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leaked audio catches clinton redhanded talking about rigging elections

posted by tim brown on monday a man who voted for donald trump was arrested for wearing a tshirt that referenced hillary clinton s comments about trump supporters being deplorables to the polls brett mauthe was arrested after he went to the polls wearing a protrump hat and a shirt that read basket of deplorables according to ksat mauthe removed his hat at the request of those who were overseeing the polls however since the tshirt did not violate the election code he refused to turn it inside out nor remove it subsequently he was arrested and charged with electioneering ksat reports bulverde police chief gary haecker confirmed the arrest but declined to release details instead he deferred to comal countys election coordinator cynthia jaqua jaqua said the offense of electioneering isnt limited to people who stand outside polling places holding signs violations can be committed by voters as well it can mean a tshirt a button a hat you know she said anything related to the voting the party the candidate jaqua declined to release specific details about mauthes arrest jaqua is quoted by my san antonio its in the election code electioneering is prohibited within a foot marker you cannot express views for or against a candidate or political party by wearing buttons tshirts hats whatever else or carrying signs she said most people who make the mistake manage to avoid going to jail she added every election we have to advise people even if its a school bond issue they wear candidates shirts and we just have to remind them please go into the restroom and turn it inside out this is the first time i recall someone getting arrested she said during two decades working at the county election office a gentleman did walk in a little while ago with a slogan for trump and when i asked him to please take it off he was real nice and took it off she added while working a polling site thursday afternoon in new braunfels so according to this nonsense a perfectly legal shirt could be worn to the polls one day but if a politician makes reference to the phrase on that shirt it becomes illegal to wear it to the polls the next day this is utterly ridiculous my question on all of that is what happened to free speech is that recognized as a godgiven right in the first amendment i mean i realize that the constitution is to restrict the federal government but honestly shouldnt the states recognize the right of free speech even in a polling place seems to me those kinds of laws stifle the very thing you are electing representatives to ensure are protected other voters agree with me i dont feel like you should be preaching to anybody but i do feel like you should be able to wear a shirt if you want and if it has the candidate georgina pereida said after casting her vote im kind of shocked because i think thats part of the freedoms that were voting for jose tovar claims that you should know the rules and regulations if you are and vote again i ask why are there laws and regulations restricting this freedom of speech its not inflammatory it isnt a lie it isnt slander whats illegal about it ill tell you politicians want to control people and this is one of many means they use to do that this is what happens when you dont hold your elected officials accountable for the stupid regulations they impose mauthe decided to not comment anymore after his story began to be altered in the media the reason im not going to talk any more to the media is that the story gets twisted around and i dont want to give you any comment he said the charged of electioneering is a class c misdemeanor courtesy of freedom outpost tim brown is an author and editor at freedomoutpostcom sonsoflibertymediacom gunsinthenewscom and thewashingtonstandardcom he is husband to his more precious than rubies wife father of mighty arrows jack of all trades christian and lover of liberty he resides in the us occupied great state of south carolina tim is also an affiliate for the joshua mark arak hybrid semiautomatic rifle follow tim on twitter

Medical students, faculty rally to try to save Obamacare

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Hundreds of medical students and faculty members gathered at Northwestern University’s school of medicine in Chicago on Monday to voice their opposition to the dismantling of Obamacare. The demonstration was part of a larger White Coats for Coverage effort organized by medical students across the country and came a day before the annual deadline to enroll in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), former President Barack Obama’s healthcare law. “The ACA is not perfect, but pulling the rug out from under the feet of our most vulnerable patients is not the answer,” Dr. Bruce Henshaw, a faculty member at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, told the group of around 600 people. “We will not stand idly by as our patients lose their rights. We will not stop today. We will write and call our representatives to ensure this doesn’t happen.” Students organized the event. Northwestern University spokeswoman Marla Paul said the school had no official position on the issue. Photos on social media showed students rallying at numerous universities and cities. “Proud to join my Yale colleagues to collectively say #protectourpatients. Improve the ACA, DON’T repeal it,” Ryan Murphy, who shared photos of a rally at Yale University, said on Twitter. Republican President Donald Trump’s first executive order, signed hours after taking office, directed the federal government to scale back regulations, taxes and penalties under the ACA. Republican Representative Tom Price, Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has said an overhaul of Obamacare will initially focus on individual health plans sold through online exchanges and the Medicaid health insurance program for low-income Americans. Trump has said he wants to keep some elements of the program, such as allowing young adults to be covered under their parents’ insurance. He favors plans that use health savings accounts and sale of insurance across state lines. More than 8.8 million Americans were signed up for 2017 coverage under the ACA through HealthCare.gov as of Jan. 14, according to the site, up from around 8.7 million sign-ups as of Jan. 14 last year. Arturo Salow, a second year student at Northwestern from Miami, Florida, urged people to sign up for ACA coverage before Tuesday’s deadline, saying more enrollees would make a rollback more challenging for Republicans. “I’d advise any patient to sign up immediately,” Salow said. “If they are going to take away coverage, let’s make it as difficult as possible.”

U.N. seeks 'massive' help for Rohingya fleeing Myanmar 'ethnic cleansing'

DHAKA/YANGON (Reuters) - The United Nations appealed on Thursday for massive help for nearly 400,000 Muslims from Myanmar who have fled to Bangladesh, with concern growing that the number could keep rising, unless Myanmar ends what critics denounce as ethnic cleansing . The Rohingya are fleeing from a Myanmar military offensive in the western state of Rakhine that began after a series of guerrilla attacks on Aug. 25 on security posts and an army camp in which about a dozen people were killed. We urge the international community to step up humanitarian support and come up with help, Mohammed Abdiker, director of operations and emergencies for the International Organisation for Migration, told a news conference in the Bangladeshi capital. The need was massive , he added. The violence in Rakhine and the exodus of refugees is the most pressing problem Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has faced since becoming national leader last year. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday urged Myanmar to end the violence, which he said was best described as ethnic cleansing. The government of Buddhist-majority Myanmar rejects such accusations, saying it is targeting terrorists . Numerous Rohingya villages in the north of Rakhine have been torched but authorities have denied that security forces or Buddhist civilians set the fires. They blame the insurgents, and say 30,000 non-Muslim villagers were also displaced. Smoke was rising from at least five places on the Myanmar side of the border on Thursday, a Reuters reporter in Bangladesh said. It was not clear what was burning or who set the fires. Ethnic cleansing is not recognized as an independent crime under international law, the U.N. Office on Genocide Prevention says, but it has been used in U.N. resolutions and acknowledged in judgments and indictments of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. A U.N. panel of experts defined it as rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove persons of given groups . The crisis has raised questions about Suu Kyi s commitment to human rights, and could strain relations with Western backers supporting her leadership of Myanmar s transition from decades of strict military rule and economic isolation. Critics have called for her to be stripped of her Nobel prize for failing to do more to halt the strife, though national security remains firmly in the hands of the military. Suu Kyi is due to address the nation on Tuesday. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday he had spoken with Suu Kyi and that she said she was working to get aid to areas affected by violence. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Patrick Murphy had what one U.S. official called a tough conversation with Myanmar s ambassador to the United States on Wednesday ahead of Murphy s trip to Yangon this weekend. Murphy will be meeting with Myanmar government officials next week to voice concern about the state of the Rohingya people and to press for greater access for humanitarian workers and reporters, the State Department said. China, which competes with the United States for influence in Myanmar, endorses the offensive against the insurgents and deemed it an internal affair , Myanmar state media said. The counterattacks of Myanmar security forces against extremist terrorists and the government s undertakings to provide assistance to the people are strongly welcomed, the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper quoted China s ambassador, Hong Liang, as telling government officials. But at the United Nations in New York, China set a different tone, joining a Security Council expression of concern about reports of violence and urging steps to end it. The council met on Wednesday to discuss the crisis and later expressed concern about reports of excessive violence ... 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 . This week, the Trump administration called for protection of civilians. Bangladesh says the refugees will have to go home and has called for safe zones in Myanmar. Myanmar says safe zones are unacceptable. The IOM s Abdiker declined to say how many refugees he thought might end up in Bangladesh. The number may rise to 600,000, 700,000, even one million if the situation in Myanmar does not improve, he said. The most important thing was that the refugees be able to go home safely, said George William Okoth-Obbo, assistant high commissioner for operations at the U.N. refugee agency. The international community has to support to ensure their return ... peacefully and with safety, he told the news conference. On Wednesday, the Myanmar government said 45 places had been burned. It did not provide details, but a spokesman said out of 471 villages in the north of Rakhine, 176 had been deserted and at least some people had left 34 more. The spokesman, Zaw Htay, said the people going to Bangladesh were either linked to the insurgents, or women and children fleeing conflict. Government figures show 432 people have been killed, most of them insurgents, since Aug. 25.

Clinton gets down to campaign business with Rust Belt trip

HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took her newly energized White House bid on the road on Friday for a tour of crucial “Rust Belt” states Pennsylvania and Ohio, but the campaign’s focus was clouded by a newly disclosed cyber attack. Reuters on Friday reported that the computer network used by Clinton’s campaign, which is based in Brooklyn, had been hacked as part of a broad cyber attack on Democratic political organizations, citing people familiar with the matter. The campaign said a data program maintained by the Democratic National Committee and used by the campaign and other entities was accessed as part of a cyber attack on the DNC. The Clinton campaign said outside experts had found no evidence that its internal systems had been compromised. On Thursday, Reuters reported that the party’s fundraising committee for candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives had also been breached, the second such incident after last weekend’s leak of DNC emails. Revelations from the DNC emails gave the Democratic convention a rocky start, threatening a bid to reunify the party after a bitter primary campaign. Even so, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday showed Clinton leading Republican rival Donald Trump by 6 percentage points. Nearly 41 percent of likely voters favor Clinton, 35 percent favor Trump, and 25 percent picked “other,” according to the new July 25-29 online poll of 1,043 likely voters, which overlapped with the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. After a speech Thursday night in which she became the first woman to accept a major party’s presidential nomination, Clinton launched a three-day bus tour of Ohio and Pennsylvania, which like other Rust Belt states have been hit by the decline in U.S. manufacturing. Clinton and her vice presidential running mate, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, on Friday attended a rally at Philadelphia’s Temple University, toured a factory in Hatfield and ended the day in Harrisburg. They will continue onto Ohio on Saturday and Sunday. Clinton is likely to face a tough challenge in such states from Trump, a New York businessman who is trying to win white working-class voters with rhetoric blasting free trade and illegal immigration. Clinton and Kaine are using the Rust Belt tour to highlight manufacturing successes and discuss how they plan to boost wages for the middle class. In the process they aim to contrast their vision for the country with the one offered by Trump. “If you’re looking for a kind of pessimistic, downbeat vision of America, we’re not your folks,” Clinton said in Hatfield. “We do not buy into that dark, divisive, image that was presented at the Republican convention last week.” Opinion polls show a potentially tight race in Ohio and Pennsylvania, both of which President Barack Obama won in the 2012 election. “The differences are stark,” Kaine said in Harrisburg. Clinton and Trump are essentially tied in Ohio, where the Republicans held their convention last week, according to an average of polls by RealClearPolitics. Clinton has a lead of 4.4 percentage points in Pennsylvania, the website’s average of recent polls showed. Ohio and to a lesser extent Pennsylvania are among a handful of competitive states traditionally viewed as decisive in presidential elections, because they do not lean heavily Democratic or Republican. In her speech on Thursday, Clinton, 68, a former first lady and U.S. senator, promised to make the United States a country that works for everyone if she is elected. “We are clear-eyed about what our country is up against. But we are not afraid,” she said. Clinton portrayed Trump as a threat to the country, saying, “A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.” Trump, 70, sent out a flurry of comments on Twitter on Friday morning lambasting media coverage of the speech as “a joke,” calling the address “very long and very boring” and accusing Clinton of wanting to shut down “coal mines, steel plants and any other remaining manufacturing.” He campaigned in another swing state, Colorado, on Friday and was scheduled to visit Ohio next week. The U.S. television audience for Clinton’s acceptance speech was smaller than the viewership of Trump’s address a week earlier, according to ratings data released on Friday. An estimated 29.8 million people watched Clinton across 10 broadcast and cable networks, Nielsen data showed. Trump drew 32.2 million viewers in his July 21 address at the Republican National Convention. Economic issues will be crucial as the White House campaign enters its final three-month stretch. The U.S. economy grew by only 1.2 percent in the second quarter, far less than expected, the Commerce Department said on Friday. During the Rust Belt trip, Clinton will detail her pledge to raise wages and create jobs by unveiling a major infrastructure package within the first 100 days of her presidency, and encouraging companies to invest in workers. The start of the Democratic convention was overshadowed by the resignation of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who quit over leaked emails showing party officials favored Clinton over her primary rival Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator of Vermont. Cyber security experts and U.S. officials said on Monday there was evidence that Russia engineered the release of the emails in order to influence the election. The Kremlin has denied the accusations. Yet another hack came to light on Thursday, when four people familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating a cyber attack against the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which raises money for Democrats running for the U.S. House of Representatives. The DCCC confirmed on Friday that it had been the target of a cyber security incident.

Trump Supporters At ‘Mother Of All Rallies’ MASSIVELY Outnumbered By Marching Juggalos

Saturday, September 16th, 2017 will surely go down as the strangest day for rallies in our nation s capital since at least January, when millions of invisible people attended Donald Trump s inauguration ceremony.Two different gatherings are taking place, quartered in different sections of the National Mall, but surely visible to one another: Trump supporters have come together to put on what they re calling the Mother of all Rallies, with expected attendance undoubtedly in the zillions, and a rally with an actual purpose is also taking place. Juggalos, or fans of the band Insane Clown Posse, are in D.C. to protest what they call an unfair label from the FBI and Department of Justice classifying them as a loosely organized hybrid gang. It s clear which group has the more ardent supporters, and it isn t the one I m calling (for the purposes of this piece) the Trumpettes. Donald Trump is known for his loyalty demands, but I m not sure he s ever met a Juggalo, because they showed up today:WASHINGTON, DC SEPTEMBER 16: People gather for a rally during the Juggalo March at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, September 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)That s the Juggalos showing up. The Juggalo March, at the time of this writing, is just getting underway.This, on the other hand, is the majority of the Trump rally happening just across the way:WASHINGTON, DC SEPTEMBER 16: Pro-Trump security forces try to keep people away on the National Mall on September 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)You ll note from the captions that these two photos are both by Getty photographer Tasos Katopodis. The Trump rally began, according to the Facebook event page, at 11 AM EDT, while the Juggalo March wasn t scheduled until 2 PM Eastern.The Trumpette organizers have tried to distance themselves from the white supremacists that organized the Charlottesville, Boston, and Portland rallies held in the name of free speech. Unfortunately for them, they don t seem to realize that the majority of people who show up at those rallies don t care who the president is, they just want to be allowed to shout racial slurs again without fear of public reprisal.Reaction to the stark difference in attendance was widespread:"The Juggalos outnumber the white supremacists at the Lincoln Memorial today." is not a sentence I ever thought I'd write. Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) September 16, 2017Someday the Battle of Juggalos vs Trump supporters will be in a Ken Burns documentary."My dearest Martha, whoop whoop."#JuggaloMarch #MOAR pic.twitter.com/oHLV2rUiM1 Edmund Hanlon (@EdmundHanlon) September 16, 2017There are more Juggalos marching today against Trump than pro-Trump folks marching in their "Mother of All Rallies". ?#JuggaloMarch #MOAR Charles Clymer? ? (@cmclymer) September 16, 2017And in what must be a crushing blow to the Trumpettes, the Juggalos have Antifa, the other side that Trump cannot stop dreaming about every night, there in solidarity. Not being violent, not pepper spraying anyone, just together to show the love:Antifascist contingent in solidarity with Juggalos at DC march against FBI gang classification pic.twitter.com/RZTbmCFaM9 Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) September 16, 2017The Juggalos give a big "whoop whoop" to "hating Confederate monuments." Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 16, 2017Welcome to 2017, everyone.Featured image via Al Drago/Getty Images

CA Senate Passes Ambitious Gun Control Package That’s Going To Seriously Piss Off Republicans

On Thursday, the California state legislature passed a series of legislation described as the most ambitious action ever taken to protect communities from gun violence. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the legislation includes nearly a dozen bills designed to protect the state s communities from devastating acts of violence like the mass shooting that occurred in San Bernardino in December of 2015. The attack, which left 14 people dead and another 22 injured, was the second worst mass shooting in California history.In response to the shooting, democratic lawmakers passed a comprehensive series of bills designed to reduce gun violence.A total of eleven bills were passed. Not surprisingly, nearly all of them were passed without support from republican members of the state legislature.The package included a bill which requires people selling ammunition to obtain a license, as well as mandatory background checks for those purchasing ammunition.Another bill outlaws the manufacture and sale of semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines. SB1446 would ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.The only bill to gain republican support, AB1176, would make it a felony to steal a gun or purchase a stolen gun, regardless of the value of the weapon. Under current state law the felony charge of Grand Theft Firearm only applies to stolen guns that are valued at $950 or more.Other measures require owners of homemade guns to obtain a serial number and register such guns with the state, and mandate that owners of lost and stolen guns report the theft to the police within five days of discovering a missing firearm.While the legislation still has to wind its way through the state house for approval, the Los Angeles Times reports that special measures have been taken to try to get the bills approved before June.If the bills fail to pass the House before that time, voters will likely have the opportunity to approve the same measures through a 2016 ballot initiative.California is leading the way in common sense gun control legislation. In spite of NRA propaganda, these measures are not the first steps toward the government taking away everyone s guns. The bills approved by the California Senate are good examples of sane gun-control legislation. This kind of legislation is both reasonable and necessary.No one is naive enough to think that these measures will prevent all incidents of gun violence. On the other hand, few people are stupid enough to think that doing nothing about America s epidemic of gun violence is a reasonable response to the problem. Featured image via wikipedia public domain

Obama surprises Vice President Biden with Medal of Freedom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama surprised Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday by awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction in an emotional White House ceremony that celebrated their partnership over eight years in office. “This is an extraordinary man,” Obama said of his friend and running mate at a surprise ceremony with staff, family and friends of the vice president. “For the past eight years, he could not have been a more devoted or effective partner in the progress that we’ve made.” Biden, who was unaware that the ceremony would take place, became visibly moved when Obama said he would bestow on him the highest civil honor in the United States. It will be the last such award that Obama gives before he and Biden leave office on Jan. 20. “I had no inkling,” Biden, 74, said after receiving the medal. “I get a lot of credit I don’t deserve,” he said, proceeding to give a roughly 20-minute impromptu speech thanking Obama and honoring the extended Biden family. Biden and Obama became close friends during their time in the White House. Biden was a U.S. senator from Delaware when Obama chose him to be his running mate in his 2008 presidential campaign. The vice president told an anecdote about Obama offering to help the Bidens financially during Biden’s son Beau’s illness. Beau Biden died of brain cancer at age 46 in 2015. First lady Michelle Obama and the Obamas’ daughters, Malia and Sasha, also attended the ceremony.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, Globalist Scion, Dies at Age 89

21st Century WireZbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter and founding member of the Trilateral Commission, died yesterday at the age of 89.Arguably one of the most influential thinkers and authors of the 20th and early 21st centuries, Brzezinski is regarded by many as the vanguard of modern globalism and the architect of the new world order.Brzezinski s two seminal publications, Between Two Ages and The Grand Chessboard are near blueprints of how globalization and geopolitics has progressed in the post-WWII world under an international system of Anglo-American economic and political hegemony.Brzezinski was born in Warsaw, Poland and attended university in both Canada and the US. In mainstream politics, Brzezinski first came to prominence in the early 1960 s as adviser to president John F. Kennedy and later with his successor Lyndon B. Johnson.During his tenure as chief national security advisor to president Jimmy Carter began in 1976, Brzezinski is said to have helped to broker the Panama Canal treaty, as well as Camp David negotiations between Israeli and Egyptian leaders, Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. He is also credited with opening up China to the West, and helping to topple the Soviet Union.In his final years, Brzezinski s efforts focused on the US-EU project to encircle and isolate Russia by pulling former Soviet republics and Balkan countries under the umbrella of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).READ MORE NWO NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire NWO FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV

Bernie Sanders Just Told Republicans And Billionaires To F*** Off In The BEST Possible Way (VIDEO)

Last night, the Republican Party made a disturbing move to strip millions of Americans of health care by voting to repeal Obamacare. Fortunately, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) didn t hesitate to rip them apart for it this morning.In an interview with Morning Joe, Sanders railed against the GOP and its hatred for Obamacare, as well as rallied Democrats to unite and stand up against the horrendous Republican agenda that is now threatening the country under Donald Trump. Sanders, encouraging a reform in the Democratic party, said: We need to reach out to working people and young people all over this country. He quickly worked the GOP s attack on the Affordable Care Act into his rant, promising to do everything in his power to block them from succeeding. He said: No, you re not going to repeal the Affordable Care Act, throw 30 million people off of health insurance, raise the cost of prescription drugs for seniors. You re not going to do that. We re going to fight and organize at the grassroots level. And right after Sanders spoke about uniting the Democratic Party to fight voter suppression, to reactivate grassroots politics in this country, Sanders reminded the GOP why he s their biggest nightmare because he truly doesn t give a f*ck what they think. In fact, Sanders considers it a blessing if billionaires the ones that will heavily benefit from a corrupt Trump administration and a Republican-dominated Congress hate him. Sanders said: If the billionaire class hates me, or hates other progressives, we should be proud of that, because we ve got to start identifying with the working people who have seen their jobs go to China and Mexico, the people who are making 10 bucks an hour, the elderly people who can t afford prescription drugs. You can watch Sanders unleash on those taking advantage of working class Americans below:Featured image via screenshot

Massachusetts governor would sign transgender rights bill

BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said on Tuesday he is ready to sign a transgender rights bill if it passes in its current form in the state House of Representatives amid an acrimonious debate across the United States about the issue. Baker, a socially liberal Republican, had come under fire this year for refusing to say whether he would approve the bill, which would ban discrimination against transgender people in public restrooms and other public buildings. It passed the state Senate last month. “No one should be discriminated against in Massachusetts because of their gender identity,” Baker said in a statement. “I would sign the House version in its current form should it reach my desk.” The Massachusetts House is due to vote on the measure on Wednesday. It is expected to pass by a wide margin in the Democratic-controlled chamber. The House version of the bill differs from the version passed by the Senate in that it directs the state attorney general to issue guidelines to law enforcement on how to handle people who claim transgender rights “for an improper purpose.” That language is a nod to one of the main concerns of opponents of people using bathrooms or locker rooms that do not correspond with their birth gender - that sexual predators will claim transgender status to access potential victims. The measure would make liberal-leaning Massachusetts the 18th U.S. state to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. The issue of transgender rights has become the latest front in America’s culture wars. Some supporters of the Massachusetts measure described it as a rebuke to a law put in place in March in North Carolina prohibiting people from using bathrooms that do not correspond to the sex on their birth certificates.

As debt limit looms, House leaders eye bipartisan deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional leaders are quietly working on a bipartisan deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling within weeks, hoping to prevent the difficult debt issue from snarling a budget fight to come in September, a senior Democratic budget writer said on Friday. John Yarmuth, top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee, told Reuters there is bipartisan interest in raising the debt limit before August. “There is talk going on, there is leadership conversation about this,” said Yarmuth, who added that House Democrats do not plan to demand concessions from Republicans in exchange for supporting a debt limit increase. Unlike most countries, the U.S. government has a statutory limit on how much money it can borrow to cover the budget deficit that results from Washington spending more than it collects in taxes. Only Congress can raise that limit. The Trump administration has warned the debt limit will need to be raised in the fall. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last month moved the target deadline for action to September from October, saying tax receipts are coming in slower than expected. Senate Republicans remain in contact with the administration on the issue, but don’t have further updates on their plans, a senior aide said. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has said Democrats will support a “clean” debt-limit bill, free of conditions. Conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus have traditionally voted against clean increases and have already indicated they would like to raise the debt limit less than requested by the Trump administration. Congress’s agenda is crowded, with healthcare legislation pending and a deal needed by late September on funding the government. Raising the debt limit adds another obligation. Over the past decade, raising the limit went from a routine job to a politically charged negotiation. In 2011, under former Democratic President Barack Obama, Republicans began demanding concessions in exchange for their votes to raise the limit. As a result, the nation twice went to the brink of busting the debt ceiling before an agreement could be reached. Yarmuth said Democrats are not opposed to attaching a debt ceiling increase to “bipartisan” legislation, but warned against adding “poison pills.” “I don’t think our side wants to play games with this,” he said. Bipartisan discussions in the Senate on the debt limit have not begun, a leadership aide confirmed. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters earlier this week that the responsibility for raising the limit lies with Republicans and warned against tying the debt limit to deficit-creating tax cuts for the rich.

MOTHER OF 12 GOES ON RANT IN TARGET STORE: “Mothers…Get your children out of this store!” [Viral VIDEO]

Perhaps a few random flash mobs protesting Target s decision to put the feelings of .01% of our population before the safety of our women and children are in order?Video showing a woman protesting the bathroom policy at Target has gone viral. A video posted on YouTube shows the woman, who says she s a mother of 12, carrying a Bible through the store and yelling, America, when are you going to wake up? It s time to take a stand and have a voice. She calls the store s bathroom policy a wicked practice and says she wouldn t spend a penny there.You can see other people with her in the video, which lasts less than two minutes, and then shows them walking out.https://youtu.be/TCIYsXhR1D0Target has said that in its stores, transgender people are free to use whichever restroom they feel comfortable with. Via: Fox 8

Republican 'Dump Trump' effort struggles to gain traction

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (Reuters) - A plan to block Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump struggled to gain traction on Friday as rival candidates rejected it, while Democrats reveled in the chaos they hoped would boost their chances of keeping the White House. The country’s top elected Republican, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, said he was not interested in an effort to draft him into the White House race. And U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a conservative presidential hopeful, ruled out a deal to pick a compromise Republican candidate at the party’s July convention, which senior party figures see as their best chance to stop the unpredictable billionaire. “The D.C. power brokers will drop someone in who is exactly to the liking of the establishment. If that will happen we will have a manifold revolt in this country,” Cruz said at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington. “You want to beat Donald Trump, you beat Donald Trump with the voters,” he said. Party leaders worry Trump would not be able to beat Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in the election, but time is running out after he won most of the states that voted in this week’s Super Tuesday. Senior Republicans also fear Trump’s plans to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and ban Muslims from entering the United States will turn off voters in November and upset U.S. allies. Others note his past support for liberal policies and question whether he has any agenda other than advancing himself. “I don’t think he actually carries the conservative mantle. He’s a little too crass for me,” said Michele Minter, a San Diego executive assistant who was attending CPAC. Trump, a former reality TV star, often plays by his own set of rules. He canceled plans to speak at CPAC, normally an essential stop for ambitious Republicans, and will instead attend a rally in Kansas. The real estate magnate, who is drawing support from many blue-collar Republicans concerned about illegal immigration and stagnant wages, has won most Republican nominating contests and leads in many polls for the primary contests still to come. “I’m not a normal Republican,” he said to huge cheers at a rally in Warren, Michigan. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, the only candidate to ever challenge Trump’s months-long lead in opinion polls, officially ended his White House bid. “There are a lot of people who love me, they just won’t vote for me,” Carson said in a speech at CPAC, held in National Harbor, Maryland. A new group called the Committee to Draft Speaker Ryan filed papers with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday, seeking to raise money to push Ryan as a Republican alternative. Ryan, a budget wonk who was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012, is seen by many in the party as a unifier after he took the speaker’s job last year to unite establishment Republican lawmakers and conservative upstarts in the House. “He is flattered, but not interested,” Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said in an email on Friday. As Trump cements his front-runner status, senior party figures hope to deny him enough delegates to clinch the nomination, which would give them the chance to choose a compromise candidate at their convention in Cleveland. The last time that happened at a Republican convention was in 1948 when Thomas Dewey was nominated. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said there was an 85 to 90 percent chance that the party will not face that scenario this year. Mitt Romney and John McCain, the party’s last two presidential nominees, called on Republicans to halt Trump’s rise by backing whichever candidate was strongest in their state, a form of tactical voting. Few elected officials are rallying behind the “Dump Trump” banner. The party’s 31 state governors, for example, are not lining up behind an alternative. Only five have endorsed Florida Senator Marco Rubio and one has backed Cruz, in a sharp contrast to previous years when governors overwhelmingly endorsed the party’s eventual nominee. Rubio has only one state so far and is gearing up for what could be a make-or-break contest in his home state on March 15. Cruz said Saturday he planned to open 10 campaign offices there, in what could be an effort to force the rival senator out of the race. Trump is expected to extend his lead on Saturday, when a total of 155 delegates are at stake in Kansas, Louisiana, Maine and Kentucky. Democrats were happy to let Republicans fight amongst themselves. “We can sit back and let them light their own dumpster fire and wait until they’re finished,” said Eddie Vale, spokesman for American Bridge, a Clinton-allied group which collects negative research on Republican candidates. “They’re giving us so much great video footage that we could run ads between now and November of nothing but Republicans attacking Trump,” Vale told Reuters. Nationally, Trump has the support of 41 percent of Republican voters, compared to 19 percent who back Cruz and 16 percent who back Rubio, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling data. (Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Emily Stephenson, Eric Beech, and Ginger Gibson; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Bill Trott and Alistair Bell) 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.

