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Moldova breaks political gridlock, elects president: Moldova's parliament elected a veteran judge who vowed to tackle rampant corruption as the country's new president on Friday, ending a three-year hiatus that had delayed reform in the poor, ex-Soviet republic.

REPORT: The Vast Majority Of Trump’s Employees Hope He Loses In NovemberTo hear Donald Trump tell it, he s the best, hugest, biggest boss there has ever been and the way he runs his businesses (if you ignore the multiple bankruptcies and closures) means the people who work for him should be overwhelmingly proud to be under his leadership.But Reuters has done some number-crunching on what kind of financial support the people who work in his businesses have shown to his presidential campaign, and as he would say, it s very sad! Only a dozen of an estimated 22,450 people employed at Trump s companies have donated more than $200 to the celebrity businessman s bid for the U.S. presidency, a Reuters review of federal campaign finance records through August shows. Those who gave less to either Trump s campaign or his joint fundraising committees would not have shown up in the review.The contributors, including an office cleaner, a golf course groundskeeper, a bartender and an attorney, have given $5,298 to Trump s campaign, a fraction of the $112 million Trump s political operation has received from donors and joint fundraisers.The news service also points out that an employee at the Trump companies even has donated to Secretary Hillary Clinton, his electoral rival and the current front-runner in the presidential contest.By comparison, in 2012 people who had worked alongside Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had donated $1.4 million both directly to his campaign and to the super PAC supporting his campaign.Secretary Clinton has also received donations from employees at the U.S. State Department, which she headed from 2009 to 2013.Trump has continually lagged behind Clinton in fundraising during the election, a disparity which has shown up in underfunded campaign operations in many of the key swing states and a severe lack of television advertising. Trump claimed he would self-fund his campaign, but while he has donated to the enterprise, it hasn t been a significant fraction of the billions Trump claims to possess, a figure which cannot be independently verified because Trump won t release his tax returns.Featured image via Flickr

Saudi women can drive at last but some say price is silenceRIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian women were given the right to drive last week after nearly three decades of campaigning, but some activists say that breakthrough has come with a price: their silence. While the royal decree ending the ban on women driving has been hailed as proof of a new progressive trend in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom, some women say they have been cowed into not speaking about it - a charge the government denies. Four women who previously participated in protests against the ban told Reuters they had received phone calls instructing them not to comment on the decree. Two women said around 25 activists had received such calls. As Saudi Arabia pushes through reforms over the objections of conservatives, the leadership is trying to modernize without losing the support of its traditional base. Some Islamist clerics seen by the government as dabbling in politics have been detained after an apparent crackdown on potential opponents of the kingdom s rulers last month which now appears to have paved the way for lifting the driving ban. Activists and analysts say the government is also keen to avoid rewarding activism, which is forbidden in the absolute monarchy, and seems determined not to antagonize religious sensitivities. But seemingly inviolable Saudi norms are being turned on their head, with some religious clerics who supported policies such as bans on women driving and gender mixing now apparently changing their minds. The changes suggest a possible shift in the power balance toward the Al Saud ruling family away from the Wahhabi clerical establishment. In the first protest against the driving ban, in 1990, 47 women drove around central Riyadh for nearly an hour until they were detained by the religious police, then fired from their jobs and barred from traveling. One participant, a university professor now in her 60s, recalls that act of defiance which sparked a new era in the Saudi women s rights movement. On the first loop, we were not caught. But the second time, we were caught. I think somebody called. I remember one man, he was in front of us in his car. He went like this, she said, wagging her finger. That meant he didn t want us to drive. More protests followed, but the government has not acknowledged the activists efforts since ending the ban. Activists who said they had received phone calls ordering them to remain silent spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals. He was very straightforward. He said you are ordered not to comment on the women driving issue or procedures will be taken against you. You are held accountable for anything posted after this call, one of the callers said. Another woman, Tamador al-Yami, apologized on Twitter for being unable to comment for reasons beyond my control . Everybody knows.. everybody who follows.. we don t need to say it out loud :) she wrote. & it doesn t matter, what matters is the win, and we won . The government says the allegations are false and cites women who have spoken out, with op-eds in the New York Times and CNN. No one has been censored or warned about expressing their views, an Information Ministry statement said. Saudi Arabia welcomes both the enormous interest and contributions to the debate, especially those from our own citizens. Ending the driving ban is part of the kingdom s Vision 2030 reform program aimed at diversifying the economy away from oil and opening up Saudis cloistered lifestyles. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, is the face of that change. Many young Saudis regard his recent ascent to power as proof their generation is taking a central place in running a country whose patriarchal traditions have for decades made power the province of the old and blocked women s progress. Yet the crown prince has been noticeably absent from the rollout of the new driving policy, which was presented to the media in Washington rather than Riyadh. That may reflect the riskiness of the move, which was welcomed by many but met with confusion and outrage by others. Saudi media has tagged news about the ban: The king wins with women driving . Police however issued two arrest warrants over the weekend for men who posted threats against women drivers. Activist Hala al-Dosari, who lives in Boston, said lifting the ban had also been intended to silence women activists. The monarchy wants to be central for the Saudi state inside and outside as the owners of any reform. They are not willing to have their position contested, she said. How can they convince the world they are the patrons of modernization when the women of Saudi Arabia are challenging those notions? Eman al-Nafjan, who participated in a driving protest in 2011, said she was relieved the ban had been lifted but frustrated that the role of women activists had been overlooked. Were our efforts the reason the ban was lifted? Or was it a decision that had been made regardless of our struggles? she wrote the day after the royal decree. The professor who took part in the 1990 protest said her family had not expressed strong opinions about her activism all those years ago, but one relative now thinks she is a celebrity. My niece thinks I m someone special, she said. She says, Oh, auntie! What you did!

Islamic State: Turkey to let Iraq Kurds join Kobane fight

U.S. tax avoidance clampdown a potential headache for AppleWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Apple Inc and other U.S. multinationals will face new curbs on tax loopholes under a rule imposed by Washington on Thursday, part of a scramble among governments worldwide to bolster their corporate tax bases. Acting shortly after a European Union grab for billions of dollars in back taxes from Apple, the U.S. Treasury said it was tightening restrictions on companies’ use of foreign tax credits to reduce what they owe in U.S. taxes. “We are closing another tax loophole that contributes to the erosion of our tax base,” Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Mark Mazur said in a statement. The fight for multinational tax revenues escalated on Aug. 30 when the EU ruled Ireland was giving improper state aid to Apple in the form of a deal for low taxes. The EU ordered Apple to pay Ireland 13 billion euros ($14.6 billion) in back taxes, prompting U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to express concern the EU ruling could undermine the U.S. tax base. Analysts have speculated whether Apple would be able to cut its U.S. tax bill by claiming foreign tax credits for its extra tax bill in Ireland. Under normal circumstances, U.S. companies can reduce the taxes they owe the U.S. government by the value of the tax credits they claim for taxes paid abroad on foreign profits. No U.S. tax is due on those profits until they are brought into the United States, or repatriated. The new rule will prevent companies faced with back tax bills from “splitting,” a strategy that allows companies to bring foreign tax credits into the United States without repatriating the income from which they were derived. Apple had no comment on Treasury’s tax notice. The technology giant is not the only U.S. company in the crosshairs of EU state aid investigations. Starbucks Corp has been ordered to pay up to 30 million euros ($33 million) to the Dutch state, while Amazon.com Inc and McDonald’s Corp are under investigation by the EU’s executive arm. The new rule was likely to ratchet up transatlantic tensions over corporate taxes while eliminating one more strategy U.S. companies can use to cushion the blow from increasingly aggressive EU tax collection efforts. The tax notice specifically cited European Union state aid investigations as a risk to U.S. revenues. The Treasury had no comment on whether its notice would have an impact on Apple directly, but a spokesperson said the notice applies to all companies required by a foreign government to pay additional taxes, including those hit by state-aid cases.

Charlotte in same predicament as Wall Street

Russia says general killed in Syria held senior post in Assad's armyMOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian general killed in Syria had been seconded to the Syrian government as a military commander, Russia s military chief of staff said on Wednesday. Moscow has long been a staunch ally of Syria, but the role of the deceased general reveals the extent to which Russia has become an integral part of President Bashar al Assad s ruling system. Lieutenant-General Valery Asapov, 51, was killed on Saturday by shelling from Islamic State positions near Deir al-Zor. He was the chief of staff of Russian forces deployed to the country and later became the commander of Syria s Fifth Corps of volunteers, chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov said. It was known that the Syrian Fifth Attack Troop Corps of volunteers, formed in late 2016, was equipped and advised by the Russians, but Damascus and Moscow had not previously announced it was under Russian command. Speaking at Asapov s funeral, Gerasimov said: High prestige combined with care were outstanding features of his work. Of course, those qualities were displayed during his working trip to the Syrian Arab Republic, where he had been deployed from February this year, Gerasimov said, addressing Asapov s family and colleagues. He worked as the chief of staff of the group of our forces and then was in command of the Fifth Corps of volunteers ... A treacherous shell cut short his life. A security specialist, who worked in Syria alongside the Russian and Syrian military, said Asapov was de facto the commander of Syria s Fifth Corps but he may have been listed as chief military adviser on paper. Syrian officers relied completely on our officers, he said. Hundreds of people, most of them from the Russian military, attended the funeral at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery for Asapov who became the highest ranking military officer to be killed in the Syrian war. Inscriptions in Russian and Arabic on some of garlands said they were sent by President al-Assad, Syrian ministers and military commanders.

Taiwanese boy gets even with his father after years of physical abuse.

1,600 on hunger strike and the world doesnt even bat an eyelid: Compelling eyewitness dispatch from the Israeli internment jails threatening a new Arab Spring

Four Egyptian Shiites Slaughtered by Ultra-Conservative Muslims in Egypt

Ecuador president removed as head of ruling party as feud deepensQUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador s ruling Country Alliance party, founded by former president Rafael Correa over a decade ago, has removed President Lenin Moreno as its head, citing repeated failures in leadership, as a schism between the former allies deepens. The Country Alliance party, which has been divided by the two politicians, late on Tuesday announced that Correa ally Ricardo Patino, a former foreign minister, would replace Moreno as party leader. The head of the national Country Alliance party has unanimously decided, it said in a statement announcing the immediate removal of Lenin Moreno as president of the Country Alliance party. Ecuador s government, however, said it did not recognize the decision and stressed Moreno remained the head of the party. Country Alliance is a political party, not an estate ... These actions are wrong and do not reflect the feeling of our political base, acting vice president Alejandra Vicuna told journalists on Tuesday. Moreno, a Correa prot g who previously served as his vice president, was elected earlier this year to succeed the fiery leftist. At the time, opposition critics warned Moreno would be a puppet of political heavyweight Correa, whom they accused of seeking to stage a presidential comeback in 2021. But Moreno, a paraplegic former United Nations special envoy on disability, has stunned the Andean country of around 17 million by quickly breaking with Correa, who is now living abroad, in his wife s home country of Belgium. Moreno, who is seeking presidential term limits via a referendum to revise the constitution, has sidelined another top Correa ally from the vice presidency, and is overseeing a corruption probe that has ensnared former high-level officials. Vicuna replaced Jorge Glas, who was also Correa s vice president, after Glas came under investigation in a corruption scandal centered on Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. He is currently in jail. Polls indicate Moreno has widespread popular support in Ecuador. His approval levels have jumped from around 66 percent in May, when he was sworn in, to about 77 percent in September, a recent survey by local pollster Cedatos showed. Many Ecuadoreans report being satisfied with his attempts to investigate corruption and boost social welfare. His conciliatory temperament is also welcomed by some who were tired of Correa s confrontational style.

Brexit campaigner Farage to attend Trump inaugurationLONDON (Reuters) - Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, who has said he wants to be a bridge between the British government and the new U.S. administration, will attend U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration later this month. Farage, who will attend the event as a guest of Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, spoke at a Trump rally in Mississippi during the U.S. presidential campaign and was the first British politician to meet the president-elect after his victory, ahead of Prime Minister Theresa May. Farage spent decades campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union and helped to force then Prime Minister David Cameron to call the June 2016 referendum that resulted in the Brexit vote. Trump has said Farage - the former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) - would be great as Britain’s envoy to Washington, but the British government has dismissed the suggestion. Asked if he would be attending Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, Farage told Sky News: “I certainly am, I can’t wait.” “The governor of Mississippi has invited me and I’m there for a few days and it’s going to be a great, historic event. In America they’ve had a political revolution and it’s complete; the problem in Britain is our revolution is not complete because the same people are still in charge.”

