August 7, 2018.
Iran sanctions: Rouhani condemns US 'psychological warfare'
What is the Iran nuclear deal?
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has hit out at the United States over its reinstatement of economic sanctions.
He described the measures, which came into effect overnight, as "psychological warfare" which aimed to "sow division among Iranians".
The sanctions take aim at various sectors, with further punitive action planned against Iran's oil trade.
The European Union has spoken out against the measures, vowing to protect firms doing "legitimate business".
It follows the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, earlier this year.
The deal, negotiated during the presidency of Barack Obama, saw Iran limit its controversial nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
US President Donald Trump says the deal is "one-sided" and he believes renewed economic pressure will force Iran to agree to a new deal and end its "malign" activities.
What are the sanctions?
Mr Trump signed an executive order which brought sanctions back into place at 00:01 EDT (04:01 GMT) on Tuesday. They target:
The purchase or acquisition of US banknotes by Iran's government
Iran's trade in gold and other precious metals
Graphite, aluminium, steel, coal and software used in industrial processes
Transactions related to the Iranian rial currency
Activities relating to Iran's issuance of sovereign debt
Iran's automotive sector
A second phase is planned to come back into effect on 5 November which will have implications for Iran's energy and shipping sectors, petroleum trading and transactions by foreign financial institutions with the Central Bank of Iran.
Why is the US implementing them?
The imposing of sanctions follows Mr Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 deal earlier this year.
Mr Trump had long spoken out against the agreement, labelling it "disastrous" and the "worst deal I've ever seen".
Iran nuclear deal: Key details
The impact of Iran sanctions - in charts
Only the US has withdrawn, with other signatories remaining committed to the original agreement.
Mr Trump says Iran faces a choice to "either change its threatening, destabilising behaviour and reintegrate with the global economy, or continue down a path of economic isolation".
"I remain open to reaching a more comprehensive deal that addresses the full range of the regime's malign activities, including its ballistic missile programme and its support for terrorism," Mr Trump said on Monday.
What has the reaction been?
Mr Rouhani said the US government had "turned their back on diplomacy" with the action.
Mr Rouhani rebuked Mr Trump's strategy, saying "negotiations with sanctions doesn't make sense"
"They want to launch psychological warfare against the Iranian nation." Mr Rouhani said. "Negotiations with sanctions doesn't make sense. We are always in favour of diplomacy and talks... but talks need honesty,"
He also accused the Trump administration of using Iran as domestic political leverage ahead of November's midterm elections in the United States.
The foreign ministers of Germany, the UK and France released a statement on Monday that said the nuclear deal remained "crucial" to global security.
They also unveiled a "blocking statute" which is intended to protect European firms doing business with Iran despite the new US sanctions.
Alistair Burt, the UK's minister of state for the Middle East, told the BBC: "If a company fears legal action taken against it and enforcement action taken against it by an entity in response to American sanctions, then that company can be protected as far as EU legislation is concerned."
However, German car and lorry maker Daimler, a major firm which announced a joint venture in Iran last year, confirmed this week that it has now ceased activities in the country.
The US had previously rejected calls to offer exemptions, with Mr Trump vowing "severe consequences" against firms and individuals who continued to trade with Iran.
An anonymous senior US official said that the administration was "not particularly concerned" by EU protection efforts.
How will Iran's economy be affected?
Iran has seen unrest since last December over a poorly-performing economy.
Rising food prices, unemployment and even poor water supplies have led to protests in a number of cities.
Demonstrations in Tehran in June were said to be the capital's biggest since 2012.
Media captionTehran saw large-scale economic protests in June
How much they are tied to the new US sanctions policy is hard to determine, but one definite link is the effect on Iran's currency. It has lost around half of its value since Mr Trump announced the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
Iran is easing its foreign exchange rules to try to bolster the rial, and the currency's fall has been stabilised this month.
Iranians have been hoarding gold as a safeguard, pushing it to a record high in Tehran.
The sanctions may bite hardest in November, when the US blocks Iranian oil sales.
This could halt about half of Iran's exports of some two million barrels a day, although Iran may look to China and Russia to keep its industry afloat.
The International Monetary Fund said in March that Iran's net official reserves could decline this year to $97.8bn, which would finance about 13 months of imports. And analysts at BMI Research say Iran's economy could contract by 4.3% in 2019.
However, Barbara Slavin, of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told the Wall Street Journal that when sanctions hit hard, it often means ordinary people become "totally dependent" on their government and so sanctions do not tend to topple regimes.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Monday, August 6, 2018
11,000 Wikileaks Twitter DMs Have Just Been Published For Anyone To Read - Forbes
Jul 30, 2018, 12:08pm
11,000 Wikileaks Twitter DMs Have Just Been Published For Anyone To Read
Thomas Fox-Brewster
Forbes Staff
Cybersecurity
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange remains couped up inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, as thousands of private Twitter messages sent to and from the organization leak out. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Ever wondered what's going on behind closed doors at Julian Assange's pro-transparency outfit Wikileaks? Thanks to journalist Emma Best, you can now rifle through 11,000 direct, private messages sent to and from Wikileaks' Twitter account.
Best released the messages Monday, saying they came from the "Wikileaks + 10 chat," a private group for the organization's more active supporters. She claimed many of the messages contained offensive material. "At various points in the chat, there are examples of homophobia, transphobia, ableism, sexism, racism, antisemitism and other objectionable content and language." Wikileaks hadn't responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
More obviously, the messages show a strong Republican favoritism. Previous reports had already revealed portions of the Wikileaks' Twitter chats. They included messages allegedly sent by Assange himself, one saying, "it would be much better for the GOP to win." He later described Hillary Clinton as "a bright, well-connected, sadistic sociopath."
Wikileaks' antipathy toward Clinton stretched back to at least 2015, and the organization didn't have much love for President Obama. "Obama is just a centralizer. He’s bad because representionally he does not look or act like that which he represents. Hillary has similar representation confusion, but she will actively lead the machine to a dark place," read one message dated November 19 2015. On the same day, Wikileaks wrote that "Hillary has so muc hslime [sic] on her shirt it is now hard to make dirt stick."
A leak from Wikileaks
Best told Forbes in Twitter direct messages the leaked Wikileaks DMs showed it was biased against Clinton. "Those DMs just show more of their bias and desire to get the Democrats in general and Clinton in particular."
New Regional Advisors Help Ensure It’s On Us Is A Campaign For Everyone
The messages briefly touch on the Russian campaign to influence the 2016 election that saw Donald Trump come to power, though they don't reveal any obvious signs of collaboration on behalf of Wikileaks. But U.S. intelligence agencies have said Wikileaks was at the very least a vessel for Russians to spread leaked files that the Kremlin's online spies had stolen. "Whether or not Assange sought to collude with [Russia], he was willing to," Best added.
Wikileaks simply pointed Forbes to its Twitter feed, where it had one post related to Best's release, claiming some tampering may have taken place.
WikiLeaks
✔
@wikileaks
Alleged chatlogs from WikiLeaks' supporter group to correct Twitter misinformation : https://www.pastefs.com/pid/65845
Note that the logs appear to have been modified as can be seen by coversational holes (e.g search for 'Norton') but are useful in other ways.https://www.newsweek.com/wikileaks-secret-chats-exposed-11000-twitter-messages-leak-online-1047509 …
2:41 AM - Jul 31, 2018
WikiLeaks suffers its own leak as 11,000 private Twitter chats are exposed online
The secretive cabal—populated with around 11 close supporters—was a “low security” Twitter group.
newsweek.com
Assange remains in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Reports last week indicated talks are taking place between the U.K. and Ecuador on Assange's future.
11,000 Wikileaks Twitter DMs Have Just Been Published For Anyone To Read
Thomas Fox-Brewster
Forbes Staff
Cybersecurity
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange remains couped up inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, as thousands of private Twitter messages sent to and from the organization leak out. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Ever wondered what's going on behind closed doors at Julian Assange's pro-transparency outfit Wikileaks? Thanks to journalist Emma Best, you can now rifle through 11,000 direct, private messages sent to and from Wikileaks' Twitter account.
Best released the messages Monday, saying they came from the "Wikileaks + 10 chat," a private group for the organization's more active supporters. She claimed many of the messages contained offensive material. "At various points in the chat, there are examples of homophobia, transphobia, ableism, sexism, racism, antisemitism and other objectionable content and language." Wikileaks hadn't responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
More obviously, the messages show a strong Republican favoritism. Previous reports had already revealed portions of the Wikileaks' Twitter chats. They included messages allegedly sent by Assange himself, one saying, "it would be much better for the GOP to win." He later described Hillary Clinton as "a bright, well-connected, sadistic sociopath."
Wikileaks' antipathy toward Clinton stretched back to at least 2015, and the organization didn't have much love for President Obama. "Obama is just a centralizer. He’s bad because representionally he does not look or act like that which he represents. Hillary has similar representation confusion, but she will actively lead the machine to a dark place," read one message dated November 19 2015. On the same day, Wikileaks wrote that "Hillary has so muc hslime [sic] on her shirt it is now hard to make dirt stick."
A leak from Wikileaks
Best told Forbes in Twitter direct messages the leaked Wikileaks DMs showed it was biased against Clinton. "Those DMs just show more of their bias and desire to get the Democrats in general and Clinton in particular."
New Regional Advisors Help Ensure It’s On Us Is A Campaign For Everyone
The messages briefly touch on the Russian campaign to influence the 2016 election that saw Donald Trump come to power, though they don't reveal any obvious signs of collaboration on behalf of Wikileaks. But U.S. intelligence agencies have said Wikileaks was at the very least a vessel for Russians to spread leaked files that the Kremlin's online spies had stolen. "Whether or not Assange sought to collude with [Russia], he was willing to," Best added.
Wikileaks simply pointed Forbes to its Twitter feed, where it had one post related to Best's release, claiming some tampering may have taken place.
