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Merkel call to stop Turkey's EU bid draws mixed response

German Chancellor Angela Merkel s call to stop Turkey s European Union accession talks drew a mixed response from the bloc s foreign ministers on Thursday, while French President Emmanuel Macron said Ankara remained a vital partner of the EU. NATO allies Germany and Turkey have traded increasingly bitter words over the last two years, contributing to an overall souring of Ankara s relations with the EU. President Tayyip Erdogan s crackdown on dissent following a failed 2016 coup attempt has drawn broad condemnation in the bloc. Merkel announced her toughened stance on Turkey s long-stalled EU bid in a TV debate last Sunday as she faced off with her main rival in national elections due on Sept. 24. Her Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, arriving for talks with his EU colleagues in the Estonian capital Tallinn, said it was Turkey itself that was moving away from the EU. Austria s Sebastian Kurz reiterated his line that the talks should end. But Finland and Lithuania spoke out against breaking off the talks, which opened formally in 2005 but stalled over Erdogan s track record on human rights and the unresolved issue of Cyprus - a Mediterranean island that belongs to the EU but of which part falls under an unrecognized protectorate of Turkey. No, we should continue the process and engagement. It s not easy but we have to value contacts, Lithuania s Linas Linkevicius told reporters. By stopping, by cutting, we will ...encourage them even more to go away. I think the effect would be the opposite than what we d wish. EU entry talks, no matter how protracted, had long been seen in themselves as a stimulus to Turkish democratic reform; but EU officials see a slide back in recent years with judicial independence and freedom of speech in peril. Turkey s EU ties minister, Omer Celik, is due to join the bloc s 28 officials for talks in Tallinn later on Thursday. The EU is wary of upsetting Erdogan, eager to preserve a deal that stemmed the mass migration via Turkey of people from conflict zones in the tumultuous Middle East. We have to tread very carefully and, while discussing Turkey s status as a candidate country, we should also discuss the future relationship in all its aspects, Estonia s Sven Mikser said in Tallinn. He said he did not expect the EU to make any formal decision this year, adding that the bloc needed to cooperate with Ankara on migration and security in particular. The French president told Greece s Kathimerini newspaper that ties with Turkey should be maintained. Turkey has indeed strayed away from the European Union in recent months and worryingly overstepped the mark in ways that cannot be ignored, he said. But I want to avoid a split because it s a vital partner in many crises we all face, notably the immigration challenge and the terrorist threat. With other countries in the EU also advocating more strategic patience , the unanimity of 28 member states required to kill off Turkey s bid seems absent. But suspending accession talks, which the European Parliament has already called for repeatedly, would only require the backing of majority of EU states. Merkel wants to discuss that with fellow EU leaders at their summit planned in October 19-20, more than three weeks after Germany s election. A senior Turkish official said EU states must decide whether they wanted Turkey as a member, but there was a sense they no longer want the marriage...(but) want cohabitation . Kati Piri, a European Parliament speaker on Turkey, advised suspending the membership track but pushing ahead with customs union talks as the most realistic leverage the EU can now have to try negotiate some standards with Turkey . Turkey under this government does not even uphold the minimum human rights standards now. But we should not take away the EU perspective from the Turkish people, and in suspending talks we would have to name conditions for reviving them. But this German twist is triggered by German elections, not by some change on the side of Turkey. So what does Merkel really mean? I think it s likely she will return to her usual pragmatism after the elections, Piri told Reuters.

worldnews

September 7, 2017

U.S. to issue rules to tighten individual travel restrictions to Cuba

The Trump administration plans to publish regulations that will end people-to-people individual travel to Cuba, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday. “The President instructed Treasury to issue regulations that will end individual people-to-people travel,” the department said in a statement. It added that the changes will not take effect until new regulations are issued.

politicsNews

June 16, 2017

Two weeks to unlock Brexit, EU tells May

There is more work to be done to unlock Brexit talks, British Prime Minister Theresa May was told on Friday, as the European Union repeated an early December deadline for her to move on the divorce bill and border with Ireland. May met fellow leaders on the sidelines of an EU summit in Gothenburg, Sweden, to try to break the deadlock over how much Britain will pay on leaving the bloc in 16 months. She signalled again that she would increase an initial offer that is estimated at some 20 billion euros, about a third of what Brussels wants. But without any immediate plans to detail which financial commitments Britain was planning to cover and with a growing row with Ireland over their shared border, European Council President Donald Tusk, who coordinates Brexit for the bloc s other 27 leaders, concluded Britain must take further steps. He increased the pressure on May to make progress by early December, in time for the EU to react at a summit on Dec. 14-15, or risk losing a chance to push the talks to a discussion of future trade ties, something London desperately wants so it can offer some certainty to nervy businesses. Asked about Brexit minister David Davis complaining that Britain had made all the running in finding compromises on the third key divorce issue the rights of expatriate citizens, Tusk said pointedly: I can say only that I really appreciate Mr. Davis s English sense of humour. He told the news conference: While good progress on citizens has been made, we need to see much more progress on Ireland and on the financial settlement. In order to avoid any ambiguity about our work calendar, I made it very clear to prime minister May that this progress needs to happen at the beginning of December at the latest. It was an echo of the ultimatum issued by the EU s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, who a week ago gave Davis until the end of the month to detail the British approach to the financial settlement and effectively increase the money on the table. But Tusk, who met May earlier on Friday, added another demand - more progress on the future status of the border between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which Britain says is almost impossible to make without discussing the future trade deal as that would determine the kind of customs needed. Under pressure at home from members of parliament in her own party who are concerned she is preparing for Britain to walk away with no deal and from the EU, May has tried to gloss over the differences and emphasise how far the talks have come. We ve agreed that good progress has been made. More does need to be done. But we re clear, and I m clear, that what we need to do is move forward together and that is how we can ensure that we are going to get the best deal for the United Kingdom and the European Union, May told reporters. But a growing row with Ireland broke into the open on Friday, with Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney saying Dublin was not ready to allow the talks to move onto a discussion of future trade next month. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar went further. I can t say in any honesty that it s close on the Irish issue or on the financial settlement, he told Sky News. After 40 years of marriage, most of them good, now Britain wants a divorce but an open relationship the day after. With German Chancellor Angela Merkel absent from the summit because of government formation talks in Berlin, it was left to French President Emmanuel Macron to speak for the heavyweight powers which are taking a tough line with London: We won t change the agreed process in any way, and we won t open talks on the future relationship as long as the conditions set in the first phase have not been met, he said Sweden. But May, weakened after losing her Conservative Party s majority at a June election she did not need to call, has little room for manoeuvre. Some of her team of ministers are pressing her to hold off from naming a figure, seeing it as one of the few levers Britain has to press for better trade deal. Despite the tough language, Tusk offered some hope. I feel much better, safer after my meeting with Theresa May, everything is possible, the former Polish premier said. There was very visibly goodwill on both sides. We still have a chance to achieve our first goal to achieve the finalisation of the first phase of negotiations. I am very cautious. But optimistic.

worldnews

November 17, 2017

China punishes over 8,000 people for misuse of government funds: Xinhua

China has punished 8,123 people for committing fiscal violations after an audit of how the government s 2016 central budget was spent revealed multiple problems, the Xinhua state news agency reported. Hu Zejun, head of the National Audit Office, announced the infringements while briefing lawmakers on Saturday, Xinhua said. A broad anti-graft campaign in China, aimed at rooting out deep-seated corruption in the ruling Communist Party, including the misuse or embezzlement of government funds, has ensnared more than 1.3 million officials. Hu said that of the offenders, 970 were punished for misusing funds earmarked for a poverty relief campaign intended to lift everyone in rural areas out of poverty by 2020. Another 1,363 were punished for irregularities in the use of funds meant to provide affordable housing, she said. She said 800 people in state-owned enterprises and 73 people in eight major banks were found to have committed violations, along with 505 people who were punished for malpractice involving medical insurance funds. Hu also said about 48 billion yuan ($7.30 billion) of the funds earmarked for affordable housing projects had been left unused for more than year, she said, while another 1.37 billion yuan of misused funds were recovered. The unused affordable housing funds had since been put to use, she said. Hu gave no details of what punishment the violators faced.

worldnews

December 23, 2017

Trump to ask Merkel for advice on Putin, Ukraine: U.S. officials

President Donald Trump will ask Chancellor Angela Merkel for advice on how to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. officials said on Friday, as the U.S. and German leaders meet next week after sometimes pointed disagreements in recent months. Merkel will visit the White House on Tuesday for talks with Trump and a joint news conference in what will be their first face-to-face meeting since the new U.S. president took power on Jan. 20. They are expected to discuss Germany’s level of defense spending for the NATO alliance, the Ukraine conflict, Syrian refugees, the European Union and a host of other issues, said three senior Trump administration officials who briefed reporters. During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, Trump regularly criticized Merkel for her open-door refugee policy, contrasting it with what he promised would be tighter controls in the United States if he won office. Merkel has been a leading critic of Trump’s effort to ban travelers temporarily from seven Muslim-majority nations, a list that has since been pared back to six. “My expectation is that they’ll have a very positive, cordial meeting,” said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Trump has long expressed desire for warmer U.S. relations with Russia but some of his top Cabinet officials are skeptical. “The president will be very interested in hearing the chancellor’s views on her experience interacting with Putin,” said another official. “He’s going to be very interested in hearing her insights on what it’s like to deal with the Russians.” Trump will also ask for Merkel’s advice on what role the United States can most helpfully play in ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has pitted Ukrainian forces against Russian-backed separatists. The officials described Trump as impressed by Merkel’s leadership, particularly in Germany’s role alongside France in seeking peace in Ukraine, and on Afghanistan. Trump has been critical of NATO allies who he says do not pay their fair share, and the officials said he would raise with Merkel the need for Germany to increase its defense spending as he tries to rally European allies to contribute more to NATO. Germany should be “leading by example” on increasing contributions to NATO, one official said. “We are heartened by the German government’s determination to reach NATO’s benchmark of committing 2 percent of GDP to defense by 2024,” the official said. “The president believes that all allies must shoulder their share of the defense burden,” the official said.

politicsNews

March 10, 2017

New Poll Is DEVASTATING News For Trump – It’s Worse Than His Slipping Approval Rating

A new Politico/Morning Consult poll is out, and it shows that Trump s approval rating among registered voters is continuing to occupy the dregs of presidential approval ratings. It was conducted during his allegedly successful foreign trip, showing that pretending to be presidential by traveling abroad for conferences and summits didn t serve to impress voters.What s worse (better?), though, is the number of people who want him impeached. That number jumped five points over the last week. One week ago, only 38 percent of voters wanted to see him impeached. Morning Consult s founder and chief researcher, Kyle Dropp, says: If President Trump was hoping his foreign trip would shift the conversation away from scandals, he may be out of luck Over the last week, support for beginning impeachment proceedings among voters rose from 38 percent to 43 percent. While it s true that most Democrats want to see Trump impeached, and most Republicans don t want to see him impeached, the fact that this number is rising shows just how growing segments of America view Trump as unfit to serve. In fact, of those who want Trump impeached, a majority see Trump as unfit to serve and should be removed from office, regardless of whether he committed an impeachable offense or not. Trump went to Europe and made complete fools out of us by calling Germany bad, very bad, and threatening to cut off German cars, despite the fact that most German cars sold here are built here. He literally shoved Montenegro s prime minister out of his way, he scolded our NATO allies like a bunch of children over something he does not understand, and he s withdrawing us from the Paris climate agreement.Couple that with his ongoing obsession with the media including continuing to call them the enemy because they keep calling him out on his stupidity and his lies and his sheer comfort with being a lying ignoramus on the world stage, and yes. He s wholly unfit to serve.Congress probably won t bow to any political pressure on this. Trump s list of impeachable offenses (like obstructing an official investigation a la Richard Nixon) has to be extensive and inexcusable for the GOP-controlled Congress to draw up articles of impeachment. But when they find themselves backed into that corner, they ll have to listen to the growing public outcry this poll demonstrates.Featured image by Aaron P. Bernstein via Getty Images

News

May 31, 2017

BREAKING: Trump Kicks Reince Priebus Out Of White House (TWEET)

Donald Trump s White House has been going through a lot of insane changes lately, and it is certainly looking like a sign of an inevitable implosion.It was just a few days ago that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned over Trump s hiring of Anthony Scaramucci as his new Communications Director. Now, another key player in Trump s administration is out thanks to the Mooch White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. Trump announced this shocking change in staff over Twitter, remarking that retired four-star general and Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kennedy would be taking Priebus place:We might have seen this coming yesterday, Scaramucci told the New Yorker that Priebus was a f*cking paranoid schizophrenic and made several other vulgar comments about the former Republican National Committee president.While this story is still developing, these rapid changes in staff show an administration that is clearly in trouble and struggling to keep its head above water as it self-destructs. Trump s staff is being turned over at an unprecedented rate, and the amount of in-fighting between even the top staffers is like nothing we ve ever seen before. But what else can you expect when you appoint the most vile, corrupt individuals to help you run a country?If the leaks coming from the White House weren t concerning enough, the recent changes in staff serve as a telling sign that things are falling apart on a daily basis and Trump is desperate to save his failing presidency. Already, Trump s new Communication Director Anthony Scaramucci has become one of the most hated, abrasive characters in Trump s administration and is causing trouble with other staffers. We can only imagine what this administration will look like in the weeks to come and it s probably safe to say that recovery will be impossible.Featured image via Win McNamee / Getty Images

News

July 28, 2017

Russia's Putin, pulling no surprises, says he'll seek re-election

President Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia s worst kept political secret on Wednesday, saying he would run for re-election in March 2018 - a contest he seems sure to win comfortably and extend his grip on power into a third decade. Putin, 65, has been in power, either as president or prime minister, since 2000, longer than veteran Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and outstripped only by dictator Josef Stalin. If he wins what would be a fourth presidential term, he will be eligible to serve another six years until 2024, when he turns 72. Backed by state TV, Putin regularly enjoys approval ratings of around 80 percent, and his decision to run for re-election which he announced at a car-making factory in the Volga river city of Nizhny Novgorod was widely expected. I will put forward my candidacy for the post of president of the Russian Federation, Putin said, in answer to a question from a factory worker who told the Russian leader that everyone without exception in the hall supported him. There s no better place or opportunity to make this announcement, said Putin. I m sure that everything will work out for us. The workers then broke into a chant of Russia! Allies laud Putin as a father-of-the-nation figure who has restored national pride and expanded Moscow s global clout with interventions in Syria and Ukraine. Critics accuse him of overseeing a corrupt authoritarian system and of illegally annexing Ukraine s Crimea in 2014, a move that isolated Russia internationally. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is unlikely to be allowed to run against Putin due to what he says is a trumped up criminal conviction, said Putin was overstaying his welcome. He wants to be in power for 21 years, Navalny wrote on social media. To my mind, that s too long. I suggest we don t agree. Despite the Central Election Commission ruling him ineligible to stand, Navalny has organized mass protests and set up campaign headquarters across the country, hoping he can pressure the authorities into allowing him to stand. The challenge for Putin though is not other candidates nobody, including Navalny, looks capable of unseating him. Instead, his toughest task will be to mobilize an electorate showing signs of apathy to ensure a high turnout which in the tightly-controlled limits of the Russian political system is seen as conferring legitimacy. Whilst next year s election in March is devoid of real suspense about who will win, what follows is more unpredictable as attention will turn to what happens after Putin s final term - under the current constitution - ends. There is no obvious successor. Many investors say the lack of a clear succession plan, and likely jockeying for position among Russian elites for dominance in the post-Putin era, is becoming the biggest political risk. Putin, once re-elected, will have to choose whether to leave Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister, or to appoint someone else. That decision will trigger a round of intrigue over the succession, as whoever holds the prime minister s post is often viewed as the president s heir apparent. In the meantime, perhaps the Kremlin s biggest task will be to make it look as if Putin faces real electoral competition. In a move critics suspect is a Kremlin ploy to split the liberal opposition vote while injecting a patina of interest, TV celebrity Ksenia Sobchak, the daughter of Putin s political mentor, is standing against him, offering voters unhappy with his rule someone to back. A political ing nue, Sobchak has scant chance of winning. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied her candidacy is a Kremlin ploy. Sobchak said on Wednesday that Putin would probably win as always, but that she still planned to run to represent people who wanted change. Otherwise, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, 73, and nationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 71, - both political retreads - are likely to run. They are broadly supportive of the Kremlin s policies and have repeatedly run for president, behavior critics say is a ruse to create the illusion of genuine political choice. Putin draws much of his support from outside the two biggest cities Moscow and St Petersburg where many credit him with raising their living standards despite an economic crisis Russia is only now recovering from. State TV, where many Russians still get their news, affords Putin blanket and uncritical coverage while ignoring or denigrating his opponents.

worldnews

December 6, 2017

LOL! Lawless HS Snowflakes Try To Bust Out Of School For Anti-Trump Protest…School Locks Them In! [VIDEO]

It s about time an adult steps up and takes control of these lawless, out-of-control students. We all know 99% of them were just looking to break out of school early anyhow BUSTED: Students at MD High School Attempt Walkout, School Locks Them In pic.twitter.com/TFGf68eaLP Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) November 18, 2016You get a detention!And YOU get a detention!And YOU get a detention! https://t.co/KqdMMzeLP5 Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) November 18, 2016CONFUSED? Students at Northwestern High in MD Protest US Presidential Election with Flags of Foreign Countries pic.twitter.com/GZ6r6CcLkY Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) November 18, 2016https://twitter.com/AyyeeDanielle/status/799652287757090816

politics

Nov 18, 2016

FIRST LOOK: Obamas Spotted In British Virgin Islands On Well-Deserved Vacation (VIDEO)

With everything being so utterly chaotic under the new seeming dictatorship of Donald Trump, it s left many longing for the days of former President Barack Obama.In only a little over a week, Trump has signed nearly two dozen Executive Orders, causing chaos at home and abroad.However, for all those desperately seeking a break from the new fascist regime of the Trump administration, the Obama family was spotted in the British Virgin Islands.According to TMZ: Barack and Michelle were spotted Tuesday on one of the British Virgin Islands with their pal, Sir Richard Branson. The former First Couple touched down on Branson s nearby Necker Island just over a week ago. The Obamas look happy and healthy and, best of all, relaxed. They definitely seem to be taking in the sun and sand of a very deserved vacation after being First Family of the nation for eight years. Goodness knows they need it.The last thing the Obamas likely want is to be brought into the turmoil of the Trump administration. However, knowing Barack Obama, and the fact the fact that he loves the nation more than himself, he ll undoubtedly do whatever he can to prevent Trump from unraveling his eight years of progress.In the mean time, enjoy the Obamas are enjoying their time off.Watch here:Barack Obama & Michelle Obama spotted out in the British Virgin Islands pic.twitter.com/IhWsoRXbxu MEFeater Magazine (@mefeater) February 1, 2017Featured image via video screen capture

News

February 1, 2017

Senate panel backs Trump nominee to be ambassador to Israel

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 12-9 on Thursday to approve President Donald Trump’s nominee as ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, an outspoken bankruptcy lawyer aligned with the Israeli right. The vote was largely along party lines, a contrast with strong bipartisan support for past ambassadors to Israel. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez joined all 11 committee Republicans in backing Friedman, despite concerns about his temperament. Friedman, who has no diplomatic experience, is a long-time friend of Trump who has worked for the New York businessman as a bankruptcy lawyer. In addition to investing in settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians, Friedman favors moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. The relocation is strongly opposed by many U.S. allies because both Israel and the Palestinians claim the city as their capital. Trump’s selection of Friedman reflects his shift in policy toward Israel after years of friction between former President Barack Obama and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Unlike Obama, Trump has wavered on the U.S. commitment to a two-state solution, long a bedrock of Washington’s Middle East policy, and backed the embassy’s relocation. Friedman is also known for using inflammatory language against those with whom he has political disagreements. Democrats said his approach could risk security. “The region is incredibly volatile. The last thing we need in this position is someone who has a penchant for over-the-top, hyperbolic, and even false statements,” Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said. Friedman has called Obama an anti-Semite, and dismissed the liberal-leaning pro-Israel group J Street as “far worse than kapos,” a reference to Jews who worked for the Nazis in World War Two concentration camps. J Street and the Reform Jewish Movement are among groups opposing Friedman’s nomination. Friedman was heckled during his contentious February confirmation hearing. He said then that he regretted the use of such language. Senator Ben Cardin, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said Friedman also was problematic because he does not explicitly back a two-state solution for Middle East peace. Friedman will next be considered by the full Senate, where Trump’s fellow Republicans control a slim majority. He is expected to be confirmed despite continued Democratic opposition. Republican Senator Bob Corker, the Foreign Relations Committee chairman, praised Friedman as an “impassioned advocate” for strong U.S.-Israeli ties. “He understands the complexity of issues at stake for the United States and the necessity to support a democratic ally in an important and unstable part of the world,” Corker said.

politicsNews

March 9, 2017

CHARLES BARKLEY DROPS TRUTH-BOMB: Blacks, Not White People Or Cops Are Keeping Blacks Down

It s a dirty, dark secret; I m glad it s coming out WOW I guess we won t be seeing Charles Barkley sitting for the national anthem because he s resents the White man or neighborhood cop for keeping him down NBA legend and all around awesome person, Charles Barkley, was recently interviewed by a local Philadelphia radio station about the current racial issues plaguing America. During the interview, Barkley stated that unintelligent, brainwashed African-Americans are the ones keeping successful ones down, not white people, or cops.What prompted Charles Barkley s response was a question posed to him on the radio show, Afternoons with Anthony Gargano and Rob Ellis; he was asked about a rumor that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was being accused by his fellow teammates of not being black enough. Colin Kaepernick s and Chris Brown s most recent debacles are prefect examples of Charles logic.Charles Barkley finished out his interview by stating:Via: Blue Lives Matter

politics

Sep 7, 2016

BREAKING: Mike Pence SHUTS DOWN Crazy Trump Supporter For Threatening Hillary (VIDEO)

Throughout the course of Donald Trump s campaign for the presidency, he s been stoking fears around the nation. His goal seems to be to lead through fear and if he can get enough people to believe the lies that he tells, they ll fall in line behind him to be their leader and protector.All of that is absolute poppycock because Trump wouldn t know how to protect you from a falling feather, let alone understand what it takes to be leader of the free world.Now, appearing at Trump s running-mate Mike Pence s campaign event on Tuesday, a Trump supporter brought up Trump s myth of voter fraud. Which is that if he loses, it s because Hillary cheated, not at all because he s a horrible human being.Ironically, the only voter fraud currently being perpetrated is by Republicans trying to suppress the vote.However, this woman in the audience, with fear and horror in her voice, brought up the voter fraud Trump often talks about. The woman said she s ready for a revolution because we can t have [Hillary] in. When Pence heard that he stopped the woman in her tracks and said, don t say that. And good on him for doing so. Pence then reiterated that the revolution needs to happen is at the voting booth on November 8th. Which, in all honesty, is an incredibly accurate and thoughtful response.Pence seems to understand that democracy isn t claiming the other side won because they cheated, but rather getting out the vote so that your side wins.That being said, Hillary Clinton is about to kick Trump s ass this November and it s because more people will want her over a racist a**hole who admits to sexual assault.Watch the video here: Woman: If Hillary Clinton gets in I m ready for a revolution, b/c we can t have her in Pence: Don t say that https://t.co/P5OrJBGW55 Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) October 11, 2016Featured image via video screen capture