No, Google Is Not Cheating For Hillary Clinton (VIDEO)For months now, Republicans and some in the Bernie Sanders camp have been looking for a smoking gun; a damning piece of evidence that proves, without a shadow of a doubt, that Hillary Clinton is cheating. The YouTube channel, SourceFed, thought they found the smoking gun, when they demonstrated what they thought was irrefutable proof that Google was in the tank for Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately, SourceFed has no idea how Google works.The premise behind the conspiracy theory involves Google s predictive search or autocomplete. When users type in partial key phrases, like Hillary Clinton cri, other search engines, like Bing and Yahoo, list as a possible search phrase, Hillary Clinton crimes. Google doesn t.Here s the video:This is what I get when I type in Hillary Clinton cri on Google.Yahoo gives me this:Bing, this:After watching the video, I conducted my own little experiment. Surely, if Google was in the tank for Clinton, it would show up under non-predictive search results, right? For example, I typed in the words, Hillary Clinton in Google, and below the paid content and the standard things on top, like Wikipedia, there s a whole lot of negative stuff:Those are the listings on page one. Going deeper into the searches brings up a lot more negative than positive.Unfortunately, my experiment isn t any more scientific than SourceFed s, but others know more and they say that it s SourceFed that was manipulating the search results, not Google. Google, which should surprise few, has a more sophisticated search engine than either Bing or Yahoo. They do sort of manipulate searches, but not to influence public opinion. They don t include unfounded negative listings in their autocomplete options, no matter how many people are searching those rumors. Clinton has never been convicted or even indicted of a crime, hence it not showing up. By the same token, entering Donald Trump la does not bring up Donald Trump lawsuits, despite the fact that a whole lot of people are searching for information about his lawsuits. It does include Donald Trump laughing, though.Just to test that, I entered Bill Clinton i, because we know he was impeached, and surely, if Google were manipulating autocomplete results for Hillary, then they would certainly do it for her husband, right? Wrong:Remember that Bernie Sanders rape fantasy essay from eons ago, that absolutely no one should care about? Google doesn t care about it either:Similarly, I did a search for Donald Trump bri, half expecting results for his alleged bribery of two Attorneys General. Nothing:The most ridiculous part of the SourceFed allegation, though, is their assumption that people don t continue and enter all the letters and hit enter, which would bring up numerous rumors, conspiracy theories and allegations, including the accusations of search manipulations by Google. You d think they d at least keep themselves from looking bad in their search rankings, right? They don t.Here s what Google has to say about it: Claims to the contrary simply misunderstand how Autocomplete works. Our Autocomplete algorithm will not show a predicted query that is offensive or disparaging when displayed in conjunction with a person s name. More generally, our autocomplete predictions are produced based on a number of factors including the popularity of search terms, said the statement.Featured image via YouTube.

Al-Jazeera Journalist Missing in Syria

MORE TRANSPARENCY: CLINTON’S REFUSE TO RELEASE HILLARY’S HEALTH RECORDSKarl Rove is suggesting Hillary suffered brain damage following her blood clot.On Sunday, Hillary Clinton s campaign manager would not commit to releasing her health records during the 2016 campaign.Face the Nation host John Dickerson pointed out that Hillary Clinton had a big health scare when she was secretary of state and asked campaign manager Robby Mook, will she release her medial records as part of this campaign? I will let Hillary decide that, Mook answered. But I can tell you she has been hitting the campaign trail hard. In 2012, Clinton had to delay her Benghazi testimony to Congress after she fell and suffered a concussion. She later was treated for a blood clot in her brain, which experts said could have been life threatening. Though Clinton joked about her cracked head in emails that the State Department recently released, Bill Clinton revealed last year that Hillary s injuries required six months of very serious work to get over. On the stump this weekend, Clinton tried to deflect concerns about her age by saying that she would be the youngest woman president if elected to the White House.Via:Breitbart News

Kenya Burns Indigenous People Out of Ancestral Lands Govt sends Forest Service guards with police support to forcibly & illegally evict thousands of Sengwer indigenous people from their ancestral forest lands & burn their homes & belongings.

PAY 2 PLAY: Democratic Convention Ends Amid Controversy, Empty Seats & White NoiseShawn Helton 21st Century WireThe 2016 Democratic National Convention was the latest in a long line of sordid political productions It was a tough week for the Clinton change makers as Bernie Sanders delegates staged a mass walkout after a series of email leaks disclosed that a Clinton lawyer gave the DNC strategy advice on how to sideline the Sanders campaign.There were also claims of white noise machines used to quell any anti-Clinton dissent inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Help Wanted: Actors Needed Putting aside the fact that today s US presidential conventions have turned into celebrity show business promotional events (pop star Katie Perry, Ted Danson, and even British actor Orlando Bloom et all), there s another more disturbing controversy emerging this time over a Craigslist ad stating that, actors were needed for a national convention prompting critics to suggest empty seats had to be filled prior to the end of the convention and that the July 27th ad was at the behest of the DNC.Whether or not all or some of the claims above are fully accurate, 2016 s DNC was unquestionably a contentious affair filled with a heavy dose of identity politics.In fact, the star-studded event conjured the bizarre Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting from just over a month ago by having Christine Leinonen speak at the convention, a former Michigan State Police trooper/Florida Attorney turned Wheel of Fortune hopeful, and mother of Christopher (Drew) Leinonen, an apparent victim of America s largest mass shooting. Here s Australia s Peekay Truth on YouTube examining the phenomena surrounding Christine Leinonen Interestingly, Chris Leinonen s pro gun father Mark Bando, a former patrol officer for the city of Detroit PD from 1974-99, did not speak at the convention on behalf of his son.Additionally at Leinonen s speech at the DNC, she was accompanied by Pulse nightclub shooting survivor Brandon Wolf, who just happens to be a former runner-up on Bravo TV s The Kandi Factory. We ve noted before, the many strange Hollywood links to the Pulse shooting, including the apparent actor-cum-shooter Omar Mateen.Below is a YouTube video from the user Run2Christ HD, which investigates the many casting connections linked to Brandon Wolf, while also disclosing that one of the Pulse nightclub founders, Ron Legler, is the president of the Florida Theatrical Association and a booking agent for national touring broadway productions. Some of FTA s productions include The Lion King, Chicago and The Phantom of the Opera.Here s Brandon Wolf ready for his close-up Here s a screen shot of Ron Legler s professional background Here at 21WIRE, we examined much of the anomalies associated with the Orlando shooting, an event that failed to account for any shootings said to have taken place within the nightclub, as the FBI s own transcript made no mention of individuals being shot inside the club.If you remember, according to FOX analyst, Judge Andrew Napolitano plainly states that all of the Pulse nightclub victims met their fate when Orlando police entered the building Here s a You Tube video montage from Educate Yourself, that displays some of the strange behaviour exhibited by Christine Leinonen More DNC discussion from Zero Hedge below DNC NIGHTMARE? Empty seats observed during roll call at the DNC. (Image Source: fellowshipofminds)Zero HedgeDid The DNC Hire Actors (At Below Minimum Wage) To Work At The Convention?Following the exposure of a fake Trump job advertisement designed by The DNC to embarrass Trump, it is interesting that a Craigslist ad calling for Actors Needed for National Convention has surfaced Whether the ad is real or fake is unclear, but the text suggests below minimum wage compensation (7-plus hours work for $50) and the number of walkouts from the Convention indicates perhaps a need for cheering happy seat-fillers SNOOZEFEST Bill Clinton nods off during Hillary s vacuous speech. (Image Source: YouTube)Actors Needed For National Convention (Philadelphia) compensation: $50.00 Looking for 700 people to be utilized as actors during the National Convention. We currently have a number of empty seats that will need to be filled as we are currently removing a number of people and need to refill their seats for the remainder of the conference. You will be paid $50.00 each night for the remainder of the convention. You will be required to cheer at all times and will be asked to dress properly and possibly wear some promotional material.Which makes sense if one looks at the following shocking video from film director, Josh Fox, best known for his Oscar-nominated anti-fracking documentary Gasland, captured inside the DNC As DailyWire.com reports, Fox tells the camera This is amazing, this place is empty. There is nobody left in here. I mean this whole stadium, look at this, as he pans his cellphone to show the lack of cheering Dems.He continues in disbelief, adding, This is not voter enthusiasm . I can t believe my eyes. I ve never seen anything like this. This is the primetime of the Democratic National Convention right after the nomination of Hillary Clinton and this place is emptied out like crazy. I m stunned. This is insane. The whole California delegation is pretty much gone, he adds. I mean this has got to be something very worrisome for the Democrats. Voter enthusiasm wins elections. More from Zero Hedge .READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 FilesSEE ALSO: CASTING CRISIS: Orlando s Actors, Agents and Casualty Role PlayersREAD MORE ORLANDO SHOOTING NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Orlando FilesHelp support us by becoming a 21WIRE Member at: 21WIRE.TV

MUSLIM TEENS ATTACK CROWD for Being White “Non Muslims”: “Why aren’t you a Muslim?”The trend of young Muslim men targeting and attacking white non-Muslims continues world wide. A group of three Muslim men attacked strangers at the Liverpool city center because they were white non-Muslims. One witness feared the men were ISIS terrorists because they were using racist language, talking about Muslims and Christians. A very similar occurrence took place in one of Minneapolis more upscale neighborhoods last year when a mob of up to 30 young Somali men marched through the streets yelling disparaging comments and threatening homeowners:Somalis living in Minneapolis are almost all Sunni Muslims. Residents of the Lake Calhoun area say this wasn t the first time a group of Somali men have made an intimidating march through their neighborhood, which is filled with million-dollar homes.They first approached victim Gary Bohanna inquiring what religion he was affiliated with. When Bohanna answered I m a Christian, the attacker shouted Why aren t you a Muslim? before punching him twice. The three men then approached Paul Lynch, Labour councillor for Moss Bank, and his girlfriend. One of the men punched Mr. Lynch with a sickening blow that could be seen and heard. He did not utter any racist comments, but the attackers laughed as the victim fell. Both men were taken to the hospital for their injuries.Witness Edris Nosrati called police but one of the men tried to flee, so the witness chased and caught him. The teenager struck Mr. Nosrati, but the hero held on. When questioned by police, one of the men claimed he was too intoxicated to remember anything. Another denied the assaults and suggested they had been racially abused by other men. However, he later confessed to targeting people because they were white and non-Muslim. The Counter Terrorism Unit became involved in the investigation and the mens family homes were turned upside down by the police. Amin Mohmed cried in court as he was jailed for 42 weeks. Mohammed and Faruq Patel received 42 and 18 weeks respectively in a young offenders institution.Read more: The Echo

U.S. Pushes Canada to Loosen Privacy Laws

China's middle class is now the biggest in the world, and growing much faster than America's

Internet Hangs in Balance as World Governments Meet in Secret

Moscow Police detain 15 Islamists with suicide belts

There are now over 4268 Ebola cases, with over 2288 dead

Iran says will respond strongly to any action against its military forces: TVANKARA (Reuters) - Iran said on Friday it would retaliate against any action targeting its armed forces and accused the United States of violating the spirit of the 2015 nuclear deal reached between Tehran and six major powers. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected later on Friday to take a major step against the nuclear deal, laying out a more aggressive approach to Iranian activities in the Middle East that risks upsetting U.S. ties with European allies. Iran will strongly respond to any action against its military forces, including the Revolutionary Guards Corps, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by state TV. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Friday that steps Trump is reviewing as part of a broader strategy also include imposing targeted sanctions in response to Iran s ballistic missile tests, cyber espionage and backing of Lebanese Hezbollah and other groups on the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations. The U.S. administration earlier this year considered, but then put on hold, adding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran s most powerful internal and external security force, to the U.S. list. Qasemi said Iran will continue building up its ballistic missile capability in defiance of Western criticism, with Washington saying the Islamic Republic s stance violates the nuclear deal with the powers. Iran s missile program is only for defensive purposes ... we are determined and serious about expanding it, he said. Qasemi also warned about possibility of pulling out of the deal. Iran always acts based on its interests and will continue to do so. If necessary, we can also withdraw from the deal, Qasemi said.

A man who repeatedly disturbed his neighbours by \r\nshouting at political programmes on his television \r\nhas been jailed for 16 weeks.

Dancing with Evo Morales. Documentary about the life and origins of the Bolivian president.

Iran to Release Jailed US Journalist

DEAR MR PRESIDENT: Listen To Your Own FBI Director And Homeland Security Tell Us We CANNOT Properly Screen The Syrian “Refugees” [Video]Our FBI Director has testified once before in regards to the inability to screen Syrian refugees. This time he repeats his concerns before the House Homeland Security Committee in a hearing yesterday. Is anyone listening or is Trey Gowdy so focused on the Hillary hearings on Capitol Hill that he s not paying attention to the effort to forever change America. We are scheduled to bring in 200,000 Muslim refugees that WE CANNOT DO BACKGROUND CHECKS ON. This is insane! The left is hell bent on flooding towns across America with these people which is NOT in the best interests of anyone. Please act to at least call your Congressman to ask questions and demand answers.FBI director James Comey said during a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on Wednesday that the federal government does not have the ability to conduct thorough background checks on all of the 10,000 Syrian refugees that the Obama administration says will be allowed to come to the U.S. We can only query against that which we have collected, Comey said in response to a line of questioning from Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson . And so if someone has never made a ripple in the pond in Syria in a way that would get their identity or their interest reflected in our database, we can query our database until the cows come home, but there will be nothing show up because we have no record of them. The Senate hearing on Syrian refugee resettlement took place on October 1, 2015 and is the first such hearing since 9/11. Can you believe that? I watched the entire hearing on CSPAN and couldn t believe the answers given to our Senators about refugee resettlement! The most important clip from the hearing is VERY IMPORTANT! Please watch the clip below where Matthew Emrich (Associate Director Department of Homeland Security->Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate) is hammered by Senator Jeff Sessions on the inability to vet refugees:

A new government commercial currently running on one of Britains most popular radio stations is selling one thing fear by encouraging Londoners to report their neighbors as terrorists if they use cash, enjoy their privacy, or even close their curtains.

