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Exclusive: Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians: sourcesWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michael Flynn and other advisers to Donald Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the exchanges told Reuters. The previously undisclosed interactions form part of the record now being reviewed by FBI and congressional investigators probing Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election and contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Six of the previously undisclosed contacts described to Reuters were phone calls between Sergei Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, and Trump advisers, including Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser, three current and former officials said. Conversations between Flynn and Kislyak accelerated after the Nov. 8 vote as the two discussed establishing a back channel for communication between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could bypass the U.S. national security bureaucracy, which both sides considered hostile to improved relations, four current U.S. officials said. In January, the Trump White House initially denied any contacts with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign. The White House and advisers to the campaign have since confirmed four meetings between Kislyak and Trump advisers during that time. The people who described the contacts to Reuters said they had seen no evidence of wrongdoing or collusion between the campaign and Russia in the communications reviewed so far. But the disclosure could increase the pressure on Trump and his aides to provide the FBI and Congress with a full account of interactions with Russian officials and others with links to the Kremlin during and immediately after the 2016 election. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Flynn’s lawyer declined to comment. In Moscow, a Russian foreign ministry official declined to comment on the contacts and referred Reuters to the Trump administration. Separately, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Washington said: “We do not comment on our daily contacts with the local interlocutors.” The 18 calls and electronic messages took place between April and November 2016 as hackers engaged in what U.S. intelligence concluded in January was part of a Kremlin campaign to discredit the vote and influence the outcome of the election in favor of Trump over his Democratic challenger, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Those discussions focused on mending U.S.-Russian economic relations strained by sanctions imposed on Moscow, cooperating in fighting Islamic State in Syria and containing a more assertive China, the sources said. Members of the Senate and House intelligence committees have gone to the CIA and the National Security Agency to review transcripts and other documents related to contacts between Trump campaign advisers and associates and Russian officials and others with links to Putin, people with knowledge of those investigations told Reuters. The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it had appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential campaign and possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Mueller will now take charge of the FBI investigation that began last July. Trump and his aides have repeatedly denied any collusion with Russia. In addition to the six phone calls involving Kislyak, the communications described to Reuters involved another 12 calls, emails or text messages between Russian officials or people considered to be close to Putin and Trump campaign advisers. One of those contacts was by Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian oligarch and politician, according to one person with detailed knowledge of the exchange and two others familiar with the issue. It was not clear with whom Medvedchuk was in contact within the Trump campaign but the themes included U.S.-Russia cooperation, the sources said. Putin is godfather to Medvedchuk’s daughter. Medvedchuk denied having any contact with anyone in the Trump campaign. “I am not acquainted with any of Donald Trump’s close associates, therefore no such conversation could have taken place,” he said in an email to Reuters. In the conversations during the campaign, Russian officials emphasized a pragmatic, business-style approach and stressed to Trump associates that they could make deals by focusing on common economic and other interests and leaving contentious issues aside, the sources said. Veterans of previous election campaigns said some contact with foreign officials during a campaign was not unusual, but the number of interactions between Trump aides and Russian officials and others with links to Putin was exceptional. “It’s rare to have that many phone calls to foreign officials, especially to a country we consider an adversary or a hostile power,” Richard Armitage, a Republican and former deputy secretary of state, told Reuters. Beyond Medvedchuk and Kislyak, the identities of the other Putin-linked participants in the contacts remain classified and the names of Trump advisers other than Flynn have been “masked” in intelligence reports on the contacts because of legal protections on their privacy as American citizens. However, officials can request that they be revealed for intelligence purposes. U.S. and allied intelligence and law enforcement agencies routinely monitor communications and movements of Russian officials. After Vice President Mike Pence and others had denied in January that Trump campaign representatives had any contact with Russian officials, the White House later confirmed that Kislyak had met twice with then-Senator Jeff Sessions, who later became attorney general. Kislyak also attended an event in April where Trump said he would seek better relations with Russia. Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, also attended that event in Washington. In addition, Kislyak met with two other Trump campaign advisers in July on the sidelines of the Republican convention. Trump fired Flynn in February after it became clear that he had falsely characterized the nature of phone conversations with Kislyak in late December - after the Nov. 8 election and just after the Obama administration announced new sanctions on Russia. Flynn offered to testify to Congress in return for immunity from prosecution but his offer was turned down by the House intelligence committee.

Here’s What Beyoncé Has Done For The Homeless While Supposed Christians Tear Her DownIt looks as though the conservative target of choice this week to throw all their blind rage at is legendary artist Beyonc . After all, she had the audacity to perform at the Super Bowl and sing a song that points out police brutality. Something many conservatives don t want to admit actually exists against people of color.However, as they want to go after Beyonc for being a woman of color with a powerful platform to get an important message across, what exactly are these conservatives doing to make the world a better place? Because as far as I can tell, Beyonc has actually been the one doing just that for a long, long time.As Beyonc uses her success to spread awareness, she s also using her earnings to make sure the homeless in Houston have a place to live. In fact, she gave $7 million over several years to help fund Knowles Temenos Place Apartments which helps house those who have been displaced. She, alongside her family and fellow Destiny s Child alum Kelly Roland, began this project in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.In Houston, it s actually illegal to feed the homeless. On top of that, it s illegal for the homeless to go in search of food for themselves. It s seems as if it s a pretty heartless society, and Beyonc is actually stepping up where society has let these people down.Texas, that prides itself of on conservatism, even more so on their conservative Christianity, is letting their citizens down. While they love to boast that they re welcoming to business, they clearly are not welcome to much of anything else. Well, at least if you don t have money. However, part of being good Christians should be adhering to the teachings of the Bible, something Beyonc seems to have actually taken to heart by taking action. After all, in the Bible, Jesus told everyone to take care of the sick and shelter the needy. Conservatives have seemed to have lost that message somewhere along the way while they were hating immigrants, the poor and needy, and while telling sick people if they can t afford healthcare, well, too bad.So, maybe next time, before criticizing someone for performing and speaking truth to power on a stage being broadcast around the world, just because it s difficult for you to hear and wrap your head around. Maybe, just maybe, listen to what s being said. Maybe, just maybe, realize there s an epidemic of police brutality that makes all the good officers look bad as well, and something needs to be done. And maybe, just maybe, realize the person who you are criticizing is a person you should emulate and appreciate for all they are doing for communities, those around her, and pretty much all of society. Then maybe, just maybe, you ll see something you ve never seen before faith, hope and love. The pillars of the Christian faith that conservatives boast so proudly, but have failed at actually achieving.Featured image: Wikimedia Commons

American jailed in United Arab Emirates for Facebook posts made in the USA

Lloyd's insurance says the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its banks and charities, which sponsored al Qaeda, should pay the more than $215 million the insurer has spent on insurance settlements to families of the victims of 9/11

Libya: Stench of dead bodies and garbage fills streets

The number of trucks entering the Gaza Strip is very close to the absolute minimum required for basic sustenance, as determined by the IDF itself.

Birth defects 'have risen since US Falluja operation'

Russia Set To Redefine Treason, Sparking Fears

The discovery of a neo-Nazi terror cell in Germany has many concerned about the country's reputation. With good reason. Racism and xenophobia have deep roots in German society -- and the vocabulary used to describe the right-wing extremist crime spree is telling.

Charlie Brooker: The BNP represents Britain's workers? They don't even represent basic British craftsmanship

Trump loaned White House campaign $7.5 million as he nears Republican nomination(Reuters) - Donald Trump raised $1.7 million from donors and loaned his White House campaign $7.5 million in April as he moved closer to becoming the Republican nominee for president, according to documents filed with the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Friday. The New York businessman had loaned his campaign a total of $43.5 million as of the end of April, the filings showed. More recently, he has made moves to build up his fundraising operation with an eye toward the Nov. 8 general election. Trump became the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee in early May, when both of his rivals dropped out of the race. Trump self-funded much of his primary run, but he has said he will not rely as heavily on his own money for the general election, when he will face the Democratic nominee. Both people seeking the Democratic nomination have raised more than Trump. Hillary Clinton, the party’s front-runner, brought in $26.4 million in April, including funds from a joint fundraising effort with the Democratic Party. An outside Super PAC supporting her campaign raised $8.6 million. A Super PAC is a fund-raising group that must operate separate from political campaigns but can raise unlimited sums. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s rival for the Democratic nomination, raised $26.9 million in April. He has disavowed Super PACs. Trump has criticized them too, though a long-time Republican operative in May joined one Super PAC backing the real estate mogul. In May, Trump hired investor Steven Mnuchin as his national finance chairman and entered a joint fundraising deal with the Republican National Committee that will allow donors to write much bigger checks. Friday’s FEC filings do not reflect these moves, but they show that Trump’s fundraising dipped in April, after he brought in about $3 million and loaned himself $11.5 million in March. He also spent less in April, $9.4 million compared with $13.8 million a month earlier, when more states held nominating contests. Trump spent $2.6 million on advertising in April, less than half the $6.3 million he spent in March. By comparison, Sanders spent $17.3 million and Clinton spent $9.3 million on advertising in April. Trump’s consulting and payroll spending also dropped about 30 percent to a total $1.7 million in April, even as he added experienced political staff. At the end of March, he hired veteran Republican strategist Paul Manafort. Trump ended April with $2.4 million on hand, after starting the month with $2.1 million at the ready.

REVEALING GRAPH: TRUMP Setting Records In Historic Primary Votes While Hillary Bombs!DON T LISTEN TO THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA BIAS!While the Democrats are down 7 million votes from 2008, The Donald is booming!Donald Trump has now received over 13 million primary votes, more than any other Republican primary candidate since the party s founding in 1854. Trump surpassed George W. Bush, who previously held the record at just over 12 million primary votes in 2000.For some historical context, here s how Trump stacks up against every GOP primary candidate since 1908:

Trump’s Campaign Finance Filings Reveal Millions In Payments…To His Own BusinessesThere s no question that Donald Trump is running a (ahem) unique campaign. It s so unique that he s self-funded it into being broke. His FEC filings, through May 31 of this year, reveal an awful lot more than that, though. The campaign has paid millions to his own businesses and property, including his ridiculously luxurious plane, and Mar-a-Lago, his personal estate in Florida.Derek Willis, a journalist at ProPublica, tweeted out a spreadsheet that ProPublica put together of all campaign disbursements to things with Trump in the name. In total, the campaign has paid nearly $1.4 million to Trump s own businesses since he launched it last year:Recipients of payments from Trump campaign with Trump in name, through May 31. Doesn t include Mar-a-Lago/planes. pic.twitter.com/JF6skaWYGF Derek Willis (@derekwillis) June 21, 2016At first, that doesn t sound like a lot. Maybe Trump is actually reining himself in? That s less than five percent of his total campaign expenditures. But this is King Donald, and that s not nearly everything. The campaign has also spent $423,371 for the use of Mar-a-Lago, which is a personal residence, and roughly $5 million to Tag Air, Inc. the company that operates his private Boeing 757 with the solid gold seatbelt buckles for the use of his plane.That brings the total up to roughly $6.8 million that Trump s campaign has paid to him for one thing or another, and that s more than 10 percent of the $63 million that his campaign has spent since he formally entered the race last year.How does he get away with that? Is it even legal?Back in January, the Miami Herald ran a piece on these same expenditures. At that time, Trump had paid nearly one out of every three campaign dollars to something he owned. This is actually legal in fact, federal election law requires campaigns to pay fair market for goods and services rendered, even if they come from a candidate s own businesses but the sheer amount that Trump has managed to send to himself through loopholes in campaign finance law, is very unusual.In short, he knew that election law requires his campaign to pay for everything, otherwise it counts as an undocumented campaign contribution. So, he probably figured, why not use his own businesses as much as possible? Then he can funnel money to himself, and there s nothing anybody can do about it because it s perfectly legal.It s also more than a little suspicious, because, as the headline of the Miami Herald s story notes, Trump has perfected the art of the campaign expense, in such a way that he personally profits, even if he ultimately isn t elected.But wait! If it s not illegal, why is it suspicious? Quite simply, if you want to know how a presidential candidate is going to run the country, look at how they run their campaign. Trump won t just run the country like a business; he ll very likely find ways to use the Office of the President to line his own pockets while he holds that position.In the end, Trump only cares about Trump, and his campaign finance records prove it better than anything else he s done.Featured image by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Canadian Mark Emery due to released from federal prison after serving 5 years for selling Marijuana seeds

Pakistan's spy agency ISI accused of kidnapping and killing journalists | Amnesty International details journalists' claims of harassment, intimidation and attacks at the hands of military intelligence.