News

October 11, 2016

Reforms aimed at making Pentagon acquisition more agile: House

U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry introduced a second batch of legislative proposals on Tuesday aimed at speeding up how the Pentagon buys weapons and making it easier for firms to retain their intellectual property. Thornberry’s legislation follows an initial batch of reforms enacted last year with the 2016 annual defense policy bill, and continues efforts to make weapons programs more transparent. The proposals are aimed at simplifying the convoluted U.S. Defense Department acquisition process, with a big push to fund more experimentation and prototyping of new weapons, while driving to get new technologies into the hands of troops faster. Many big weapons programs are over budget and behind schedule, although Pentagon officials say changes undertaken since 2009 are starting to have a positive impact. The new legislation aims to shorten the time it takes from the start of the design phase of a new program until a military service can start using a new weapon in combat to five-to-six years from around nine year currently, the staff said. The bill requires all weapons systems to have “open systems architectures” that will allow the services to hold competitions for more components, and carry out quicker upgrades as new technologies are developed. It authorizes the Air Force, Army and other military services to use certain funding to pay for prototype upgrades of components and to develop technology faster. The bill also seeks to end a controversy about how the Pentagon treats private companies’ intellectual property that has made non-traditional suppliers reluctant to do business with the U.S. military and its complex defense acquisition rules. Instead of automatically giving the government broad rights to control intellectual property rights that are jointly funded by industry and government, the bill would mandate that such arrangements would have to be negotiated between the parties. The legislation would also continue a push to make the military services more responsible and accountable for weapons programs, requiring them to begin overseeing milestone decisions for joint programs after Oct. 1, 2019. The bill also requires the secretary of defense, or his staff, to fix the costs and expected fielding date for new weapons programs, and then hold the services accountable for meeting those targets. To ensure more transparency, the bill also calls for creation of an acquisition scorecard that would compare program cost estimates with those submitted by independent estimators.

politicsNews

March 15, 2016

Soldiers on Harare streets as ruling party accuses Zimbabwe army chief of treason

Zimbabwe s ruling party accused the head of the armed forces of treason on Tuesday as troops took up positions around the capital in an escalation of a dispute with 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe over political succession. Just 24 hours after military chief General Constantino Chiwenga threatened to intervene to end a purge in the ruling party, a Reuters reporter saw six armored personnel carriers on major thoroughfares on the outskirts of the capital. Aggressive soldiers directing traffic told passing cars to keep moving through the darkness. Don t try anything funny. Just go, one soldier said on Harare Drive. The presence of troops, including the movement of at least six armored personnel carriers from a barracks northwest of Harare, sparked rumors of coup against Mugabe, although there was no evidence to suggest Zimbabwe s leader of the last 37 years had been toppled. The lead item on the ZBC state broadcaster s evening news bulletin was an anti-military rally by the youth wing of Mugabe s ZANU-PF party. The Southern African nation has been on edge since Monday when Chiwenga, Commander of Zimbabwe Defence Forces, said he was prepared to step in to end a purge of supporters of a sacked vice president. The unprecedented statement represents an escalation of a rumbling political struggle over who will succeed Mugabe, who has been in power since the country gained independence from Britain in 1980. Mugabe chaired a weekly cabinet meeting in the capital on Tuesday. Afterwards, ZANU-PF said it stood by the primacy of politics over the gun and accused Chiwenga of treasonable conduct... meant to incite insurrection. Mugabe fired Vice President Emerson Mnangagwa last week. The veteran of the 1970s liberation war was popular with the military and had been seen as a likely successor to Mugabe. The army views his removal as part of a purge of independence-era figures to pave the way for Mugabe to hand power to his wife Grace Mugabe. A Reuters witness saw two armored vehicles parked beside the main road from Harare to Chinhoyi, about 20 km (14 miles) from the city. One, which was pointed in the direction of the capital, had come off its tracks. Witnesses said they saw four armored vehicles turn before reaching Harare and head towards the Presidential Guard compound in a suburb on the outskirts of Harare. There were about four tanks and they turned right here, you can see markings on the road, one witness on the Chinhoyi highway said, referring to the armored vehicles. He pointed to a road that links to the guard compound. The troop movements raise tension on a continent where for decades armies regularly overthrew civilian governments. Neither the president nor his wife responded in public to the general s remarks and state media did not publish Chiwenga s statement. The Herald newspaper posted some of the comments on its Twitter page but deleted them. The head of ZANU-PF s youth wing accused the army chief of subverting the constitution. Grace Mugabe has developed a strong following in the powerful youth wing. Defending the revolution and our leader and president is an ideal we live for and if need be it is a principle we are prepared to die for, Kudzai Chipanga, who leads the ZANU-PF Youth League, said at the party s headquarters in Harare. Grace Mugabe s rise has brought her into conflict with the independence-era war veterans, who once enjoyed a privileged role in the ruling party under Mugabe, but who have in recent years been banished from senior government and party roles. Decades ago, Zimbabwe had one of Africa s promising economies due in part to its agricultural exports. The country is currently struggling to pay for imports due to a dollar crunch, which is also sparking rampant inflation only 10 years after it suffered a financial implosion caused when the central bank began to print money. Martin Rupiya, an expert on Zimbabwe military affairs at the University of South Africa in Pretoria, said the army appeared to be putting the squeeze on Mugabe. There s a rupture between the executive and the armed forces, Rupiya said. Alex Magaisa, a British-based Zimbabwean academic said it was premature to talk about a coup. A military coup is the nuclear option. A coup would be a very hard sell at home and in the international community. They will want to avoid that, Magaisa said.

worldnews

November 14, 2017

Trump Hints He Will Continue To Be An Absolute Diplomatic Nightmare With China (DETAILS)

One of the first things Donald Trump did after winning the presidential election was to completely crush decades of diplomatic policy with China, by accepting a phone call from the president of Taiwan. At first, it seemed that China would let Trump s blunder go and chalk it up to his political inexperience. However, when Trump doubled down on his antics, China decided to fly a bomber into the South China Sea in a show of force against Trump, in order to let him know that the United States had better keep the One China policy or else.After this snafu, Ned Price, speaking for the Obama White House s National Security Council, said: There is no change to our longstanding policy on cross-Strait issues. Our fundamental interest is in peaceful and stable cross-Strait relations. Well, now, it seems that Trump is going in that direction again, and is even entertaining the idea of taking a meeting with the Taiwanese president. When reporters asked him about his plans for diplomatic relations in that direction and whether he d meet the President of Taiwan, Trump said, we ll see. He insists, however, that the United States will not have a rocky relationship with China under a Trump administration: Hopefully we re going to have great relationships with many countries and that includes China. Well, I got news for you, Donald Trump. If you keep flirting with recognizing Taiwan, things with China are gonna go south really, really fast. Diplomacy is important, as you will soon learn. Some of these international relationships are tenuous at best, and one wrong move could cause the whole thing to come crashing down like a house of cards built on the softest bed of sand imaginable. Now that you are the president-elect, your words have consequences. Don t go bandying about nuclear weapons and undoing years upon years of diplomatic norms. We ll ALL suffer the consequences if you do.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images

News

January 1, 2017

Trump to receive multiple options on Iran nuclear deal: Tillerson

President Donald Trump will be presented with multiple options regarding the future of the Iran nuclear deal ahead of an Oct. 15 deadline to certify whether Tehran is complying with the pact, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday. Tillerson did not disclose details about the kinds of options he will present to Trump. He also declined to directly answer a question about whether he shared Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ assessment to Congress on Tuesday that Iran was “fundamentally” in compliance with the accord. “We’ll have a recommendation for the president. We’re going to give him a couple of options of how to move forward to advance the important policy toward Iran,” Tillerson told reporters at the State Department. A collapse of the 2015 deal, which Trump has called “an embarrassment,” but which is supported by the other major powers that negotiated it with Iran, could trigger a regional arms race and stoke Middle East tensions. A senior U.S. official said last month that Trump was leaning toward not certifying that Iran is complying with the pact. Trump himself has said he already had made up his mind whether to keep the pact, but has declined to disclose his decision. If Trump declines to certify Iran’s compliance, U.S. congressional leaders would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran suspended under the accord. Unlike Mattis, who publicly suggested Trump should consider sticking with the agreement, Tillerson has been highly critical of the accord and said it must be changed. He has taken aim at the deal’s so-called sunset clauses, under which some of the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program expire over time. Tillerson on Wednesday suggested that whatever path the United States chooses on the nuclear accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it would only represent one component of America’s broader policy toward Iran. “The JCPOA represents only a small part of the many issues that we need to deal with when it comes to the Iranian relationship,” he said. “So it is an important part of that, but is not the only part. And I’ve said many times, we cannot let the Iranian relationship be defined solely by that nuclear agreement.”

politicsNews

October 4, 2017

USA's Tillerson and Saudi crown prince discuss terrorism by phone

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Saudi Arabia s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday to discuss regional security, Saudi state news agency SPA reported. The two discussed ways to combat terrorism and coordination of efforts to reinforce security and the stability of the region, according to the report.

worldnews

November 20, 2017

BREAKING: Senate Republicans Just Passed A Resolution Officially Beginning Obamacare Repeal

The U.S. Senate has just passed a budget resolution that will officially begin the process of repealing the Affordable Care Act. The measure, which passed 51-48, directs the House to have a repeal bill ready to go by January 27, just one week after Trump takes office.Republican Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming, who is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and sponsored the bill, issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon touting the legislation. Today, we take the first steps to repair the nation s broken health care system, removing Washington from the equation and putting control back where it belongs: with patients, their families, and their doctors, Enzi said.Republicans fell short of the 60 votes necessary to repeal the ACA flat out. But where there s a will there s a way when it comes to the GOP screwing over the American people, so they decided to defund the program through a budget resolution instead, which only needs a majority vote.NPR explains that this means they can essentially gut the law, removing all the subsidies that help low- and middle-income people buy health insurance and getting rid of the smorgasbord of taxes on medical devices, insurance companies and wealthy individuals that pay for those subsidies. Repealing Obamacare will be a complete and total disaster, but that hasn t stopped Republicans from fighting against the healthcare program tooth and nail since the day it passed seven years ago. Yet, in all that time they haven t been able to come up with a plan to replace it and they aren t any closer to one today.The repeal of the ACA will leave as many as 30 million Americans without insurance. For many, such as those with diseases like cancer, multiple sclerosis, lupus, kidney failure, and other serious conditions, this is all but a death sentence. Medicare and Medicaid will also be devastated if the GOP gets their way. But Republicans don t give a damn and never have. They just want to make America sick again to stick it to Obama and don t care who they kill in the process.If you would like to let lawmakers in the House and Senate know just how you feel about this, you can call 202-224-3121.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

News

January 4, 2017

Madeleine Albright Unleashes Blistering Attack On Trump After His Foreign Policy Speech (TWEETS)

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has never been the type of person to hold back when she sees stupidity, and Donald Trump just felt the burn of her disapproval.On Wednesday, the Republican frontrunner attempted to appear presidential by laying out his foreign policy plans. The speech was just like him, full of emptiness and bullshit. He attacked President Obama s foreign policy again and again, painting him as weak on terrorism and blaming him for the problems in the Middle East. Surprisingly, however, the marmalade-tinted imbecile didn t talk about his Great Wall of Murica at all. Later that evening, though, former Secretary Albright laid into the billionaire on Twitter.She said that she was posting on the social media site because it is Trump s favourite method of communication and then promptly destroyed his policies:Today, @realDonaldTrump tried out a foreign policy speech something I have experience with. Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) April 27, 2016 So I thought I d respond using his favorite method of communication and tackle some of the #TrumpDoctrine s biggest flaws head on. Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) April 27, 2016Trump demonstrates no real understanding of complex international issues and has no serious proposals for how to address them. Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) April 27, 2016 Trump speaks about regaining the trust of our allies, but then threatens to pull out of NATO. Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) April 27, 2016Trump preaches unpredictability as a policy, then asks us to trust him with the nuclear codes. Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) April 27, 2016 Trump s understanding of trade policy is simplistic at best, and would have disastrous effects on our economy. Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) April 27, 2016Trump praises Western values, then questions why we should support democracy in other countries. Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) April 27, 2016 Trump s views on torture are completely out of sync with recommendations by military leaders and America s values. Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) April 27, 2016Trump s newest slogan is America First, recalling the self-defeating isolationism of the 1930s. Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) April 27, 2016 Trump s proposals to ban Muslims and deport immigrants would undermine America s greatest strengths: diversity and tolerance. Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) April 27, 2016The so-called #TrumpDoctrine is simply bellicose rhetoric strung together with contradictory statements. Bluster is no strategy, Mr. Trump. Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) April 27, 2016OUCH!Secretary Albright said everything we have been saying all along: Trump is in over his head. He entered this presidential race without any clear vision for the future, let alone a basic understanding of foreign policy. It would be disastrous if this man were ever allowed to dictate policy with our allies. He has no idea what the hell he is doing and would destroy this country and our relationships with the other world powers.One thing was blatantly obvious yesterday: the stakes are too high to sit at home and pout in November. Democrats must come together and keep this lunatic out of the White House; so, vote blue no matter who.Featured image via Paul Marotta/Getty Images

News

April 28, 2016

Obama says world must unite to defeat terrorism

President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for nations around the world to unite to defeat terrorism, saying the thoughts and prayers of Americans were with Belgium after the attacks in Brussels that killed 34 people. “We must be together regardless of nationality or race or faith in fighting against the scourge of terrorism,” Obama told Cubans during a historic visit to Havana. “We can and we will defeat those who threaten the safety and security of people all around the world.”

politicsNews

March 22, 2016

Trump backs surveillance of mosques despite criticism of rhetoric

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday called for surveillance of mosques as part of U.S. law enforcement efforts to prevent terrorism, and stood by his remarks on banning Muslim immigrants, which others in his party have criticized. Trump repeated his call for a temporary ban on the entry of Muslims into the United States after a U.S.-born Muslim, the son of Afghan immigrants, fatally shot 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando early on Sunday. The New York real estate developer said that while the Florida gunman was born in the United States, “his parents weren’t and his ideas weren’t born here.” “We have to maybe check, respectfully, the mosques and we have to check other places because this is a problem that, if we don’t solve it, it’s going to eat our country alive,” Trump said at a rally in Atlanta. Trump had called for surveillance of mosques in November, as well as a database of Syrian refugees entering the United States. The Orlando gunman, Omar Mateen, is believed by authorities to have acted alone, inspired by radical ideology he was exposed to over the internet. “Any kind of extremism and violence is not preached in American mosques,” said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “In fact, research has shown that mosques are a moderating influence on individuals who attend.” Prominent Republicans this week distanced themselves from Trump’s comments about Muslims. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Tuesday he did not think a ban on the entry of Muslims was in U.S. interests. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who ran against Trump for the Republican nomination and has been a fierce critic since, said that he was “unnerved” by Trump’s response. Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said on Wednesday that Trump’s rhetoric had grown “even more inflammatory” in recent days. She said the United States counts on Muslim communities in the U.S. and partners in majority-Muslim countries to help fight terrorism. “Not one of Donald Trump’s reckless ideas would have saved a single life in Orlando,” Clinton said at an event for U.S. military families in Virginia. Trump on Monday proposed that the United States suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is “a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies until we fully understand how to end these threats.” He also said radical Muslims were entering the country amid a flood of refugees and “trying to take over our children.” Trump’s hard-line proposals on immigration have contributed to his popularity among some conservative voters. But they have also triggered condemnation from minority and human rights activists and his political opponents, many of whom have called his rhetoric racist. The New York businessman also said in Atlanta he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if he came to the United States, and he dismissed the controversy he caused in May when he said in a Reuters interview he would be willing to speak to Kim. “If he came here, I’d accept him. But I wouldn’t give a state dinner like we do for China and all these other people that rip us off,” Trump said.

politicsNews

June 15, 2016

Psycho Cop Drags Handcuffed Nurse From Hospital For Not Letting Him Violate Patient’s Rights

A power-tripping Salt Lake City cop was caught on video arresting a nurse for following hospital policy (and the law) by not allowing him to draw a blood sample from an unconscious patient without a warrant.In the video, Detective Jeff Payne can be seen confronting Alex Wubbels, an ER nurse, and then ultimately handcuffing her and dragging her out of the hospital.Payne was determined to get a blood sample from the patient, who had been involved in a car wreck that had taken the life of another driver. The only problem with this was that the patient was unconscious, so he there fore he could not give consent, and Payne didn t have a warrant.When Wubbels refused to allow Payne to draw the patient s blood, Payne argued with her and insisted that he indeed had the authority to take a blood sample without a warrant or the patient s consent. He also threatened to arrest her if she didn t allow him to violate the patient s rights. I either go away with blood in vials or body in tow, Payne told the nurse.Wubbels consulted with multiple officials at University Hospital and then returned to tell Payne yet again that what if he wanted to take blood from an unconscious person, he would have to get a warrant.Payne, obviously furious, lost it at this point. He tells Wubbels that she is under arrest, grabs her arms and pulls them behind her back, then puts her in handcuffs. On the video, Payne can be seen dragging her out of the hospital and forcing her into the back of his police car. Help! Help! Somebody help me! Stop! Stop! I did nothing wrong! Wubbels can be heard screaming.A University of Utah police officer and Department of Public Safety officers, who work as security officers for the hospital, were present but did not do anything to try to stop Payne from arresting the nurse for doing her job.After shoving Wubbels into the back of his car, Payne can be heard saying that from now on, when deciding which hospital patients will be transported to, he will keep this incident in mind. I ll bring them all the transients and take good patients elsewhere, Payne said.Wubbels is being represented by Karra Porter, a Salt Lake City attorney, but she has not filed a lawsuit yet. According to Salt Lake police Sgt. Brandon Shearer, the department is conducting an internal investigation.According to Salt Lake police Sgt. Brandon Shearer, the department is conducting an internal investigation. Payne was suspended from the blood draw program but he still remains on duty. Shearer says that the department has conducted extra training as a result of this incident.Payne argued that exigent circumstances and implied consent law allowed him to draw blood from the unconscious patient. However, as Porter explained, implied consent hasn t been the law in the state of Utah since 2007 and in 2016 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against warrantless blood tests.Watch video of this out of control cop arresting a nurse for following the law, here: Featured image via video screen capture

News

September 1, 2017

Trump's wife seeks to soften his image at raucous Republican convention

Donald Trump’s wife Melania, in her first major political speech on Monday, portrayed her husband as a talented, compassionate and unrelenting leader who would unify rather than divide the country if elected to the White House. The Slovenian-born jewelry designer and former model delivered the speech, part of which strongly resembled an address given by current First Lady Michelle Obama in 2008, to a cheering crowd at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland after a one-minute introduction from Trump. The presumptive Republican nominee made a dramatic entrance, silhouetted against a white background, to the accompaniment of Queen’s 1977 rock anthem, “We Are the Champions.” “I have been with Donald for 18 years and I have been aware of his love for this country since we first met,” the aspiring first lady told the convention. “He’s tough when he has to be, but he’s also kind and fair and caring.” “Donald wants prosperity for all Americans,” she said, reading from a teleprompter, as people applauded. Her roughly 15-minute speech was a bid to soften the image of the New York businessman-turned-politician, who has been accused of bigotry and callousness for his calls to suspend Muslim immigration and deport millions of undocumented immigrants if elected. He has also been criticized for insults directed at women, political opponents and journalists. Part of the text referring to the values held by her family was strikingly similar to a section of Michelle Obama’s speech to the Democratic convention in 2008. A Trump campaign official suggested the similarity was the result of an error by her speech writers. “In writing her beautiful speech, Melania’s team of writers took notes on her life’s inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking,” Jason Miller, Trump’s senior communications advisor, said in a statement. Trump’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, has accused Trump, 70, of lacking the experience and temperament needed to work in the Oval Office. On Monday, Clinton, 68, used an address to a largely black audience to cast Trump as someone who would divide the country along racial, ethnic and religious lines. The convention’s opening night featured a string of emotional speakers attacking Clinton’s record as secretary of state under President Barack Obama, many arguing she had made Americans vulnerable to Islamist militancy. “I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son,” said Pat Smith, the mother of an information management officer who was among the four Americans killed in an attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose administration has been credited with sharply reducing crime in the city during the 1990s and who oversaw the city’s response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and killed almost 3,000 people, gave a highly charged speech slamming Clinton and making the case for Trump. “What I did for New York, Donald Trump will do for America!” he said. The convention erupted in chaos earlier when Trump opponents inside his party stormed out of the room and others chanted, in a failed attempt to force a vote opposing his candidacy. The turmoil threatened efforts by the Trump campaign to show the party had united behind him and distracted from the day’s theme of “Make America Safe Again”. The anti-Trump forces wanted to change the party’s nominating rules to allow delegates to support alternative Republican candidates over Trump. Party leaders held a voice vote, then declared the opponents lacked enough support, triggering pandemonium on the floor of the Cleveland basketball arena where Trump is due to be formally nominated this week for the Nov. 8 election. “This entire system is rigged to force the vote for Donald Trump,” said Kendal Unruh, a delegate from Colorado. While delivering a jolt to the highly scripted program, the rebellion by the anti-Trump forces was quashed. But the furor, an embarrassment to Trump, put a spotlight on the deep divisions within the party that have emerged over his candidacy. A string of senior Republicans, worried about Trump’s temperament and policies, were already avoiding the convention. The gathering opened on Monday afternoon in the shadow of racially tinged killings of police officers and black men, and as protesters for and against Trump faced off in a plaza a few blocks from the convention, shouting slogans at each other, separated by a wall of police. The protests were largely peaceful, with law enforcement officers outnumbering demonstrators. Sunday’s shooting of three policemen in Baton Rouge, Louisiana - a targeted attack that may have been retaliation for a series of police killings of black Americans - hung over the gathering. Trump criticized Obama early on Monday over the shootings, saying the Democratic president “doesn’t have a clue.” The Baton Rouge shootings happened nearly two weeks after police fatally shot a black man there, and after another such death near St. Paul, Minnesota, both of which sparked nationwide protests. Five policemen were also killed in an ambush in Dallas this month. Trump has sought to position himself as the law-and-order candidate, in an echo of Republican Richard Nixon’s successful presidential campaign of 1968. (This story has been corrected to delete paragraph 20 which erroneously cited a parody Twitter account in suggesting Donald Trump Jr. threatened the leaders of the attempted revolt)

politicsNews

July 18, 2016

Healthcare scramble writes new chapter in Trump's 'Art of the Deal'