WikiLeaks
✔
@wikileaks
Alleged chatlogs from WikiLeaks' supporter group to correct Twitter misinformation : https://www.pastefs.com/pid/65845
Note that the logs appear to have been modified as can be seen by coversational holes (e.g search for 'Norton') but are useful in other ways.https://www.newsweek.com/wikileaks-secret-chats-exposed-11000-twitter-messages-leak-online-1047509 …
2:41 AM - Jul 31, 2018
WikiLeaks suffers its own leak as 11,000 private Twitter chats are exposed online
The secretive cabal—populated with around 11 close supporters—was a “low security” Twitter group.
newsweek.com
Assange remains in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Reports last week indicated talks are taking place between the U.K. and Ecuador on Assange's future.
NRA: The right-wing gun advocacy group is in trouble so people are sending their thoughts and prayers - Independent
NRA: The right-wing gun advocacy group is in trouble so people are sending their thoughts and prayers
Posted August 4, 2018 by Jake Hall in news
UPVOTE
Earlier this week, Rolling Stone obtained an updated lawsuit filed by the NRA.
In the lengthy complaint, the notoriously powerful US non-profit organisation outlined its lack of access to financial services and its recent loss of insurance coverage.
The complaint continued that this coverage is necessary for its off-site meetings, rallies and assemblies, and that this overall lack of funding could lead to disastrous consequences; in fact, the NRA claims that if the financial difficulties continue “it will be unable to exist as a not-for-profit or pursue its advocacy mission.”
When Rolling Stone broke the news, Twitter users were quick to share the article – alongside a sarcastic response, of course.
In fact, several chose to repurpose the hollow, meaningless “thoughts and prayers” often shared by politicians in the wake of mass shootings. And there have been a lot – recent reports collated from Gun Violence Control data estimate that 154 US mass shootings have taken place in 2018 alone.
Naturally, the politicians sharing their “thoughts and prayers” are often reluctant to push for any tangible change or donate money to survivors – a fact which social media users have clearly picked up on by sarcastically regurgitating the go-to response to tragedy.
dylan
✔
@dyllyp
Thoughts and prayers.
Yashar Ali 🐘
✔
@yashar
The NRA Says It’s in Deep Financial Trouble, May Be ‘Unable to Exist’ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nra-financial-trouble-706371/ …
2:08 AM - Aug 4, 2018
Steve Kerr
✔
@SteveKerr
Don't send money......thoughts and prayers should suffice.
SpeedReads
✔
@SpeedReads
The NRA 'will be unable to exist' due to financial losses, group argues in legal filing: http://bit.ly/2M1E5s8
View image on Twitter
1:46 PM - Aug 4, 2018
Lily Herman
✔
@lkherman
Well I hear thoughts and prayers go far.
Tim Dickinson
@7im
BANG: The NRA Says It’s in Deep Financial Trouble, May Be ‘Unable to Exist’ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nra-financial-trouble-706371/ …
4:24 AM - Aug 4, 2018
emilia
@PoliticalEmilia
Apparently the NRA is going broke.
Womp womp. In this time of tragedy for them, all I can give are my thoughts and prayers.
7:59 AM - Aug 4, 2018
Even 'God' got in on the action.
God 🌈
@TheGoodGodAbove
The NRA is going bankrupt.
Thoughts and prayers! 🙏
8:47 AM - Aug 4, 2018
Others were quick to point out the extremely generous donations made by the NRA to influential Republican politicians.
Chelsea Handler
✔
@chelseahandler
Thoughts and prayers to the NRA who is saying they’re in a deep financial crisis and may be unable to exist. Maybe they could ask some of the Republicans they donated millions to for a loan:
Richard Burr - $7M
Roy Blunt - $4M
Cory Gardner - $3M
Marco Rubio - $3M
7:20 AM - Aug 4, 2018
Whether you think the claim is a ploy for more donations or a surefire sign that America's collective stance on gun control could finally be challenged, it's clear that the Internet has one collective reaction to news of the NRA's struggles:
Posted August 4, 2018 by Jake Hall in news
UPVOTE
Earlier this week, Rolling Stone obtained an updated lawsuit filed by the NRA.
In the lengthy complaint, the notoriously powerful US non-profit organisation outlined its lack of access to financial services and its recent loss of insurance coverage.
The complaint continued that this coverage is necessary for its off-site meetings, rallies and assemblies, and that this overall lack of funding could lead to disastrous consequences; in fact, the NRA claims that if the financial difficulties continue “it will be unable to exist as a not-for-profit or pursue its advocacy mission.”
When Rolling Stone broke the news, Twitter users were quick to share the article – alongside a sarcastic response, of course.
In fact, several chose to repurpose the hollow, meaningless “thoughts and prayers” often shared by politicians in the wake of mass shootings. And there have been a lot – recent reports collated from Gun Violence Control data estimate that 154 US mass shootings have taken place in 2018 alone.
Naturally, the politicians sharing their “thoughts and prayers” are often reluctant to push for any tangible change or donate money to survivors – a fact which social media users have clearly picked up on by sarcastically regurgitating the go-to response to tragedy.
dylan
✔
@dyllyp
Thoughts and prayers.
Yashar Ali 🐘
✔
@yashar
The NRA Says It’s in Deep Financial Trouble, May Be ‘Unable to Exist’ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nra-financial-trouble-706371/ …
2:08 AM - Aug 4, 2018
Steve Kerr
✔
@SteveKerr
Don't send money......thoughts and prayers should suffice.
SpeedReads
✔
@SpeedReads
The NRA 'will be unable to exist' due to financial losses, group argues in legal filing: http://bit.ly/2M1E5s8
View image on Twitter
1:46 PM - Aug 4, 2018
Lily Herman
✔
@lkherman
Well I hear thoughts and prayers go far.
Tim Dickinson
@7im
BANG: The NRA Says It’s in Deep Financial Trouble, May Be ‘Unable to Exist’ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nra-financial-trouble-706371/ …
4:24 AM - Aug 4, 2018
emilia
@PoliticalEmilia
Apparently the NRA is going broke.
Womp womp. In this time of tragedy for them, all I can give are my thoughts and prayers.
7:59 AM - Aug 4, 2018
Even 'God' got in on the action.
God 🌈
@TheGoodGodAbove
The NRA is going bankrupt.
Thoughts and prayers! 🙏
8:47 AM - Aug 4, 2018
Others were quick to point out the extremely generous donations made by the NRA to influential Republican politicians.
Chelsea Handler
✔
@chelseahandler
Thoughts and prayers to the NRA who is saying they’re in a deep financial crisis and may be unable to exist. Maybe they could ask some of the Republicans they donated millions to for a loan:
Richard Burr - $7M
Roy Blunt - $4M
Cory Gardner - $3M
Marco Rubio - $3M
7:20 AM - Aug 4, 2018
Whether you think the claim is a ploy for more donations or a surefire sign that America's collective stance on gun control could finally be challenged, it's clear that the Internet has one collective reaction to news of the NRA's struggles:
US futures pull back amid trade concerns, fresh earnings - CNBC News
US futures pull back amid trade concerns, fresh earnings
Investors will be paying close attention Monday to earnings released by Tyson Foods, SeaWorld, Sotheby's, Marriott, Brighthouse Financial, Etsy, Hertz Global and Weight Watchers.
The Labor Department announced Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by 157,000, below the 190,000 expected by economists polled by Reuters.
Alexandra Gibbs | @alexgibbsy
Published August 6, 2018.
CNBC.com
U.S. stock index futures hovered around the flatline ahead of Monday's open.
Around 5:55 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 17 points, indicating a relatively flat open of +0.42 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fluctuated above and below the flatline, ahead of the market open.
Investors will be paying close attention Monday to earnings released by Tyson Foods, SeaWorld, Sotheby's, Marriott, Brighthouse Financial, Etsy, Hertz Global and Weight Watchers.
In addition, Softbank published earnings before the bell, and over the weekend, Berkshire Hathaway saw its quarterly operating profit jump 67 percent in its latest corporate report, beating analyst expectations.
No major economic data is due out on Monday.
Investors will likely be mulling over the latest jobs number released Friday. The Labor Department announced that after two strong months of U.S. job growth, payrolls for July came in below market expectations, with total nonfarm payrolls rising by 157,000, below the 190,000 expected by economists polled by Reuters.
With WTI down over 7 percent in July, in what price range will it trade at the end of August?
$65 to $70
$70 to $75
$75 or higher
Below $65
Concerns over a trade dispute between the U.S. and China continue to intensify. Late last week, China said it was ready to retaliate with tariffs of around $60 billion on U.S. goods, amid a mounting trade war. Beijing added that import taxes would be within the range of 5 percent to 25 percent in rates, with many of the goods listed linked to agriculture.
The U.S. administration revealed last Wednesday that President Donald Trump had spoken with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and asked him to consider increasing the proposed levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods up to 25 percent, from 10 percent.
Markets in Asia and Europe came under pressure on Monday morning, as investors awaited more news on the retaliatory tariffs.
—CNBC's Michael Sheetz contributed to this report
Investors will be paying close attention Monday to earnings released by Tyson Foods, SeaWorld, Sotheby's, Marriott, Brighthouse Financial, Etsy, Hertz Global and Weight Watchers.
The Labor Department announced Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by 157,000, below the 190,000 expected by economists polled by Reuters.
Alexandra Gibbs | @alexgibbsy
Published August 6, 2018.
CNBC.com
U.S. stock index futures hovered around the flatline ahead of Monday's open.
Around 5:55 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 17 points, indicating a relatively flat open of +0.42 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fluctuated above and below the flatline, ahead of the market open.
Investors will be paying close attention Monday to earnings released by Tyson Foods, SeaWorld, Sotheby's, Marriott, Brighthouse Financial, Etsy, Hertz Global and Weight Watchers.
In addition, Softbank published earnings before the bell, and over the weekend, Berkshire Hathaway saw its quarterly operating profit jump 67 percent in its latest corporate report, beating analyst expectations.
No major economic data is due out on Monday.
Investors will likely be mulling over the latest jobs number released Friday. The Labor Department announced that after two strong months of U.S. job growth, payrolls for July came in below market expectations, with total nonfarm payrolls rising by 157,000, below the 190,000 expected by economists polled by Reuters.
With WTI down over 7 percent in July, in what price range will it trade at the end of August?