Argentina says satellite calls detected, likely from missing submarine

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina s defense ministry said seven failed satellite calls that it believes came from a missing naval submarine were detected on Saturday in a likely sign the crew of 44 was trying to reestablish contact. The calls, believed to be from the ARA San Juan submarine, lasted between four and 36 seconds in the late morning and early afternoon, the ministry said in an emailed statement. The ministry said it was working on tracing the location with an unnamed U.S. company specialized in satellite communications.

WATCH: Donald Trump Is OBSESSED With His Desire To Use Nuclear Weapons

The prospect of Donald Trump becoming president just got a whole lot scarier.The Republican nominee has been receiving foreign policy briefings, which almost certainly include information on the places in the world that are hostile towards the United States.But the only solution Trump cares about pursuing is one that would unleash nuclear war upon the globe.According to Trump s once upon a time BFF Joe Scarborough, the Republican nominee repeatedly asked the foreign policy expert briefing him why America just doesn t use nukes to wipe out our enemies or anyone else who disagrees with us. Three times he asked about the use of nuclear weapons, Scarborough reported on MSNBC on Wednesday morning. Three times he asked, at one point, If we have them, why can t we use them? That s one of the reasons he doesn t have foreign policy experts around. And even more frightening is that if Trump happened to somehow become president, he could order a strike as soon as he is inaugurated without debate or approval from Congress. The system is designed for speed and decisiveness, it s not designed to debate the decision, former CIA Director Michael Hayden informed Scarborough when asked if Trump could be stopped from starting a nuclear apocalypse. Hayden also said that Trump being so erratic is also of great concern to national security.Here s the video via Twitter.This seems big: From @Morning_Joe: 3 times during a natsec briefing Trump asked Why can t we use nuclear weapons? https://t.co/voJ0RlgnCw Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) August 3, 2016This proves that Donald Trump is the greatest threat to our country right now. He is in position right now to destroy America from within by starting World War III with nuclear bombs.And this isn t the first time Trump has talked about using nuclear weapons. During an interview with Chris Matthews Trump refused to rule out using nuclear weapons in Europe and the Middle East. The fact that he is now seriously asking about using nuclear weapons should frighten every American and the entire world.Let s not forget that the Republican Party is responsible for making Trump the leader of their party. They built this. So they should be horrifyingly reminded that if we fire nukes at a country, someone is likely going to fire them back at us.Featured Image: CNN

WATCH: FEMALE CAB DRIVER Entering Mandalay Bay Casino Property Records Video That Appears To Capture Gun Fire From More Than One Location

Cori Langdon, a Las Vegas cab driver recorded her harrowing experience as she entered the Mandalay Bay Casino at about the same time gunshots were first being fired into the crowd at the Rt 91 country music festival in Las Vegas.Langdon was using her phone to videotape, as she was pulling into the Mandalay Bay Casino, when she heard gunshots. She can be heard telling the dispatch operator for her cab service that she hears what sounds like automatic gunfire. Cori Langdon hears more gun fire, and tells her dispatch operator that the gun shots sound like they re coming from a completely different area: Now it sounds like its coming from farther away. After listening to Langdon s video recording of the event as it unfolded, one can t help but wonder if it s possible there was more than one shooter. Automatic gunshots are still being heard from the cab. Langdon tells her dispatch person: Somethings going on. I m not sure why people aren t running, but. There s a security guard, what s he doing? Ya know, for there being gunfire, it sure doesn t seem like people are runnin . Oh, shit! Seriously? I don t know what s goin on? Where are the cops at? I m right here by the porch of Mandalay Bay, and everything seems to be normal here. More and more rapid-fire gunshots are heard. The radio dispatcher replies, Remember, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. And everything seems normal when it s not. Langdon and the other drivers are then warned by another driver that claims he just got details from the metro police at the airport, Do not go to Mandalay Bay! Langdon then says she s leaving, I m leaving. I don t know why people aren t leaving. This is insane. Everyone s just standing around, it doesn t seem like anybody s uh moving. She then gets a message on her radio telling her, Shots fired. They don t even know the details yet. I just talked to the Metro here at the airport and they re still getting the details, but there s multiple injuries and uh (inaudible) That s all they re saying though. They re saying stay away from there, uh, they re shutting the whole place down. Langdon continues to have a conversation with her dispatch people on the radio in her car. She is remarkably calm amongst the chaos going on around her. Langdon tells dispatch, Alright, I m oughta here , as she speculates that she believes the shots are coming from the 10th floor of the hotel. As she s attempting to leave the premises, some panicked concertgoers, who appear to be injured, enter her cab at the Mandalay Bay Casino. The passengers get into the car screaming, Broken leg, broken leg! Drive, broken leg! Let s go, let s go Langdon asks the passenger where they want to go, to which they reply, Anywhere! Langdon asks the passengers, Is there somebody out there? to which the passengers reply, Yes, yes, and active shooter. The passengers reply, Heck yeah! Go, go, go! Langdon: Oh, oh, and active shooter? Alright. Passengers: Go, go, go! Langdon: Go, okay. Alright, alright. Oh g*d, alright, there is an active shooter then. The female passenger replies: Yes, so many people are dead! Langdon asks: Are you kidding me? The passengers appear to be in pain and are screaming in the back seat.Langdon yells at them: Okay, close the door, close the door! The passengers yell: Okay, lock the doors! Go, go, please drive! Langdon: Oh my g*d, okay. Alright, alright, I m going, I m going, okay. Oh shit! Where are we going? The male passenger is freaking out and asks: Are you going as fast as you can? Are you f*cking videotaping this?Langdon replied: Yeah, I am. I didn t know it was so bad! Okay. The female passenger implored Langdon to get out of the area: Thousands of people are dead! Everybody s dead, c mon! and go! and get out of the area.Next, the passengers begin to panic, as Langdon isn t leaving the scene fast enough, not understanding how many people are running in front of her cab to get away from the scene.Langdon calmly drives people out of the scene as she relays the situation to her dispatch unit, and the passengers relay the horrific scene of dead people everywhere! to their parents on their cell phones.Watch:

WATCH: PRESIDENT TRUMP Calls Out Feds On Overregulation: “It took only four years to build the Golden Gate Bridge” [Video]

PRESIDENT TRUMP ON OVERREGULATION: They spent $29 million for an environmental report weighing 70 lbs. and costing $24,000 per page. I said, do me a favor, I m going to make a speech in a little while, do you mind if I take that and show it? So I m going to show it. The president then walked away from the podium and flipped through the pages of the binder, then let each one hit the ground with a thud.With Trump s speech, the White House s so-called infrastructure week came to an end Friday. The effort was meant to highlight the need to speed up the permitting process before roads, bridges, ports and tracks across the country can be built. It took only four years to build the Golden Gate Bridge and five years to build the Hoover Dam and less than one year to build the Empire State building but today it can take 10 years just to get the approvals and permits needed to build a major infrastructure project, Trump said.On Monday, the White House kicked off a weeklong focus on infrastructure, announcing a series of events and speeches where the president would draw attention to the issue his advisers say they hope can be tackled this year. We have structurally deficient bridges, clogged roads, crumbling dams and rocks, our rivers are in trouble, our railways are aging and chronic traffic that slows commerce and diminishes our citizens quality of life, Trump said Friday. Other than that, we are doing very well. Read more: WE

On bike, horse and foot, police keep order outside Republican convention

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - City police on bicycles and horseback, backed by state and local officers from across the country, kept order outside the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, as predictions that protester unrest would tarnish the event did not come to pass for a second day. There have been only five arrests since the convention began on Monday, police announced at an early evening news conference. As sundown neared, the mood on downtown streets was calm. In Tuesday’s largest demonstration, police on bicycles rode into the crowd in the city’s Public Square in mid afternoon. Helmeted officers, some in protective equipment and others wearing shorts, separated a crowd of Black Lives Matters protesters from other protesters wearing masks and helmets, occasionally lifting their bikes to push through the crowd. “If America is so bad, why don’t you leave?,” a pro-Trump demonstrator shouted at a group carrying signs that read, “America was never great” A pair of men dressed in traditional Muslim garb walked near the plaza carrying assault-style rifles, with one also bearing a semiautomatic handgun. Micha Noziri of Yellow Spring, Ohio, who is not Muslim, said he wanted to take a stance against Trump’s positions on “religious minorities” and immigration. “We came out to show solidarity for all minority groups, the so-called minority groups that Donald Trump would oppress if he does the things that he says,” Noziri told a knot of reporters surrounding him. Ten men identifying themselves as Ohio militia walked through Public Square with weapons on open display, surrounded by a pack of journalists. Police escorted conservative radio host Alex Jones from the square, amid shouting and jostling, after Jones used a megaphone to shout invective about Black Lives Matter and other groups toward a group of liberal-leaning protesters. Dozens of Cleveland police on bicycles and dozens more in state police uniforms intervened. They walked Jones and a handful of supporters past a few hundred demonstrators and journalists. One Trump supporter, Elam Stoltzfus, said he felt “very safe” watching the scene. “About 150 police were here in a minute,” Stoltzfus said in reference to events that led up to Jones’ being escorted away. “Ohio is an open-carry state; we have a lot of protection here.” Earlier Tuesday, police arrested three people for climbing flagpoles near Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and hanging a banner with the words, “Don’t Trump Our Communities.” Firefighters used a ladder truck to assist in the arrest, police officials said.

New Jersey Gov. Christie drops 2016 Republican presidential bid: aide

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will end his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, a senior aide said on Wednesday, a day after his disappointing sixth place showing in the New Hampshire primary. A senior aide confirmed to Reuters that Christie will end his campaign. (Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Eric Walsh) 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.

Details Are Emerging About The Mooch Firing And It Was Brutal

After just 10 days and a few firings under his belt, Donald Trump s brand new communications director got the ax, and as the details are emerging, he was treated almost as badly as he deserved. According to new reports, Anthony Scaramucci had to be escorted from the premises, as if he was caught with his hand in the cash register.Anthony Scaramucci was escorted from White House grounds today after ouster, per source familiar with the scene Jackie Alemany (@JaxAlemany) July 31, 2017Anthony Scaramucci s ouster from Trump Administration might have been a messy affair for the White House, based on a report from CNN s Jeff Zelany about the now-former Communications Director s was led away from the president s mansion.Zeleny was on with Brooke Baldwin to discuss the reports saying Chief of Staff John Kelly removed Scaramucci from his post over his lack of discipline. During his report, Zeleny said Scaramucci was essentially escorted off the White House property earlier this afternoon. Source: MediaiteWhile it may not be that unusual for an ex-employee to be escorted out of the White House, it s safe to say that during Scaramucci s turbulent and tiny tenure, he didn t make any friends. He was reportedly fired because the new Chief of Staff John Kelly didn t approve of the Mooch s insane profanity laced phone call with a New Yorker reporter. Even Donald Trump, who has mocked disabled people and Gold Star families, who goes on Twitter tirades against anyone who stands in his way and who is completely fascinated with women bleeding, thought Scaramucci s language was inappropriate. Here are some snippets of the call that might explain why: Reince (Priebus) is a fucking paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac, Scaramucci said. He channelled Priebus as he spoke: Oh, Bill Shine is coming in. Let me leak the fucking thing and see if I can cock-block these people the way I cock-blocked Scaramucci for six months. And about Steve Bannon. I m not Steve Bannon, I m not trying to suck my own cock, he said, speaking of Trump s chief strategist. I m not trying to build my own brand off the fucking strength of the President. I m here to serve the country. It takes a whole new level of disgusting to make people feel sorry for Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon, but that s what we have. As for Scaramucci s unceremonious firing, well, he deserved it.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

British police say 'terrorist incident' at London metro station

LONDON (Reuters) - British police said on Friday that they were treating as a terrorist incident reports of a blast at a west London metro station. Armed police rushed to reports of a fire on a train at a London underground station with local media reporting there had been an explosion on a packed rush-hour commuter train. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for CT policing, has declared it a terrorist incident, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Friday.

International Red Cross to "drastically" cut Afghan operations after attacks

KABUL (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross will drastically cut back its operations in Afghanistan following attacks that have killed seven of its staff this year, the aid group said on Monday. The announcement underlines the deteriorating security for aid groups in Afghanistan, where the ICRC has been operating for more than 30 years and has been running its fourth biggest humanitarian program. Exposure to risk has become our greatest challenge and concern, Monica Zanarelli, head of the ICRC in Afghanistan, told a news conference in the capital, Kabul. We have no choice but to drastically reduce our presence in Afghanistan, she said, adding that the decision would particularly affect operations in the north, where facilities in Kunduz, Faryab, and Balkh provinces would be closed or downsized. Red Cross officials said the assessments are ongoing and could not say how many of its 1,800 staff would be affected. The Red Cross had already warned of the threat to its operations following a series of attacks over the past year. In February, the organization put all of its operations on hold after six of its staff were killed in an attack on an aid convoy in the far north. Operations gradually resumed over the summer, but last month, a Spanish Red Cross physiotherapist working in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif was shot dead by one of her patients. In addition, four of its staff have been abducted over the past year. The spreading conflict has combined with an increase in criminality, making for more blurred lines between the various armed groups which complicate efforts to safely provide aid, Zanarelli said. I would say there are more gray areas than there were in the past, and this is certainly what is affecting our capacity to assess our security, she said. According to U.S. military estimates, the government controls no more than 60 percent of the country, with the rest either controlled or contested by the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

No Brexit deal worst-case scenario for Britain: Lords committee

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will fail to agree a free trade deal with the EU before it plans to leave the bloc in 2019 and should seek a transition period to avoid a worst-case scenario of crashing out without an agreement, lawmakers from parliament s upper house said. The House of Lords EU committee s report Brexit: deal or no deal said on Thursday Britain should consider extending membership of the European Union or set a later date for leaving to give the government longer to negotiate a trade deal. The overwhelming weight of evidence suggests that no deal would be the worst possible outcome for the UK, in terms of the economy, security, the environment and citizens rights, said Michael Jay, a member of the Lords EU committee and former head of Britain s diplomatic service. Britain s Prime Minister Theresa May s hopes of progressing the Brexit talks collapsed at the last minute on Monday as her Northern Irish allies denounced a proposed offer on the border with Ireland. May has found it difficult to come up with a formula that satisfies both EU member Ireland, which wants to avoid creation of a hard border, and Northern Ireland s DUP party, which says the British province must quit the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK. With the clock ticking down to the March 2019 exit date, the report says the biggest risk factor that there may be no trade deal is the shortage of time. Despite scepticism in Brussels over the tight timetable, May and her chief negotiator David Davis have been clear they want to have a full post-Brexit free trade deal sealed by the time Britain leaves. While we support David Davis ambition to secure a comprehensive agreement by 29 March 2019, almost nobody outside the Government thinks this will be possible, Jay said.

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Treasury's Weiss to be witness at House Puerto Rico hearing: official

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Puerto Rico will be the subject of two U.S. House of Representatives hearings on Feb. 25, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Counselor Antonio Weiss the sole witness at one, Pedro Pierluisi, the island’s non-voting representative in Congress, said in a statement on Thursday. Following the hearings, Pierluisi said he expected that the drafting process would begin “in earnest” for legislation for the island and that he would be involved in negotiations. Republicans plan to bring a bill addressing Puerto Rico’s debt crisis to the floor of the House by the end of March. The first hearing next Thursday, examining the impact of Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis on the bond market, will be in a subcommittee of the House Committee on Financial Services. The second, examining the Treasury’s analysis of the island, will be a full committee hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee, according to Pierluisi’s statement. Puerto Rico, with around $70 billion in debt, has been trying to solve a fiscal crisis before substantial debt payments come due in May and July. It has already defaulted on some debt and is trying to persuade its creditors to take concessions.

Moon, Abe agree to pursue strong U.N. sanctions against North Korea: Blue House

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea s President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed on Monday to pursue stronger United Nations sanctions against North Korea after Pyongyang s sixth nuclear test a day earlier, South Korea s presidential spokesman said. Both heads of state agreed to cooperate closely with each other and the United States and shared the understanding there must be the most powerful sanctions and pressure applied on North Korea, presidential Blue House spokesman Park Su-hyun told a media briefing. And as part of that they agreed to push for more powerful U.N. sanctions, Park said after Moon and Abe spoke for about 20 minutes by phone. The aim of stronger sanctions was to draw North Korea into dialogue, he said.

U.S. urges Myanmar to stop offensive, allow civilians to return

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States urged the Myanmar government on Monday to end military operations in Rakhine state, grant humanitarian access, and commit to aiding the safe return of civilians to their homes, said U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley. People are still at risk of being attacked or killed, humanitarian aid is not reaching the people who need it, and innocent civilians are still fleeing across the border to Bangladesh, Haley said in a statement. Haley s remarks came after she attended a ministerial meeting hosted by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Myanmar on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

The moment Ben Affleck realized that ‘Batman V Superman’ was a $400 million flop

21st Century Wire says Does Hollywood do anything other than comic book remakes any more? The latest over-budget chimera, Batman V Superman, cost around $410 million to make. You d think they could squeeze a decent film out of that. You d think. He hasn t felt this low since Gigli , said the Huff Post. Movie star Ben Affleck may have just beaten Chris Christie for this year s most vacant stare. Watch: READ MORE HOLLYWOOD NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Hollywood Files

Veteran Trolls Trump, Launches Fundraiser To Send Him To Combat Zone

A veteran has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser that is being advertised as a way for Donald Trump to earn a Purple Heart service medal the hard way. The fundraiser was started by Lieutenant Cameron H. Kerr, a veteran who lost his leg while serving overseas in Afghanistan.Kerr writes that he decided to launch the fundraiser after Trump was handed a Purple Heart by a veteran supporter of his at a campaign event. After receiving the medal, Trump stated that he has always wanted to get the Purple Heart, and that this was much easier. As Kerr notes, Trump s comments were made just days after he began verbally attacking the family of a Muslim service member who lost his life while in combat. The family spoke out against Trump at the DNC and have been hammering Trump in public ever since then.Kerr writes on the GoFundMe page: As with seemingly everything else in his life, Mr. Trump got one handed to him instead of earning it. That being said, as a Purple Heart recipient who earned one the old-fashioned way by returning from Afghanistan one leg lighter, I fully endorse his desire to earn one and would happily oblige his interest in doing so, by being one of the first to chip in to fly him to the conflict zone of his choosing. After all, you re never too old to follow your dreams. Kerr doesn t actually intend on using the money raised to fly Trump to a combat zone. Instead, he plans on donating the funds to organizations that help refugees. The organizations are ones that Trump would probably despise. Particularly the International Rescue Committee, an organization that helps newly arrived refugees in the United States.Kerr has a goal of raising $50,000 dollars. At the time of this writing, the GoFundMe has received more than $26,000 dollars in just three days. Kerr is officially promoting the fundraiser with the hashtag, #PurpleTrumpsOrange.As the radical right-wing begins to become ever more so brazen with their schemes to tear the U.S. apart and leave behind it s carcass to ravaged by the billionaire class, it s good to see people fighting back with humor and positivity. Who knows, maybe by the time the general election is over and after he is defeated, Trump s mouth will have rallied enough kind people in this nation to actually make it great this time for the all those too marginalized to claim it ever truly has been.Featured image from Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Rex Tillerson and Nikki Haley – Who Can ‘Flip Flop’ The Most

21st Century Wire says US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tells us that the war on Syria can only be solved through a political process . Wait, didn t Nikki Haley just say getting Assad out is not the only priority, we don t see a peaceful Syria with Assad in there . Our strategy in Syria, our priority is first to defeat ISIS , says Tillerson. Again Haley outlines multiple priorities and there s not any sort of option where a political solution is going to happen with Assad at the head of the regime . Deliberate flip flopping on policy or problematic internal communication at the White House, which in the last 24 hours has seen a scramble to re-soften its approach via Rex Tillerson on Syria.More on this report from RT RTUS Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said the Syrian crisis can only be solved through a political process, claiming it s not regime change but the defeat of the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group that Washington is seeking in Syria. Our strategy in Syria, our priority is first to defeat ISIS, the US official said in an interview with ABC s This Week host, George Stephanopoulos, which was aired Sunday.Saying that once the battle with the terrorist group is concluded, which according to the US official is going quite well, Washington plans to turn its attention to achieving ceasefire agreements between the regime and opposition forces. Bringing the parties to the table for political discussions clearly requires the participation of the regime and the support of their allies, Tillerson said in another Sunday interview to the American media, speaking to John Dickerson on CBS s Face the Nation. Once a ceasefire becomes a reality in Syria, we will have the conditions to begin a useful political process, he said. It is through that political process that we believe the Syrian people will ultimately be able to decide the fate of Bashar Assad, he told ABC.Tillerson reiterated the same on CBS, saying that Washington hoped to work with its coalition members and with the UN, in particular through the Geneva process, to be able to navigate a political outcome in which the Syrian people will in fact determine Bashar Assad s fate and his legitimacy. The US Secretary of State underlined the Russian role in the process, saying that the US hoped it could work together with Russia and use their influence, and that Moscow will choose to play a constructive role in supporting ceasefire through their own Astana talks, but also through Geneva. READ MORE: Russian FM & US Secretary of State discuss US strike on Syria in phone call I m hopeful we can have Russia be supportive of a process that will lead to a stable Syria. Clearly they are Bashar Assad s current ally, they should have the greatest influence on Bashar Assad, he told Stephanopoulos, but he warned that Russia should be thinking carefully about its continued alliance with Bashar Assad. Inaccurate and inconclusive : Lavrov slams US accusations of Assad regime using chemical weapons in Idlib https://t.co/TU2XP6YAeB pic.twitter.com/iwy1vXa4Rx RT (@RT_com) April 8, 2017 Every time one of these horrific attacks occurs, it draws Russia closer into some level of responsibility, he said in an apparent reference to a recent alleged chemical attack in Syria s Idlib province. Washington blamed the Syrian government for the incident, while Moscow has said there has been no evidence presented to support such claims. LEARNING LIBYA LESSON Speaking of the US missile strike on a Syrian airbase, ordered by President Donald Trump in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons, Tillerson told CBS that clearly the message is that the violation of international norms, the continuing ignoring of UN resolutions and the continuing violation of agreements will no longer be tolerated. The airstrike is only related to the alleged chemical attack, the US official claimed, adding that Washington has learned its lesson of what it looks like when you undertake a violent regime change, referring to Libya. Obviously the United States own founding principle is self-determination, and what the US and our allies want to do is to enable the Syrian people to make that determination We ve seen what violent regime change looks like in Libya and the kind of chaos that can be unleashed and indeed the kind of misery that it enacts on its own people, he said on CBS. I think we have to learn the lessons of the past, he emphasized on ABC, adding, Any time you go on and have a violent change at the top, it is very difficult to create the conditions for stability [in the] longer term... Continue this report at RTREAD MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire SYRIA FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV

LAWYER FOR FBI INFORMANT: My Client Knows What Russians Were Saying During Bribery of Clintons [VIDEO]

The lawyer for the FBI informant under a gag order that prevents him from going before Congress spoke out about what s to come with the Clinton/Russia Uranium story:Fox Business reported: An informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is under a gag order that prevents him from testifying before the United States Congress that Russian nuclear officials were involved in fraudulent dealings in 2009 before the Uranium One deal was approved.Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch blocked the informant from testifying last year and threatened criminal action against him if he were to do so.In an interview with FOX Business Lou Dobbs, Victoria Toensing, the attorney representing the FBI informant, said she has never heard of a criminal penalty for breaching a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). If it does and it is unconstitutional and it s invalid, if it prohibits my client from giving information to the legislature, the executive cannot say to people, Hey, you can t give information to another body of the government, Toensing said.KEY POINTS: The Republican leadership was blocking the investigation into both Benghazi and the Russia uranium scandal involving Clinton.Senator Grassley called on Sessions to release the info on the gag order by November 1st This should be interesting.The NDA (gag order) is unconstitutional and Toensing says this type of gag order has a criminal penalty. She says she s never heard of this type of gag order.Victoria Toensing is one of the best lawyers in DC and will get to the bottom of this one way or another. The plot thickens on this one

South Korea's Moon says he's against having nuclear arms despite North Korea threat

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday he was against bringing nuclear weapons into his country despite North Korea s nuclear threats. Introducing nuclear weapons in South Korea would make it impossible for the two Koreas to establish peace and could fuel an nuclear arms race in Northeast Asia, Moon said in an interview with CNN, according to the presidential Blue House.

Arrested Indonesian parliament speaker pleads to keep his job

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia s speaker of parliament, who was arrested last week over his alleged role in a $170 million graft case, has sent a letter from his cell to house leaders pleading to be allowed to keep his job while he fights the charges. Setya Novanto, who has denied wrongdoing, is being held for 20 days for questioning by Indonesia s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). He made the request in a letter handwritten in his holding cell that was released to the media late on Tuesday. The KPK is investigating state losses of about $170 million after allegations that sums ranging from $5,000 to $5.5 million, generated by marking up procurement costs for national electronic ID cards, were divided up among politicians in parliament. I ask other parliament leaders to give me an opportunity to prove that I wasn t involved, Novanto wrote. And in the meantime do not organize an ethics council plenary session on the possibility of making me non-active either as parliament speaker or as a member of parliament. Novanto, also chairman of Golkar, Indonesia s second-largest party and a partner in the ruling coalition, is one of the most senior politicians to be detained by the KPK, which is popular among Indonesians for targeting members of the establishment suspected of abuse of power. His battle with the graft agency has gripped Indonesia, where newspapers have splashed the story on front pages and memes mocking him have circulated on social media. He has clung to power through several previous corruption cases and repeatedly missed summonses for questioning by the agency in recent months, saying he needed heart surgery. Novanto was named a suspect on Nov. 10 again after using a controversial legal maneuver to get earlier charges dropped last month. In another letter, addressed to Golkar, Novanto said there has been no discussion of me temporarily or permanently stopping as chairman of Golkar . In that letter he nominated Idrus Marham to serve as acting chairman of the party. Novanto s lawyer, Fredrich Yunadi, told Reuters it was up to parliament and party officials to decide if he should keep his posts, but he was confident that his client would win his case. We have strong proof (and) in every court we always win, Yunadi said. Asked if he was concerned about the strength of evidence against Novanto, KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said: From the beginning the KPK has had strong evidence, and the two people we have put on trial already (in this case) have been found guilty even up to an appeal stage.