Russia makes internet bloggers with over 3000 daily views register with the Roskomnadzor (state body of media)

A boat carrying 97 people from Indonesia sank off the western coast of Malaysia and 61 of the passengers are still missing, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said

HOME DEPOT FOUNDER: Why I Stand With Donald TrumpDid you know that government regulations would keep Bernie Marcus from starting Home Depot today? New businesses across America are being strangled by faceless bureaucrats and politicians who erroneously believe that government can do it better. Bernie MarcusHome Depot founder and former Jeb Bush-backer Bernie Marcus has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying the fate of the nation hangs on sending him to the White House over Hillary Clinton. Writing for Real Clear Politics, the leading businessman said new businesses across America were being strangled by faceless bureaucrats and politicians who erroneously believe that government can do it better . I genuinely believe that if we to started The Home Depot today, we would fail because of the hurdles government, especially the current administration, places in front of small business owners, he writes.Obama-style government, he adds, is driving over-regulation, over-taxation, over-litigation, and over-spending and thus killing small businesses, which create the majority of new jobs in America. Politicians like Obama and Clinton, aided by the media and academia, have peddled a dangerous sentiment that government can provide for Americans better than the private sector. That s not just false, it s likely the nexus of Trump s massively popular slogan, Make America Great Again. We saw it first hand. Donald Trump, he says, is the only man who can make America great again by cutting red tape and changing the course of the country. As Americans, the choice is abundantly clear: If you want four more years of President Obama, vote for Hillary Clinton; if you want to take the country in a new direction, vote for Donald Trump. He also issued a warning to Republicans who refuse to back their party s designated nominee: Make no mistake, Republicans who refuse to stand behind their party s nominee are electing Clinton, whether they cast their ballots for her or not. I have a message for the #NeverTrump crowd: Enough already. Donald Trump is our presumptive nominee and it is time to get over wishing it were not so. If you don t, change your social media hashtag to #HillaryGOP. Via: Breitbart

EU's decision on Israel like 'a bucket of cold water on the head of a drunk' The European Union has at last lost patience with Israel's refusal to comply with international law over settlements.

Trump tells lawmakers he expects deal 'very quickly' on healthcareWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump told a group of senators on Tuesday that he expected lawmakers would be able to reach a deal on healthcare, without offering specifics on how they would do it or what had changed since a healthcare reform bill was pulled last week for insufficient support. “I have no doubt that that’s going to happen very quickly,” Trump said at a bipartisan reception held for senators and their spouses at the White House. “I think it’s going to happen because we’ve all been promising - Democrat, Republican - we’ve all been promising that to the American people,” he said. A Republican plan backed by Trump to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system was pulled on Friday after it failed to garner enough support to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Trump, a Republican, did not mention that failure at the reception nor did he offer specifics on how he planned for lawmakers to reach a consensus on a healthcare bill that would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, familiarly known as Obamacare. Trump told lawmakers at the reception that he would be talking about infrastructure and investing in the military, without offering a time frame or details. “Hopefully, it will start being bipartisan, because everybody really wants the same thing. We want greatness for this country that we love,” he said.

MUSLIM ASSIMILATION UPDATE: Migrants Arrested For STONING Transgender Women In GERMANYThis is a story is for anyone who thinks these Muslim migrants are going to change their stone-age tactics because they are living at the expense of taxpayers in another country. Three young men from North Africa were arrested on Saturday in the western German city of Dortmund for stoning two transgender women.According to a report on Friday on television station SAT1.NRW, the men attacked Yasmine und Elisa, two transgender women, near the city s main train station. Within seconds we were tossed around and they took stones from a gravel bed on the corner and threw them at us, said Elisa.A police car appeared at the train station as the stoning attack unfolded and arrested the men.The German media as a general rule do not disclose the last names of victims to protect their privacy. The three men are between 16 and 18 years-old and are known to the authorities from theft and assault arrests.Dortmund police official Kim-Ben Freigang said the suspects told the police that such persons must be stoned. Yasmine installed a security camera at the residence where she lives with Elisa after the attacks. That was barbaric what they did. They are barbarians, Yasmine said.She added that she could not believe that such an act of shamelessness occurred. In 2016, in Germany, with stoning! According to the SATI.NRW report, Yasmine said it was the first time in 30 years she felt unsafe as a transgender woman.According to Yasmine and Elisa, the three young men propositioned them, but after they realized that Yasmine and Elisa are transgender women, they attacked them with stones.Stoning people to death is a penalty used in nine Muslim-majority countries. In November, a criminal court in Iran s northern province of Gilan sentenced a woman to be executed by stoning for alleged complicity in the murder of her husband, Arash Babaieepour Tabrizinejad. Via: Jerusalem Post

"What does a Jewish-Israeli man have do to with refurbishing a mosque? The answer is simple: I'm sick and tired of the hatred."

Meeting on North Korea crisis to be in Canada after Christmas: sourceOTTAWA (Reuters) - A planned meeting of foreign ministers to discuss the North Korean crisis is not scheduled to take place before the Christmas break in late December, a Canadian official said on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Canada would co-host the meeting with the United States on Canadian soil. At least a dozen foreign ministers will be involved, said the official, who asked to remain anonymous given the sensitivity of the situation. U.S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, condemning a North Korean missile test earlier in the day, said the meeting would include South Korea, Japan and other affected nations, to discuss how the global community can counter North Korea s threat to international peace. Freeland had been discussing North Korea with counterparts in recent months, including those from the United States, South Korea, Japan, Australia and China, said the Canadian official. Canada was a good choice to host a meeting because it was less directly involved in the crisis than the United States, Japan, South Korea or China, said the official. There are fewer implications to us convening a constructive conversation, added the official, saying no decisions on a venue or who would be invited had been made.

U.S. legislators to call for release of Americans held by IranWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A resolution calling for Iran to release two U.S. citizens imprisoned there for months will be introduced on Wednesday by House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce, a Republican, and Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly, their offices said. The resolution will call for Iran to immediately and unconditionally release businessman Siamak Namazi and his father, Baquer Namazi, 80, both of whom have dual citizenship. The text of the resolution was seen by Reuters. It will also call for U.S. President Barack Obama to undertake efforts to secure their release. Siamak Namazi was detained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in October while visiting relatives and has been barred from leaving Iran since July 2015. His father was arrested in Tehran in February. “Iran’s continued wrongful jailing of Americans is very disturbing,” Royce said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “Siamak and Baquer Namazi deserve to be free and with their families, and this resolution should push President Obama to step up efforts to bring them home.” The resolution “encourages the President to utilize appropriate measures” against Iran’s government if the Namazis are not released, but it stops short of calling for economic sanctions, a specific request by a representative of the Namazi family, said one source familiar with the resolution who declined to be named. Siamak Namazi has criticized sanctions against Iran, writing in a 2013 opinion piece in the New York Times that Western sanctions had blocked medicines from reaching the country. U.S. State Department spokesman Sam Werberg said the agency does not comment on resolutions before they have been formally introduced. He added, “We are not aware of any charges against either Siamak or Baquer and we believe that both reported detentions are unjust.” Five American citizens were released from Iranian prisons in January as part of a prisoner swap with the United States. Iran has detained several other dual nationals since that swap, including Homa Hoodfar, a Canadian-Iranian woman, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman and project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Nazak Afshar, a French-Iranian woman.

United States and Cuba complete deals as Trump era set to beginHAVANA (Reuters) - The Obama administration and Cuba continue to sign cooperation agreements this week, scrambling to complete negotiations on a range of issues with just days to go until Donald Trump is sworn in as U.S. president, potentially bringing a chill to relations. An agreement to cooperate on air and maritime search and rescue in the Florida Straits was signed on Wednesday in Havana, and another setting territorial limits in contested Gulf of Mexico waters was scheduled for signing on Wednesday or Thursday, according to diplomatic sources. A third agreement on health protocols for dealing with issues such as bird flu was scheduled for signing on Wednesday, but postponed for later this week. It would be the last of 22 accords that have been concluded in the last 18 months. Seeking to reverse more than 50 years of U.S. efforts to force Communist-run Cuba to change by isolating it, Democratic President Barack Obama agreed with Cuban President Raul Castro in December 2014 to work to normalize relations. Since then the two countries have restored diplomatic relations and Obama has taken a number of steps to increase travel and trade with Cuba. Trump, a Republican who will be sworn in on Friday, has threatened to end the detente if Cuba does not make further political and other concessions, although he has not specified what these should be. The prospect of a fresh chill has prompted both governments to wrap up negotiations on five agreements since the November election, including one on fighting international crime and another on preventing and containing oil spills. The Obama administration last week ended a 21-year-old special arrangement by which all Cubans arriving in the United States, including without visas, were entitled to stay and seek residency. The policy had long been criticized by the Cuban government. John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council which has followed business ties between the two countries for two decades, noted that while there had been a large array of recent agreements and memorandums of understanding, not all were binding treaties. “The commercial, economic and political bilateral relationship between the United States and Cuba remains tentative, fragile, and immensely subject to the impact of winds from the north and winds from the south,” Kavulich said. The Trump transition team has included five Cuban-Americans who are vocal opponents of detente and who have close ties to Cuban-American lawmakers calling for a return to efforts to isolate Cuba. A number of Trump appointees, including his national security advisor, Michael Flynn, have expressed opposition to the effort to normalize relations. Obama has used executive orders, which can be scrapped by Trump, to circumvent the longstanding U.S. trade embargo on Cuba and ease some restrictions on travel and business. The embargo can be lifted only by the U.S. Congress, which is controlled by Republicans. (This story corrects paragraph 8 to say that not all the deals were binding treaties, rather than none of the deals)

An estimated 250,000 Bangladeshis, lured with jobs in Malaysia, have been held for ransom in jungle camps by traffickers in Thailand over the last 8 years in a modern day slave trade. Authorities from the three countries are also reportedly involved in the trade.

From Jakarta to Lagos, many Muslims voice dismay at Trump winJAKARTA/ISLAMABAD/CAIRO (Reuters) - Many Muslims around the world expressed dismay on Wednesday at Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president, saying they feared it might raise tensions between the West and Islam and contribute to radicalization. While Egypt’s president made an early congratulatory call to Trump, ordinary Muslims were worried that his victory would be a propaganda gift to jihadist groups. Others were apprehensive that the president-elect will implement campaign pledges to clamp down on Muslims entering the United States. “Trump has espoused highly inflammatory rhetoric against Muslims. Voters there will expect him to fulfill his promises. That makes me worry about the impact on Muslims in the U.S. and in the rest of the world,” said Yenny Wahid, a prominent mainstream Muslim figure in Indonesia. The world’s 1.6 billion Muslims follow a multitude of sects and schools of thought, constitute a majority of the population in countries as varied as Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Albania, and hold a vast array of political views. Yet Trump’s previous comments about Muslims, that those from abroad should be barred entry or intensely scrutinized beforehand, and the presence of vocal anti-Islam activists among his supporters, has alarmed many. During a bitter election campaign, Trump also attacked his opponents for what he characterized as their denial about the threat posed by militant Islam, which he said was “coming to our shores”, adding that he would quickly form a commission on it. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was the first world leader to congratulate Trump on the phone, Sisi’s office said. Many other Egyptians also welcomed his victory, saying his opponent Hillary Clinton’s record in office had won her few friends in the most populous Arab country. Clinton, Secretary of State during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, is unpopular with many Egyptians. Many of those who backed the revolt saw her as a long-standing supporter of Hosni Mubarak, the autocrat they toppled from power. But elsewhere, other Muslims saw Trump as a hostile figure. “Whatever happens to America affects everybody and with all these promises of doom by Trump to the blacks, to the Muslims, the minority, so it’s not something we’re happy about,” said Ganiu Olukanga, a Muslim resident of the Nigerian capital Lagos. Some Muslims, including Wahid, said they feared his election as president might encourage a view that the United States held enmity for Muslims and that this would hinder efforts in Islam to counter radicalization. “Trump’s victory will be an enormous gift to a failing jihadist movement, that will have now have a renewed rallying cry,” said Ammar Rashid, an academic and member of Pakistan’s Awami Workers Party on Twitter. “If jihadi ideology has a source of sustenance, it is the image of the US as the evil anti-Muslim crusader. They will milk Trump’s win dry,” he added. In jihadist social media forums, militants said Trump’s election had merely revealed the true position of the United States toward Muslims. “The masks have slipped,” one wrote. But some other Muslims were more hopeful, including Umer Daudzai, former Afghan minister of interior, citing the record of Ronald Reagan who was U.S. president from 1981-89. “Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War. I hope Donald Trump will end all wars and become hero of peace in the world,” he told Reuters. Among some officials, there were also expressions of concern but the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the body that represents Muslim states, issued no statement early on Wednesday. In Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation, an official from the faith’s top clerical body there said Trump’s election could create new tension between the United States and the Islamic world.     Trump had made “negative, cynical” comments about Muslims in the past, Din Syamsuddin, a senior official at the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), told reporters in Jakarta. “He had forgotten that many Americans are immigrants.” Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally that is both birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest places, issued a statement that it had congratulated Trump on his election win without making further comment. However, Awad al-Qirni, one of its most popular clerics with a Twitter following of two million, said in a social media post after the election - but without referring to Trump directly - that “America declines into collapse” and that “its internal crisis will grow severely”. In Pakistan, Sherry Rehman, a senator and former ambassador to Washington, said Trump’s proposal last year to bar Muslims from entering the U.S. had disturbed many. “Pakistan obviously cannot rule out engaging with whomever America elects but his anti-Muslim rhetoric may cast a shadow on relations in times of uncertainty,” he told Reuters on Wednesday. And in Bangladesh, a government official who asked not to be named said: “I can’t think what awaits us. Donald Trump was talking about fighting against Muslims. Are we going to see more wars?” Among private citizens in Dhaka, some said they hoped the pressure of office would temper Trump’s views. “It is just unbelievable and I am a bit tense. I hope there will be a difference between Donald Trump and President Donald Trump. President Trump will be more mature than individual Trump,” Asif Iqbal, a private sector employee, said.