$65 to $70
$70 to $75
$75 or higher
Below $65
Concerns over a trade dispute between the U.S. and China continue to intensify. Late last week, China said it was ready to retaliate with tariffs of around $60 billion on U.S. goods, amid a mounting trade war. Beijing added that import taxes would be within the range of 5 percent to 25 percent in rates, with many of the goods listed linked to agriculture.
The U.S. administration revealed last Wednesday that President Donald Trump had spoken with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and asked him to consider increasing the proposed levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods up to 25 percent, from 10 percent.
Markets in Asia and Europe came under pressure on Monday morning, as investors awaited more news on the retaliatory tariffs.
—CNBC's Michael Sheetz contributed to this report
Saudi Arabia freezes Canada trade ties, recalls envoy - BBC News
August 6, 2018.
Saudi Arabia freezes Canada trade ties, recalls envoy
Ms Badawi, pictured here with Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, received an International Women of Courage Award in 2012
Saudi Arabia has said it is freezing all new trade and investment with Canada over its "interference" in the Gulf Kingdom's internal affairs.
In a series of tweets, the Saudi foreign ministry said it was expelling the Canadian ambassador and recalling its own envoy in Canada.
The move comes after Canada said it was "gravely concerned" about the arrest of several human rights activists.
Among those arrested was Saudi-American women's rights campaigner Samar Badawi.
Ms Badawi had been calling for an end to Saudi Arabia's male guardianship system.
Saudi Arabia widens crackdown on women's rights activists
Have executions doubled in Saudi Arabia?
Who is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed?
What did Saudi Arabia say?
The foreign ministry said it "will not accept any form of interfering" in its internal affairs.
It referred to last week's statement by the Canadian foreign ministry, which urged Riyadh to "immediately release" civil society and women's rights activists.
Foreign Policy CAN
✔
@CanadaFP
Canada is gravely concerned about additional arrests of civil society and women’s rights activists in #SaudiArabia, including Samar Badawi. We urge the Saudi authorities to immediately release them and all other peaceful #humanrights activists.
12:10 AM - Aug 4, 2018
The Saudi ministry described Canada's position as "an attack" on the kingdom, saying it would now:
Freeze all new trade and investment transactions between the two countries
Consider the Canadian ambassador persona non grata and order the envoy to leave within 24 hours
Recall the Saudi envoy in Canada
Reserve the right to take further action
Canada's government has so far made no public comments on Saudi Arabia's diplomatic measures.
The arrests are at odds with the progressive image the government has projected this year under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He drew widespread praise last year when they announced that the decades-old ban on women driving would end on 24 June.
Saudi women's rights activists, including those who have been imprisoned for defying the ban, had celebrated the decision.
But they also vowed to continue campaigning for the end of other laws they consider discriminatory.
Women must adhere to a strict dress code, be separated from unrelated men, and be accompanied by or receive written permission from a male guardian - usually a father, husband or brother - if they want to travel, work or access healthcare.
The Saudi crown prince has also spearheaded a sweeping anti-corruption drive which resulted in dozens of princes, government ministers and businessmen being detained in November and generated an estimated $107bn ($80bn) in settlements.
Saudi Arabia freezes Canada trade ties, recalls envoy
Ms Badawi, pictured here with Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, received an International Women of Courage Award in 2012
Saudi Arabia has said it is freezing all new trade and investment with Canada over its "interference" in the Gulf Kingdom's internal affairs.
In a series of tweets, the Saudi foreign ministry said it was expelling the Canadian ambassador and recalling its own envoy in Canada.
The move comes after Canada said it was "gravely concerned" about the arrest of several human rights activists.
Among those arrested was Saudi-American women's rights campaigner Samar Badawi.
Ms Badawi had been calling for an end to Saudi Arabia's male guardianship system.
Saudi Arabia widens crackdown on women's rights activists
Have executions doubled in Saudi Arabia?
Who is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed?
What did Saudi Arabia say?
The foreign ministry said it "will not accept any form of interfering" in its internal affairs.
It referred to last week's statement by the Canadian foreign ministry, which urged Riyadh to "immediately release" civil society and women's rights activists.
Foreign Policy CAN
✔
@CanadaFP
Canada is gravely concerned about additional arrests of civil society and women’s rights activists in #SaudiArabia, including Samar Badawi. We urge the Saudi authorities to immediately release them and all other peaceful #humanrights activists.
12:10 AM - Aug 4, 2018
The Saudi ministry described Canada's position as "an attack" on the kingdom, saying it would now:
Freeze all new trade and investment transactions between the two countries
Consider the Canadian ambassador persona non grata and order the envoy to leave within 24 hours
Recall the Saudi envoy in Canada
Reserve the right to take further action
Canada's government has so far made no public comments on Saudi Arabia's diplomatic measures.
The arrests are at odds with the progressive image the government has projected this year under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He drew widespread praise last year when they announced that the decades-old ban on women driving would end on 24 June.
Saudi women's rights activists, including those who have been imprisoned for defying the ban, had celebrated the decision.
But they also vowed to continue campaigning for the end of other laws they consider discriminatory.
Women must adhere to a strict dress code, be separated from unrelated men, and be accompanied by or receive written permission from a male guardian - usually a father, husband or brother - if they want to travel, work or access healthcare.
The Saudi crown prince has also spearheaded a sweeping anti-corruption drive which resulted in dozens of princes, government ministers and businessmen being detained in November and generated an estimated $107bn ($80bn) in settlements.
Trump admits son met Russian for information on opponent - BBC News
August 6, 2018
Trump admits son met Russian for information on opponent
Controversy surrounds Donald Trump Jr's meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016
US President Donald Trump has admitted his son met a Russian lawyer in June 2016 "to get information on an opponent", but argues it was legal.
It is his most direct statement so far on the reason for Donald Trump Jr's meeting with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating US intelligence findings that Russians conspired to sway the election in Mr Trump's favour.
President Trump denies any collusion.
He has called the ongoing investigations in the US "the greatest political witch hunt in history".
Russia has repeatedly denied claims it interfered in the November 2016 presidential elections, where Mr Trump defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Key players in Trump Jr meeting scandal
What Trump Tower documents tell us
Trump Russia affair: Key questions answered
What did President Trump say?
On Sunday, US media including the Washington Post, CNN and AP reported that Mr Trump was worried Donald Trump Jr could be in legal trouble because of the 9 June 2016 meeting with Ms Veselnitskaya in New York. They cited multiple unnamed sources.
Mr Trump tweeted: "Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower.
"This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics - and it went nowhere.
"I did not know about it!"
Why does his tweet matter?
Mr Trump's latest tweet appears to contradict a previous statement from the Trump camp about the meeting.
When the meeting was first reported by the New York Times, Donald Trump Jr said in a statement that he and Ms Veselnitskaya had mostly discussed a suspended programme for Americans to adopt Russian children.
However, he subsequently admitted he had agreed to the meeting after being told he would be offered information that would prove detrimental to Mrs Clinton. He also released the email exchange that brought about the meeting.
Did Donald Trump Jr break the law?
Four explosive lines in Trump Jr emails
US media then reported that the US president had been involved in the initial statement his son issued on the meeting.
This was initially denied by Mr Trump's team, but his lawyers later confirmed that he had in fact dictated his son's statement.
US commentators have argued that Mr Trump's new admission that the meeting was to gain information about Mrs Clinton shows that the earlier statement was misleading.
Image copyrightREUTERS
Image caption
The meeting involved Mr Trump's son, his son-in-law, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort
Why is the Trump Tower meeting controversial?
It is common for US politicians to research their opponents during a campaign.
However, legal experts say that Mr Trump Jr could fall foul of campaign finance laws, which prohibit accepting anything of value from a foreign government or foreign national.
His apparently enthusiastic response to the offer of information about Mrs Clinton could also breach conspiracy laws.
The Trump team has argued that Mr Trump Jr ultimately did not receive any damaging information about Mrs Clinton at the meeting.
One of Mr Trump's lawyers, Jay Sekulow, said on Sunday that the meeting had not broken any laws.
"The question is what law, statute or rule or regulation's been violated? Nobody's pointed to one," Mr Sekulow told ABC News.
US media reported last year that some of the president's advisers feared the extent of the president's intervention could place him and some of his inner circle in legal jeopardy.
Trump admits son met Russian for information on opponent
Controversy surrounds Donald Trump Jr's meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016
US President Donald Trump has admitted his son met a Russian lawyer in June 2016 "to get information on an opponent", but argues it was legal.
It is his most direct statement so far on the reason for Donald Trump Jr's meeting with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating US intelligence findings that Russians conspired to sway the election in Mr Trump's favour.
President Trump denies any collusion.
He has called the ongoing investigations in the US "the greatest political witch hunt in history".
Russia has repeatedly denied claims it interfered in the November 2016 presidential elections, where Mr Trump defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Key players in Trump Jr meeting scandal
What Trump Tower documents tell us
Trump Russia affair: Key questions answered
What did President Trump say?
On Sunday, US media including the Washington Post, CNN and AP reported that Mr Trump was worried Donald Trump Jr could be in legal trouble because of the 9 June 2016 meeting with Ms Veselnitskaya in New York. They cited multiple unnamed sources.
Mr Trump tweeted: "Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower.
"This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics - and it went nowhere.
"I did not know about it!"
Why does his tweet matter?
Mr Trump's latest tweet appears to contradict a previous statement from the Trump camp about the meeting.
When the meeting was first reported by the New York Times, Donald Trump Jr said in a statement that he and Ms Veselnitskaya had mostly discussed a suspended programme for Americans to adopt Russian children.
However, he subsequently admitted he had agreed to the meeting after being told he would be offered information that would prove detrimental to Mrs Clinton. He also released the email exchange that brought about the meeting.
Did Donald Trump Jr break the law?
Four explosive lines in Trump Jr emails
US media then reported that the US president had been involved in the initial statement his son issued on the meeting.
This was initially denied by Mr Trump's team, but his lawyers later confirmed that he had in fact dictated his son's statement.
US commentators have argued that Mr Trump's new admission that the meeting was to gain information about Mrs Clinton shows that the earlier statement was misleading.
Image copyrightREUTERS
Image caption
The meeting involved Mr Trump's son, his son-in-law, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort
Why is the Trump Tower meeting controversial?