In the middle of a confused three-day scramble by U.S. Republicans to save their plan to dismantle Obamacare, President Donald Trump telephoned a former small-town sandwich shop owner from the North Carolina mountains on Wednesday afternoon. Representative Mark Meadows took the call during a meeting of the Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction of the House of Representatives he chairs. His talk with Trump thrust Meadows into the eye of a legislative storm that led to a pivotal vote on the bill being postponed. Then, late on Thursday after Trump demanded action by the House, a final vote was set for Friday. Through it all, Meadows has been a key player in Trump’s first major legislative initiative, an effort as chaotic and unpredictable as his campaign for the White House, with its ultimate outcome still in doubt late on Thursday night. After promising for months as a candidate to repeal and replace Obamacare, Trump has still not produced his own plan to do so, choosing instead to support a rollback bill drafted by senior House Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan. Financial markets have watched the drama over the bill nervously, concerned that defeat or delay for it could undermine Trump’s ability to carry through on promises to cut taxes and reduce regulation that have lifted U.S. stocks for weeks. In a schism among Republicans who now control Congress and the White House, moderates oppose Ryan’s bill, saying it goes too far. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated it would result in 24 million fewer Americans having insurance by 2026 than if Obamacare remained in place intact. Meadows and the Freedom Caucus don’t like it either, but for very different reasons, making a compromise challenging. They say it doesn’t go far enough to repeal the healthcare law put in place in 2010 by former Democratic President Barack Obama. To deal with this problem, Trump stepped in personally earlier this week to try to win over Meadows and his maverick conservative faction, according to interviews with dozens of lawmakers and congressional aides. But, even after marathon phone calls and meetings at the White House, Trump, who prides himself as a master negotiator, failed to secure the deal. Meadows told reporters on Thursday night he still opposed the bill, but was optimistic that a deal could be reached. “I am still a no,” he said, taking basically the same position he took on Wednesday afternoon after his phone call with Trump. When he embraced Ryan’s bill and then decided to intervene to try to save it, Trump opted for a strategy in which he would concentrate on winning over Meadows and the conservatives. Ryan and House leaders would deal with “everybody else,” Republican Representative Tom Rooney said Thursday. That strategic approach soon had embarrassing consequences. Trump’s push began in earnest on Tuesday, when he visited Capitol Hill seeking support for the plan among Republicans. On Wednesday, the House Rules Committee held marathon meetings to finalize the bill that would go to the floor. After his Wednesday phone call with the president, Meadows spent much of Wednesday night negotiating with Trump, said a Republican lawmaker. “Mark Meadows has been at the White House more in the last 48 hours than any other times in his life combined,” said one conservative lobbyist with knowledge of internal discussions. As Meadows and other Freedom Caucus members such as Representative Jim Jordan negotiated with Trump, more and more right-wing amendments were added to the bill to placate conservatives. The conservative concessions hurt moderates. “The vast majority of us in the Republican conference have been left out of these discussions,” Representative Bradley Byrne said Thursday. “That is a growing problem for our leadership and I think it’s a growing problem for the chances of this bill.” At some point, Ryan himself balked when he learned of the agreements struck between Trump and the conservatives, according to the conservative lobbyist, setting in motion a frantic push to save a vote on the bill that had been set for Thursday. By late afternoon, that rescue effort had collapsed and the vote was scrapped. Trump responded forcefully, dispatching top White House lieutenants to a meeting with lawmakers with a clear message: the president was done negotiating. The message was “it’s done tomorrow or Obamacare stays,” said Republican Representative Chris Collins. With that, lawmakers announced that a decisive vote on the bill would be held on Friday afternoon. Earlier, even as the vote that had been set for Thursday was falling apart, Trump was meeting with trucking industry representatives and gleefully climbed into the cab of an 18-wheeler. He said then that everyone would find out in a couple of hours whether Republicans had enough votes to pass the healthcare bill, unaware that the vote had already been delayed.

politicsNews

March 24, 2017

Paul Ryan: The Republican Party Is More Important Than The United States (VIDEO)

On Sunday, House Speaker Paul Ryan stated that he feels he must support Donald Trump as the Republican Pary s presidential nominee, due to his position in Congress and the Party. During an interview on NBC s Meet the Press, Ryan told Chuck Todd, I feel like I have certain responsibilities as not just Congressman Paul Ryan from the 1st District of Wisconsin, but as Speaker of the House. Ryan continued, saying: Imagine the Speaker of the House not supporting the duly elected nominee of our party, therefore creating a chasm in our party to split us in half, which basically helps deny us the White House and strong majorities in Congress. Ryan then went on to add a caveat to his duty-bound support for Trump. Now having said that, if something is done and said that I don t agree with, that I think puts a bad label on conservatism then I m going to speak out on it as I have, as I will continue to do. And I hope I don t have to keep doing it. Ryan is indirectly commenting on his recent condemnation of Trump s racist rhetoric.Todd then pointed out that Ryan is choosing his party over what is best for the U.S. You just made a case though of party over country. No, I didn t, Ryan replied. I know Hillary Clinton won t agree with anything we want to do. She ll put a bad judge on the Supreme Court, she won t agree with any of the conservative reforms we are trying to do. Ryan s statement was an appeal to putting party politics over the nation s interests. Ryan s Trump is better than Clinton talking point isn t going to cover that up. The majority of the GOP has decided to back Trump as their new elephant overlord, despite their division on his policy proposals. Ryan is no different, even though he is trying to posture himself as a voice of reason against Trump s rhetoric in the GOP. That isn t possible to do with any credibility.You can watch the interview below.Featured image from video screenshot

News

June 19, 2016

Clinton extends lead over Trump to 7 points: Reuters/Ipsos

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s lead over Republican rival Donald Trump increased to more than 7 percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday, from less than 3 points on Thursday. The shift came as Trump struggled to reset his campaign following a stretch of controversies. About 42 percent of likely voters favored Clinton and about 35 percent preferred Trump, according to the Aug. 4-8 online poll of 1,152 likely voters, which had a credibility interval of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The others would either pick another candidate, would not vote, or “don’t know/refused.” The results reflected a decline in support for Trump, rather than a boost for Clinton: In last Thursday’s poll, 42 percent of likely voters favored Clinton and about 39 percent favored Trump. Among registered voters over the same period, Clinton held a lead of nearly 13 percentage points, up from about 5 percentage points on Thursday, according to the poll. The five-day survey concluded on a mixed day for the Trump campaign. After squabbles last week with party leaders and the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq, Trump sought to turn the page with a speech outlining an economic platform of tax breaks and regulatory rollbacks. But in what was surely unwelcome news for Trump’s campaign, 50 heavyweight Republican national security officials, in a letter published on Monday, said that Trump would be “the most reckless president in American history.” Trump hit back, saying the signatories “deserve the blame for making the world such a dangerous place.” Trump faced more dissent within his party on Monday. A former CIA officer, Evan McMullin, announced he would run as an independent alternative to Trump for conservative Republicans, and Republican Senator Susan Collins said she would not vote for Trump. In a separate Reuters/Ipsos survey that gave respondents the option to choose from Clinton, Trump, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Clinton leads Trump by about 6 percentage points. Of the alternative party candidates, Johnson came in third with nearly 8 percentage points, up from 6 points on Thursday. Stein has about 2 percentage points. The Aug. 4-8 survey of 1,154 likely voters had a credibility interval of 3 percentage points. McMullin was not an option in the poll.

politicsNews

August 9, 2016

Trump Gets Laughed Off Twitter For Claiming That All Protesters Against Him Are Paid Thugs

Donald Trump is either really desperate to make it sound like everyone loves him or he s totally delusional.Because ever since inauguration day, millions of Americans have been participating in protests against him and his disastrous administration.The Women s March of Washington DC not only dwarfed Trump s inauguration crowd by a landslide, it was joined by people around the globe.And the protests haven t stopped.They continued outside the White House as Trump watched Finding Dory while worldwide chaos continued due to his Muslim ban. It s been two weeks since Trump took office and he has already been protested and hated by more people than any other president in history.But Trump took to Twitter on Friday morning to claim that all the protesters are just thugs who have been paid to protest him, suggesting that the protesters really love him and are only protesting to make some money.Professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters are proving the point of the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2017And protesters responded by laughing at him..@realDonaldTrump I was in the march on D.C. , where national guard helped us; can you let me know where to get my check? ;-) pic.twitter.com/HUJH8A4f93 Dr. Craig Malkin (@DrCraigMalkin) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump yes, yes I know; it s all part of a George Soros conspiracy that no protestor seems aware of. Dr. Craig Malkin (@DrCraigMalkin) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump I protested peacefully this week. I did it because I despise your policies. Didn t know I could get paid. Will do it again. Matt Haig (@matthaig1) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump I ve said this before, but please let me know how we re getting paid, because so far I ve been doing this pro bono. Alex Zalben (@azalben) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump also, everyone I know is protesting you for free, spending large chunks of time to stop you and your anarchist agenda. Alex Zalben (@azalben) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump it s almost as if we just throwing it out there don t like you? Alex Zalben (@azalben) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump What qualifications to professional anarchists need and what s the pay like? Neil Claxton (@MintRoyale) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump great point! Let s talk votes and the millions more who voted against you. Just about 3M more than the votes for you ?? Jose Andrade (@jandrade) February 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump You re letting the actions of a handful overshadow the legitimate concerns of the 65 million people who voted for Hillary? Jordan Uhl (@JordanUhl) February 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump There were several hundred thousand if not a million people in your back yard for #WomensMarch.Zero arrests. Jordan Uhl (@JordanUhl) February 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump So to make your case by handpicking a few bad actors out of the millions of protesters nationwide is disingenuous. Jordan Uhl (@JordanUhl) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump where did you get info they are being paid? Evan Rosenfeld (@Evan_Rosenfeld) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump so which of these tweets was a lie? pic.twitter.com/8tyVjCTDjx talia jane (@itsa_talia) February 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump Hard to pay all the people at the Women s March. You remember, the one that had better attendance than your inauguration. Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) February 3, 2017Donald Trump is a thug who brought a band of thugs to the White House with him to terrorize the American people and destroy our nation. He is an embarrassment who thinks protests and dissent should be silenced.And that s why we should turn up the heat by protesting him more.Featured image via Joe Raedle/Getty Images

News

February 3, 2017

‘Vaccine Choice’ Mom Gets Jail Time for Not Jabbing Her Kid

21st Century Wire says We ve been covering the anti-vaccine movement (and the science) for quite some time. The dangers of aluminum and the neurotoxicity of vaccines are well-documented. Now, this debate has turned up in a court of law. Which prompts us to ask this question again: Should the government force parents to vaccinate their kids?Rebecca Bredow, a self-proclaimed vaccine choice mom from Detroit, has just been sentenced to seven days in jail for contempt, defying a court order that states she agreed with her ex-husband to vaccinate their 9-year-old son.The judge also ordered to have the child vaccinated within one week, while Bredow is serving her jail sentence. Attorneys for the anti-vaxxer mom, who refused to jab her son based on her personal and religious beliefs, have said they will be filing an appeal. I would rather sit behind bars standing up for what I believe in, than giving in to something I strongly don t believe in, Bredow said in her statement to the court.As WXYX-TV Detroit reports, the son s father must get the child vaccinated before his mother gets out of jail, or this story could take yet another controversial turn WATCH: READ MORE VACCINE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Vax FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV

Middle-east

October 7, 2017

Trump retreats on comments on raising taxes on the wealthy

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump backtracked on Monday on his remarks about raising taxes on wealthy Americans, saying the rich might simply get a smaller tax cut than he originally proposed. Trump walked away from his Sunday comment that taxes on the wealthy would “go up” once his broad tax policy proposals, which include tax cuts for rich Americans, were negotiated with Congress. That appeared to be a break with traditional Republican support for lower taxes in all income brackets. On Monday, Trump said he did not mean to imply he was willing to raise taxes for people in higher-income brackets from their current level, but was referring to potential adjustments to his own tax policy proposal. “I may have to increase it on the wealthy - I’m not going to allow it to be increased on the middle class,” Trump said on CNN. “Now, if I increase it on the wealthy, that means they’re still going to be paying less than they are paying now. I’m talking about increasing it from my (original) tax proposal.” The proposal, released in September, included broad tax breaks for businesses and households, with the highest income tax rate cut to 25 percent from the current 39.6 percent. Trump, a billionaire real estate developer, said on Monday that lowering taxes on the middle class and businesses was his priority. “I’m not talking about a tax increase. I’m talking about a tremendous tax decrease, OK?” Trump said on the Fox Business Network. He said proposals always changed in negotiations with Congress but that he was committed to cutting taxes. The contradictory statements came as Trump began pivoting to a general election race against likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Trump effectively clinched the Republican nomination for the Nov. 8 presidential election last week after his last two rivals dropped out of the race. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Bush administration official who also advised Republican John McCain during his failed 2008 presidential run, said Trump was trying to make his economic plans add up. “He’s gone from wildly unrealistic to impenetrable” on the subject of taxes, Holtz-Eakin said, adding that Trump’s comments about the outcome of possible negotiations with Congress “makes me confused as to what he really wants.” Trump did win support from influential anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, who said on CNBC on Monday that some people with a lot of tax credits might see some increase, but that rates would drop overall under Trump’s plan. “He’s made it very clear he wants lower taxes,” Norquist said. “Trump’s tax cut would be a tax cut for every American.” Norquist’s group, Americans for Tax Reform, asks all Republican candidates to sign a no-new-taxes pledge, but Trump has not signed one yet. Norquist said he was confident the candidate would sign, given his public comments. The Clinton campaign was happy to take Trump at his word that he planned to cut wealthy Americans’ taxes. It cited an analysis of Trump’s proposal by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimating it would give the wealthiest Americans an average annual boost of more than $1.3 million a year. “This is a tax plan by the billionaire for the billionaires,” Clinton adviser Jake Sullivan said. “And after some confusing comments over the weekend, he actually doubled down today on the fact that his tax plan would have massive cuts for the wealthy. Who knows what he’ll say tomorrow?” Trump also sought on Monday to clarify comments he made last week about the U.S. debt. He said he never espoused restructuring or defaulting on government debt but would buy it back at a discount if interest rates go up. “He should stop talking about the debt because he hasn’t said anything that makes any sense yet,” Holtz-Eakin said. Trump’s candidacy has opened a rift in the Republican Party, with many leaders appalled by his rhetoric on immigrants, Muslims and women and concerned that some policy positions such as his opposition to free trade run counter to Republican orthodoxy. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, who said last week he was not yet ready to endorse Trump, said on Monday he would step down as co-chairman of the July 18-21 Republican National Convention if Trump wants him to. Trump on Sunday did not rule out pushing Ryan out from the speaker’s traditional role as convention chairman. Ryan and Trump will meet on Thursday to try to iron out their differences. Later on Thursday, the candidate will meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other members of the Senate Republican leadership, a Senate Republican aide said on Monday. Trump said on Monday that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a former presidential rival who endorsed his candidacy shortly after dropping out of the race, would lead his White House transition team. Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, another vanquished presidential rival, sought on Monday to quash speculation he might emerge as the vice presidential running mate for Trump, saying he still had deep reservations about the former reality television star.

politicsNews

May 9, 2016

Republican Carson cuts staff but vows to campaign on

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said he intends to continue campaigning through the Republican National Convention in July after a report on Thursday said he planned a major downsizing of his flagging campaign. The Washington Post reported that Carson planned to eliminate 50 staff positions, or nearly one-half his staff. Carson, in an appearance on the Fox News Channel, said the cuts have been months in the making after an examination found “inefficiencies” in his campaign. “It’s the same kind of thing I would do as president,” the retired neurosurgeon said. “There is a lot of money being wasted, a lot of inefficiency in government and just because you have the funds to continue that inefficiency doesn’t mean that you should do it.” The bulk of the cuts will come from his field offices and headquarters in Virginia, the Washington Post said, citing an internal memo and campaign officials. Carson will also reduce salaries for campaign workers, it said. Carson finished fourth among Republican presidential hopefuls in the Iowa caucuses on Monday with less than 10 percent of the vote. The newspaper said other cost-saving measures included possibly using commercial flights instead of private planes and limiting Carson’s travel team to a select few advisers. “We will be able to continue the campaign right until Cleveland,” Carson said, referring to the convention. “But obviously you always make appropriate adjustments to make sure you can accomplish your goal.” His most senior staffers will remain on the campaign team, according to the Post. (Reporting by Clarece Polke; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Jeffrey Benkoe) SAP is the sponsor of this content. It was independently created by Reuters’ editorial staff and funded in part by SAP, which otherwise has no role in this coverage.

politicsNews

February 4, 2016

Spy agencies concerned about possible U.S. election hacks: NSA chief

American intelligence agencies are concerned about reports that foreign governments may be attempting to undermine the Nov. 8 U.S. elections through cyber attacks, Admiral Mike Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, said on Tuesday. “We continue to be actively concerned,” Rogers told a Senate hearing, responding to a question from Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Marcel Lettre, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, testified that the government is taking any such activities “quite seriously” and said an “aggressive investigation” is under way. McCain noted that one of the two states in which media reports said there was evidence of attempted Russian hacking was his home state, Arizona. Some analysts have said Arizona, which recently has been reliably Republican in presidential elections, could be tilting more toward the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, this year. McCain, a Republican, himself is in a tougher than usual re-election fight. Rogers said he could not provide specifics about spy agencies’ current assessment of the alleged hacking in a public setting. But he added, “I will say this, that it continues to be an issue of great focus ... for the foreign intelligence community, attempting to generate insights into what foreign nations are doing in this area.” Under further questioning, Rogers declined to characterize the activity as by a foreign nation-state. Lettre said the government would adopt a policy for dealing with any such activity once it had the results of the investigation. “The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security has an aggressive investigation underway,” Lettre said. U.S. security officials have said that, starting last year, hackers infiltrated computers of the Democratic National Committee, Clinton’s presidential campaign and her party’s congressional fundraising committee. U.S. officials said they have concluded that Russia or its proxies were responsible, leading to calls by some Democrats and cyber security officials for the Obama administration to blame Russia publicly. Kremlin officials have dismissed the allegations as absurd, but there is anxiety in Washington over the possibility that a foreign power might be using hacked information to meddle in the November elections.

politicsNews

September 13, 2016

PRICELESS! SEN CHUCK SCHUMER’S Childish Stunt To Bash Senate Healthcare Bill Backfires [Video]

This is hysterical! Senator Chuck Schumer can t even get a stunt right! He held a press conference to bash the Senate s healthcare bill and tried to pull a childish stunt. He had someone place a sign with the word mean on it and then took out a sharpie and added the letters E-R . The only problem is that you couldn t see the added letters AT ALL! He had to go back and try to fill it in STILL COULDN T SEE IT! Priceless! .@SenSchumer adds letters "E-R" to poster board next to him. "The Senate version of #TrumpCare is even meaner than the House bill." pic.twitter.com/u7r7l1sKyR CSPAN (@cspan) June 22, 2017 How childish that Schumer is fear mongering by calling the Senate healthcare bill meaner than the House bill. If being fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars while trying to fix the disaster that is Obamacare is meaner then so be it. Someone needs to be the adult in the room and stop the madness and government waste that was happening during the Obama years. The Democrats just don t understand that the American people GET IT and are sick of the fear mongering from Democrats. We can also do without the class warfare from the Dems! People from all walks of life have figured out what the Democrats are all about. Schumer needs to get a clue!

left-news

Jun 22, 2017

TEXAS GOVERNOR FOR VP! Abbott Pushes Back On Obama’s Agenda Like No One Else [Video]

This is a great interview with Greta on FOX! Why isn t Trump vetting Texas Governor Greg Abbott for Vice President? Listen to this strong willed conservative on how he ll push back on Obama s crooked Iran Deal We say BRAVO!

politics

May 18, 2016

Muslim holds ancient key to Jesus tomb site in Jerusalem

As dark falls, Adeeb Joudeh, a Muslim, makes his way through the stone alleyways of Jerusalem s walled Old City cradling the ancient key to one of Christianity s holiest sites. Centuries ago, the imposing iron key to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried, was entrusted to his family, one of Jerusalem s most prominent clans, says Joudeh. He dates the arrangement back to the time of Saladin, the Muslim conqueror who seized the holy city from the Crusaders in 1187. Honestly, it s a great honor for a Muslim to hold the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is the most important church in Christendom, Joudeh, 53, said. Another of the city s oldest Muslim families, the Nusseibehs, were entrusted with the duty of opening and closing the church doors, a task they perform to this day. It requires firm fingers: The key is 30 cm (12 inches) long and weighs 250 grams (0.5 pounds). Historians differ on the roots of the arrangement. Some researchers say Saladin most likely bestowed the guardianship upon the two families in order to assert Muslim dominance over Christianity in the city. It also had financial implications, with a tax from visitors collected at the door. Documentation, however, only goes back to the 16th century, Joudeh said, displaying dozens of Fermans , or royal decrees by rulers of the Ottoman empire, bestowing the key custodianship upon his family. Jerusalem s Old City today houses sites that are sacred to all three major monotheisms. It and other east Jerusalem areas were captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel has since declared the entire city its undivided capital. This status is not recognized internationally and is rejected by the Palestinians who want East Jerusalem as capital of a state they hope to found. Joudeh says his key is about 800 years old. Another copy he holds broke after centuries of use. I started learning this when I was eight years old. It s handed down from father to son, said Joudeh. I have been doing this for 30 years and I feel that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is my second home. The Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations share custody of the church, where tensions often run high over control of its various sectors. Christianity scholar Yisca Harani said having Muslim families in charge of the key and the doors helps somewhat in keeping the peace between the denominations. The church is definitely a model of co-existence, Harani said.

worldnews

November 30, 2017

TEXAS GOVERNOR Warns Feds To Stop Illegal Land Grab In Texas [Video]

We wrote about this particular and ongoing situation in Texas but it s getting more and more pressing. The feds are coming in and telling legal land owners who ve owned their ranches for decades that they ll be taking their land:LAND GRAB ALERT: Texas Rancher Could Lose 600 Acres To Feds [Video] KAUZ-TV: Newschannel 6 Now | Wichita Falls, TX Unlawful and wrong!In a letter to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Neil Kornz, Texas Governor Greg Abbott wrote, The BLM should demonstrate that the federal government still respects private property rights and end this unconscionable land grab. The letter was sent regarding the ongoing battle between Texas landowners and the federal government.Abbott s letter references the battle between Texas landowners and the BLM first reported nationally by Breitbart Texas in April, 2014. At that time, then Texas Attorney General Abbott told Breitbart Texas in an exclusive interview, I am about ready to go to the Red River and raise a Come and Take It flag to tell the feds to stay out of Texas. Abbott sent a letter to Kornz on April 22 detailing the concerns over actions taken by the BLM to swoop in and take land that has been owned and cultivated by Texas landowners for generations. In the Texas Governor s newest letter to the federal agency, Abbott expressed the frustrations felt by many of the landowners who have been involved in this ongoing battle. Abbott wrote, Texas will not wait any longer. The governor reminded Kornz of his previous letters on this issue. My fellow Texans and I are still waiting for an answer, Abbott wrote. The BLM has yet to identify what land the federal government newly claims as its own. The BLM has yet to identify the legal basis for that claim. And the BLM has yet to identify the process by which Texans can protect their land and private property rights. Read more: Breitbart