A MUST SEE! THE BALTIMORE RIOT STORY IN ONE BIG PICTURE

Congo Rebels Are Savages - Cut Lips From Woman For 'Talking Too Much'...

BOOM! CONSUMER CONFIDENCE SOARS To Level Americans Haven’t Seen Since Another Republican Was President…MEDIA SILENTPrior to the 2016 election (Oct 16) consumer confidence measured by the University of Michigan was indexed at 87.2 Today that same confidence rating is 101.1 A stunning 15.9% increase. Similarly, consumer expectations were indexing 76.8 in October 2016 and now stand at 91.3, an increase of 18.9%. Conservative TreehouseBusiness Insider US consumers haven t been this optimistic about the economy since the start of 2004, according to a survey conducted by the University of Michigan.The consumer-sentiment index registered a preliminary October reading of 101.1, a monthly report showed Friday.The data suggest that consumer spending will likely continue to support the economy through at least mid-2018, at which time this economic expansion would become the second-longest since the 19th century. US economic growth in the second quarter rose to a two-year high on stronger consumer and business spending, a late-September report showed.The surge in optimism reflects an unmistakable sense among consumers that economic prospects are now about as good as could be expected, said Richard Curtin, the chief economist of the survey. This as good as it gets outlook is supported by a moderation in the expected pace of growth in both personal finances and the overall economy, accompanied by a growing sense that, even with this moderation, it would still mean the continuation of good economic times.

Factbox: Wall Street's take on possible impact of U.S. elections(Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump are in a tight race ahead of the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. Following is a weekly roundup of financial market analysts’ views on the U.S. elections and the likely implications of a Trump or Clinton win on financial markets. MORE COVERAGE: bit.ly/2dOgcoE SEE RELATED FACTBOX: reut.rs/2d9cl4q DAVID KOSTIN, U.S. PORTFOLIO STRATEGY RESEARCH, GOLDMAN SACHS “A so-called ‘wave election’ would occur if one party registers large congressional seat gains and has the potential to implement policy changes... Following six prior ‘wave elections,’ S&P 500 typically fell during the subsequent 1 and 3 months. Our strategies: buy health care equipment and services/sell pharma and biotech; own firms with high government sales; (and) own high overseas cash.” “Whether it’s Hillary or Trump, the U.S. is unlikely to break out of secular stagnation. With respect to the election, our focus will remain on the impact that the next U.S. president will likely have on fiscal and monetary policies, as well as the global growth outlook. Unfortunately, we don’t see either candidate as likely to purse a true ‘pro-growth’ agenda that will break the U.S. economy out of its current malaise.”  Interest rates: “We see rising upside risk for longer-term U.S. rates, regardless of the outcome in November. The biggest upside risk for a sustained increase in longer-term rates is rising risk premiums.” Credit growth: “With Trump’s negative comments regarding Dodd-Frank, our sense is a Trump victory could jumpstart lending. We believe a Hillary win would create even stiffer headwinds and more regulation for the financial services industry.” Sector recommendations: - Buy on Clinton win, sell on Trump win: alternative energy, housing and REITs, hospitals and managed care, exporters and companies with international exposure - Buy on Trump win, sell on Clinton win: exploration and production, banks, big pharma and biotechnology, high tax rate companies - Potential upside in either scenario: infrastructure companies, cash repatriation companies, defense, gun manufacturers Infrastructure spending: “In a rare example of bipartisan support, both candidates have discussed the need to repair crumbling infrastructure... The correlation between infrastructure spending and equity returns has deteriorated in recent years, but candidates’ outsized plans could still be a tailwind for infrastructure-levered stocks.” Names “overweight”-rated Eaton Corp and “equal-weight”-rated Pentair preferred plays, given both companies’ leverage to infrastructure investments and attractive relative valuation. Utilities and clean energy sector: “Hillary Clinton has been an outspoken advocate of renewable energy and improving resiliency of the electric grid, while Donald Trump has made numerous statements in support of fossil fuels. We see a Trump presidency as largely maintaining the current level of utility infrastructure spend, while a Clinton presidency could result in meaningful upside, particularly in clean energy. Thus, from the standpoint of long-term growth, we see a positive risk/reward for utilities going into the election.” Market moves: “In this presidential election, there is no social mandate coming from economic dislocation, nor a likelihood of any party receiving a super majority that would cause major legislative change. As a result, any election-based (market) movement – before and after – should prove temporary. Clearly, there is a lot of rhetoric, but that does not equal legislative success.” Global markets: “We analyzed equity returns before and after the U.S. election. The Hang Seng tends to do well one month before the election and then performs till the end of the year. The Nikkei 225 tends to do well one month afterwards. Interestingly, the VIX consistently rises one and three months before the election while the dollar tends to strengthen. Bonds tend to do better after the election result going into the year-end.” Clinton win: “If elected, we believe that Hillary Clinton would push for expanded trade deals, including a revised or modified TPP-like agreement, albeit these deals would likely include increased protections for US workers, as well as expanded provisions for trade adjustment assistance.” Trump win: “Donald Trump, if elected, is likely to actively oppose any expansion of trade, and he plans to withdraw from TPP, direct the Secretary of Commerce and Treasury to identify violations of trade agreements and unfair trade practices, renegotiate NAFTA, and ‘use every lawful presidential power to remedy trade disputes’.” CHRIS KRUEGER, COWEN WASHINGTON RESEARCH GROUP, COWEN AND COMPANY Trump win (GOP Sweep): Positive for consumer discretionary, energy, industrials, IT, telecom and materials sectors; negative for healthcare; neutral for consumer staples, financials and utilities Clinton win with GOP House: Positive for industrials, IT, materials and utilities sectors; negative for energy and telecom sectors; neutral for consumer discretionary and staples, financials and healthcare Clinton win with a Democratic House: Positive for industrials, IT and materials sectors; negative for energy, financials, health care and telecom sectors; neutral for consumer discretionary and staples, and utilities

THAT’S GONNA LEAVE A MARK…Anti-Trump Punks Attack CA Police…Get BIG Surprise When Cops Hit Back! [VIDEO]Are police officers finally getting sick and tired of walking around on eggshells while being disrespected and abused by the Obama-Soros F*ck The Police crowds? It s good to see our law enforcement officers actually doing what they re paid to do without coddling Bernie and Hillary s basement dwellers Watch: Protesters outside Trump rally start to attack SD police officers, who hit back. pic.twitter.com/4bSZHVQAck Jacob Rascon (@Jacobnbc) May 27, 2016Here s a video of a F*ck Trump sign carrier who was pepper sprayed by police. Watch the black man near the end of the video ask her, Was it worth it? Watch: Protester tries to recover after she is pepper sprayed in the face by a SWAT officer. pic.twitter.com/9nocgenykr Jacob Rascon (@Jacobnbc) May 28, 2016Here is a great time lapse video of thousands of Trump fans lined up to get into his San Diego, CA rally. It s interesting how there doesn t appear to be a single act of violence anywhere in this video:Time-lapse: Thousands of Trump supporters still in line for SD rally nearly five hours after doors opened. pic.twitter.com/fzcSpZAWV8 Jacob Rascon (@Jacobnbc) May 27, 2016Here are some of the responses to the YUGE San Diego Trump rally line by Twitter users:For the record and your future reporting: San Diego is NOT a big GOP area. Obama won SD County 55-44% in '08, 51.5-46.4% in '12! George Biagi (@hoyageorge) May 27, 2016https://twitter.com/nancyporras13/status/736351982521192448Here is a tweet from leftist San Diego councilman encouraging anti-Trump protesters. Saying San Diego will #StopTrump :This lady refuses to let go of the Trump pi ata. Says she will carry it until the end. San Diego will #StopTrump pic.twitter.com/BwTPqcGoq2 David Alvarez (@AlvarezSD) May 27, 2016https://twitter.com/realHJTrinity/status/736335102376955904

7.4 quake hits near Papua New Guinea, tsunami warning issued

WATCH: AUSTRALIAN SENATOR Forced To Resign Only Two Days After Video Of Her Breastfeeding While Giving Speech In Parliament Goes ViralAustralian Senator Larissa Waters recently went viral after she made history by becoming the first woman to breastfeed in the country s Parliament. But Waters resigned today after it was revealed that she has dual citizenship in Australia and Canada, a breach of Australia s constitution for sitting senators.Waters, a member of Australia s Green Party, became an international sensation in May when she breastfed her two-month old daughter in Australia s parliament. The country had only just legalized the practice in 2016, paving the way for a more family-friendly environment in Australian politics.Waters was born in Winnipeg in 1977 to two Australian parents and moved down under when she was just 11 months old. Australia s constitution forbids anyone with dual citizenship from serving as a senator. Waters, who says she was unaware that she held citizenship in Canada, was elected in 2010. I was devastated to learn that because of 70-year-old Canadian laws I had been a dual citizen from birth, and that Canadian law changed a week after I was born and required me to have actively renounced Canadian citizenship, Waters said at a press conference today. It is with a heavy heart that I am forced to resign as senator for Queensland and co-deputy leader of the Australian Greens, effective today, she continued.Waters is the second Australian senator who s had to resign in as many weeks. Gizmodo

GOP VETERAN AND DOUBLE AMPUTEE Scorches Democrats For Blatant Lies About Health Care Bill [Video]Brian Mast scorched the Democrats for their lying about the health care bill: I too am a person with preexisting conditions and I believe it s not something I should just do but a responsibility for me to be the staunchest advocate for people out there who have preexisting conditions. And that is why I m such an ardent supporter of this bill. I think every American and every person out there with preexisting conditions should be asking themselves, how is it that they have coverage if every single insurance provider has pulled out of the market? If there s no entity to go out there and provide insurance, how is it that preexisting conditions could possibly be covered?https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=30ZhPidmLBQGo get em!PELOSI AND USUAL SUSPECTS LIE THROUGH THEIR TEETH ABOUT THE BILL:Pelosi held a fear mongering press conference where she claimed Republicans would have a scar they would carry with them Well, ok She then said Republicans will glow in the dark Huh?Her hands were shaking the entire speech very bizarre indeedHouse Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., warned that Republicans who vote to pass the American Health Care Act today will have a scar they will carry from that vote, and that they will be forever identified with the vote. They have this vote tattooed on them. This is a scar they will carry, Pelosi said when asked if the House bill could be improved in the Senate. It s their vote, not the Senate vote. It s their vote they are taking. So that is really a poor choice cowardly, I might add. Why would they vote for it if they don t think it s worthy of support because the Senate will change it? LIZ WARREN PEOPLE WILL DIE! Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the House GOP s plan to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act a cruel way to enrich the wealthy and cut insurance from many Americans.Warren said too many Republicans are treating the bill like it s a game: This isn t football. It s not about scoring points. #AHCA will devastate Americans healthcare. Families will go bankrupt. People will die, she tweeted.

Australian Politician Clive Palmer's nickel refinery pumped toxic waste into Great Barrier Reef park - Company discharged toxic wastewater into world heritage area despite being forbidden from doing so

Illinois marked 14th straight budget deficit in FY 2015: auditCHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois’ overall financial condition deteriorated in fiscal 2015 as tax collections fell, with the state recording its fourteenth straight budget deficit, according to an annual audit released on Tuesday. The nation’s fifth-largest state ended fiscal 2015 on June 30 with a general fund deficit that grew to $6.9 billion from $6.7 billion in fiscal 2014, the comprehensive annual financial report by Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino showed. A temporary income tax hike enacted in 2011 partially expired midway through fiscal 2015, decreasing collections by $1.8 billion. “The state continues to show an inability to generate sufficient cash from its current revenue structure to pay operating expenditures on a timely basis,” the audit said. It also warned that budget deficits, along with growing unfunded liabilities for pensions and retiree healthcare, and credit rating downgrades “may impact the state’s ability to access credit markets to pay operational expenditures more timely and may increase interest costs of those borrowings.” Illinois, which already pays a big penalty in the U.S. municipal bond market, has the worst-funded pensions and the lowest credit ratings among the 50 states. The state is in its 10th month without a full fiscal 2016 budget due to an impasse between its Republican governor and Democrats who control the legislature. Lawmakers returned to session this week after their spring break without any deal in sight for a fiscal 2016 or 2017 budget. The state’s liabilities, led by a $108.6 billion unfunded pension liability and $32.5 billion in payments due on bonds, dwarfed nearly $22 billion in assets, including buildings, infrastructure and equipment, resulting in a net deficit of $125.3 billion compared with $121.2 billion in fiscal 2014, the audit said. This left Illinois in the worst shape of the 42 U.S. states that have filed fiscal 2015 audits. Of the seven states that ended the fiscal year with a net position in the red - a list that also includes New Jersey, California and Kentucky - Illinois had the largest overall net deficit. Illinois’ budget stabilization fund was unchanged at $275.7 million, an insufficient amount to address cash management needs, according to state Comptroller Leslie Munger. Her office reported a $6.58 billion unpaid bill backlog on Tuesday.