Man reports CP in music download and is banned from seeing his own daughter alone

Singapores first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew dies aged 91

Act now, or Congo could be Rwanda all over again

Escapee Tells of Horrors in North Korean Prison Camp

Watch Ted Cruz’s Disturbing Reaction When Carly Fiorina Takes A Header Off Of A Stage (VIDEO)Carly Fiorina has decided to add her face to the sideshow known as the Ted Cruz campaign. Cruz, who can t possibility win the nomination unless there s a contested convention, would then not be picking his own VP, making this entire collaboration a lesson in futility. Nevertheless, Fiorina has spoken and she will be proud to maybe be on his ticket if hell freezes over and enough loons and zealots come out to vote. Her official position, it appears, is ring announcer. With a head bob that exuded all the confidence a woman with zero political capital could muster, Fiorina announced the future first family to the crowd.As the Cruz family heads down towards the stage, Fiorina suddenly disappears. A quick rewind revealed that she had, in fact, taken a header right in front of Ted And Heidi. How would they react? Would they look for her reaction first to see if she was OK and make a clever joke out of it like, Carly just gets so excited to see Ted. Or do you show immediate concern for your friend and hopeful future Vice-President of the United States? Here s how Ted Cruz handled the situation:Wasn t that classy? Both Ted Cruz and wife Heidi decide that the best course of action is to ignore her altogether. Oh, she fell? Keep smiling. Wave over there. She had better get up or I swear to God I m calling Ben Carson. All thoughts that wouldn t be out of the question in someone like Ted Cruz s head. Cruz has always been out for himself. If Ted Cruz wins the White House we re doomed to an onslaught of legislation and vetoes based on the man s personal religious beliefs. The fact that he just brought on Carly Fiorina, who will only be remembered for being so opposed to Planned Parenthood that she was willing to throw her whole campaign behind these taped that turned out to be edited, out of context lies that have already landed those responsible with an indictment.Carly is a fitting piece to the puzzle. She s irrational, annoying and has little actual clout with anyone. Congrats on the great find, Ted. Apparently you care about as much about her as the rest of America.Featured image via screen capture

Black Sea challenge by U.S. set to keep Russia on edge

Britain calls up Dad's Army of spies to watch Russia - Military intelligence chiefs have been re-recruiting Cold War veterans and retired linguists because of a lack of Russian skills to deal with the Ukraine crisis

1/2 Earths Wildlife Gone, Govts Meet to Save the Rest - 1000s of representatives of govts, NGOs, indigenous peoples, scientists & private sector at Pyeongchang conference working to speed up a global 'Strategic Plan for Biodiversity'. Wildlife populations have declined by 52% since 1970.

BLACK LAWYER, Editor Of Legal Website Writes: Black Jurors Should Automatically Vote To Free Any Black Person Accused Of Murdering, Committing Crime Against A White Person Regardless Of EvidenceElie Mystal, an editor and contributor to the law blog Above The Law, posted a December 7 article urging all black Americans who end up on juries to engage in jury nullification by automatically voting to acquit all blacks accused of crimes, especially that of murder, against white victims and to do so no matter how much evidence is brought to bear against the suspect.Mystal justified this lawlessness by claiming that African-Americans live in a world where the police can murder us and get away with it. There is no justice for black people. And yet violently revolting against the system will get us nowhere, he added.This, Mystal says, is reason enough to work against the legal system in all areas. Maybe it s time minorities got in the game? Mystal added.Mystal goes on to call whites who have had a crime committed against them or who have been murdered a purported victim and says blacks have no responsibility to help any white person achieve justice. Breitbart NewsBy the way, Elie Mystal of Above The Law is the same person who while told Mike Huckabee that while climate change is going to be incredibly expensive, You know what s going to be more expensive? retro-fitting everyone on the East Coast with gills so we can breath under-water. Here are some tweets regarding Mystal s controversial article:Black juries treating white people the way white juries treat black people = rage hate against the white race? Equality is a bitch I guess. Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) December 9, 2016This Twitter user pointed out to Mystal that his remarks are incredibly dangerous :Mystal s not concerned about the law, he simply wants justice by any means necessary. How is this person still allowed to practice law? What's dangerous is thinking cops can murder people and get away with it, while POC wait patiently for the system to get over its issues. https://t.co/8WbVyuEH6x Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) December 8, 2016Here is the article Mystal posted to Twitter from his Above the Law (appropriately named) legal blog: Jury Nullification is a way black people can protest the justice system, and make white people notice. (by @ElieNYC)https://t.co/DJv4wn9BIK Above the Law (@atlblog) December 7, 2016

Raped 13-yr-old Peruvian, tries to commit suicide by jumping out of window, survived but paralyzed. Doctors not only refused to operate as she was pregnant, but also denied her abortion

In Afghanistan, People hate the Americans from the bottom of their hearts

The Jerusalem Decision: From Creative Chaos to Effective Turmoil Dr Can Erimtan 21st Century WireDid Donald J. Trump have any idea about the impact his words would have across the world?!? Did he have any idea that the whole wide world, including the United Nations, would turn against him?On Wednesday, 6 December 2017, in the White House s Diplomatic Reception Room the President of the United States proceeded to make history, or, proceeded to leave his personal mark on the flow of world events as his words set a whole chain of global events in motion: I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering. In his preamble to this potentially explosive and arguably rather disconcerting statement, Trump explained that [i]n 1995, [under Bill Clinton s watch, that is] Congress adopted the Jerusalem Embassy Act, urging the federal government to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize that that city and so importantly is Israel s capital. This act passed Congress by an overwhelming bipartisan majority and was reaffirmed by a unanimous vote of the Senate only six months ago. In this way, the 45th U.S. President showed himself to have been cut from a completely different cloth indeed, as he uttered words that neither Bill Clinton, nor George W. Bush or, more importantly perhaps, Barack Obama had dared speak.Yes, Trump openly came out and made plain the deep love that dare not speak its name in spite of the vehemently pro-Israel stance taken by the U.S. ever since the time of President Eisenhower (1953-61) and particularly, ever since the Six Day War (5-10 June 1967), in spite of the ceaseless activities of AIPAC and J Street, no previous incumbent had dared bestow a bona fide U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem as a physical token of the deep and ardent bonds between the New World and the Promised Land. Only, Donald J. Trump had the gall to deliver, doing what Clinton had promised yet none of his successors had been able to realise . . . until now, that is.In true Aristotelian fashion Trump took the potentiality that was Jerusalem (known as Al Quds or the Sacred City in the Muslim world) and turned it into an actuality by means of pledging full ambassadorial honours for the ancient city. Following these presidential words, outspoken Israeli voices did not take long to heap praise on the White House. Mark Regev, the erstwhile spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem (2004-7) and frequent Israeli apologist appearing on various mainstream media, and currently even active as Israeli Ambassador in London (since 2015) blurted out that he think[s] this was a just move and a good move for peace. His boss, Bibi or Benjamin Netanyahu (fourth premiership, 2015 present) was equally forthcoming, talking to the press on the same day the U.S. President made his performance in the Diplomatic Reception Room: Thank you President Trump for today s historic decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital. The Jewish people and the Jewish state will be forever grateful. The PM in the next instance also echoed his ambassador s words, declaring that [t]here is no peace that doesn t include Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The idea that Jerusalem should be at the heart of the Jewish people s land and nation namely has its roots in the Bible, in 2 Chronicles 6:5-6, to be precise: Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel, as worded in the New International Version. And Bibi knows that too.Bibi even took his words of praise abroad. First to Paris, where he met with President Emmanuel Macron, who had urged his U.S. counterpart to preserve the city s status quo prior to Trump s Diplomatic Reception Room performance (10 December 2017). Bibi disagreed volubly with the Frenchman, characterising as absurd anyone not willing to recognise the millennial connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem. Next, even proceeding to refer to God s word that had elevated Jerusalem to its lofty position as site for his temple: [y]ou can read it in a very fine book it s called the Bible. The following day he went to Brussels, where he attended a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers (11 December 2017). The Israeli PM told the gathered EU FM as well as the assembled press corps that Trump s Jerusalem declaration makes peace possible because recognizing reality is the substance of peace, the foundation of peace. The Invention of the Jewish People and the Position of Jerusalem in IslamThe state of Israel, as a Jewish nation state implanted on Middle Eastern soil in 1948, employs nationalist myth and religious tradition as credible arguments justifying its mere existence. The Israeli journalist and author Daniel Gavron, for example, states that most Israelis [regard it as] axiomatic that the celebrations for the 3,000th anniversary of the conquest of Jerusalem by King David [in 1995] mark[ed] a real and tangible event, even though he himself doubts its authenticity. In other words, the Jewish people, as a shorthand for the Israeli citzenry, have apparently already been following the political and ideological leanings currently exhorted by Bibi for quite a while. But, as I explained at length some time ago, the mere mention of the term nation or even just people is a problematic issue in its own right the point that I am trying to get across is that nations or people cannot be perceived as natural or even organic phenomena, but rather as contrived and constructed social units consisting of individuals who willingly become part of a larger artificial whole through the manipulation and management of larger forces and structures leaders of men and their organisations. It has been nearly ten years now that the historian Schlomo Sand published his groundbreaking text The Invention of the Jewish People, which attempted to popularise the theoretical constructs of writers and thinkers like Benedict Anderson and Ernst Gellner, amongst others, but, as seems blatantly apparent from looking at Bibi s recent proclamations, his message has clearly failed to penetrate the academic bubble, in spite of having topped Israeli bestseller list for nineteen weeks. With regard to the city of Jerusalem, on the other hand, archeological evidence appears to prove conclusivedly that the site has been continuously occupied for some 5,000 years, signalling the urban centre s pre-Jewish roots. But the notion that King David conquered the place to establish the one true god s temple seems rather shaky. Gavron explains that the biblical account of the capture of the city is the only one we have, and in the opinion of most modern scholars, the Bible is not an entirely reliable historical document. Still, archeological excavations carried out in the summer of 1993 appear to have produced evidence that a certain David indeed founded a dynastic live in the 10th century BCE namely, a small triangular piece of basalt rock . . . subsequently identified as part of a victory pillar erected by the king of Syria and later smashed by an Israelite ruler carrying an Aramaic inscription talking about a Beit David ( House or Dynasty of David ). But the Jewish conquest of Jerusalem did not mark the end of the city s story of military takeover and/or occupation: remaining in ancient times, the Assyrian King Sennacherib laid siege to the city in the year 701 BCE, whereas the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar captured the city in the seventh year of his reign (598 BCE), but of greater importance is the sack and destruction of the city and its temple at the hands of Titus, son of the Roman Emperor Vespasian (70 CE), in response to the Jews Great Revolt against Rome that had sprung up in 66 CE. The ultimate outcome of Rome s harsh response was the Diaspora, as explained by the American rabbi, lecturer, and author Joseph Telushkin, who estimates that as many as one million Jews died as a result, while carrying in its wake the almost two-thousand-year span of Jewish homelessness and exile. With the majority of Jews apparently dispersed from the land and city, Jerusalem was eventually conquered by the Caliph Umar (reign 634-44) in the year 638, an event which seems to have taken place following a peaceful siege, no blood was shed, in the words of Zia H Shah, a New York-based physician and the Chief Editor of the Muslim Times. The addition of Jerusalem to the Dar al-Islam (or, the abode of Islam) was important. Though the city s name does not appear specifically in the Quran (containing only a reference to al-Masjid al- Aqsa or the Furthest Mosque, 17:1), it is the locus of the Prophet s miraculous Night Journey (or Mi raj). The story, as related in various prophetic traditions (or hadith), tells how the figure of the Prophet travelled from Makkah to the Furthest Mosque (in Jerusalem), from whence he ascended Heaven, so that Allah might show him of Our signs. As a result, the Masjid al- Aqsa, arguably built by the Caliph Umar though no historical records exist to this effect, is regarded as the third most sacred mosque in Islam, following the Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah, and Al Masjid An-Nabawi in Madinah.A Pseudo-Ottoman Gambit: Diverting Attention for a PurposeAs a result, Donald Trump s Diplomatic Reception Room stunt far supersedes the thorny Palestinian issue, the life-and-death matter of peace in the Middle East, or even the real estate division between East and West Jerusalem. The English-language pan-Arab television channel Al Jazeera English matter-of-factly point out on its website that [v]iolence, protests and arrests have followed US President Donald Trump s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. All across the globe Muslims have taken to the street to voice their disapproval of Trump s latest attempt to act like a real president, a president unlike any of his predecessors: [r]allies against Trump s decision also took place in the Indian city of Mumbai, the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, and the Japanese capital, Tokyo. But also in Turkey where President Recept Tayyip Erdo an (aka the Prez) has been at pains for years to appear as a rightful heir to the Ottoman sultans of old after all, Sultan Selim I (1512-20) took hold of the city of Jerusalem in 1517, remaining part of the Ottoman fold till the onset of the British Mandate (1917-48). On Thursday and Friday, (7-8 December 2017), spontaneous meetings took place throughout the whole of the country, from Istanbul over Bursa, Ankara, and Mersin, to Hatay, Gaziantep, Tatvan, Adana, Van, and Kahramanmara . More importantly, the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held a meeting in Istanbul on 13 December 2017, and the Prez employed this platform to portray himself as the ultimate champion of Islam, defying not just the United States of America and Israel, but also the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the nominal Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. As I have written quite some time ago, the Prez is more than determined to challenge his erstwhile friend and ally King Salman and see himself as the rightful Calip of the world of Islam, in true pseudo-Ottoman fashion.The OIC meeting dutifully released its Istanbul Declaration on Freedom for Al Quds' : [a]ppreciating the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish people for hosting the Extraordinary Islamic Summit regarding this important cause of Ummah, especially the call for this Extraordinary Summit made by His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdo an (image, left), President of the Republic of Turkey . . . We reject and condemn the US Administration s unlawful statement regarding the status of Al Quds . . . Just like the fact that Israel s decision to annex Al Quds and its actions and practices therewith are never accepted, we declare that this statement is identically null and void from the point of view of conscience, justice and history. We invite all members of the UN, the EU and the international community to remain committed to the status of Al Quds and all related UN Resolutions. Rather than accomplishing anything much at all, the extraordinary OIC meeting primarily served to heighten Tayyip Erdo an s prestige, at home as well as abroad. As such, a cynic would say that Trump s timing was impeccable, as 17/25 December marks the anniversary of the scandal variously known as #AKPgate that erupted in 2013, and that presently was very much on people s minds in Turkey given that the Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab (or R za Sarraf, in Turkish) was appearing in court in New York. The court case investigates breaches of the sanctions placed upon Iran and many Turks eagerly followed the proceedings on Twitter. One Istanbul-based writer Kareem Shaheen described the accusations as follows: [i]n a case that has strained relations between Turkey and the US, Reza Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian gold trader, described a sprawling money laundering network that allowed Iran access to international markets from 2010 to 2015 in violation of sanctions over its nuclear programme. He told jurors in New York on Thursday [30 November 2017] that [Tayyip] Erdo an, who was prime minister of Turkey at the time, had personally authorised a transaction on behalf of Iran. Zarrab said he had [also] bribed the then Turkish economy minister Zafer a layan and the former head of the state-owned Halkbank. As a result, given that the Zarrab case all but exacerbated the dire Turco-American relationship, Trump s Jerusalem declaration must have come as a welcome bolt from the blue for Erdogan. The decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel s capital finally absolved the Erdogan from any attempts to salvage the cross-Atlantic relationship, and instead emboldened him to announce publicly that the Republic of Turkey is now the rightful heir to the Ottoman Empire and the only hope left for Muslims across the world, Muslims that have been victimised by years and years of oppressive U.S. foreign policy. And, putting a cherry on top of the proverbial cake of discontent, Erdo an announced on Thursday, 17 December 2017, that he would establish a Turkish Embassy in Jerusalem, representing Ankara in Palestine, to be clear. Speaking to an audience of faithful followers in the city of Karaman, the Prez declared God willing, the day is close when officially, with God s permission, we will open our embassy there, in Jerusalem.All the while, the Palestinian people continue to suffer and Israel employs any and every pretext available to stage military assaults on the Gaza strip and crack down on Palestinian protesters But, Trump has done his deed, leaving his indelible mark on the Middle East, while the Prez, in turn, can now rightfully claim that he alone is able to represent the Muslim world on the international arena.*** 21WIRE special contributor Dr. Can Erimtan is an independent scholar who was living in Istanbul for some time, with a wide interest in the politics, history and culture of the Balkans and the Greater Middle East. He attended the VUB in Brussels and did his graduate work at the universities of Essex and Oxford. In Oxford, Erimtan was a member of Lady Margaret Hall and he obtained his doctorate in Modern History in 2002. His publications include the book Ottomans Looking West? as well as numerous scholarly articles. In the period 2010-11, he wrote op-eds for Today s Zaman and in the further course of 2011 he also published a number of pieces in H rriyet Daily News. In 2013, he was the Turkey Editor of the stanbul Gazette. He is on Twitter at @theerimtanangleREAD MORE PALESTINE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Palestine FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV

Obama aides slam Trump over claim about past presidents, fallen soldiersWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aides to former U.S. President Barack Obama fired back on Tuesday as criticism mounted over President Donald Trump’s claim that past U.S. presidents did not contact family members of soldiers who died in combat during their time in the White House. Trump offered no evidence to back up his claim on Monday, which was immediately pointed out to be false. His remarks came amid questions at a press conference over Trump not having responded yet to the deaths of four U.S. soldiers in an Oct. 4 ambush in Niger. Asked why he had not acknowledged the soldiers’ deaths, Trump said he would send letters to their families later on Monday and would call them “at some point during the period of time.” Obama’s former White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday that Obama would repeatedly “show his enormous respect ... for those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country” through various visits and meetings as well as phonecalls and letters. Trump, a Republican who as president serves as commander-in-chief of the U.S. military, then appeared to criticize his predecessors handling of the issue of American soldiers’ deaths. “The traditional way, if you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn’t make calls. A lot of them didn’t make calls,” Trump said. Pressed on his claim, particularly about Obama, Trump retreated. “I don’t know if he did. No,” Trump said. “I was told that he didn’t often, and a lot of presidents don’t. They write letters ... I do a combination of both.” “President Obama, I think, probably did sometimes, and maybe sometimes he didn’t. I don’t know. That’s what I was told,” Trump added. “Other presidents did not call, they’d write letters. And some presidents didn’t do anything.” Obama’s former aides were quick to lash back. “Stop the damn lying - you’re the President,” Eric Holder, Obama’s former attorney general, said in a post on Twitter. Alyssa Mastromonaco, Obama’s former deputy chief of staff, also called it a lie. Earnest, now an MSNBC commentator, told the network that past Republican and Democratic presidents had recognized their duty to honor soldiers’ sacrifices and not highlight their own actions. “Unfortunately, President Trump seems incapable of actually doing that,” Earnest said. A spokesperson for former President George W. Bush said he had called, written and visited the families of fallen soldiers. Representatives of former Presidents Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush and Jimmy Carter either did not immediately respond to a request for comment or did not have an immediate reaction. An aide to Clinton told ABC News that he did call the families of fallen soldiers.

Morales signs new law forbidding construction of Amazon road

Islamic State Claims To Have Abducted 21 Coptic Christians In Libya

REPORT: Foreign Leaders Forced To Praise Trump’s Electoral Win To Get Him To Have A ConversationThe New York Times reported that foreign leaders in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Vatican were told to praise Trump for his electoral college victory if they want him to listen to what they have to say. Sources told the Times that overseas leaders were briefed on how to handle Trump, making sure to take into account his huge ego and fragile feelings. They were told point-blank to give Trump compliments and praise, and not to expect him to attend long meetings.Peter Westmacott, a former British ambassador to the United States during President Obama s second term, gave reporters his take on the preparatory process with foreign leaders.In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016Westmacott told reporters, If you were prepping people for Donald Trump, the two or three points would be one, bear in mind this is still a guy who focuses on wins. Secondly, he is a deal maker, a pragmatist. Third, this is a guy with a limited attention span. He absolutely won t listen to visitors droning on for a half-hour or longer if they need an interpreter. How pathetic that NATO leaders are told to keep meetings w/Trump brief due to his short attention span! Embarrassing that he represents us! Grandmago (@pellett48) May 18, 2017Trump was also prepped for the trip ahead of time. Aides say they withheld slides showing pictures of the Saudi Arabian king s luxurious weekend palace out of fear of distracting the president. The powerpoint presentation that President Trump received was also shortened, in order to make sure he paid attention.Reportedly, even with all of the hand-holding and special treatment he was set to receive from foreign leaders, President Trump sought to shorten his overseas trip from nine days down to just five. Sources say that Trump expressed dread over the length of the trip.The President of the United States curtseyed to a Saudi king and then needed a nap. Bess Kalb (@bessbell) May 22, 2017His first overseas trip marks the longest amount of time that Trump has gone without visiting one of his properties in the four months since he s been president. Photo by Joe Raedle via Getty Images.

Norwegian Prime Minister spent an afternoon working incognito as a taxi driver in Oslo. He wanted to hear from real Norwegian voters and stated that taxis were one of the few places where people shared their true views

LIVE FEED: Boom! Sessions Comes Out Swinging [Video]Live feed of AG Sessions testifying NOW are below video of Opening Statement He s on fire! His opening statement refutes any and all claims he did anything wrong!FULL OPENING STATEMENT:LIVE FEED OF TESTIMONY FULL TRANSCRIPT OF OPENING STATEMENT BELOW LIVE FEEDThank you Chairman Burr and Ranking Member Warner for allowing me to publicly appear before the committee today.I appreciate the Committee s critically important efforts to investigate Russian interference with our democratic process. Such interference can never be tolerated and I encourage every effort to get to the bottom of any such allegations.As you know, the Deputy Attorney General has appointed a special counsel to investigate matters related to Russian interference in the 2016 election. I am here today to address several issues that have been specifically raised before this committee, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond to questions as fully as I am able to do so. But as I advised you, Mr. Chairman, and consistent with long-standing Department of Justice practice, I cannot and will not violate my duty to protect confidential communications with the President.Now, let me address some issues directly: I did not have any private meetings nor do I recall any conversations with any Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel. I did not attend any meetings at that event. Prior to the speech, I attended a reception with my staff that included at least two dozen people and President Trump. Though I do recall several conversations I had during that pre-speech reception, I do not have any recollection of meeting or talking to the Russian Ambassador or any other Russian officials. If any brief interaction occurred in passing with the Russian Ambassador during that reception, I do not remember it. After the speech, I was interviewed by the news media, which had gathered as I remember in a different room, and then I left the hotel.But whether I ever attended a reception where the Russian Ambassador was also present is entirely beside the point of this investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 campaigns. Let me state this clearly: I have never met with or had any conversations with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election. Further, I have no knowledge of any such conversations by anyone connected to the Trump campaign. I was your colleague in this body for 20 years, and the suggestion that I participated in any collusion or that I was aware of any collusion with the Russian government to hurt this country, which I have served with honor for over 35 years, or to undermine the integrity of our democratic process, is an appalling and detestable lie.Relatedly, there is the assertion that I did not answer Senator Franken s question honestly at my confirmation hearing. That is false. This is how it happened. He asked me a rambling question that included dramatic, new allegations that the United States intelligence community had advised President-elect Trump that there was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump s surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government. I was taken aback by these explosive allegations, which he said were being reported in breaking news that day. I wanted to refute immediately any suggestion that I was a part of such an activity. I replied, Senator Franken, I m not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn t have did not have communications with the Russians, and I m unable to comment on it. That was the context in which I was asked the question, and in that context, my answer was a fair and correct response to the charge as I understood it. It simply did not occur to me to go further than the context of the question and list any conversations I may have had with Russians in routine situations, as I had with numerous other foreign officials.Please hear me now. It was only in March of this year that a reporter asked my spokesperson whether I had ever met with any Russian officials. This was the first time that question had been posed. On the same day, we provided that reporter with the information related to the meeting I and my staff had held in my Senate office with Ambassador Kislyak, as well as the brief encounter in July after a speech that I had given during the convention in Cleveland, Ohio. I also provided the reporter a list of all 25 foreign ambassador meetings I had held during 2016. In addition, I provided supplemental testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee to explain this. I readily acknowledged these two meetings. Certainly nothing improper occurred.Let me also explain clearly the circumstances of my recusal from the investigation into the Russian interference with the 2016 election. I was sworn in as Attorney General on Thursday, February 9th. The very next day, I met with career Department officials, including a senior ethics official, to discuss some things publicly reported in the press and that might have some bearing on the issue of recusal. From that point, February 10th, until I announced my formal recusal on March 2nd, I was never briefed on any investigative details and did not access information about the investigation; I received only the limited information that the Department s career officials determined was necessary to inform my recusal decision. As such, I have no knowledge about this investigation beyond what has been publicly reported, and I have taken no action with regard to any such investigation. On the date of my formal recusal, my Chief of Staff sent an email to the heads of the relevant departments, including by name to Director Comey of the FBI, to instruct them to inform their staffs of this recusal and to advise them not to brief me or involve me in any such matters. And in fact, they have not. Importantly, I recused myself not because of any asserted wrongdoing on my part during the campaign, but because a Department of Justice regulation, 28 CFR 45.2, required it. That regulation states, in effect, that Department employees should not participate in investigations of a campaign if they have served as a campaign advisor.The scope of my recusal, however, does not and cannot interfere with my ability to oversee the Department of Justice, including the FBI, which has an $8 billion budget and 35,000 employees. I presented to the President my concerns, and those of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, about the ongoing leadership issues at the FBI as stated in my letter recommending the removal of Mr. Comey along with the Deputy Attorney General s memorandum, which have been released publicly by the White House. It is a clear statement of my views. It is absurd, frankly, to suggest that a recusal from a single specific investigation would render an Attorney General unable to manage the leadership of the various Department of Justice law enforcement components that conduct thousands of investigations.Finally, during his testimony, Mr. Comey discussed a conversation he and I had about a meeting Mr. Comey had with the President. I am happy to share with the committee my recollection of the conversation I had with Mr. Comey. Following a routine morning threat briefing, Mr. Comey spoke to me and my Chief of Staff. While he did not provide me with any of the substance of his conversation with the President, Mr. Comey expressed concern about the proper communications protocol with the White House and with the President. I responded to his comment by agreeing that the FBI and Department of Justice needed to be careful to follow Department policies regarding appropriate contacts with the White House. Mr. Comey had served in the Department of Justice for the better part of two decades, and I was confident that Mr. Comey understood and would abide by the Department s well-established rules governing any communications with the White House about ongoing investigations. My comments encouraged him to do just that and indeed, as I understand, he did. Our Department of Justice rules on proper communication between the Department and the White House have been in place for years. Mr. Comey well knew them, I thought, and assumed correctly that he complied with them.I will finish with this. I recused myself from any investigation into the campaigns for President, but I did not recuse myself from defending my honor against scurrilous and false allegations. At all times throughout the course of the campaign, the confirmation process, and since becoming Attorney General, I have dedicated myself to the highest standards.The people of this country expect an honest and transparent government and that is what we are giving them. This President wants to focus on the people of this country to ensure they are treated fairly and kept safe. The Trump agenda is to improve the lives of the American people. I know some have other agendas, but that is his agenda and it is one I share.Importantly, as Attorney General I have a responsibility to enforce the laws of this Nation, to protect this country from its enemies, and to ensure the fair administration of justice. I intend to work every day with our fine team and the superb professionals in the Department of Justice to advance the important work we have to do. These false attacks, the innuendo, and the leaks, you can be sure, will not intimidate me. In fact, these events have only strengthened my resolve to fulfill my duty to reduce crime, and to support our federal, state, and local law enforcement officers who work our streets every day. Just last week, it was reported that overdose deaths in this country are rising faster than ever recorded. The murder rate is up over 10 percent the largest increase since 1968. Together, we are telling the gangs, the cartels, the fraudsters, and the terrorists we are coming after you. Every one of our citizens, no matter who they are or where they live, has the right to be safe in their homes and communities. And I will not be deterred, and I will not allow this great Department to be deterred from its vital mission.How said that this is happening to a very good man!FORMER AG MUKASEY BACKED UP THE INNOCENCE OF SESSIONS AND TRUMP EARLIER TODAY:Former AG Mukasey went there during two morning show appearances today. He told Bill Hemmer he sees no crime in the Russia probe then told Maria Bartiromo of FOX Business (video below) that Obama may be guilty of obstruction in the investigation into Hillary s email: President Obama s statement that he thought she shouldn t be charged because she didn t intend to violate the law is the real Clinton obstruction because that is a statement by him that this is the way I want that investigation to come out A take on the matter, for what it s worth. Mukasey: I don t see evidence of any crime in Russia probe https://t.co/b4KNztDyLk Mister Eerie (@Psychogrotesque) June 13, 2017 Mukasey: He was introducing an element that was not in the statute to know you re violating the law and he was saying that, that was the way he wanted the investigation to end. Obviously the Justice Department picked up on that. In his testimony last week, former FBI Director James Comey said Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch asked him to call the Hillary Clinton probe a matter, not an investigation, but Mukasey said that s not breaking the law. That s, I think, not obstruction because she s simply playing the same card the Clinton campaign is playing, Mukasey said.On Tuesday, President Trump said on Twitter that Lynch committed a crime and gave Hillary Clinton a free pass and protection. A.G. Lynch made law enforcement decisions for political purposes gave Hillary Clinton a free pass and protection. Totally illegal! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2017Meanwhile Democratic lawmaker Diane Feinstein said she wanted to open an investigation into Loretta Lynch s statement, but Mukasey said calling it a matter is just the tip of the iceberg. Then you re talking about how come the Justice Department didn t use the Grand Jury. How come they interviewed her at the end and two days later Jim Comey came out with a statement, Mukasey said, noting that the Lynch interview was not recorded. This was an un-serious investigation. FORMER AG MUKASEY DIGS INTO COMEY: DEVIOUS Former AG Michael Mukasey considers #Comey s calculated move regarding his memo extraordinarily devious ! #DrainTheDeepState @POTUS #1A pic.twitter.com/ploVQsdFzf eternal vigilance (@uspatrol) June 11, 2017WOW! To call the FBI Director devious is huge!Read more: FOX News