Government News

Oct 17, 2015

Trump accuser follows Cosby playbook by pursuing defamation suit

When former reality television contestant Summer Zervos accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct last fall, she pursued her claims solely in the court of public opinion, since the allegations dated too far back to allow a lawsuit. But last month, she found a fresh approach to fight the former host of “The Apprentice,” who has vehemently denied her allegations that he groped her in 2007. By professing his innocence, the man who is now president of the United States had effectively called her a liar, Servos alleges in a defamation lawsuit. The suit copied a rare legal tactic employed most notably by several women who have accused the actor and comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault: using his denials as the basis for a defamation claim. It is not uncommon for high-profile allegations against celebrities to prompt defamation lawsuits, but they are usually filed by the star against the accuser. In 2014, however, Joseph Cammarata, the attorney for Cosby accuser Tamara Green, realized he could adapt that strategy for his own purposes after Cosby’s lawyer issued a statement calling the allegations “fantastical.” Like many other Cosby accusers, Green was unable to sue for assault because the alleged incident occurred decades ago. “A direct claim for the assault is not available, so I came up with the idea that a defamation claim would be the appropriate vehicle to use to address the underlying harm,” said Cammarata, whose lawsuit now includes seven Cosby accusers as plaintiffs. All told, 10 Cosby accusers filed four defamation lawsuits in three states. In simple terms, the argument is that Trump and Cosby have effectively branded the women as liars by denying the incidents occurred. But the women face a difficult challenge in making their cases, experts say. “Merely saying, ‘I didn’t do it,’ is traditionally not seen in defamation law as calling your accuser a liar, even though logically that’s what it means,” said Rod Smolla, dean of the Delaware Law School and a First Amendment scholar. “But if you go beyond that – if you go from, ‘I didn’t do it,’ to, ‘She’s a liar,’ now you have arguably made a statement of fact” that could be subject to liability, he added. Trump’s status as president does not shield him from civil liability for actions he took prior to assuming office. In a statement on Tuesday, the attorney defending Trump in the Zervos lawsuit, Marc Kasowitz, said he and Trump’s personal lawyer would soon file a response to the lawsuit. “President Trump continues to deny any allegation of wrongdoing raised in said complaint,” he said. Cosby, 79, who faces allegations of sexual misconduct from approximately 50 women, has also denied any wrongdoing. The Cosby and Trump plaintiffs are taking on a tough double burden, experts said. First, the only way to show the denials by both men are untrue is to prove the incidents took place as described. “The burden is going to be on her to show that Trump is actually saying something that’s false,” Clay Calvert, a First Amendment expert at the University of Florida, said of Zervos. In addition, the women must show Trump and Crosby crossed the line into defamation by deliberately making false statements that seriously harmed the accusers’ reputations. In defamation cases, courts typically examine statements to determine whether they were factual or opinion, as expressing an opinion is generally protected by the First Amendment. Making that distinction can be challenging. In the Cosby cases, for instance, judges have split on whether the lawsuits should proceed, even coming to opposite conclusions regarding the same statement from his attorney. U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni in Massachusetts rejected Cosby’s attempts to have two cases, including Green’s lawsuit, thrown out. In his rulings, the judge found that a November 2014 statement from Cosby’s lawyer calling the allegations “unsubstantiated, fantastical stories” could be reasonably seen as factual, and therefore potentially defamatory. By contrast, a Pittsburgh federal judge, Arthur Schwab, tossed a similar case against Cosby, finding that the same statement was “pure opinion” and thus protected. Unlike Cosby, who has been fairly circumspect in his public statements, Trump has aggressively attacked his accusers, calling the claims “100 percent fabricated and made-up.” His rhetoric could make him more vulnerable to a defamation claim, experts said. Trump has said he never met Zervos at a hotel, despite her allegation that he groped her at a hotel in Beverly Hills, California. That type of specific fact-based assertion can also make it easier to show defamation if it can be proven false, according to Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California in Los Angeles. “So much depends on the particular statement and the particular context surrounding that statement,” he said.

politicsNews

February 8, 2017

Denying feud over Russia hacking, Trump vows support to CIA

U.S. President Donald Trump tried to ease tensions with the CIA on Saturday, telling officers he had their back after he had leveled unprecedented criticism against spy agencies for their investigation into Russian hacking during the election. In his first official visit to a government agency as president, Trump - who had said U.S. intelligence tactics were reminiscent of Nazi Germany - sought to leave no doubt with officers that he supported their work. Even so, some analysts said it would take more than a quick visit for Trump to patch up relations with a community that he has denigrated. A large part of Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks on Saturday were not related to the work of the CIA, at times sounding more like a campaign rally than an address to intelligence professionals. Trump made no mention of Russia during his remarks, which included praise for his nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency, Mike Pompeo, a pledge to fight Islamic State and a rant against the media, which he said invented his feud with intelligence agencies. “Very, very few people could do the job you people do and I want you to know I am so behind you,” Trump said, to cheers and loud applause from about 400 officers who packed the building’s atrium to hear him speak. Ahead of his inauguration, Trump had harshly criticized intelligence officials after they concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed hackers to breach Democratic emails to try to boost Trump’s presidential election campaign. He has since accepted those conclusions. Then, after leaks about an unsubstantiated dossier compiled by a private security firm suggesting Moscow had compromising information about him, Trump blamed intelligence agencies for using Nazi-like tactics - drawing a rebuke from outgoing CIA Director John Brennan. Trump has said he wants to try to work with Moscow to fight Islamic State militants and reduce stockpiles of nuclear weapons. He said reporters made up the tension between him and the CIA. “I have a running war with the media. They are among the most dishonest people on earth,” Trump said. “They made it sound like I had a feud with the intelligence people.” Trump also slammed media for showing images of “an empty field” from his inauguration on the National Mall while he claimed that the crowd “went all the way back to the Washington Monument.” And he called out by name a reporter who had made an error in a White House press pool report. While Trump has some support in the U.S. intelligence community, his criticism over the Russia issue eroded much of it. Within the 17-agency intelligence community, there are widely shared concerns about the qualifications and judgment of Trump, a businessman and television star who never before held public office. Some veteran analysts who have spent their careers studying foreign dictators and autocrats have said they are troubled by Trump’s style, saying his negativity, egotism and appeals to nationalism are hallmarks of autocratic regimes. “Many people are asking whether we can serve under a president and national security adviser who’ve expressed such contempt for the intelligence community, and one photo opportunity drive-by on a Saturday is not going to change that,” said a veteran officer now working at CIA headquarters after multiple assignments overseas, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Paul Pillar, a former top U.S. intelligence analyst on the Middle East, said Trump’s digressions during the speech show that “even when he is in their own building he can’t be bothered to focus on their work.” Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives’ intelligence committee, said Trump’s speech in front of a memorial wall with stars representing CIA personnel killed in action was “little more than a perfunctory acknowledgment of their service and sacrifice.” Trump had originally hoped to swear in Pompeo as his new CIA chief during the visit to the spy agency. But the Senate has not yet confirmed the Kansas Republican representative for the job. That vote is expected on Monday. Trump and Pompeo received briefings at the CIA headquarters before the president made remarks. Trump vowed he would return to speak with officers again. He said fighting Islamic State militants would be a priority for the agency, saying “radical Islamic terrorism” had to be eradicated. “We have not used the real abilities that we have. We’ve been restrained,” Trump said. It was not immediately clear what he meant by restraints. During his campaign, Trump pledged to bring back the use of waterboarding, a simulated drowning technique that former President Barack Obama had banned as torture. But Pompeo and Trump’s new defense secretary, James Mattis, have told Congress they would oppose a return to the interrogation technique.

politicsNews

January 21, 2017

U.S. voters say yes to big bond issues, mixed message on taxes

U.S. voters on Tuesday favored a surge in borrowing for public projects, approving some of the biggest bond measures on ballots, while support for new taxes was mixed, according to election results on Wednesday. Final voting tallies were not immediately available for all of the 682 state, school and local government bond measures, according to data company Ipreo. At $70.3 billion, the amount of bond issuance requested to fund the building and repairing schools, mass transit, roads, and other projects was the largest in a decade. To view the historical amount of bond ballot measures, click on tmsnrt.rs/2e9Z5bb. Some of the largest bond requests won approval, including the biggest bond proposal in Tuesday’s election: $9 billion of California general obligation debt in the state’s so-called Proposition 51. This will finance new construction and modernization for K-12 and charter schools and community colleges, according to semi-official election results on the California Secretary of State’s website. “Passage of Proposition 51 is credit positive for school districts with approved, but unfunded capital projects under the state School Facility Program, which is depleted,” Lori Trevino, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, wrote in a research note on Wednesday. With 195 bond measures totaling $41.7 billion, California issuers accounted for nearly 60 percent of the total par amount of debt on ballots nationwide. California’s voters rejected Proposition 53, a proposal to rein in debt by requiring statewide voter approval for revenue bonds exceeding $2 billion for projects financed, owned or managed by the state. The rejection removes a hurdle standing in the way of projects such as the $14.9 billion California Water Fix project for upgrading its water infrastructure. “It assures that the state’s water policymakers will have the tools necessary to implement the California Water Fix, although they still face an uphill battle to secure the full approval and financial backing necessary to implement the plan,” Shannon Groff, Fitch Ratings director of U.S. Public Finance, said in a statement. As for tax measures, California voters passed a 12-year extension of a temporary state personal income tax increase on earnings of $250,000 or more and a cigarette tax hike. Voters in 35 states weighed 154 state-wide measures, including bonds and taxes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which posted results on its website. Montana voters said no to creating a biomedical research authority funded by $200 million of bonds over 10 years. In Colorado, voters turned down a proposed constitutional amendment calling for a public option universal healthcare payment system, funded by a new 10 percent state payroll tax. They also rejected a cigarette tax hike. Arkansas voters agreed to lift a cap on state bond issuance for economic development projects. Illinois will have to earmark money generated from transportation-related fees and taxes exclusively for transportation uses, under a new constitutional amendment approved by voters. New Jersey voters approved the use of gasoline taxes solely to fund road, bridge and mass transit projects, and to allow $12 billion of transportation borrowing over eight years. Governor Chris Christie signed a 23-cent gas tax hike into law in October. In Missouri, voters amended the state constitution to prohibit any new tax on services or transactions. Oklahoma voters turned down a sales tax hike for public education. A corporate tax hike to fund education in Oregon also failed. Washington state voters rejected the nation’s first tax on carbon emissions. At the local level, San Diego voters rejected a measure to raise hotel taxes and direct hundreds of millions of public dollars toward building a new National Football League stadium in downtown San Diego for the Chargers team.

politicsNews

November 9, 2016

Democrats May Save Oregon’s Middle Class From GOP With New Wage Law

The Oregon State Senate has just approved a bill that would increase the state s minimum wage over the next six years in incremental steps.Democrats can be thanked for pushing the measure through on a margin of 16-12, saying that it was necessary to help lift residents out of poverty and handle increasing costs of living. One lone sellout, Democratic Senator Betsy Johnson, voted no along with all Republicans. The bill will raise the minimum wage to $14.75 in Portland, $13.50 in other urban counties, and $12.50 in rural counties to prevent harming business in lower cost of living areas. The current minimum wage in the state is $9.25, which is higher than the federal minimum. However, it still is inadequate, especially in urban areas.The bill passed after a floor debate that lasted six hours. It was introduced by Democratic Senator Michael Dembrow, of Portland. Gradual increases will take place yearly, leading up to the maximum numbers in 2022. The measure is set to move to the State House next, with expectations of approval by Governor Kate Brown.As usual, wealthy wanna-be plutocrats have come out threatening doom and gloom over the attempt to make sure Oregonians are not living in grinding poverty. Jason Brandt, CEO of the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association released the following statement: It will kill jobs, harm consumers, force school and government service cuts and hurt Oregon farms and small businesses. We urge the House to defeat this plan that puts election year politics ahead of Oregon s economy. Source: oregonlive.comAll that anyone needs to do is refer to Seattle Seatac, who raised its minimum wage to $15/hour. The results are amazingly good, with an unemployment rate of only 3.3 percent a rate not seen since 2008. Seatac is also one of the fastest growing airport hubs in the United States, which destroys the myth that a living wage will stifle growth and explode unemployment.One of the most basic concepts of capitalism is lost on literally every Republican who claims to LOVE the system the fact that more money in the hands of consumers equals higher demand which increases the need for employment. Everywhere a minimum wage goes up, unemployment tends to trend down, and the anecdotal accounts of it weeding out already-failed businesses or spiteful greedy owners can t counter the right-wing propaganda anymore. It s happening, and the positive results are not going to stop.Featured image from Twitter

News

February 12, 2016

Ship traffic could resume Tuesday at Port Arthur, Texas: U.S. Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday allowed some barge traffic to enter Port Arthur, Texas, home of the country’s largest oil refinery, and is considering allowing ships to enter on Tuesday, a spokesman said. Ships are not yet allowed to enter the port along the Neches River because of extreme river currents from Hurricane Harvey, said Scott Whalen, director of the USCG’s Vessel Tracking Service at Port Arthur. The largest crude oil processor in the United States, Motiva Enterprises’ Port Arthur Refinery, sits along the port. The 603,000 barrel per day refinery is one of the largest producers of gasoline in the United States. Port Arthur, the Port of Beaumont and Port of Orange are deep water ports on the Sabine-Neches waterway near the Texas-Louisiana border and are the only three of 28 ports on the Texas coast still closed to ship traffic due to Harvey. Survey results of the port are due Monday evening, and following an assessment the Coast Guard will determine if the port can reopen on Tuesday, Whalen said. Any reopening would entail restrictions such as daylight operations and on vessel draft, or depth. “We are hoping to move it tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll try Port Arthur first and see how far we can get. Pilots do not feel it is safe to get ships into those areas.” The Coast Guard currently has a two loaded barge limit for the Neches River, Whalen said.

politicsNews

September 4, 2017

KREEPY KAINE Says Voting For Hillary Will Help To Put American Women More On Par With Women In Iraq, Afghanistan And Rwanda

How very progressive While Hillary insults women who are victims of sexual abuse, her creepy VP uses women who are forced to live like they re still in the dark ages, as progressive role models for American women Vice presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Tuesday that the United States has made it difficult for women to be elected to higher office, and argued that America ranks behind Iraq, Afghanistan and Rwanda in this area. It took 144 years before women even got the right to vote in this country, Kaine said at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, N.C. What were we thinking when we said equality mattered, but no. One hundred and forty four years. It took us that long to say in 1920, to say women get a right to vote. And now we re 96 years later and we have just nominated a woman. We know we haven t had a woman president. But in Congress right now, we re doing the best job we have ever done in women in the federal legislature: 19 percent. That s the best job we ve ever done, he said.The Virginia senator claimed smaller, less wealthy countries actually put the United States to shame when it comes to electing women to higher office. Hold on for this, folks. Nineteen percent ranks the United States 75th in the world, below the global average, he said. Iraq is 26 percent. Afghanistan is 28 percent. Number one [is] Rwanda. Sixty-four percent. So for reasons, some of which I understand, some of which I don t, we have made it hard. We have made it hard for women to be elected to the highest positions in our federal legislature and as president, he added.However, with the nomination of Hillary Clinton, that s all about to change, he said. We are about to change that. And that s why I m so excited! he said.Kaine s statistics are based on numbers compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which bases its data on information provided by National Parliaments. Washington Examinerh/t Weasel Zippers

left-news

Aug 17, 2016

WATCH: SARAH HUCKABEE-SANDERS Mocks Media For Ignoring Public Testimony Proving Fake Russian Dossier Was Part Of “Witch Hunt or Hoax”

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has taken control of the media and is no longer allowing them to push a false narrative when it comes to President Trump and a non-existant Russian connection.Time and time again, Sanders has proven she s no pushover when it comes to the rabid leftist media who would love nothing more than to be able to sabotage her during her press briefings. Yesterday was no exception. With a smile on her face, Sanders called out the media for ignoring the biggest story of the day. The one day there might have been a question on Russia, there wasn t. Often, we have a lot of uh, media with Russia first , and uh, but today, there was public testimony that further discredited the phony dossier that s been the source of so much of the fake news and conspiracy theories. And we learned that the firm that produced it was also being paid by the Russians. This is yet the latest piece of evidence that vindicates what the president has said that this is just a witch hunt and a hoax . And its a shame that the president and the country have had to go through this charade. The entire Russia hoax implodes just as the scandal of the year (the Awan brothers) breaks. Bad week for Fake News! pic.twitter.com/acjPqJs33b Newt-Trump Fan Club (@NewtTrump) July 27, 2017

left-news

Jul 28, 2017

Putin must nudge Syria into U.N. peace deal, mediator says

U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura urged Russia on Wednesday to convince its ally the Syrian government of the need to clinch a peace deal to end the nearly seven-year-old war. De Mistura, speaking on Swiss television station RTS, said failure to make peace quickly through United Nations mediation could lead to a fragmentation of Syria . Russian President Vladimir Putin during a surprise visit on Monday to Russia s Hmeymim air base in Syria, declared that the work of Russian forces was largely done in backing the Assad government against militants, following the defeat of the most battle-hardened group of international terrorists. De Mistura, asked what signal Putin could give from his position of force, said: Convince the (Syrian) government that there is no time to lose.... You can think you win territory militarily but you have to win the peace. And to win the peace, you have to have the courage to push the government to accept that there has to be a new constitution and new elections, through the United Nations, he said. The nearly seven-year civil war in Syria has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven more than 11 million from their homes. All previous diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict have ended in failure over the opposition s demand that President Bashar al-Assad leave power and his refusal to go. The Kremlin first launched air strikes in Syria in September 2015 in its biggest Middle East intervention in decades, turning the tide of the conflict in Assad s favor. Now that it regards that mission complete, Putin wants to help broker a peace deal and is keen to organize a special event in Russia - a Syrian Congress on National Dialogue - that Moscow hopes will bring together the Syrian government and opposition and try to hammer out a new constitution. But De Mistura made clear that peace negotiations must be through the United Nations in Geneva, as mandated by the U.N. Security Council, adding: Otherwise it is not worth it.... This is a complicated war, it is only in Geneva through the U.N. The U.N. envoy has conducted shuttle diplomacy between the Syrian government delegation led by chief negotiator Bashar al-Ja afari and a unified opposition delegation. The opposition told me clearly when they arrived here, and again yesterday and this morning too, that they are ready to meet the government right away to have a hard, difficult discussion. The government is not ready, it has said it is not ready to meet the opposition. That is regrettable but diplomacy has many means, de Mistura said. A senior Western diplomat said that the government delegation had failed to engage with de Mistura on a new constitution and elections during a round of negotiations due to end on Thursday. Clearly they did not have any intention to engage in this political process. And clearly they are not under sufficient pressure to do so, the diplomat told Reuters. The clear impression is the regime wants to avoid the U.N.-led political process at any cost.

worldnews

December 13, 2017

OBAMACARE LOAN SHARK: If Gov’t Can Extort More Money From TAXPAYERS…OBAMACARE Can Still Work [VIDEO]

THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!

politics

Oct 26, 2016

Mexico-U.S. trade would survive any NAFTA rupture: Mexico foreign minister

Trade between the United States and Mexico would not end if the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was terminated, Mexico s foreign minister said on Friday, after a new U.S. plan emerged to build a five-year sunset provision into the treaty. In the shadow of repeated threats to scrap the deal by U.S. President Donald Trump and his officials, Mexico, Canada and the United States have set an ambitious goal to renegotiate the 23-year-old trade pact within the next few months. Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said currently about half of Mexico s trade with the United States did not use NAFTA channels, and that if the deal were to end the tariffs it would face would average 3 percent - not enough to halt trading. Mexico is much bigger than NAFTA, Videgaray said in an interview with Reuters. If the negotiation does not go well, it would not be the end of trade between Mexico and the United States...There would be no leap into the abyss, he said, arguing that World Trade Organization tariffs would govern trade post-NAFTA. He also mentioned that Mexico could put higher tariffs on U.S. products, noting that apples from Arizona could face a 50 percent tariff to enter Mexico without NAFTA. Videgaray has said that Mexico would walk away from the talks if Trump followed through on a threat to trigger a 180-day countdown to scrap NAFTA as a negotiating tactic. The three countries are due to sit down for a third round of talks in Ottawa, Canada on Sept. 23. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Thursday said the United States was seeking to add a five-year sunset provision to NAFTA to provide a regular, systematic re-examination of the pact. Ross argued it was needed because forecasts for U.S. export and job growth when NAFTA took effect in 1994 were wildly optimistic and failed to live up to expectations. Such a clause means NAFTA would automatically end after five years unless renewed. Videgaray said the idea of a sunset clause was unnecessary, since the pact s members can already trigger a renegotiation or leave it at any time, and noted that neither Mexico nor Canada had formally received such a proposal. There is no strict need to have this exit mechanism since the treaty already has a much more flexible exit mechanism, he said. It seems redundant, or strange to add a date of every five years. In an attempt to reduce its dependence on U.S. trade, Mexico has been doubling down on its open trade model, and is currently trying to secure more access to the European Union, Brazil, Israel, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, among others. Despite the tensions over trade and repeated barbs by Trump, some aspects of the U.S.-Mexico relationship have been blossoming, including defense cooperation. On Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited Mexico to take part in Independence Day celebrations. Both Videgaray and Mattis said the two countries shared common concerns about issues that include drug trafficking in Mexico but also drug consumption in the United States that fuels the illicit industry.

worldnews

September 15, 2017

U.S.-backed SDF launch final assault in Syria's Raqqa city

U.S.-backed militias in Syria launched what they described as a final assault on Sunday against an Islamic State pocket inside Raqqa to clear the city of the remaining jihadists. The battle will continue until the whole city is clean of the terrorists who refused to surrender, including the foreign fighters, a statement by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said. A convoy of Islamic State fighters evacuated Syria s Raqqa overnight, the SDF said earlier, with the negotiated withdrawal bringing the battle near to its end.

worldnews

October 15, 2017

Top Senate Democrat cites civil rights concerns with Trump pick Sessions

Incoming U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday said he is “very concerned” about Republican U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Senator Jeff Sessions as attorney general and indicated there would be tough questioning in the chamber’s confirmation process. “Given some of his past statements and his staunch opposition to immigration reform, I am very concerned about what he would do with the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice and want to hear what he has to say,” Schumer said in a statement.

politicsNews

November 18, 2016

Bolstered Libyan coast guard intercepts packed migrant boat

Libya s European-backed coast guard on Saturday turned back more than 150 migrants trying to reach Italy by boat amid its heightened efforts to block such crossings of the Mediterranean. The migrants, packed into a single rubber boat, were intercepted off the coast between the towns of Al Khoms and Garabulli, east of Tripoli, after traveling through the night. The boat was close to an Italian coast guard ship patrolling in international waters when they were cut off and taken aboard a Libyan vessel, dashing their hopes of reaching Europe. The rubber boat was being rocked by heavy waves and the motor had cut out. We were shouting, they are blocking us, they are blocking us . We were crying, pleading for help, said Patrice Emani, a 27-year-old from Mali. He said he was making his second attempted crossing from Libya. He was detained in the western Libyan city of Zawiya earlier in the year, but his family paid for him to be released. The captain of the Libyan ship that returned the migrants to Tripoli port, Colonel Abdelhamid Adengouz, said they had been rescued from drowning in rough conditions, with cooperation from Italy. The migrants were saved from death, he said. There was an Italian ship present that helped us. A large majority of migrants traveling to Europe by sea depart from western Libya, where people smuggling has flourished amid lawlessness and a collapsing economy. But there has been a sharp drop in departures since July due to armed factions preventing boats from leaving parts of the coast and increased activity from Libyan coast guard units which have received training and technical support from Italy and the European Union. Human rights groups have criticized European policy, saying no migrants should be returned to a country where they face widespread abuse. After migrants are brought back to Libya, they are registered by international agencies before being taken to overcrowded detention centers. Some are offered the chance to return home, while others languish in detention or seek a way out. Most of those intercepted on Saturday were from West African countries, including Mali, Guinea, and Nigeria, and some were from Bangladesh. All but one were male. They said they had paid between 1,500 and 3,000 Libyan dinars ($176-$353 at unofficial market rates) to make the crossing. I suffered a lot - kidnappings, demands for ransom, said Christopher Daniel, a 20-year-old Nigerian. They blindfolded me and forced me to give them money, he said of a period he spent in captivity in the southern city of Sabha last year. I don t know what to say or do. All the money I have wasted - what will I tell my parents?

worldnews

November 4, 2017

Twitter BLASTS Whole Foods For Yet Another Expensive, Unnecessary Product (TWEETS)

