weapons. In most movies, such offers of proof are accompanied by reassurances that the women in question are still sexy or maternal or eager to settle down with the right guy — that they fulfill some kind of conventional idea of femininity. “Ghostbusters” doesn’t bother with any of that, and in the process seems to be on the verge of inventing a new set of archetypes. MORRIS Well, the movie does pander to this male’s gaze, at least in its appreciation of Mr. Hemsworth’s presumed hotness. There’s a randomness to this movie, much of which is devoted to him. (Why does he decide he wants to bust ghosts, too? What’s with all those cheesecake, shirtless head shots that keep showing up?) Still, the more I think about it the more I feel like every word of opprobrium or defense — every profane or besotted emoji — has been in some ways unfair to a movie that just wants to be. But Tony, your ascribing meaning and value to the workplace dynamics really struck me. These women are owners who love their jobs. (To paraphrase the eternal Ray Parker Jr.: Bustin’ makes ’em feel good.) That’s a strong contrast to something like “9 to 5” (1980) whose women hated work because their boss was a pig. Now there’s no boss, just an endless supply of ghosts. Progress! My objection to this movie is purely an exasperation with remakes of stuff that no one needs. (People of the world, for the love of Netflix, your childhoods are still available on demand!) Nonetheless, Manohla, your enthusiasm — and my friend Katie’s — won me over, at least in this case. This is an elastic concept that can withstand all kinds of reconfigurations. It’s not sacred. And to the girls in the audience, who know nothing about the battles roiling their parents’ Reddit feeds, the comedic quartet of McCarthy, Jones, Wiig and McKinnon is just business as usual. But that’s a difference that feels entirely generational, no? DARGIS Maybe it’s generational but it’s also a matter of awareness. Because while a blockbuster may seem like business as usual to some, reams of data prove that movies like this remain an exception in the industry. To cite (again) just one bummer study: From 2007 to 2014, women made up 30. 2 percent of all speaking or named characters in the 100 fictional films released in the United States. And while there’s certainly awareness about this sexism, at least in some quarters, that hasn’t translated into real industry progress. For a big studio like Sony, and in an industrial climate in which male superheroes keep studios going, “Ghostbusters” is a gamble. The studio tried to revive “Ghostbusters” for years. In 2009, when Dan Aykroyd talked to The Los Angeles Times about what was then “Ghostbusters 3” (meaning another sequel, not a reboot) female Ghostbusters were part of the story. This iteration would star the original cast and involve the older Ghostbusters passing the proton torch to a new group that included some women. Mr. Aykroyd specifically mentioned Alyssa Milano and Eliza Dushku, casting that was eagerly greeted on some entertainment sites. “Why don’t they have BOTH of them in the movie? That way they can towel the slime off each other,” wrote one commentator on Screenrant. “Slime her!” a writer for Cinemablend enthused about Ms. Milano. Entertainment Weekly even ran a story — “Pick the New ‘Ghostbusters’ Girl!” — with a photo of Megan Fox, who it suggested could be “The Sexpot” alongside Zoe Saldana (“The Geek Queen”) Emma Watson (“The Touch of Class”) and Charlyne Yi (“The Wild Card”) who has “just the right charm for the Ghostbusters crew. ” The stars of the new “Ghostbusters” are adult women — three over 40 — they’re not girls or especially charming. And while some moviegoers may not need this particular remake, I think there are plenty of girl and women moviegoers who would say, yes, we do. | 1 |
November 2015 Ads BREAKING: FBI Deputy Director Exposed As Crooked Hillary’s Accomplice In This Shocking New Crime, She’s Totally Busted
Some Evidence is coming out regarding the handling of the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private server. A frequent donor of the Clinton’s has donated a substantial amount of money to the wife of the FBI agent responsible for Hillary’s case. The FBI’s investigation found that Hillary was innocent of any crimes. Wonder why.
Let me just start by saying that this is the single worst crime a person running for President in the US has EVER been convicted of. Hillary Clinton was just proven beyond any doubt to have been directly involved with the bribing and promoting of a top FBI agent during her own email trial.