HERE’S PROOF Trump Is Peaking At Just The Right Time! [Video] TRUMP is peaking at just the right time!TRUMP held a rally in ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA TODAY IT WAS PACKED!TEAM TRUMP IS WINNING FLORIDA! Get out & VOTE #TrumpTrain! January 2017 #DrainTheSwamp pic.twitter.com/uJSKURcUlq Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) October 24, 2016VIA: GATEWAY PUNDIT

Highlights: The Trump presidency on March 13 at 9:05 p.m. EDT(Reuters) - Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday: Fourteen million Americans would lose medical insurance by next year under a Republican plan to dismantle Obamacare, the nonpartisan U.S. Congressional Budget Office says in a report that dealt a potential setback to Trump’s first major legislative initiative. A Republican plan to repeal taxes set under Obamacare would benefit the wealthiest U.S. households at more than five times the rate for middle-income families, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The U.S. Department of Justice asks for more time to respond to a request from lawmakers for evidence about Trump’s allegation that then-President Barack Obama wiretapped him during the 2016 election campaign. A group of states renew their effort to block Trump’s revised temporary ban on refugees and travelers from several Muslim-majority countries, arguing that his executive order is the same as the first one that was halted by federal courts. Trump’s meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been pushed back from Tuesday until Friday because of the winter storm bearing down on the northeastern United States, the White House says. Ahead of her trip to Washington, Merkel tells business leaders in Munich that free trade is important for both the United States and Germany. Trump is planning to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at a two-day summit next month, according to media reports, as his administration seeks to smooth relations with the world’s second-largest economy. Trump’s Middle East envoy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Jerusalem as the new administration tries to restart peace talks with the Palestinians. Trump is set to formally announce a review of vehicle fuel efficiency rules locked in at the end of the Obama administration when he meets with automaker chiefs this week, according to two sources briefed on the matter. Trump on Thursday unveils his 2018 budget emphasizing a military buildup, and some Republicans are concerned they will be forced to choose between opposing the president or backing reductions in popular programs such as aid for disabled children and hot meals for the elderly. The U.S. Senate confirms Trump’s pick to run the government health programs for the elderly, poor and disabled, Medicare and Medicaid, filling a critical role as Republicans fight to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Young people 'feel they have nothing to live for' "Almost a third of long-term unemployed young people have contemplated taking their own lives."

Jets bomb Boko Haram in Nigeria's first major offensive

New Zealand Customs will lose the automatic right to examine people's smartphones and electronic devices at the border, under a government proposal.

Growing concerns over 'in the air' transmission of Ebola - Canadian scientists find the deadliest form of the virus can be transmitted by air. It goes from pigs to monkeys with no direct contact. There are accounts of pigs dying at the start of human outbreaks.

McConnell happier with Trump tweets after tax victoryWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A summer spat between President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has turned into a warm embrace - and all it took was a sweeping rewrite of the U.S. tax code. For months, McConnell urged the president to lock his cell phone in a drawer and retire his signature tweets that have Washington abuzz on a daily basis. He even chided Trump for having “excessive expectations” of Congress. For his part, Trump scorched McConnell in August for failing to repeal Obamacare, sidestepped reporters’ questions over whether the senator should retire and tweeted, “Mitch, get to work.” But with Congress’ passage of the tax bill this week, giving Trump his first major legislative victory, the president tweeted on Wednesday, “I would like to congratulate @SenateMajLdr on having done a fantastic job.” McConnell joined in the love fest on Friday, or at least what constitutes a love fest for the understated senator. “With regard to the president’s tweeting habits, I haven’t been a fan until this week. I’m warming up to it,” McConnell quipped. Still, he reined in reporters who asked whether he might visit Trump in Mar-a-Lago, the president’s Florida resort, over the Christmas and New Year holidays. McConnell laughed and said he would instead be attending a Dec. 30 football game in Jacksonville, Fla. “That’s the closest I’ll get.”

Scared by Trump, some migrants on Mexico border give up American dreamNOGALES, Mexico (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s election victory and his plans to crack down on illegal immigration is so troubling for the groups of men gathered just south of a rusty, towering fence on the U.S.-Mexico border that some are even considering going home. For most poor Central Americans and Mexicans at travelers’ shelters in the desert town of Nogales, Trump’s threats to build a wall along the whole border and deport millions of illegal immigrants have not made them abandon their harrowing journeys and hopes of a better life in the north. But for some like Juan Alberto Lopez, the prospect of living in a country they believe will become more hostile to people like them no longer holds enough appeal to make the risky crossing across the desolate Arizona borderland. “Now everything’s changed,” said the despondent Lopez, 25, as he sat staring blankly at the ground in outside one migrant center, under a cobalt sky. Lopez hails from the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico’s poorest, and lived for two years in Arizona and Utah working in construction before being deported in January. Under one of Trump’s proposals, he would face a two-year federal prison sentence for returning after deportation. He had decided to go back to the United States when Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was projected to win the election. Now, he plans to seek work in Nogales instead, or go home. “They’re going to detain all the migrants, and if it’s like that, it’s better to stay here with your own people, be happy, and just endure it,” he added, echoing the sentiments of a third of more than a dozen migrants interviewed by Reuters in Nogales following Trump’s victory. In running for president, Trump promised to deport millions of illegal immigrants as well as build a wall along the border to stop others entering the United States, and make Mexico pay for it. His uncompromising stance helped drive a rush over the U.S. border as some migrants calculated it was better to cross over before the election in case Trump won. That could continue in coming months even as some like Lopez decide they no longer want to live in the United States. During fiscal year 2016, which ended in September, the number of people detained along the U.S.-Mexico border surpassed 408,000, a 23 percent jump from last year, although it was less than in 2014, official U.S. data published last month showed. “I really don’t care about President Trump. I’m always going to cross regardless of any walls he wants,” said Alexi Solano, 20, a migrant from El Salvador, whose wife and young son are already in Los Angeles. “That doesn’t matter to us. What we want is to be together with our families.” Mexico’s deputy interior minister for migration, Humberto Roque Villanueva, said he expected that flow to peak in 2016 as Trump will ramp up already tough deportation policies applied by President Barack Obama. “A certain radicalization of the North American immigration policy is coming,” Roque Villanueva said. In Nogales, a city of 230,000 dotted with factories of multinational firms like Motorola and B/E Aerospace, migrants say people smugglers typically charge $4,000 per person for a one-way ticket across the border. As with long stretches of the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border, a 25-foot-tall fence already exists along the international boundary here, built in 2011 and made up of thick rust-colored metal beams that follow the rocky terrain for miles to the west and east of the city. Beyond the fence on the U.S. side, a parallel set of wooden posts are topped with cameras and sensors. In the distance, U.S. immigration vehicles slowly patrol the border. Some 25 miles (40 km) to the east of town, the towering fence comes to an end and is replaced with a waist-high barrier that mainly serves to stop trucks plowing through the desert. While some migrants trudge around the barricade, risking weather exposure on foot through rugged terrain menaced by drug cartel thugs and poisonous snakes, others opt to ride hidden in trucks that drive through official crossings, a route made possible, several said, by bribes. Maria Engracia Robles, a Roman Catholic nun who runs El Comedor center for deportees and migrants within sight of the border fence in Nogales, thinks Trump’s victory will likely bring more hardship and worries about the challenges that mass deportations would bring. “More anguish, tears, laments, and lots of people in Mexico without work, without anything to do and no place to go,” said Robles, whose center provides free meals, clothes and basic medical care. Braced against the dry wind, dozens of hungry migrants line up around El Comedor’s entrance for breakfast each morning. On Thursday, two men just inside the shelter could be overheard on mobile phones asking for a coyote, or human trafficker, to attempt another crossing. “Here there is no work, and salaries are terrible,” said Robles. The U.S.-Mexico border is home to the largest per capita wage differential of any land border on the planet, with average U.S. wages about five times higher than Mexican wages. Further south, in Central America, incomes are even lower, and crime worse, fueling a surge of migration in recent years. More Central American migrants were apprehended on the U.S. southern border than Mexicans this year. Jose Flores, 19, a Honduran migrant who set out for the United States three months ago, ticked off the perils posed by violent gangs and dismal job prospects in his home country. “I imagine it’s going to get a lot harder to cross,” he said. “But what hasn’t changed is we’re looking for a better life.” (This story has been refiled to fix typo in 20th paragraph)

Burger King has said says it is no longer sourcing food from an Irish supplier linked to horsemeat.

UK: Police officers armed with submachine guns are to be deployed on routine patrol of Britain's streets for the first time.

Clinton faces pressure to pick VP who is tough on trade, Wall StreetWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Members of the Democratic Party’s liberal wing on Thursday nervously awaited Hillary Clinton’s announcement in coming days of a vice presidential running mate, urging her to choose someone who opposes a massive Pacific free trade deal and backs tough Wall Street reform. Two U.S. senators, Tim Kaine and Cory Booker, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack were among the contenders, according to a Democratic source with knowledge of the discussions. “After promising to oppose the TPP, it’s important for Clinton to pick someone who shares that position,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee The Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, known as TPP, became a key issue during the primary season, with critics contending that it would be unfair to American workers. Clinton’s chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, has headed the effort on the U.S. left to oppose the TPP and trade deals like it. The Democratic source said that while Clinton’s decision was being closely held, there were “vibes” she may be leaning toward Kaine as a partner to take on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his vice presidential running mate Mike Pence in the Nov. 8 election. But the source said that the consideration of Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa, “is real,” even if Kaine, a senator from Virginia who is also a former governor of the state, might have an edge. Clinton “wants somebody who will be a reliable partner she can trust and make the policy decisions” and potentially step into the presidency, the source said, adding that Clinton sees Kaine as someone who would “fit that bill.” Hispanic-Americans, meanwhile, continued to push for a first-ever Latino on the Democratic ticket. “For our members that kind of a message would certainly resonate,” said Yvanna Cancela, political director for the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas. “It is way past the time for when we have a Latino in one of the highest offices in the country.” Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro had both been mentioned. Others have also come under consideration. The source added that U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a favorite of the party’s liberal wing and a fierce critic of Wall Street, received close consideration by Clinton but would not provide the “right balance” for the ticket. Others have also been under consideration in recent days, including Booker, to see if they hit a “surprise” chord with Clinton, the source said. Booker, an African-American, is a first-term senator and a former mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Both Kaine and Vilsack have backed free-trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiation by the Obama administration, encompassing about 40 percent of the world’s economies stretching from Japan to Chile. Critics include Trump as well as Sanders. Clinton herself has distanced herself from the trade deal. Taylor said that it is “also important she pick someone committed to strong Wall Street reform,” saying that the “wrong pick” could hamper Democrats’ drive to keep Trump from winning the White House. Booker traveled to Cleveland to defend the Clinton campaign, which has come under continued attack at the Republican convention there this week. “The vile and the viciousness, it doesn’t reflect who we are as a country,” Booker said of the Republican convention, in an interviewed with MSNBC. Asked about his appearance Thursday on Clinton’s official Instagram account, Booker said it should not be read as tea leaves about a potential vice presidential pick. “You have a social media-minded person and I understand this platform,” he said. The Democratic source knowledgeable about the process said Clinton could announce her running mate as early as Friday in Florida. She will campaign there in the run-up to next week’s Democratic convention in Philadelphia, where Clinton is expected to be formally nominated. Another Democratic source said Clinton might wait until Saturday to help keep the media focused on the Republican convention in Cleveland, where opposing wings of that party were in open warfare. Television interviewer Charlie Rose, speaking with Clinton recently, noted that some view Kaine as “boring.” Clinton responded, “I love that about him.” Susie Tompkins Buell, a founder of the Esprit fashion label and close friend of Clinton, on Thursday would not comment on who might be the choice. But Buell, a major donor to Clinton’s campaign, said the person would be a “high contrast” to Trump’s choice of Pence.