Scientists attribute extreme weather to man-made climate change

NAVY SEALS “Forced To Spend Their Own Money On Combat Gear”…WHILE U.S. Marines Will Spend $50 MILLION To Save Desert TortoisesThe security of our nation has never been more threatened than it is today, under the incompetent leadership of Barack Hussein Obama. The idea that we have one of the most highly trained group of warriors in our US Military paying for their own combat gear is unconscionable. Meanwhile, we are about the spend $50 MILLION or $42,000 per tortoise, to transplant them from a desert in CA to a new environment, where they may or may not survive, is a perfect example of how upside down our nation s priorities are today Breitbart Congressman Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), a Marine with three combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan on his resume, says Navy SEALs have been telling him they are running short on combat rifles.The Associated Press reports Hunter describing a weapons carousel in which SEALs returning from deployment hand their weapons off to outgoing troops, a practice he described as undermining the train like you fight ideal, and disrupting the personal connection special operators develop with their finely-tuned weapons. Hunter stressed the importance of allowing special operators to train with the same weapons they bring into the field. As it currently stands, following a deployment, a SEAL will have his weapon taken from him, which has been fine-tuned to certain specifications, and given to a different operator to use. This means that SEALs standing by to deploy are waiting for different teams to come back stateside just so they can use their weapons, said Hunter. They want their rifles. It s their lifeline. So let them keep their guns until they re assigned desk jobs at the Pentagon, the Congressman urged.According to the Navy Times, some SEALs have been forced to spend their own money on combat gear. Former active-duty special operator Lt. Cmdr. Sean Matson, visiting Capitol Hill at Hunter s invitation, said he had to put up $900 of his own money to buy a high-quality ballistic helmet when the Navy dragged its heels on upgrading his kit. Hunter portrayed the SEAL rifle shortage as a consequence of wasteful spending, noting that abundant funds for purchasing rifles, which are far less expensive than most of the equipment the military buys, should be available, based on congressional spending authorizations for special ops forces.Hunter s chief of staff Joe Kasper told the Navy Times shortages of optics, night vision, and laser attachments have also been reported, even as the budget for Navy Special Warfare increased. So there are obviously some trade-offs being made, but they re occurring at the expense of operators and their firepower and those are the absolute worst trade-offs to make, said Kasper. Meanwhile Daily Caller The Marine Corps is getting ready to conduct a massive operation to move hundreds of desert tortoises living on combat training grounds so they won t be crushed to death by military vehicles.The operation s total cost: $50 million to move 1,185 tortoises, or about $42,000 per tortoise.

Scores dead after Pakistan quake

Trump scorns probe into FBI pre-election handling of Clinton emails(Reuters) - Donald Trump responded with derision on Friday to news of an investigation into the FBI decision to make public an inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s emails days before the Nov. 8 presidential election, a decision that Clinton said was a factor in her defeat. The Justice Department said on Thursday it would investigate the FBI actions. FBI Director James Comey said on Oct. 28 the agency was reviewing emails that might be relevant to a previous inquiry into Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, then announced on Nov. 6 that the fresh review had yielded nothing to change the agency’s finding that she was not guilty of criminal wrongdoing. “What are Hillary Clinton’s people complaining about with respect to the F.B.I. Based on the information they had, she should never have been allowed to run - guilty as hell,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Friday. “They were VERY nice to her. She lost because she campaigned in the wrong states - no enthusiasm!” added the Republican president-elect, who is due to enter the White House in a week. Democrats said Comey’s announcement of the new inquiry into the emails in October damaged her standing with voters right before the election, and he faced complaints that his moves were politically motivated. Announcing its inquiry on Thursday, the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General said it was looking into decisions leading up to Comey’s public statements and whether they may have been based on “improper considerations.” Trump assailed Clinton over the email issue throughout the 2016 election campaign, and crowds at his rallies often chanted “lock her up!” In a debate in October, Trump vowed Clinton would “be in jail” over the matter if he became president, although in a New York Times interview soon after the election he indicated that he would not pursue prosecution. After a year-long probe into whether Clinton mishandled classified information with her email practices, Comey said in July that while Clinton and her staff had been extremely careless, the agency recommended no charges be brought. Brian Fallon, Clinton’s spokesman, told MSNBC on Thursday that Comey’s actions before the election “cried out for an independent review.” Referring to Trump’s reaction, Fallon said on CNN on Friday: “Those tweets are just the latest indication that Donald Trump is someone who is very insecure in his victory.” Senator Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. Senate said Comey’s statements were not “fair, professional or consistent with the policies of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” Comey said on Thursday the FBI would cooperate fully with the investigation. Trump will not have the power to dismiss the investigation. Federal law permits U.S. presidents to dismiss inspectors general for federal agencies, as long as the president provides Congress a written justification for the removal 30 days in advance.

LOL! WATCH DEMOCRAT DINGBAT Sheila Jackson Lee Repeatedly Confuse “Hurricane Sandy” With “Sandy Hook”CNN s Allison Camerota started out her interview with Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee telling her that it was being pointed out that, A whole bunch of Texas lawmakers voted against sending financial aid to the victims of Superstorm Sandy when they needed it in 2012 and 2013. Why didn t you vote at that time to help Sandy victims? Camerota asked. Well, at the time, we helped Sandy victims. The Democrats wanted more money. We didn t get all the money we needed. Frankly, um we did vote. I did vote on the maximum money. Unfortunately, it did not pass. Why didn t you vote for H.R. 152, that was the Appropriations Act of 2013, that all sorts of Texas lawmakers voted against and you just did not vote? Why did you skip that one? As I said, I voted on legislation to help the Sandy Hook victims, Jackson Lee responded. Camerota corrected her, Sandy superstorm, At the conclusion of the interview, Allison Camerota took the time to clarify that Just so that we re clear, we re talking about Superstorm Sandy, not the Sandy Hook shooting.Immediately following Camerota s clairification, Jackson Lee clarified that yes, she is complete bafoon, as she ended the interview by clarifying that she was indeed talking about the mass murder of small children in New Jersey vs. the superstorm: Let me be clear, I voted on many votes for Sandy Hook funding. Another reporter attempted to point out that Repbulican Senator Ted Cruz voted aginst a $50 billion bill that was supposedly intended to help Sandy Superstorm victims. Unlike dingbat Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, Senator Cruz offered a legitimate reason for not supporting the bill that was filled with pork by legislators who weren t acting in the best interest of Sandy Superstorm victims. The accurate thing to say is that I and a number of others enthusiastically and emphatically supported hurricane relief for Sandy, the senator told the MSNBC host. The problem with that particular bill is it became a $50 billion bill that was filled with unrelated pork it s not right for politicians to exploit a disaster when people are hurting to pay for their own political wish list.

Trump to Pennsylvania: See you in four yearsHERSHEY, Pa. (Reuters) - Ready for another Donald Trump presidential campaign? President-elect Trump, who begins his first White House term on Jan. 20, tossed out the idea of seeking re-election during a “thank you” rally held to express his appreciation to voters in states that were crucial to his Nov. 8 victory. Trump won Pennsylvania by little more than 44,000 votes over Democrat Hillary Clinton. It was the first time a Republican candidate had won the state since 1988. “And in four years, we’re going to win it by even more,” the 70-year-old New Yorker said in an arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, joined by Vice President-elect Mike Pence. Trump’s “thank you” tour continues with an event in Orlando, Florida, on Friday and then is to conclude in Mobile, Alabama, on Saturday. During the tour, Trump has vowed to press on with some key campaign pledges, like building a wall along the U.S. southern border with Mexico and suspending immigration from violent countries like Syria. In Hershey, Trump noted he had won the state of Ohio but that it would have been better if he had had the support of Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich, who fought against Trump in the Republican presidential primary. “But you know what? He’s called,” Trump said of Kasich. “It would have been nice if he had called a couple weeks earlier. But he’s called. He’s been very nice.” Trump drew boos by praising the cooperation he has been getting from Democratic President Barack Obama. The two have had regular telephone conversations to discuss the transition of power. “No, no, no,” Trump told the crowd to tamp down their boos. But then he criticized Obama’s press secretary, Josh Earnest, who has expressed some skepticism about Trump’s positions in his daily briefings. “But this foolish guy, Josh Earnest. I don’t know if he’s even talking to President Obama,” he said. Trump, who is to pick his own choice for press secretary soon, added, “You know, having the right press secretary is so important.”

Castro ally and intellectual Armando Hart dead at 87HAVANA (Reuters) - Armando Hart, who headed the Cuban revolution s literacy campaign and served for decades as education and then culture minister under Fidel Castro, died on Sunday from respiratory failure at age 87, Cuban state media reported. Hart, a Marxist intellectual and lawyer, who fought in the urban underground and was imprisoned during the last year of the revolution against U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista, was married to Haydee Santamaria until 1980, a heroine of the revolution and one of its most important female figures. They had two children, both of whom died in an automobile accident in 2008. Hart was also a member of the Communist Party Political Bureau and the Council of State for many years, the two most powerful executive bodies in Cuba. In 1997, Hart became director of the national center to preserve the memory and works of Jose Marti, the country s most venerated figure, a position he held up to his death.

4 Banks, Including JPMorgan, Fined in Europe Over Cartel Behavior

The immigration bill has a specific provision that says that Secretary Napolitano does not have to build any fence if she chooses not to.

BREAKING: REVEALED! Hillary’s Paid Speeches Published By Wikileaks And It’s NOT PrettyExcerpts from Hillary Clinton s closed-door paid speeches, including to financial firms, appeared to be made public for the first time on Friday when WikiLeaks published thousands of hacked emails from her campaign chairman.The speech transcripts, a major subject of contention during the Democratic primary, include quotes from Clinton about her distance from middle-class life ( I m kind of far removed ); her vision of strategic governing ( you need both a public and a private position ); and her views on trade, health care, and Wall Street ( even if it may not be 100 percent true, if the perception is that somehow the game is rigged. ) John Podesta, the Clinton campaign chairman, was the latest victim in a wave of hacks on key figures in Democratic politics and the political establishment in what administration officials say is an effort by Russia to undermine the election. Clinton research director Tony Carrk sent the excerpts in an email to Podesta and other senior aides, sourcing the the flags from HRC s paid speeches to the Harry Walker Agency, the firm that represented Clinton and arranged her dozens of public and private paid speech deals after she left the State Department in early 2013.The email is dated Jan. 25, 2016, with the subject line, HRC Paid Speeches. Carrk identified and sent the highlights in the email, telling Podesta and Clinton s communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, that there were a lot of policy positions that we should give an extra scrub with the campaign s policy department.*CLINTON IS AWARE OF SECURITY CONCERNS AROUND BLACKBERRIES**Clinton: At The State Department We Were Attacked Every Hour, More Than Once An Hour By Incoming Efforts To Penetrate Everything We Had. And That Was True Across The U.S. Government. **CLINTON IS MORE FAVORABLE TO CANADIAN HEALTH CARE AND SINGLE PAYER**Clinton Said Single-Payer Health Care Systems Can Get Costs Down, And Is As Good Or Better On Primary Care, But They Do Impose Things Like Waiting Times. * If you look at countries that are comparable, like Switzerland or Germany, for example, they have mixed systems. They don t have just a single-payer system, but they have very clear controls over budgeting and accountability. If you look at the single-payer systems, like Scandinavia, Canada, and elsewhere, they can get costs down because, you know, although their care, according to statistics, overall is as good or better on primary care, in particular, they do impose things like waiting times, you know. It takes longer to get like a hip replacement than it might take here. [Hillary Clinton remarks to ECGR Grand Rapids, 6/17/13]Two campaign spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment early on Friday evening seeking confirmation on the authenticity of the excerpts.During this year s long-fought Democratic primary, Sen. Bernie Sanders repeatedly pressed Clinton to release the transcripts of the speeches, which were delivered to a variety of groups, including major firms like Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. Late last year, Clinton said she would look into releasing the transcripts. She never did, arguing that Republicans and others should also release theirs. Let everybody who s ever given a speech to any private group under any circumstances release them, she told ABC this February. We ll all release them at the same time. Late into the primary, Sanders argued that the American people had a right to know what Clinton told well-heeled audiences on Wall Street about her economic policy. We all rely on the market s transparency and integrity. So even if it may not be 100 percent true, if the perception is that somehow the game is rigged, that should be a problem for all of us, and we have to be willing to make that absolutely clear, Clinton said in one apparent excerpt, softening an assertion she has made frequently on the trail, that the economy is rigged in favor of those at the top. In the same remarks, attributed to a 2014 speech to Deutsche Bank, Clinton also said that much of financial reform really has to come from the industry itself. The flagged excerpts don t provide context for Clinton s remarks, but include several comments in which she appears to express strong pro-trade sentiments. My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, Clinton is quoted as telling a Brazilian bank in 2013. We have to resist, protectionism, other kinds of barriers to market access and to trade. The apparent speech transcripts have spilled out into the public as young voters and progressives, including those who flocked to Sanders campaign, still have questions about Clinton and may turn to a third-party candidate in the fall.Read more: Buzzfeed

Italy approves draft law to ban burqa

509 essential drugs get cheaper in India

Evidence of Viking Outpost Found in Canada - Digging in the ruins of a centuries-old building, archaeologists found some very intriguing whetstones. Wear grooves bear traces of copper alloys such as bronzematerials known to have been made by Viking metalsmiths but unknown among native inhabitants.