Uber, Google, Twitter, Netflix and Other Tech Giants File ‘Unlawful’ Immigration Retort Against Trump

21st Century Wire says A group of top Silicon Valley tech companies have filed a rare legal brief stating Trump Administration s Executive Order on immigration is discriminatory and departs dramatically from the principles that have governed our immigration law for decades. This legal filing follows the report Friday when a Federal Judge issued a temporarily restraining order blocking US Border Patrol, Customs and Immigration Services from enforcing President Trump s recent executive order, which bars entry to the U.S. to anyone coming from seven majority Muslim countries.This story and the leaked text of the legal challenge was a Washington Post exclusive on Sunday . Elizabeth Dwoskin Washington PostSilicon Valley is stepping up its confrontation with the Trump administration.On Sunday night, Google, Facebook, Uber, Twitter, Netflix and other prominent tech companies are planning to file legal brief opposing the administration s contentious entry ban, according to people familiar with the matter.The amicus brief is expected to be filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which is expected to rule within a few days on an appeal by the administration after a federal judge in Seattle issued late Friday a temporary restraining order putting the entry ban on hold. The brief comes at the end of a week of nationwide protests against the plan as well as a flurry of activity in Silicon Valley, a region that sees immigration as central to its identity as an innovation hub.Companies backing the filing also include Pinterest, Yelp, Square, Reddit, Kickstarter, Github, Glassdoor, Box, Mozilla, Dropbox, Twilio, Zynga, Medium, Pinterest, and Salesforce, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the filing was still being finalized Sunday.Notably, it doesn t appear that Apple, Amazon, or Microsoft are party to the brief. The sources cautioned that the wording of the brief and the participants could still change before the filing is made Sunday night.A draft of the filing says that the entry ban, which barred individuals from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. for at least 90 days and suspended the U.S. refugee program, is discriminatory. The Order effects a sudden, seismic shift in the rules governing entry into the United States, and it departs dramatically from the principles that have governed our immigration law for decades, a draft obtained by The Washington Post reads. The Order discriminates on the basis of national origin and religion. It closes our borders to the world s most vulnerable people, such as those fleeing the devastation of war. And it establishes discretionary and arbitrary rules for admission to this country, even by immigrants who have lived here lawfully for years. Continue this story at the Washington PostREAD MORE IMMIGRATION BAN NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Immigration Files

UK's May needs parliament to back deal with N.Irish party - campaigner

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May must seek parliamentary approval for a billion-pound deal with a Northern Irish party that propped up her government after an inconclusive election, a legal campaigner quoted government lawyers as saying on Monday. After losing her majority at the June 8 election, May s Conservative Party secured the support of the small Democratic Unionist Party which allowed her to form a minority government. Northern Ireland would get 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) extra funding as part of the deal, the government said at the time. [nL8N1JN0LL] But, citing correspondence with government lawyers, campaigner Gina Miller, who defeated ministers in an earlier high-profile legal case over the process for triggering Britain s exit from the European Union, said the deal could not be executed without parliamentary approval. Alongside a statement condemning the government for not making the need for parliamentary approval public, Miller released a letter from the government s legal department. The agreement does not, and could not, involve the Government providing or committing itself to any provision of additional funds to Northern Ireland which would not be authorised under standard procedures, including the consent of Parliament, the letter said. A spokesman from May s office said all government spending required parliamentary authorisation, and that its focus in Northern Ireland was on ending a political stalemate that has left it without a regional government for eight months. Any parliamentary vote would be expected to pass with the support of Conservative and DUP lawmakers, but could invite further unwelcome scrutiny of a deal which has been heavily criticised by political opponents. The opposition Labour Party described it as a bribe and said the government needed to be clear about how it would be paid for. In January, Miller successfully challenged the government s plan to begin EU divorce proceedings without first seeking parliamentary approval. After a Supreme Court ruling sided with Miller in that case, May was forced to pass legislation through parliament.

Fox News Despicably Blames THIS For The Belgium Attacks Instead Of The Terrorists (VIDEO)

Rather than placing the blame for the terrorist attacks in Brussels with the terrorists where it belongs, Fox News focused on blaming something totally unrelated instead.On multiple occasions during their coverage of the bombings that took the lives of over 30 people in Brussels on Tuesday morning, Fox News hosts and contributors all made sure to blame political correctness for the attacks, even though acting like a decent human being had nothing to do with the evil acts committed by a group of extremists.In a video compilation put together by Mediaite, several Fox hosts and contributors are shown citing political correctness as the cause of the attacks and urging Americans to disregard any consideration of the feelings of people who are discriminated against. As long as political correctness and fear of being called a bigot dominate we can t have the conversation, said one Fox contributor at the beginning of the video. Another alluded to Donald Trump and how he is leading the Republican primary because he isn t politically correct, because that s somehow something to be proud of.Yet another Fox talking head called for dropping political correctness because that the only way to protect the homeland. There was even a suggestion that the only way to fix the threat of terrorism in our world is end political correctness. One Fox nut even claimed that political correctness is literally killing us in this country. Laura Ingraham even repeated that being PC can kill. Fox also complained about how they are hit with charges of Islamophobia whenever they cover ISIS and terrorist attacks.Here s the video via YouTube.But the problem is not that Fox is covering ISIS and terrorist attacks, it s that they usually always attack ALL Muslims as if the entire Muslim population is guilty of the attacks committed by a few religious extremists who do not represent the Muslim world, just like the KKK doesn t represent all Christians here in America.Being politically correct does not cause terrorist attacks. Hate and intolerance does and you won t hear Fox News talk about that at all. They d rather waste their time whining about how they can t be hateful and intolerant of Muslims without being called out for being the racists they are.It s important that we treat innocent Muslims with respect and dignity during this tragic time. Discriminating against them also makes things worse and gives ISIS new potential recruits to target.For a news outlet that constantly claims to be aligned with Christianity, Fox News sure does like war, hate, and bigotry when what we need right now is love and unity.Also, how much more despicable can Fox News get using yet another terrible deadly act of violence to push their own political agenda instead of simply reporting the news and showing sympathy to the dead?Featured image via screen capture

ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO LIED TO COURT, USED FAKE SS#’s AND COMMITTED FELONIES Are Granted Special Privileges Because They Are Considered “Victims”

You can t make this up! Why are these criminals who illegally entered our country are being given special status? They are not expected to live by the same rules as US citizens and are being fast-tracked to citizenship. Meanwhile, others who are waiting in line to become American citizens and have followed the rule of law would likely be deported for committing the same crimes as these illegals from Mexico and South America.U.S. District Court Judge Sandy Mattice sentenced eight illegal aliens to two years of supervised probation Wednesday morning. The eight were earlier found guilty of illegally entering the United States and of knowingly committing perjury by signing an I-9 form and stating that they were eligible to work in this country.Each had also purchased false and fraudulent documents such as Social Security cards and green cards which they used to gain employment.The light sentences and lack of a deportation order came about due to each of the defendants having earlier been issued a U visa by the Department of Homeland Security, the judge said.Judge Mattice described this type of visa as for lack of a better word, a reward, for assisting a U.S. agency prosecute another federal case in this instance against Durrett Cheese Sales, Inc. of Manchester, Tn. Their assistance, which was challenged by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Humble as questionable at least, was due to their part in a human trafficking case against Durrett Cheese. The case proved to be one that was not prosecutable.According to court documents, the defendants, Luciana Moreno-Lopez, Maria Ramirez-Mendoza, Flora Rivera-Pablo, Teresa Ayala-Rosales, Cirilo Castillo-Amaro, Meremedios Cervantes-Cano, Sarai Contreras-Martinez and Mercedes Eugenio-Gomez were arrested by the Coffee County Sheriff for criminal trespass on Oct. 22, 2007. They were arrested after their employer was unable to pay them and they refused to leave company property until they were paid.Upon their arrest the sheriff determined that they were most likely illegal aliens and then notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.ICE contacted the United States Attorney s Office for help in investigating possible human trafficking and other possible violations of federal law. Several of the defendants were interviewed by ICE agents and a representative of the Department of Justice s Human Trafficking Section of the Civil Rights Division. Also participating in the interviews was a representative of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) . The SPLC had made the allegations that the defendants were victims of human trafficking.The court documents state: Based on the defendants statements and other investigation, it was obvious that there was no prosecutable human trafficking case. This was pointed out by prosecutor Humble during sentencing when attorney Clay Whittaker, defense counsel for Ms. Moreno-Lopez, requested probationary sentencing for his client by saying that she had provided and continued to provide the government with assistance.Mr. Humble stated, The defendants have not provided any reasonable assistance to the government; in fact, they basically refused to implicate anyone (in the company s management hierarchy). Each of the defendants received a sentence of two years supervised probation on each of three counts, to be served concurrently. A special fine of $300 was waived by Judge Mattice in each case based on the defendants inability to pay.In a previous case involving this matter, former Durrett Cheese Sales, Inc. employee, Shanna Ramirez, was convicted of conspiracy to commit social security fraud (count 1); aiding and abetting social security fraud (count 2); and false declarations before the grand jury (counts 4 and 5). She was sentenced on Dec. 23, 2009 by Judge Mattice to 15 months of incarceration. In another related case, Montano-Perez was sentenced on March 1 to two years probation.The SPLC had filed a claim on the defendants behalf with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) while the defendants had applied for the U visas from the Department of Homeland Security.The eligibility requirements for a U visa or U non-immigrant status are, according to U.S. State Department directives, strict. This status is, in part, a recognition by Congress that a category of non-citizens is so vulnerable that it deserves protection in the form of legal status and a path to citizenship. A U visa holder is entitled to four years of non-immigrant legal status in the U.S. The holder of such a status may apply for permanent status three years after being granted a U visa.U visas are issued to illegal aliens when they have been judged to have been substantially abused and are helpful or willing to help designated agencies, including law enforcement agencies, in the detection, investigation or prosecution of crimes.According to U.S. Code, the purpose of the underlying statute is not to create a blanket amnesty or to legalize everyone who claims victim status. The Act s Congressional purpose is demonstrated in three aspects of the enabling legislation and its history: (1) the U visa as a tool for law enforcement; (2) the U visa as humanitarian relief for those who are helpful to law enforcement; and, (3) the U visa as protection for workers who suffer crimes in the workplace.In their original claims to the EEOC, the defendants, under penalty of perjury, falsely denied committing the crimes for which they had been arrested. According to a brief filed by the U.S. Attorney, they had, in fact, committed these and many other crimes before applying for the visas. The EEOC, based upon their claims, designated each of the defendants a victim and informed DHS that their presence was necessary to enable them (EEOC) to conduct an investigation.The EEOC then closed its investigation, but did not notify DHS that the defendants presence in this country was no longer necessary. When it was not notified by EEOC, DHS moved ahead and granted the U visa status to all eight defendants.It is the U.S. Attorney s Office view that the defendants were not victims of any qualifying crimes or that they have not suffered any substantial abuse mental of physical because of qualifying criminal activity The U.S. Attorney believes that the defendants have been able to manipulate the system to achieve legal status, despite their illegal entry and the commission of felony crimes. Via: Chatanoogan.com

President's son had legitimate reasons to not answer House panel questions: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday that Donald Trump Jr. was on solid legal ground when he refused to answer questions from a congressional committee about a conversation he had with his father, President Donald Trump, about emails relating to a meeting he attended with Trump associates and Russians. Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the White House believed there was a “legitimate reason and basis for not answering those questions.” She declined to provide details.

Taking back control? Britain's May to make high-stakes Brexit speech

LONDON (Reuters) - After months of Brexit talks that have made little progress and deepened rifts in her party, British Prime Minister Theresa May will try this week to put the negotiations on track and reassert her authority. In a speech in the Italian city of Florence, May will set out on Friday her vision for future ties with the European Union and try to fill an apparent policy vacuum that has left her Brexit team adopting what Brussels regards as wrecking tactics in the talks on unraveling four decades of union. The 60-year-old leader has deliberately chosen an EU city to deliver the speech so that she can speak directly to the other 27 nations in the bloc, but has her work cut out in seizing back the initiative. May has been largely quiet on Brexit since her Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority in a June election that she need not have called, saying little beyond expressing her support for a deep and special partnership with the bloc once Britain leaves in March 2019. But days before the speech, foreign minister Boris Johnson laid out his own Brexit vision, challenging her more cautious approach and exposing the fault lines in her party and government. EU negotiators are also frustrated with what they see as Britain s policy drift. At talks in August, British officials spent almost three hours picking holes in the legal basis for the bill that the EU expects London to pay to leave. Sources familiar with the presentation so detailed it stretched for 11 pages and was illustrated with 23 slides called it a show of legal muscle. But, as Brexit minister David Davis said, the meeting was even tetchier than the one before . The reason lawyers gave a two-and-a-half hour presentation is because no government minister had made a decision on policy, said Andrew Hood, who was a legal adviser to former prime minister David Cameron and still has contact with lawyers in several government departments. The August talks were almost canceled by the EU side because of Britain s lack of position, Hood told Reuters. I always thought when I was in the foreign office that if you ever need to revert to lawyers you ve probably lost, he said. Hood now advises companies on their Brexit strategy for law firm Dechert but took part in meetings with the EU under Cameron, who resigned last year after Britons voted for Brexit. The financial settlement with Brussels is one of the most difficult parts of the Brexit negotiations, but the lack of movement so far on even the mechanics of how to calculate the sum shows the difficulties facing Britain. May is walking a tightrope between hardline Conservative Brexit supporters who want to make sure any payment is as small as possible, and some top ministers who believe Britain must pay to keep ties as close as possible. Until now, she has largely let her government do the talking by setting out a wishlist for future relations with the bloc that aims for the closest of ties without the costs. May has also stuck to a belief that by playing her cards close to her chest, Britain will force EU negotiators into concessions. But her silence has allowed other voices to emerge. The main opposition Labour Party says it would keep Britain in the single European market and customs union during a transitional period, the Liberal Democrats are demanding a second referendum and the Scottish National Party wants Scotland to remain part of the EU. Their opposition is to be expected, but criticism from May s own team is not, and has raised eyebrows. In a weekend newspaper article, Johnson wrote that he did not expect Britain to pay for access to the EU s market, putting him at odds with finance minister Philip Hammond and May, who has spoken of paying in. At the August talks, left without clear policy direction, Davis and his team s detailed dissection of the EU s arguments on the Brexit bill left the bloc s main negotiator Michel Barnier wondering whether we can build trust and start discussing a future relationship . Weeks earlier, a former aide to May had praised the emerging agreement in her cabinet over the need for a transition deal and a divorce settlement something that seemed remote after last year s Brexit referendum. But though there may be agreement on this in principle, the difference lies in the detail and has opened a deep rift. Hammond wants a transition as close as possible to the status quo while others, such as trade minister Liam Fox, do not want to stay in the single market or pay for access. Pro-Brexit lawmakers have also balked at suggestions Britain should pay 60 billion euros ($72 billion) for the divorce, and May s aides have poured cold water on reports that there could be a compromise to reduce the headline figure by paying 10 billion pounds a year to the EU during a transition. In a move that appeared intended to tighten her control over the Brexit talks, May appointed the top official at the Brexit ministry as her EU adviser on Monday. But resetting the talks is a tough order, and aides are silent on whether May will use the Florence speech to try to break the deadlock on the financial settlement. Officials in Brussels are not holding their breath. The EU has taken the black veil off and is getting on with its life, one EU official said after the August talks. The Brits are either completely overconfident or completely overwhelmed.

Ecuador judge orders arrest of vice president in Odebrecht probe

QUITO (Reuters) - An Ecuadorean judge on Monday ordered pre-trial detention for Vice President Jorge Glas as part of an investigation into Brazilian construction company Odebrecht s corruption scandal. Glas, a 48-year-old electrical engineer, has been accused by senior members of the government of former President Rafael Correa of corruption while serving as a minister and vice president during seven years of Correa s government. Judge Miguel Jurado approved a prosecutor s request for preventative detention on the grounds that Glas allegedly accepted bribes, and also agreed to freeze his assets. Glas said the accusations lack evidence and are part of a politicized campaign against him. Don t worry, you don t have to search for me, I m where I always am, Glas said via Twitter. I m not going to escape. Those who are innocent never flee. Fallout from the massive Odebrecht corruption scandal has continued to sweep Latin America. The company, which has admitted to paying bribes to win contracts in a number of countries, has already paid $3.5 billion in settlements in the United States, Brazil and Switzerland. A close ally of leftist ex-President Rafael Correa, Glas served as Correa s vice president from 2013 and retained the position under current President Lenin Moreno. In August he was suspended from his duties by Moreno, who accused him of not being a team player.

Black Caucus Demands Action: Calls On Congress To Hold Gun Vote In Wake Of Dallas Tragedy

Following the horrific tragedy in Dallas, Texas, the Congressional Black Caucus expressed grief, sorrow, and outrage at the deadly violence that took place after what had been a day of peaceful protests. Amid their messages of mourning and healing as a nation, members also demanded that congress finally hold a vote on several pieces of legislation that focus on tightening gun restrictions.Representative G.K. Butterfield, Democrat of North Carolina and the chairman of the caucus, said that in the wake of the despicable crimes in Dallas, the Caucus was determined to continue our fight to remove guns from the hands of terrorists and would-be criminals. We come to this place each week to represent our constituents who are in pain. As of June 30, just a few days ago, 491 Americans have been fatally shot by the police; most of those were African-American.Last night, despicable crimes were committed against Dallas police officers, and when the dust settled five of them were dead as a result of an organized execution by criminals who possess guns and use them to the extreme. And so the Congressional Black Caucus convenes today to say to America we are continuing our fight to remove guns from the hands of terrorists and would-be criminals.Democrats have been fighting for several pieces of legislation. These measures include an effort bolster mandatory background checks and No Fly No Buy, which would stop suspected terrorists on no-fly lists from being able to legally purchase guns. Republicans have staunchly refused to take any action on the measures.Republicans, what on Earth are you, why are you recoiling and not giving us a debate on gun violence? Mr. Butterfield said. Why are you recoiling and not giving us a debate on gun violence? Why not give it a hearing, give us a debate, give us an up-or-down vote on our legislation on gun violence? Why?Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, led last month s sit-in on the House floor over gun control legislation following the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando. He urged protesters to remain peaceful, preaching the non-violent ways of the Civil Rights movement, in which he was an influential leader.There s no room in our society for violence; we respect law enforcement. There needs to be greater training of law enforcement and sometimes I feel that maybe not only those of us that engage in nonviolent protest but police officers need to be taught the way of peace, the way of love, the way of nonviolence, to respect the dignity and the worth of every human being.It doesn t matter whether black or white, Latino, Asian-American or Native American; we are one family living in one house. We must learn to live together as brothers and sisters. If not, we will perish as fools. We have too many guns. There has been too much violence. And we must act.Watch the Black Caucus demand congress hold a vote on gun control legislation here:Featured image via video screen capture

WATCH: White Confederate Flag-Waving Redneck Threatens To Lynch Black Man

The South lost the Civil War but some white guys still refuse to let go of the Confederate flag and think it s okay to threaten black people with lynching.That s what white asshole Rodney Blomberg and three of his buddies did last month when they approached a black man living in their neighborhood near Eugene, Oregon.They drove up in two vehicles with a Confederate flag attached to the truck and literally bullied a black man simply because they didn t want him living there.According to KEZI, the men hurled racial epithets at him and threatened to lynch him. We hang black people in these parts, Blomberg reportedly said.Law enforcement later arrested Blomberg and put his racist ass in jail. But he is out after paying his $2,000 bond. He is being charged with second-degree intimidation and faces another court appearance later this year.Here s the video via KEZI:This kind of racism no longer belongs in our society. And the Confederate flag should no longer be flown anywhere on American soil. It is a flag of racists as Blomberg perfectly demonstrates.People like Blomberg are a serious threat to public safety in this country, especially since conservatives across the country are inciting violence against Black Lives Matter in the wake of five Dallas police officers being shot and killed earlier this month, even though the killer was unaffiliated with the organization.The Confederate flag has been controversial for years but the controversy reached fever-pitch last year after Dylann Roof murdered nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina in a mass shooting that rocked the country and caused a national outcry because South Carolina continued to fly the Confederate flag outside the statehouse. It was soon taken down after decades because Roof was a big fan of the Confederate flag.And just like the Confederate flag should be taken down, racism needs to be taken down as well.Featured Image: Screenshot

MATT DAMON Says America Needs IMMEDIATE GUN BAN After Making $50 MILLION KILLING People With Guns In Popular Movie Series

It warms the heart to know people as important as Hollywood actor Matt Damon care so much about the little people with guns in America. If Damon really feels so strongly about the government taking our Second Amendment right away, perhaps he should stop making a living with guns Matt Damon will return to the big screen as trained assassin Jason Bourne later this month, and while promoting the new film in Australia over the weekend called for a ban on guns in the United States.In an interview with a reporter from the Sydney Morning Herald, Damon said: You guys did it here in one fell swoop and I wish that could happen in my country, but it s such a personal issue for people that we cannot talk about it sensibly. We just can t. Damon made these comments at the red carpet premiere of the new Bourne movie, a film series in which he has killed at least 10 people with a firearm.Damon, who has reportedly made over $50million for his work in the four Bourne films, has also had no issue with using weapons in other films.The 45-year-old actor has also carried firearms in his movies The Departed, Green Zone and Elysium, to name just a few.Via: Daily Mail

Elizabeth Warren Has Some News As To Who She’s Endorsing

If there s one person who is loved by all in the Democratic Party, it s Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Her no-nonsense attitude and get it done approach to policy and politics are things that cannot be matched. She is so loved that her endorsement of any particular candidate is one that is sought after and coveted.People have been waiting on pins and needles to see who Warren will endorse in the Democratic primary. Will it be Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton? And after the Iowa caucuses, where Hillary and Bernie were in a statistical tie, people would like to know now, more than ever, who she will pick in hopes that it will push one candidate ahead over the other.However, Warren, being the magnificent person that she is, is choosing to focus on the issues and not to politicize things by muddying the waters with support for any one candidate, said: No endorsements now. I think that what the Democrats are doing is terrific. We re out talking about the issues. I look at the Republican debates and the difference between what they re doing and what the Democrats are doing that really shows who s on whose side. Warren knows that when you pick a particular side of the debate the message can sometimes be lost. Both Hillary and Bernie are talking about the economy. Both Hillary and Bernie are talking about making healthcare and college affordable. Both Hillary and Bernie are seeking to continue progress in the United States and not let the reins fall back in to the hands of Republicans. Warren is letting the issues be explored, and solutions be offered, while letting the people decide for themselves.Both candidates running would love a Warren endorsement. She s showed support for both Sanders and Clinton in their approach to Wall Street and what needs to be done. So, while many supporters of either candidate will love to say that she s hinted at one candidate or the other, cases can be made for both. So, like Warren said in regards to if she ll announce who she s endorsing, we ll see. And everyone knows that s code for, I m not telling you either way. Featured image: Flickr

Yet another North Korean boat found in distress in Japanese waters

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan s coast guard on Thursday boarded a North Korean fishing boat near a Japanese island where the crew said they had taken shelter from rough seas, the latest in a series of North Korean vessels in distress drifting into Japanese waters. The wooden boat was towed nearer the northern island of Hokkaido for inspection, a coast guard spokesman said. Authorities had yet to decide what to do with the vessel and the ten fishermen on board. At this point, it is still too early to say what we will do, he said. Experts say food shortages may be driving fishermen to risk taking their small boats to more dangerous waters closer to Japan. The encounters have attracted greater attention amid tension in the region over North Korea s weapons programs and its latest missile test on Wednesday. There has been no suggestion that the fishermen may be defectors from the impoverished, tightly controlled country which has fired two missiles over Japan in recent tests and regularly threatens to destroy the United States. On Monday, eight bodies believed to be of North Koreans, which had been partly reduced to skeletons, were found in a small wooden ship washed up on a beach on Japan s northwest coast. Two other bodies were found at the weekend on the western shore of the Sea of Japan island of Sado, with life jackets displaying Korean lettering. Last week, police in northern Japan found eight North Korean men who said they landed after claiming their vessel had lost power and run into trouble. On Thursday, the coast guard issued an advisory to shipping about a half-sunken wooden boat floating in waters close to Sado.

Iran foreign minister tells lawmakers of plans to respond to Trump moves

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran will react sharply to any U.S. move against the nuclear deal with global powers, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Iranian parliament Wednesday, according to a parliamentarian who attended the session quoted by state media. The comments were the latest in a series of tough remarks from Iran s leadership, showing a united front between its pragmatist and hardline factions as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to harden policy towards Tehran this week. In the closed session Zarif emphasized that if the Americans take any steps against the nuclear deal that the Islamic Republic of Iran will give them a more crushing response, Shahbaz Hassanpour, a lawmaker representing the city of Sirjan, told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). Another lawmaker, Behrouz Nemati, said the foreign minister discussed specific steps Trump and the U.S. Congress might take, and Iran s plans for reciprocal action to each anticipated U.S. move. Nemati did not say what actions Zarif had described. Trump is expected this week to decertify the landmark 2015 deal under which Iran agreed with global powers to accept curbs on its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions. Decertification would not by itself withdraw the United States from the agreement, but would pass that decision on to Congress, requiring lawmakers to decide within 60 days whether to re-impose sanctions. Trump is also expected to declare Iran s Revolutionary Guards Corps a terrorist organization. Since the Guards have a vast economic empire in Iran, such a declaration could make it more difficult for Iranian businesses to access the international financial system. Washington has already blacklisted other entities and individuals for supporting Guards activities, but has not blacklisted the Guards themselves. The threat of increased U.S. pressure has been met by a united front of criticism from within Iran, with members of the pragmatic faction that seeks greater interaction with the West showing their support for the hardline Guards. Iranian newspapers ran photos on Tuesday of Zarif, the urbane, U.S.-educated foreign minister, laughing and hugging the head of the Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari. During the meeting with Zarif, parliament members expressed their support for the Guards, Hassanpour said. Zarif also noted during the session that European countries will continue backing the nuclear deal regardless of what actions the U.S may take, Hassanpour told IRNA.

Philippines frees four East Timorese to attend ASEAN meeting

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine immigration authorities freed four East Timor delegates after holding them for 12 hours at Manila airport in a security clampdown ahead of the ASEAN and East Asia Summit next week. The four East Timorese were allowed into the Philippines but authorities kept their passports until a formal order is issued clearing their entry, said Rhoda Viajar, media relations of the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People s Forum. Immigration authorities said the four were held upon arrival on Saturday morning because they could not explain the purpose of their travel and were not able to establish financial capacity for the visit . The civil society conference organizers understand the more stringent security measures being implemented due to the upcoming ASEAN summit, Viajar said. She said they remain concerned about the possibility of similar incidents upon the arrival of many more participants from other countries . Since 2005, ASEAN leaders have held a dialogue with the region s top civil society groups to listen to development concerns and address critical issues such as poverty, health and education. Philippines security forces are deploying nearly 60,000 army and police personnel during the Nov. 10-14 ASEAN and East Asia Summit to ensure the safety of 19 world leaders and thousands of delegates from 10 Southeast Asian nations and 10 other dialogue partners, including U.S. President Donald Trump. We have not monitored any real and direct threat in the national capital region, but we are not complacent, national police chief Ronald dela Rosa told reporters after reviewing security preparations on Sunday. There could be threats but we are ready and we are up to the challenge. Police will deploy 400 mobile patrol cars, 200 motorcyles, 22 armored vehicles and 100 bomb-sniffing dogs to ensure the security and safety of leaders, officials and delegates to the biggest regional summit in Manila this year. Some areas will be completely locked down, such as where heads of state and governments will hold meetings. Main roads running from the former U.S. air force base about 90 kms north of Manila to the venues will be partly closed. Interior Undersecretary Catalino Cuy said there was no plan to jam mobile phone signals to prevent potential crude bomb attacks because this would cause inconvenience for state officials and security personnel.