Whole Foods is a store that many people love. They love the organic food, the appearance of cleanliness and health, and the impeccable customer service. However, lately, this popular chain has found itself under fire for creating and marketing products that are excessively expensive and completely unnecessary often at the expense of the environment due to the packaging, and at the expense of its customers budgets.Everyone remembers the absolute shitstorm caused by the asparagus water last year that the chain sold $6 a bottle for water with a couple of stalks of asparagus in it. Apparently, that did not teach the folks at Whole Foods a lesson, because they have now just had a similar reaction to another ridiculously expensive product oranges that are already peeled, which are going for a whopping $6 a pound.Needless to say, the public has not taken kindly to this move, and many people have taken to Twitter to blast the chain. Here are just a few choice critical tweets:Firstly, it was pointed out how environmentally irresponsible this is:If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn't need to waste so much plastic on them. pic.twitter.com/00YECaHB4D Nathalie Gordon (@awlilnatty) March 3, 2016 @awlilnatty Fucking hell. That makes me unbelievably angry actually. Talk about necessarily contributing to plastic taking over the planet. Swiftie Be (@StephanieBe) March 3, 2016Others pointed out how ironic the chain s antics are, given its name:@ajdomanico @awlilnatty the irony of this being Whole Foods too Mollie Goodfellow (@hansmollman) March 3, 2016Others made fun of the obviously lazy nature of the people who would purchase this:@ConorS @awlilnatty @MisterVivian next logical step: half eaten. (@Jemppu) March 4, 2016It was pointed out that it could be ableist to assume that everyone can peel an orange; however, that point was quickly followed by the obvious fact that such people are not who Whole Foods is targeting. In fact, due to the fact that most disabled people are not exactly well-to-do, they likely could never even afford to shop at Whole Foods, making that particular point moot:@otherbecky @awlilnatty You know, as well as i do, that that is NOT who that is marketed towards. Also, the packaging is still superfluous. Swiftie Be (@StephanieBe) March 4, 2016All of this and more is true here. This is simply outrageous. Shame on you, Whole Foods. You market to organic food-eating, hippieish, health conscious liberals, and you expect us to put up with this, to not notice? Well, for the second time in their price-gouging attempt, Whole Foods was forced to backtrack, calling the marketing and selling of these pre-peeled oranges a mistake. @awlilnatty Definitely our mistake. These have been pulled. We hear you, and we will leave them in their natural packaging: the peel. Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) March 3, 2016You re damn right it was a mistake. Hopefully you people have learned your lesson this time.Featured image via Flickr

News

March 6, 2016

Watch This Awesome Mashup of Michael Flynn Leading The ‘Lock Her Up’ Chant As He Goes Off To Court (VIDEO)

Donald Trump s disgraced National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has just plead guilty to lying to the FBI a felony. He has also agreed to testify against Trump in exchange for leniency from Special Counsel Robert Mueller s team. The irony here is beyond delicious especially since Flynn infamously led the LOCK HER UP! chants at the 2016 Republican National Convention, saying that Hillary Clinton was some kind of criminal, and that if Trump was elected they d be able to put her in jail, where many Trump supporters believe she belongs. Well, now the tables are turned, and it is Flynn who will be heading to jail, and the people who realize who the REAL criminals are have been having a field day. Perhaps one of the best pieces of Twitter schaudenfraude is this video of Flynn heading into court to plead guilty with the Lock her up! chant being played:I mashed up Michael Flynn s perp walk with audio of him leading a lock her up chant. pic.twitter.com/L1o5CjJXrQ Adam Smith (@asmith83) December 1, 2017This is BEYOND awesome. These fools thought they d get a chance to put Hillary Clinton in jail as if we live in some kind of banana republic. Instead, they are all turning on each other in order to save their own asses in the best circular firing squad any of us ever could have imagined. Michael Flynn is going to sing like a canary so that he can keep himself and his equally criminal son out of federal prison and railroad the entire Trump crime family into the slammer just where they belong.The GOP made a deal with the devil when their ignorant, bigoted voters chose this unfit orange overlord to be their presidential nominee. Now, they are very likely to rue the day they ever heard the name Donald Trump.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

News

December 1, 2017

Defense chief Mattis in Asia, will discuss North Korea crisis with allies

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he would talk with Asian allies about North Korea and the crisis caused by Pyongyang s reckless provocations, as he kicked off a week-long trip to the region on Monday to meet defense chiefs in the Philippines. Mattis trip to Asia, which will also include stops in Thailand and South Korea, comes just weeks before President Donald Trump s first visit to Asia. Trump has been locked in a war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, calling him a rocket man on a suicide mission for openly pursuing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States. Trump, in a speech last month at the United Nations, threatened to destroy North Korea if necessary to defend the United States and its allies. Kim has blasted Trump as mentally deranged. Mattis, who has emphasized diplomacy, was expected to meet both his Japanese and South Korean counterparts on Monday before meeting with all three of them together. He will attend a meeting from Monday to Wednesday of defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, in the Philippines. He will go to Seoul later in the week for more defense talks. I will talk with my counterparts, discussing the regional security crisis caused by the reckless DPRK North Korea provocations but also discuss our respect for shared values like sovereignty of the states, their territorial integrity, freedom of navigation through historically international waters, and fair and reciprocal trade, Mattis told reporters. A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea last week, seeking to promote freedom of navigation. The maneuver prompted anger in Beijing. Trump s trip next month will include a visit to China, which he has been pressuring to do more to rein in North Korea s missile and nuclear programs. China is North Korea s neighbor and biggest trading partner. Mattis, while in the Philippines, said he would commend the military for defeating insurgents in Marawi City on the island of Mindanao. Some experts see the siege as a prelude to a more ambitious bid by Islamic State loyalists to exploit Mindanao s poverty and use its jungles and mountains as a base to train, recruit and launch attacks in the region. It was a tough fight, Mattis said, adding he thought the Philippines had sent a very necessary message to the terrorists. On Thursday, Mattis will lead the U.S. delegation in Thailand for the cremation rites for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

worldnews

October 23, 2017

Trump denies seeking nearly tenfold increase in U.S. nuclear arsenal

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied a report from NBC News that he told his national security advisers in July he wanted to increase the country s nuclear arsenal by nearly tenfold, saying he argued for its modernization. NBC News said the president called for the increase after he was shown a chart indicating the stockpile of U.S. nuclear weapons had slid from a high of 32,000 in the 1960s. Trump said he wanted to have that same number now, NBC reported. Speaking to reporters at the White House during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump said the report was not true. I never discussed increasing it. I want it in perfect shape. That was just fake news by NBC, he said. We don t need an increase. But I want modernization and I want total rehabilitation. It s got to be in tip-top shape. The president s denial was buttressed by a statement from his defense chief. Recent reports that the president called for an increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal are absolutely false. This kind of erroneous reporting is irresponsible, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said. Although U.S. presidents have modernized weapon stockpiles over the years, any meaningful addition to the nuclear arsenal would violate treaty agreements. The Federation of American Scientists says the United States currently has about 4,000 nuclear warheads earmarked for use in its military stockpile. After the meeting in July, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson referred to Trump as a moron, according to NBC. U.S. news reports have painted the relationship between Trump and Tillerson as tense. The NBC report comes during a time of high tension between the United States and North Korea over Pyongyang s nuclear weapons and missile programs, and just ahead of an expected announcement from Trump on whether to decertify the international deal on Iran s nuclear program. Trump told Reuters in February that he wanted to ensure that the U.S. nuclear arsenal was at the top of the pack. MSNBC reported in 2016 that as a candidate, Trump asked a foreign policy adviser three times in a one-hour meeting why the United States could not deploy its nuclear weapons.

worldnews

October 11, 2017

BREAKING: HILLARY CAUGHT MOCKING Bernie Sanders Supporters In Leaked Audio…Donors Laugh [Audio]

We all know by now that Hillary Clinton will morph into whatever she needs to be to win votes to get back to the White House. Here s EXHIBIT 1 on just how far she ll go While speaking to a group of donors last February, Hillary mocked Bernie Sanders supporters and admitted the free college and free healthcare are just a ploy to win the votes of millennials The Intercept had this to say about Clinton s flip flopping:Clinton has been inconsistent in the past about espousing political labels. She has at times touted herself as stalwart liberal. For instance, she said last July: I take a backseat to no one when you look at my record in standing up and fighting for progressive values. But a few months later, she told a group in Ohio: You know, I get accused of being kind of moderate and center. I plead guilty. AUDIO OF CLINTON MOCKING BERNIE SUPPORTERSCLINTON: Some are new to politics completely. They re children of the Great Recession. And they are living in their parents basement. They feel they got their education and the jobs that are available to them are not at all what they envisioned for themselves. And they don t see much of a future. I met with a group of young black millennials today and you know one of the young women said, You know, none of us feel that we have the job that we should have gotten out of college. And we don t believe the job market is going to give us much of a chance. So that is a mindset that is really affecting their politics. And so if you re feeling like you re consigned to, you know, being a barista, or you know, some other job that doesn t pay a lot, and doesn t have some other ladder of opportunity attached to it, then the idea that maybe, just maybe, you could be part of a political revolution is pretty appealing. So I think we should all be really understanding of that and should try to do the best we can not to be, you know, a wet blanket on idealism. We want people to be idealistic. We want them to set big goals. But to take what we can achieve now and try to present them as bigger goals.

politics

Sep 30, 2016

Progressive Lunacy: PETA Claims Indonesian Monkey Owns ‘Selfie’ Copyright

21st Century Wire says You know that western society is approaching its final hour when animal rights activists start advocating individual animals to be able to sue humans in courts. That s exactly what has happened in the US.We can trace some of this line of thinking back to Cass Sunstein, the radical, liberal progressive technocrat and chief advisor to President Barack Obama (as well as the husband of disastrous UN Ambassador Samantha Power). According to his own writing and public declarations, Sunstein believes that activists should be able to bring a lawsuit on behalf of an animal in US courts. In his 2004 book Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions, Sunstein remarked:Cass Sunstein. My simplest suggestion is that private citizens should be given the right to bring suits to prevent animals from being treated in a way that violates current law. I offer a recommendation that is theoretically modest but that should do a lot of practical good: laws designed to protect animals against cruelty and abuse should be amended and interpreted to give a private cause of action against those who violate them, so as to allow private people to supplement the efforts of public prosecutors. Somewhat more broadly, I will suggest that animals should be permitted to bring suit, with human beings as their representatives, to prevent violations of current law. As one of liberal America s most influential technocrats, Sunstein argues that this legal right can be invoked on the basis of animal cruelty. While no cruelty seems to be present in the case of the Monkey Selfie (see story below), activists at PETA were no doubt emboldened by Sunstein and others who have propelled their ideological argument into the political activist discourse.While our society and our legal system are far from perfect, a move like this from a wealthy charity like PETA could throw that system into even further chaos.Surely, if animals can sue humans, then shouldn t humans be able to sue animals? As you can see, when you pursue this activist rabbit hole, reality starts to dissolve rather quickly.More on this incredible story from AP Monkey Selfie Copyright credited to David J. Slater (UK)Linda Wang APcurious monkey with a toothy grin and a knack for pressing a camera button was back in the spotlight Wednesday as a federal appeals court heard arguments on whether an animal can hold a copyright to selfie photos.A 45-minute hearing before a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco attracted crowds of law students and curious citizens who often burst into laughter. The federal judges also chuckled at times at the novelty of the case, which involves a monkey in another country that is unaware of the fuss.Andrew Dhuey, attorney for British nature photographer David Slater, said monkey see, monkey sue is not good law under any federal act.Naruto is a free-living crested macaque who snapped perfectly framed selfies in 2011 that would make even the Kardashians proud.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [PETA] sued Slater and the San Francisco-based self-publishing company Blurb, which published a book called Wildlife Personalities that includes the monkey selfies, for copyright infringement. It sought a court order in 2015 allowing it to administer all proceeds from the photos taken in a wildlife reserve in Sulawesi, Indonesia to benefit the monkey.Slater says the British copyright for the photos obtained by his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd., should be honored Continue this story at AP/Chicago TribunePictured here is a typical Indonesian Crested Black Macaque monkey (Image Credit: Lip Key Yap, Wikicommons)READ MORE FINANCIAL NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Financial FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV

Middle-east

July 17, 2017

FLASHBACK To Time When ABC News’ #LyinBrianRoss Tried To Tie Aurora, CO Mass Shooter To Tea Party [VIDEO]

As the name of the suspect, identified as 24-year-old James Holmes, first emerged Friday morning, Ross reported on ABC News that he d found a web page for a Jim Holmes on a Colorado Tea Party site.Here a transcript of the discussion on live television between George Stephanopoulos and ABC News lyin Brian Ross: GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: I want to go to Brian Ross here, because, Brian, you ve been looking- investigating the background of Jim Holmes here. You ve found something that might be significant.BRIAN ROSS: There is a Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado page on the Colorado Tea Party site as well. Talking about him joining the Tea Party last year. Now, we don t know if this the same Jim Holmes. But it s Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado.STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay, we ll keep looking at that. Brian Ross, thanks very much.Watch:After Lyin Brian Ross unsubstantiated and completely bogus report about the identity of a man who just shot and killed several people, that could have put the life of tea party member Jim Holmes in danger, Ross simply apologized.Fox News That man is not the same Jim Holmes. The Colorado Tea Party Patriots, whose website Ross was looking at, put out a statement criticizing Ross for even floating the possibility noting the Jim Holmes with the Tea Party group is 52 years old and not the same person. The attempts of some media organizations to characterize the shooter as a Tea Party member without having made any effort to contact our organization are shameless and reprehensible, the group said in a statement.Ross clarified on air Friday, as ABC News issued a formal apology. An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect, but that report was incorrect. ABC News and Brian Ross apologize for the mistake, and for disseminating that information before it was properly vetted, the statement said.On air later in the morning, Ross also said: An earlier report that I had was incorrect that he was connected with the Tea Party. In fact, that s a different Jim Holmes. He was not connected to the Tea Party and what we do know about him is he is a 24-year-old white male who went to Colorado for a Ph.D.Here s Lyin Brian Ross apology after he got caught reporting fake news about the Michael Flynn s meeting with the Russian Ambassador while President Trump was a candidate .

politics

Dec 3, 2017

Carly Fiorina: Ted Cruz’s Chances Of Winning Are As Real As Those Planned Parenthood Videos

It s now official. Carly Fiorina needs help. I m talking real, pharmaceutical-grade, billed at $400 an hour professional help, because she s seeing things that are not there again. This is just like that time she screamed like a banshee that she totally really did see live fetuses getting cut to bits in those Planned Parenthood videos, which were so obviously fake that not even other Republicans talk about them anymore.Megyn Kelly invited Fiorina onto her show to ask her just why in God s name she agreed to be, of all people, Ted Cruz s vice presidential candidate. He s the only person that Republicans genuinely hate more than Trump, yet she thought this was a good idea. So, what s the deal?Kelly asked Fiorina why she chose Cruz when he has no chance at securing the nomination by a majority of delegates. Fiorina immediately insisted that her math (this is the imaginary stuff now) says that Ted Cruz can win. She even blamed the media for this by saying they just wish it would be over and he [Trump] would be the GOP nominee. Here s some non-Carly math. Cruz has 562 delegates. He needs 1,237 to win. There are 578 still available. Even if he won 100 percent of all remaining ones he comes up nearly 100 delegates short. It s mathematically impossible for Ted Cruz to win and avoid a contested primary, yet she still said she believes Ted will win the nomination based on numbers only she can see.Carly Fiorina actually said that the majority of Republicans do not want Trump to win, to which Megyn Kelly just stared with a look of pity and bewilderment. Trump has beaten Cruz by up to 40 percent in the popular vote in some states recently. Apparently that isn t a majority anymore.Kelly then went on to point out that even though Trump isn t exactly the favorite of the party, there is no alternative. Cruz is still in it, but nobody is uniting behind him to stop Trump. Of course, Fiorina responded by telling Kelly she was wrong because there s a huge line of supporters flocking to Cruz which again only she can see.Carly either sees things that do not actually exist, or she intentionally lies. I don t really know which is worse, but she thinks this qualifies her to be our next vice president.It s 2008 all over again. We have another mentally flawed person in the VP seat for Republicans except this time, it s so bad she won t even get to the general election. Carly Fiorina should think long and hard about that. Sarah Palin made it closer to the vice presidency than she ever will. That has to sting.Watch Carly Fiorina prove how she can fail even in the most friendly of surroundings below:Featuerd image via video screen capture

News

April 28, 2016

Amid South Korea freeze, China says cultural exchanges take the temperature

Cultural exchanges between countries need to consider the temperature of popular opinion and how people feel about each other, a senior Chinese official said on Friday, amid a freeze in cultural ties with South Korea over an anti-missile system. China has been angered by Seoul s decision to deploy the U.S.-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, saying that its powerful radar harms China s own national security and will do nothing to lessen tensions with North Korea, which THAAD is supposed to defend against. Popular South Korean soap operas have been pulled from streaming sites, K-Pop singers have had concerts canceled and there has been a dramatic drop in Chinese tourists to South Korea. China has not officially linked the moves to the THAAD tensions, but has said relations need to have a basis in popular opinion . Asked about the prospects for cultural exchanges with South Korea amid the THAAD dispute, deputy media regulator Zhang Hongsen said cultural exchanges were not an ordinary exchange of goods . Cultural exchanges relate to where the popular will inclines and to emotional choices, he said, speaking on the sidelines of a Communist Party Congress. So what we say is that culture exchanges are an exchange of temperatures, and this temperature comes from popular feeling and emotion, added Zhang, who is a Vice Minister of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. When popular sentiments and emotions align, cultural exchanges and cooperation can certainly develop in a positive direction, he said, without elaborating.

worldnews

October 20, 2017

ONE BEER COMPANY Praised For Shutting Down Business To Help Texas Flood Victims, While Popular Pastor Joel Osteen Gets SLAMMED For Keeping Megachurch Doors Shut To Flood Victims

The Anheuser-Busch Brewery put beer production on hold this week, instead of canning safe drinking water to distribute to flooding victims affected by Hurricane Harvey.More than 50,000 cans of emergency drinking water will be sent from the brewing company s factory in Cartersville, Ga., a spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch said to FOX5.The water will be distributed at Red Cross shelters in Baton Rouge, La., where Flash Flood Watch is in effect through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Throughout the year, we periodically pause beer production at our Cartersville, Ga., brewery to produce emergency canned drinking water so we are ready to help out communities across the country in times of crisis, said Sarah Schilling, brewmaster at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in a statement. Putting our production and logistics strengths to work by providing safe, clean drinking water is the best way we can help in these situations, she said. FOX NewsMeanwhile, Joel Osteen, the pastor of the Lakewood megachurch in Houston, TX, is being hammered on social for keeping the doors to his church closed to victims of the worst recorded flood in Houston s history. Osteen s net worth is valued at over $40 million. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Joel Osteen tweeted to his followers:Victoria & I are praying for everyone affected by Hurricane Harvey. Please join us as we pray for the safety of our Texas friends & family. Joel Osteen (@JoelOsteen) August 26, 2017Apparently, many folks on Twitter didn t feel as though the pastor, who also happens to be mega-rich, is doing enough to help the people who have supported his luxury lifestyle for years.One Twitter user published photos that were allegedly taken in the parking lot of the Lakewood megachurch following the massive flooding. If these pictures are indeed accurate, the Lakewood church appears to be unaffected by the flooding.UPDATE: Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston IS accessible. Their statement it's inaccessible is a LIE. Pic from 1-hr ago! pic.twitter.com/S8v57Bh68R TRUMP 24/7 (@MichaelDelauzon) August 28, 2017This Twitter user reminded Olsteen that the church belongs to God and not to him. Collin Rugg tells Osteen to Open up His doors & let the people of Houston in! Joel Osteen,"Your" mega church doesn't belong to you, it belongs to GodOpen up His doors & let the people of Houston in!#HoustonStrong Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 29, 2017This Twitter user offered a similar sentiment:Joel Osteen has made millions in Jesus' name, but when it comes time to actually act like a Christian he fails spectacularly. #Houston Lori O. (@lori_oh) August 28, 2017This Twiter user posted a picture of his Catholic priest actually working in the Houston floods to help victims.This is Father David Bergeron, the Father at my Catholic Church. He was out in a kayak yesterday blessing+helping ppl, Joel Osteen who???? pic.twitter.com/oVsNWniUsx Triiodide Ion (@alfredomorenx) August 28, 2017Outspoken conservative Pastor Greg Locke reminded Osteen of his obligation to show the love of Christ at this very moment , telling him to OPEN THE DOORS. Joel Osteen, as a Pastor you have a huge obligation to show the love of Christ at this very moment. OPEN THE DOORS. #HoustonStrong Pastor Greg Locke (@pastorlocke) August 28, 2017If the New Orleans Saints could open their stadium to the public during Katrina, Joel Osteen can open up his church for the Houston flooding Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 28, 2017Please understand that Joel Osteen does NOT represent Christianity. Never has, never will. @JoelOsteen #HoustonStrong #MAGA pic.twitter.com/5sSaUrzFvY M A N them (@mikandynothem) August 28, 2017Joel Osteen's megachurch is designed for the rising tithe, not tide. Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) August 28, 2017

politics

Aug 28, 2017

HUCKABEE BACKS TRUMP’S COMMENTS ON PROTESTS: “Is he supposed to do what Barack Obama used to do and jump to conclusions”

A voice of reason speaks out! Mike Huckabee told Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro that he has a special repulsion for white supremacists and that Trump did the right thing in his statements about Charlottesville. It s part because I m white, he elaborated. It s part because I have seen this evil and hateful attitude that elevates some people above others. And as a believing Christian, I m especially offended because anybody who believes The Bible, especially the gospels, will have to accept that there is no way that God is a respecter of persons- as scripture makes clear, He doesn t love some people more than others because of their color, because of their affiliation, even with Him. He mentioned that because he believe in the gospels that every person has equal worth, that makes him pro-life.Pirro asked Huckabee if the outrage over the president s remarks are just Trump haters who will look for any reason to dump on him. Well it seems like a lot of them are, I don t know what they expect the president to do, Huckabee responded. At the time that he made the comment, the driver of the car had not even been identified. That s exactly right! Pirro exclaimed. And so what is he supposed to say? Huckabee continued. Is he supposed to do what Barack Obama used to do and jump to conclusion and make a decision like he did in Ferguson. Missouri, which turned out to be totally untrue? The president has to be careful in taking steps. I thought what he condemned was what we all could immediately condemn and that was the violence, the car some coward in a car drove into innocent people to try and kill them. And he condemned that! What else is he supposed to do at that point? Amen!Via: Mediate

left-news

Aug 12, 2017

China marks Nanjing Massacre anniversary but Xi low key

China marked the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre on Wednesday with a call to work with Japan for peace, but President Xi Jinping kept a low profile and left the main public remarks to another senior official. China and Japan have long sparred over their painful history. China consistently reminds its people of the 1937 massacre in which it says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then its capital. A postwar Allied tribunal put the death toll in the eastern city of Nanjing at 142,000, but some conservative Japanese politicians and scholars deny a massacre took place at all. Ties between China and Japan, the world s second- and third-largest economies, have been plagued by a long-running territorial dispute over a cluster of East China Sea islets and suspicion in China about efforts by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to amend Japan s pacifist constitution. However the two countries have sought to get relations back on track, and Abe and Xi met last month on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam. Speaking at a memorial in Nanjing, Yu Zhengsheng, who heads a high-profile but largely ceremonial advisory body to China s parliament, said China and Japan were neighbours with deep historic ties. China would deepen relations with all its neighbours, including Japan, on the basis of amity, sincerity and friendship, Yu said, in comments carried live on state television. China and Japan must act on the basis of both their people s basic interests, correctly grasp the broad direction of peaceful and friendly cooperation, take history as a mirror, face the future and pass on friendship down the generations, Yu said. A sombre Xi, wearing a white flower in his lapel to symbolise mourning, stood in the audience but did not speak. Doves to signify peace flew overhead after Yu finished speaking. Xi later met massacre survivors, the official Xinhua news agency said, telling them, Lessons learned from the past can guide one in the future . South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who arrived in Beijing for a four-day visit, offered condolences to the victims in a speech to businessmen, in what his office called the first such public mention of the massacre by a South Korean leader. In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga spoke of the importance of looking to the future. The leaders of Japan and China have agreed in past meetings to further improve relations and it is important, while cherishing this trend, to together show a future-oriented stance, Suga told a regular news conference: It was the second time Xi has attended the event since China marked its first national memorial day for the massacre in 2014. At that time, he called on China and Japan to set aside hatred and not allow the minority who led Japan to war to affect relations now.