Howard Stern: Having Trump On My Show To Demean Women With Sex Talk Was No AccidentTime and time again, Donald Trump appeared on the Howard Stern Show. During his interviews, he rated women on a scale from one to ten, told Stern it was okay to call his daughter Ivanka a piece of ass, and bragged about his own sex life. (I ll wait while you gag.) These comments have come back to bite Trump in his orange derriere repeatedly throughout his run for the White House.Howard Stern, who happens to be a Democrat, is finally commenting on the impact his past shows have had on this year s election. He said that having the billionaire on his show to talk about sex and degrade women was no accident, Trump fit the part by nature. Stern also said that he was not replaying the tapes of the GOP nominee s old interviews because he considers Trump a friend and doing so would be a betrayal. Donald Trump did the show in an effort to be entertaining and have fun with us, Stern said on his Sirius satellite radio show. I fully knew what I was doing when I interviewed Trump. I knew I had a guy who loved to talk about sex. I had a guy who loved to evaluate women on a scale of 1 to 10. These are avenues I went down because I knew it would entertain the audience. Stern said that he was stunned that the tapes from his show hadn t surfaced earlier. He added that he had asked Trump what the heck he was thinking when he launched his bid for the presidency. I said, Why are you doing this? Why would a guy with billions of dollars (run for president)? Don t you know what they re gonna do to you? Don t you know they re gonna open up everything?' The shock jock also weighed in on the Pu**ygate tapes that recently turned up in which Trump bragged that he could sexually assault women because he is a star. Stern is known for his raunchiness, but even he said that Trump s locker room talk defense was a load of crap. I have never been in the room when someone has said, Grab them by the pussy,' said Stern. No one s ever advocated going that step where you get a little bit, Hey I m going to invade someone s space.' Featured image via Steve Pope/Getty Images and Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

South Korea's Moon says there will be no war on Korean peninsulaVLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday there will not be war on the Korea peninsula, even though tensions have risen considerably since North Korea s latest nuclear test less than a week ago.

Are You A Conservative, Progressive Or Muslim?Funny but sadly very true!Match A, B and C with Conservative, Progressive or Muslim.Your favorite scent is:A. GunpowderB. PatchouliC. Fresh bloodWhen your sister is raped, you:A. Hunt down the bastard and drag him to the cops.B. Hope the rapist isn t your boyfriend.C. Kill your sister.When a Jewish person steps in front of you, you say:A. Excuse me, sir? B. Typical Zionist! C. Death to Israel! When a Christian steps in front of you, you say:A. After you, brother. B. Typical Christo-fascist! C. Death to infidels! As a concerned parent, you make sure your kids know how to:A. Punch a bully.B. Blame the patriarchal hetero-normative Zionist hegemony for all their problems.C. Stab a Jew or infidel.Your favorite prayer isA. Our FatherB. Oh God, I hope I m not pregnant!C. Allahu akbar!(For guys)When you see an attractive woman on the street, you:A. WhistleB. Wonder if she s a transgenderC. Take her home as a sex slave(For gals)When you see a handsome man at work, you:A. Bring him cookiesB. Bring him up on false sex harassment chargesC. What is work?CAN YOU ADD TO OUR QUIZ? VIA: IOTW

Senators call for probe of cyber attacks by RussiaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican and Democratic senators called on Sunday for a special bipartisan panel to investigate cyber attacks against the United States by foreign countries with a focus on Russia’s alleged efforts to influence the U.S. presidential election. Charles Schumer, who will be Senate Democratic leader in the new U.S. Congress in January, and Republican John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said separately on Sunday a select committee was needed to ensure effective congressional focus on the hacking of Democratic Party emails during the campaign. “The fact that they’re hacking our political system and trying to influence the outcome, as it seems to be, that is serious, serious stuff,” Schumer of New York told a news conference in New York. He said the panel should also examine hacking by other countries including China and Iran. Two other senators, Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island, joined Schumer and McCain of Arizona in sending a letter to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell requesting the panel. By having one dedicated committee on the subject, they said, the investigation could be targeted, while avoiding the jurisdictional overlap that would occur if multiple panels started conducting their own reviews. “Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American,” they wrote. “Cybersecurity is the ultimate cross-jurisdictional challenge, and we must take a comprehensive approach to meet this challenge effectively.” A spokesman for McConnell’s office said on Sunday he would review the letter from the four lawmakers. Last week, McConnell said he would support efforts to investigate Russian interference in the presidential election. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia tried to influence the Nov. 8 election by hacking individuals and institutions, including Democratic Party bodies. The matter has angered Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who says he won the vote fairly. Russian officials have denied accusations of interfering in the U.S. election. The U.S. Electoral College is expected to officially vote on Monday for Trump as the country’s next president. At meetings scheduled in every state and the District of Columbia, the institution’s 538 electors, generally chosen by state parties, will cast official ballots for president and vice president. Trump won a majority of Electoral College votes, while the popular vote went to Democrat Hillary Clinton. U.S. President Barack Obama suggested on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized the Democratic Party email hacks. McCain told CNN’s “State of the Union” program that the U.S. response to the Russian attacks had been “totally paralyzed” and said cyber warfare “is perhaps the only area where our adversaries have an advantage over us.” The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment. John Podesta, Clinton’s presidential campaign chairman, said on Sunday it was an “open question” whether Trump’s advisers colluded with Russia to hack into Democratic Party emails to try to sway the election outcome. Leaked emails had revealed details of paid speeches that Clinton gave to Wall Street, party infighting and comments from Clinton top aides who said they were shocked about the extent of her use of a private server to send emails while U.S. secretary of state. The leaks led to embarrassing media coverage and prompted some party officials to resign. Podesta said there was evidence that Trump associates had contact with a Russian intelligence official and the website WikiLeaks before U.S. intelligence agencies accused Russia of being behind computer attacks of Democratic emails, including Podesta’s. He did not specify what the evidence was. “It’s very much unknown whether there was collusion. I think Russian diplomats have said post-election that they were talking to the Trump campaign,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. “Not what Mr. Trump knew, but what did ‘Trump Inc’ know and when did they know it? Were they in touch with the Russians? I think those are still open questions,” he added. Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, rejected the notion that Trump or his associates were aware of and in touch with the Russians during the hack attack. “Even this question is insane,” Priebus told “Fox News Sunday.” “Of course we don’t interface with the Russians.

Water supply nearing limit for food production

Miss Texas Gave A VERY Unexpected Answer When Asked About Trump, And Republicans Are FuriousLong before Cara Mund, Miss North Dakota, won the 2018 Miss America pageant, she faced a crowd of 50 other young women, all competing in various categories for the coveted crown. Two of those categories, to most of our readers, are patriarchal and silly: The evening wear and swimwear competitions pit all these beautiful young women against one another for assessment on their looks by a panel of judges.The other two categories, however, can be quite interesting, especially when something happens like what went down with Miss Texas in this year s competition.The talent portion of the show is, of course, just plain entertaining. Perhaps you ve seen the movie Miss Congeniality, starring Sandra Bullock, and if you have, you know what I m hoping to see in a talent show. The real thing is very little like that, however, and so is the interview portion of Miss America. Source: Meme Central, a folder on my computerTonight, Miss Texas was no Miss Rhode Island. There were two rounds of questions this time around, and when Margana Wood was called on for the second, more serious question, she got a doozy. Drawing a judge s name from a dish, she pulled Jess Cagle, the editor-in-chief of People Magazine. Cagle wasted zero time getting right to it: Last month, a demonstration of neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and the KKK in Charlottesville, Virginia turned violent and a counter-protester was killed. The president said there was shared blame with, quote, very fine people on both sides. Were there? Tell me yes or no, and explain. Well, then. That s a far cry from every participant simply answering World Peace! whenever their turn came around to say the one thing to the world they had in their heart. Ms. Wood was not, as they say, f*cking around. Barely containing her anger, Margana turned it up to 11: I think that the white supremacist issue, it was very obvious that it was a terrorist attack. And I think that president Donald Trump should have made a statement on it earlier, addressing the fact, and making sure all Americans feel safe in this country. That is the number one issue right now. Naturally, Republicans were butthurt. Here s a summation of all the cleverest things they came up with in response:#MissAmerica pageant should be renamed "Miss Liberal America" pageant Kurt (@KMGIndy) September 11, 2017OOOH! We re gonna need to call the burn ward! Just kidding, go f*ck yourself, Kurt.Watch the amazing exchange here:Miss Texas was asked if Trump handled Charlottesville badly. She, uh didn't play. ?? #MissAmerica pic.twitter.com/5JMT4tBpeL shauna (@goldengateblond) September 11, 2017Featured image via Donald Kravitz/Getty Images

BREAKING: TRUMP Just Made A HUGE Announcement…Proving He’s The Only Candidate Who Truly Believes #BlackLivesMatterHillary pretends to care about the Black community. If she cared so much, why is she so willing to carry out the legacy of black genocide by Planned Parenthood founder and white supremacist Margaret Sanger? If she really cared about the Black community, why is she not fighting taxpayer funded Planned Parenthood abortion clinics on every inner-city corner in America? Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in America. 78% of their clinics are in minority communities. Blacks make up 12% of the population, but 35% of the abortions in America. Colored people are like human weeds and are to be exterminated. Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood founderDonald Trump made a bold move today that proves his commitment to the Black community. Trump issued a call to make permanent the Hyde Amendment that bans almost all federal taxpayer funding of abortions and is credited with saving the lives of over 1 million Americans from abortion. Trump- s call comes as Hillary Clinton is campaigning in reversing Hyde and forcing Americans to fund free abortions for women with their tax dollars.Every year, Congress is forced to fight the battle to protect Americans from being forced to pay for abortions with their tax dollars. Democrats annually fight the pro-life budget provision and hope they can eventually reverse it should they take control of both the White House and Congress.That has led to pro-life groups calling to the adoption of a permanent law putting Hyde in place long-term and making it more difficult for pro-abortion forces to reverse. Today, Trump announced his support for such a law.The call for banning taxpayer funding of abortions comes in a new letter from Trump. Trump commits to a new policy: Making the Hyde Amendment permanent law to protect taxpayers from having to pay for abortions. Hillary Clinton s unwavering commitment to advancing taxpayer-funded abortion on-demand stands in stark contrast to the commitments I ve made, Trump writes, to advance the rights of unborn children and their mothers when elected president. Via: Life News

Canada's largest mental health and addiction treatment and research centre is calling for the legalization of marijuana, with strict controls that would govern who could buy weed, from where, and in what quantity.

France's Macron says work on Brexit bill not even halfway doneBRUSSELS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that work on settling Britain s financial obligations to the EU when it leaves was not even halfway done. He said more than half the work remained to be completed on the crucial issue of Britain s exit bill and that discussions could not move to the next phase on the future relationship until the three divorce issues of citizens rights, the Irish border and financial settlement have been settled. A lot is in the hands of Theresa May, Macron said in a news conference at the end of an EU summit.

Innocent Guantnamo Torture Victim Fouad al-Rabiah Is Released In Kuwait (But the worst part about this story is that the mainstream media has buried it.)