BATTLE OVER PRIVACY: Why the FBI’s Case Against Apple is Falling Apart

Shawn Helton 21st Century WireThis week a House Judiciary Committee began overseeing details of a US Federal Court case between tech company Apple and the FBI.On February 16th, Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly rejected a court order to decrypt an iPhone said to be connected to the San Bernardino mass-shooting case from December of 2015.The House Judiciary Committee listened to the controversial case between tech titan Apple and the FBI a day after Magistrate Judge James Orenstein of New York, struck down a federal court order pressuring Apple to help access encrypted data in a separate case involving illegal drug trafficking.The landmark decision made by Judge Orenstein stated that the All Writs Act of 1789 (also used as the FBI s main argument in the Apple/San Bernardino case) does not permit a court to order companies to pull encrypted data off a customer s phone or tablet, according to a recent article from The Washington Post.The Post continued by discussing Orenstein s lengthy argument against the FBI s order against Apple in the drug related case: In a 50-page opinion disdainful of the government s arguments, Orenstein found that the All Writs Act does not apply in instances where Congress had the opportunity but failed to create an authority for the government to get the type of help it was seeking, such as having firms ensure they have a way to obtain data from encrypted phones. In addition, The Post outlined some of the social engineering aspects involved in the lead up to the FBI drug case overseen by Judge Orenstein, a case which has arguably been a part of an overarching back drop concerning the larger San Bernardino case: The Brooklyn case began last fall when Orenstein, one of a handful of magistrates across the country who are activists in the surveillance debate, received the government s application to issue an order to Apple. While Apple has previously helped the federal government with some 70 phone cases since 2008, Judge Orenstein examined several problems with the FBI s use of the All Writs Act: In an Oct. 9 ruling, Orenstein identified what he thought was a problem with the government s argument. Though prosecutors cited a 1985 decision that found that the All Writs Act is a source of authority to issue writs not otherwise covered by statute, he said they failed to cite another part of the decision that found that the act does not authorize the issuance of ad hoc writs whenever compliance with statutory procedures appears inconvenient or less appropriate. The new ruling in the FBI drug case will likely have a heavy impact on the eventual ruling in the San Bernardino/Apple court order, as it directly questions the heart of the government s argument to gain easier access to encrypted consumer data.It s also interesting to note, that it was the FBI who put themselves in this position regarding the San Bernardino phone as they reportedly ordered the password to be reset via iCloud shortly after the apparent mass shooting.You have to wonder why the agency would have ordered a new password almost immediately following the highly dramatic scene in San Bernardino INVENTIONS OF REALITY? Is this latest privacy crisis a manufactured drama or a legitimate battle for those in the tech industry? (Photo illustration 21WIRE)What s interesting here, is that ABC news reported on December 3rd, a day after the apparent shooting, Sources say mobile phones, hard drives, virtually anything with digital memory that was associated with the alleged shooters Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik was smashed. Adding to that, we ve mentioned a number of times here at 21WIRE, that none of the eyewitness testimony mentioned seeing a female shooter at the scene of the Inland Regional Center in the aftermath of the San Bernardino shooting.A Right to PrivacyIn our previous article detailing the ongoing encryption saga between Apple and the FBI, we stated that there are no guarantees in the security world, especially if a digital master-key were to be created, as this would potentially make it easier for invaders (either the government, or various hackers) mining for data moving forward into the future.In a recent Guardian article, some of those involved in the technology and security sector offered their thoughts regarding the government s continued encroachment on individual privacy:Dan Kaminsky, the security expert who made his name with the discovery that one of the most basic parts of the internet, the domain name system, was vulnerable to fraud disagrees: Feds want final authority on engineering decisions, and their interests don t even align with fighting the vast bulk of real-world crime. Kaminsky further explained why Apple s security measures already help law enforcement, If my iPhone is stolen, my emails stay unread, my photos stay unviewed, and I don t need to notify anyone that the secrets they entrusted me with are going to show up on the internet tomorrow. Continuing, The Guardian interviewed former FBI agent Michael German, currently at judicial think-tank the Brennan Center. The following is a portion of that interview: After 9/11, you had this concept of total information awareness. The intelligence community was very enamoured of the idea that all information was available. Much like the NSA, they wanted to see it all, collect it all, and analyse it all. Additionally, there are many who believe weaker encryption may pose an even bigger security risk globally.In many ways, it appears as though federal agencies are seemingly searching for the right crisis to push public opinion in favor of the state when it comes to security.This is at the core of the perpetual privacy and security battle post 9/11 TARGETING PRIVACY FBI Director James Comey speaking at the Brookings Institution in October of 2014 about Going Dark. (Photo link brookings)Shining a Light on the FBI Going Dark Last September, The Washington Post published an article entitled, Obama faces growing momentum to support widespread encryption, and within its contents, perhaps the true nature of the security/privacy issue was laid bare (hat tip saperetic): Privately, law enforcement officials have acknowledged that prospects for congressional action this year are remote. Although the legislative environment is very hostile today, the intelligence community s top lawyer, Robert S. Litt, said to colleagues in an August e-mail, which was obtained by The Post, it could turn in the event of a terrorist attack or criminal event where strong encryption can be shown to have hindered law enforcement. There is value, he said, in keeping our options open for such a situation. Interestingly, in October of 2014, FBI Director James B. Comey, explained while speaking at the Brookings Institution he was focused on trying to get the law changed so that tech companies would have to comply with law enforcement to unlock data on various devices.Continuing, he outlined the current security agenda concerning the FBI, We have the legal authority to intercept and access communications and information pursuant to a court order, but we often lack the technical ability to do that. The Brookings speech from 2014, appeared in stark contrast with a recent emotionally driven op-ed Comey wrote for Lawfare entitled We Could Not Look the Survivors in the Eye if We Did Not Follow this Lead. Here s a passage from that piece, that clearly displays the conflicting message of the FBI director: We simply want the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist s passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing and without it taking a decade to guess correctly. That s it. We don t want to break anyone s encryption or set a master key loose on the land. The Guardian refers to this as a two-pronged approach on the public s senses as one tone from the FBI comes across as caring and the other seems more focused on the greater, nationalistic implications of encryption.Think good cop/bad cop hovering over you in an interrogation room and you d be getting very warm.This is the kind of psychological drama that has prompted some in media to think that the law enforcement agency has been exploiting the public in the wake of tragedy, in order to increase security measures.This is absolutely something to watch.So, what are we to make of the FBI s claims of going dark in the digital age?It has long since been claimed that intelligence agencies fear going dark in the age of high-tech gadgetry. This idea is vastly overblown and not rooted in reality, especially when you consider the many revelations concerning NSA spying, collection of bulk metadata and other tracking programs such as the IMSI catcher, otherwise known as Stingray (Stingray acts as cell tower locking onto all devices in a certain area) intercepts phone calls, texts, as well as your location.The very notion that law enforcement will somehow be condemned eternally to outdated methods to catch criminals in the future is patently absurd.Furthermore, the concept and presentation of the FBI s going dark scenario is nothing more than a talking point used to increase a police state apparatus within the United States.Don t PanicOn February 1st, a group of experts published report regarding the current status of law enforcement and their ability to keep up with the demands of crime solving in the world today. The lengthy report entitled Don t Panic was compiled by The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Here s a passage below examining the FBI s catchy mantra, Going Dark :The U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities view this trend with varying degrees of alarm, alleging that their interception capabilities are going dark. As they describe it, companies are increasingly adopting technological architectures that inhibit the government s ability to obtain access to communications, even in circumstances that satisfy the Fourth Amendment s warrant requirements. Encryption is the hallmark of these architectures. Government officials are concerned because, without access to communications, they fear they may not be able to prevent terrorist attacks and investigate and prosecute criminal activity. Their solution is to force companies to maintain access to user communications and data, and provide that access to law enforcement on demand, pursuant to the applicable legal process. However, the private sector has resisted. Critics fear that architectures geared to guarantee such access would compromise the security and privacy of users around the world, while also hurting the economic viability of U.S. companies. They also dispute the degree to which the proposed solutions would truly prevent terrorists and criminals from communicating in mediums resistant to surveillance.While the report states that encryption is a difficult issue for law enforcement, all sorts of digital data is unencrypted and therefore can be accessed via a search warrant if there is cause not to mention the spying capabilities of a plethora of smart devices also available for review.Below is FBI Director (former Senior Vice President at Lockheed Martin) discussing the idea that the government is Going Dark In an article entitled Here s Why the FBI Went After Apple When It Did, Fortune magazine revealed that on February 9th, DOJ head Loretta Lynch requested an extra $38 million to help the FBI development workarounds on data encryption, bringing the total budget of what it calls project Going Dark to $69 million. Will the FBI continue to develop encryption workarounds in the event that they lose their battle with Apple over the San Bernardino case?In Summary Regardless of how you shape the court battle between Apple and the FBI, this is about the government wanting a more direct route into personal devices moving ahead.For Apple, this is a very important issue as a dip in consumer confidence, could be a crushing blow to the tech company s overall brand.It s important to remember anomaly ridden events such as the San Bernardino shooting and the suspicious events in Garland, Texas, of last year, in addition to other inconvenient truths concerning the government s role in manufacturing its own terror plots which have ironically prompted calls for greater national security, while continuing to appropriate large funds to federal agencies.You have to wonder, has the FBI s case against Apple fallen apart?READ MORE ENCRYPTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Encryption Files

Brazil's Temer at U.N. decries rise in nationalism, protectionism

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Brazilian President Michel Temer criticized a rise in nationalism around the world and said in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that protectionism was not the solution to economic difficulties faced by countries. Temer also expressed concern about the deterioration of human rights in Venezuela, where the socialist government has been accused by opponents of becoming a dictatorship. We are on the side of the Venezuelan people. In South America there is no more room for alternatives to democracy, Temer said. Brazil, Latin America s largest economy, was emerging from its worst recession and the government was making progress in controlling its budget deficit and restoring credibility to economic policies, Temer said in the speech. With food exports driving the recovery of the agribusiness powerhouse, Temer called for improved market access for farm goods and the elimination of agricultural subsidies that distort trade. International cooperation on climate change cannot wait, Temer said. Brazil has been criticized for not protecting the Amazon rainforest, an important area for global environmental balance, but Temer said data showed that deforestation fell 20 percent last year. On Monday, Temer, other Latin American leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed oil-producing Venezuela s economic and political crisis and ways to encourage a return to democracy. Trump said in his speech to the annual U.N. gathering on Tuesday that the situation in Venezuela was unacceptable and the United States would step up pressure on the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Temer said Brazil and its partners of the South American Mercosul bloc would continue to support a democratic transition in Venezuela. Conservative Temer, who replaced leftist President Dilma Rousseff last year after a controversial impeachment, faces strong opposition himself amid corruption charges. His government s approval has plummeted according to a public opinion poll published on Tuesday. Polling firm MDA said that just 3.4 percent of those surveyed thought the Temer government was doing a great or good job - down from 10.3 percent in February.

SHOCKING! HERE’S HOW OFTEN Airlines Bump Passengers From Flights [Video]

Who knew that the Department of Transportation keeps records on how many people are bumped involuntarily from a flight. Can you guess the numbers?Airlines have always bumped passengers from overbooked flights but with the recent a** kicking of a passenger on a United Airlines flight (see below), you probably never thought of it. Here s what we know:If you ve flown much then you know that airlines overbook flights. When that happens, they usually offer free tickets to anyone willing to give up their seat.In this case, EVERYONE wanted to stay on the plane including one man who eventually had to be physically tossed off by uniformed men He claimed to be a doctor and needed to get home to see patients in the morning. We re sure you ll hear more about this man but we can t verify that he s a doctor. We just find it odd that he would endure this treatment by the security at the airport. It was a disturbing situation for sure!In the fine print when you buy your ticket, the airline reserves the right to toss you if they re over booked This isn t the way to do it! Does anyone else out there REALLY miss the good old days of flying? I do!Flying these days can be a nightmare check this one out:A United passenger was forcibly removed from a flight from Chicago to Louisville after he refused to voluntarily give up his seat.Fellow passengers on the flight posted jarring videos late Sunday night of uniformed men dragging the man off of the flight after what United called an overbook situation. Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked, a United spokesperson told Yahoo News when asked about the incident. After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate. Audra D. Bridges and Tyler Bridges posted video of the incident:@united @FoxNews @CNN not a good way to treat a Doctor trying to get to work because they overbooked pic.twitter.com/sj9oHk94Ik Tyler Bridges (@Tyler_Bridges) April 9, 2017ANOTHER ANGLE:@United overbook #flight3411 and decided to force random passengers off the plane. Here s how they did it: pic.twitter.com/QfefM8X2cW Jayse D. Anspach (@JayseDavid) April 10, 2017Bridges and Anspach gave similar accounts of the incident to the Louisville Courier-Journal and on Twitter: United had overbooked the flight and was looking for four volunteers to leave the plane in order to send four United crew members to Louisville. Passengers were allowed to board and United offered $800 to anyone who gave up their seat, but when there were no volunteers, United said a computer would randomly select four passengers. The man in the video claimed to be a doctor who had patients to see in the morning and refused to leave, at which point airport security dragged him off the plane.The United Contract of Carriage lays out specific policies for passengers who are not allowed to board overbooked flights but doesn t cite policy for removing passengers who are already seated on such flights.Via: Yahoo

Obama congratulates Clinton, to meet with Sanders: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday to congratulate her on securing the delegates needed to become the Democratic presidential nominee, the White House said. “Her historic campaign inspired millions and is an extension of her lifelong fight for middle-class families and children,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement. Obama also spoke to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, and will meet with him on Thursday at Sanders’ request, Earnest said. “The president thanked Senator Sanders for energizing millions of Americans with his commitment to issues like fighting economic inequality and special interests’ influence on our politics,” Earnest said.

Senior Tanzania ruling party MP quits, cites democracy concerns

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - A senior Tanzanian politician quit the ruling party on Monday complaining of human rights abuses and a weakening of democracy in the east African nation, in a move political analysts said could trigger a wave of defections to opposition parties. Since taking office in late 2015, President John Magufuli has introduced sweeping reforms, including as an anti-corruption drive that has won him some praise from Western donors. But his administration is also increasingly being accused by his opponents of undermining democracy by curbing dissent and stifling free speech, including banning newspapers. On Monday, Lazaro Nyalandu, who once served as a cabinet minister and has been a member of parliament for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party for 17 years, said he was deeply concerned by human rights abuses and the direction of the economy. It is evident that CCM has lost its way judging from the current political climate, leadership and economic trajectory in Tanzania, Nyalandu said in a statement. I have decided to resign from my position as a member of the CCM national executive committee and all other leadership positions in the party effective from today. Nyalandu said he had also submitted his resignation as a member of parliament. The veteran politician was among more than a dozen candidates who sought the ruling party s presidential nomination in 2015 but was defeated by Magufuli. Bashiru Ally, a Dar es Salaam-based political analyst, said Magufuli s reforms could prompt further defections from the ruling party but said the opposition was poorly placed to benefit from such a trend. Opposition parties are overly dependent on personalities who defect from CCM, he told Reuters. (But) they can only make temporary gains from such defections. They are not institutionalised and lack mass grassroots mobilization strategies. CCM, which has been in power since Tanzania gained independence from Britain in 1961, has seen its support among young urban voters decline in previous elections, but opposition parties are too fragmented to oust it from power, analysts said.

Britain's Brexit firebrand Farage meets Trump in New York

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage visited Donald Trump at his home on Saturday, after suggesting he could act as a go-between to help smooth British relations with the U.S. president-elect. British Prime Minister Theresa May is not expected to meet the incoming leader until early next year and Farage has suggested her criticisms of Trump in the early days of the campaign could damage ties with Washington. “We’re just tourists!” Farage, head of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), told reporters as he waited for an elevator to take him up to the meeting at Trump Tower in New York City. He later tweeted a photograph of himself with Trump standing in front of a pair of golden doors and smiling broadly, the president-elect giving the camera a thumbs-up. “It was a great honor to spend time with @realDonaldTrump,” Farage tweeted. “He was relaxed and full of good ideas. I’m confident he will be a good President.” Trump’s election campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said: “I think they enjoy each other’s company, and they actually had a chance to talk about freedom and winning and what this all means for the world.” In a separate photograph posted on Twitter, UKIP donor Arron Banks, Breitbart London Editor in Chief Raheem Kassam, and Gerry Gunster, an American whose advocacy firm worked on the Brexit campaign, were also pictured with Trump and Farage. May - who spoke to Trump by phone on Thursday - and her predecessor David Cameron last year described Trump as “divisive” and “wrong” over his call to ban Muslims from entering the United States. At that time he was not considered likely to win the presidency. In a leaked diplomatic telegram, sent on Nov. 9 and printed in the Sunday Times newspaper, Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Kim Darroch, said he believed Britain had built better relationships with Trump’s team than other foreign diplomats. “(Trump) is above all an outsider and an unknown quantity, whose campaign pronouncements may reveal his instincts, but will surely evolve and, particularly, be open to outside influence if pitched right,” he said. “We should be well placed to do this.” While the British government has congratulated Trump on his election, the head of the opposition, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, said he should “grow up” on the immigration issue and recognize that the U.S. economy depends on migrant workers. “The treatment of Mexico by the United States, just as much as its absurd and abusive language towards Muslims, is something that has to be challenged and should be challenged,” Corbyn, whose wife is Mexican, told the BBC on Sunday. UKIP, which has only one member of parliament in London, said Farage and Trump spent more than an hour discussing Trump’s victory, global politics and Brexit. A UKIP official has suggested Farage could even be the next ambassador to the United States, but British media reported that May’s office rejected the idea of any role for Farage, citing unnamed sources who described him as an “irrelevance”. A day after Trump’s election victory, Farage called on the real estate mogul to reverse “loathsome” Barack Obama’s policy by making Britain his top priority. Farage said he had been pleased at Trump’s “very positive reaction” to the idea that a bust of former British prime minister Winston Churchill be put back in the Oval Office. He has also joked about sexual assault allegations against Trump, urging him to “schmooze” May but not touch her. He proposed that in any meetings between the British and American leaders, he could attend to be the “responsible adult to make sure everything is OK.” Farage, who spoke at a Trump rally during the election campaign, had predicted the former reality TV host would tap into the same dissatisfaction among voters that led to Britain deciding on June 23 to leave the European Union. Trump made repeated references to Brexit during his campaign, saying it had highlighted the desire for change among voters frustrated with traditional politics. (Story refiles to add dropped word “the” in first paragraph.)

Trump TERRIFIED Of Losing, Now He’s Even Running Away From Sean Hannity (DETAILS)

On Thursday morning, Donald Trump did the unthinkable: he canceled an interview with one of his biggest cheerleaders, Sean Hannity. Trump had been scheduled to appear on the Fox host s show Thursday night, but a spokeswoman for the network says The Donald will not be showing up.This announcement comes in the wake of Pussygate Trump s mid-90 s admission that he loves that he can get away with grabbing women by the pussy because he s rich as well as revelations that he barged into dressing rooms to creep on models (some as young as 15 years old), his admission that he thought Paris Hilton was hot when she was 12, audio of him hitting on a 10-year-old surfacing, and his upcoming child rape case.Apparently Mr. Trump doesn t think even Sean Hannity a joke of a man who has done nothing but pitch underhand to Trump the entire election season can find kid gloves to fit this situation.Things are not looking good for Trump lately, with his poll numbers in a nosedive since everyone learned about his special handshake. While it is gratifying to see the Republican Party and even some of Trump s formerly vocal supporters running away from him, it is frightening that it is only happening now. The GOP is fine with Islamophobia, racism, his open courting of white supremacists, his constant attack on women because of their looks and weight, his desire to build a wall to keep brown people out of the country, Muslim concentration camps, his incessant remarks about banging his daughter, the child rape allegations, and his love of well-done steaks. At one point it seemed like Trump was right when he said he could shoot someone and not lose a single supporter.Apparently, groping was the line.Featured image via Getty Images/Joe Raedle

Factbox: May's Brexit plan passes parliamentary test, more to come

LONDON (Reuters) - Legislation underpinning the government s plan to leave the European Union passed the latest stage in its journey through parliament on Wednesday, but still faces weeks of scrutiny before it becomes law. After eight days of debate, the legislation completed its Committee Stage , where lawmakers debate the bill line by line and try to make changes to the government s proposed wording. Formally known as the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, the legislation will now face other stages of approval in the lower house of parliament, and must then make its way through a multi-stage process in the upper house. Both chambers must agree on the wording before it can become law. What is the bill and what does it do? The legislation serves two main functions: 1. Repealing the 1972 European Communities Act which made Britain a member of the European Communities, forerunner to the European Union. This effectively ends Britain s EU membership. 2. Transferring the existing body of EU law into British law. This is designed to provide legal certainty about the complex process of leaving. Why is it controversial? The bill has faced criticism from opposition lawmakers, campaign groups and members of May s Conservative Party. Brexit is still divisive in Britain after a referendum in June last year, and many people, including some lawmakers, want to retain as much of the country s current EU membership as possible. Others would like to reverse the vote altogether. The most significant objections so far have focused on several different parts of the bill: 1. The power for the government to amend EU laws as they are brought onto the British statute book. 2. The extent to which parliament will be given a say on the final exit deal. 3. The government s intention to fix March 29, 2019 in law as Exit Day . May runs a minority government, which has a slim 13-seat working majority in the 650-seat parliament thanks to a deal with a small Northern Irish party. Only seven Conservative lawmakers could be required to rebel to defeat the government. What has happened so far? The threat of rebellion has forced the government to make several concessions on its plans, including Wednesday s compromise to allow the date of Brexit to be changed in exceptional circumstances. Ministers also agreed to greater scrutiny in parliament of the process of transposing EU law. May suffered one embarrassing defeat, when 11 Conservatives sided with the opposition to successfully demand stronger guarantees that parliament will have a meaningful vote on the country s final exit agreement. Ministers fought off, or bargained their way out of other disagreements on issues like the powers government will have to change EU laws as they are transposed into British law, and the government s intention not to transfer across the EU s Charter of Fundamental Rights. The bill cleared its first parliamentary hurdle in September when, after two days of debate, lawmakers voted 326 to 290 in favor of the principles of the bill. What happens next? The debate will continue in the lower house of parliament next year at a date which has yet to be set. This so-called Report Stage is a new opportunity to add amendments. Immediately after report stage, the bill is given a Third Reading . It usually lasts an hour and is a general discussion of the bill followed by a vote. No amendments can be made. If approved, the bill will then pass to the upper chamber of parliament, where the Conservatives do not have a majority. The entire process will take months to complete, and there is no target end date. House of Lords: Once the bill passes to the unelected upper chamber of parliament, the House of Lords, Lords can put forward their own amendments, each of which will be discussed and decided on in turn. If the lords agree to any amendments, the bill passes back to the House of Commons for its approval. Ping Pong: If the bill passes back to the commons, they debate and vote on the lords amendments. No new amendments can be introduced. In theory the bill can continue passing back and forth between the lords and commons until the final bill is agreed upon. Royal assent: Once the bill has been agreed by both houses of parliament, it is given royal assent, when the queen formally agrees to make the bill into an Act of Parliament.

Trump Supporter RIPS Republicans For Ignoring Russian Interference To Help Trump Win Election

Former Republican congressman Joe Walsh supports Donald Trump, but only if the election was won fair and square.And now that the CIA has released an assessment concluding that Russia interfered with the election to help Trump win, he is demanding an investigation and posted an epic Twitter rant ripping them for ignoring the report.Congressional Republicans, the evidence of Russia tampering with our election is too great now to ignore.Investigate.Do the right thing. Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016Yes voter fraud is a big problem & we need Voter ID, but come on guys, a foreign government messing with our elections?Can t be tolerated Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016It will be utterly disgraceful if Republicans & Conservatives keep their mouths shut in the wake of what the CIA is saying about Russia. Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016Hey @SpeakerRyan & @SenateMajLdr, is it ok for Russia to mess with our elections?Do you agree with @realDonaldTrump that the CIA is lying? Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016Republican silence will be tantamount to treason.Call 4 an investigation. Foreign governments can t pick our President.#RussianHackers Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016If there was evidence that the Russians helped Hillary win, my fellow conservatives would be yelling for an investigation.#RussianHackers Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016I never agree with @chuckschumer but he s correct on this one. Where is his Republican colleague joining his call? https://t.co/bKEolLmQvi Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016NBC reports Trump has picked Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Sec of State.He s a good buddy of Putin s. https://t.co/tsYmGmjacD Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016So wait the CIA says Russia messed with our election to help Trump win and Trump attacks the CIA?Not Russia? He goes after the CIA? Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016The protests, the harassing electors, the recounts that s all not accepting the election result bullshit.But Russia? That s a big deal Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016Where is the Republican outrage today?Where?This isn t a partisan issue. It s an American issue.#RussianHackers Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016Call me naive, but the one person who should call for an investigation is Trump.No foreign country should ever mess with OUR elections. Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016There s evidence Russia messed around with our election, but cuz our guy won, people on my side are ok with that?That s so fucking wrong. Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016So ..we got a real problem if our soon to be President sides with Russia over our own intelligence agencies.Hello. Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 10, 2016As you can see, Joe Walsh may be a conservative prick, but even he wants the election to be fair whether his side loses or not. The 2016 Election was not fairly won if Russia helped Trump cheat to win. That s why an immediate investigation needs to happen and if the CIA report is confirmed, Donald Trump should not be allowed to take office. Either a new election should be scheduled or the Electoral College should install Hillary Clinton as the rightful winner. Because allowing Trump to win with the help of foreign interference only opens the door for future interference in our elections and our democracy cannot survive if that happens.Featured Image: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

“White people are born into not being human” – BLM Activist Lectures A Room Full Of White Women [Video]

Ashleigh Shackelford is what passes for a serious Democrat these days. She s a Black Lives Matter activist who has some serious issues with hate. This is not a joke but a serious effort to try to tell white women hateful lies about their own race IN THE NAME OF DIVERSITY. The women just sit there! Unreal!ANTHONY BRIAN LOGAN (VIDEO BELOW) GIVES HIS TAKE ON THIS DIVERSITY TRAINING :Ashleigh Shackelford, a black female activist , gave a short lecture in front of a crowd of mostly working-aged white people that covered one issue: all white people are racist. It was difficult to tell where this talk was being held. At a school, a place of business, or a lecture hall where people paid to come see her. Either way, it was a strange sight to see a room full of people be spoken about in such a negative way without reacting in a defensive way or reacting at all. It was also strange to see the audience members dressed in a business casual way sitting before Ashleigh who was dressed like she just got out of bed in clothing that fit way too small for her very large frame.Talks like the one given in the video are unfortunately becoming very common. Some of these so-called activists get paid to speak at corporate meetings as some sort of diversity checklist. Even white men like Tim Wise get paid lots of money to berate white people at places like Google. Much of this culture comes from the belly of the beast of liberalism which is the San Francisco bay area. Much of the tech world is run here but it is also a hotbed for radical liberalism. So when the two of those worlds mix, what you end up with is individuals like Ashleigh Shackelford allowed to run amok. Her issue may be one of envy and ensuing resentment of white people, but the force which allows her to vent her frustrations in an open way can be found in socially and politically liberal hotbeds across the country especially California.Here is info from Shackelford s website: Ashleigh Shackelford is a queer, non binary Black fat femme writer, cultural producer, and artist. She is a contributing writer at Wear Your Voice Magazine and For Harriet. In her commitment to creating and imagining new worlds, Ashleigh created an organization for body positivity Free Figure Revolution, and a coalition for afrofuturism entitled Black Futurism. When she s not writing Facebook statuses as novels, Ashleigh is working on producing cultural storytelling of and by Black fat femmes.

Russia's Lavrov and U.S. Tillerson discuss Syria: Russia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a phone call on the Syria crisis with his American counterpart Rex Tillerson, the ministry said in a statement on Friday. Lavrov and Tillerson spoke late on Thursday and discussed cooperation in their attempts to resolve the Syrian crisis with an emphasis on de-escalation zones, the ministry said.

Hawaiians Had The Perfect Signs To Infuriate Trump When He Landed There

Donald Trump stopped in Hawaii, which is totally not Kenya, en route to his five-country, 12-day trip in Asia but there wasn t much love from the people there in which only five Republicans hold office in the state s 51-seat House. The former reality show star won only 29 percent of the vote in Hawaii in the 2016 presidential election. The Birther-in-Chief had to have noticed the Welcome to Kenya signs while he was greeted by protesters.Trump dogged Barack Obama for years by floating the birther conspiracy theory in order to delegitimize our country s first black President.Holy crap! ???Trump greeted with 'Welcome to Kenya' signs in Hawaii https://t.co/TWlqiZTvU2#saturdaymorning pic.twitter.com/9q7uxy7VC8 Holly O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) November 4, 2017Protesters schooled Trump on Obama s birthplace. "Welcome to Kenya!" A growing crowd protests Trump by Honolulu state capitol during his visit to Honolulu pic.twitter.com/KnTeFJSvf2 Jaweed Kaleem ? (@jaweedkaleem) November 4, 2017Another sign read, So bad you make Bush look good. Aloha also means goodbye, read another sign.Hawaiians will never forget.Trump tried to discredit Hawaii officials on Obama's birth certificate & Jeff Sessions dismissed Hawaii as "just an island in the Pacific." https://t.co/lz3kD8QWqz Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) November 4, 2017 Trump for prison 2017, read one man s t-shirt.A vet called out Trump over his remarks disparaging Sen. John McCain s military service.Hawaii residents here have a lot of signs about issues that especially resonate on the islands: climate change, nuclear threats, racism pic.twitter.com/CPUwc55d0l Jaweed Kaleem ? (@jaweedkaleem) November 4, 2017President Barack Obama is Hawaii s native son and he is loved there.One Twitter user said there were only about three Trump supporters. In contrast, there were hundreds of protesters.Hawaiians resist Trump s agenda.A rough translation for "resist" in Hawaiian. pic.twitter.com/UsbOcGa1zA Jaweed Kaleem ? (@jaweedkaleem) November 4, 2017Watch:Trump Protest at the State Capitol. There were like three pro-trump people lol #hawaiij20 #hawaii pic.twitter.com/NpmtOzX2jE Kate Ozawa (@AlohaKatie) November 4, 2017When presidents deplane from Air Force One, they are typically greeted by an enthusiastic crowd. In Trump s case, about 100 supporters a mix of military service members and civilians greeted him at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.However, the protesters formed a far bigger crowd. The largest group of protesters gathered in front of the state Capitol.Kaniela Ing, a Democrat from the state s House of Representatives, joined the protesters.State Rep. @KanielaIng said he will wave #AlohaMeansGoodbye sign at the Hawaii State Capitol s anti-Trump protest https://t.co/HxvswDe6VU Michelle Broder (@michellebvd) November 4, 2017 The idea of the aloha spirit is that we welcome everyone who comes here, he said. But when there s a leader whose whole M.O. seems to be making America a less welcoming place for whole groups of people, that s where we need to draw the line. He s simply not welcome, he added.Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images.