worldnews

December 13, 2017

Australia to introduce safeguards against covert foreign interference

Australia said on Tuesday it will introduce reforms by the end of the year to combat foreign interference and covert political influence, which could pose a threat to the economy and political system. The decision to improve safeguards follows a review of Australia s espionage and foreign interference laws and will include legislation to ban foreign political donations, Attorney-General George Brandis told Parliament. Espionage and covert foreign interference can cause immense harm to our national sovereignty, to the safety of our people, to our economic prosperity, and to the very integrity of Australian democracy, Brandis said. Policies modeled in part on the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act, requiring individuals or institutions to make a declaration if acting on behalf of a foreign power to influence the political processes, would also be introduced, he said. While Brandis did not mention any countries targeted by the legislation, there has been growing concern about China extending its influence. In June, Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Fairfax Media, publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers, reported there had been a concerted campaign by China and its proxies to infiltrate the Australian political process and institutions to promote their interests. China dismissed the accusation as totally unfounded and irresponsible . This week, one of Australia s largest independent publishers said it decided to delay the publication of a book that alleges widespread Chinese government influence in Australian institutions due to legal concerns.

worldnews

November 14, 2017

Growing unease as India curbs the net to keep the peace

First he tried messaging friends, but WhatsApp was down. Then, the credit card readers at his clothing store weren t working. Ride-sharing apps were offline too. Harsh Madhok, who runs a clothing business in Jaipur, a city of three million people, had read about internet shutdowns elsewhere in India. Now he was in the middle of one in his city in central India, as authorities tried to damp down unrest following a traffic incident that led to clashes between police and locals. It s very frustrating, said Madhok, 45, of the Sept. 9 shutdown. These things leave you feeling like you don t know what s going on. Under the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India s Hindu nationalist leader, Internet shutdowns have escalated sharply in the world s largest democracy. According to a database maintained by the Software Freedom Law Centre, an online advocacy group in New Delhi, government officials ordered shutdowns 42 times between January and August in 2017. That compares with six times in all of 2014, when Modi first came to power. This year the shutdowns were spread over 11 states, compared to just one in 2012. The disconnections, which state governments have said are necessary for maintaining public order, typically happen without official explanation. They have followed farmer agitations, protests by a minority community calling for government jobs, and public violence sparked by a Facebook post. The frequency of the shutdowns has raised concerns that internal security is being used as a justification to clamp down on freedom of expression. That refrain has been heard more frequently since Modi s party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), won elections in 2014 with an emphasis on security. If citizens are using the internet to mobilize themselves, then how is shutting down the internet any different from suppressing dissent? an editorial in Mint asked in July. Until this year, shutdowns were implemented under colonial-era curfew laws that were used as the basis for rules requiring internet service providers to shut off connections at the request of any government agency. In early August, the Ministry of Communications issued new explicit rules that formalized the power of states and the central government to block the internet. These rules are among the first of their kind in a democracy, said Raman Jit Singh Chima, policy director of Access Now, a U.S.-based organization that works on technology policy and digital rights worldwide. How they re used, and their scale - they seem to be creating an architecture where blocking is legitimized, Chima said. What s changed, I think, is that officials have greater knowledge of the power they can utilize, said Apar Gupta, a lawyer who handles free-speech cases before the Supreme Court. Other countries, such as Egypt, have also used internet shutdowns, and China controls the flow of online information through an extensive firewall. However, analysts like Chima worry about the frequency of the shutdowns in India, which have risen sharply since Modi came to power. From January 2012 the date of the first shutdown recorded by the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC) to May 2014, when the BJP swept out the ruling coalition headed by the Congress party, local and federal officials ordered 12 shutdowns. Since Modi s election, 89 shutdowns have been ordered, with 74 at the behest of his party or its allies at the central, state and district levels, an analysis of SFLC data showed. So far, the shutdowns have been met with little opposition, apart from frustration expressed by users like Madhok over the curtailing of online services. There s been no outcry about the shutdowns because it s perceived to be for the greater good, said Nitin Pai, the co-founder of the Takshashila Institution, a Bangalore think tank. Nalin Kohli, a national spokesman for the BJP, said the shutdowns were acceptable in cases where rumor-mongering or motivated misinformation could lead to the incitement of violence. He added: It is not the norm, it is the exception. In Jaipur, the shutdown lasted two days. But disconnections can last hours, weeks, and even months. In a June statement, Human Rights Watch said the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir suspended mobile internet services in the Kashmir region from July to November in 2016. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the restrictions in the Kashmir region, where 100 people have died in clashes since troops killed a militant leader in July 2016, had the character of collective punishment. In 2016, Gupta, the lawyer, argued before India s Supreme Court on behalf of a law student who had earlier approached the Gujarat High Court to restrict internet shutdowns. The High Court disagreed, saying that officials used their powers responsibly. The Supreme Court declined to hear the matter, letting the high court s verdict stand.

worldnews

September 18, 2017

Mexican leftist Lopez Obrador leads presidential race polls

Mexican leftist presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador showed leads over potential rivals in two newspaper polls published Wednesday, shortly after he unveiled key policies of his campaign platform ahead of next July s election. Lopez Obrador is almost certain to be the candidate for his National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), but other parties have yet to announce who will run for them, making accurate polling difficult. The survey in business newspaper El Financiero showed Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor who has already vied twice for the presidency, ahead in any of ten potential candidate groupings with leads ranging from 5 to 15 percentage points. A separate poll in national daily El Universal showed AMLO, as the politician is known locally, at the top in six candidate combinations but with smaller margins, ranging from 5 to 10 points. The 64-year-old laid out his 2018 policy platform on Monday, vowing to boost infrastructure spending without upsetting economic stability. He also published a 415-page manifesto outlining goals such as cleaning up graft with tighter financial regulations. Lopez Obrador narrowly lost in 2006 and by a larger margin in 2012, in both cases refusing to accept results he dismissed as marred by fraud. He previously ran a popular, moderate government as mayor of Mexico City, but rivals depict him as a dangerous firebrand and liken his policies and style to the socialist project in crisis-hit Venezuela. Next year s election is expected to be contested by multiple candidates including independents for the first time, which will fragment the vote, a change that could favor either Lopez Obrador or the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). President Enrique Pena Nieto is barred by law from a second term. In both polls, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong emerges as the strongest potential candidate for the ruling party, which is considering at least four high-ranking officials. Mexican political parties have until March to formally register candidates, but most have set a mid-December deadline to benefit from a longer campaign period. A coalition headed by the center-right National Action Party (PAN) and center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) is also contemplating several options for candidacy. El Universal conducted 1,000 face-to-face interviews between Nov. 10 and 17 nationwide, resulting in a 3.53 percent margin of error. El Financiero conducted 1,004 face-to-face interviews between Nov. 11 and 16 nationwide, and said the poll has a 3.1 percent margin of error.

worldnews

November 22, 2017

U.S. not started assessment on any Trump intel disclosure to Russia: Coats

The U.S. intelligence community has not initiated an assessment of the significance or impact of any information that President Donald Trump revealed in a meeting with Russia’s foreign minister, a top U.S. official said on Tuesday. “We have not initiated an assessment of that. There are procedures that we go through to determine when assessments … need to be made,” Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Reuters reported a week ago that Trump disclosed highly classified information to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak about a planned Islamic State operation.

politicsNews

May 23, 2017

Trump's criticism only draws Europeans closer, says French minister

Criticism of Europe by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump only serves to reinforce European solidarity, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Tuesday. Trump said German Chancellor Angela Merkel had made a “catastrophic mistake” with her open door policy on migration, according to an interview published on Sunday by German newspaper Bild. “The more he (Trump) makes this sort of statement, the more Europeans close ranks,” Sapin told reporters, adding that such criticism was unacceptable. “The attack on the Chancellor is not an argument we can accept as Frenchmen or as Europeans.” Asked whether Europe would have to react if the United States decided to slap a 35 percent tax on imports, Sapin said: “We will all have time to see whether there’s a difference between the content of a tweet and the laws that will be passed.” Trump was quoted as telling Bild he would impose a 35 percent levy on German-made cars imported to the U.S. market, a plan that drew sharp rebukes from Berlin and hit automakers’ shares. “I would tell BMW that if you are building a factory in Mexico and plan to sell cars to the USA, without a 35 percent tax, then you can forget that,” Trump said in remarks translated into German.

politicsNews

January 17, 2017

WATCH: FOX SPORTS RADIO HOST Nearly Shuts Down CNN Interview When He Offends Hypocritical Host With ONE Word

CNN s Brooke Baldwin interviewed Fox Sports radio host Clay Travis about his thoughts on remarks made by racist ESPN host Jemele Hill when she called President Trump and Kid Rock white supremacists . Travis attempted to explain how he was passionate about the defense of Hill s First Amendment Right, but felt that ESPN needs to be consistent with who they retain and who they fire over controversial remarks. Travis took it one step further when he told Baldwin: I m a First Amendment absolutist, I believe in only two things completely, the First Amendment and boobs. Brooke Baldwin, who has laughed at CNN host Don Lemon as he remarked about Kathy Griffin s rack on live tv, pretended to be shocked and offended by Travis remarks.Baldwin responded, Hold hold hold on. I just want to make sure I heard you correctly, as a woman hosting this show What did you just say? Watch the video below. We re not sure what is funnier, Clay Travis comments, Brooke Baldwin s attempt to feign disgust or the leftist ESPN commentator Keith Reed s stunned expression.OOPS! It appears as though Brooke Baldwin is only offended when conservatives make off-color remarks about breasts on TV. Watch, as Don Lemon tells former comedian Cathy Griffin that she has a Nice Rack while standing next to Brooke Baldwin. NO double standard here The video above was just part of the drunken exchange between CNN s Don Lemon and Brooke Baldwin that took place on New Years Eve 2017. Here s more of the off-color comments made live during the CNN s New Years Eve coverage:Hey @BrookeBCNN how did you not faint when Kathy Griffin said nipple & Don Lemon got his nipple pierced live on TV? https://t.co/LRMr50n0C3 Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) September 15, 2017Travis was going after CNN hard, calling them fake news on his Twitter account after the incident exploded on social media. Travis claimed that CNN has already asked him to appear on the show again on Monday.CNN is so offended that they already called me and asked if I could come back on Monday. Too perfect. Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) September 15, 2017CNN refuted his claim that they invited him back, so Travis says he going to play a voicemail to prove they re lying:CNN's now lying & saying they didn't invite me back on for Monday. I'll play voicemail for everyone on tomorrow's @outkick show. #fakenews Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) September 15, 2017Race baiter extraordinaire Tariq Nasheed, who can turn grandma baking cookies into a racial issue, had this to say about Travis remarks. LOL! That stunt that Clay Travis pulled on CNN is a tactic commonly used by white extremists .They will troll in order to get their numbers up Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) September 15, 2017Travis responded to his hilarious tweet:Liking boobs makes you a white supremacist, guys. https://t.co/CU1qrqXUC4 Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) September 15, 2017Twitter users had a hay day with Brooke Baldwin feigning outrage over Travis comment:Killjoy "Brooke Baldwin" Can't Handle A Boob Joke, But Has ZERO Problems Working w/The BIGGEST BOOB In Broadcast News, #DonLemon #CNNSucks pic.twitter.com/eGtETPW5Qy Deplorable R z rbak (@MediaJuggernaut) September 15, 2017

left-news

Sep 15, 2017

White House Confirms Resident Nazi Stephen Miller Is An Even Bigger Scumbag Than You Knew

White house Nazi Stephen Miller is a scumbag. At this point, there s no question about it. He s a Nazi and therefore is a scumbag.But there are other reasons Miller is a piece of trash outside of his struggle, or kampf, with people remembering his long history of riding the white rage train to the White House, spouting Nazi dog-whistle terms like cosmopolitan (it means Jew, in case you re unaware) when insulting opponents.Miller, whose family mostly seems to hate him based on their social media remarks, is now beset by the FAKE NEWS fake newsing up some more fake news about oh, the White House confirmed this one?The New York Times reports that in high school Miller showed his contempt for women by leaping into the final stretch of a race they had been running for quite some time:Mr. Miller set off on a patriotic semi-striptease before the editor of the student newspaper, according to the editor, Ari Rosmarin, theatrically removing a button-down to reveal an American flag T-shirt in protest of an article he found inconsistent with the national interest. (The White House denied any symbolic unbuttoning, though officials confirmed Mr. Miller s fondness for the T-shirt.)He jumped, uninvited, into the final stretch of a girls track meet, apparently intent on proving his athletic supremacy over the opposite sex. (The White House, reaching for exculpatory context, noted that this was a girls team from another school, not his own.)Miller apparently hoped to take advantage of this head start to show that he is genetically superior to women by crossing the finish line first (this, of course, perfectly matches his current professed views on women).Donald Trump hires only the best people.Featured image via screengrab

News

October 11, 2017

Trump Has Quiet Black Students Removed From Rally At School That Was Segregated (VIDEO)

The latest racial incident associated with the Donald Trump for President campaign occurred today at a campaign rally in Georgia. According to news reports, the Trump campaign ordered the removal of a group of black students. They weren t being disruptive or interrupting his rally.About 30 black students who were standing silently at the top of the bleachers at Donald Trump s rally here Monday night were escorted out by Secret Service agents who said the presidential candidate had requested their removal before he began speaking.The sight of the students, who were visibly upset, being led outside by law enforcement officials created a stir at a university that was a whites-only campus until 1963. We didn t plan to do anything, said a tearful Tahjila Davis, a 19-year-old mass media major, who was among the Valdosta State University students who was removed. They said, This is Trump s property; it s a private event. But I paid my tuition to be here. The removal of black students from the formerly segregated campus comes just a little over 24 hours after Trump was widely ridiculed for refusing to denounce or reject the endorsement of former klansman and white supremacist David Duke in an interview with CNN.One student, Tahjila Davis, a 19-year-old mass media major, told USA Today: I have not experienced any racism on this campus until now. Trump s increasingly visible racial insensitivity is creating a major problem for the Republican Party, with some party bigwigs now publicly panicking that a Trump candidacy would mean electoral catastrophe in the fall election.Despite this, Trump received an endorsement from Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama), who allegedly once referred to a black attorney as boy and has a considerable history of racial slights and insensitivity.The incident is the second controversy in one day involving Trump s security team. At another event, a man working security possibly for the Secret Service choke slammed a press photographer who was attempting to take pictures of protesters.Featured image via Flickr

News

February 29, 2016

U.N. chief, Security Council call on Myanmar to end violence

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday urged Myanmar authorities to end violence against the majority-Buddhist country s Rohingya Muslims that has forced some 400,000 people to flee to Bangladesh. Guterres said the situation in Myanmar s western state of Rakhine was best described as ethnic cleansing. When one-third of the Rohingya population had to flee the country, could you find a better word to describe it? he told a news conference. I call on the Myanmar authorities to suspend military action, end the violence, uphold the rule of law, and recognize the right of return of all those who had to leave the country, said Guterres, adding that he had spoken several times with Myanmar s national leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The exodus of refugees, sparked by the security forces fierce response to a series of Rohingya militant attacks on Aug. 25, is the most pressing problem Suu Kyi has faced since becoming leader last year. The government says it is targeting terrorists, while refugees say the offensive aims to push Rohingya out of Myanmar. The 15-member Security Council met behind closed doors on Wednesday, at the request of Sweden and Britain, to discuss the crisis for the second time since it began and agreed to publicly condemn the situation. The council expressed concern about reports of excessive violence during the security operations and called for immediate steps to end the violence in Rakhine, de-escalate the situation, re-establish law and order, ensure the protection of civilians ... and resolve the refugee problem. British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said it was the first statement from the Security Council on Myanmar in nine years. Such statements have to be agreed by consensus and Russia and China have traditionally protected Myanmar from any action. Myanmar said last week it was negotiating with Russia and China to ensure they blocked any censure by the Security Council over the violence in Rakhine state. The United Nations top human rights official earlier this week denounced Myanmar for conducting a cruel military operation against the Rohingya, branding it a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. Suu Kyi has canceled a trip to the U.N. General Assembly in New York next week to deal with the crisis. Rycroft said two high-level meetings on Myanmar were due to be held during the gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. The humanitarian situation is catastrophic, Guterres said. This is a dramatic tragedy. People are dying and suffering in horrible numbers and we need to stop it.

worldnews

September 13, 2017

Republican Kasich: Presidential contests will lead to brokered convention

Republican candidate John Kasich said on Friday he does not think any Republican presidential contender will win enough state delegates to secure the nomination before the party’s convention in July. “As crazy as this year is, can you think of anything cooler than a convention where we’re going to learn about how America works?” Kasich said, referring to the complex rules that would come into play in a brokered convention. The decision about which candidate to nominate has to be made out in the open, Kasich said. (Reporting by Emily Flitter and Megan Cassella; Editing by Doina Chiacu) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

politicsNews

March 4, 2016

WATCH: Jake Tapper Rips Scaramucci A New One For Using Trump As Source To Deny Russian Hacking

Anthony Scaramucci got his ass handed to him on Sunday morning by CNN host Jake Tapper.Just a day has gone by since Scaramucci became the White House communications director, resulting in the resignation of Sean Spicer as press secretary a mere six months into Trump s presidency, and he is already insisting that the Russians did not interfere with the 2016 Election just because Trump said so.That s despite our nation s intelligence agencies and former and current intelligence officials confirming otherwise.During a discussion about whether Trump will sign the bipartisan legislation that slaps sanctions on Russia, Scaramucci used an anonymous source to claim that the American people have been misinformed about Russia. There s a lot of disinformation, Scaramucci said. Somebody said to me the other day I don t want to say who if the Russians actually hacked this situation and spilled out those emails, you would have never seen it. You would have never had any evidence of them. Meaning that they re super confident in their deception skills and hacking. But our intelligence agencies have confirmed that Russian did, in fact, meddle in our election by attacking our democratic institutions by hacking, which can be traced back to the perpetrators by our own professional cyber security experts. Basically, Scaramucci is claiming that the Russians are too good to get caught by us. That s simply not true.And Tapper was quick to call Scaramucci out for it, but not before he slammed Scaramucci for citing an anonymous source. Wait, wait, wait, Tapper chimed in. I don t know who this anonymous person is. And then Scaramucci demonstrated that, just like Trump, he can t keep his mouth shut and is a leaker. How about it s the president, Jake, Scaramucci replied. He called me from Air Force One and basically said to me, This is maybe they did it, maybe they didn t do it. Wow. That s truly pathetic.Tapper proceeded to tear Scaramucci apart for being Trump s yes-man instead of accepting the analysis of our own intelligence agencies and Trump s own Director of National Intelligence. This is exactly the issue! Tapper said. We have experts, the U.S. intelligence agencies [are] unanimous, both Obama appointees and Trump appointees the director of national intelligence, the head of the National Security Agency, the head of the FBI. I mean, all of these intelligence experts, saying, Russia hacked the election, they tried to interfere in the election. President Trump is contradicting it and you re siding with President Trump! Indeed, it certainly appears Scaramucci is just shilling for Trump and he even proceeded to whine about Tapper s observation, leading Tapper to ask, Don t you owe a duty to the truth? Scaramucci then claimed that he doesn t know what the truth is because: I don t have the information in front of me. But he didn t even bother to get the information. Instead, he got talking points from Trump and merely parroted them on television like a good little lapdog.Here s the video via YouTube.Scaramucci is already making it clear that he is untrustworthy. He just threw our intelligence community under the bus and demonstrated that he is the kind of leaker that Trump whines about. He couldn t even stop himself from bragging about how Trump himself was the anonymous source who told him Russia didn t hack us. The evidence clearly shows that Russia attacked us and our democratic institutions. Only self-serving fools would believe otherwise. Featured Image: Screenshot

News

July 23, 2017

BREAKING UDATE: IRAN CONFIRMS $1.7 BILLION Was RANSOM Payment For Prisoners And NOT Part Of “Nuclear Deal” ORIGINAL STORY: OBAMA AND KERRY Agree To Give Iran $1.7 BILLION U.S. Taxpayer Dollars As “Settlement”

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!The United States sent Iran $400 million in debt plus $1.3 billion in interest, and the money was disbursed as a ransom payment for four American hostages of the Islamic regime, a top Iranian commander said Wednesday afternoon. Therefore, the U.S. paid the Iranian regime $425 million dollars per American hostage, according to the commander. The annulment of sanctions against Iran s Bank Sepah and reclaiming of $1.7mln of Iran s frozen assets after 36 years showed that the US doesn t understand anything but the language of force, said Iranian Basij Commander Brig Gen Mohammed Reza Naqdi, addressing his forces in Tehran. This money was returned for the freedom of the US spy and it was not related to the (nuclear) negotiations, he claimed, according to state-controlled Fars News Agency.Four Americans who were held hostage by the Islamic Republic Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, Pastor Saeed Abedini, and Nosratollah Khosrawi Roudsari (who decided to stay in Iran) were part of the deal that included the ransom payment, along with the release of seven Iranians who were sitting in American jails on charges of thwarting international sanctions, and the delisting of 14 Iranian nationals from Interpol s Red List, which seeks international criminals for extradition.A fifth American, Matthew Trevithick, who was imprisoned by Tehran, was also released, but under the terms of a separate deal, according to reports.The U.S. State Department tells Breitbart News that the payment to Iran was separate but simultaneous, and not a ransom. We did not pay ransom to secure the return of these Americans. The funds that were transferred to Iran were part of a separate but simultaneous arrangement we agreed to with Iran related to the U.S.-Iran Claims Tribunal at the Hague, a State Department spokesperson told Breitbart News late Wednesday.State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters earlier on Wednesday in Washington that no ransom was paid, rejecting the remarks of the Iranian commander. There was no bribe, there was no ransom, there was nothing paid to secure the return of these Americans who were, by the way, not spies. We ve spoken to this in the days after their release on Sunday morning in great detail about how this process worked. There was this consular channel that was opened up to secure their release, Toner said. Via: Breitbart NewsHere is the question we posed after discovering the interesting timing of this $1.7 BILLION payment to Iran while 4 American prisoners were being simultaneously released:Was this transfer of funds to a terrorist state (via the American taxpayer), the REAL reason the prisoners (hostages) Iran was holding were suddenly released? Did the incompetent Obama-Kerry duo use this settlement as a bargaining chip to make it appear as though freeing these hostages was part of the Iran nuclear deal all along? This is absolutely sickening The United States and Iran on Sunday settled a longstanding claim at the Hague, releasing to Tehran $400 million in funds frozen since 1981 plus $1.3 billion in interest, the State Department said.The funds were part of a trust fund once used by Iran to purchase military equipment from the United States but which was tied up for decades in litigation at the Iran-US Claims Tribunal.The settlement announcement was made after Tehran released five American detainees in a prisoner swap as a nuclear deal was implemented. Via: Business Insider

left-news

Jan 17, 2016

MSNBC Host Drops BOMBSHELL On Real ‘Enemy’ To America; Trump PISSED (VIDEO)