It is common for US politicians to research their opponents during a campaign.
However, legal experts say that Mr Trump Jr could fall foul of campaign finance laws, which prohibit accepting anything of value from a foreign government or foreign national.
His apparently enthusiastic response to the offer of information about Mrs Clinton could also breach conspiracy laws.
The Trump team has argued that Mr Trump Jr ultimately did not receive any damaging information about Mrs Clinton at the meeting.
One of Mr Trump's lawyers, Jay Sekulow, said on Sunday that the meeting had not broken any laws.
"The question is what law, statute or rule or regulation's been violated? Nobody's pointed to one," Mr Sekulow told ABC News.
US media reported last year that some of the president's advisers feared the extent of the president's intervention could place him and some of his inner circle in legal jeopardy.
Sunday, August 5, 2018
Huawei in British spotlight over use of U.S. firm's software - Reuters
AUGUST 5, 2018
Huawei in British spotlight over use of U.S. firm's software
Jack Stubbs, Joseph Menn
LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies is facing increased scrutiny in Britain because it is using an aging software component sold by a firm based in the United States, one of the countries where lawmakers allege its equipment could facilitate Chinese spying, sources told Reuters.
FILE PHOTO: People walk past a Huawei sign at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) Asia 2018 in Shanghai, China June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
The fact that the British misgivings stem in part from Huawei’s relationship with a U.S. company shows how trade wars and heightened national security concerns are making it harder for technology firms and governments to safeguard products and communication networks.
A report last month by a British government oversight board charged with analyzing Huawei equipment said it had found technical and supply chain “shortcomings” which exposed the country’s telecoms networks to new security risks.
One of those is due to Huawei’s use of the VxWorks operating system, which is made by California-based Wind River Systems, said three people with knowledge of the matter, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity when discussing details which were not made public in the report.
The sources said the version of VxWorks being used by Huawei will stop receiving security patches and updates from Wind River in 2020, even though some of the products it is embedded in will still be in service, potentially leaving British telecoms networks vulnerable to attack.
“Third party software, including security critical components, on various component boards will come out of existing long-term support in 2020, even though the Huawei end of life date for the products containing this component is often longer,” the July report, which did not name VxWorks, said.
U.S. and Australian lawmakers have said Huawei’s products can be used to facilitate Chinese espionage operations, an allegation the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment has repeatedly denied.
All three sources said there was no indication that the VxWorks mismatch was deliberate. There is also no suggestion that the software itself represents a security risk.
Reuters was not able to establish which Huawei products were involved or what steps the Chinese company was taking to address the issue.
A spokeswoman for Wind River Systems said she was unable to comment on Huawei, but said the company often helped customers upgrade to newer software versions. “Wind River offers migration routes and paths for its customers, which should be pretty well known and understood in the industry,” she said.
A Huawei spokesman declined to comment on specific issues in the report but said the company would address any areas for improvement which were raised by British authorities.
“Cyber security remains Huawei’s top priority, and we will continue to actively improve our engineering processes and risk management systems,” he said.
LEGITIMATE CONCERN
While the United States and Australia have moved to restrict the use of its gear due to security concerns, Huawei has been deepening ties with Britain, supplying broadband equipment to its largest telecoms provider, BT Group (BT.L), and mobile networks for wireless giant Vodafone Group (VOD.L).
Consultant Edward Amoroso, a former chief security officer at AT&T, said Huawei’s experience in Britain showed the challenges of securing international supply chains.
Although no one should dismiss Huawei as a supplier solely because of its geographical location, reliance on software that is going out of support is a legitimate concern, Amoroso said.
“I don’t care if it’s from China, Indiana or the moon, it speaks badly for them,” he added.
The globalized nature of the technology industry has come under increasing scrutiny as countries seek to limit the use of equipment from nations they regard as adversaries.
In the United States, the Pentagon is working on a “do not buy” list to block vendors who use software code originating from Russia and China, and Moscow has had problems implementing a data storage law without relying on foreign technology.
By contrast, London says it effectively addresses any security issues presented by the use of Huawei products as part of Britain’s critical national infrastructure by having the equipment reviewed by staff at a special company laboratory.
This is overseen by British government and intelligence officials who report annually on its work. In addition to the issue with VxWorks, this year’s report also cited technical issues which limited security researchers’ ability to check internal product code.
Many in the cybersecurity industry say efforts to bar equipment or software on grounds of nationality are futile because of the deeply inter-dependent nature of the global technology business.
“There’s a real dilemma for policy makers, for politicians,” said Robert Hannigan, former director of Britain’s GCHQ spy agency and now executive chairman for Europe at cybersecurity services firm BlueVoyant.
“How do we find a way of taking advantage of foreign technology in a way that we don’t think compromises our security? That’s a really difficult balance to get.”
Editing by Jonathan Weber and Alexander Smith
Huawei in British spotlight over use of U.S. firm's software
Jack Stubbs, Joseph Menn
LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies is facing increased scrutiny in Britain because it is using an aging software component sold by a firm based in the United States, one of the countries where lawmakers allege its equipment could facilitate Chinese spying, sources told Reuters.
FILE PHOTO: People walk past a Huawei sign at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) Asia 2018 in Shanghai, China June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
The fact that the British misgivings stem in part from Huawei’s relationship with a U.S. company shows how trade wars and heightened national security concerns are making it harder for technology firms and governments to safeguard products and communication networks.
A report last month by a British government oversight board charged with analyzing Huawei equipment said it had found technical and supply chain “shortcomings” which exposed the country’s telecoms networks to new security risks.
One of those is due to Huawei’s use of the VxWorks operating system, which is made by California-based Wind River Systems, said three people with knowledge of the matter, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity when discussing details which were not made public in the report.
The sources said the version of VxWorks being used by Huawei will stop receiving security patches and updates from Wind River in 2020, even though some of the products it is embedded in will still be in service, potentially leaving British telecoms networks vulnerable to attack.
“Third party software, including security critical components, on various component boards will come out of existing long-term support in 2020, even though the Huawei end of life date for the products containing this component is often longer,” the July report, which did not name VxWorks, said.
U.S. and Australian lawmakers have said Huawei’s products can be used to facilitate Chinese espionage operations, an allegation the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment has repeatedly denied.
All three sources said there was no indication that the VxWorks mismatch was deliberate. There is also no suggestion that the software itself represents a security risk.
Reuters was not able to establish which Huawei products were involved or what steps the Chinese company was taking to address the issue.
A spokeswoman for Wind River Systems said she was unable to comment on Huawei, but said the company often helped customers upgrade to newer software versions. “Wind River offers migration routes and paths for its customers, which should be pretty well known and understood in the industry,” she said.
A Huawei spokesman declined to comment on specific issues in the report but said the company would address any areas for improvement which were raised by British authorities.
“Cyber security remains Huawei’s top priority, and we will continue to actively improve our engineering processes and risk management systems,” he said.
LEGITIMATE CONCERN
While the United States and Australia have moved to restrict the use of its gear due to security concerns, Huawei has been deepening ties with Britain, supplying broadband equipment to its largest telecoms provider, BT Group (BT.L), and mobile networks for wireless giant Vodafone Group (VOD.L).
Consultant Edward Amoroso, a former chief security officer at AT&T, said Huawei’s experience in Britain showed the challenges of securing international supply chains.
Although no one should dismiss Huawei as a supplier solely because of its geographical location, reliance on software that is going out of support is a legitimate concern, Amoroso said.
“I don’t care if it’s from China, Indiana or the moon, it speaks badly for them,” he added.
The globalized nature of the technology industry has come under increasing scrutiny as countries seek to limit the use of equipment from nations they regard as adversaries.
In the United States, the Pentagon is working on a “do not buy” list to block vendors who use software code originating from Russia and China, and Moscow has had problems implementing a data storage law without relying on foreign technology.
By contrast, London says it effectively addresses any security issues presented by the use of Huawei products as part of Britain’s critical national infrastructure by having the equipment reviewed by staff at a special company laboratory.
This is overseen by British government and intelligence officials who report annually on its work. In addition to the issue with VxWorks, this year’s report also cited technical issues which limited security researchers’ ability to check internal product code.
Many in the cybersecurity industry say efforts to bar equipment or software on grounds of nationality are futile because of the deeply inter-dependent nature of the global technology business.
“There’s a real dilemma for policy makers, for politicians,” said Robert Hannigan, former director of Britain’s GCHQ spy agency and now executive chairman for Europe at cybersecurity services firm BlueVoyant.
“How do we find a way of taking advantage of foreign technology in a way that we don’t think compromises our security? That’s a really difficult balance to get.”
Editing by Jonathan Weber and Alexander Smith
It started as a hobby. Now they're using DNA to help cops crack cold cases - CNN News
It started as a hobby. Now they're using DNA to help cops crack cold cases
By Eric Levenson, CNN
Updated 1919 GMT (0319 HKT) August 3, 2018
(CNN)In a dizzying span over the past few months, some of the nation's most frustratingly unsolvable cold cases have suddenly been, well, solved.
First was the arrest in April of a California man who police say is the notorious Golden State Killer.
Then came the arrest of a suspect in the 1986 killing of a 12-year-old girl in Washington state.
Soon authorities were charging a man for the 1992 sexual assault and killing of a 25-year-old schoolteacher in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and another suspect for the 1988 rape and slaying of an 8-year-old girl in Indiana.
These breakthroughs have come thanks to DNA evidence and a new field of study known as genetic genealogy -- pioneered by a group of passionate and largely unpaid hobbyists.
In the hands of law enforcement, the field is rapidly boosting detectives' ability to crack cases that have stymied them for decades. And the willingness to use that ability has sharply increased since the Golden State Killer case was solved.
"Once the world sort of opened up to the possibility of using this methodology for suspect cases -- and the world didn't explode as a result -- then the floodgates opened," said Margaret Press, who has used genetic genealogy to identify the remains of dead people.
What is genetic genealogy?
It's an emerging field that combines DNA evidence and traditional genealogy to find biological connections between people.
Over the past decade, companies like 23AndMe and Ancestry have encouraged people to spit into a tube and send it off for analysis. These companies analyze a customer's DNA and send back information on their ethnic heritage, genetic health risks and family story -- as well as a raw data file of their DNA.