Black Student ‘Activist’ Jailed for Tweeting FAKE Racist Threats

21st Century Wire says What a twisted world we have become.A female, black student activist, Kayla McKelvey (image below), has been jailed for tweeting racially charged threats directed at events that she, herself, was organising and attending. She essentially employed the false flag attack model, where one claims to be under attack from another, who in actual fact has nothing to do with it, to further an agenda.The so-called activist pleaded guilty to causing false public alarm, but claimed the tweets were meant to raise awareness of racism on campus .One wonders how much racism there really is on campus, if someone has to deliberately go out of their way to create fake racial threats. This then raises the questions, what exactly did McKelvey hope to achieve by creating a threat to black people on campus?The threats caused Kean University to shell out $80,000 in additional security costs, costs that McKelvey will now be forced to repay after her 90 days behind bars.Such actions do absolutely nothing to raise awareness of racism , and only further racial divides. If we stop seeing race altogether, and instead see humanity, we can really solve the problem.Get 10% off a 21WIRE TV membership package today using promo code: STU21WIRETVMORE ON ERODING WESTERN CULTURE : 21st Century Wire Culture Files

LIBERAL TEACHER’S Social Media Message Goes VIRAL: “Lots of white trump supporters in Las Vegas” Asks Liberals To “Pray Only Trumptards Died”

Anyone who is not yet convinced that liberalism is a mental disorder hasn t been on social media since President Trump s inauguration. Every day the hateful rhetoric is ramped up by liberals who are no longer able to function in everyday society since they ve been afflicted with Trump derangement syndrome.Hollywood celebrities are holding up severed heads of our President. Has been pop-stars like Madonna say things like they d like to blow up the White House. Black Lives Matter has inspired an entire league of overpaid professional NFL athletes to turn what was a movement against our brave law enforcement officers into an anti-American, anti-Trump movement. Only two days ago on the SNL Resistance show, Michael Che called President Trump a cheap cracker .This tweet by a woman who claims to be a teacher, mother, sister and woman may not even come as a surprise to anyone who follows the hatred vitriol the left spews every day on social media. Sadly, this woman didn t even have the common courtesy to keep her disgusting hate for anyone who doesn t agree with her politics in her shallow little head.Ann#TheResistance has deleted her Twitter account. If anyone knows this woman, it would be great if you could contact the school where she works, as it appears she is not stable enough to be left alone with children who may hold opposing political views.

Trump’s Old Campaign Chair Knifed The Man Who Deposed Him In The Back – And Twisted

One would think Corey Lewandowski, Trump s former campaign manager, would eventually get tired of swiping at Paul Manafort, the man who replaced him. He s already stabbed Manafort in the back. However, when The New York Times published a report on Manafort s secret ledger in the Ukraine, it seems Lewandowski couldn t resist twisting that knife just a bit.Lewandowski was fired over conflicts with Manafort regarding campaign strategy, and they really didn t part on the best of terms. Earlier this year, Politico reported that these two were at each other s throats to the point where Trump created a new position for Manafort. This was after Manafort tried to bring Lewandowski down.This isn t the first time that he s gunned for Manafort. The last time involved suggesting on CNN that Manafort should be the one who gets fired, or takes the high road and resigns, over the disaster that was Melania Trump s plagiarized speech at the RNC.So the spirit of this tweet is very likely Lewandowski crowing over what may well be Manafort s downfall:Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump s Campaign Chief https://t.co/7bh7iIHHaY Corey Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) August 15, 2016Why downfall? The implications for Manafort are bad, since there s at least $12 million that s slated for him, courtesy of then-President Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russian political party. This information also shows how the businesses with which Manafort worked raided Ukraine s assets and influenced what should have been free elections, among other indications of massive corruption.So Manafort s horrifically corrupt, which is probably why Trump wanted him so badly. This info isn t quite new, but these are details that weren t previously known. In other words, it s looking increasingly like Manafort did, indeed, have some kind of hand in helping Russia invade Ukraine, even if it was indirect. Adam Weinstein also tweeted the article, but says his own work shows that this is just the beginning of Manafort s doom: Speaking as someone who has a story coming this week: This is just the beginning for Manafort. It gets worse. https://t.co/5KTUsIHbX1 Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) August 15, 2016So Lewandowski must be positively gleeful over this. Not that it matters it s not likely Trump would ever bring him back on board. Lewandowski, however, likes to go after his enemies relentlessly, if indirectly. This is one feud that isn t going to end anytime soon.Featured image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Trump Just Dedicated A F**king GOLF TROPHY To People Who Are Suffering In Puerto Rico

Some are saying that Trump has not botched the relief effort in Puerto Rico (Newsflash: He s botched it horribly), but even if that were true, he s doing worse than botching the PR for it. Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 20. On the 22nd, he decided to go golfing for four days, and rage-tweeted at the NFL the whole time. Then he rage-tweeted at the ingrates in Puerto Rico who aren t showing him the proper appreciation for what he s not doing. Today, he was at the Presidents Cup golf tournament, avoiding real work and participating in the trophy presentation instead.And while he was there, he decided to dedicate the trophy to the victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. According to Steve Kopack of CNBC, Trump said that conditions in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico are really under control, and that he was dedicating the trophy to victims of storms:For those asking, President Trump was speaking on @GolfChannel s coverage of the Presidents Cup trophy presentation. Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) October 1, 2017Here are his own words: On behalf of all of the people of Texas, and all of the people if you look today and see what is happening, how horrible it is but we have it under really great control Puerto Rico and the people of Florida who have really suffered over this last short period of time with the hurricanes, I want to just remember them.And we re going to dedicate this trophy to all of those people that went through so much that we love a part of our great state, really part of our great nation. Because a trophy is seriously what they need right now. Forget disaster relief funds, forget personnel and equipment. Forget food, water and medicine. Forget restoring electricity and communications. What they really need a participation trophy, which is what this amounts to for all the good it ll do.The relief effort is disastrously inadequate in Puerto Rico, where people are starting to suffer from Dengue fever, viral conjunctivitis and Zika. They re at increasing risk for cholera due to the lack of clean drinking water. In fact, the number of people without access to clean drinking water has shot from 44 percent to 55 percent between Wednesday and yesterday, and will continue to rise until we actually get our butts moving with the relief effort there.Furthermore, the contaminated floodwaters are putting Puerto Ricans at risk for hepatitis A, meningitis and salmonella, even if they don t drink it.This isn t just a meaningless gesture, it s damned insulting. You don t dedicate a goddamn trophy, presented at a tournament full of wealthy people who are safe in their well-moneyed cocoons, to hurricane victims. You just don t. It wouldn t be surprising to start hearing more outcry from homeless, sick, and suffering Puerto Ricans people who are already angry at the lack of response from Trump s administration and his characterization of them as lazy all over Twitter.Featured image via Elsa/Getty Images

Trump to roll back use of climate change in policy reviews: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing to release a wide-ranging executive order to reduce the role that climate change plays in policy decisions, according to a Trump administration official who reviewed a draft of the order. The move could alter how U.S. agencies weigh regulations on a broad array of industries, from drilling, coal mining and auto manufacturing to refining. The official on Tuesday confirmed a Bloomberg News report that the executive order will instruct the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies to overhaul their use of the “social cost of carbon,” an Obama-era policy that seeks to quantify potential economic damage from climate change for the purposes of drafting regulation. White House spokeswoman Kelly Love declined to discuss the timing of an executive order on energy. “We have nothing to announce at this time,” she said. Under rules put in by place by former President Barack Obama, the current cost of carbon in policy decisions is $36 per ton, which will rise to $50 by 2030. The Trump order would direct regulators to use a “discount rate” that would dramatically reduce, or eliminate, that cost. Discount rates are used to come up with a net present value of something whose benefits and costs will be distributed over time. In the case of carbon, the impact of emissions on the earth’s climate can take several years to appear. Under some scenarios referenced in the executive order, carbon could have a zero or “negative value,” the source said. The source said that the order may be an initial step to ultimately phasing out the carbon evaluation entirely. The executive order could be issued as soon as this week, the source said, and may include other energy-specific measures, like a requirement for the EPA to conduct a review of regulations that could harm energy production. Reuters and others have reported previously that Trump planned to target Obama-era green regulations, including a federal coal mining ban and an initiative forcing states to cut carbon emissions. The Department of Interior under Obama had issued a moratorium on coal leasing on federal land in 2015 as it sought to review the program and evaluate whether the government adequately priced the value of coal extracted from public lands on behalf of taxpayers. The Clean Power Plan was Obama’s centerpiece initiative to combat climate change, requiring states to slash emissions of carbon dioxide. But it was never implemented due to legal challenges launched by several Republican states. The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, said last week he is not convinced that carbon dioxide from human activity is the main driver of climate change and said he wants Congress to weigh in on whether CO2 is a harmful pollutant that should be regulated. The Obama administration’s carbon cost estimates were first issued in 2010 and have been used to analyze rules directly targeting carbon dioxide emissions, like car and truck emissions standards. They have also been used to cover rules on indirect emissions, like one to control mercury and other air pollutants from power plants.

Kenya officials change way of announcing election results

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Official results from Kenya s repeat presidential election on Thursday are likely to take several days to collate, election officials told Reuters, due to changes in the process to try to make it more transparent. The Supreme Court on Sept. 1 ordered a repeat of the election after judges annulled the results of an Aug. 8 poll, pitting incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta against opposition leader Raila Odinga, due to procedural irregularities. Official results said Kenyatta won on Aug. 8 by 1.4 million votes, but Odinga said the vote was rigged. Odinga has refused to participate in Thursday s rerun because he said election officials have not carried out sufficient reforms. Judges criticized the election board for rushing to announce the official results based only on numbers sent from the polling stations, without having the tally forms from all 40,883 polling stations showing the results. The paper forms are a back-up system meant to help prevent rigging. The board has up to a week to announce official results. This time, polling stations will only transmit scanned images of tally forms from polling stations, not numerical results, Andrew Limo, spokesman for the election commission, said on Tuesday. The scanned images will be posted online. The election board will collate and publish results by constituency once all polling stations there have reported. This could take several days in rural constituencies with poor phone networks and far-flung polling stations. There are 290 constituencies. Without Odinga running, Kenyatta is the firm favorite to win. The other six candidates failed to poll more than 1 percent in the August polls; one has since been disqualified for bankruptcy. Odinga has urged supporters to boycott the ballot and opposition leaders have called for protests on the day of the elections. The key thing to watch in this election will be turnout, said Murithi Mutiga, a senior regional analyst for the International Crisis Group, a global thinktank. This will really be a referendum on the legitimacy of Kenyatta s second term. Just over 79 percent of Kenya s 19.6 million registered voters cast a ballot in the last poll.

AWESOME PRO-GUN AD Removed From Airport After Complaints From Rainbows And Unicorn Liberals

The rainbows and unicorn crowd decided they just had to complain about a gun manufacturer s ad being in the Columbia, SC Airport. FN Manufacturing s ad made travelers upset so it was taken down. Total BS!Columbia Metropolitan Airport has removed a billboard-sized advertisement of a firearms manufacturer from its concourse.The decision comes a day after The State newspaper reported the ad, featuring eight firearms from FN Manufacturing, upset some travelers. It touted, Yeah, we carry. I pulled in the commission, and really, they felt that given the negative feedback that it d probably be better to bring it down, said Dan Mann, executive director of the airport.The Richland-Lexington Airport District approves all advertisements, including their text, content and graphics, according to the terms and conditions of their advertisement agreements.Two other displays for FN will remain up: a different billboard and a promotional video at the escalators.Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, who spotted the ad while at the airport Friday morning, said the banner with the multiple firearms wasn t appropriate given its location. It was the wrong ad in the wrong place at the wrong time, Benjamin said. I could easily see why anyone, including gun owners, which I am, would be seriously alarmed. Benjamin stressed the city has a good relationship with FN Manufacturing, which has supplied Columbia Police Department s firearms in the past. He said FN is a good company. S.C. Poet Nikky Finney echoed Benjamin s sentiment concerning the location in which the banner was displayed given the tenor and the times we live in. I m trying to say that anything that goes up that looks like that and has that kind of attitude should be decided upon by a committee of people that understand that the young man that went to a church, pulled a trigger and took nine lives came from Columbia, said Finney, referencing the killing of nine worshipers at Emanuel AME in Charleston allegedly at the hands of Dylann Roof in June 2015.Via: The State

Ann Coulter: Trump Doesn’t Need GOP’s Support – ‘He IS The Party’ (VIDEO)

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter took her vomit-inducing support of Donald Trump onto MSNBC yesterday to argue that the presumptive Republican nominee shouldn t even bother trying to convince prominent GOPers like House Speaker Paul Ryan to support him. She said it was a complete waste of the business mogul s time because he pretty much owns the GOP and represents the heart and soul of the Republican party now.As the discussion about Trump s Thursday meeting with Ryan was being discussed, host Chris Matthews wondered what might actually convince Ryan to support a presidential candidate that he was clearly having reservations about and who could blame him?! Coulter shrugged this off and laughed, asserting her opinion that Trump was only having this meeting with Ryan out of the goodness of his heart. Coulter told Matthews: It shows that Trump is being unbelievably gracious. He doesn t need to have this meeting [with Paul Ryan]. He is the party. He is the heart and soul of the party. Pointing out just how incredibly gracious this stunt by Trump is, she told Matthews that he could have just said, hope he comes aboard, we re gonna have a lot of fun, but if he doesn t, oh well after Ryan withheld his endorsement.To make Coulter s appearance on the show even more outrageous, she made sure to promote her new book, In Trump We Trust. She said that in the future, she hoped that Trump wouldn t waste any more of his precious time convincing the GOP to back him. The people are with him, and there s no point in meeting with all these generals without armies. According to Ryan, his meeting with Trump will be centered around how to unify the Republican Party. Ryan said: It s been a bitter and divisive primary. It s going to take more than one week just to repair and unify this party. Apparently, Trump thinks he s got this one in the bag.TwitterFeatured image is a screenshot

Macron lawmakers admonished for partying in French parliament

PARIS (Reuters) - The head of France s parliament on Tuesday admonished newcomers from President Emmanuel Macron s party for noisy partying in the assembly s bar after late-night sessions. In one such case, lawmakers from the centrist president s Republic on The Move (LREM) party improvised a party with music at the National Assembly s bar after a debate on the social security budget. The bar staff were obliged to work late until the lawmakers had left, parliamentary sources said. Macron s 313 lawmakers, many of whom are new to politics, were initially criticized after the June election for their inexperience, though this has not stopped the swift adoption of wide-ranging reforms, including security and labor laws. But the partying after late-night votes has to stop, the assembly s president Francois de Rugy told them on Tuesday, saying it was not fair on the staff who work there. De Rugy also said lawmakers must stop brandishing objects in parliament, something its rules and regulations forbid. That remark appeared aimed at lawmakers from the far-left France Insoumise (France Unbowed), who in July piled up pasta and a pot of tomato sauce on their bench in parliament to show how much students would lose out on with a 5 euro cut in housing subsidies. It is crucial that the presidents of (parliamentary) groups remind each and every member about the proper conduct of parliamentary proceedings and the necessary dignity of lawmakers, de Rugy said in a statement.

Restaurant Owner Calls Black Customer ‘N*****’ Then Throws Him Out Because ‘Trump Is President Now’

A Pennsylvania restaurant owner is under fire after he allegedly told a black customer that Donald Trump s election gives him the right to kick n*ggers out of his establishment. Rickey Lee Bugg Jr., a player on the Lebanon Valley College men s basketball team says he went to Just Wing It in Annville early Sunday morning.Shortly after ordering and paying, he had a rather unforgettable encounter with the owner. Bugg s sister posted about the incident on Facebook, explaining that the owner came out of the back and told him and some friends with whom he planned to eat to leave, informing them that I own three restaurants and I don t need you n*ggers money. Bugg asked the waitress for his money back and she agreed. After he got his money back, the owner decided to share more of his wisdom with Bugg: Trump s president now so I can say what I want. You ni*gers need to get out. According to Bugg s sister, the waitress was chiming in, telling the men,d you guys can t eat here, you need to go. Bugg admits that at this point, he flipped some chairs on his way out the door. I flipped a few chairs, Bugg told PennLive, adding he yelled at the owner, That s not the way to treat people. He said the manager told him that now Donald Trump is president, I can say what I want. He left and got some friends for support and returned to confront the racist store owner, but found that the police had been called. Unfortunately for the Trump fan, police were on Bugg s side. According to Bugg, police reassured him that the manager is known for doing stuff like this. A quick search on Facebook reveals that the owner, Chris Behney, has quite a reputation: Others stopped by the comment section of PennLive to share their experiences and information: An investigation into the incident is ongoing, but in a world where Trump supporters start a national incident because they thought Starbucks delay in making their coffee was discrimination because the barista magically knew they were conservatives or think they shouldn t have to pay for a reusable bag because Trump won (and dissolve into a rage-filled racist rant), it s not exactly outside the realm of probability that the incident unfolded just as Bugg says.Featured image via Getty Images (Win McNamera)/screengrab

Donald Trump Conveniently Forgets First Half Of Second Amendment (TWEET)

Whenever Donald Trump has the opportunity to sell something, he s going to say whatever he needs to so it gets sold. This time around, Trump is trying to sell himself to the American voting public so that he can pretend to be president, because the man doesn t have one bit of the necessary experience to actually do the job.Knowing Republicans love their guns dearly, and clearly don t understand the Constitution, he ll use that to his advantage. So, on Twitter he tweets out what he said at a recent rally surrounding the Second Amendment of the Constitution, and that s that people have the right to have guns. However, what he fails to do, and it can be pretty much guaranteed that it s on purpose, is talk about the first half of the amendment, nor the context of the necessity of the amendment for the time at hand and how it works with the rest of the Constitution.Trump tweeted out, pandering to his base of voters who love their guns more than anything: The Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. The #2A to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep & bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. pic.twitter.com/sqe12D0MBJ Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2016Now, the whole amendment reads: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. Yes, the state Militias that were necessary at the time because the nation didn t have a standing, nationalized army. Looking at Article 1 Section 8, it reads: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress. The Second Amendment arms those militias to be at the ready being necessary to the security of a free State. In all honesty, the Second Amendment isn t really needed anymore now that we have our armed services. And if you think the amendment can t be removed or changed, well, you must also think alcohol is still illegal. The word amendment, quite literally, means change. Oh, and if you think that you can fight back against the government if they restrict your gun use, think again, that would be insurrection, the very thing the Second Amendment arms against, and you would be tried for treason (see also: Whiskey Rebellion).All in all, Trump is just playing into the naivety of his voting base and their love for their ever-so-precious guns. After all he s a businessman selling himself. And unfortunately, people are buying it.Featured Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images

Cardinal Law funeral held at Vatican with no mention of sex abuse crisis

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The funeral of Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned as Archbishop of Boston 15 years ago after covering up years of sexual abuse of children by priests, was held in the Vatican on Thursday without a mention of what led to his downfall. About 200 people attended the funeral Mass in a chapel in the apse of St. Peter s Basilica and presided over by a senior cardinal, Angelo Sodano. The wooden coffin lay on the floor with an open book of the gospels resting on it. Pope Francis entered the chapel for a few minutes after the Mass to bless the coffin and conduct a brief service known as the Final Commendation and Farewell - which he does for all cardinals who die in Rome. He dedicated his whole life to the Church, Sodano said in his homily in praise of Law, who died on Wednesday. Sodano listed the stages of Law s clerical life and said the late Pope John Paul had called him to Rome to be archpriest of a Rome basilica. But Sodano made no mention of the reason why he left Boston. Unfortunately, each of us can sometimes be lacking in our mission, Sodano said. The pope read out a Latin prayer, part of which reads: May he be given a merciful judgement . About 15 cardinals attended, though not Law s successor in Boston, Cardinal Sean O Malley. O Malley said on Wednesday that Law served at a time when the Church failed seriously in its responsibilities ... Law was Archbishop of Boston for 18 years when he resigned on Dec. 13, 2002, climaxing a tumultuous year that sparked the greatest crisis in the history of the American Catholic Church. A succession of devastating news stories by Boston Globe reporters showed how priests who sexually abused children had been moved from parish to parish for years under Law s tenure without parishioners or law authorities being informed. Victims groups have expressed outrage that Law s funeral was being in St. Peter s and that he would be buried in a crypt in a chapel of the Rome Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he served as archpriest. Survivors of child sexual assault in Boston, who were first betrayed by Law s cover-up of sex crimes and then doubly betrayed by his subsequent promotion to Rome, were those most hurt, SNAP, a victim s group, said in a statement on Wednesday. After Pope Francis left Thursday s funeral, two nuns in brown robes knelt by the coffin and arched over it to pray. After the funeral, Cardinal Franc Rode of Slovenia praised Law as a good man with good intentions . All these provisions about paedophilia were not as severe as they are now so one can t say that he made that many mistakes, Rode told Reuters Television, saying it was another era . He did not elaborate. About a half dozen ambassadors attended. The United States official representative was Louis Bono, the current chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy to the Vatican. U.S. Ambassador-designate Callista Gingrich and her husband Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House of Representatives, attended in a private capacity. Callista Gingrich officially becomes ambassador on Friday.

Bernie ROASTS GOP Mental Instability During #DemDebate With PERFECT One-Liner (VIDEO)

The Democratic debate on Sunday night was a little more tense than usual between candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. The two went head to head and actually discussed important issues that needed to be talked about unlike their Republican counterparts who choose to make every debate about things like discussing hand size and trading personal jabs.Truth be told, the Republicans left running lack any and all substance. They can t properly answer any questions on domestic or foreign policy, and most certainly are unable to be polite with one another.On the other hand, there are the Democrats. When they get a little loud debating back and forth, it s not about who has the biggest dick or who has the best polls numbers, they actually discuss policy, and are equally as passionate when defending their positions.However, there was a moment during the Democratic debate when the GOP debate was brought up. And while Hillary did point out how absurd they are, Bernie took it one further and laid down an absolutely spot-on one-liner.Sanders hilariously said: When you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in mental health. A truer statement has never been spoken. These Republican candidates are not only national embarrassment. They may be certifiably insane.Watch the hilarious moment here:.@BernieSanders: When you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in mental health pic.twitter.com/6wQjj2wnOv POLITICO (@politico) March 7, 2016Featured image via video screen capture

Neil DeGrasse Tyson Gets Uncharacteristically Political; Says Trump Is A ‘Threat To Democracy’ (VIDEO)

Neil DeGrasse Tyson has always put science before politics, sometimes frustratingly so. Right after Trump was elected, Tyson appeared on Stephen Colbert s show, and rather than opine, he chose to try to comfort the host by saying that when you look at earth from outer space, our problems dissolve. He also said: The politician is representing an electorate. So, really, if you re against a politician, you re against their voter base, fellow citizens of this country, he said. So I as an educator, when I want to educate people, I don t say, Don t vote for this person or Vote for that person. I just simply educate you, so that when the time comes, you can make as informed a decision as you can. Now, though, Tyson is changing his tone. The Trump administration is clearly anti-science and it s anti-education. For Dr. Tyson, it s time to speak out right before protesters across the nation are prepared to march for science. He posted this video to Facebook on Friday: Science is a fundamental part of the country that we are, Tyson said. When you have people who don t know much about science standing in denial of it and rising to power, that is a recipe for the complete dismantling of our informed democracy. While Tyson was clearly talking about Donald Trump, anti-GMO anti-vaxxer (often) liberals were taken to task as well.Tyson didn t deny that science has a place in politics. Once we agree, for example, that humans are causing climate change, we can debate how to fix the problem, but until we agree that there is a problem, we re screwed.Donald Trump s name wasn t mentioned at all during the four-minute video, and it didn t need to be. It was clear that Tyson was frustrated (dare I say angry?) that his career has been so politicized while he tries to stay on the sidelines. Tyson is a true hero.Featured image via Joe Scarnici/Getty Images.

if hillary clinton is charged with obstruction of justice she could go to prison for years

claire bernish censorship by facebook has become a thorn in the side of nearly anyone with an opinion differing from the narrative touted by the corporate press for instance sentiments not praising hillary clinton and now through both a new report from reuters and emails published by wikileaks we have insight into why certain posts are targeted facebook relies on a combination of artificial intelligence and human judgment to remove posts deemed offensive violent or otherwise unacceptable to its community standards but precisely how the ultimate call to take down posts pages and groups are made remains unknown and facebook takedowns no matter the improvements to the process the social media behemoth claims to make have been no less controversial or questionable and those whose posts are censored have little if any recourse to argue their case recent examples of headscratchers which led to an international uproar include facebooks removal of the iconic vietnam war photograph of phan th? kim phúc who at just yearsold was captured on film by an associated press photographer fleeing the aftermath of an errant napalm attack near a buddhist pagoda in the village of trang bang that photograph helped cement in the collective american mind the horrors of the war and ultimately fueled the success of the antiwar effort but facebook arbitrarily pulled the image for nudity and proceeded even to ban the page of the conservative prime minister of norway for also posting the image ultimately the social media company reversed course in that case but not before also taking down the equally iconic image of civil rights leader rosa parks arrest but taking down of the image of kim phúc might not have been simply an error of ai since it had been used as a specific example in training the teams responsible for content removal two unnamed former facebook employees told reuters trainers told contentmonitoring staffers that the photo violated facebook policy despite its historical significance because it depicted a naked child in distress photographed without her consent the employees told reuters in the final decision to reverse that censorship facebook head of the community operations division justin osofsky admitted it had been a mistake according to reuters to whom many current and former facebook employees spoke on condition of anonymity the process of judging which posts deserve to be remove and which should be allowed will in certain instances be left to the discretion of a small cadre of the companys elite executives in addition to osofsky global policy chief monika bickert government relations chief joel kaplan vice president for public policy and communications elliot schrage and facebook chief operating officer sheryl sandberg make the final call on censorship and appeals all five studied at harvard and four of them have both undergraduate and graduate degrees from the elite institution all but sandberg hold law degrees three of the executives have longstanding personal ties to sandberg the outlet notes chief executive mark zuckerberg also occasionally offers guidance in difficult decisions but there are others company spokeswoman christine chen explained facebook has a broad diverse and global network involved in content policy and enforcement with different managers and senior executives being pulled in depending on the region and the issue at hand for those on the receiving end of what could only be described as lopsided and inexplicable censorship recourse is generally limited and can be nearly impossible to come by often the nature of posts and pages removed insinuates political motivations on the part of the censors indeed and once again flaring international controversy facebook disabled among others the accounts of editors of quds and shehab new agency prominent palestinian media organizations without explanation or even a specific example given for justification although three of four palestinianfocused accounts were restored facebook refused to comment to either reuters or the accounts owners why the decision was reversed except to say it had been an error in fact although chen and other facebook insiders spoke with reuters directly about contentious content removal policies and procedures many details of the processes remain covert and sorely intransparent to the public who is so often forced to cope with the consequences earlier this year an exposé by gizmodo showing facebooks suppression of conservative outlets via its trending topics section appeared to evidence extreme bias in favor of liberal and corporate media mainstays alternative media too which provides reports counter to the mainstream political and foreign policy paradigm has often been the subject of controversial takedowns censorship and suppressive tactics either directly by facebook or through convoluted algorithms and artificial intelligence bots however considering sheryl sandberg and her loyalists populate the toplevel group deciding the fate for content removal complaints it would appear wikileaks could provide answers for both post censorship and suppression of outlets not vowing complete fealty to the preferred leftleaning narrative in a june email to clinton campaign chair john podesta an enormous cache of whose emails are still being published on a daily basis by wikileaks penned by sandberg in response to condolences on the death of her husband states in part and i still want hrc to win badly i am still here to help as i can she came over and was magical with my kids after a wave of post removals and temporary page bans it appears facebook has begun to come to its senses for what actually violates community standards and what might have political worth contrary to the views of its executives senior members of facebooks policy team recently posted about the laxing of rules governing community standards which though welcome might only provide temporary relief quoted by the wall street journal they wrote in the weeks ahead were going to begin allowing more items that people find newsworthy significant or important to the public interesteven if they might otherwise violate our standards while the social media giant deems itself a technology and not news platform facebook is still the bouncing off point for issues of interest for an overwhelming percentage of its users although it perhaps has some responsibility in regard to the removal of certain content putting censorship in the hands of only a few individuals in certain instances is a chilling reminder of the fragility and grave importance of free speech

Trump aide named to lead White House communications says he won't take job

(Reuters) - Jason Miller, who President-elect Donald Trump announced this week would serve as his White House communications director, said on Saturday he would not take the job. Miller, the communications director for Trump’s transition team, said in a statement that his family needed to take priority over career moves. He said he and his wife were expecting their second daughter in January. Trump takes office on Jan. 20. “This is not the right time to start a new job as demanding as White House communications director,” Miller said. He said his duties would instead be handled by Sean Spicer, who Trump named his press secretary on Thursday, the same day Miller was announced as communications director. Trump also said in that announcement that spokeswoman Hope Hicks would be director of strategic communications.