Julian Assange will be Le Monde's man of the year according to AFP via RIA Novosti (use Google Translate)

France will no longer dictate to Africans, Macron saysOUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday sought to make a clean break from his predecessors saying that he came from a generation that would not tell Africans what to do and would focus his efforts on bridging ties between Africa and Europe. I am from a generation that doesn t come to tell Africans what to do, Macron said during a speech to university students in the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou. I am from a generation for whom Nelson Mandela s victory is one of the best political memories. Macron is on a three-day visit to West Africa that includes an EU-Africa summit in Ivory Coast s capital Abidjan. I will not stand by those who say the African continent is one of crises and misery. I will be alongside those who believe that Africa is neither a lost continent or one that needs to be saved.

For better or worse, Bill Clinton not a big factor among U.S. voters: pollNEW YORK/MANCHESTER, N.H. (Reuters) - Bill Clinton may not be the “secret weapon” that Hillary Clinton needs in the U.S. presidential race. And the former Democratic president may not become the albatross that Republican candidate Donald Trump expects, either. Bill Clinton simply is not wielding that kind of influence – good or bad – over voters so far this year, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. A majority of Americans, including 73 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of Republicans, said Bill Clinton does not factor into their opinion of Hillary for president. (tmsnrt.rs/1OUiYCw) The poll, conducted Jan. 7 to 13, found that 12 percent of Americans are more likely to vote for Hillary, the former secretary of state, because of her marriage to Bill. Among Democrats, fewer than half said Bill Clinton should be more prominent in his wife’s campaign, and less than half felt that his presence in the race would boost her chances of winning. Bill Clinton, who was widely credited for helping Barack Obama win a second term in 2012, has become much more active on the campaign trail this month, especially in New Hampshire, where Hillary Clinton trails Bernie Sanders in several recent statewide polls. Hillary called Bill her “not-so-secret weapon” when announcing the move, though his increased involvement created an opening for Republicans, especially Trump, to bring up allegations of sexual misconduct that dogged the Clintons in the 1990s. Despite two terms of strong economic growth and a trade surplus, Bill Clinton’s legacy as president has been marked by several high-profile missteps. Several women came forward during his tenure in the White House with allegations of consensual sexual encounters. He also spent much of his tenure fighting accusations of unwanted advances toward women, including Paula Jones, an Arkansas state employee, who later filed a lawsuit. In 1998, he was impeached by the House of Representatives after attempting to cover-up an affair with another woman, Monica Lewinsky. After Hillary said that Trump, the Republican front-runner, had shown a “penchant for sexism,” the real estate mogul took to Twitter to warn the Democratic front-runner against using her husband as a surrogate on the campaign trail. “If Hillary thinks she can unleash her husband, with his terrible record of women abuse, while playing the women’s card on me, she’s wrong!” Trump wrote in late December. Voters, however, do not seem to care. A majority of Americans in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, including 68 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of Republicans, said that Bill’s past sexual misconduct “made no difference” in the current presidential race. Among women, 56 percent said it did not matter, while another 21 percent said it would hurt Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the election. A tiny proportion of women – 4 percent – said they thought the experience would actually help her chances of winning. Democrats who turned out to listen to the former president this week in New Hampshire dismissed the allegations of sexual misconduct as no longer relevant. “I just think it’s none of our business,” said Randall Ferrara, a retired pastor who came to listen to Bill stump in Keene, New Hampshire. “It’s old news and a weapon they use when they don’t have anything else.” Ferrara said he is still deciding between Clinton and her chief rival, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of nearby Vermont.  Shirley Ferrara, his wife, said that she would be supporting Hillary. She agreed with the roughly half of Democrats that told Reuters/Ipsos that the former president “should take a prominent role” campaigning for his wife and that it would help her. “I think he would be an asset to her,” Ferrara said. Rachel Reekie, a Sanders supporter and Keen State University student who was in elementary school during Clinton’s presidency, said she was “fully aware” of the allegations. “It’s not a big deal; it’s over,” Reekie said. “I don’t think his presence will have an effect.” The online panel of 1,947 adults has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of about 4 percentage points. (Editing by Caren Bohan and Lisa Shumaker) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency.

Afghan Women Fear Their Fate Amid Taliban Negotiations

Nobel Chemistry Prize to Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel for developing multiscale models for complex chemical systems

House intelligence panel chair: Probe of Russia continuesWASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes on Tuesday said his panel’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election would continue to move forward. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Nunes was asked if asked if he would recuse himself from panel’s probe but he declined to answer directly. “The investigation continues,” Nunes told CNN, NBC and other media outlets.

SHOCKING: UNIV OF HAWAII RECRUITS GIRLS AS YOUNG AS 14 YEARS OLD FOR 2ND TRIMESTER ABORTION EXPERIMENTSThe moral decay continues The Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children at the University of Hawaii is currently recruiting pregnant girls and women to participate in second-trimester abortions to measure their bleeding during the operation, with and without antihemorrhagic drugs. According to the Clinical Trials website, run by the National Institutes of Health, participants must be at least 14 years old and 18-24 weeks pregnant.The controversial study, led by Bliss Kaneshiro, MD and Kate Whitehouse, DO, will monitor bleeding during D&E abortions to determine the effects of the drug oxytocin, commonly used to minimize blood loss and decrease the risk of hemorrhage.The clinical trial, called Effects of Oxytocin on Bleeding Outcomes during Dilation and Evacuation began in October 2014 and is a collaboration between UH, Society of Family Planning and the University of Washington.The Society of Family Planning funds a number of similar research projects, such as experimenting with the dosage of Misoprostol, a uterine contracting agent, prior to surgical abortions at 13-18 weeks and exploring umbilical cord injections to produce fetal death prior to late-term abortions.In the UH study, researchers will carry out a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trials, to determine the effect of oxytocin s use on uterine bleeding, meaning that they will either provide or deny intravenous oxytocin to the women.Reports suggest that some doctors are concerned that withholding oxytocin during surgery may put patients, especially teen girls, at risk. This study is reminiscent of Nazi concentration camp experiments. I pity the poor women who are being treated like lab rats, especially those who are denied the drug to reduce hemorrhaging, said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue.Dilation and evacuation abortions are surgical procedures that involve dismembering the pre-born baby with forceps, scraping the inside of the uterus with a curette to remove any residuals and finally suctioning out the womb to make sure the contents are completely removed.After the abortion, the corpse of the fetus is reassembled and examined to ensure everything was successfully removed and that the abortion was complete.The study is hoping to attract up to 166 test subjects and is expected to conclude in July 2015.Via: Breitbart News

The pope has sparked controversy by saying defending heterosexuality is as important as saving the world's rainforests from destruction.

WATCH: Paul Ryan Gets His A** Handed To Him By Fox Host On GOP Healthcare PlanEven Fox News understands that the Republican healthcare bill will leave millions of Americans in financial ruins.That s why Chris Wallace put the screws to House Speaker Paul Ryan on Sunday.So far, the GOP healthcare bill has been universally panned and Republicans who still support the bill are struggling to defend it.The bill will not only strip health insurance from tens of millions of Americans, it will make the cost of healthcare skyrocket, especially among senior citizens whose costs are projected to be ten times what they pay now under the Affordable Care Act.During an interview on Fox News Sunday, Wallace pointed out to Ryan that the GOP healthcare bill would force senior citizens with an annual income of $26,500 to spend $14,600 a year on health insurance instead of the $1,700 they currently spend thanks to subsidies provided by the Affordable Care Act.Wallace then slammed Ryan for saying that the GOP plan is what freedom looks like, even though seniors would be forced to spend over half of their income on healthcare. That s definitely NOT freedom. You said that part of that is that this is what freedom looks like, Wallace began. But is the major decrease in the number of people according to the CBO who will have health insurance, is it freedom or is it that some people will no longer be able to afford health insurance under your plan? This isn t freedom, Wallace continued. This isn t people voluntarily deciding not to have health insurance. It s that your plan makes it unaffordable for people. Ryan responded by going on an incoherent rant about how the Affordable Acre Act is not going to last, even though Republican sabotage is the reason why the Affordable Care Act is having problems in the first place. And then he started talking about how the GOP bill will make insurance plans less expensive even though Wallace just got done telling him the exact opposite. We re not going to make people buy something that s so expensive that they can t afford, that the market is not going to offer, Ryan said. And so where I dispute that comparison is it suggests that we re going to have the same kinds of plans being offered in 10 years that Obamacare would otherwise offer. The person in their 50s or 60s does have additional health care costs than, say, a person in their 20s and 30s You re right in saying and we agree we believe we should have even more assistance and that s one of the things we re looking at for that person in their 50s and 60s. We re going to let people buy what they want to buy, Ryan continued. We re going to have more plans being offered, more choice and competition. He also claimed that gutting healthcare regulations would cause prices to drop.Here s the video via YouTube:Ryan s argument in defense of Trumpcare is that the CBO didn t examine everything. The problem is that if they had the GOP plan would have looked even worse.Getting rid of regulations won t make healthcare more affordable. It just gives insurance companies more freedom to screw over their customers.As the GOP healthcare bill currently stands, senior citizens will end up paying ten times as much for healthcare than they do now.The Affordable Care Act created competition among health insurance companies and slowed down the rising cost of premiums while covering tens of millions of Americans who previously could not afford coverage.The GOP bill repeals all of that and Ryan s defense was not only confusing, it was full of empty promises in a desperate effort to convince the American people that Republicans care about them.Featured image via screenshot

WATCH: GEORGE W. BUSH Visits SMU Football Team To Reassure Players With Families In Houston Area: “The days are dark now, but they’re gonna get better”Former President George W. Bush made an appearance today at the Southern Methodist University football field in Dallas, where his wife, the former first lady Laura Bush is an alumni. SMU is also the home of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. The former President talked to the players and coaches about the devastating floods their families may be dealing with. He also offered his support and encouragement to the players.G.W. stood in the middle of the field and spoke to the players and coaches, as he tried to reassure them that they would recover: I know there s some people from Houston here, and the Houston area. And I know you re going through a really tough time. And just know that there ll be a lot of people that are gonna help, help the people down there a lot. The country, right now, they re recovering, and so the key thing on the recovery is to keep people safe. And then it s gonna be the rebuilding. And if you re from that area, you d be amazed at all the people who come down there to help all kinds of people. And so, the days are dark now, but they re gonna get better. If anyone knows about hurricanes, and what is required to rebuild entire neighborhoods and cities, it s former President George W. Bush. The media destroyed the former president for not acting fast enough to help the Hurricane Katrina victims where severe flooding affected residents from Gulfport, Mississippi to New Orleans, Louisiana, and areas in between. Now the media is criticizing President Trump for visiting the victims too soon.Watch Bush s remarks here from the SMU Football Twitter account:Thank you President Bush for coming to practice today to offer support to our players from the Houston area!@TheBushCenter pic.twitter.com/7lQRfWGrjQ #PonyUpTempo (@SMU_Football) August 29, 2017

Afghan Government Moves to Bailout Leading Bank - The sudden intervention by the Afghan government to shore up a deeply troubled bank sent shock waves through the capital, prompting fears among American and Afghan officials about the integrity of the countrys financial system.

World's first colour moving pictures discovered

UN World Drug Report 2009

Trump signs resolution allowing U.S. states to block family planning fundsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a resolution that will allow U.S. states to restrict how federal funds for contraception and reproductive health are spent, a move cheered by anti-abortion campaigners. “This is a major pro-life victory,” said the most powerful Republican in the House of Representatives, Speaker Paul Ryan, adding that a regulation enacted under Democratic former President Barack Obama had forced states to fund Planned Parenthood, a national non-profit that provides contraception, health screenings, and abortions. Under the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to repeal newly minted rules, both the House and Senate had passed a resolution killing Obama’s regulation that had protected federal grants for clinics in states wanting to block the funding. States such as Texas in recent years have kept the grants from going to clinics as part of the country’s longstanding fight over abortion. Broadly, many Republicans seek to restrict abortion or make it illegal while Democrats have fought to keep abortion legal. The resolution had narrowly passed the U.S. Congress, with Vice President Mike Pence called to the Senate on March 30 to break a tie vote in the chamber, where Republicans hold a slim majority. The federal government can never again create a “substantially similar” regulation under the review law. The grants, known as “Title X” funds, were already barred from going directly to abortion services but under the now-null regulation Planned Parenthood clinics were assured they could receive money even in the face of state objections. “Allowing states to withhold Title X funding from family planning clinics won’t make anyone safer or healthier – it will instead place essential services out of reach,” said Diane Horvath-Cosper, a medical doctor and fellow at Physicians for Reproductive Health, adding that for many people the clinics are the only place where they can receive affordable health services such as disease testing.