The practice is increasingly popular and has become a big business. 23AndMe says it has over 5 million customers, while Ancestry says about 10 million people have used its services to have their DNA tested.
Genetic genealogists can use these raw data files to further learn about people's family trees. But 23AndMe and Ancestry are private businesses, so there are some limitations and restrictions on what they can do.
That's where a site called GEDMatch comes in.
What's so special about GEDMatch?
GEDMatch is a free, open-source website where people can upload their DNA raw data files. Curtis Rogers and John Olson started GEDMatch in 2010 and it has grown consistently since.
Rogers, an 80-year-old professional guardian with a passion for visiting graveyards and sifting through old records, told CNN he started GEDMatch to create tools for genealogists like himself. The basic idea is that the site has certain tools that are better tailored for the work of genetic genealogists than the big genetic testing companies. Plus, it's free.
Eight-year-old April Tinsley was abducted, raped, and killed on Good Friday in 1988.
Eight-year-old April Tinsley was abducted, raped, and killed on Good Friday in 1988.
GEDMatch takes in raw DNA files and compares them to the more than a million people who have already uploaded their name, email addresses and DNA data. After an analysis, GEDMatch produces a list of family relatives who have also opted in to its service, from immediate parents to fourth and fifth cousins, along with their contact information.
At this point, genetic genealogists get down to the nitty-gritty of their work -- lots and lots of research. Genealogists take those relatives' names and search through obituaries, birth certificates and other public documents to solve the puzzle that is building out an extended family tree.
This process allows genetic genealogists to help people locate long-lost family members, for example, or inform adopted children about their biological parents.
But what does that have to do with cold cases?
That same work is now being used to help detectives solve crimes.
Law enforcement already works plenty with DNA. Typically, investigators take DNA from a crime scene and compare it to a suspect's DNA. Or they enter the crime scene DNA into a national database to see if there's a match with a known criminal offender.
But if there's no match, the perpetrator's identity might remain unknown.
Now, though, investigators can take crime scene DNA and team up with genetics companies, such as Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs, to turn that evidence into a raw data file and upload it to GEDMatch. The site then spits out a list of extended family members who are related to the perpetrator, allowing investigators to begin zeroing in on those who may have had close contact with the victim.
DNA evidence led police to charge John D. Miller, 59, with April Tinsley's murder.
DNA evidence led police to charge John D. Miller, 59, with April Tinsley's murder.
The use of these open databases thus expands the number of possible suspects to include people who have not previously committed a crime.
This type of detective work isn't allowed on the big genetic testing sites. On its website, 23andMe openly states that it "chooses to use all practical legal and administrative resources to resist requests from law enforcement." Similarly, Ancestry says it only releases customers' information in response to a trial, grand jury or subpoena.
But by using GEDMatch, genetic genealogists work to build out an extended family tree to narrow down the list of possible suspects. Then investigators can do further detective work, such as surveillance, questioning, and testing of abandoned DNA samples -- such as saliva on a napkin left in a suspect's trash -- to make an arrest.
Wasn't the Golden State Killer case like that?
Exactly. For decades, investigators had searched for a man they suspected of a series of killings, rapes and assaults in the 1970s and 80s in California. But tests of crime scene DNA had not turned up any matches.
But in the past year, Paul Holes, an investigator with the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office, put the Golden State Killer's DNA raw data into GEDMatch to narrow down the list of possible suspects.
Investigators pared down that list further by looking at people who were about the right age and living in the area during that period.
Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., 72, the alleged Golden State Killer.
Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., 72, the alleged Golden State Killer.
When one of the remaining possible suspects -- Joseph James DeAngelo, 72 -- went into a Hobby Lobby store in April, investigators swabbed the handle of his car's driver's-side door, according to arrest and search warrants. They then tested that DNA sample against an existing crime scene DNA sample. He was a match for the killer, law enforcement officials said.
"This investigation lasted over 40 years, but with this course of DNA testing and matching, it took us only four months to get to the right pool of people," Holes said.
Have other cases also been solved like this?
The use of DNA and genealogy in the Golden State Killer case garnered huge media attention and launched genetic genealogy into the mainstream.
Breakthroughs in other cold cases soon followed.
The 1986 killing of 12-year-old Michella Welch had long been a mystery for police in Tacoma, Washington. They had built a DNA profile of the suspect but had no matches in state or national databases. But after investigators began working with a genetic genealogist, they arrested Gary Hartman, 66, in June.
Michella Welch, 12, was slain in 1986. Her alleged killer was finally arrested in June.
Michella Welch, 12, was slain in 1986. Her alleged killer was finally arrested in June.
Genetic genealogy also helped identify the man who police say abducted, raped and killed 8-year-old April Tinsley in Indiana in 1988. The mysterious killer left taunting messages over the years but still could not be identified.
Then in May, just weeks after the arrest in the Golden State Killer case, police hired Parabon NanoLabs and genetic genealogist CeCe Moore to work their expertise on the case. They narrowed the suspects down to two brothers, one of whom was 59-year-old John D. Miller.
DNA found on condoms in Miller's trash matched that of the killer, and he confessed after police brought him in for questioning, a criminal affidavit states.
And in June, genetic genealogy helped solve the 1992 killing of schoolteacher Christy Mirack, 25, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. For Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman, the DNA work with Parabon NanoLabs was vital in leading investigators to Raymond Rowe, 49, now charged with her murder.
The slaying of Christy Mirack, 25, remained unsolved for 26 years.
The slaying of Christy Mirack, 25, remained unsolved for 26 years.
After comparing DNA found on a water bottle used by Rowe in May to samples taken from Mirack's body in 1992, detectives learned the probability of the perpetrator being anyone other than Rowe was approximately one in 200 octillion, Stedman said.
Before the DNA testing, Rowe wasn't a suspect, even though he had lived just four miles away from Mirack when she was killed.
Wait, so do police have access to people's DNA?
Not quite. Curtis Rogers, GEDMatch's founder, says GEDMatch provides matches to names and emails of relatives, but does not actually give out the raw DNA data.
Still, the ethics of allowing police any access to a site made up of people's private DNA remains uncomfortable, he told CNN. He has worked to educate GEDMatch users that when they input their DNA they are opting in to its potential use in police investigations, a fact now prominently displayed in the site's terms of service.
But if it helps solve old murders, he's cautiously okay with it.
Raymond Rowe, 49, was charged with Mirack's murder after police got his DNA from a water bottle.
Raymond Rowe, 49, was charged with Mirack's murder after police got his DNA from a water bottle.
"Certainly catching the Golden State Killer, who makes Jack the Ripper look like a choir boy, is worthwhile," he said. "But we do have an obligation to all of our people to give them the privacy that they want."
CeCe Moore, the genetic genealogist who appears on PBS' "Finding Your Roots," says GEDMatch has been crucial to the field.
"GEDMatch is absolutely the key, and had (the founders) decided that they didn't want law enforcement to use their database, we wouldn't have been able to do this," she told CNN.
What else can genetic genealogy be used for?
Margaret Press and Colleen Fitzpatrick, co-founders of the non-profit DNA Doe Project, use their genetic genealogy knowledge to identify the remains of unknown deceased people.
In April, they identified the "Buckskin Girl," a woman who was found strangled in Troy, Ohio in 1981 and whose identity had remained a mystery.
Press and Fitzpatrick are both PhDs -- they call themselves a "Pair-o'-docs" (get it?) -- and turned to genetic genealogy in their later years, like many of those in the field. In fact, the majority of people in genetic genealogy are hobbyists who volunteer their time, such as the "search angels" who help adopted children connect with their biological families.
Genetic genealogist CeCe Moore, right: "There is so much volunteerism in this community."
Genetic genealogist CeCe Moore, right: "There is so much volunteerism in this community."
There are a few professionals in the field, but even they often work pro bono on the side. This particular passion is already an emerging component of detective work and is only going to grow in the future.
"There is so much volunteerism in this community, it's just incredible to be a part of it," said Moore, who has personally helped solved several cold cases and says she was the first to call herself a professional genetic genealogist.
"It's been the most amazing thing to watch this ... field explode into an industry now, to see it from the beginning."
By Eric Levenson, CNN
Updated 1919 GMT (0319 HKT) August 3, 2018
(CNN)In a dizzying span over the past few months, some of the nation's most frustratingly unsolvable cold cases have suddenly been, well, solved.
First was the arrest in April of a California man who police say is the notorious Golden State Killer.
Then came the arrest of a suspect in the 1986 killing of a 12-year-old girl in Washington state.
Soon authorities were charging a man for the 1992 sexual assault and killing of a 25-year-old schoolteacher in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and another suspect for the 1988 rape and slaying of an 8-year-old girl in Indiana.
These breakthroughs have come thanks to DNA evidence and a new field of study known as genetic genealogy -- pioneered by a group of passionate and largely unpaid hobbyists.
In the hands of law enforcement, the field is rapidly boosting detectives' ability to crack cases that have stymied them for decades. And the willingness to use that ability has sharply increased since the Golden State Killer case was solved.
"Once the world sort of opened up to the possibility of using this methodology for suspect cases -- and the world didn't explode as a result -- then the floodgates opened," said Margaret Press, who has used genetic genealogy to identify the remains of dead people.
What is genetic genealogy?
It's an emerging field that combines DNA evidence and traditional genealogy to find biological connections between people.
Over the past decade, companies like 23AndMe and Ancestry have encouraged people to spit into a tube and send it off for analysis. These companies analyze a customer's DNA and send back information on their ethnic heritage, genetic health risks and family story -- as well as a raw data file of their DNA.
The practice is increasingly popular and has become a big business. 23AndMe says it has over 5 million customers, while Ancestry says about 10 million people have used its services to have their DNA tested.
Genetic genealogists can use these raw data files to further learn about people's family trees. But 23AndMe and Ancestry are private businesses, so there are some limitations and restrictions on what they can do.
That's where a site called GEDMatch comes in.
What's so special about GEDMatch?
GEDMatch is a free, open-source website where people can upload their DNA raw data files. Curtis Rogers and John Olson started GEDMatch in 2010 and it has grown consistently since.