Two former presidents of Mexico compare Trump to Hitler

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s political rhetoric is “racist,” and evocative of Adolf Hitler, former Mexican President Felipe Calderon told reporters at an event in Mexico City on Saturday. “This logic of praising the white supremacy is not just anti-immigration,” Calderon said. “He is acting and speaking out against immigrants that have a different skin color than he does, it is frankly racist and [he is] exploiting feelings like Hitler did in his time,” Calderon said. Trump has accused Mexico of sending rapists and drug runners across the U.S. border and has said he will make Mexicans pay for a wall on the border. Felipe Calderon was president of Mexico from 2006-12. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox, Calderon’s predecessor, also compared Trump to Hitler in an interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN. “He reminds me of Hitler,” Fox told Cooper on Friday. (Reporting by Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein and Luis Rojas, editing by G Crosse) 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.

AS HILLARY CRASHES AND BURNS… The Dems Look To A Recycled Rich White Guy To Save Their “Diverse, Working Class” Party

Is the world s biggest global warming liar getting ready for a Bush vs Gore re-match?Democrats more and more desperate to find anybody but Hillary Clinton to be their nominee are now looking to Al Gore to save them.That s right. Al Gore.Should Gore toss his hat into the ring and Joe Biden jump in, that would put five old white men against one old white woman for the Democratic Nomination. Not a Hispanic or African-American in the bunch.It s a stark contrast to the GOP field, with a woman, African American, two Latinos and some younger than 60!Gore won the popular vote in 2000, as you may recall from the harping Democrats made for George W. Bush s entire term. According to BuzzFeed, they re getting the old gang together. The senior Democrat and other sources cautioned not to overstate Gore s interest. He has not made any formal or informal moves toward running, or even met with his political advisers about a potential run.Gore who s now probably a billionaire has spent most of his post Vice-President career focusing on causes that cost American jobs like opposing the Keystone XP pipeline.The senior Democrat and other sources cautioned not to overstate Gore s interest. He has not made any formal or informal moves toward running, or even met with his political advisers about a potential run.A member of Gore s inner circle asked to be quoted pouring lukewarm water not, note, cold water on the chatter. This is people talking to people, some of whom may or may not have talked to him, the Gore adviser said.Via: DownTrend

Right-Wing Boogeyman George Soros Pops Out To Scare Conservatives By CALLING OUT Trump

The liberal billionaire donor just called out Donald Trump for being a con artist who threatens democracy.Conservatives fear George Soros. For decades they have painted him as the bad guy who somehow controls the government behind the scenes.It s a right-wing tall tale, of course, meant to scare other conservatives into staying in line rather than using their brains to decide who to vote for.It s not often that Soros speaks out, but when he does it is powerful because his experience as a Jewish child in Nazi-occupied Hungary continues to resonate. I am an 86-year-old Hungarian Jew who became a US citizen after the end of World War II, Soros wrote in an op-ed on Wednesday. I learned at an early age how important it is what kind of political regime prevails. The formative experience of my life was the occupation of Hungary by Hitler s Germany in 1944. I probably would have perished had my father not understood the gravity of the situation. He arranged false identities for his family and for many other Jews; with his help, most survived. Soros story is especially important now as countries across Europe move to the extreme right-wing as white nationalists once again aim to grab absolute power. They ve even managed to grab power in the United States through Donald Trump. And Soros warns that democracy is in danger.I find the current moment in history very painful. Open societies are in crisis, and various forms of closed societies from fascist dictatorships to mafia states are on the rise Democracy is now in crisis. Even the US, the world s leading democracy, elected a con artist and would-be dictator as its president. Although Trump has toned down his rhetoric since he was elected, he has changed neither his behavior nor his advisers. His cabinet comprises incompetent extremists and retired generals.He then predicted what the United States faces under Trump s regime.[T]he US will be preoccupied with internal struggles in the near future, and targeted minorities will suffer. The US will be unable to protect and promote democracy in the rest of the world. On the contrary, Trump will have greater affinity with dictators. That will allow some of them to reach an accommodation with the US, and others to carry on without interference. Trump will prefer making deals to defending principles. Unfortunately, that will be popular with his core constituency.In short, dictators around the world, especially Vladimir Putin, will have more freedom to pursue their evil agendas without being challenged by America. Our leadership on the world stage will be greatly diminished as nations like Russia and China take advantage of Trump s ineptness.America faces a four-year long disaster that could become permanent if Republicans have their way.Of course, conservatives are lashing out at Soros in response because his name is a trigger for them.@georgesoros Jan 20th comes around the search warrant is going to be issued & enjoy Russia & Putin dick in your mouth @realDonaldTrump Jimmy Taouil (@JimmyTaouil) December 28, 2016@georgesoros @OpenSociety happy to see your petulant rant! Hope Trump is the nail in the coffin for your failed socialist globalist NWO pic.twitter.com/8t0fJdKbGo GGIRL (@OurtownU) December 29, 2016@georgesoros Ha! How dare you post anything! You are a criminal,a hater,an enemy of freedom,democracy!! And we in the republic of the USA antony donavan (@donavan_antony) December 25, 2016@georgesoros @OpenSociety Everything George Soros says he means the opposite he s the definition of evil and he s proud of it. Who s Next (@ThomasYarduk) December 29, 2016@georgesoros @OpenSociety Just go to a hospice home, George. We are onto your one world govt plans. #MAGA Jon #MAGA? (@jgriner7) December 29, 2016@georgesoros @OpenSociety Finally Soros will get what he deserves from Trump Admin. Jail for you George. Ben Dover (@BKossucare) December 29, 2016Clearly, Soros hit paranoid conspiracy theory-obsessed conservatives with the truth where it hurts the most so they are now whining about it. Now we only have to wait for Donald trump to throw a tantrum.Featured Image: Wikimedia

Senate to vote on motion to proceed on tax bill: lawmaker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a motion to proceed on a Republican tax bill on Wednesday, a Republican lawmaker said, an action that could allow the chamber to vote on whether to adopt the tax-cut legislation as early as Thursday. “Today we have a pretty good vote, motion to proceed on our tax reform,” Senator Dean Heller, a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, told a news conference. The Senate was due to convene at noon ET (1700 GMT). “I’m going to bet that the motion to proceed passes and we’ll be well on our way to give tax reform to the American people as we move forward,” Heller added.

Senate Democrat presses Trump campaign advisers for Russia contacts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee has asked four foreign policy advisers to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign for documents about their contacts with Russians and discussions about Russia. Senator Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday sent letters to former Trump campaign advisers Carter Page, Sam Clovis, J.D. Gordon, and Walid Phares asking them for a range of materials about their contacts with Russians, as well as with each other and other Trump campaign advisers. Feinstein also asked some of the advisers to turn over any documents they have related to efforts to obtain or share “hacked” emails or other electronic data belonging to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, Clinton herself, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and the Democratic National Committee. She asked Gordon about efforts during the 2016 Republican presidential convention in Cleveland to soften proposed party platform language related to Russia and Ukraine. Convention delegate Diana Denman told Reuters in August 2016 she had proposed platform language urging the United States to provide “lethal defensive weapons” to Ukraine’s armed forces, but that Gordon told her he was going to speak to Trump about her proposal, which was not added to the platform. In an email to Reuters on Wednesday, Gordon said, “I’m always glad to clear up popular misconceptions, myths and blatant falsehoods surrounding all things Trump-Russia, like I’ve already done with other congressional committees. I look forward to a valuable exchange of information with the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well.” In her letter to Phares, Feinstein said she was interested in a meeting that he, Gordon, and Page allegedly held during the Cleveland convention with Sergei Kislyak, then Russia’s ambassador to the United States. An aide to Phares said he maintains that Kislyak “was just one of many foreign diplomats present in the audience at a panel discussion” and that such an event “cannot fairly be described as a meeting with Russian officials.” Feinstein asked Page to turn over documents on trips he took to Russia in July and December 2016. In an email on Wednesday, Page said: “I hope if they can be somewhat reasonable in terms of supporting my efforts to deliver all of this domestic political intelligence to them down in the DC swamp, I’ll be happy to help with this latest tranche of irrelevant Witch Hunt information.” A lawyer for Clovis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.   Feinstein is cooperating with Republican Judiciary Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley on some but not all aspects of the committee’s investigation of Trump-Russia allegations.

ANTI-AMERICAN GEORGE SOROS Locks Arms With NFL Against Trump

We just discovered another reason NOT to support the NFL The man who is the most anti-American person we know is now connected to The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) The NFLPA has recently financially supported a veritable who s who list of far-left organizations, from Planned Parenthood to organizations protesting the deportation of illegal immigrants, among many others. One such recipient is none other than the Open Society Foundation, chaired by billionaire George Soros.2ndVote has found the NFLPA provides financial support to Soros Center for Community Change Action, the social justice arm of the organization, which, according to the Washington Free Beacon, has been involved in direct action against President Donald Trump and Republicans before and after the November elections. The NFLPA has been donating to several far-left and anti-trump causes dating back to at least 2013.Soros has a long history of funding some of the most radical and far-left causes in the United States.He is known to have supported the Occupy Wall Street protests of 2012, the National Resource Defense Council, an Anti-Trump environmental organization, pro-abortion movements including Planned Parenthood, as well as numerous anti-Trump resistance causes.Soros has also funded at least 56 of the Key Partners from the Women s March on Washington, which occurred the day after Trump s inauguration.Despite being touted by the media as a huge, spontaneous groundswell and a grassroots, independent uprising of women, it turns out to be just another well funded and organized operation by the Soros empire.A RECENT REPORT ON SOROS FUNDING OF LEFTIST CAUSES:WOW! AMERICA IS UNDER ATTACK By These 187 Organizations Directly Funded By George SorosSome of the names on this list will shock you Abortion groups, open borders, immigrant groups, groups to change the way we vote, universal health care, climate change, Catholics , Socialists and Communists. Soros actually has a group whose stated goal is to take money from rich Jews and give it to those with less. Considering a video just surfaced yesterday showing George Soros (a Jew) admitting that he helped confiscate property from Jews during WWII, the idea that Soros is funding such a group is not really so stunning.They re all here. 187 groups being used to destroy America, thanks to funding by billionaire George Soros. Here are the groups who are using Trump s election as an excuse to take down America:There have been many articles written about George Soros and his collectivist activism. Soros is a business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author who is of Jewish-Hungarian ancestry and holds dual citizenship. He is chairman of Soros Fund Management. Discover the Networks has published a comprehensive list of organizations funded by Soros and his Open Society Institute.Some of these groups have actively opposed Donald Trump for president and may be part of the recent levels of violence and chaos seen at his rallies. Many of the groups favor: open borders, amnesty, giving illegals voting rights, Muslim migration and social justice.Organizations that, in recent years, have received direct funding and assistance from George Soros and his Open Society Institute (OSI) include the following. (Comprehensive profiles of each are available in the Groups section of DiscoverTheNetworks.org):Advancement Project: This organization works to organize communities of color into politically cohesive units while disseminating its leftist worldviews and values as broadly as possible by way of a sophisticated communications department.Air America Radio: Now defunct, this was a self-identified liberal radio network.All of Us or None: This organization seeks to change voting laws which vary from state to state so as to allow ex-inmates, parolees, and even current inmates to cast their ballots in political elections.Alliance for Justice: Best known for its activism vis a vis the appointment of federal judges, this group consistently depicts Republican judicial nominees as extremists. America Coming Together: Soros played a major role in creating this group, whose purpose was to coordinate and organize pro-Democrat voter-mobilization programs.America Votes: Soros also played a major role in creating this group, whose get-out-the-vote campaigns targeted likely Democratic voters.America s Voice: This open-borders group seeks to promote comprehensive immigration reform that includes a robust agenda in favor of amnesty for illegal aliens.American Bar Association Commission on Immigration Policy: This organization opposes laws that require employers and persons providing education, health care, or other social services to verify citizenship or immigration status. American Bridge 21st Century: This Super PAC conducts opposition research designed to help Democratic political candidates defeat their Republican foes.American Civil Liberties Union: This group opposes virtually all post-9/11 national security measures enacted by the U.S. government. It supports open borders, has rushed to the defense of suspected terrorists and their abettors, and appointed former New Left terrorist Bernardine Dohrn to its Advisory Board.American Constitution Society for Law and Policy: This Washington, DC-based think tank seeks to move American jurisprudence to the left by recruiting, indoctrinating, and mobilizing young law students, helping them acquire positions of power. It also provides leftist Democrats with a bully pulpit from which to denounce their political adversaries.American Family Voices: This group creates and coordinates media campaigns charging Republicans with wrongdoing.American Federation of Teachers: After longtime AFT President Albert Shanker died in in 1997, he was succeeded by Sandra Feldman, who slowly re-branded the union, allying it with some of the most powerful left-wing elements of the New Labor Movement. When Feldman died in 2004, Edward McElroy took her place, followed by Randi Weingarten in 2008. All of them kept the union on the leftward course it had adopted in its post-Shanker period.American Friends Service Committee: This group views the United States as the principal cause of human suffering around the world. As such, it favors America s unilateral disarmament, the dissolution of American borders, amnesty for illegal aliens, the abolition of the death penalty, and the repeal of the Patriot Act.American Immigration Council: This non-profit organization is a prominent member of the open-borders lobby. It advocates expanded rights and amnesty for illegal aliens residing in the U.S. American Immigration Law Foundation: This group supports amnesty for illegal aliens, on whose behalf it litigates against the U.S. government.American Independent News Network: This organization promotes impact journalism that advocates progressive change. American Institute for Social Justice: AISJ s goal is to produce skilled community organizers who can transform poor communities by agitating for increased government spending on city services, drug interdiction, crime prevention, housing, public-sector jobs, access to healthcare, and public schools.American Library Association: This group has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration s War on Terror most particularly, Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, which it calls a present danger to the constitutional rights and privacy rights of library users. The American Prospect, Inc.: This corporation trains and mentors young leftwing journalists, and organizes strategy meetings for leftist leaders. Amnesty International: This organization directs a grossly disproportionate share of its criticism for human rights violations at the United States and Israel.Applied Research Center: Viewing the United States as a nation where structural racism is deeply embedded in the fabric of society, ARC seeks to build a fair and equal society by demanding concrete change from our most powerful institutions. Arab American Institute Foundation: The Arab American Institute denounces the purportedly widespread civil liberties violations directed against Arab Americans in the post-9/11 period, and characterizes Israel as a brutal oppressor of the Palestinian people.Aspen Institute: This organization promotes radical environmentalism and views America as a nation plagued by deep-seated structural racism. Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now: This group conducts voter mobilization drives on behalf of leftist Democrats. These initiatives have been notoriously marred by fraud and corruption.Ballot Initiative Strategy Center: This organization seeks to advance a national progressive strategy by means of ballot measures state-level legislative proposals that pass successfully through a petition ( initiative ) process and are then voted upon by the public.Bill of Rights Defense Committee: This group provides a detailed blueprint for activists interested in getting their local towns, cities, and even college campuses to publicly declare their opposition to the Patriot Act, and to designate themselves Civil Liberties Safe Zones. The organization also came to the defense of self-described radical attorney Lynne Stewart, who was convicted in 2005 of providing material support for terrorism.Black Alliance for Just Immigration: This organization seeks to create a unified movement for social and economic justice centered on black racial identity.Blueprint North Carolina: This group seeks to influence state policy in North Carolina so that residents of the state benefit from more progressive policies such as better access to health care, higher wages, more affordable housing, a safer, cleaner environment, and access to reproductive health services. Brennan Center for Justice: This think tank/legal activist group generates scholarly studies, mounts media campaigns, files amicus briefs, gives pro bono support to activists, and litigates test cases in pursuit of radical change. Brookings Institution: This organization has been involved with a variety of internationalist and state-sponsored programs, including one that aspires to facilitate the establishment of a U.N.-dominated world government. Brookings Fellows have also called for additional global collaboration on trade and banking; the expansion of the Kyoto Protocol; and nationalized health insurance for children. Nine Brookings economists signed a petition opposing President Bush s tax cuts in 2003.Campaign for America s Future: This group supports tax hikes, socialized medicine, and a dramatic expansion of social welfare programs.Campaign for Better Health Care: This organization favors a single-payer, government-run, universal health care system. Campaign for Youth Justice: This organization contends that transferring juveniles to the adult criminal-justice system leads to higher rates of recidivism, puts incarcerated and detained youth at unnecessary risk, has little deterrence value, and does not increase public safety. Campus Progress: A project of the Soros-bankrolled Center for American Progress, this group seeks to strengthen progressive voices on college and university campuses, counter the growing influence of right-wing groups on campus, and empower new generations of progressive leaders. Casa de Maryland: This organization aggressively lobbies legislators to vote in favor of policies that promote expanded rights, including amnesty, for illegal aliens currently residing in the United States.Catalist: This is a for-profit political consultancy that seeks to help progressive organizations realize measurable increases in civic participation and electoral success by building and operating a robust national voter database of every voting-age American. Catholics for Choice: This nominally Catholic organization supports women s right to abortion-on-demand.Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good: This political nonprofit group is dedicated to generating support from the Catholic community for leftwing candidates, causes, and legislation.Center for American Progress: This leftist think tank is headed by former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta, works closely with Hillary Clinton, and employs numerous former Clinton administration staffers. It is committed to developing a long-term vision of a progressive America and providing a forum to generate new progressive ideas and policy proposals. Center for Community Change: This group recruits and trains activists to spearhead leftist political issue campaigns. Promoting increased funding for social welfare programs by bringing attention to major national issues related to poverty, the Center bases its training programs on the techniques taught by the famed radical organizer Saul Alinsky.Center for Constitutional Rights: This pro-Castro organization is a core member of the open borders lobby, has opposed virtually all post-9/11 anti-terrorism measures by the U.S. government, and alleges that American injustice provokes acts of international terrorism.Center for Economic and Policy Research: This group opposed welfare reform, supports living wage laws, rejects tax cuts, and consistently lauds the professed achievements of socialist regimes, most notably Venezuela.Center for Reproductive Rights: CRR s mission is to guarantee safe, affordable contraception and abortion-on-demand for all women, including adolescents. The organization has filed state and federal lawsuits demanding access to taxpayer-funded abortions (through Medicaid) for low-income women.Center for Responsible Lending: This organization was a major player in the subprime mortgage crisis. According to Phil Kerpen (vice president for policy at Americans for Prosperity), CRL sh[ook] down and harass[ed] banks into making bad loans to unqualified borrowers. Moreover, CRL negotiated a contract enabling it to operate as a conduit of high-risk loans to Fannie Mae.Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Reasoning from the premise that tax cuts generally help only the wealthy, this organization advocates greater tax expenditures on social welfare programs for low earners.Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS): Aiming to redistribute wealth by way of higher taxes imposed on those whose incomes are above average, COWS contends that it is important that state government be able to harness fair contribution from all parts of society including corporations and the wealthy. Change America Now: Formed in December 2006, Change America Now describes itself as an independent political organization created to educate citizens on the failed policies of the Republican Congress and to contrast that record of failure with the promise offered by a Democratic agenda. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington: This group litigates and brings ethics charges against government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests and betray the public trust. Almost all of its targets are Republicans.Coalition for an International Criminal Court: This group seeks to subordinate American criminal-justice procedures to those of an international court.Common Cause: This organization aims to bring about campaign-finance reform, pursue media reform resembling the Fairness Doctrine, and cut military budgets in favor of increased social-welfare and environmental spending.Constitution Project: This organization seeks to challenge the legality of military commissions; end the detainment of enemy combatants ; condemn government surveillance of terrorists; and limit the President s executive privileges.Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund: Defenders of Wildlife opposes oil exploration in Alaska s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It condemns logging, ranching, mining, and even the use of recreational motorized vehicles as activities that are destructive to the environment.Democracy Alliance: This self-described liberal organization aims to raise $200 million to develop a funding clearinghouse for leftist groups. Soros is a major donor to this group.Democracy 21: This group is a staunch supporter of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as the McCain-Feingold Act.Democracy Now!: Democracy Now! was created in 1996 by WBAI radio news director Amy Goodman and four partners to provide perspectives rarely heard in the U.S. corporate-sponsored media, i.e., the views of radical and foreign journalists, left and labor activists, and ideological foes of capitalism.Democratic Justice Fund: DJF opposes the Patriot Act and most efforts to restrict or regulate immigration into the United States particularly from countries designated by the State Department as terrorist nations. Democratic Party: Soros funding activities are devoted largely to helping the Democratic Party solidify its power base. In a November 2003 interview, Soros stated that defeating President Bush in 2004 is the central focus of my life a matter of life and death. He pledged to raise $75 million to defeat Bush, and personally donated nearly a third of that amount to anti-Bush organizations. America under Bush, he said, is a danger to the world, and I m willing to put my money where my mouth is. Demos: This organization lobbies federal and state policymakers to addres[s] the economic insecurity and inequality that characterize American society today ; promotes ideas for reducing gaps in wealth, income and political influence ; and favors tax hikes for the wealthy.Drum Major Institute: This group describes itself as a non-partisan, non-profit think tank generating the ideas that fuel the progressive movement, with the ultimate aim of persuading policymakers and opinion-leaders to take steps that advance its vision of social and economic justice. Earthjustice: This group seeks to place severe restrictions on how U.S. land and waterways may be used. It opposes most mining and logging initiatives, commercial fishing businesses, and the use of motorized vehicles in undeveloped areas.Economic Policy Institute: This organization believes that government must play an active role in protecting the economically vulnerable, ensuring equal opportunity, and improving the well-being of all Americans. Electronic Privacy Information Center: This organization has been a harsh critic of the USA PATRIOT Act and has joined the American Civil Liberties Union in litigating two cases calling for the FBI to publicly release or account for thousands of pages of information about the government s use of PATRIOT Act powers. Ella Baker Center for Human Rights: Co-founded by the revolutionary communist Van Jones, this anti-poverty organization claims that decades of disinvestment in our cities compounded by excessive, racist policing and over-incarceration have led to despair and homelessness. EMILY s List: This political network raises money for Democratic female political candidates who support unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.Energy Action Coalition: Founded in 2004, this group describes itself as a coalition of 50 youth-led environmental and social justice groups working together to build the youth clean energy and climate movement. For EAC, this means dismantling oppression according to its principles of environmental justice.Equal Justice USA: This group claims that America s criminal-justice system is plagued by significant race and class biases, and thus seeks to promote major reforms. Fair Immigration Reform Movement: This is the open-borders arm of the Center for Community Change.Faithful America: This organization promotes the redistribution of wealth, an end to enhanced interrogation procedures vis a vis prisoners-of-war, the enactment of policies to combat global warming, and the creation of a government-run heath care system.Feminist Majority: Characterizing the United States as an inherently sexist nation, this group focuses on advancing the legal, social and political equality of women with men, countering the backlash to women s advancement, and recruiting and training young feminists to encourage future leadership for the feminist movement in the United States. Four Freedoms Fund: This organization was designed to serve as a conduit through which large foundations could fund state-based open-borders organizations more flexibly and quickly.Free Exchange on Campus: This organization was created solely to oppose the efforts of one individual, David Horowitz, and his campaign to have universities adopt an Academic Bill of Rights, as well as to denounce Horowitz s 2006 book The Professors. Member organizations of FEC include Campus Progress (a project of the Center for American Progress); the American Association of University Professors; the American Civil Liberties Union; People For the American Way; the United States Student Association; the Center for Campus Free Speech; the American Library Association; Free Press; and the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups.Free Press: This media reform organization has worked closely with many notable leftists and such organizations as Media Matters for America, Air America Radio, Global Exchange, Code Pink, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, the Revolutionary Communist Party, Mother Jones magazine, and Pacifica Radio. Funding Exchange: Dedicated to the concept of philanthropy as a vehicle for social change, this organization pairs leftist donors and foundations with like minded groups and activists who are dedicated to bringing about their own version of progressive change and social justice. Many of these grantees assume that American society is rife with racism, discrimination, exploitation, and inequity and needs to be overhauled via sustained education, activism, and social agitation.Gamaliel Foundation: Modeling its tactics on those of the radical Sixties activist Saul Alinsky, this group takes a strong stand against current homeland security measures and immigration restrictions.Gisha: Center for the Legal Protection of Freedom of Movement: This anti-Israel organization seeks to help Palestinians exercise their right to freedom of movement. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect: This group contends that when a state proves either unable or unwilling to protect civilians from mass atrocities occurring within its borders, it is the responsibility of the international community to intervene peacefully if possible, but with military force if necessary.Global Exchange: Established in 1988 by pro-Castro radical Medea Benjamin, this group consistently condemns America s foreign policy, business practices, and domestic life. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Global Exchange advised Americans to examine the root causes of resentment against the United States in the Arab world from our dependence on Middle Eastern oil to our biased policy towards Israel. Grantmakers Without Borders: GWB tends to be very supportive of leftist environmental, anti-war, and civil rights groups. It is also generally hostile to capitalism, which it deems one of the chief political, economic, and social systems that give rise to a host of social ills. Green For All: This group was created by Van Jones to lobby for federal climate, energy, and economic policy initiatives. Health Care for America Now: This group supports a single payer model where the federal government would be in charge of financing and administering the entire U.S. healthcare system. Human Rights Campaign: The largest lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender lobbying group in the United States, HRC supports political candidates and legislation that will advance the LGBT agenda. Historically, HRC has most vigorously championed HIV/AIDS-related legislation, hate crime laws, the abrogation of the military s Don t Ask, Don t Tell policy, and the legalization of gay marriage.Human Rights First: This group supports open borders and the rights of illegal aliens; charges that the Patriot Act severely erodes Americans civil liberties; has filed amicus curiae briefs on behalf of terror suspect Jose Padilla; and deplores the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities.Human Rights Watch: This group directs a disproportionate share of its criticism at the United States and Israel. It opposes the death penalty in all cases, and supports open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens. I lam: This anti-Israel NGO seeks to develop and empower the Arab media and to give voice to Palestinian issues. Immigrant Defense Project: To advance the cause of illegal immigrants, the IDP provides immigration law backup support and counseling to New York defense attorneys and others who represent or assist immigrants in criminal justice and immigration systems, as well as to immigrants themselves.Immigrant Legal Resource Center: This group claims to have helped gain amnesty for some three million illegal aliens in the U.S., and in the 1980s was part of the sanctuary movement which sought to grant asylum to refugees from the failed Communist states of Central America.Immigrant Workers Citizenship Project: This open-borders organization advocates mass immigration to the U.S. Immigration Advocates Network: This alliance of immigrant-rights groups seeks to increase access to justice for low-income immigrants and strengthen the capacity of organizations serving them. Immigration Policy Center: IPC is an advocate of open borders and contends that the massive influx of illegal immigrants into America is due to U.S. government policy, since the broken immigration system [ ] spurs unauthorized immigration in the first place. Independent Media Center: This Internet-based, news and events bulletin board represents an invariably leftist, anti-capitalist perspective and serves as a mouthpiece for anti-globalization/anti-America themes.Independent Media Institute: IMI administers the SPIN Project (Strategic Press Information Network), which provides leftist organizations with accessible and affordable strategic communications consulting, training, coaching, networking opportunities and concrete tools to help them achieve their social justice goals. Institute for America s Future: IAF supports socialized medicine, increased government funding for education, and the creation of an infrastructure to ensure that the voice of the progressive majority is heard. Institute for New Economic Thinking: Seeking to create a new worldwide economic paradigm, this organization is staffed by numerous individuals who favor government intervention in national economies, and who view capitalism as a flawed system.Institute for Policy Studies: This think tank has long supported Communist and anti-American causes around the world. Viewing capitalism as a breeding ground for unrestrained greed, IPS seeks to provide a corrective to unrestrained markets and individualism. Professing an unquestioning faith in the righteousness of the United Nations, it aims to bring American foreign policy under UN control.Institute for Public Accuracy: This anti-American, anti-capitalist, anti-Israel organization sponsored actor Sean Penn s celebrated visit to Baghdad in 2002. It also sponsored visits to Iraq by Democratic Congressmen Nick Rahall and former Democrat Senator James AbourezkInstitute for Women s Policy Research: This group views the U.S. as a nation rife with discrimination against women, and publishes research to draw attention to this alleged state of affairs. It also advocates unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand, stating that access to abortion is essential to the economic well-being of women and girls. International Crisis Group: One of this organization s leading figures is its Mideast Director, Robert Malley, who was President Bill Clinton s Special Assistant for Arab-Israeli Affairs. His analysis of the Mideast conflict is markedly pro-Palestinian.J Street: This anti-Israel group warns that Israel s choice to take military action to stop Hamas terrorist attacks will prove counter-productive and only deepen the cycle of violence in the region Jewish Funds for Justice: This organization views government intervention and taxpayer funding as crucial components of enlightened social policy. It seeks to redistribute wealth from Jewish donors to low-income communities to combat the root causes of domestic economic and social injustice. By JFJ s reckoning, chief among those root causes are the inherently negative by-products of capitalism most notably racism and gross economic inequality. Joint Victory Campaign 2004: Founded by George Soros and Harold Ickes, this group was a major fundraising entity for Democrats during the 2004 election cycle. It collected contributions (including large amounts from Soros personally) and disbursed them to two other groups, America Coming Together and the Media Fund, which also worked on behalf of Democrats.Justice at Stake: This coalition calls for judges to be appointed by nonpartisan, independent commissions in a process known as merit selection, rather than elected by the voting public.Latino Justice PRLDF: This organization supports bilingual education, the racial gerrymandering of voting districts, and expanded rights for illegal aliens.Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: This group views America as an unremittingly racist nation; uses the courts to mandate race-based affirmative action preferences in business and academia; has filed briefs against the Department of Homeland Security s efforts to limit the wholesale granting of green cards and to identify potential terrorists; condemns the Patriot Act; and calls on Americans to recognize the contribution of illegal aliens.League of United Latin American Citizens: This group views America as a nation plagued by an alarming increase in xenophobia and anti-Hispanic sentiment ; favors racial preferences; supports the legalization of illegal Hispanic aliens; opposes military surveillance of U.S. borders; opposes making English America s official language; favors open borders; and rejects anti-terrorism legislation like the Patriot Act.League of Women Voters Education Fund: The League supports taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; supports motor-voter registration, which allows anyone with a driver s license to become a voter, regardless of citizenship status; and supports tax hikes and socialized medicine.League of Young Voters: This organization seeks to empowe[r] young people nationwide to participate in the democratic process and create progressive political change on the local, state and national level[s]. Lynne Stewart Defense Committee: IRS records indicate that Soros s Open Society Institute made a September 2002 grant of $20,000 to this organization. Stewart was the criminal-defense attorney who was later convicted for abetting her client, the blind sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, in terrorist activities connected with his Islamic Group.Machsom Watch: This organization describes itself as a movement of Israeli women, peace activists from all sectors of Israeli society, who oppose the Israeli occupation and the denial of Palestinians rights to move freely in their land. MADRE: This international women s organization deems America the world s foremost violator of human rights. As such, it seeks to communicat[e] the real-life impact of U.S. policies on women and families confronting violence, poverty and repression around the world, and to demand alternatives to destructive U.S. policies. It also advocates unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.Malcolm X Grassroots Movement: This group views the U.S. as a nation replete with racism and discrimination against blacks; seeks to establish an independent black nation in the southeastern United States; and demands reparations for slavery.Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition: This group calls for the expansion of civil rights and liberties for illegal aliens; laments that illegal aliens in America are commonly subjected to worker exploitation ; supports tuition-assistance programs for illegal aliens attending college; and characterizes the Patriot Act as a very troubling assault on civil liberties.Media Fund: Soros played a major role in creating this group, whose purpose was to conceptualize, produce, and place political ads on television, radio, print, and the Internet.Media Matters for America: This organization is a web-based, not-for-profit progressive research and information center seeking to systematically monitor a cross-section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation. The group works closely with the Soros-backed Center for American Progress, and is heavily funded by Democracy Alliance, of which Soros is a major financier.Mercy Corps: Vis a vis the Arab-Israeli conflict, Mercy Corps places all blame for Palestinian poverty and suffering directly on Israel.Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund: This group advocates open borders, free college tuition for illegal aliens, lowered educational standards to accommodate Hispanics, and voting rights for criminals. In MALDEF s view, supporters of making English the official language of the United States are motivated by racism and anti-immigrant sentiments, while advocates of sanctions against employers reliant on illegal labor seek to discriminate against brown-skinned people. Meyer, Suozzi, English and Klein, PC: This influential defender of Big Labor is headed by Democrat operative Harold Ickes. Midwest Academy: This entity trains radical activists in the tactics of direct action, targeting, confrontation, and intimidation.Migration Policy Institute: This group seeks to create a North America with gradually disappearing border controls with permanent migration remaining at moderate levels. Military Families Speak Out: This group ascribes the U.S. invasion of Iraq to American imperialism and lust for oil.Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment: This group is the re-branded Missouri branch of the now-defunct, pro-socialist, community organization ACORN.MoveOn.org: This Web-based organization supports Democratic political candidates through fundraising, advertising, and get-out-the-vote drives.Ms. Foundation for Women: This group laments what it views as the widespread and enduring flaws of American society: racism, sexism, homophobia, and the violation of civil rights and liberties. It focuses its philanthropy on groups that promote affirmative action for women, unfettered access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand, amnesty for illegal aliens, and big government generally.NARAL Pro-Choice America: This group supports taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand, and works to elect pro-abortion Democrats.NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund: The NAACP supports racial preferences in employment and education, as well as the racial gerrymandering of voting districts. Underpinning its support for race preferences is the fervent belief that white racism in the United States remains an intractable, largely undiminished, phenomenon.The Nation Institute: This nonprofit entity sponsors leftist conferences, fellowships, awards for radical activists, and journalism internships.National Abortion Federation: This group opposes any restrictions on abortion at either the state or federal levels, and champions the introduction of unrestricted abortion into developing regions of the world.National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty: This group was established in 1976 as the first fully staffed national organization exclusively devoted to abolishing capital punishment. National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy: This group depicts the United States as a nation in need of dramatic structural change financed by philanthropic organizations. It overwhelmingly promotes grant-makers and grantees with leftist agendas, while criticizing their conservative counterparts.National Committee for Voting Integrity: This group opposes the implementation of proof of citizenship and photo identification requirements for eligible electors in American elections as the means of assuring election integrity. National Council for Research on Women: This group supports big government, high taxes, military spending cuts, increased social welfare spending, and the unrestricted right to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.National Council of La Raza: This group lobbies for racial preferences, bilingual education, stricter hate-crime laws, mass immigration, and amnesty for illegal aliens.National Council of Women s Organizations: This group views the United States as a nation rife with injustice against girls and women. It advocates high levels of spending for social welfare programs, and supports race and gender preferences for minorities and women in business and academia.National Immigration Forum: Opposing the enforcement of present immigration laws, this organization urges the American government to legalize en masse all illegal aliens currently in the United States who have no criminal records, and to dramatically increase the number of visas available for those wishing to migrate to the U.S. The Forum is particularly committed to opening the borders to unskilled, low-income workers, and immediately making them eligible for welfare and social service programs.National Immigration Law Center: This group seeks to win unrestricted access to government-funded social welfare programs for illegal aliens.National Lawyers Guild: This group promotes open borders; seeks to weaken America s intelligence-gathering agencies; condemns the Patriot Act as an assault on civil liberties; rejects capitalism as an nonviable economic system; has rushed to the defense of convicted terrorists and their abettors; and generally opposes all U.S. foreign policy positions, just as it did during the Cold War when it sided with the Soviets.National Organization for Women: This group advocates the unfettered right to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; seeks to eradicate racism, sexism and homophobia from American society; attacks Christianity and traditional religious values; and supports gender-based preferences for women.National Partnership for Women and Families: This organization supports race- and sex-based preferences in employment and education. It also advocates for the universal right of women to undergo taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand at any stage of pregnancy and for any reason.National Priorities Project: This group supports government-mandated redistribution of wealth through higher taxes and greater expenditures on social welfare programs. NPP exhorts the government to redirect a significant portion of its military funding toward public education, universal health insurance, environmentalist projects, and welfare programs.National Public Radio: Founded in 1970 with 90 public radio stations as charter members, NPR is today a loose network of more than 750 U.S. radio stations across the country, many of which are based on college and university campuses. (source)National Security Archive Fund: This group collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act to a degree that compromises American national security and the safety of intelligence agents.National Women s Law Center: This group supports taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; lobbies against conservative judicial appointees; advocates increased welfare spending to help low-income mothers; and favors higher taxes for the purpose of generating more funds for such government programs as Medicaid, food stamps, welfare, foster care, health care, child-support enforcement, and student loans.Natural Resources Defense Council: One of the most influential environmentalist lobbying groups in the United States, the Council claims a membership of one million people. New America Foundation: This organization uses policy papers, media articles, books, and educational events to influence public opinion on such topics as healthcare, environmentalism, energy policy, the Mideast conflict, global governance, and much more.New Israel Fund: This organization gives support to NGOs that regularly produce reports accusing Israel of human-rights violations and religious persecution.NewsCorpWatch: A project of Media Matters For America, NewsCorpWatch was established with the help of a $1 million George Soros grant to Media Matters.Pacifica Foundation: This entity owns and operates Pacifica Radio, awash from its birth with the socialist-Marxist rhetoric of class warfare and hatred for capitalism.Peace and Security Funders Group: This is an association of more than 60 foundations that give money to leftist anti-war and environmentalist causes. Its members tend to depict America as the world s chief source of international conflict, environmental destruction, and economic inequalities.Peace Development Fund: In PDF s calculus, the United States needs a massive overhaul of its social and economic institutions. Recently, explains PDF, we have witnessed the negative effects of neo-liberalism and the globalization of capitalism, the de-industrialization of the U.S. and the growing gap between the rich and poor People for the American Way: This group opposes the Patriot Act, anti-terrorism measures generally, and the allegedly growing influence of the religious right. People Improving Communities Through Organizing: This group uses Alinsky-style organizing tactics to advance the doctrines of the religious left.Physicians for Human Rights: This group is selectively and disproportionately critical of the United States and Israel in its condemnations of human rights violations.Physicians for Social Responsibility: This is an anti-U.S.-military organization that also embraces the tenets of radical environmentalism.Planned Parenthood: This group is the largest abortion provider in the United States and advocates taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.Ploughshares Fund: This public grant making foundation opposes America s development of a missile defense system, and contributes to many organizations that are highly critical of U.S. foreign policies and military ventures.Prepare New York: This group supported the proposed construction of a Muslim Community Center near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan a project known as the Cordoba Initiative, headed by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.Presidential Climate Action Project: PCAP s mission is to create a new 21st-century economy, completely carbon-free and based largely on renewable energy. A key advisor to the organization is the revolutionary communist Van Jones.Prison Moratorium Project: This initiative was created in 1995 for the express purpose of working for the elimination of all prisons in the United States and the release of all inmates. Reasoning from the premise that incarceration is never an appropriate means of dealing with crime, it deems American society s inherent inequities the root of all criminal behavior.Progressive Change Campaign Committee: This organization works to elect bold progressive candidates to federal office and to help [them] and their campaigns save money, work smarter, and win more often. Progressive States Network: PSN s mission is to pass progressive legislation in all fifty states by providing coordinated research and strategic advocacy tools to forward-thinking state legislators. Project Vote: This is the voter-mobilization arm of the Soros-funded ACORN. A persistent pattern of lawlessness and corruption has followed ACORN/Project Vote activities over the years. Pro Publica: Claiming that investigative journalism is at risk, this group aims to remedy this lacuna in news publishing by expos[ing] abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing. Proteus Fund: This foundation directs its philanthropy toward a number of radical leftwing organizations.Public Citizen Foundation: Public Citizen seeks increased government intervention and litigation against corporations a practice founded on the notion that American corporations, like the capitalist system of which they are a part, are inherently inclined toward corruption.Public Justice Center: Viewing America as a nation rife with injustice and discrimination, this organization engages in legislative and policy advocacy to promote systemic change for the disenfranchised. Rebuild and Renew America Now (a.k.a. Unity 09): Spearheaded by MoveOn.org and overseen by longtime activist Heather Booth, this coalition was formed to facilitate the passage of President Obama s historic $3.5 trillion budget for fiscal year 2010. Res Publica: Seeking to advance far-left agendas in places all around the world, RP specializes in E-advocacy, or web-based movement-building.Secretary of State Project: This project was launched in July 2006 as an independent 527 organization devoted to helping Democrats get elected to the office of Secretary of State in selected swing, or battleground, states.Sentencing Project: Asserting that prison-sentencing patterns are racially discriminatory, this initiative advocates voting rights for felons.Social Justice Leadership: This organization seeks to transform an allegedly inequitable America into a just society by means of a renewed social-justice movement. Shadow Democratic Party: This is an elaborate network of non-profit activist groups organized by George Soros and others to mobilize resources money, get-out-the-vote drives, campaign advertising, and policy initiatives to elect Democratic candidates and guide the Democratic Party towards the left.Sojourners: This evangelical Christian ministry preaches radical left-wing politics. During the 1980s it championed Communist revolution in Central America and chastised U.S. policy-makers for their tendency to assume the very worst about their Soviet counterparts. More recently, Sojourners has taken up the cause of environmental activism, opposed welfare reform as a mean-spirited Republican agenda, and mounted a defense of affirmative action.Southern Poverty Law Center: This organization monitors the activities of what it calls hate groups in the United States. It exaggerates the prevalence of white racism directed against American minorities.State Voices: This coalition helps independent local activist groups in 22 states work collaboratively on a year-round basis, so as to maximize the impact of their efforts.Talking Transition: This was a two-week project launched in early November 2013 to help shape the transition to City Hall for the newly elected Democratic mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio.Think Progress: This Internet blog pushes back, daily, by its own account, against its conservative targets, and seeks to transform progressive ideas into policy through rapid response communications, legislative action, grassroots organizing and advocacy, and partnerships with other progressive leaders throughout the country and the world. Thunder Road Group: This political consultancy, in whose creation Soros had a hand, coordinates strategy for the Media Fund, America Coming Together, and America Votes. Tides Foundation and Tides Center: Tides is a major funder of the radical Left.U.S. Public Interest Research Group: This is an umbrella organization of student groups that support leftist agendas.Universal Healthcare Action Network: This organization supports a single-payer health care system controlled by the federal government.Urban Institute: This research organization favors socialized medicine, expansion of the federal welfare bureaucracy, and tax hikes for higher income-earners.USAction Education Fund: USAction lists its priorities as: fighting the right wing agenda ; building grassroots political power ; winning social, racial and economic justice for all ; supporting a system of taxpayer-funded socialized medicine; reversing reckless tax cuts for millionaires and corporations which shield the wealthy from paying their fair share ; advocating for pro-consumer and environmental regulation of corporate abuse ; strengthening progressive voices on local, state and national issues ; and working to register, educate and get out the vote [to] help progressives get elected at all levels of government. Voto Latino: This group seeks to mobilize Latin-Americans to become registered voters and political activists.We Are America Alliance: This coalition promotes increased civic participation by immigrants in the American political process.Working Families Party: An outgrowth of the socialist New Party, WFP seeks to help push the Democratic Party toward the left.World Organization Against Torture: This coalition works closely with groups that condemn Israeli security measures against Palestinian terrorism.YWCA World Office, Switzerland: The YWCA opposes abstinence education; supports universal access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; and opposes school vouchers. Secondary or Indirect Affiliates of the George Soros NetworkIn addition to those organizations that are funded directly by George Soros and his Open Society Institute (OSI), there are also numerous secondary or indirect affiliates of the Soros network. These include organizations which do not receive direct funding from Soros and OSI, but which are funded by one or more organizations that do. -Dr. Rich SwierFor the entire list of secondary groups affiliated with George Soros, go HERE