"Israel get the hell of Palestine. This people are occupied. Is their land. Go back to Poland, Germany, USA, wherever" (yeah included Israel) - Helen Thomas

Taliban may be descended from Jews

Australia celebrates 'day for love' as it allows same-sex marriageSYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia became the 26th nation to legalise same-sex marriage on Thursday, prompting cheers and singing from a packed parliament public gallery in a country where some states ruled homosexual acts to be illegal until just 20 years ago. Lawmakers, who had cast aside a conservative push to allow religious objectors to refuse service to same-sex couples, waved rainbow flags and embraced on the floor of the chamber, after the overwhelming vote in favour of the bill. Fewer than five of 150 MPs voted against it. What a day. What a day for love, for equality, for respect, said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. It is time for more marriages. The law, which will also recognise same-sex marriages solemnised in foreign countries, takes effect from Saturday. Because a month s notice is required for the state to recognise a marriage, the first legal same-sex unions will be in January. Five-time Olympic gold-medal winner, the swimmer Ian Thorpe, who came out in 2014, said the law reflected contemporary Australia and would support people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual queer or intersex (LGBTQI). It will give each of us the sense of what modern Australia is, and is, in fact, the way that most of us see this country as being, and will allow LGBTQI people in our nation to know that fairness is one of our values, he told reporters in Canberra. Australians had overwhelmingly endorsed legalising same-sex marriage in a postal survey. What a moment for the country, said Christine Forster, a Sydney councillor and the sister of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, standing among throngs of rainbow-clad campaigners for a Yes vote, outside parliament with her female partner. She said she planned to go to her brother s house to celebrate. Abbott, who is still a member of parliament, was one of the most prominent no campaigners. He left the chamber before the vote. The bill cleared the upper house last month. During the debate in the lower house on Monday, a politician proposed to his same-sex partner. Both Turnbull s Liberal-National coalition government and the main opposition Labor Party had said they wanted to pass it by Dec. 7. But despite the support of the main parties, religious organisations and conservative lawmakers had voiced strong opposition and proposed dozens of amendments. During the debate, they pressed for broad protections for religious objectors, among them florists and bankers, to refuse service to same-sex couples. But their efforts were rejected. These amendments, rather, are a shield for people and organisations that hold to a traditional view of marriage. They are not a sword to be wielded in the service of bigotry, government MP Andrew Hastie said in parliament. Amendments to permit lay celebrants to decline to solemnise same-sex marriages and businesses opposed to the unions to refuse service at wedding receptions were all defeated, one after the other, during three days of debate. Love has won, and it s time to pop the bubbly, Greens MP and same-sex marriage supporter Adam Bandt said.

France to skip 2018 Winter Games if security not assuredPARIS/SEOUL (Reuters) - France s Winter Olympics team will not travel to the 2018 Games in South Korea if its security cannot be guaranteed, France s sports minister said on Thursday, the first major doubts by a participating nation about growing North Korean tensions. The games organizer said on Friday that it is closely monitoring the current geopolitical situation with the South Korean government, adding that safety is the top priority. Tensions in the region have escalated since North Korea conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3, prompting global condemnation. North Korea s leader Kim Jong Un said on Friday the North will consider the highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history against the United States in response to U.S. President Donald Trump s threat to destroy the North. France s Sports Minister Laura Flessel told RTL radio that if the crisis deepened and our security cannot be assured, the French Olympics team will stay at home. But she added: We re not there yet. Participants in the Games - the first Winter Olympics hosted by an Asian nation outside Japan - had not previously raised safety concerns publicly. The games are scheduled for Feb 9-25 next year in Pyeongchang, just 80 km (50 miles) from the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, the world s most heavily armed border. The two countries remain technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty. Safety and security is one of the most important aspects of Games preparations, Sung Baik-you, a spokesman for the organizing committee, said in a statement to Reuters on Friday. South Korea s President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday the country is pushing to ensure security at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. In a meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, Moon said South Korea is well aware of the concerns. The Japanese Olympic Committee said on Friday it is not considering the cancellation of its plans. We will continue to prepare in the same way as with other international competitions that we take part in, a spokeswoman for the committee said. The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) said it was working with all the relevant authorities to ensure its athletes would be safe. Each host city presents a unique challenge from a security perspective, and, as is always the case, we are working with the organizers, the U.S. State Department and the relevant law enforcement agencies to ensure that our athletes, and our entire delegation, are safe, USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky said. The Chinese Olympic Committee said it had no immediate comment. The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), which has representatives in South Korea, said the safety of its team was always its main priority. The safety of our entire Canadian Olympic Team is always our main priority, no matter where the Games are held, the COC said in a statement emailed to Reuters. The Government of Canada does not currently have travel advisories in place for South Korea and recommends that Canadians exercise normal security precautions, which is the lowest of four risk levels. Australia, one of Asia s largest participants at recent Winter Games, is monitoring the situation. The safety of our team is of the highest priority but we are comfortable with the priority that the (International Olympic Committee) and the Org Comm are placing on security and safety of the Games and its participants, the Australian Olympic Committee said in a statement emailed to Reuters. We are relying on advice from DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and working with the Korean Ambassador and if their advice changes, we will advise our team accordingly but for the moment there is no suggestion that the Games will not go ahead or their safety is compromised. The chief of the International Ski Federation, Gian-Franco Kasper, dismissed any fears among athletes, saying the Pyeongchang Olympics would be the safest in the world . He conceded, however, that ticket sales among overseas visitors could be affected. The IOC has said it is not contemplating any Plan B for the Games. IOC President Thomas Bach said last week that considering any scenario other than holding the Olympics in South Korea could hamper diplomatic efforts.

Trump Adviser Confirms: Trump’s Immigration Policy Is Still Racist (VIDEO)It s been a hell of a week for the Trump campaign with Donald Trump s recent pivots on immigration. The Republican presidential nominee and his surrogates have placed themselves in a place where they can neither go forward nor retreat. The media is trying to get a clear message from the campaign on just exactly where Trump stands on his initial proposal to forcibly deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. Trump campaign senior adviser Boris Epshteyn appeared on CNN Sunday morning, where he gave probably the most honest statement regarding Trump s new position that we re going to get.The idea is lunacy. Not only would such a massive deportation wave create one of the largest human rights crises in history, it would also cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Not to mention the fact that it would also completely destroy the United States entire economy.That being said, Trump catapulted to his current position by tapping into his base s anti-brown hatred by promising he would do just that. So it could be said that the campaign is trapped between appealing to white supremacists and well, reality itself.After dodging the question on every cable news journalist s lips by talking about Trump s Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton s immigration plan, which agree with it or not on some points, at least actually exists, Epshteyn says: Donald Trump will make sure America stays America and Hillary Clinton s plans will make sure we have illegal immigrants coming to this country at will. Just to be clear, make sure America stays America is code for make sure the United States stays white. That s all the Trump campaign has left. Vague promises to implement racist policies. That s all folks.You can watch the segment below.Featured image via video screen capture

Togo security forces clash with protesters in north, boy killedLOME (Reuters) - Security forces in Togo used batons, tear gas and live bullets against protesters seeking an end to President Faure Gnassingbe s rule on Wednesday and a child was killed in the ensuing clashes, according to Amnesty International. Tensions are mounting over the president s tenure and thousands marched nationwide against government reforms announced on Tuesday which they say will allow the Gnassingbe family dynasty to run the West African country until 2030. There was a 9-year-old boy killed in Mango by military forces. He was shot in the head, said Francois Patuel, of Amnesty International, citing local sources including family members. Security Minister Damehame Yark confirmed that a child had been shot dead in Mango, hundreds of kilometres north of the capital Lome, but blamed the PNP opposition party. Riots also broke out in the northern city of Bafilo between protesters against Gnassingbe and his supporters, injuring several, opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre said at the end of a peaceful march in Lome. The former French colony of 8 million people that is home to several large firms, including Ecobank and regional airline ASKY, has a history of violent political repression. Hundreds were killed in the aftermath of Gnassingbe s contested election win in 2005. Shortly afterward, he pledged to re-introduce the term limits his father scrapped and align Togo with most of its West African neighbors, which are bucking a trend toward life-long presidencies elsewhere on the continent. Gnassingbe, now in his third term, dropped the reforms until parliament this week attempted to cap future presidencies to two terms of five years, but the bill did not get enough backing due to an opposition boycott and will be decided by referendum instead. In Lome, people wearing the red and orange T-shirts of the opposition banged on tam-tams and sang a traditional battle song Strength to the Great in the local Ewe language. Others carried a giant banner saying: People of Togo say No! 50 years is enough! The referendum is not what we want. We are asking for the president to leave, said 42-year-old Paulin Kossi. Nearby, a large crowd gathered on a beachside boulevard to show their support for the UNIR ruling party while a motorcycle parade bearing flags with Gnassingbe s snaked through the streets, flanked by a police escort. Residents also complained of internet cuts - a method increasingly used by governments to stifle criticism at sensitive times. Protests both against and in support of the president are set to resume on Thursday.

WOW! Why Florida Jews Deserted Hillary…Helped Trump To Win FloridaHillary Clinton matched President Obama s historically low percentage of the Jewish vote, driving a third of Jews into the Republican camp, an unheard of percentage before Obama s pro-Iran policies. Obama also turned Jews off by his blatant personal antipathy to Israel s prime minister, so the question was whether Jews would come back as a voting bloc for Clinton, who is thought of as a friend to Israel by many Jews, merely by association with her husband.The answer is no, Jews did not return to the Democratic fold.The retired Democratic Jews of Florida were a crucial demographic Clinton had to carry, and she didn t, according to Lori Lowenthal Marcus, co-founder of jewschoosetrump.org.Experienced political strategist Dan Rodriguez, founder and CEO of the MGR Group, spent the run-up to Election Day and the big day itself in Florida. In the aftermath of the election, he has been traveling to boards of elections in heavily Jewish voting districts. He explained that from raw data, Jewish votes are difficult to distinguish because they get lumped in with white votes. Yet Clinton received only 32 percent of the white votes (into which Jewish votes are lumped) in Miami-Dade [County], whereas Obama took 37 percent, Rodriguez told me. In addition, he said, voters 45 or older, a significant portion of whom are Jewish, went strongly for Trump, 56 percent to Clinton s 42 percent. Trump also won the support of passionately pro-Israel Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who may have donated more than $75 million to fuel a much needed ad campaign, which ran on all the sports channels and elsewhere in the final two weeks before the election. American Thinker

The amount of water leaking from one of the reactors at Fukushima is much greater than previously thought, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday, a finding that points to severe damage to the reactor and could force a change in plans for stabilizing the unit.

CROCODILE TEARS: Watch Obama Use Phony Outrage To Gain Sympathy For Gun ControlFollowing Obama s phony tears, he launched directly into attack mode of the Republican majority Congress (who have already proven their not on our team) and the gun lobby. All of us need to demand a Congress brave enough to stand up to the gun lobbies lies. Every time I think about those kids it gets me mad, he said, as he bowed his head for ultimate effect, and then boom as though he never shed a tear, the attack against Republicans and gun lobbies began.Where was his outrage when Kate Steinle was killed by an illegal alien in a Sanctuary City? Where was his outrage when cops were being killed as a result of his war against cops? Obama s selective outrage and faux tears aren t fooling anyone who s paying attention This isn t the first time Obama used a fake dramatic scene to promote his agenda. Remember this phony scene? Obama was in the middle of his speech promoting socialized medicine, but somehow was able to see a woman behind him about to pass out. Watch him save her just in the nick of time.