Rogers, an 80-year-old professional guardian with a passion for visiting graveyards and sifting through old records, told CNN he started GEDMatch to create tools for genealogists like himself. The basic idea is that the site has certain tools that are better tailored for the work of genetic genealogists than the big genetic testing companies. Plus, it's free.
Eight-year-old April Tinsley was abducted, raped, and killed on Good Friday in 1988.
Eight-year-old April Tinsley was abducted, raped, and killed on Good Friday in 1988.
GEDMatch takes in raw DNA files and compares them to the more than a million people who have already uploaded their name, email addresses and DNA data. After an analysis, GEDMatch produces a list of family relatives who have also opted in to its service, from immediate parents to fourth and fifth cousins, along with their contact information.
At this point, genetic genealogists get down to the nitty-gritty of their work -- lots and lots of research. Genealogists take those relatives' names and search through obituaries, birth certificates and other public documents to solve the puzzle that is building out an extended family tree.
This process allows genetic genealogists to help people locate long-lost family members, for example, or inform adopted children about their biological parents.
But what does that have to do with cold cases?
That same work is now being used to help detectives solve crimes.
Law enforcement already works plenty with DNA. Typically, investigators take DNA from a crime scene and compare it to a suspect's DNA. Or they enter the crime scene DNA into a national database to see if there's a match with a known criminal offender.
But if there's no match, the perpetrator's identity might remain unknown.
Now, though, investigators can take crime scene DNA and team up with genetics companies, such as Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs, to turn that evidence into a raw data file and upload it to GEDMatch. The site then spits out a list of extended family members who are related to the perpetrator, allowing investigators to begin zeroing in on those who may have had close contact with the victim.
DNA evidence led police to charge John D. Miller, 59, with April Tinsley's murder.
DNA evidence led police to charge John D. Miller, 59, with April Tinsley's murder.
The use of these open databases thus expands the number of possible suspects to include people who have not previously committed a crime.
This type of detective work isn't allowed on the big genetic testing sites. On its website, 23andMe openly states that it "chooses to use all practical legal and administrative resources to resist requests from law enforcement." Similarly, Ancestry says it only releases customers' information in response to a trial, grand jury or subpoena.
But by using GEDMatch, genetic genealogists work to build out an extended family tree to narrow down the list of possible suspects. Then investigators can do further detective work, such as surveillance, questioning, and testing of abandoned DNA samples -- such as saliva on a napkin left in a suspect's trash -- to make an arrest.
Wasn't the Golden State Killer case like that?
Exactly. For decades, investigators had searched for a man they suspected of a series of killings, rapes and assaults in the 1970s and 80s in California. But tests of crime scene DNA had not turned up any matches.
But in the past year, Paul Holes, an investigator with the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office, put the Golden State Killer's DNA raw data into GEDMatch to narrow down the list of possible suspects.
Investigators pared down that list further by looking at people who were about the right age and living in the area during that period.
Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., 72, the alleged Golden State Killer.
Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., 72, the alleged Golden State Killer.
When one of the remaining possible suspects -- Joseph James DeAngelo, 72 -- went into a Hobby Lobby store in April, investigators swabbed the handle of his car's driver's-side door, according to arrest and search warrants. They then tested that DNA sample against an existing crime scene DNA sample. He was a match for the killer, law enforcement officials said.
"This investigation lasted over 40 years, but with this course of DNA testing and matching, it took us only four months to get to the right pool of people," Holes said.
Have other cases also been solved like this?
The use of DNA and genealogy in the Golden State Killer case garnered huge media attention and launched genetic genealogy into the mainstream.
Breakthroughs in other cold cases soon followed.
The 1986 killing of 12-year-old Michella Welch had long been a mystery for police in Tacoma, Washington. They had built a DNA profile of the suspect but had no matches in state or national databases. But after investigators began working with a genetic genealogist, they arrested Gary Hartman, 66, in June.
Michella Welch, 12, was slain in 1986. Her alleged killer was finally arrested in June.
Michella Welch, 12, was slain in 1986. Her alleged killer was finally arrested in June.
Genetic genealogy also helped identify the man who police say abducted, raped and killed 8-year-old April Tinsley in Indiana in 1988. The mysterious killer left taunting messages over the years but still could not be identified.
Then in May, just weeks after the arrest in the Golden State Killer case, police hired Parabon NanoLabs and genetic genealogist CeCe Moore to work their expertise on the case. They narrowed the suspects down to two brothers, one of whom was 59-year-old John D. Miller.
DNA found on condoms in Miller's trash matched that of the killer, and he confessed after police brought him in for questioning, a criminal affidavit states.
And in June, genetic genealogy helped solve the 1992 killing of schoolteacher Christy Mirack, 25, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. For Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman, the DNA work with Parabon NanoLabs was vital in leading investigators to Raymond Rowe, 49, now charged with her murder.
The slaying of Christy Mirack, 25, remained unsolved for 26 years.
The slaying of Christy Mirack, 25, remained unsolved for 26 years.
After comparing DNA found on a water bottle used by Rowe in May to samples taken from Mirack's body in 1992, detectives learned the probability of the perpetrator being anyone other than Rowe was approximately one in 200 octillion, Stedman said.
Before the DNA testing, Rowe wasn't a suspect, even though he had lived just four miles away from Mirack when she was killed.
Wait, so do police have access to people's DNA?
Not quite. Curtis Rogers, GEDMatch's founder, says GEDMatch provides matches to names and emails of relatives, but does not actually give out the raw DNA data.
Still, the ethics of allowing police any access to a site made up of people's private DNA remains uncomfortable, he told CNN. He has worked to educate GEDMatch users that when they input their DNA they are opting in to its potential use in police investigations, a fact now prominently displayed in the site's terms of service.
But if it helps solve old murders, he's cautiously okay with it.
Raymond Rowe, 49, was charged with Mirack's murder after police got his DNA from a water bottle.
Raymond Rowe, 49, was charged with Mirack's murder after police got his DNA from a water bottle.
"Certainly catching the Golden State Killer, who makes Jack the Ripper look like a choir boy, is worthwhile," he said. "But we do have an obligation to all of our people to give them the privacy that they want."
CeCe Moore, the genetic genealogist who appears on PBS' "Finding Your Roots," says GEDMatch has been crucial to the field.
"GEDMatch is absolutely the key, and had (the founders) decided that they didn't want law enforcement to use their database, we wouldn't have been able to do this," she told CNN.
What else can genetic genealogy be used for?
Margaret Press and Colleen Fitzpatrick, co-founders of the non-profit DNA Doe Project, use their genetic genealogy knowledge to identify the remains of unknown deceased people.
In April, they identified the "Buckskin Girl," a woman who was found strangled in Troy, Ohio in 1981 and whose identity had remained a mystery.
Press and Fitzpatrick are both PhDs -- they call themselves a "Pair-o'-docs" (get it?) -- and turned to genetic genealogy in their later years, like many of those in the field. In fact, the majority of people in genetic genealogy are hobbyists who volunteer their time, such as the "search angels" who help adopted children connect with their biological families.
Genetic genealogist CeCe Moore, right: "There is so much volunteerism in this community."
Genetic genealogist CeCe Moore, right: "There is so much volunteerism in this community."
There are a few professionals in the field, but even they often work pro bono on the side. This particular passion is already an emerging component of detective work and is only going to grow in the future.
"There is so much volunteerism in this community, it's just incredible to be a part of it," said Moore, who has personally helped solved several cold cases and says she was the first to call herself a professional genetic genealogist.
"It's been the most amazing thing to watch this ... field explode into an industry now, to see it from the beginning."
The Best and Worst Airlines and Airports of 2018 - Bloomberg
The Best and Worst Airlines and Airports of 2018
The sixth annual study by AirHelp turns up plenty of surprises.
By Nikki Ekstein
June 7, 2018, 12:45 AM GMT+10
Last summer, on a bucket list trip through Southern Africa, I took a total of six flights with South African Airways. On the first one, a 15-hour trip from New York’s JFK Airport to Johannesburg, my air vent and seat-back screens were both broken. On my next five flights, the situation was only marginally better.
Within a week of my return, a customer service agent at South African Airways received an angry note from me, citing the airline’s outdated planes and unsympathetic flight attendants. Surely, I wasn’t the only one complaining: The company seemed well-versed in responding to inquiries of this nature. Staff apologized quickly and gave me a mileage credit. It didn’t undo the terrible flights, but the swift show of humanity is rare in the aviation industry.
It’s also the reason that the deep-in-debt carrier took the fifth slot in this year’s 2018 AirHelp Score report from AirHelp, a company that advocates on behalf of air travelers for compensation in cases of delays or cancelations. Its sixth annual survey uses data from the first quarter of the year to rank the 72 international airlines for which the company had statistically significant data.
Overall rankings are based on three factors: on-time performance, quality of service (gleaned from public reviews on an array of reliable websites), and a claims-processing score (which reflects how a company handles customer complaints).
“South African Airlines has a fantastic claims-processing score,” explains Ashley Raiteri, an industry adviser for AirHelp—the airline earned 8.69 points of a possible 10—and it’s also got a good track record of keeping flights on time.
“Irregularities in flights are going to happen,” Raiteri adds. “What’s important is whether the airline has planned for that so they can make the experience less hellish for the consumer.”
With that in mind, here are the best and worst airlines of the year, according to AirHelp, along with their on-time performance records.
The 10 Best Airlines of 2018
A Qatar Airways jet gets hosed down in Chicago.Photographer: Jeff Schear/Getty Images North America
1. Qatar Airways (89 percent on-time performance)
2. Lufthansa (76 percent)
3. Etihad Airways (86 percent)
4. Singapore Airlines (85 percent)
5. South African Airways (85 percent)
6. Austrian Airlines (80 percent)
7. Aegean Airlines (90 percent)
8. Qantas (89 percent)
9. Air Malta (86 percent)
10. Virgin Atlantic (82 percent )
The Worst Airlines of 2018
Despite its name, WOW is not impressing the statisticians at AirHelp.Photographer: Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images Europe
63. Jet Airways (65 percent on-time performance)
64. Aerolineas Argentinas (85 percent)
65. Iberia (84 percent)
66. Korean Air (64 percent)
67. Ryanair (86 percent)
68. Air Mauritius (69 percent)
69. EasyJet (79 percent)
70. Pakistan International Airlines (61 percent)
71. Royal Jordanian Airlines (83 percent)
72. WOW Air (75 percent)
Surprises exist on both lists. Iberia—which ranked among the best airlines on a similar report from FlightStats last year that was configured purely according to on-time performance—appears in AirHelp’s worst airlines list, a reflection of its poor “claim processing score.” KLM and Emirates, airlines with passionate fan bases, ranked 11th and 16th, respectively, just outside the top 10.