Tunisia riots: US warns Middle East to reform or be overthrown

Florida cites complaints over Chevron gas prices as shortages mountNEW YORK (Reuters) - Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Thursday her office had received 45 complaints of inflated prices at Chevron Corp branded gasoline stations in the southern part of the state, as shortages worsened ahead of Hurricane Irma s expected U.S. landfall this weekend. More than 1,800 gas stations - more than a quarter of the state s total - were without fuel late Thursday, up from 1,200 Wednesday, ahead of Irma, which is battering the Caribbean with winds at speeds of around 185 miles per hour (300 km per hour). The storm is expected to hit Florida on Sunday. Gasoline prices in Florida have risen sharply in the last week, with the average cost of a regular gallon of gas hitting $2.725 on Thursday, according to motorists advocacy group AAA. Suppliers and terminal operators said demand has soared as motorists in coastal areas flee. Shortages were more acute in southern Florida, according to Gasbuddy.com. More than 40 percent of stations in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area were without fuel and around 30 percent were empty in the West Palm Beach-Fort Pierce areas, said Patrick DeHaan of Gasbuddy.com. So Chevron, if you re watching me right now, you need to call us and tell us why your prices are inflated in south Florida, Bondi said on Fox News. Chevron has said several times this week it has no tolerance for price gouging at its stations. No retail outlets in Florida are directly owned by the company. The company reiterated that on Thursday, saying consumers should report price gouging to Bondi s office. Our fuel supply agreements with independently owned Chevron and Texaco stations in the state and elsewhere require them to comply with all laws, spokesman Braden Reddall said in a statement. Port Everglades, the major point of fuel delivery for south Florida, is set to close Friday evening. At Tampa Bay, three ships made deliveries Thursday morning, unloading 1.2 million gallons each, said Samara Sodos, a spokeswoman for the port, adding that the port received five deliveries on Wednesday. One terminal operator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his terminal typically loaded 25,000 to 30,000 barrels a day onto trucks every day, and expected to hit 40,000 to 45,000 on Thursday. Concerns about shortages spread beyond Florida as Caribbean fuel terminals closed and residents began evacuating other coastal U.S. states, including Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Georgia said on Thursday it will close its ports Friday night because of Irma.

"We have two or three times the amount of food right now that is needed to feed the number of people in the world," the problem is distribution.

Netanyahu builds on Obama's weakness - Obama's hesitation on Israeli settlements could put the US in danger.

Emirates cancels order for 70 Airbus A350s

White House Officials CONFIRM: Trump Got His Story About Obama Tapping His ‘Wires’ Directly From BreitbartDonald Trump has access to a wealth of information as President, but seems content relying on Breitbart and other slimy right-wing propaganda mills as the sole source of what he thinks are facts. Recently, The Donald dissolved into a complete mess after a Breitbart article began circulating among his staff that claimed Obama tapped Trump Tower s wires something the President, no matter whom it is, can not do. To clear up the confusion, CNN s Jake Tapper reached out to Trump administration officials, and it turns out that, yes, the situation is just as stupid as it seems. Donald Trump did get his news from Breitbart, not the wealth of government information to which he has access. WH officials with whom I spoke said POTUS got the info about wiretap from media Breitbart, Levin not from govt sources, Tapper tweeted Sunday.WH officials with whom I spoke said POTUS got the info about wiretap from media Breitbart, Levin not from govt sources. Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 5, 2017 Obviously FBI/DOJ wiretap of POTUS would be HUGE story. One illegally ordered by previous POTUS even bigger. BUT WH officials have no proof, he added.Obviously FBI/DOJ wiretap of POTUS would be HUGE story. One illegally ordered by previous POTUS even bigger. BUT WH officials have no proof Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 5, 2017Tapper says that most reporters are digging on this but everyone to whom they have spoken in the intelligence community, like the rest of us, has no idea what the f*ck Trump is talking about. Moreover we cannot pretend we haven t been here before, w/POTUS putting out wild accusations that are untethered to reality, Tapper adds, listing a few examples of many. Obama s birth certificate/ Vaccines/ Ted Cruz s father & Lee Harvey Oswald / crowd sizes/ Vince Foster / Murder rate / 3-5 illegal votes. 4/Moreover we cannot pretend we haven't been here before, w/POTUS putting out wild accusations that are untethered to reality. Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 5, 20175/Obama's birth certificate/ Vaccines/ Ted Cruz's father & Lee Harvey Oswald / crowd sizes/ Vince Foster / Murder rate / 3-5 illegal votes Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 5, 2017 In any case, will continue to report. WH call for Congress to find evidence of POTUS claim with no further comment is not proof, Tapper says, adding that he has requested an interview with President Obama to clear the matter up (which totally needs to happen and promises to be hilarious).Journalists are not alone in being baffled by Trump s ridiculous claim that the former President ordered a wiretap which, once again, he could not do. On Sunday, vocal Obama opponent Marco Rubio said he has no idea where Trump s claim comes from either. I m not sure what it is he is talking about, Rubio says. Perhaps the President has information that is not yet available to us or to the public. And if it s true, obviously we re going to find out very quickly. And if it isn t, then obviously he ll have to explain what he meant by it. Unfortunately, as Tapper notes, the information wasn t a closely-held government secret. It was the result of the ravings of a known far-Right conspiracy theorist who has admitted he doesn t even have the evidence to back his claims; he just wants to see Obama investigated.President Obama should do the interview. He s so past the point of caring what these idiots think that it should be hilarious.Featured image via Getty Images

First Western journalist granted access to 'Islamic State' returns to Germany, says IS is "much stronger and much more dangerous" than the West realizes.

Palestinian detainee freed after two days, finds home razed

Wikileaks protest march to go ahead in Sydney today despite police refusing permission

Five suspected al Qaeda militants killed in Yemen by drone strikeDUBAI (Reuters) - Five suspected al Qaeda militants were killed by a drone strike in Yemen s Marib province early on Sunday, residents said. The men were hit while traveling in a car in Raghwan district, residents said, adding that their bodies were charred beyond recognition. There was no immediate statement from the militant group or from U.S. forces who have repeatedly launched drone and air strikes against Yemen s al Qaeda branch, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The group has taken advantage of a more than two-year-old civil war between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi s Saudi-backed government to strengthen its position in the impoverished country. AQAP operates in several provinces in south and eastern Yemen, including in Abyan, Shabwa and al-Bayda.

HILLARY’S PHYSICIAN CLAIMS She Has Pneumonia…Does Pneumonia Cause Convulsions?…Do People With Pneumonia Hug Little Girls, Expose Newborn Grandchildren? [VIDEO]Hillary s been coughing to the point of almost passing out, spewing strange objects into her glass of water, flinging metal pieces from her pant legs, and convulsing as secret service agents lift her into her vehicle. So today, her doctor clarified what s been causing her Parkinson s disease like symptoms. Her doctor claims she has pneumonia, and that she s had it since last Friday. Do people who have pneumonia lie about it to reporters and blame their bizarre coughing fits on allergies? Do they convulse? Do they visit their daughter and her newborn baby unannounced after being lifted into their car by secret service? Secretary Clinton has been experiencing a cough related to allergies, Dr. Lisa R. Bardack said in the statement. On Friday, during follow up evaluation of her prolonged cough, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. She was put on antibiotics, and advised to rest and modify her schedule. While at this morning s event, she became overheated and dehydrated. I have just examined her and she is now re-hydrated and recovering nicely. Walking pneumonia can be contagious and between the ceremony today and the Barbra Streisand event on Friday night, she was among hundreds of people.Today, including Chuck Schemer and Bill De Blasio. WZEither she s lying gasp! or she s incredibly selfish or maybe she s just both?The touchy, feely infected with pneumonia Hillary can be seen here at the 9-11 memorial service, clearly taking every precaution to not infect everyone around her (that is, if she indeed does have pneumonia and not Parkinson s disease:She also staged a hug with a little girl outside Chelsea s apartment following her convulsions and falling down episode hours earlier:

A mouse-sized fossil from China has provided remarkable new insights into the origin of primates. At 55 million years old, Archicebus, which roughly translates as "ancient monkey," represents the earliest known member of this broad group of animals that includes humans

Israel, Syria announce intent to develop nuclear power

Bitcoin loses almost 50% of its value overnight as China's largest exchange blocks new deposits

Another Progressive Democrat Lines Up Behind Sanders — Will Warren Be Next?Probably the most highly coveted endorsement by either Democratic Presidential candidate would be Senator Elizabeth Warren. Her popularity and leadership in the Senate against corporate influences and Wall Street have made her a household name since President Barack Obama asked the former Harvard Law Professor to assist with Wall Street reform following the 2008 economic recession.After Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) resigned from her position as Vice Chair at the DNC in order to endorse Bernie Sanders, and after progressive champion Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) also endorsed Sanders today, the pressure is on for Senator Elizabeth Warren to either endorse a presidential candidate or not.Supporters of both Clinton and Sanders have speculated Senator Warren s neutrality is a sign of allegiance to their favored candidate. Warren s ideals more closely align with Senator Bernie Sanders, and the two are often seen in the Senate in tandem fighting against corporate greed. Just this past November, they were the only senators disputing Barack Obama s nominee to head the FDA over his ties to big pharmaceutical companies.Senator Warren has remained silent on the issue of an endorsement, but has remained as vocal as ever on the issues important to progressives. Today, an op-ed she wrote was published in the Boston Globe on how to level the playing field for working families in regards to the Family and Medical Leave Act. Both Sanders and Clinton support 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave.Senator Warren s neutrality is most likely attributed to maintain the Democratic Party s integrity, as her endorsement would further divide a party already under pressure from the rift between Clinton and Sanders supporters. A Sanders endorsement would likely alienate Senator Warren from the Democratic Establishment, which has embraced her notoriety, and also embitter her supporters who preferred Clinton over Sanders.A Clinton endorsement would have similar consequences, but most likely negatively influence the Sanders campaign more than it would Clinton s campaign, as the failure of the Sanders campaign to receive an endorsement from arguably the most progressive in the Senate aside from Sanders would be a major setback. Senator Warren is also still a viable candidate for Vice President for either Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and regardless of who ultimately wins the nomination, Senator Warren will likely serve an important role if they win the presidency as she has in the Obama administration.If Senator Warren were to make an endorsement, the best time would be today or tomorrow, as Massachusetts, and her home state of Oklahoma hold their primaries on Super Tuesday tomorrow, and the longer she waits to make a decision, the less influence she would have on pushing for her choice as the nominee. Featured image via Flickr

Non-Muslims have 'sex like donkeys' and deserve to be blown-up, said 'terror plot' leader - Telegraph

Is anyone else getting a little nervous about the horrible timing of this Korea situation and the Wikileaks release, said to be damning to the US?

Can we stop referring to what's happening in Libya as a "protest"? We have armed rebel forces engaging in guerilla combat with bazookas and heavy artillery, taking and losing cities. This is officially a civil war.

Hajj: 100 dead and 390 injured in Mina stampede

British Gas hikes prices by 9.2% - with customers' annual bills set to rise by over 120 - It'll leave average annual bills at a record high, forcing many more hard-up households into fuel poverty. Energy giant denies accusations of profiteering, blames external factors.

Texas Republicans Adopt Astonishingly Extreme Party PlatformPerhaps it s time to build a wall around Texas and let it fail as a country separate from the United States, because the Republican Party platform in the state is by far one of the most hateful and anti-American platforms ever produced in this country.The main theme of the Texas Republican platform this year is nullification and destruction of everything they oppose, including women s rights, ethnic diversity, comprehensive sex education, LGBT rights, the separation of church and state, voting rights, and the federal government.Right off the bat, Texas Republicans began their platform document with a preamble pledging their belief in God and and went on to list adherence to the laws of nature as a principle even though the Constitution makes no such references.But it only got worse from there.Texas Republicans openly called for nullifying federal laws and ignoring the rulings of federal courts:Federally mandated legislation, which infringes upon the 10th Amendment rights of Texas, should be ignored, opposed, refused, and nullified. Regulation of Commerce in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution has exceeded the original intent. All attempts by the federal judiciary to rule in areas not expressly enumerated by the Untied States Constitution should be likewise nullified. Any federal enforcement activities that do occur in Texas should be conducted under the authority of the county sheriff.They openly called for eliminating several critical federal agencies which handle labor unions, healthcare, tax revenue collection, and illegal drugs and firearms:We oppose the appointment of unelected bureaucrats and we support defunding and abolishing the departments or agencies of the Internal Revenue Service, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Interior (specifically, the Bureau of Land Management), Transportation Security Administration, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and National Labor Relations Board.They also rejected environmental protection and called climate change a scam:We oppose environmentalism that obstructs legitimate business interests and private property use, including the regulatory taking of property by governmental agencies. We oppose the abuse of the Endangered Species Act to confiscate and limit the use of personal property and infringement on property owner s livelihood. Climate Change is a political agenda promoted to control every aspect of our lives. We support the defunding of climate justice initiatives and the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency and repeal of the Endangered Species Act.They then called on Congress to repeal the Voting Rights Act:We urge that the Voter Rights Act of 1965, codified and updated in 1973, be repealed and not reauthorized.In addition, Texas Republicans included opposition to same-sex marriage in their platform by calling for the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges to be overturned while also declaring the definition of marriage as a God-ordained, legal and moral commitment only between one natural man and one natural woman. The platform condemned homosexuality by claiming that it goes against God s law and the Constitution and also declared support of controversial ex-gay therapy.Texas Republicans were especially hostile toward a woman s right to choose, calling on the Texas state government to ignore Roe v. Wade and any federal laws and regulations making abortion legal and accessible. In short, Texas Republicans want to outlaw abortion even if it s constitutionally protected.The Texas GOP also expressed opposition to Social Security, which it called for phasing out, and called for making Medicaid a temporary program only.Education wasn t left untouched either. Texas Republicans not only called for teaching creationism in school, they condemned comprehensive sex education that could actually reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies that result in abortions in the first place.Texas Republicans are also all about forcing minorities to assimilate into their version of American culture and forcing immigrants to learn and speak English so that they can quickly assimilate. You can read the full platform here.It s time for Texas to be thrown out of the United States. The state no longer shares the values America has held dear for so long. Because of Republican majorities, the state has become an embarrassment that will likely continue as long as the GOP continues to strip away voting rights from people they see as a threat to their power.And it would only be a matter of time before Texas comes crawling back as they realize there is more to becoming an independent nation than simply seceding. If Texas really wants to nullify federal law and go it alone, I say let them go. At least that would deprive Republicans of the 38 electoral votes Texas holds in presidential elections. And it would save the federal government billions of dollars while sparing the rest of the nation from dealing with Texas stupidity.Featured image via Wikimedia

Thailand's army has declared martial law.