U.S. ELECTIONS May Already Be In Serious Jeopardy : ACORN Gives OH Man Cigarettes And Cash To Register To Vote 72 Times…Several More Horror StoriesIf you haven t already signed up to help protect the sanctity of our vote in some way do it TODAY! Leisa and I have worked in polling places where crime rate is high and most poll workers are afraid to work. In the city of Detroit, we were surprised to find some very well run polling places. In Pontiac, MI, we experienced something quite different. We saw people using pill bottles as a form of identification. We were physically and verbally threatened by the poll supervisors and watched workers call in reinforcements to stand within our field of vision in an attempt to intimidate us. We are in a war with the Left who has no issue with bending or breaking the rules to win. We re not advocating that anyone put themselves in harms way. We are only suggesting you get involved in some way to protect the sancticy of the vote. Contacting the non-partisan voter integrity organization True The Vote is the best first step. Election integrity and voters rights organization True the Vote announced that it successfully worked with officials in Ohio to remove duplicate voter registrations prior to the Ohio primary. These registrations were originally submitted by left-leaning and Democrat organizations, including ACORN.Approximately 30 percent of voters registered twice in the Cleveland area and they did so with falsified birth dates, social security numbers, and other identification. These were submitted not only by ACORN, but by Field Works, The Strategy Network, Organizing for America, and other left-of-center organizations, says True the Vote (TTV) in a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas.Upon receipt of True the Vote s research, 711 duplicate voter registrations were removed in Cuyahoga County and 465 sets were processed in Franklin County. TTV says it has been notified that thousands of duplicate voter registrations have also been removed in North Carolina. Because of Ohio s consistent role as a decisive swing state in America s elections, it has a duty to ensure that its voter records are in the best shape possible, True the Vote Founder Catherine Engelbrecht said. Having duplicate voters in Ohio s poll books not only creates confusion at the polling place, but raises the possibility of fraudulent double voting. The Buckeye State has recently seen first-hand just how far some are willing to go to see their candidate or cause win. TTV notes that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) had a well-established track record of giving local election officials questionable voter registration forms for years, especially in Midwestern and other political battleground states.ACORN bragged about submitting more than 1.3 million voter registrations in 2008 alone. After the organization was formally shutdown, 18 employees were convicted or admitted guilt to committing election crimes.A large percentage of the work that ACORN engaged in has been officially questioned.A Cleveland man said he was given cash and cigarettes by ACORN in exchange for registering 72 times. The complaints started an investigation into the organization and witnesses were subpoenaed to testify against the organization.The New York Post reported in 2009 that eleven ACORN workers in Florida were arrested after submitting approximately 1,400 applications of which about 900 were falsified.More than 2,000 applications were falsified in Indiana and submitted just hours before the registration deadline.As it relates to the 30 percent of Cleveland voters that registered twice, TTV founder Engelbrecht said, While many voter records may become duplicated due to data management breakdowns, you have a different issue entirely when nearly a third of the irregularities show a pattern of intentional forgery. Engelbrecht warned, Americans working in the polls and casting ballots must be extra vigilant this year to help spot irregularities that can throw an entire election into question. Via: Breitbart News

German parliament bans using laptops during the debates; the Pirate Party brings a typewriter

Trump breaks ice with China's Xi in letter seeking 'constructive' tiesBEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has broken the ice with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a letter that said he looked forward to working with him to develop relations, although the pair haven’t spoken directly since Trump took office. The letter thanked Xi for his congratulatory note on Trump’s inauguration and wished the Chinese people a prosperous Lunar New Year of the Rooster, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday. “President Trump stated that he looks forward to working with President Xi to develop a constructive relationship that benefits both the United States and China,” it said. China said on Thursday it attached great importance to China-U.S. ties. “We highly appreciate President Trump’s holiday greetings to President Xi Jinping and the Chinese people,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing. Asked whether it was a snub that Trump had held calls with many other world leaders as president, but not Xi, Lu said: “This kind of remark is meaningless.” He reiterated that China and the U.S. had maintained “close communication” since Trump took office and that cooperation was the “only correct choice”. “China is willing to work with the United States in adhering to the principles of non-confrontation, mutual respect and mutual benefit to promote cooperation, control disputes, and on a healthy and stable foundation, promote greater development in China-U.S. ties,” Lu said. Trump and Xi have yet to speak directly since Trump took office on Jan. 20, although they did talk soon after Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November. Diplomatic sources in Beijing say China has been nervous about Xi being left humiliated in the event a call with Trump goes wrong and the details are leaked to the U.S. media. Last week, U.S. ties with staunch ally Australia became strained after the Washington Post published details about an acrimonious phone call between Trump and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. [nL4N1FN0JR] “That is the last thing China wants,” a source familiar with China’s thinking on relations with the United States told Reuters. “It would be incredibly embarrassing for President Xi and for Chinese people, who value the concept of face.” A senior non-U.S. Western diplomat said China was unlikely to be in a rush to set up such a call. “These things need to happen in a very controlled environment for China, and China can’t guarantee that with the unpredictable Trump,” the diplomat said. “Trump also seems too distracted with other issues at the moment to give too much attention to China.” There are a number of contentious areas where China fears Trump could go off script, the diplomat said, pointing in particular to the issue of self-ruled Taiwan, as well as trade. Trump upset China in December by taking a phone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. China considers Taiwan a wayward province with no right to formal diplomatic relations with any other country. Trump has also threatened to slap tariffs on Chinese imports, accusing Beijing of devaluing its yuan currency and stealing U.S. jobs. In his Senate confirmation hearing, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said China should not be allowed access to islands it has built in the disputed South China Sea. The White House also vowed to defend “international territories” in the strategic waterway. China has repeatedly said it has smooth contacts with the Trump team. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing said last week the two countries were remaining “in close touch”. That contact has been led by China’s top diplomat, State Councillor Yang Jiechi, who outranks the foreign minister. Yang told Michael Flynn, Trump’s National Security Advisor, last week that China hopes it can work with the United States to manage and control disputes and sensitive problems. [nL4N1FO364] The source familiar with China’s thinking said Trump’s administration was “very clear” about China’s position on Taiwan. Trump has yet to mention Taiwan since he took office. Chinese state media has wondered whether Trump has a China policy at all. On Thursday, the widely read Global Times tabloid, published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, noted that Trump had not immediately confronted China as had been expected because he had realized upsetting Beijing would backfire badly. “He has probably realized that real tough action against China would result in a complex chain reaction, even beyond his control,” the paper said in an editorial. Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Beijing’s elite Renmin University, said the letter suggested the new U.S. administration wanted to signal the importance it attached to the U.S.-China relationship without risking being confronted on specific issues. “Trump has sent many messages that makes the world confused, like on the South China Sea and ‘One China’ policy, so if he makes a phone call President Xi will ask ‘what do you mean?’,” Wang said. “He wants to avoid this so he just sends a letter for the first step.”

Trump Just Tweeted The Stupidest Thing He’s Said This Week – And Twitter Tore Him A New One (TWEETS)Recently, at one of his thank you rallies, Donald Trump admitted that his supporters yeah, those people who were regularly in the news for beating African-Americans at rallies, attacking minorities (often finding themselves praised by The Donald), and generally proving that Hillary Clinton was being generous when she said only half of them are deplorables are violent and crazy. While the mainstream media portrays these people as what did they say? Oh, yes, economically anxious rather than racist, violent, deplorable, xenophobic, or any of the bazillion terms that can properly be applied to such individuals, the rest of us had no problem telling it like it is. Even Trump, who regularly blasted anyone who insulted his precious little snowflakes, now seems willing to admit that they are awful people. He s just OK with it (until anyone who isn t him calls them what they are, of course).Following the obvious response to The Donald applying terms to his followers that previously were verboten in his eyes, Trump tweeted perhaps the stupidest thing he has tweeted in a while (and that s saying a lot) on Sunday. If my many supporters acted and threatened people like those who lost the election are doing, they would be scorned & called terrible names! Trump said.If my many supporters acted and threatened people like those who lost the election are doing, they would be scorned & called terrible names! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2016Trump, of course, seems to be referencing attempts to call him out on his cozy relationship with Russia, whose leader directly commanded an effort to hack Trump s political opponents to help the billionaire secure the presidency. Maybe he meant the peaceful marches in the streets that followed his historic victory (historic in the sense that no one elected President has lost the popular vote by as much as Trump). In any case, he seems to feel that the many crimes committed in his name like when two men Trump later called passionate individuals who love this country beat a Hispanic homeless man with a pipe and urinated on him pale in comparison to the ongoing effort to expose him as a real-life Manchurian candidate (don t call those men names, though. Wouldn t want to hurt their feelings). Naturally, Twitter jumped on this latest opportunity to curb-stomp President-elect P*ssygrabber:Please @realDonaldTrump, for your own sake, stop with this nonsense. You're demonstrably wrong and the proof is in the numerous hate crimes. David G. McAfee (@DavidGMcAfee) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump Like the ones that spray paint swastikas in the honor of your name? Or the ones that want Americans of different color out of "your" country Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) December 18, 2016This is a twisted joke, because Trump is well aware how violent and racist his supporters are. @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/QPo8SW0CdM Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump You have absolutely zero self-awareness. Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) December 18, 2016I know right @realDonaldTrump!! You would be horrified at the actions of #DonaldTrump & his supporters during the election. pic.twitter.com/uWyGxW44hy Khary Penebaker (@kharyp) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump they already are called terrible names lol jolly duley (@Advil) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump ARE YOU KIDDING ME? rachelrobertsREAL (@scouserachel) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump Your supporters include a burgeoning neo-Nazi movement. Scott Tobias (@scott_tobias) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump every time one of your tweets shows up in my feed it feels like a parody account Molly Knight (@molly_knight) December 18, 2016.@realDonaldTrump I have some bad news for you about your supporters. Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump you are embarrassing yourself and this great country every time you whine on Twitter. Delete your account. Molly Knight (@molly_knight) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump God you're the worst. Zoss (@JZossMPLS) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump Absurdly Thin Skin! #DopeyDonald #NotMyPresident #Unpresidented #TotallyFuckingBatshitCrazyRacistMisogynistMoron pic.twitter.com/P9vdDBPLn8 The Zen Parrot (@The_Zen_Parrot) December 18, 2016Trump s supporters are terrible no matter how you slice it, as even those who do not commit hate crimes in his name are fine with it as long as we build that wall to help Make America White Again. Oh well, better get these loons a safe space or eleven. They re going to need it.Featured image via Getty Images(Mark Wallheiser)/screengrab

BBC News - US embassy in Yemen stormed in film protest

(VIDEO) LAWYER FOR “Patriot” Gyrocopter Mailman Who Landed On White House Lawn Asks A Very Good Question I m Doug Hughes, I m 61 years old and I m a mailman working out of Riverview, Florida. No sane person would do what I m doing. I had carefully planned it so that no one would get hurt, including me especially me. I thought about being 75 years old and watching the collapse of this country, and thinking that I had an idea that might have arrested the fall and didn t do it. And I will tell you, completely honestly that I d rather die in the flight than live to be 80 years old and see this country fall. The wife of a Florida man who was arrested after he landed a one-man gyrocopter on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol building to protest money in politics insists that her husband is a patriot.While she says that she was not aware that her husband was going to attempt the illegal flight to Washington, Alena Hughes nonetheless believes that her husband is a patriot who loves his country. I think he s a patriot and I m proud of him, Mrs. Hughes told the media.Still, the whole incident has been stressful, Alena said.Doug Hughes, 61, a post office employee from Tampa Bay, Florida, told Capitol police that his gyrocopter mission was to highlight money in politics and he intended to deliver a letter to each member of Congress to urge them to initiate campaign finance reform.Since his arrest, the 61-year-old also claimed that the 2012 suicide of his son, John Joseph, also motivated him to make his protest flight.Hughes hired an attorney in Washington, but Mrs. Hughes also hired Paul Carr, her own attorney, just in case.Mrs. Hughes attorney had an interesting take on Mr. Hughes actions. Tell me what restrictions mailmen have to deliver mail, Carr said. The attorney went on saying, He has a right to deliver mail. In fact, it s his obligation. Purportedly getting money out of politics has been a long-time goal of the left-wing. But Hughes is fighting against several Supreme Court decisions that holds that donating to politicians and political causes equates to a protected right of free speech. Via: Breitbart NewsHERE IS THE VIDEO FOOTAGE TAKEN BY A TEACHER OUTSIDE OF THE WHITE HOUSE AS HUGHES MADE HIS LANDING ON THE WHITE HOUSE LAWN:

WATCH: Michelle Obama DESTROYS Donald Trump With Just A Few WordsFirst Lady Michelle Obama brought the house down at the 2016 Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, using her section of the prime time broadcast to directly take on Republican nominee Donald Trump.In her final convention appearance as the sitting First Lady, Mrs. Obama said: Don t let anyone ever tell you that this country isn t great, that somehow we need to make it great again. Because this right now, is the greatest country on earth. That was, of course, a direct swipe at Donald Trump s slogan where he has promised to make America great again. .@FLOTUS: "Don't let anybody ever tell you this country isn't great" https://t.co/DD977hsyqQ #DemsinPhilly https://t.co/MTU1qI5p6A ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 26, 2016She also pointed out that American voters deserve a President who understands that complex issues can t be boiled down to 140 characters, a reference to Donald Trump s reliance (addiction?) to Twitter, his chosen way of communicating.The statement was followed by a full-throated endorsement of Hillary Clinton, as Mrs. Obama told the audience to get to work because we need to knock on every door in order to pour every last ounce of our passion and our strength and our love for this country into electing Hillary Clinton as President of the United States of America. The First Lady also echoed one of the slogans associated with Clinton s campaign, noting that I m with her in the upcoming election.She also pointed out to the audience in the stadium and watching at home, that her own life was an example of the American ideal. I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves, Mrs. Obama said, also adding that her daughters as black women were a part of the amazing American story.During her time as First Lady, Mrs. Obama has remained a very popular figure even as the President has gone up and down in approval. Along with Hillary Clinton, she was ranked among the ten most admired women in the world by the Gallup poll in its most recent survey on the topic in late 2015.Featured image via Twitter