U.S. carriers didn’t fare particularly well: American Airlines Inc. performed best, at 23rd of 72, followed by United Airlines Inc. in 37th place and Delta Air Lines, Inc. in 47th place. “Delta has a great on-time performance, but in dealing with claims, more often than not they either ignore them or reject them out of hand, forcing customers into court in order to pay what they’re legally obligated to pay,” Raiteri tells Bloomberg. While the three airlines won nearly identical scores in “quality of service,” Delta was the category leader by a few tenths of a point.
The only budget carrier to crack the top ranks: Norwegian.Photographer: AFP/AFP
While budget carriers did not fare well, with Ryanair DAC, EasyJet Airline Co., and WOW Air all appearing among the bottom 10 airlines, there was one exception: Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA ranked 12th overall, reflecting a 76 percent on-time record and very good scores both for claims processing and quality of service.
The data concerning best and worst airports contain similar surprises. No American hubs were ranked in the top 30—Seattle-Tacoma took the domestic lead, in the 33rd slot—while a large number of Brazilian airports dominated the charts, something Raiteri attributes to good local weather and a “hub and spoke” route network that keeps flights moving smoothly and on time.
AirHelp’s data for airports cover 141 destinations. They factor in on-time performance, quality of service, and online consumer sentiment, but its rankings heavily favor the first two criteria.
“Different airports deal with different problems,” Raiteri explains, saying that Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta has recently battled a series of power outages, while airports in Scandinavia tend to get knocked for weather delays, despite their sleek looks and efficient service.
“In some places, the local culture can leave people feeling cold,” Raiteri adds, describing the direct style of security agents in northern Europe. Here are the best and worst airports of 2018.
The 10 Best Airports of 2018
Hamad International Airport, in Doha, ranks as this year’s top airport.Photographer: Veronica Garbutt/Lonely Planet Images
1. Hamad International Airport, Doha (DOH)
2. Athens International Airport, Athens (ATH)
3. Tokyo Haneda International Airport, Tokyo (HND)
4. Cologne Bonn Airport, Cologne, Germany (CGN)
5. Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore (SIN)
6. Nagoya Chubu Centrair Airport, Nagoya, Japan (NGO)
7. Viracopos International Airport, Campinas, Brazil (VCP)
8. Amman Queen Alia Airport, Amman, Jordan (AMM)
9. Guararapes-Gilberto Freyre International Airport, Recife, Brazil (REC)
10. Quito International Airport, Quito, Ecuador (UIO)
The Worst Airports of 2018
The worst airport of 2018: Kuwait International.Photographer: JD Dallet/arabianEye
132. Eindhoven Airport, Eindhoven, Netherlands (EIN)
133. Bordeaux Merignac, Bordeaux, France (BOD)
134. Edinburgh Airport, Edinburgh (EDI)
135. Boryspil International Airport, Kiev, Ukraine (KBP)
136. Manchester Airport, Manchester, United Kingdom (MAN)
137. Stockholm Bromma Airport, Stockholm (BMA)
138. Paris Orly, Paris (ORY)
139. Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport, Lyon, France (LYS)
140. London Stansted Airport, London (STN)
141. Kuwait International Airport, Farwaniya, Kuwait (KWI)
One note of optimism: Raiteri says most airlines and airports that descended in the rankings this year did so because the marketplace is becoming more competitive, not because their individual performance is declining.
“What we mostly see is improvement, to be honest,” he tells Bloomberg. “Most airlines have been late to recognizing their responsibility, but after all the publicity that United got last year, we’re seeing airlines taking a much different approach to dealing with passengers.”
For both airlines and airports, he says, “We don’t see folks falling in rank due to poor performance—but because another entity is doing better and pushing them down.” Consider it a silver lining the next time you’re stranded at the gate.
The sixth annual study by AirHelp turns up plenty of surprises.
By Nikki Ekstein
June 7, 2018, 12:45 AM GMT+10
Last summer, on a bucket list trip through Southern Africa, I took a total of six flights with South African Airways. On the first one, a 15-hour trip from New York’s JFK Airport to Johannesburg, my air vent and seat-back screens were both broken. On my next five flights, the situation was only marginally better.
Within a week of my return, a customer service agent at South African Airways received an angry note from me, citing the airline’s outdated planes and unsympathetic flight attendants. Surely, I wasn’t the only one complaining: The company seemed well-versed in responding to inquiries of this nature. Staff apologized quickly and gave me a mileage credit. It didn’t undo the terrible flights, but the swift show of humanity is rare in the aviation industry.
It’s also the reason that the deep-in-debt carrier took the fifth slot in this year’s 2018 AirHelp Score report from AirHelp, a company that advocates on behalf of air travelers for compensation in cases of delays or cancelations. Its sixth annual survey uses data from the first quarter of the year to rank the 72 international airlines for which the company had statistically significant data.
Overall rankings are based on three factors: on-time performance, quality of service (gleaned from public reviews on an array of reliable websites), and a claims-processing score (which reflects how a company handles customer complaints).
“South African Airlines has a fantastic claims-processing score,” explains Ashley Raiteri, an industry adviser for AirHelp—the airline earned 8.69 points of a possible 10—and it’s also got a good track record of keeping flights on time.
“Irregularities in flights are going to happen,” Raiteri adds. “What’s important is whether the airline has planned for that so they can make the experience less hellish for the consumer.”
With that in mind, here are the best and worst airlines of the year, according to AirHelp, along with their on-time performance records.
The 10 Best Airlines of 2018
A Qatar Airways jet gets hosed down in Chicago.Photographer: Jeff Schear/Getty Images North America
1. Qatar Airways (89 percent on-time performance)
2. Lufthansa (76 percent)
3. Etihad Airways (86 percent)
4. Singapore Airlines (85 percent)
5. South African Airways (85 percent)
6. Austrian Airlines (80 percent)
7. Aegean Airlines (90 percent)
8. Qantas (89 percent)
9. Air Malta (86 percent)
10. Virgin Atlantic (82 percent )
The Worst Airlines of 2018
Despite its name, WOW is not impressing the statisticians at AirHelp.Photographer: Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images Europe
63. Jet Airways (65 percent on-time performance)
64. Aerolineas Argentinas (85 percent)
65. Iberia (84 percent)
66. Korean Air (64 percent)
67. Ryanair (86 percent)
68. Air Mauritius (69 percent)
69. EasyJet (79 percent)
70. Pakistan International Airlines (61 percent)
71. Royal Jordanian Airlines (83 percent)
72. WOW Air (75 percent)
Surprises exist on both lists. Iberia—which ranked among the best airlines on a similar report from FlightStats last year that was configured purely according to on-time performance—appears in AirHelp’s worst airlines list, a reflection of its poor “claim processing score.” KLM and Emirates, airlines with passionate fan bases, ranked 11th and 16th, respectively, just outside the top 10.
U.S. carriers didn’t fare particularly well: American Airlines Inc. performed best, at 23rd of 72, followed by United Airlines Inc. in 37th place and Delta Air Lines, Inc. in 47th place. “Delta has a great on-time performance, but in dealing with claims, more often than not they either ignore them or reject them out of hand, forcing customers into court in order to pay what they’re legally obligated to pay,” Raiteri tells Bloomberg. While the three airlines won nearly identical scores in “quality of service,” Delta was the category leader by a few tenths of a point.
The only budget carrier to crack the top ranks: Norwegian.Photographer: AFP/AFP
While budget carriers did not fare well, with Ryanair DAC, EasyJet Airline Co., and WOW Air all appearing among the bottom 10 airlines, there was one exception: Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA ranked 12th overall, reflecting a 76 percent on-time record and very good scores both for claims processing and quality of service.
The data concerning best and worst airports contain similar surprises. No American hubs were ranked in the top 30—Seattle-Tacoma took the domestic lead, in the 33rd slot—while a large number of Brazilian airports dominated the charts, something Raiteri attributes to good local weather and a “hub and spoke” route network that keeps flights moving smoothly and on time.
AirHelp’s data for airports cover 141 destinations. They factor in on-time performance, quality of service, and online consumer sentiment, but its rankings heavily favor the first two criteria.
“Different airports deal with different problems,” Raiteri explains, saying that Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta has recently battled a series of power outages, while airports in Scandinavia tend to get knocked for weather delays, despite their sleek looks and efficient service.
“In some places, the local culture can leave people feeling cold,” Raiteri adds, describing the direct style of security agents in northern Europe. Here are the best and worst airports of 2018.
The 10 Best Airports of 2018
Hamad International Airport, in Doha, ranks as this year’s top airport.Photographer: Veronica Garbutt/Lonely Planet Images
1. Hamad International Airport, Doha (DOH)
2. Athens International Airport, Athens (ATH)
3. Tokyo Haneda International Airport, Tokyo (HND)
4. Cologne Bonn Airport, Cologne, Germany (CGN)
5. Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore (SIN)
6. Nagoya Chubu Centrair Airport, Nagoya, Japan (NGO)
7. Viracopos International Airport, Campinas, Brazil (VCP)
8. Amman Queen Alia Airport, Amman, Jordan (AMM)
9. Guararapes-Gilberto Freyre International Airport, Recife, Brazil (REC)
10. Quito International Airport, Quito, Ecuador (UIO)
The Worst Airports of 2018
The worst airport of 2018: Kuwait International.Photographer: JD Dallet/arabianEye
132. Eindhoven Airport, Eindhoven, Netherlands (EIN)
133. Bordeaux Merignac, Bordeaux, France (BOD)
134. Edinburgh Airport, Edinburgh (EDI)
135. Boryspil International Airport, Kiev, Ukraine (KBP)
136. Manchester Airport, Manchester, United Kingdom (MAN)
137. Stockholm Bromma Airport, Stockholm (BMA)
138. Paris Orly, Paris (ORY)
139. Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport, Lyon, France (LYS)
140. London Stansted Airport, London (STN)
141. Kuwait International Airport, Farwaniya, Kuwait (KWI)
One note of optimism: Raiteri says most airlines and airports that descended in the rankings this year did so because the marketplace is becoming more competitive, not because their individual performance is declining.