Zimbabwe Activists Use $100 Trillion Dollar Notes To Make Flyers Protesting Against Mugabe's Dictatorship [with pics]

DRAIN OBAMA’S RADICAL SWAMP! Rep Chaffetz Calls Out OBAMA APPOINTED Fed Gov Ethics Director Over UNETHICAL Public Criticisms Of TrumpIT S TIME TO DRAIN OBAMA S SWAMP! Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the head of the House Oversight Committee, criticized the director of the federal Office of Government Ethics on Thursday over his criticism of Donald Trump s plan to address conflicts of interest. And he threatened to subpoena the official, Walter Shaub, if he refuses to participate in an official interview. He seems to be acting prematurely at best, without doing investigations or thorough looks, Chaffetz said in an interview. He s rendering opinions publicly that really cause you to scratch your head. We need the Office of Government Ethics to act ethically. Ironically, that s not what they re doing. Shaub, an appointee of President Barack Obama, has been a frequent critics of the incoming administration s ethics plans, peaking Wednesday when he called Trump s newly unveiled conflicts of interest policy meaningless. The public rebuke of Trump s business arrangements came during a press conference at the Brookings Institution that included the outspoken former White House ethics lawyers for Obama and former President George W. Bush. In his remarks, Shaub said the president-elect stepping back from running his positions is meaningless from a conflict of interest perspective. The plan does not comport with the tradition of our presidents over the last 40 years, he added.Chaffetz said Shaub has refused since the election to agree to a meeting to discuss matters related to OGE s public remarks about Trump, as well as the Republican-led panel s plans to pass language reauthorizing the office. If Shaub continues to resist, Chaffetz said he d issue a subpoena if we have to. He is coming in. This is not going to be an optional exercise, Chaffetz said, adding that he expected a meeting within a few weeks.Shaub s 5-year term expires in January 2018. We need a fair person behind the plate that s going to call balls and strikes, Chaffetz said. What they re supposed to do is help work with somebody to comply with the ethics requirements. But when you talk publicly about private conversations, that s not ethical. And when you refuse to come in and talk to the committee when you re doing reauthorization, when you start tweeting and issuing press statements on things you never looked at, that shouldn t be the case at all. This isn t Chaffetz s first time challenging Shaub. In late 2015, the Republican accused the Obama appointee of giving Hillary Clinton a pass on conflict-of-interest laws over speaking fees she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, were supposed to disclose. But Chaffetz said he s grown more frustrated with Shaub since the November election and also singled out the OGE s use of its official Twitter account to issue a bizarre series of posts in Trump s own staccato style congratulating the president-elect for making major changes to his business arrangements.For entire story: POLITICO

Kyiv University invites Russian professor who was fired by Putin

Bush Covered up Musharraf Ties with Al Qaeda

Speaker Of The Big House: Child Molester Dennis Hastert To Spend Over A Year In JailFormer Speaker Of The House Dennis Hastert got handed the sentence of 15 months in prison for monetary payoffs he made to keep his sexual abuse of young boys silent. The judge in the case called him a serial child molester, and also ordered him to enroll in a sex-offender treatment program.Hastert was accused of molesting 4 boys aged 14 to 17, during his time as a coach at Yorkville High School in Illinois. The case came to light when one of them finally broke decades of silence on Hastert s conduct.If you re thinking 15 months for molesting 4 boys is outrageous, you d be correct. Unfortunately, the statute of limitations has expired on the molestation cases. This forced the court to focus on illegal cash withdrawals that Hastert made to pay hush-money in order to keep the crimes buried.As is always the case with your average Republican who does something criminal, there is a news reel of them being hypocritical by attacking others for somewhat similar conduct. Hastert was a very vocal critic of then-President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair. Clearly, Bill was not in any sense as despicable as Hastert. However, that didn t stop Hastert from strongly attacking Clinton for it.Dennis Hastert on the House floor, 1998:When the allegations first came to light, Hastert did what all Republicans do; blame the victim. His initial response was to claim that the money withdrawal was because HE was the one being victimized by a blackmailer over a baseless claim of sexual abuse. This didn t end up working well for Hastert because the judge used it to hand down an even stronger sentence to him, with the judge telling him, You tried to make him a victim again. U.S. Attorney comments on Hastert:This is yet another case of the universal hypocrisy that is a chronic condition of the Republican party. During a time when Republicans everywhere are trying to pass bathroom laws to protect people from the theorized molestations they believe will occur if a transgender individual uses a public bathroom, their party heroes keep getting nailed for doing the very thing they claim to hate.Here s a better idea. Since Republican men do this more than transgender individuals, we will make a Republican Men s Bathroom. We can do voter ID checks to make sure Republican men can only use their assigned bathroom because it s a public safety issue, as they like to say regarding their anti-LGBT bathroom laws. While we re at it, we can make Republican male-only movie theaters, restaurants and stores to help protect the public from mass shooters.Featured Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

Why are foreigners dying at one of Thailand's most famous beaches?

Samantha Bee Broadcasts American Atheists Trolling CPAC And It Is GLORIOUS (VIDEO)The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is full of hard-right Christians who hate the usual groups of people that we ve all heard of that group hating most notably, those who do not believe in the Christian god. So, to that end, the last thing they want at that particular event is a group of atheists. However, that is just who showed up to the 2016 edition of CPAC.David Silverman is with what is arguably the largest and most vocal secular group in America American Atheists. He also ran a booth at CPAC. As you can imagine, this was not a well-received endeavor. However, being one of the most outspoken atheists in America has its advantages, and Full Frontal host Samantha Bee broadcast Silverman s trolling of righteous Christians at CPAC on her show, Full Frontal. What happened can only be described as brilliant comedy gold.Silverman s booth and display included signs with messages such as keep your theocracy out of my democracy. Silverman also broadcast his contempt for religion, saying: Religion is a lie. A scam. A con. It has no redeeming values and it has no place in today s society. There were also undeniable statistical facts in the clip that gave the message that refuted the idea that there are no atheists, especially since the number of non religious Americans is at 56,000,000 and growing. It warned believers: Stop saying, Hey, atheists! Go away! The thing is, we atheists aren t going anywhere; in fact the opposite is true. We are the fastest growing religious group especially among young people, including conservatives. This was evidenced by the fact that young conservatives began approaching Silverman s booth and listening to what he had to say. Silverman even referenced GOP frontrunner Donald Trump as a reason young conservatives are turning away from religion, saying through another animation: The conservative coalition, with its disparate components, has always been a platypus, stitched together with other platypi to create a platy-franken-pus. Now it s rotting at the seams collapsing into a festering pile of platy, frank and pus, feasted on by orange maggots. This oozing and tropic goo might present a nourishing culture medium for the atheists at CPAC, but many were unhappy to see them. The thing is, Silverman is right. Religion in general is quickly dying, especially the extreme conservative variety. The fact that a huge secular presence was at them most conservative event held each year is most ominous indeed for that movement, and great for ours. Good for Samantha Bee for broadcasting this phenomenon, and for David Silverman for bringing it to light.Watch the video below in all its secular glory:Featured image via video screen capture

6 Arrested For Looting Antiquities From Israel's 'Cave Of The Skulls'

Marco Rubio becomes early hope for mainstream U.S. RepublicansEXETER, N.H./MILFORD, N.H. (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, emerging from the first presidential nominating contest in Iowa as the leading Republican mainstream contender, portrayed himself in New Hampshire on Tuesday as the party’s best hope to recapture the White House. But Rubio, 44, a U.S. senator from Florida, faces a strong field of establishment rivals in next week’s New Hampshire primary after his stronger-than-expected third-place finish in Iowa behind front-runners Ted Cruz, 45, and Donald Trump, 69. “If I am the nominee, we are going to beat Hillary Clinton and it won’t be by the flip of a coin,” Rubio told supporters in Exeter, New Hampshire, taking a jab at the close Democratic race in Iowa between Clinton and challenger Bernie Sanders, where some precincts were decided on a coin flip. Other more mainstream Republicans including former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Ohio Governor John Kasich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, are expected to do better in New Hampshire than in Iowa and vie with Rubio to become the establishment favorite. Cruz and Trump also headed to New Hampshire as the presidential race shifted to the second nominating contest in the state-by-state battle to pick nominees for the Nov. 8 election to replace Democratic President Barack Obama. Trump told a news conference before a rally in Milford, New Hampshire, that he felt “a tinge” of disappointment at losing to Cruz in Iowa.. The billionaire businessman also picked up an endorsement from former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown. Cruz told New Hampshire supporters he was like former Republican President Ronald Reagan, urging the state to help ensure his nomination by giving him a win in the Feb. 9 primary. “Every day from now until Election Day here in New Hampshire, I’m going to continue asking for the men and women of New Hampshire to make that same fateful decision yet again so that we can reignite the promise of America,” Cruz said. Cruz, a conservative U.S. senator from Texas, beat Trump in Iowa’s Republican caucuses with the help of the state’s large bloc of evangelical Christians, but he might struggle to finish on top in New Hampshire, where Republican voters have a more secular and libertarian streak. Cruz apologized to rival Ben Carson over an email his campaign sent on Monday night implying Carson was dropping out of the race and his Iowa backers should switch to Cruz. “This was a mistake from our end, and for that I apologize to Dr. Carson,” Cruz wrote. The campaign for Carson, who finished fourth in Iowa, said the retired neurosurgeon had accepted Cruz’s apology but that the incident was the sort of “dirty trick” politics that Carson was trying to fight. The Democratic presidential contenders, Clinton and Sanders, also headed to New Hampshire after their close duel in Iowa, where the former secretary of state narrowly edged out the insurgent U.S. senator from Vermont. Vermont borders New Hampshire, and that proximity may give Sanders an advantage in next Tuesday’s primary. Clinton’s razor-thin margin was the smallest in Iowa Democratic caucus history. Concerns about the income gap and economic insecurity have helped Sanders, 74, a self-described democratic socialist who came from far behind in polls to throw a scare into the front-runner in Iowa. Clinton, 68, acknowledged she had to try harder to win younger Democrats, who backed Sanders in Iowa in large numbers. “I’m going to have some work to do to reach out to young voters, maybe first-time voters, who have to make a tough decision,” she told CNN. The two Democrats also renewed a days-old battle over when and where to have more face-to-face debates, and were still talking about potentially meeting in a televised debate on Thursday night in New Hampshire. On the Republican side, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who dropped out of the race in December, said a recent hardening of Rubio’s position on immigration and the strength of his anti-abortion stance might cost him. “Running to the right to win Iowa is going to be a hard sell here in New Hampshire,” Graham, a supporter of Bush, told Reuters in Rindge, New Hampshire. The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio said he was the candidate to unite the Republicans in the November election, when the party hopes to regain the White House after Obama’s two four-year terms. “People realized on the Republican side that we cannot afford - this country cannot afford - to lose this election, and that I give the party the best chance not just to unify our party but to grow it,” Rubio told ABC’s “Good Morning America” from Manchester, New Hampshire. The fluent Spanish speaker hopes to win back some of the Latino vote the party lost in recent years as it toughened its stance on immigration. A foreign policy hawk, Rubio advocates a tough approach to Iran, the Islamic State militant group and other U.S. foes. Iowans who supported Rubio at the caucuses said they responded to his relatively positive message and viewed him as the candidate most likely to beat Clinton should she be the Democratic nominee. Worries about issues such as immigration and terrorism have fueled the campaigns of Trump and Cruz. Christie on Tuesday accused Cruz and Rubio of lacking executive experience for the job of president. “What do they do exactly in the United States Senate? They talk and they talk. They are not responsible for doing anything,” Christie said at his campaign’s New Hampshire headquarters in Bedford. Opinion polls of Republicans show Trump leading nationally and in New Hampshire. But the state has a long tradition of bucking trends in presidential primaries. Trump, the outspoken real estate magnate who dominated the Republican race for months, broke an unusual silence of more than 12 hours on Twitter after his defeat in Iowa. “Because I was told I could not do well in Iowa, I spent very little there - a fraction of Cruz & Rubio. Came in a strong second. Great honor,” he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday where he has regularly posted scathing criticism of his opponents. (Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Mohammed Zargham and Megan Cassella in Washington, Ginger Gibson and John Whitesides in Iowa; Writing by Alistair Bell and John Whitesides; Editing by Frances Kerry, Howard Goller and Peter Cooney) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency.

Pregnant U.S. teenager moved to Iraq from Syria: officialsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Tuesday that U.S. forces had moved a person who is under 18 years old to Iraq from Syria and two U.S. officials said she was a pregnant American teenager. U.S. forces recently relocated a minor from Syria safely to Iraq, the Pentagon said in a statement. The U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said she was in the hands of State Department officials in Iraq and would travel back to the United States, although they did not say when. While not identifying her by name, one official said she was the same person interviewed by CBS News earlier this month near Raqqa, the Syrian city that Islamic State once called its capital. U.S.-backed militias declared victory in Raqqa earlier this month. In that interview, she said she was 15 and had been brought to Syria by her father, an Islamic State supporter. The teenager had told CBS that she was from Kansas. Last month, the Pentagon said a U.S. citizen fighting for Islamic State in Syria surrendered to U.S.-backed militias and was handed over to U.S. forces.

Iran says it is ready to help identify those behind a series of bomb blasts in Thailand.

Shit's going down in Chile. Protesting students are demanding the government hold a national referendum on solving the countrys educational problems.