DRAIN THE SWAMP! EPA Wastes Millions To Make Sure Employees Feel “Included”…”Advisory Bodies” = ScamThe Environmental Protection Agency is looking to hire 15 Diversity and Inclusion Specialists, each of whom will make $100,000 or more per year.The agency will hire employees to set up diversity and inclusion advisory bodies across the country, according to a government job posting. Earth Day is every day at EPA! the agency said. At EPA, you can protect human health and the environment of all Americans, and you ll discover that EPA is one great place to work! We offer great benefits and work flexibilities, and our diverse workforce connects to more than just a career we share a common passion to promote a cleaner, healthier environment, the EPA said.The salary range for Diversity and Inclusion Specialists is between $99,785 and $146,570 per year. If all 15 positions are filled, the hires would cost taxpayers between $1,496,775 and $2,198,550 each year.The employees will be in charge of implementing a diversity strategy within the EPA s Office of Research and Development. Other duties include analyzing recruitment and retention, as well as setting up diversity and inclusion advisory boards.Read more: WFB

Iranian cyber warfare commander shot dead in suspected assassination

China claims most of South China Sea based on it existing on ancient maps, even though some are less than 20 miles from another country's main shorelines

DISTURBING VIDEO Shows HILLARY’S Campaign Likely FAKED Her Audience At NC RallyOn September 15, Hillary apparently held a rally in the Old Student Recreational Center at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, NC. This was her first public appearance since she convulsed and had to be lifted into her van following the 9-11 memorial in NYC. Hillary s campaign was quick to blame the heat until they discovered conservative websites were able to quickly access the weather and determine that it was a balmy 74 degrees in NYC! Hillary was quickly whisked away to her daughter Chelsea s apartment following her incident, passing more than one hospital on the way to recuperate. Did Hillary recover from her incident or was this rally faked to make it look like she did?Here is the first video of Hillary s Greensboro, NC rally that was causing viewers to ask what the heck are those cameras in Hillary s audience pointing at? If you look closely, it sure isn t Hillary!Watch this video first, and then the video below to get a closer analysis of what appears to be a phony rally for Hillary at https://twitter.com/WDFx2EU5/status/777263623915745280This stunning video takes the viewer through and shows step-by-step where the audience is faked:Here is the actual video from C-Span to prove nothing was doctored in the videos above. Holy moly!

NSA Uses Windows Error Messages To Spy On People

IRAN Announces Reason For Arresting US Sailors…They Were Teaching Congress A Lesson?Of course, our Secretary of State has everything under control. It is being reported, that John Kerry has already apologized to Iran. Obama s total avoidance of this issue during his SOTU speech speaks volumes about how these jack-holes handle a military crisis with terror states It almost makes one wonder if this was Obama s idea? Congress has been standing in the way of his progress with Iran for some time now (even some in his own party). And we all know by now, there is really nothing Barack Obama will stop at to get his way Iran s army chief said on Wednesday the seizure of two U.S. navy boats and their 10 sailors should be a lesson to members the U.S. Congress trying to impose new sanctions on Tehran. This incident in the Persian Gulf, which probably will not be the American forces last mistake in the region, should be a lesson to troublemakers in the U.S. Congress, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, head of Iran s armed forces, was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. Via: Yahoo NewsAli Fadavi, commander of the IRGC Navy, said that Tehran had missiles locked on the United States at the time of the incident. They were in sight of our missiles, Fadavi said in Persian, according to a statement carried by the IRGC s official news outlet. If this had happened, it would have led to their annihilation. We had high preparedness with coast-to-sea missiles, rocket-firing fast boats, and various capabilities, he said. We prevented their additional irresponsible movement with the statements we broadcasted internationally. It was proven to them that the IRGC Navy has the first and final word. The U.S. cannot stand up to Iran, according to Fadavi. The result of that battle is the annihilation and sinking of their battleships, he said. This is while in those 40 minutes [when the U.S. sailors were apprehended], it was clear that Americans were under psychological pressure, to the extent that they did not behave in a manner expected from a professional and responsible force. The Obama administration denied that an apology was offered to Iran. Vice President Joe Biden told CBS that there was no looking for any apology. When you have a problem with the boat, [do] you apologize the boat had a problem? No, Biden said. And there was no looking for any apology. This was just standard nautical practice. Iran realized [the sailors] were there in distress and said they would release them, and released them like ordinary nations would do, Biden said.State Department Spokesman John Kirby also issued a denial on Twitter.

Crimes against humanity in NKorea, UN panel finds: A U.N. Commission of Inquiry has found that crimes against humanity have been committed in North Korea and recommends that its findings be referred to the International Criminal Court

OBAMA REGIME’S SECRET ASIAN TRADE DEAL Would Let International Tribunal Overrule State and Fed Laws To Benefit Foreign CompaniesNothing to see here just Obama evening the playing field by giving an ad hoc international tribunal the ability to overrule US laws and allow them to levy fines against the US the American taxpayer would be responsible for paying. It is really worrisome, said top House Ways and Means Committee Democrat Rep. Sandy Levin. Countries do not want to give away their jurisdiction away to some arbitrary panel, he added.At issue is the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty and a provision called Investor-State Dispute Settlement, or ISDS, that would let foreign firms challenge U.S. laws, potentially overruling those laws and resulting in fines to be paid by taxpayers. The provisions are becoming common in some trade deals between other nations.Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has warned that it would undermine U.S. sovereignty.Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions has also raised a concern about another phase in the legislation, living agreement. He and other experts say that phrase means that the treaty can be changed after Congress approves it.The Asia trade deal would be up first if Congress OK s the pending Trade Promotion Authority, which fast-tracks trade agreements. Levin said it is in trouble over concerns about the secret TPP.Is anyone else feeling exhausted by watching Josh the liar Earnest explain the corrupt Obama administration?At a media breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, Levin appeared with Jeffrey Sachs, prominent international economist at Columbia University, who panned the provision as a bid by foreign companies to make an end run around tough U.S. laws and regulations. Essentially, ISDS allows companies to sue states in a special ad hoc tribunal that is outside the court systems and outside of the legal systems of the host countries, he warned. U.S. law, U.S. court findings, could be set aside by this ad hoc process really designed and pushed by the corporate sector which sees this as an end run around national law, he added.Levin also joined in Sessions demand that the Asia trade pact be opened to the public. Currently, it is being kept in secret and only those cleared to see it are allowed to. Levin said, for example, that he was barred from discussing some TPP provision with Sachs.The White House has dismissed the secrecy claims, but Sachs said, It is secret. I haven t seen it. I can t see it. Levin also said that the treaty would include communist Vietnam which has far different worker rights laws than the U.S. He recalled recently meeting with a Vietnamese woman who was thrown in jail for trying to form a union. There has to be changes, he demanded.Via: Washington Examiner

Lawmakers urge U.S. to craft targeted sanctions on Myanmar militaryWASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 40 lawmakers urged the Trump administration on Wednesday to reimpose U.S. travel bans on Myanmar’s military leaders and prepare targeted sanctions against those responsible for a crackdown on the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority. In a letter sent to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a group of Republican and Democratic members of the House of Representatives called for “meaningful steps” against Myanmar’s military and others who have committed human rights abuses in an offensive that has driven more than 500,000 Rohingya Muslims out of the Southeast Asian nation. “Burma’s authorities appear to be in denial of what has happened,” stated the letter. “We urge you to do everything possible to ensure protection and security for those trapped inside Burma or willing to return, as well as oppose forcible returns from neighboring countries.”

Trump says he is working on plan to bring down drug pricesWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is developing a plan that will encourage competition in the drug industry and bring down prices for medicines, as the House of Representatives leadership unveiled a new health care plan. “I am working on a new system where there will be competition in the Drug Industry. Pricing for the American people will come way down!” Trump said in a Twitter post.

Republican tax bill stumbles on deficit 'trigger,' new options weighedWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican tax bill in the U.S. Senate stalled on a procedural problem late on Thursday, forcing lawmakers to weigh new options to an amendment sought by a leading fiscal hawk to address a projected large expansion of the federal deficit under the measure, senators said. Senator Bob Corker had wanted to add a provision to the bill that would trigger automatic tax increases in years ahead if the tax cuts in the bill failed to boost the economy and generate revenues sufficient to offset the deficit expansion. But the Senate parliamentarian barred Corker’s “trigger” proposal. “We just got the realization from the parliamentarian that that’s probably not going to work,” said Republican Senator David Perdue. In response, Republicans were considering building future tax increases into their bill. “It’s not a threshold anymore. It’s just a tax increase. ... The only thing that’s come off the table is the trigger concept,” Perdue said.

Russia and China discuss coordination on North KoreaMOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov had held talks with China s ambassador to Russia Li Hui about Moscow and Beijing coordinating action on North Korea at the U.N. Security Council. The officials exchanged views on joint steps, the ministry said in a statement.

Why is there uproar over Trump's Jerusalem declaration? JERUSALEM (Reuters) - President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that it will move its embassy to the holy city. In doing so, Trump is breaking with longtime U.S. policy and potentially threatening regional stability, despite warnings from Western and Arab allies. Why is President Trump planning to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital and move the embassy there? There has long been pressure from pro-Israel politicians in the United States to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and Trump made it a signature promise of his campaign during the 2016 presidential election. It is a decision that will likely be popular with many conservative and evangelical Christians in his political base. Many of them support political recognition of Israel s claim to the city. Vice President Mike Pence and David Friedman, the ambassador to Israel appointed by Trump, are thought to have pushed hard for both recognition and embassy relocation. Why does Jerusalem play such an important role in the Middle East conflict? Religion, politics and history. Jerusalem is a city that is sacred to three of the great monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and each has sites of great religious significance there. It has been fought over for millennia by its inhabitants, by invading Romans, Crusaders, Ottomans and the British Empire, and by the modern states of Israel and its Arab neighbors. Israel s government regards Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible capital of the country, although that is not recognized internationally. Palestinians feel equally strongly, saying that East Jerusalem must be the capital of an eventual Palestinian state. The city even has different names. Jews call it Jerusalem, or Yerushalayim, and Arabs call it Al-Quds, which means The Holy . But the city s significance goes beyond the two parties most immediately involved. At the heart of Jerusalem s Old City is the hill which is known to Jews across the world as Har ha-Bayit, or Temple Mount, and to Muslims internationally as al-Haram al-Sharif, or The Noble Sanctuary. It was home to the Jewish temples of antiquity but all that remains of them above ground is a restraining wall for the foundations built by Herod the Great. Known as the Western Wall, this is a sacred place of prayer for Jews. Within yards of the wall, and overlooking it, are two Muslim holy places, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was built in the 8th century. Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina. The city is also an important pilgrimage site for Christians, who revere it as the place where they believe that Jesus Christ preached, died and was resurrected. What is the city s status now and does any other country have an embassy in Jerusalem? When British rule ended in 1948, Jordanian forces occupied the Old City and Arab East Jerusalem. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. In 1980 the Israeli parliament passed a law declaring the complete and united city of Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel, but the United Nations regards East Jerusalem as occupied, and the city s status as disputed until resolved by negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Other countries have had embassies in Jerusalem in the past, but moved them out of the city some years ago. The King of Jordan retains a role in ensuring the upkeep of the Muslim holy places. What is likely to happen next? Has Jerusalem been a flashpoint before? Tensions are running high in Jerusalem, and violence has erupted before over matters of sovereignty and religion. In 1969 an Australian Messianic Christian tried to burn down the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He failed, but caused damage. So charged was the Middle East s political climate - just two years after the Six Day War - that there was fury across the Arab world. In 2000, the Israeli politician Ariel Sharon, then opposition leader, led a group of Israeli lawmakers onto the Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif complex. Palestinians protested, and there were violent clashes that quickly escalated into the second Palestinian uprising, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Deadly confrontations also took place in July this year after Israel installed metal detectors at the entrance to the complex following the killing of two Israeli policemen there by Arab-Israeli gunmen. In recent days, Palestinian factions have called for protests, and Arab leaders across the Middle East have warned that a unilateral American move could lead to turmoil, and hamper U.S. efforts to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Mongolia in for double whammy: drought now, "dzud" next. The drought has wiped out up to 80 per cent of its wheat crop and up next could be the worst winter in six years.

China and North Korea are batteling over a mountain on their border where Kim Jong-il was allegedly born. Soviet documents however show he was born in Russia.

French newspaper to France's richest man: "Get lost, you rich bastard"

Poachers kill 11,000 Gabon elephants in under a decade: The African country is home to half the world's 100,000 forest elephants, coveted by ivory dealers for their tusks

Ireland to consider marijuana legalization bill