Russia regrets U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO, says important projects may suffer

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia s foreign ministry said on Thursday it regrets the decision by the U.S. leadership to quit UNESCO, adding the move would disrupt a number of important projects planned by the United Nation s cultural and educational agency. We share the concern by many countries that the activity of UNESCO has been too politicized lately, the ministry said in a statement. We hope the new director general will spare no effort to change the current situation and focus on exclusively humanitarian issues, which would allow us to continue beneficial cooperation in UNESCO s fields of competence with all countries, including the United States.

WATCH: Arnold Schwarzenegger Just BURNED Trump Over ‘The Apprentice,’ And It Is GOLDEN

Back in February, Donald Trump decided he was going to use the White House prayer breakfast to slam Arnold Schwarzenegger and The Apprentice, because the show s ratings had tumbled and there can be only one reason for that His Trumpificence was no longer on the show. Trump asked everyone to pray for Schwarzenegger and his ratings, which he no doubt thought would get under the Terminator s skin.He couldn t have been more wrong. Van Jones just asked Schwarzenegger about this jab on his show, The Messy Truth. What Schwarzenegger had to say is absolute gold: It gave me an opportunity to go and shoot back and say, you know, that the show didn t do well because, you know, one-third of the audience left, because they boycotted the show because you re the executive producer, Donald Trump! He went on to say that, if Trump had just been open and honest and told everyone from the get-go that he was the executive producer, they d have had really great ratings!He also took the opportunity to poke Trump over his unconscionably thin skin, saying: I have thick skin. This doesn t bother me at all. Trump would have thrown a livid fit if their positions were reversed, but fortunately, they weren t. Watch below:Schwarzenegger on Trump s prayer breakfast speech: I have thick skin. This doesn t bother me at all #TheMessyTruth https://t.co/zRpz0CXdjU CNN (@CNN) April 6, 2017Featured image via screen capture from embedded video

Under pressure, PM May says she can steer Britain through Brexit

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Apologizing for losing her Conservative Party s majority at a June election, Prime Minister Theresa May responded to her critics on Sunday by saying she had the right strategy to lead Britain and win a Brexit deal. May, who has faced calls from within her party to step down, wants to use the Conservatives annual conference in the northern English city of Manchester this week to try to reset her agenda, offering money to students and those people she once described as just about managing in Britain. In an interview with BBC television, she dismissed talk of rifts among top ministers, saying they were united on their program and more importantly Brexit. That came a day after foreign minister Boris Johnson, perhaps May s biggest rival, set out four personal red lines in the complex talks with the EU. But with thousands of protesters just outside the conference center gates demanding Britain stay in the European Union, May has a long way to go to unite not only her governing party, but also the country after last year s divisive referendum vote. We ve listened to the message that came from that (June) election. But I ve been very clear, I called the election, I led the campaign, I take my responsibility and I m sorry that some very good members of parliament lost their seats, May said in an appeal to those party members still angry over the vote. What I have is a cabinet that is united in the mission of this government ... and agreed on the approach that we took in Florence, May said about a speech she made in Italy last month to try to kick-start Brexit talks that had all but stalled. Boris is absolutely behind the Florence speech and the line that we have taken. Arriving at the conference, Johnson was quick to say he was loyal to the prime minister. But he has yet to comment further on his four red lines, which include a transition period of no longer than two years, that he set out on the eve of the conference in what his critics said was a clear move to pressure May. Minster after minister appealed for unity from a party deeply disillusioned by the June election, with several saying the only way to win back voters was to challenge the growing appeal of the main opposition Labour Party directly. I think one of the problems we have at the moment and what kind of rankles with me a little bit is that we have got to stop talking about the party, trade minister Liam Fox told an event. The party needs to stop talking about the party and start talking more about the country. Following a bullish Labour conference last week, May hopes to fire up thousands of Conservative party members who feel let down by a disastrous election campaign, when their leader was dubbed by critics the Maybot for her repetition of slogans. May is now dependent on a small Northern Irish party for a majority in parliament, and opinion polls indicate Labour is a growing threat, persuading rivals in the party not to try to topple her quite yet. On her 61st birthday, she unveiled new policies to extend a program to help people buy their own homes and to freeze student tuition fees to try to win back younger people, who have flocked to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. She offered Brexit supporters a promise that she would walk away if she could not get a good deal, saying the government was working on plans for a no deal ; and tried to keep pro-EU campaigners onside by saying she wanted an agreement. May s ally and effective deputy Damian Green said he was confident she could lead the Conservatives into the next election in 2022 and criticized those fuelling leadership speculation that hampers a job not just for the party but more importantly for the government and the country . But May has a long way to go to win over doubters. If you run any organization ... and something goes monumentally wrong, as did the election ... then the buck does have to stop with that individual, said Grant Shapps, former Conservative Party chairman. The reality is, every serious person knows, of course she can t lead us into the next election.

Watch Live: #BenShapiro Speaks As #Berkeley Antifa Protests [Video]

What happened to free speech? The left is trying to crush it with the violent Antifa movement. Ben Shapiro is a 33-year old conservative who has every right to speak. Watch live-the speech was scheduled to happen at 7:00 PST California time (running a little late):S.E. Cupp interviewed Shapiro about the upcoming speech and how some students need counseling honestly!Here s what was going on up to the time of the speech: Conservative Jew Ben Shapiro is making an appearance on the UC Berkeley campus to discuss free speech and how to help reduce the violence and open dialogue between Americans with opposing views. Meanwhile, the left has been busy preparing to show how they re not interested in any views but their own.We ll be keeping you updated throughout the night on the activities at UC Berkeley tonight. Stay tuned VIDEO: lot of anger & tension on the @UCBerkeley campus today, ahead of tonight's speech by @benshapiro. Chalk graffiti will "welcome" him pic.twitter.com/rG4wnuuyjw Doug Sovern (@SovernNation) September 14, 2017In the video below, Ben implores activists, most especially Antifa, to stop using violence as a way to shut down free speech and to possibly open up their minds to other people s points of view:"I know I've been working out, but I don't really think I'm that threatening." #BenAtBerkeley pic.twitter.com/cEAOBevDPO Devin Sena (@DevinSenaUI) September 14, 2017Ben Shapiro has quite a few supporters on social media, who, although they may not agree with everything he says, (present company included) still believe he has the right to express his opinions in a public forum without having to fear for his life. Hurricane shapiro has made landfall and prepares to melt the glacier of snowflakes at Berkeley. #BenAtBerkeley (@JustinShadel) September 14, 2017Young Americans for Freedom on Campus or YAF, posted signs around the campus imploring intolerant liberals to not use hate and violence as a way to take away Ben Shapiro s right to free speech. Some helpful @yaf advice for liberals attending tonight's @benshapiro lecture #BenAtBerkeley #YAFonCampus pic.twitter.com/gNCRAUX2Np Patrick X Coyle (@PatrickXCoyle) September 14, 2017Businesses aren t taking any chances this time around, after witnessing riots and the violence perpetrated by Antifa and Democrat students at Berkeley last year, when gay conservative Milo Yiannopoulos attempted to deliver a speech on the campus of UC Berkeley. Signs have been posted explaining that they have closed early for the safety of their staff and customers.A lot of stores around @UCBerkeley are closing early today, and boarding up, as a precaution during #BenAtBerkeley @benshapiro pic.twitter.com/7ukSbhp7xQ Doug Sovern (@SovernNation) September 14, 2017ATM s owned by Bank of America are being boarded up, so they ll be protected in the case of a riot on campus.VIDEO: B of A boarding up its ATMs on Telegraph Avenue next to @UCBerkeley, fearing violence during #BenAtBerkeley @benshapiro pic.twitter.com/Pn1PRg7Rh5 Doug Sovern (@SovernNation) September 14, 2017Here are some of the classy signs posted around campus by YAF on Campus defending our First Amendment Right: Leftists call @benshapiro a white supremacist. @yaf has a response. #benatberkeley #yafoncampus pic.twitter.com/I2HkFqkBFR Amy Lutz (@amylutz4) September 14, 2017

Hillary Is Asked What Will Happen If Trump Becomes President, She Responds For ALL OF US (VIDEO)

Hillary Clinton, currently leading the race to become the Democratic candidate for President in Election 2016, made an appearance on The View this week. She was asked what it will mean for women if the GOP wins this year, and her answer was perfect.Hillary was poised on the couch with the women of The View, when co-host Joy Behr got real with the candidate over a growing issue with the GOP campaign: their despicable attitudes and policies around women. Behr begins, Women seem to be under fire right now more than ever. She then goes on to list a number of worrying events coming out during the GOP primary race. She includes the slut-shaming attacks made by Ted Cruz and Donald Trump against each other s wives, all three GOP candidates being in favor of a total ban on abortion (even in cases of incest and rape), and a female reporter even being thrown by by Trump s campaign manager. It s frightening, she says What do you think will happen to women if a Republican gets in the if Trump wins, god forbid? She added: What s gonna happen to us? Hillary takes a pause to consider her answer, but when it lands, she really nails it. Instead of joining the ever escalating war of insults which is what the GOP race has reduced to Hillary Clinton stays classy, and gets to the heart of the issue facing America right now. He has insulted everybody and he has demeaned everybody, Clinton says, running us through a grim reminder of various individuals and groups that the GOP and Trump have taken aim at over the months. I don t think the vast majority of Americans let s hope want to reward that hateful behavior. This is the core of the issue for the vote in 2016, what do we want to reward as an electorate? Which America is going to win in 2016? The hopeful progressive version that brought us so far in the world, or the scared, envious, divided America that will lose it s way in a fast-moving world bent on progress? It s difficult to recall a time where an election where so much was at stake, and our votes counted to much. Featured image via screencapture

Britain's Boris Johnson wants maximum two-year Brexit transition

LONDON (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said a transition period from the European Union after Britain s exit from the bloc in March 2019 must not last more than two years. In an interview with The Sun newspaper on Saturday, on the eve of the governing Conservative Party s annual conference, Johnson detailed four red lines for Brexit that appear to go beyond the agreed position of Prime Minister Theresa May s cabinet. In addition to a two-year maximum transition, he said the UK should not accept new EU or European Court of Justice rulings during transition, must not make payments for single market access when the transition ends, and should not agree to shadow EU regulations to gain access. Johnson also again strayed from his Foreign Office brief. He said Britain s current national minimum wage of 7.50 pounds an hour, rising to 9 pounds by 2020, was not enough , and called for public sector employees to get a pay rise, funded by layoffs. But he told the newspaper speculation about his leadership intentions had been massively overdone. Am I impatient about it (Brexit), do I want to get it done as fast as possible? Yes, absolutely. Do I want the delay to go on longer than two years? Not a second more, Johnson was quoted as saying in the tabloid newspaper. Some of Johnson s cabinet colleagues recently accused him of backseat driving on Brexit after setting out his vision for the UK s future outside the EU in a 4,300-word newspaper article just days before a key speech by the prime minister. In her speech in the Italian city of Florence on Sept. 22 May outlined a transition period of around two years of trading on the same terms, but no payments for single market access. The crucial thing I want to get over to Sun readers about Brexit is that it is going to be great and we need to believe in ourselves and believe we can do it. It is unstoppable, Johnson said in the article on Saturday. However, in an interview with The Times newspaper, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said that over optimism about Britain s future outside the EU sells people short and called for serious people to take charge of Brexit. At the Conservative party conference in Manchester, May will set out plans to build a road to a better future for Britain, hoping to head off a rebellion over her handling of Brexit and her poor showing in the June election.