Even from the beginning of his hate-fueled, bigoted presidential campaign, it was obvious that Donald Trump did not give a damn about America and the values the country was built upon. Trump has carried this anti-American attitude straight into his failing, undeserved presidency and yet he has the nerve to call the media the enemy of the American people because of unfavorable coverage.Despite how many distractions Trump tries to create to hide his failures and f*ckups, we shouldn t forget who the real threat to America is and MSNBC host Joe Scarborough wasn t afraid to point it out. Earlier today, Scarborough called out Trump s attacks on the media, calling it the real enemy because it might encourage violence against the journalists who are reporting the truth about Trump.On Morning Joe, Scarborough echoed the comments of Republican senator John McCain, who said that Trump s attack on the media sounded like a dictator and that he had gone too far. Scarborough ripped Trump: It s one thing to say the press is liberal, it s one thing to say the 9th Circuit (Court) is liberal, but when you start saying that somebody is an enemy of the people, then that does incite people to violence especially if it s coming from the president of the United States. Scarborough revealed that thanks to Trump, journalists are now getting death threats on a daily basis just for telling the truth about the Trump administration, putting their lives in danger. When you receive tweets every day, and somebody s threatening your life and they talk about lynching you and your family after President Trump has his way with the media, this happens over and over again, and I don t think there s anybody who s in the media that doesn t hear that every day. So yeah, this is very, very dangerous. Scarborough also nailed Trump on his fake news tantrums, noting the irony that Trump and his team are the most dishonest administration we ve ever seen. Most recently, Trump even made up a completely bogus terrorist attack! Scarborough said: As Jesus said, don t throw stones if you live in glass houses. This man lives in the biggest glass house there is when it comes to a disconnection from truth. So to attack the media and then say they re enemies of the people is beyond the pale. And if Trump thought that attacking the press was going to shut the media down, Scarborough gave him a brutal reality check: Let s talk about things in a way that Donald Trump can understand ratings and let s just put it all out on the table. Everybody s ratings are up, newspaper subscriptions at the New York Times are exploding, the Washington Post doing better than it s ever done before. CNN from the day that Donald Trump called them fake news, CNN s numbers have exploded. Donald Trump has been Jeff Zucker s you can tell they ve been great friends for a very long time, because there is nothing Donald Trump could do to help CNN more. They re enjoying record numbers. You can watch Scarborough rip Trump below: Featured image via screenshot and Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

News

February 20, 2017

Factbox: Trump on Twitter (December 6) - America, California's wildfires

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! [1000 EST] - Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path of California’s wildfires. I encourage everyone to heed the advice and orders of local and state officials. THANK YOU to all First Responders for your incredible work! [1111 EST] - Join me live from the @WhiteHouse via #Periscope [1305 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

politicsNews

December 6, 2017

No angst over Turkey's air defense deal with Russia, says NATO chief

NATO ally Turkey is not seeking to antagonize the U.S.-led alliance by purchasing Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles and is in talks with France and Italy to buy similar weapons, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. Ankara s decision to buy the Russian system has been seen in some Western capitals as a snub to the alliance, given tensions with Moscow over Ukraine and Syria, while the deal raised concern because the weapons cannot be integrated into NATO defense. But Stoltenberg said it was a sovereign decision and that he had talked it through with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. There hasn t been any request from Turkey to integrate the S-400 into NATO air defense system, Stoltenberg told Reuters in an interview on a Belgian military plane returning from Romania late on Monday. I spoke with President Erdogan when I met him in September. I said that the kind of capabilities different nations want to acquire is a national decision, he said of the S-400 system that Turkey has made an advance payment for and hopes to see delivered in 2019. Stoltenberg stressed that top Turkish officials, as well as Erdogan, had told him Ankara remained a strong NATO ally. That was despite the S-400 issue and a dispute with Germany over Erdogan s arrest of German nationals as part of a mass purge following last July s failed coup bid. Stoltenberg said Ankara was ready to brief its allies in the U.S.-led 29-member bloc on the reasons behind its decision to buy the S-400 system. Erdogan has blamed NATO countries for failing to propose a viable alternative to the long-range Russian missiles, but Stoltenberg said Erdogan was now talking to Paris and Rome for similar systems, a move the alliance chief welcomed. He told me that Turkey is in dialogue with France and Italy on possible delivery of air defense systems from them ... on top of the S-400, Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg did not give more details but said Turkey was familiar with the so-called SAMP-T missiles developed because Italy had stationed them in Turkey as part of NATO efforts to help protect Ankara from rocket attacks. Such weapons are designed to protect battlefields and strategic sites such as airports and sea ports against airborne threats, including cruise missiles and aircraft. The SAMP-T system is produced by Italian-French consortium Eurosam, a joint venture between European missile maker MBDA and Thales. Russia uses different technology, as well as know-how that Moscow is unlikely to be willing to share, experts say. For NATO, the important thing is interoperability, Stoltenberg said, speaking on his return from the launch of a NATO force aimed at deterring Russia in the Black Sea region. We encourage, facilitate allies to develop systems, acquire and operate systems together that will reduce costs and strengthen the defense industries within the alliance, he said. As part of NATO s collective defense pledge, the allies integrate their ships, planes and weapons systems to make them work together, as well as sharing command across the alliance. Some eastern European allies that were once under Soviet rule still rely on Russian-made planes, but integrating Russia s most advanced ground-based missile system would also be highly complicated for political reasons. While Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, took up the NATO post three years ago with a more conciliatory tone toward Moscow than his Danish predecessor Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Russia s Crimea annexation in March 2014 had already badly damaged East-West ties. In the latest dispute, Stoltenberg said Moscow had given misleading information about the size of its war games, known as Zapad, or West, last month. Our assessment so far shows that the scale and geographic scope of the Zapad exercise significantly exceeded what was announced, he said, although he said so far there were no signs Russia had left behind troops or weapons in Belarus during the exercises, as some Baltic nations had feared. Russia said Zapad involved some 13,000 troops and has accused NATO allies of exaggerating the size of the drills.

worldnews

October 10, 2017

FBI to give Congress report on lack of charges over Clinton's email use: CNN

The FBI on Tuesday will deliver a report to U.S. lawmakers explaining why the law enforcement agency did not recommend charges over Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server, CNN reported, citing U.S. officials briefed on the matter. The confidential material, which will include FBI agent memos on their interviews with the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate, is classified and cannot be made public, according to CNN. (This version of the story has been refiled to fix typo in second paragraph)

politicsNews

August 16, 2016

These Panties Let You Protest Anti-Choice Republicans In The Most HILARIOUS Way (IMAGES)

Republicans are no friend to women, that much is obvious. They have been steadily passing anti-choice laws in red states for some time now; in fact, many women in these states have literally no access to reproductive health services due to these draconian bills. Well, one entrepreneur has an awesome way for women everywhere to be able to take out their frustrations on anti-woman Republicans: By bleeding all over them every month.Etsy shop Cute Fruit Undies has come out with a line of period panties meaning panties that can be used in the place of tampons or sanitary pads that feature the faces of anti-choice GOPers right on the crotch. You can choose from many different politicians Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin, and more. Here are the photos used for the design: The panties themselves are super cute, and they even come with heat packs to help with the cramps so many women suffer through during menstruation.The makers of the panties say that they are made up of the faces of politicians who have actively worked to pass legislation that will hinder women s access to abortions, birth control, and Planned Parenthood, and therefore you should bleed all over em. The panties are also super healthy, as they are absorbent and anti-bacterial. You can also buy sets that include crop tops that match as well.I don t know about you ladies, but I ll definitely be getting some of these. Oh, and the best part? Three dollars of each sale goes to Planned Parenthood locations in states affected by these politicians crazy laws.All images via Cute Fruit Undies/Facebook/Buzzfeed

News

April 3, 2016

NY state reaches deal to raise minimum wage toward $15 an hour

Governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders reached a deal on Thursday to raise New York state’s minimum wage towards $15 per hour, but fell short of a uniform state-wide increase. The deal outlines a faster rise in New York City, but carves out a slow lane for small businesses and surrounding counties. In less prosperous areas north of the city it rises to $12.50 per hour before a state review of the law’s impact. The minimum wage agreement was part of a broad budget deal that Cuomo announced late on Thursday. He said the plan included 12 weeks of paid family leave and $4.2 billion in tax cuts. The $147 billion budget caps spending growth at 2 percent. “I believe that this is the best plan the state has produced in decades,” Cuomo told a news conference in the state capital, Albany. Cuomo has earmarked $100 billion in infrastructure spending in the state. The budget also increases school funding by 6.5 percent to $24.8 billion and freezes tuition at the state university system, SUNY. The minimum wage has been a controversial element in difficult budget negotiations that threatened to delay the spending plan past the start of the state’s fiscal year on April 1. The agreement, including the minimum wage, still needs to get approval from lawmakers. Under the terms of the deal the minimum wage would rise from its current $9 per hour to $15 over three years in New York City starting on Dec. 31, 2016. City businesses with up to 10 employees would be given four years to implement the measure. Long Island and Westchester County around New York City would be given six years to push through the increases while the rest of the state would see the minimum wage rise to $12.50 in five years, with indexed increases to $15 possible after review. There is also a provision to suspend the increases from 2019 if economic conditions worsen. The compromise is a climb down for Cuomo and his fellow Democrats who had pushed for a $15 state-wide minimum and no carve outs for small businesses. Republicans argued that a flat statewide rate could hurt businesses in less wealthy areas. “It may not go to $15. There’s no guarantee, that’s the good thing,” said Senator George Amedore, a Republican representing a constituency upstate, who commented on the agreement to Reuters. Phil Steck, a Democratic Party assembly member, who represents a district 165 miles (265 km) north of the city, argued that the opposite was true, and a lower minimum wage would be a blow to the upstate economy. “We have a very strapped economy in upstate New York and the surest way to ensure continued poverty is to run a low wage economy,” he said. “If anything, the poorer areas of the state needed an increase in the minimum wage more.” The multi-tier solution could also dampen the national drive for a $15 minimum wage that has gathered pace as Democrats mobilize their base ahead of the presidential election in November. They hailed an important victory when California Governor Jerry Brown and legislators reached an agreement on Monday to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023. Cuomo said New York’s “calibrated” path to raising the minimum wage could be an example for the rest of the county. “It is raising the minimum wage in a way that is responsible and a positive for the overall economy,” he said.

politicsNews

March 31, 2016

(VIDEO) AS RAMADI FALLS TO ISIS, YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT

Huh? Do these people live in a bubble or what? It s almost like they re sticking their fingers in their ears singing La, La, La WTH!

politics

May 16, 2015

OBAMA’S WAR ON COPS Takes Toll On Black Communities: Young Girl Cries Over #BlackLivesMatter Violence In Her Milwaukee Neighborhood [VIDEO]

Communities like Ferguson, Baltimore and now Milwaukee, didn t ask for this war on cops, it was thrust upon them. It was organized, paid for and well-orchestrated by Obama and other Democrats players from a variety of backgrounds. Former Attorney General Eric Holder was caught paying protesters with taxpayer money to come to Sanford, FL to march against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case that got Obama s Race War/War on Cops started back in March, 2012. With so many stories about the violence and crime coming out of Milwaukee, a bright ray of hope comes from a prayer rally created by a community torn apart by Obama s war on cops.A young girl bravely speaks out against the violence in her neighborhood. The sadness and despair in her shaking voice is truly heartbreaking. These people are trapped in a neighborhood overrun with crime, violence and despair. They re trapped in a neighborhood run by greedy Democrat politicians who have substituted government control for self-respect and dignity. They have taken away these citizens desire to do better, they have stripped them of the belief that they truly can escape their situation. They ve set up Planned Parenthood abortion mills on every corner to keep their population down and have given them just enough to sustain themselves, but not too much to escape government control.Rotten school officials and union leaders tasked with improving their education are only out for themselves, always looking for the next pay raise or special perk that comes with the job. What these self-serving politicians and school administrators are giving to these communities of mostly fatherless kids are a poor education, low self-esteem and no hope for a better life.These young adults are choosing a life of crime over a job. They re choosing to drop out of school instead of getting a job at a local fast-food restaurant while attending a local community college or technical training center. These young adults don t know, or understand the value of sacrificing today for a future tomorrow, because the Democratic Party has convinced them they don t need to worry about the future. They ve convinced them they don t need to be self-sufficient. The only thing they need is the government and that s enough. That s also the reason this frightened little girl seen in the video below, is trapped in this tragic neighborhood filled with violence and crime and may never get out as long as Democrats continue to fool the voters in these crime-ridden cities they are on their side.Thank goodness these citizens, (who are truly a ray of hope in these uncertain times) are able to turn to God for guidance and to ask for protection for their community, and for law enforcement officers who keep their neighborhoods safe.

left-news

Aug 15, 2016

BREAKING: SECRET SERVICE Takes Action After White House Intruder Got too Close For Comfort [Video]

The Secret Service fired two uniformed division officers who were involved in the March 10th intrusion when Jonathan Tran jumped the White House fence and wandered the grounds for 16 minutes, even getting close to the White House s windows and doors:ALARM TURNED OFF: Shocking Details on WHITE HOUSE Fence Jumper: It was even worse than I thought Secret Service personnel removed the alarm sensors along an area of fence line when the agency raised its height in response to previous fence-jumping incidents as a way to make it harder to scale. Ironically, the very effort to prevent fence jumping appears to have permitted a particularly egregious intrusion.One source said superiors in the Uniformed Division told Secret Service personnel to remove the sensors and piece them together for use elsewhere. They were never replaced.There are at least 10 to 12 officers and agents, including supervisors from the Presidential Protective Division, monitoring these sensors at any given time. They do so from the Joint Operations Command Center or JOCC, which is located outside of the White House complex.Some agents and officers also are questioning why Secret Service never released the K-9 unit to try to find an intruder after the alarms on the first fence the intruder scaled went off.Rep. Jason Chaffetz weighs in below on details of what the intruder did in those 17 minutes: The White House fence jumper who lingered on the ground unnoticed for 17 minutes was literally just hanging out in plain view with alarms blaring, and the Secret Service had no clue.Congressman Jason Chaffetz tells TMZ he met with the Director of Homeland Security and the Acting Director of the Secret Service for an hour and a half Tuesday, and his conclusion It was even worse than I thought. Chaffetz says the surveillance video is shocking the intruder was not darting around. Rather, he was lingering, hanging out on the grounds. At one point he took the time to bend down and tie his shoes.The intruder at times peered through windows of the building, where Trump was inside. As we previously reported, he also jiggled a doorknob.Chaffetz says some of the alarms failed but some went off, yet the intruder was not detected.Secret Service agents did check the grounds, but not with any urgency. Alarms frequently go off for various reasons, and this time it was met with an inadequate response.And Chaffetz says the video shows agents were simply lackadaisical. As he put it, Everything went wrong. The congressman says he was promised there would be big changes, adding, There better be. Via: tmz

Government News

Apr 15, 2017

South Koreans' support for nuclear projects deals blow to government energy plan

South Korean public support for nuclear power on Friday sucker punched a government policy to steer the country away from nuclear-generated electricity as Seoul said it would bow to a demand to resume construction of two new reactors. President Moon Jae-in came to power in May, after running on a ticket that called for reducing South Korea s nuclear and coal-fired power generation in a push to use more natural gas and renewables. Those plans were dealt an unlooked-for blow on Friday when a public opinion survey found a majority of almost 60 percent in favour of resuming the stalled construction of two reactors. Building the two reactors could mean reversal of a strategy to slowly reduce nuclear energy s share of the power mix, and also significantly eat into the liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand of the world s second-largest consumer of the fuel. Our recommendation to the government is restarting construction, said Kim Ji-hyung, chairman of a government-organised committee to study the nuclear projects. Our final public opinion survey showed 59.5 percent of (responding) South Koreans chose to resume the construction, Kim told a news conference. Stability of power supply was cited as a primary reason for the choice in survey responses, the committee said. We respect the will of the committee, said South Korea s presidential office spokesman Park Soo-hyun. An expert at a government think tank said the size of the win in favour of the projects meant the government had no choice but to go with the committee s recommendation. The outcome was very unexpected ... Many expected the difference would be a maximum 10 percentage points, but as it turned out, it stood nearly at 20, said Roh Dong-seok, senior research fellow at the Korea Energy Economics Institute. The two 1,400-megawatt (MW) reactors - Shin Kori No.5 and Shin Kori No.6 - were originally to be completed by March 2021 and March 2022, respectively, in the southeastern city of Ulsan. The government announced a suspension of the projects after coming to power, saying it would consult the public over their future. The committee conducted four rounds of surveys, including phone interviews of 20,006 people and public discussions involving some 470 citizens, over the past three months. With the reactors now likely going ahead, completion dates are set for October 2021 and October 2022, according to state-run nuclear operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power [KRHYDR.UL]. (For a graphic on 'South Korea 2016 power generation mix' click reut.rs/2xTOZKB) Shares of Korea Electric Power Corp rose 0.6 percent to 41,110 won ($36.32) on Friday, after jumping nearly 6 percent following the announcement of the survey results. KEPCO Engineering & Construction, in charge of the reactors design, lost 1.2 percent after surging as much as 20 percent. KEPCO Plant Service & Engineering gained 1.7 percent. Building nuclear power plants takes years, so the decision in favour of the two new reactors will not change South Korea s immediate fuel demand patterns. But the vote, which surprised many in the industry, does impact the long-term outlook for the country s fuel consumption, with the biggest impact likely falling on imports of LNG. Full implementation of Moon s election promises could have resulted in around 10 million tonnes (a year) of extra LNG demand by 2030. This now seems unlikely, said Kiah Wei Giam, principal analyst at energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie. That compares to South Korea s LNG imports of 33.4 million tonnes last year, according to customs data. [LNG/KRTRD] Giam said, however, the survey did not totally derail the government s energy policies. With the planned nuclear phase-out delayed, it will be interesting to see whether more aggressive anti-coal policies are enacted, Giam said. Park Won-joo, Deputy Minister for Energy & Resources, said later at a briefing the government will reach a final decision on the nuclear reactors next Tuesday and then tell the state-run nuclear operator when to resume project construction.

worldnews

October 20, 2017

Brexit deal could be template for EU ties to Ukraine, Turkey, Germany's Gabriel says

An EU agreement with Britain on relations after Brexit could serve as a model for ties with other countries that want to be as close as possible to the bloc but are not yet ready to join, such as Ukraine and Turkey, Germany s foreign minister said. Britain secured the go-ahead from Brussels to start talks on its future relationship with the EU earlier this month, with London saying it aspires to a closer relationship as a former member than that of any other third country. In an interview with the Funke newspaper group published on Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said such a deal could offer a solution to the puzzle of how the bloc of 27 can manage its ties with two other large non-members. I can t imagine Turkey or Ukraine becoming EU members in the next few years, he said. If we get a smart agreement with Britain regulating relations with Europe after Brexit, that could be a model for other countries - Ukraine and also Turkey. Turkey, a candidate for EU membership for decades, already has a customs union with the EU which allows the trade of most goods without tariffs. One possibility would be to offer Ankara a new, closer form of the customs union , Gabriel said, although he also said such a project would have to wait for changes in Turkey s political environment. Thousands of people, including German citizens, have been detained in Turkey as part of a government crackdown since a failed coup in 2016. An agreement between the EU and Ukraine on a deep and comprehensive free trade area formally came into force in September, aimed at allowing free trade of goods, services and capital, and visa-free travel for people for short stays. Ukraine s desire for closer ties with the EU was one of the driving forces behind a popular revolt that toppled a pro-Russian president in 2014, leading Moscow to seize Ukraine s Crimea peninsula and back pro-Russian separatists in a still-unresolved conflict in the east of the country. Gabriel s Social Democratic Party (SPD) is preparing for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives on governing together for another four years.

worldnews

December 26, 2017

MEDIA COULDN’T BE FOUND DURING BENGHAZI SCANDAL…But Watch Them Sprint After Hillary’s “Scooby” Van To Catch Her First Campaign Stop

Not that anyone should be surprised by the lap dog mentality of these second rate liberal hack journalists. They re the reason the most crooked woman in America is even a contender in this race.