Let me break this down for you:
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, one of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s most consistent backers, donated nearly $500,000 to the Virginia state Senate campaign of a candidate (Dr. Jill McCabe) who is married to the FBI’s deputy director. – Daily Mail
McCabe’s husband, Andrew McCabe, was the associate deputy of the FBI’s Washington field office, which was tasked with investigating Hillary’s emails.
This is where it gets really interesting. Sometime between the donation being made and the beginning of Clinton’s email investigation, McCabe was promoted to the Deputy Director of that office, giving him full control of the Clinton investigation.
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link She and Nutinbutayahoo have been wanting Syria and their resources since She was the Head of State. Their Zionist™ OverLords really want that entire area and all they can extract from it, per usual.. You mean the Afghans who the US et al trained and then armed to fight 'The Russkies'? That is par for the course. Why change the script if the show still sells tickets? See: Cats™ Good thing these heinous Russkies weren't this volatile when Hillary sold them a bunch of uranium, I don't watch the news, did She apologize to the Russians for accusing them of the hacking of Her measly secured e-mails? If You can't see that the WHOLE BALL OF WAX is crooked, You are not "looking" Sure You might be reading the words but You're not connecting the dots. ALL of it is bent, there is NO 'lesser of 2 evils' when both choices are the definition of evil. | 0 |
NORTH CAROLINA: Top Democratic Donor – Blacks Are “Seriously F***Ed In The Head” [VIDEO] NORTH CAROLINA: Top Democratic Donor – Blacks Are “Seriously F***Ed In The Head” [VIDEO] November 2, 2016, 3:39 pm by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton Leave a Comment 0
NoisyRoom.net
In North Carolina , a major donor to US Senate candidate Deborah Ross, was caught on video by Project Veritas saying some very disturbing things. He compared black Republicans to Jews helping Nazis during the Holocaust. Benjamin Barber also said that blacks are “seriously f***ed in the head.”
James O’Keefe and Project Veritas have been relentless in exposing Democrats and the left this election cycle. They’ve done terrific work, much to the chagrin of Barber. Benjamin and Leah Barber were caught on undercover video at a fundraiser for Ross. They are also major donors to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Figures.
First up in the video is Ross comparing voter ID laws to racist Jim Crow laws in the South. Then the conversation with the Barbers began. And it was a doozy.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Leah Barber said about African Americans who support Republicans. “You’re voting against your self-interest. In the name of change, what is the change that they want to see?”
From PJ Media :
In a new video released today by Project Veritas Action, a top Democratic donor is caught on camera horribly maligning Republican blacks at a fundraiser for North Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Deborah Ross. In the video, Benjamin Barber, a prominent Ross and Clinton donor, compares blacks who vote Republican to Nazis at the fundraiser for Ross on the Upper West Side of New York City on September 19, 2016.
“Have you heard of the Sonderkommandos? Jewish guards who helped murder Jews in the camps. So there were even Jews that were helping the Nazis murder Jews! So blacks who are helping the other side are seriously fucked in the head,” Barber said. “They’re only helping the enemy who will destroy them. Maybe they think ‘if I help them we’ll get along okay; somehow I’ll save my race by working with the murderers.’”
The irony here is rich considering the sordid history of George Soros , another prominent big Democrat donor who literally was a Jewish Nazi collaborator as a teenager during World War II in his native Budapest, Hungary.
An analogy of the Sonderkommandos… work units in Nazi death camps? This guy just trashed African Americans and Jews. What an asshat. The death camps were usually composed of Jewish males, forced to dispose of bodies from the gas chambers. They did not assist with the killings themselves. Assertions otherwise are obscene.
Project Veritas showed the video to some religious leaders and others in the black community who were shocked by the contents of the video.
“I think that Deborah Ross has shown her true colors. If this is not a, if that… what you just showed me is not racism and condescending and basically calling blacks stupid and ignorant and saying that we are voting against our own self-interest if we support any Republican. I am appalled. I am incensed. Deborah Ross should be called to task for something like that,” said Bishop Wooden, a black voter in North Carolina.
No one should be shocked by this… the undercurrent of racism and Antisemitism has always been out there for the Democrats. You just got to see some honesty for a change instead of the usual pandering. Disgusting and revealing. 0 | 0 |
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