Exclusive: U.S. suspends aid to Somalia's battered military over graft

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The United States is suspending food and fuel aid for most of Somalia s armed forces over corruption concerns, a blow to the military as African peacekeepers start to withdraw this month. African Union (AU) troops landed in Mogadishu a decade ago to fight al Shabaab Islamist militants and Somali forces are supposed to eventually take over their duties. But the United States, which also funds the 22,000-strong peacekeeping force, has grown frustrated that successive governments have failed to build a viable national army. Diplomats worry that without strong Somali forces, al Shabaab could be reinvigorated, destabilize the region and offer a safe haven to other al Qaeda-linked militants or Islamic State fighters. The U.S. suspension of aid came after the Somali military repeatedly failed to account for food and fuel, according to private correspondence between the U.S. and Somali governments seen by Reuters. During recent discussions between the United States and the Federal Government of Somalia, both sides agreed that the Somali National Army had failed to meet the standards for accountability for U.S. assistance, a State Department official told Reuters last week, on condition of anonymity. We are adjusting U.S. assistance to SNA units, with the exception of units receiving some form of mentorship, to ensure that U.S. assistance is being used effectively and for its intended purpose, the official said. The U.S. suspension comes at a sensitive time. The AU force - with troops from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda - is scheduled to leave by 2020. The first 1,000 soldiers will go by the end of 2017. The State Department official said Washington would continue to support small, Somali special forces units mentored by U.S. personnel and would work with the Somali government to agree criteria that could restore support to other units. It is true that some concerns have been raised on how support was utilized and distributed. The federal government is working to address these, Somali Minister of Defence Mohamed Mursal told Reuters. Documents sent from the U.S. Mission to Somalia to the Somali government show U.S. officials are increasingly frustrated that the military is unable to account for its aid. The documents paint a stark picture of a military hollowed out by corruption, unable to feed, pay or arm its soldiers - despite hundreds of millions of dollars of support. Between May and June, a team of U.S. and Somali officials visited nine army bases to assess whether the men were receiving food the United States provides for 5,000 soldiers. We did not find the expected large quantities of food at any location ... there was no evidence of consumption (except at two bases), the U.S. team wrote to the Somali government. At one base, less than a fifth of the soldiers listed by Somali commanders were present. The best-staffed base had 160 soldiers out of 550. Only 60 had weapons. Many appeared to be wearing brand new uniforms. This implied they were assembled merely to improve appearances, the letter, seen by Reuters, said. An ongoing assessment of the Somali military this year by the Somali government, African Union and United Nations drew similar conclusions. The joint report seen by Reuters said many soldiers lacked guns, uniforms, food, vehicles or tents. Troops relied on support from AU forces or local militias to survive. The SNA is a fragile force with extremely weak command and control, the report said. They are incapable of conducting effective operations or sustaining themselves. Most units don t have radios, leaving soldiers to rely on runners to get help when mobile networks go down, the report said. Troops lacked paper to write reports, toilets, boots and medical equipment such as tourniquets. Many slept under trees. SNA units were at 62 percent of their authorized strength on average. Only 70 percent of them had weapons, the report said. Although the report was deeply critical, diplomats praised the government for trying to quantify the scope of the problem. The government deserves massive praise for doing it and being willing to talk about it, Michael Keating, the U.N. s top official in Somalia, told Reuters. The United States also suspended a program paying soldiers $100 monthly stipends in June after the federal government refused to share responsibility for receiving the payments with regional forces fighting al Shabaab. Washington has spent $66 million on stipends over the past seven years but has halted the program several times, concerned the money was not going to frontline soldiers. One Somali document seen by Reuters showed members of a 259-strong ceremonial brass band were receiving stipends this year meant for soldiers fighting militants. The State Department s watchdog said in a report published in October there were insufficient checks on the program and U.S. stipends could fund forces that commit abuses - or even support insurgents. Officially, Somalia s military is 26,000 strong, but the payroll is stuffed with ghost soldiers, pensioners and the dead, whose families may be receiving their payments, diplomats say. Intermittent payments from the government have forced many active soldiers to sell their weapons, ammunition or seek other work - practices the U.S. stipends were designed to curb. Washington has whittled down the number of troops it pays to 8,000 from over 10,000 but there is still no reliable payroll, said a Mogadishu-based security expert. Defence Minister Mursal said the United Nations is creating a biometric database and plans to help the Somali government make cash payments directly to soldiers via mobile phones. The new government will also set up a separate system for widows, orphans, and the wounded so the payroll would adequately represent military strength, he said. The weakness of Somali forces has deadly consequences. The insurgency is striking with ever larger and more deadly attacks in the capital Mogadishu and major towns. A truck bomb killed more than 500 people in October and a suicide bomber killed at least 18 at a police academy on Thursday. Yusuf, a 35-year-old Somali soldier stationed near the Indian Ocean port of Kismayu, knows what it s like to depend on local militias and AU forces to stay alive. On Sept. 26, insurgents attacked his base at Bula Gadud, killing 15 colleagues and wounding scores more before the local Jubaland militia and AU peacekeepers saved them. We lost several key members in that battle especially my close friend, he told Reuters. We tried to retreat ... after using all the ammunition we had. A senior Somali security source said when the attack happened, the battalion of more than 1,000 soldiers had only been issued 300 guns. Defence Minister Mursal said the Somali troops at Bulagadud have since been sent more weapons. Somalia s national security plan calls for a military of 18,000 soldiers, funded by the central government and operating country-wide. Getting there will be hard. Security experts say the military is dominated by a powerful clan, the Hawiye, which would be reluctant to lose control of the lucrative security assistance revenue stream. Many regional governments within Somalia already see the Hawiye-dominated federal forces as rivals rather than allies. The government s ability to push reforms depends on balancing demands from federal member states, lawmakers, clan leaders and international partners, the U.N. s Keating said. It s going to take a long time and its going to run into massive clan resistance, he said. Some clans are very dominant in the security forces. Somalia s partners also need to get serious and coordinate better, said Matt Bryden of the think-tank Sahan Research. According to Sahan, donors - including the EU, AU, Turkey and Uganda - have trained more than 80,000 Somali soldiers since 2004. Bryden said records are so poor it was not clear if many had taken multiple courses, or just quit afterwards. It s like sand through your fingers where are they all?

the sleep of separateness

comments on crosstalk on us election criminal in chief uncle bob today pm the clinton foundation clinton crime cartel said today ooopswe forgot about the million dollars qatar gave us for bill clintons birthday my gosh if only i got birthday gifts like thatlol according to the agreement between the regime and hillary clinton while she was sos all funds given to them from foreign donors had to be cleared by the state department wikileaks exposed the gift a while back and now they are forced to admit it and figure out a way to excuse it reply share uncle bob today pm to the uss eternal shame we now have the choice for president between the smut talking clown trump and the criminal warmonger clintoni dont really care too much about trumps antics but i have kidsand friendsi dont want dying in neocon warsso the choice is totally clear for me im hoping trump wins though im not holding my breath over that hope reply share

Creditors sue to block Puerto Rico development bank withdrawals

SAN JUAN (Reuters) - Creditors of Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank on Monday sued to stop it from distributing money to creditors in what they call “preferential transfers” ahead of the GDB’s May 1 debt payment that Puerto Rico’s governor says may not be payable. Hedge funds including Brigade Capital Management and Claren Road Asset Management, which hold some of GDB’s $3.75 billion in debt, asked a federal court in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to bar municipalities, public entities and other depositors from removing their money, to prevent a run on the bank. The lawsuit is the latest sign of an increasingly urgent financial crisis in Puerto Rico, which has $70 billion in total debt, a 45 percent poverty rate and a shrinking population. Puerto Rico’s governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, has said the GDB is near insolvency, and is considering a moratorium on debt payments. The GDB has a payment due on May 1 of approximately $422 million. The island, as a whole, faces a July 1 payment of $1.55 billion on various debt classes. The GDB and its creditors are in the midst of restructuring talks that could lead to a forbearance agreement or debt restructuring. Monday’s lawsuit was filed to give those talks time to evolve without a fear of a run on the bank, said Donald Bernstein, a lawyer for the creditors. “GDB needs to be able to fund essential services, but to the extent money is being pulled out by people who want to bail out of the situation at the expense of other creditors, that shouldn’t happen,” Bernstein said in an interview. GDB acts as the commonwealth’s main liquidity source, with public agencies drawing on accounts to fund services and pay their own debt. GDP President Melba Acosta Febo said the central claim of the lawsuit, that the bank withheld financial information in order to prefer certain depositors over its bondholders, is false and not based in fact. “Although the specific allegations set forth in the lawsuit are erroneous, it is clear that our creditors agree with us on one thing: Puerto Rico’s fiscal situation is dismal, the Island’s debt is unpayable, and the need for a federal restructuring regime to help the Commonwealth on the road to recovery is acute,” Acosta said in a statement. A default at the GDB could allow creditors to seek the appointment of a receiver, a process that would be triggered by Puerto Rico’s treasury secretary, Juan Zaragoza. Zaragoza last week resigned his membership on GDB’s board of directors, which a source close to the restructuring talks at GDB told Reuters was done to avoid a conflict of interest in the event he must appoint a receiver. The same source said the island’s treasury department is not considering removing money from GDB, but is considering opening new accounts at other banks in the event GDB becomes insolvent.

WATCH: Huckabee Flips Out As Voter Confronts Him Over Support For Duggar Child Abuse (VIDEO)

GOP Presidential candidate and religious right poster boy Mike Huckabee was confronted over his relationship with the Duggar family and decided to browbeat an Iowa voter for pointing out his dysfunctional relationship.The voter asked Huckabee why he announced support for the Duggar family, pointing out he propped up child abuse and the subsequent cover up of that abuse while attaching himself to Josh Duggar, who molested five girls. The Duggars have been influential with the religious right, a key constituency of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee s support base.In response Huckabee melted down, accusing the woman of making a scene and getting her facts about the case.Huckabee yelled at the woman and insisted that because he had known the Duggar children since they were babies she had no right to speak out about how the Duggar family patriarch, Jim Bob Duggar, had avoided reporting his son s abuse towards young children.But the voter was right. Huckabee had backed the Duggars.When the revelations about Duggar came out, Huckabee announced he was still backing the Duggar clan.Janet and I want to affirm our support for the Duggar family. Josh s actions when he was an underage teen are as he described them himself, inexcusable, but that doesn t mean unforgivable. He and his family dealt with it and were honest and open about it with the victims and the authorities. No purpose whatsoever is served by those who are now trying to discredit Josh or his family by sensationalizing the story. Good people make mistakes and do regrettable and even disgusting things.Yet as the campaign heated up and media scrutiny increased, Huckabee apparently felt the heat and scrubbed his campaign website of material showing the Duggar connection.So far Huckabee has been able to capture the magic of his 2008 campaign when he won the Iowa caucuses. He has been unable to qualify for the top-tier debates and currently polls at an average of 2% among Republicans. In all likelihood Huckabee will return to the lucrative world of being a Fox News pundit and cranking out history propaganda videos targeted at impressionable children.Featured image via YouTube

Senate revokes Obama federal land-planning rule

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday revoked a rule that aimed to give the public more input into federal land management decisions, the latest move by the Republican-led Congress to undo Obama administration environmental regulations it sees as a burden. The Senate voted 51-48 to approve a resolution to repeal the Bureau of Land Management’s Resource Management Planning rule, known as BLM 2.0, finalized in December by the Obama administration. The rule updated the 30-year process the agency followed when developing land-use plans across the 245 million acres of federal land it manages. Senators who voted to revoke the rule, such as Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said it diluted local authority over decisions about how to use land for grazing, energy and mineral development and recreation, and gave outside voices an outsized say in local matters. Supporters, such as the energy committee’s top Democrat, Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, said the rule modernized the existing BLM process to make it more transparent. “When it comes to public lands, we want transparency, we want sunshine, we want a bottom-up approach when it comes to land management,” Cantwell said. Republicans have taken advantage of a seldom-used law known as the Congressional Review Act to overturn the BLM 2.0 rule as well as other recently enacted regulations with simple majorities in both chambers, denying senators the opportunity to filibuster and stall a vote. Last month, Republicans repealed a securities disclosure rule aimed at curbing corruption at energy and mining companies and voted to ax methane emissions limits on drilling operations using the CRA. Some conservation groups said using the CRA to revoke the measure was a “knee-jerk” and unnecessary measure, and that the land planning rule could have been revised by the BLM. “I struggle to understand why they would waste their time trying to strike down this rule and why not let the administration fix the rule,” said Phil Hanceford of the Wilderness Society.

MELANIA RESPONDS To Ivana’s Claim That SHE’S Really The ‘First Lady’ [Video]

Meeeeoowwww The comments below by Ivana Trump were totally out of line and rude. Ivana is promoting her new book but it s only a turn-off when she behaves like this to Melania. Who wants to support anything this snarky woman promotes? The rude comments go on and on First Lady Melania Trump wasted no time in responding. We give her credit she called it exactly what it was: attention-seeking and self-serving noise Ivana Trump said she should be considered the first lady because she was President Trump s first wife, prompting a stinging rebuke from third wife and current first lady Melania Trump that the remark was attention-seeking and self-serving noise. Ivana, the mother of Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric, said she has a line to the White House but tries not to call Trump too often because it makes Melania Trump jealous Ouch!Ivana Trump to @arobach: I don't like to call POTUS at the White House: "I don't want to cause any kind of jealousy" https://t.co/SiTlUUDX2S pic.twitter.com/nyvSj3Wk9O Good Morning America (@GMA) October 9, 2017THE FACT THAT IVANA THINKS SHE WOULD CAUSE ANY JEALOUSY IS LAUGHABLE! I have the direct number to White House, but I no really want to call him there because Melania is there, Ivana told ABC s Good Morning America during an interview on Monday. I don t want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that because I m basically first Trump wife. MELANIA WASTED NO TIME RESPONDING: Mrs. Trump has made the White House a home for Barron and the President. She loves living in Washington, DC, and is honored by her role as first lady of the United States. She plans to use her title and role to help children, not sell books, spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement to CNN. There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex, this is unfortunately only attention-seeking and self-serving noise. Ivana Trump, 68, who married Donald Trump in 1977 and divorced him in 1992, has been making the rounds of talk shows to promote her memoir, Raising Trump, which was published on Tuesday.WHAT A B*TCH! IVANA THINKS IT MUST BE TERRIBLE FOR MELANIA TO BE IN WASHINGTONDespite her comment that she should could carry the mantle of first lady, Ivana Trump said she really wouldn t be happy in the White House and wouldn t be willing to change places with Melania. I think for her to be in Washington must be terrible, Ivana Trump said. It s better her than me. I would hate Washington. IVANA TAKES A SHOT AT MELANIA!But then she took a veiled shot at the first lady s White House role. Would I straighten up the White House in 14 days? Absolutely. Can I give the speech for 45 minutes without [a] teleprompter? Absolutely. Can I read a contract? Can I negotiate? Can I entertain? Absolutely. But I would not really like to be there. I like my freedom, she said.Ivana also takes full credit for raising their three children because he was on the telephone making the deals. He was a loving father, don t get me wrong, and he was a good provider, but he was not the father which would take a stroll and go to the Central Park or go play to baseball with them or something, she said, It was only until they were about 18 years old [that] he could communicate with them, because he could start to talk business with them. Ivana Trump on Pres. Trump as a dad: "He was not the father which would take a stroller and go to Central Park." https://t.co/iGg9piFeFi pic.twitter.com/f7ukRIm4t8 Good Morning America (@GMA) October 9, 2017 Before, he really didn t know what conversation to strike with the little kids , she added.Read more: NYP

Shocking Report: Mind Blowing Cost of Illegals Is Highest Ever…Numbers Released Show Huge Burden To States [Video]

EVERY American taxpayer should be outraged at the numbers in the report below. Open borders under 8 years of Obama is costing American taxpayers a tremendous amount more than ever before! Don t forget the thousands upon thousands of illegal alien minors who flooded the border during Obama s presidency. The bottom line is that open borders have consequences and the unfortunate consequence for taxpayers is we re footing the bill for illegals and THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE!The swelling population of illegal immigrants and their kids is costing American taxpayers $135 billion a year, the highest ever, driven by free medical care, education and a huge law enforcement bill, according to the the most authoritative report on the issue yet.DON T FORGET THAT OBAMA HELPED FACILITATE THE ARRIVAL OF THOUSANDS OF ILLEGAL MINORS THAT WE ARE NOW PAYING FOR: Spanish-language media and human rights activists are actively educating illegal immigrants on how to break the law, avoid immigration agents and remain in the country even after a judge has ordered them to be kicked out, a top Obama administration official testified to Congress on Tuesday.HERE S THOMAS HOMAN S TESTIMONY FROM 2014: Despite claims from pro-illegal immigration advocates that the aliens pay significant off-setting taxes back to federal, state and local treasuries, the Federation for American Immigration Reform report tallied just $19 billion, making the final hit to taxpayers about $116 billion. State and local governments are getting ravaged by the costs, at over $88 billion. The federal government, by comparison, is getting off easy at $45 billion in costs for illegals.n.The report, titled The Fiscal Burden Of Illegal Immigration on U.S. Taxpayers, is the most comprehensive cost tally from FAIR. It said that the costs have jumped about $3 billion in four years and will continue to surge unless illegal immigration is stopped. It was provided in advance exclusively to Secrets. Clearly, the cost of doing nothing to stop illegal immigration is far too high, said FAIR Executive Director Dan Stein. President Trump has laid out a comprehensive strategy to regain control of illegal immigration and bring down these costs, said Stein. Building the wall, enhancing interior enforcement and mandating national E-Verify will go a long way in bringing these ridiculously high costs under control, he added.Over 68 often shocking pages, FAIR documents the average $8,075 in state, local and federal spending for each of the of 12.5 million illegal immigrants and their 4.2 million citizen children.Broadly, the costs include $29 billion in medical care, $23 billion for law enforcement, $9 billion in welfare, $46 billion for education.Just consider the cost of teaching an illegal alien child who doesn t speak English. FAIR estimates an average cost of over $12,000 a year, and that can reach $25,000 in New York. Add to that welfare, health care, school lunches, and the per student price soars.In state costs alone, California leads the list at $23 billion per year, followed by Texas at $11 billion, and New York at $7.4 billion.And it also documents the taxes paid and how they don t come close to offsetting the costs. What s more, FAIR noted that 35 percent of the illegal population operate in an underground economy hidden from tax collectors. And worse, employers hire illegals and either pay them cheaply or under the table. The United States recoups only about 14 percent of the amount expended annually on illegal aliens. If the same jobs held by illegal aliens were filled by legal workers, at the prevailing market wage, it may safely be presumed that federal, state and local governments would receive higher tax payments, said FAIR.Key findings pulled from the report are shocking:The staggering total costs of illegal immigrants and their children outweigh the taxes paid to federal and state governments by a ratio of roughly 7 to 1, with costs at nearly $135 billion compared to tax revenues at nearly $19 billion.The nearly $135 billion paid out by federal and state and local taxpayers to cover the cost of the presence of 12.5 million illegal aliens and their 4.2 million citizen children amounts to approximately $8,075 per illegal alien and citizen child prior to taxes paid, or $6,940 per person after taxes are paid.On the federal level, medical ($17.14 billion) is by far the highest cost, with law enforcement coming second ($13.15 billion) and general government services ($8 billion) third.At the state and local level, education ($44.4 billion) was by far the largest expense, followed by general public services ($18.5 billion) and medical ($12.1 billion).The top three states based on total cost to state taxpayers for illegal immigrants and their children: California ($23 billion); Texas ($10.9 billion), and New York ($7.5 billion).Read more: WE

TRUMP IS RIGHT AGAIN: ‘No, the Constitution Does Not Bar Religious Tests in Immigration Law’

Andrew C. McCarthy, former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, writes in National Review that Donald Trump s proposed temporary ban on Muslim immigration is not unconstitutional. McCarthy notes that properly vetting would-be immigrants religious beliefs is not only legal it would be wise and prudent. Of all the ignorant pronouncements in the 2016 presidential campaign, the dumbest may be that the Constitution forbids a religious test in the vetting of immigrants. Monotonously repeated in political speeches and talking-head blather, this claim is heedless of the Islamic doctrinal roots on which foreign-born Islamists and the jihadists they breed base their anti-Americanism. It is also dead wrong.The clause said to be the source of this drivel is found in Article VI. As you ll no doubt be shocked to learn, it has utterly nothing to do with immigration. The clause states, no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States (emphasis added). On its face, the provision is not only inapplicable to immigrants at large, let alone aliens who would like to be immigrants; it does not even apply to the general public. It is strictly limited to public officials specifically to their fitness to serve in government positions.This is equally clear from the clause s context. Right before the no religious Test directive, Article VI decrees that elected and appointed officials shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution[.] An oath of office customarily requires the official to solemnly swear that he or she will support and defend the Constitution, so help me God. (See, e.g., the oath prescribed by federal law.) The Framers tacked on the no religious test clause to clarify that the mandate of a solemn oath before taking office did not mean fidelity to a particular religious creed was required. The same principle informs the First Amendment s prohibition on the establishment of a state religion.This is as it should be. The Constitution prescribes very few qualifications for even the highest offices because its purpose is to promote liberty, which vitally includes the freedom to elect whomever we choose, to vote our own private consciences. The principal check on public officials is the ballot box, not the law s minimalist requirements.As voters, we have the right to weigh a candidate s religious beliefs as a significant part of the total package. We have done so from the Republic s founding and to this day, virtually all candidates take pains to wear their faith, however nominal, on their sleeves. When the loathsome Jeremiah Wright fleetingly became an issue in the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama did not thunder, Under the Constitution, you must not inquire into my religious beliefs! He threw the Rev under the bus. When it comes to choosing those who will represent us, we do not limit ourselves by intrusive laws, but we reserve the right to bring to bear any consideration, including religion, that we deem relevant.Read more: National Review

WATCH: ANGRY PARENTS WALK OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S RACIST, ANTI-COP COMMENCEMENT SPEECH [Video]

Another leftist educator uses the precious time they ve been given to deliver an inspirational speech to high school graduates to instead, deliver a radical, divisive and hateful message. A Missouri high school principal sent some parents toward the exits last week when he made a disparaging remark about police killing young black men during a graduation speech.Belton High School Principal Fred Skretta was talking about why he became a teacher when he suddenly veered off in an unexpected direction. I wanted to be a teacher because I wanted to change the world, I wanted to make it a better place, he told the audience. I m going to be honest with you, in a lot of ways I fear that we are not there yet. If we were there, we wouldn t have conflicts between police killing young black men. https://youtu.be/mQHKFGBPREUNever mind the poor sentence structure. Some parents were so offended by the commentary they got up and walked out of the ceremony, according to Fox 4 News. I found it very inappropriate, I am highly offended, a parent said. You don t use the platform of a child s graduation to push a political agenda or push your personal opinions. Your job is supposed to inspire, educate, inform and not indoctronize one way or the other. Interestingly, Fox4News reported that Skretta posted an apology on social media after the ceremony, but the Twitter account appears to have been deleted since then.The apology, according to the Fox affiliate: TY all at #BHS graduation! I apologize if my remarks were offensive. Our law enforcement have difficult jobs & I meant no disrespect #agape Doc Skretta (@Principal_BHS) May 17, 2015 Belton district deputy superintendent, Steve Morgan, later offered an apology also, Fox4News reported. Comments were made at graduation and they certainly are not reflective of the district, so we sent out an apology in a statement today that went to all patrons reflecting that, Morgan said.Via: BizPac Review

MONEY TO “BERN!”…SOCIALIST BERNIE SANDERS Endorses Clinton…Buys THIRD Home On Lake For $600K Only 3 Weeks Later

Feel the Bern of a lot of gullible young people who were fed a big line of Bullsh*t Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) is the proud new owner of a summer home in the Champlain Islands, Seven Days has confirmed.The Burlington resident last week plopped down nearly $600,000 on a lakefront camp in North Hero.Sanders new crib has four bedrooms and 500 feet of Lake Champlain beachfront on the east side of the island facing Vermont, not New York. The Bern will keep his home in Burlington and use the new camp seasonally. We ve traveled up to the islands many times over the years almost always on day trips, Sanders wife, Jane O Meara Sanders, told Seven Days in a written statement. We ve been impressed with the North Hero community, eaten at the North Hero House and Shore Acres and have suggested them to friends who were looking for a beautiful place to stay or have dinner. St. Anne s Shrine in Isle La Motte is my favorite church and it is nearby. Last Tuesday, the day of the closing, a relaxed-looking Bernie Sanders posed for a photo at Hero s Welcome General Store on Route 2. The store, a bit south of his new abode, serves a sandwich called Feel the Bun in the senator s honor. The $6.99 deli delight consists of a HUGE homemade roll, sliced turkey, fresh apple chutney, hot pepper relish, lettuce, tomato and provolone cheese. It s not fair that the Billionaire Class controls 99 percent of the bread, the menu description reads. Here s a sandwich for the rest of us to keep us nourished until everything cool is free! Seven Days

SHOCKING AUDIO RELEASED Of John Kerry Discussing Obama Allowing The Rise of ISIS To Help Regime Change In Syria

WHAT S WORSE IS THE SECOND LONGER VERSION OF THE AUDIO WHERE KERRY SPILLS THE BEANS ON HOW THE END GOAL OF CREATING ISIS WAS TO CAUSE REGIME CHANGE IN SYRIA BUT THEY DIDN T COUNT ON RUSSIA GETTING INVOLVED. LANGUAGE ALERT BELOW BUT WORTH IT:DISGRACE!John Kerry says the problem with Syria is that young Americans don t want 2 die anymore Secret Audio John Kerry Behind Closed Doors pic.twitter.com/0K4fvLuaUT TRUMP ANOMALY (@ANOMALY1) January 3, 2017AT THE 30:00 MARK IS WHERE KERRY TALKS ABOUT SENDING AMERICANS IN TO FIGHT:THREE OBJECTIVES ARE REVEALED:They didn t count on Assad turning to Russia for help And now you know the rest of the story Read more: CT

LOL! PHOTOS Show EMPTY or Nearly EMPTY #NFL Stadiums In Week #6 of National Anthem Protesters

The owners of teams where NFL players continue to kneel during the national anthem are about to get a very real wake up call as ticket sales and TV viewership continues to tank.Images from NFL stadiums across America have been posted on Twitter, as evidence of how well the player s anti-cop movement is working out for the owners bottom line.More fans attend a local high school football game than the #4 ranked Cleveland Browns vs. the #1 ranked Tennessee Titans game, that was played in the Cleveland stadium:And we are underway #Browns #Titans pic.twitter.com/dcrirhjo6r Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) October 22, 2017The number of empty seats at the Miami vs. the New York Jets game was almost as bad as the half empty Cleveland stadium. by a Miami scribe #NYJvsMIA RT @ArmandoSalguero: Swaths of empty seats here post kickoff. pic.twitter.com/q4Mmdv5UU3 Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) October 22, 2017An article in the Chicago Tribune justified how the underperforming Chicago Bears are consistently able to get away with the mind-boggling rising ticket prices. The Chicago Bears play in the second largest market in the NFL and in the league s smallest stadium. The law of supply and demand dictates that when a relatively small number of seats is available for the most popular sport and team in town, then ticket prices will increase. Thanks to the NFL players decision to kneel during our national anthem, the Bears may not be able to afford to raise the ticket prices, since fans have decided to something more productive with their time than watching a bunch of snowflake football players disrespecting our flag, as a way to support an anti-cop movement that was started by Black Lives Matter.Here s a look at the usually sold out Chicago Bears stadium today:(2/X) RT @lauriekor: Look at all the empty seats #Bears #nfl #emptyseats #chi #CARvsCHI #unreal pic.twitter.com/C5CwhfDx9X Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) October 22, 2017The Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indiana Colts (the team that Vice President Pence famously walked away from, after the players disrespected our flag during the anthem) game was far from capacity:#NFL #JAXvsIND RT @kimklika: Tons of empty seats at kickoff not surprising pic.twitter.com/65AYCSo3NK Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) October 22, 2017There was a sea of blue (empty blue seats) at the New York Jets Vs. Miami Dolphins game in Miami:#NFL #NYJvsMIA RT @nsbbcom: Nobody cares about jet or dolphins @[me] pic.twitter.com/k6wPSlIRJG Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) October 22, 2017This guy, who goes by the Twitter name Fistful of Doom said it best when he said, You know who isn t winning? The NFL.You know who isn't winning? The NFL. This was kickoff time in Jacksonville. Look at those empty seats! pic.twitter.com/fd7CwOuHk4 Fistful of Doom (@fistfulofdoom) October 15, 2017

Rape Apparently Doesn’t Earn Jail Time Anymore – Even If The Victim Is Only Two Years Old

If you are a young white male in America, apparently you are free to stick your genitalia into whomever you please without having to fear that you will end up in prison. Consent be damned. Proof of this is the disgusting case of an Iowa teen who raped a toddler on camera and was given a free pass when he was finally hauled in front of a judge for his repulsive crimes.Kraigen Grooms has admitted to raping the 2-year-old in April of 2013 when he was 16 years old. Not only did he rape the small child, but he did it on camera so he could livestream the sexual assault for another pervert to watch online. Investigators believe that the attack was premeditated, and also that he had plans to rape a 3-year-old boy in the same manner.Grooms was arrested in March 2014, when he was 17. Initially, he was charged with second-degree sexual abuse, a felony that could have put him in prison for 25 years. However, after spending two years in a juvenile detention center and county jail, he cut a deal and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of engaging in a lascivious act with a child in July. This week, Judge Randy Degeest handed Groom, who also goes by the alias Kraigen Simmers, a 10-year suspended sentence and sent him home.This means that he will see absolutely no prison time for raping a 2-year-old. Let that sink in for a minute.This is just the most recent in a string of high-profile sexual assault cases that have ended with the rapist getting a slap on the wrist and being sent on his way. The most well-known of these cases being that of Brock Turner, who raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster and was given just six months in jail, but ended up only serving three before being released.Is there any question that anyone who rapes a toddler a f*cking toddler should be behind bars until hell freezes over? Is there any question that America s rape culture has spiraled completely out of control when you can rape a 2-year-old, on camera, livestream it on the internet, and not end up in prison?Featured image via KTVO screen capture