Government News

Apr 14, 2015

WATCH: Colbert Asks Tapper How CNN Staff Feels About Their Feud With Trump; His Response Is PERFECT

Donald Trump is no fan of CNN. He has repeatedly tried to discredit and delegitimize the network, even going so far as to call them fake news and refuse to answer a question from one of their reporters during the only press conference he has held since Inauguration Day.Well, one of CNN s best anchors, Jake Tapper, who hosts The Lead and State of the Union, stopped by the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday night, and of course the topic of Trump came up. More specifically, the topic of CNN s relationship with Trump came up. After the niceties were exchanged Colbert started out by reading a list of insulting adjectives that Trump had used to describe the network, then went on to ask Tapper: Why are you so mean to him, Jake? If you guys just didn t fact-check him anymore, he wouldn t be saying these things about you. Tapper responded: That s a good point. Then, Colbert went on to say: What s it like in the halls over there knowing that the president actively doesn t like your network? Tapper then delivered the best and presumably honest zinger that would really hit home for Trump: I don t think anybody cares. Now, this is important because Trump NEEDS people to care about him, how he feels, what he says, what he thinks. As Tapper points out, it is not a reporter s job to be liked. It is a reporter s job to hold people accountable. Now that we have a president and a White House that actively lies on a routine basis to the American public, it s vital to the survival of our democracy that Tapper and those like him continue to fact-check Trump, no matter how many insane insults he throws at them.The relevant part comes a couple of minutes into the following video, but the entire interview is beyond awesome:Featured image via video screen capture

News

February 9, 2017

White House condemns missile attacks on Saudi by Yemen's Houthis

The White House on Wednesday condemned missile attacks by Yemen s Houthi militias on Saudi Arabia, saying they threatened the region s security and undermined efforts to halt the conflict. Saudi Arabia said its air defense forces intercepted a ballistic missile fired from warring Yemen over the capital Riyadh on Saturday. The rocket was brought down near King Khaled Airport on the northern outskirts of the capital. Saudi Arabia s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Iran s supply of rockets to militias in Yemen was an act of direct military aggression that could be an act of war. Houthi missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, enabled by Iran s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, threaten regional security and undermine UN efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict, the White House said in a statement as U.S. President Donald Trump began a visit to the Chinese capital. These missile systems were not present in Yemen before the conflict, and we call upon the United Nations to conduct a thorough examination of evidence that the Iranian regime is perpetuating the war in Yemen to advance its regional ambitions, the statement added. It said the United States would continue working with other like-minded partners to respond to such attacks and expose what it called Iran s destabilizing activities in the region. Iran denied it was behind the missile launch. On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said missile attacks from Yemen were a reaction to what he called Saudi aggression. In reaction to the missile, the Saudi-led coalition closed all air, land and sea ports to the impoverished country. It also intensified air strikes on areas controlled by the Houthis including the capital Sanaa. The war has killed more than 10,000 people and triggered one of the worst man-made humanitarian disasters in recent history. The United Nations on Tuesday called on the coalition to re-open an aid lifeline into Yemen, saying food and medicine imports were vital for 7 million people facing famine.

worldnews

November 8, 2017

Republican senator: Tax plan needs more relief for pass-through businesses

A Republican senator who has publicly opposed the current draft of the Senate tax reform plan said on Thursday he wants to see more tax relief for pass-through businesses, like partnerships, because he sees them as the source of U.S. economic growth. “I want more of the tax relief on the business side to flow to pass-through industries because I really do believe they are the true engine of economic growth and job creation,” Senator Ron Johnson told CNN, but gave no details about specific fixes. Johnson later told CNBC that despite his opposition to the current draft, he was optimistic Republicans can pass a tax reform plan this year.

politicsNews

November 16, 2017

U.S. secretary of state to make first trip to Asia

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will make his first trip to Asia next week and meet with senior officials to discuss North Korea’s recent missile tests and U.S. economic and security interests in the region. He will arrive in Japan on March 15, continue on to South Korea on March 17 and visit China from March 18-19. The trip comes after Pyongyang’s latest missile launches and the assassination in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother have added urgency to the region’s security situation. U.S. President Donald Trump faces a growing test of resolve after vowing while campaigning to get tough on North Korea. Trump’s aides are pressing to complete a strategy review on how to counter Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear threats. Trump has attacked China on issues ranging from trade to the South China Sea and what he perceives as China’s lack of interest in reining in nuclear-armed North Korea. Last month, Trump held his first face-to-face talks with a member of the Chinese leadership, top diplomat Yang Jiechi who outranks Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and the White House said it was a chance to discuss shared security interests and a possible meeting with President Xi Jinping. Wang and Tillerson met last month in Germany on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 top economies. “I think that Secretary of State Tillerson is a person who is willing to listen and is a deep communicator,” Wang said at his annual news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, on the sidelines of China’s parliament. “I believe we can establish a good working relationship,” he added.

politicsNews

March 8, 2017

NOT TO BE MISSED! The Brilliant Daniel Hannan On Socialism Versus Liberty: “Hitler was a socialist” [Video]

Wish we could clone this guy we love Daniel Hannan! We couldn t have said it better!

left-news

Jan 16, 2016

WATCH: Deplorable Trump Supporter Punches Protester And Slaps Woman At Rally

Trump supporters have proven Hillary Clinton right once again.During a rally in Ashville, North Carolina on Monday, a Trump fan was filmed physically assaulting some protesters with the Republican nominee s full support as he gave the thumbs up.At the top of some bleachers, a middle-aged white guy can be seen grabbing and punching a male protester. Security intervened, but rather than remove the Trump supporter for committing an actual crime, they kicked out the protesters instead.The man verbally harasses the group as they file out down the steps all while acting like he is some kind of tough guy and then goes as far as slapping a female protester on her way out.Here s the video via Twitter:WATCH: Man slaps several protesters as they are being escorted out of @realDonaldTrump rally in Asheville, NC. pic.twitter.com/KMKCDvIar4 ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 12, 2016Again, this asshole did not get removed from the rally, and nor was he arrested. Like the other bullies who have assaulted people during Trump rallies, he was left alone while the protesters were dealt with even though he was clearly the aggressor.At another rally earlier this year in North Carolina, a Trump supporter named John McGraw sucker-punched a black protester and then triumphantly declared to the media that he and his white buddies might have to kill the man next time. At least McGraw was arrested, but only after the rally.And Donald Trump does nothing to stop this kind of behavior from his hooligan supporters. He cheers them on and congratulates them. It seems like he is proud of his supporters for beating up people who don t agree with him.This is how violence finds its way into politics, and Trump has done nothing but allow it to escalate. Not too long ago, Trump suggested that gun owners do something to stop Hillary Clinton from selecting Supreme Court nominees. And on Saturday, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin called for a bloody rebellion if Hillary wins in November.Clearly, Hillary Clinton was right to call Trump s supporters deplorable.Featured image via screen capture

News

September 13, 2016

Vietnam braces for typhoon as Philippine toll rises to 230 dead

Authorities in Vietnam prepared to move a million people from low-lying areas along the south coast on Monday as a typhoon approached after it battered the Philippines with floods and landslides that killed more than 230 people. Typhoon Tembin is expected to slam into Vietnam late on Monday after bringing misery to the predominantly Christian Philippines just before Christmas. Vietnam s disaster prevention committee said 74,000 people had been moved to safety from vulnerable areas, while authorities in 15 provinces and cities were prepared to move more than 1 million. The government ordered that oil rigs and vessels be protected and it warned that about 62,000 fishing boats should not venture out to sea. Vietnam must ensure the safety of its oil rigs and vessels. If necessary, close the oil rigs and evacuate workers, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was quoted as saying on a government website. Schools were ordered to close in the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, a working day in Vietnam. On Sunday, Tembin hit the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, parts of which are contested by several countries, including Vietnam and China. No casualties were reported in outposts there. Vietnam, like the Philippines, is regularly battered by typhoons that form over the warm waters of the Pacific and barrel westwards into land. Tembin will be the 16th major storm to hit Vietnam this year. The storms and other disasters have left 390 people dead or missing, according to official figures. In the Philippines, rescue workers were still struggling to reach some remote areas hit by floods and landslides that Tembin s downpours brought, as the death toll climbed to more than 230. Scores of people are missing. The full extent of the devastation was only becoming clear as the most remote areas were being reached. Health worker Arturo Simbajon said nearly the entire coastal village of Anungan on the Zamboanga peninsula of Mindanao island had been wiped out by a barrage of broken logs, boulders and mud that swept down a river and out to sea. Only the mosque was left standing, Simbajon said. People were watching the rising sea but did not expect the water to come from behind them. Manuel Luis Ochotorena, head of regional disaster agency, said he expected the death toll to rise. Many areas in Zamboanga peninsula are still without power and communications, some towns are cut off due to collapsed bridges, floods and landslides, he said. Tens of thousands of people on Mindanao have been displaced by the storm, which struck late on Friday. The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons a year and warnings are routinely issued. But disaster officials said many villagers had ignored warnings this time to get out coastal areas and move away from riverbanks. In 2013, super typhoon Haiyan killed nearly 8,000 people and left 200,000 families homeless in the central Philippines. (This version of the story was refiled to fix spelling in paragraph two)

worldnews

December 25, 2017

U.S. Senate panel backs Huntsman to be Trump's ambassador to Russia

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously backed former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman to be President Donald Trump’s first ambassador to Russia on Tuesday, clearing the way for his likely approval by the full Senate. At his Sept 19 confirmation hearing, Huntsman had said there was “no question” Moscow meddled in the 2016 U.S. election, and pledged to bring up the matter with the Russian government. Allegations that Russia interfered in the vote to boost Trump’s chances of winning the White House, denied by both Trump and Moscow, have shadowed the first months of Trump’s presidency. Huntsman’s tough line during his hearing was welcomed by several members of the foreign relations panel. Many members of Congress, including several of Trump’s fellow Republicans, are concerned the president will not take a hard enough line in dealings with Russia to combat Russian expansionism in eastern Europe or its support for Syria’s government in that country’s civil war. A vote by the full Senate on Huntsman’s confirmation has not yet been scheduled.

politicsNews

September 26, 2017

THIS STATE WILL INCLUDE TRANSGENDER CURRICULUM IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: ‘You can be both genders, you can be no gender, you can be a gender that you make up for yourself’

Because there s nothing more compassionate than convincing young boys and girls that the gender that God assigned to them at birth means absolutely nothing. In fact, with a few government funded surgeries, they can try out any sex they think they might identify with You will want to contact the School Board if you live in Fairfax County, VA and let them know how you feel about using your tax dollars for the radical indoctrination of your children.One of the nation s largest public school systems is preparing to include gender identity to its classroom curriculum, including lessons on sexual fluidity and spectrum the idea that there s no such thing as 100 percent boys or 100 percent girls.Fairfax County Public Schools released a report recommending changes to their family life curriculum for grades 7 through 12. The changes, which critics call radical gender ideology, will be formally introduced next week. The larger picture is this is really an attack on nature itself the created order, said Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council. Human beings are created male and female. But the current transgender ideology goes way beyond that. They re telling us you can be both genders, you can be no gender, you can be a gender that you make up for yourself. And we re supposed to affirm all of it. The plan calls for teaching seventh graders about transgenderism and tenth graders about the concept that sexuality is a broader spectrum but it sure smells like unadulterated sex indoctrination.Get a load of what the kids are going to be learning in middle school: Students will be provided definitions for sexual orientation terms heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality; and the gender identity term transgender, the district s recommendations state. Emphasis will be placed on recognizing that everyone is experiencing changes and the role of respectful, inclusive language in promoting an environment free of bias and discrimination. Eighth graders will be taught that individual identity occurs over a lifetime and includes the component of sexual orientation and gender identity. Individual identity will also be described as having four parts biological gender, gender identity (includes transgender), gender role, and sexual orientation (includes heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual). The district will also introduce young teenagers to the concept that sexuality is a broader spectrum. By tenth grade, they will be taught that one s sexuality develops throughout a lifetime. Emphasis will be placed on an understanding that there is a broader, boundless, and fluid spectrum of sexuality that is developed throughout a lifetime, the document states. Sexual orientation and gender identity terms will be discussed with focus on appreciation for individual differences. As you might imagine parents are freaking out. Parents need to protect their kids from this assault, said Andrea Lafferty, president of Traditional Values Coalition. Who could imagine that we are in this place today but we are. Last week, the school board voted to include gender identity in the district s nondiscrimination policy a decision that was strongly opposed by parents.Lafferty, who led the opposition to the nondiscrimination policy, warned that the district is moving towards the deconstruction of gender. At the end of this is the deconstruction of gender absolutely, she told me. The majority of people pushing (this) are not saying that but that clearly is the motivation. School Board spokesman John Torre told the Washington Times the proposed curriculum changes have nothing to do with last week s vote to allow boys who identity as girls to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.He would have us believe it was purely coincidental.To make matters worse, Lafferty contends parents will not be able to opt their children out of the classes because the lessons will be a part of the mandatory health curriculum.However, Torre told me that parents will indeed be able to opt out of those classes including the sexual orientation and gender identity lessons. They are not being forthright with the information, Lafferty said. They are not telling people the truth. They are bullying parents. They are intimidating and they are threatening. I must confess that I m a bit old school on sex education. I believe that God created male and female. My reading of the Bible does not indicate there were dozens of other options.However, I m always open to learning new things so I asked the school district to provide me with the textbooks and scientific data they will be using to instruct the children that there are dozens and dozens of possible genders.Here s the reply I received from Torre: Lessons have not been developed for the proposed lesson objectives, he stated. Because of the need to develop lessons, the proposed objectives would not be implemented until fall 2016. In other words they don t have a clue.And the Family Research Council s Sprigg said there s a pretty good reason why they can t produce a textbook about fluidity. It s an ideological concept, he told me. It s not a scientific one. He warned that Fairfax County s planned curriculum could be harmful to students. It s only going to create more confusion in the minds of young people who don t need any further confusion about sexual identity, he said.The board will introduce the changes on May 21. Lafferty said she hopes parents will turn out in force to voice their objections.Via: FOX News

left-news

May 18, 2015

BUSTED! H.R. McMaster Caught Communicating Internal White House Info with Deep State’s McCabe

Sara Carter of Circa News is a very trusted source who goes deep like no other journalist we know. Carter is reporting that National Security Advisor, H.R. McMaster has been communicating White House internal information to Deep State Acting FBI Director Andy McCabe.Investigating: sources say, McMaster has been communicating WH internal politics 2 Acting FBI director Andy McCabe. More shake-ups? Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) July 28, 2017We ve written extensively on McCabe who was in hot water for doing unscrupulous things (see below) during his wife s campaign. His loyalty to Trump has been called into question numerous times. The timing is interesting because Judicial Watch just filed three lawsuits for info on McCabe.Investigative reporter Mike Cernovich has been reporting for months that McMaster is on the globalist s agenda and secretly working against President Trump s America First plans. It has also been previously reported that Comey s replacement as Acting FBI Head, Andrew McCabe, has ties to the Hillary Clinton campaign.McCabe is also being investigated by the Office of U.S. Counsel violating the Hatch Act which prohibits FBI agents from campaigning in partisan races. Concerns arose when different media outlets found that a political action committee affiliated with Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe (who has ties to Bill and Hilary Clinton) contributed almost $500,000 to the 2015 Virginia State Senate campaign of McCabe s wife, Jill McCabe. She also received $207,788 from the Virginia Democratic Party, which is connected to McAuliffe, a Democrat.OUR PREVIOUS REPORT ON THE FBI S MCCABE BEING UNDER INVESTIGATION:Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe is being investigated by the Office of U.S. Counsel violating the Hatch Act according to a new report by Circa News.The Hatch Act prohibits FBI agents from campaigning in partisan races. Photos of McCabe campaigning for his wife raised questions about McCabe s compliance with the law.Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe is being investigated by the Office of U.S. Special Counsel for violating The Hatch Act that prohibits FBI agents from campaigning in partisan races.The Office of U.S. Special Counsel, the government s main whistleblower agency, is investigating whether FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe s activities supporting his wife Jill s Democratic campaign for Virginia state senate in 2015 violated the Hatch Act s prohibition against FBI agents campaigning in partisan races. I am voting for Jill because she is the best wife ever, McCabe put on a sign that he photographed himself holding. The photo was posted on her social media page a few days before the election, in response to Dr. Jill McCabe s plea to help me win by posting photos expressing reasons why voters should vote for her, according to the complaint.Other social media photos in the complaint showed McCabe s minor daughter campaigning with her mother, wearing an FBI shirt, and McCabe voting with his wife at a polling station.Here is another social media photo of our acting #FBI director, #AndrewMcCabe breaking the rules by campaigning on social media. #Corrupt pic.twitter.com/hBCH29yErY Senator Dick Black (@SenRichardBlack) May 9, 2017The Hatch Act prohibits FBI employees from engaging in political activity in concert with a political party, a candidate for partisan political office, or a partisan political group. It defines prohibited political activity as any activity directed at the success or failure of a partisan group or candidate in a partisan election. An ethics expert told Circa the photos raised legitimate questions about McCabe s compliance with the law.Meanwhile, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe s office released to Circa under the Freedom of Information Act documents showing McCabe attended a meeting with his wife and the governor on a Saturday in March 2015 specifically to discuss having Jill McCabe run for state Senate in Virginia as a Democrat. This is a candidate recruitment meeting. McCabe is seriously considering running against State Senator Dick Black. You have been asked to close the deal, the briefing memo for McAuliffe read.Watch Sean Hannity discuss McCabe s involvement in his wife s campaign as well as his ties to Hillary s campaign:Included in the governor s briefing package was a copy of McCabe s FBI biography. The biography made clear that Andrew McCabe was a senior executive who at the time oversaw the FBI s Washington field office that among many tasks supervised investigations in northern Virginia.At the time of the meeting, published reports indicate agents in the Washington field office were involved in both a probe of McAuliffe and of the governor s close friend, Hillary Clinton s and her private email account.h/t Gateway PunditRead more: Gateway Pundit

politics

Jul 28, 2017

U.S. aerospace industry urges Trump to help Ex-Im Bank resume work

The chief executive of the U.S. Aerospace Industries Association urged President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday to quickly nominate new board members to the U.S. Export-Import Bank to allow the export financing agency to resume functioning. Dave Melcher said billions of dollars worth of potential orders were in limbo because the agency’s board lacked the necessary number of board members to back important trade deals. “The Senate can protect American manufacturing jobs by restoring the quorum to the Export-Import Bank’s board of directors,” Melcher said in a speech before more than 300 industry and media representatives Tuesday in Arlington, Virginia. Boeing Co, one of the largest U.S. exporters, and other aerospace companies have raised similar concerns.

politicsNews

December 6, 2016

Highlights: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam delivers maiden policy address

The following are highlights of the maiden policy address of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Wednesday as she laid out a blueprint of her government s priorities in the coming five years. National security - Say no to any attempt to threaten country s (China s) sovereignty, security and development interests Infrastructure - Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development will bring enormous opportunities for Hong Kong s economy Economy - The government last went into deficit in 2003-04 and now fiscal reserves are in excess of HK$1,000 billion. - Hong Kong grew by 4.0 percent in real terms year-on-year in the first two quarters, with unemployment dropping to 3.1 percent in recent months, the lowest level in two decades - Overall economic growth in 2017 is expected to be higher than 3.5 percent Innovation and Technology - The government will step up efforts in research and development, expanding talent pool, venture capital, legislation reviews, and I&T development - The government has set a goal to double the Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product from the current 0.73 percent to 1.5 percent within the current-term government s five-year tenure Taxation - On the two-tier profits tax system, the profits tax rate for the first HK$2 million of profits of enterprises will be lowered to 8.25 percent, or half of the standard profits tax rate - Profits above that amount will continue to be subject to the standard tax rate of 16.5 percent Housing - To step up efforts to increase the supply of housing units - Seek to shorten the waiting time for public rental housing and increase supply of flats under the home ownership scheme. - Proposes to introduce affordable Starter Homes for middle-class families in Hong Kong - Land for Starter Homes to come from sites already owned by private developers or to be bought from the government - Provisions in land leases to require developers to pursue mixed developments, to build and offer for sale a specified number of Starter Homes units in addition to private housing units to target buyers who meet the eligibility criteria Education and talents - Increase education expenditure by HK$5 billion a year - Appoint more young people to government committees, with the aim of increasing the overall ratio of youth members to 15 percent within the current-term government - Recruit young people in policy research units so that the voices of young people can be heard at senior levels of the government

worldnews

October 11, 2017

Obama Literally LAUGHS At Claims That Brexit Means Trump Will Win Election (VIDEO)

If there s one thing President Barack Obama isn t threatened by, it s Donald Trump.After the Brexit decision, in which the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, many Americans were left upset and afraid that what had happened overseas could be a sign that Trump might actually win the election. Trump himself has definitely played up those fears in his statements following the decision by making statements such as, I really see a parallel between what is happening here and in the U.S. and voters will have the chance to re-declare their independence in November. Luckily, Obama is setting the record straight.In an interview with NPR s Steve Inskeep, it was clear that Obama wanted Americans to know that there were distinct differences between America and Britain, and that the Brexit vote wasn t a warning about what might happen in November. In fact, Obama was confident enough to actually laugh when Inskeep asked him about Trump s statement that Americans will be able to reject the global elite in the general election. Obama took a swipe at the billionaire business mogul: Mr. Trump embodies global elites and has taken full advantage of it his entire life. So, he s hardly a spokesperson, a legitimate spokesperson for a populist surge of working-class people on either side of the Atlantic. Obama urged Americans to stay calm, saying that he didn t think Brexit would lead to any major, cataclysmic changes. He said: I think that the best way to think about this is, a pause button has been pressed on the project of full European integration. I would not overstate it. There s been a little bit of hysteria post-Brexit vote, as if somehow NATO s gone, the trans-Atlantic alliance is dissolving, and every country is rushing off to its own corner. That s not what s happening. Obama stated that the U.S. and Europe still have similar international interests. He said: The basic core values of Europe, the tenants of liberal market-based democracies; those aren t changing. The interests we have with Europe remain the same, and our concerns internationally remain the same, so Europe can t afford to turn in. Trump might want to sit down, and shut up. You can watch Obama s interview below:Featured image via Pete Souza, Official White House Photographer

News

June 28, 2016

Syrian army takes full control of Deir al-Zor from Islamic State: observatory

The Syrian army and its allies have taken full control of Deir al-Zor city from Islamic State, the largest and most important city in eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday. There was no immediate comment from Syrian state media, but a commander in a military alliance fighting in support of Damascus said that while advances had been made, some IS-held pockets still remained in the city. The Syrian army launched its attack against Islamic State there in September, backed by Russian air strikes and fighting alongside Iran-backed militias and the Lebanese Shi ite group Hezbollah. The Islamist group had held most of the city since 2014, except for one large pocket where Syrian army troops and 93,000 civilians had been holed up for three years. The provincial capital is located on the western side of the Euphrates River. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the U.S.-led coalition, launched their own attack on Islamic State in the province in September, advancing along the eastern side of the river. The city s strategic significance for Islamic State stemmed from its location near the Iraqi border, where the group also controlled territory, as well as its importance as the oil-producing province s capital. The recovery of the eastern province s capital underscores President Bashar al Assad s re-established control over the eastern part of Syria. As the army has pushed east in recent months, oil and gas fields have once more fallen to the government, as well as to the SDF. Islamic State still controls parts of Deir al-Zor province, its territory extending across the border to neighboring Iraq where Iraqi forces are waging a separate offensive against the militant group. The Islamist group also controls a small pocket in Hama province in western Syria, and a besieged enclave south of Damascus where it is fighting rebel factions. The Syrian army is also advancing on Albu Kamal city in Deir al-Zor province, located on the Iraqi-Syrian border. Russian bombers struck Islamic State targets in the border town on Thursday, RIA news agency reported.

worldnews

November 2, 2017

U.S., Israel sign $38 billion military aid package

The United States will give Israel $38 billion in military assistance over the next decade, the largest such aid package in U.S. history, under a landmark agreement signed on Wednesday. The deal, whose details were reported by Reuters earlier, will allow Washington’s chief Middle East ally to upgrade most of its fighter aircraft, improve its ground forces’ mobility and strengthen its missile defense systems, a senior U.S. official said. While the package constitutes the most U.S. military aid ever given to any country, it entails concessions by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to officials on both sides. Those include Israel’s promise not to seek additional funds from Congress beyond what will be guaranteed annually in the new package, and to phase out a special arrangement that has allowed Israel to spend part of its U.S. aid on its own defense industry instead of on American-made weapons, the officials said. Nearly 10 months of drawn-out aid negotiations underscored continuing friction between President Barack Obama and Netanyahu over last year’s U.S.-led nuclear deal with Israel’s arch-foe Iran, an accord the Israeli leader opposed. The United States and Israel have also been at odds over the Palestinians. But the right-wing Netanyahu decided it would be best to forge a new arrangement with Obama, who leaves office in January, rather than hoping for better terms from the next U.S. administration, according to officials on both sides. A new pact now allows him to avoid uncertainties surrounding the next president, whether Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump, and to give Israel’s defense establishment the ability to plan ahead. Obama’s aides wanted a new deal before his presidency ends, seeing it as an important part of his legacy. Republican critics accuse him of not being attentive enough to Israel’s security, which the White House strongly denies, and of taking too hard of a line with the Israeli leader. The $38 billion memorandum of understanding covers U.S. fiscal years 2019-2028 and succeeds the current $30 billion MOU signed in 2007, which expires at the end of fiscal 2018. “Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are confident that the new MOU will make a significant contribution to Israel’s security in what remains a dangerous neighborhood,” Obama said in a written statement. The agreement was signed at the State Department by U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon and by Jacob Nagel, acting head of Netanyahu’s national security council. According to a White House “fact sheet,” the deal includes: -annual payments of $3.3 billion in so-called foreign military financing -$500 million a year for Israeli missile defense funding, the first time this has been formally built into the aid pact. -A phasing-out of a special arrangement that for decades has allowed Israel to use 26.3 percent of the U.S. aid on its own defense industry instead of on American-made weapons. -Elimination of a longstanding provision that has allowed Israel to use about 13 percent of the U.S. aid to buy military fuel. -The funding will allow Israel to update “the lion’s share” of its fighter aircraft, including purchasing additional F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. Israel is scheduled to receive 33 F-35 aircraft, the first two of which will be delivered in December.

politicsNews

September 14, 2016