“What we mostly see is improvement, to be honest,” he tells Bloomberg. “Most airlines have been late to recognizing their responsibility, but after all the publicity that United got last year, we’re seeing airlines taking a much different approach to dealing with passengers.”
For both airlines and airports, he says, “We don’t see folks falling in rank due to poor performance—but because another entity is doing better and pushing them down.” Consider it a silver lining the next time you’re stranded at the gate.
How Britain’s far left ‘sympathises’ with the worst of our prejudices - Guardian
How Britain’s far left ‘sympathises’ with the worst of our prejudices
Nick Cohen
Momentum’s Activist Handbook has little positive to say on the immigration front
Sun 5 Aug 2018 15.00 AEST
‘You can just about grasp why his fans believe Corbyn is Britain’s first black leader rather than an elderly white gentleman.’
‘You can just about grasp why his fans believe Corbyn is Britain’s first black leader rather than an elderly white gentleman.’ Photograph: Finbarr Webster/REX/Shutterstock
The personality cult the British left genuflects before reached its apogee last week when the anti-racist campaigner Lester Holloway declared that Jeremy Corbyn was, when you got down to it, black. You have that right. “Labour actually have the first black party leader in Corbyn.”
“Black in his politics”, Holloway added, as an avalanche of ridicule headed towards him. But the comparison was made. As if to elaborate the argument, the Guardian columnist Owen Jones said that the centre couldn’t fight the nativist forces Trump and Brexit have unleashed. Only a left that holds “powerful vested interests to account, rather than scapegoating migrants and Muslims, can hope to defeat this political poison”.
Not the poisonous scapegoating of Jews, obviously. When it comes to the target of the Nazi conspiracy theory, Corbyn and his allies are the poison. Abandon the Jews, however, and you can just about grasp why his fans believe that Corbyn is Britain’s first black leader – our very own Mandela – rather than an elderly white gentleman who does not appear to have found the intellectual capacity to change his mind on a single issue since he left Shropshire’s Adams grammar school in 1967 with no academic qualifications worth mentioning.
Momentum heads to Glasgow to hold first Scottish training event
Grasp it, that is, until you look closer. Momentum, Corbyn’s party within the Labour party, shows its commitment to fighting far-right ideas in its Activist Handbook. It isn’t an obscure work, but a plan for action that Momentum has used to train thousands of British and US activists. Let no one say that Momentum ducks the hatreds of modern Britain. It prepares its revolutionary vanguard for the moment when voters on the doorstep will confront them with the assertion “I think we should kick all the immigrants out.”
When the right complains about political correctness and the call-out culture, one suspects that the worst conservatives are not objecting to overzealous political correctness but to any challenge to racism. Challenged it must be. A left that says, with justice, that Trump, the Brexiters, Fidesz and Lega “scapegoat” foreigners to divert attention from the disasters the financial system has brought has a duty to expose insidious lies.
Our brave Momentum comrades respond to the challenge by telling Corbyn’s supporters to be obsequious before prejudice. Activists must acknowledge that “all concerns are valid”. When confronted with base bigotry, they are not to argue against the sentiment that we should “kick all the immigrants out”, but accommodate it.
The “key language” to use includes “I see your point”, “I understand” and “I can sympathise with that”. After trudging through pages of instructions that continue in this vacuous vein, radical leftists are finally given counter-arguments to put to voters, should they find the courage to raise their timorous voices. They are either irrelevant to debates about migration and ethnicity – Corbyn would stop Britain “from becoming a tax haven for the rich” – or coyly supportive of nativism – Labour would stop “low-paid migrant workers undercutting existing wages”.
You can make a case for both positions while noticing that the far left isn’t prepared to be positive. It does not tell its supporters to say that Britain needs migrants or that migrants are no better or worse than the rest of us. It is not willing to argue that the notion migrants are a burden is false. The best Momentum can manage is a promise that Labour will guarantee existing rights for EU nationals in the UK.
Bill Clinton in 1998, ‘when Toni Morrison announced he was America’s “first black president”’.
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Bill Clinton in 1998, ‘when Toni Morrison announced he was America’s “first black president”’. Photograph: Stewart Kendall/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar
You would be right to say that far-leftists are no different from Labour operators of the past. Corbyn wants votes, like all politicians, and is not too choosy about where they come from. The real charge against his acolytes, however, is not only that they do not want to argue against racial prejudice but that they cannot argue against racial prejudice. Like the Farages and Rees-Moggs it affects to oppose, Labour wants an end to freedom of movement.
I still don’t think that Corbyn’s supporters begin to understand what the consequences of their capitulation would be if they were to come to power – and imagine the wolfish smile that would spread over Vladimir Putin’s face should that glorious day ever dawn. As the few thoughtful egalitarians left in Labour try to explain, leaving the single market will leave Britain poorer and more unequal. They might reasonably add that Labour cannot defend immigrants at the same time as making an end to freedom of movement its absolute priority. For the question that would arise on the doorstep would be: “If migrants are so good, why do you want to stop them?”
You do not need to turn to the personality cults of Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Castro to guess the sequel. The last time a startled public was told that a white politician was black was in 1998 when Toni Morrison announced that Bill Clinton was America’s “first black president”. Clinton revealed his blackness because his “unpoliced sexuality” had led the right to persecute him. Morrison was referring to Clinton’s sex with an intern and allegations that he harassed women and worse, which otherwise liberal American feminists found remarkably easy to dismiss for the greater good of protecting their leader.
Even at the time, the equation of Clinton’s sexual voracity with blackness seemed grotesque – and not only on grounds of racial stereotyping. Morrison and her allies had to forget the hundreds of thousands of black suspects that the Clinton administration forced into prison with its racially loaded laws. In retrospect, we can see the Clinton legacy crippled the Democrats. When tapes emerged of Trump boasting about grabbing women by the pussy in 2016, Republicans could reply: “Yeah, well, you stood by Bill Clinton when he did worse.”
Likewise, the legacy of Corbyn will cripple the British liberal-left. How can it not when, confronted with racism, antisemitism and a disastrous foreign policy blunder, the best it could manage was “I can sympathise with that”?
• Nick Cohen is an Observer columnist
Nick Cohen
Momentum’s Activist Handbook has little positive to say on the immigration front
Sun 5 Aug 2018 15.00 AEST
‘You can just about grasp why his fans believe Corbyn is Britain’s first black leader rather than an elderly white gentleman.’
‘You can just about grasp why his fans believe Corbyn is Britain’s first black leader rather than an elderly white gentleman.’ Photograph: Finbarr Webster/REX/Shutterstock
The personality cult the British left genuflects before reached its apogee last week when the anti-racist campaigner Lester Holloway declared that Jeremy Corbyn was, when you got down to it, black. You have that right. “Labour actually have the first black party leader in Corbyn.”
“Black in his politics”, Holloway added, as an avalanche of ridicule headed towards him. But the comparison was made. As if to elaborate the argument, the Guardian columnist Owen Jones said that the centre couldn’t fight the nativist forces Trump and Brexit have unleashed. Only a left that holds “powerful vested interests to account, rather than scapegoating migrants and Muslims, can hope to defeat this political poison”.
Not the poisonous scapegoating of Jews, obviously. When it comes to the target of the Nazi conspiracy theory, Corbyn and his allies are the poison. Abandon the Jews, however, and you can just about grasp why his fans believe that Corbyn is Britain’s first black leader – our very own Mandela – rather than an elderly white gentleman who does not appear to have found the intellectual capacity to change his mind on a single issue since he left Shropshire’s Adams grammar school in 1967 with no academic qualifications worth mentioning.
Momentum heads to Glasgow to hold first Scottish training event
Grasp it, that is, until you look closer. Momentum, Corbyn’s party within the Labour party, shows its commitment to fighting far-right ideas in its Activist Handbook. It isn’t an obscure work, but a plan for action that Momentum has used to train thousands of British and US activists. Let no one say that Momentum ducks the hatreds of modern Britain. It prepares its revolutionary vanguard for the moment when voters on the doorstep will confront them with the assertion “I think we should kick all the immigrants out.”
When the right complains about political correctness and the call-out culture, one suspects that the worst conservatives are not objecting to overzealous political correctness but to any challenge to racism. Challenged it must be. A left that says, with justice, that Trump, the Brexiters, Fidesz and Lega “scapegoat” foreigners to divert attention from the disasters the financial system has brought has a duty to expose insidious lies.
Our brave Momentum comrades respond to the challenge by telling Corbyn’s supporters to be obsequious before prejudice. Activists must acknowledge that “all concerns are valid”. When confronted with base bigotry, they are not to argue against the sentiment that we should “kick all the immigrants out”, but accommodate it.
The “key language” to use includes “I see your point”, “I understand” and “I can sympathise with that”. After trudging through pages of instructions that continue in this vacuous vein, radical leftists are finally given counter-arguments to put to voters, should they find the courage to raise their timorous voices. They are either irrelevant to debates about migration and ethnicity – Corbyn would stop Britain “from becoming a tax haven for the rich” – or coyly supportive of nativism – Labour would stop “low-paid migrant workers undercutting existing wages”.
You can make a case for both positions while noticing that the far left isn’t prepared to be positive. It does not tell its supporters to say that Britain needs migrants or that migrants are no better or worse than the rest of us. It is not willing to argue that the notion migrants are a burden is false. The best Momentum can manage is a promise that Labour will guarantee existing rights for EU nationals in the UK.
Bill Clinton in 1998, ‘when Toni Morrison announced he was America’s “first black president”’.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Bill Clinton in 1998, ‘when Toni Morrison announced he was America’s “first black president”’. Photograph: Stewart Kendall/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar
You would be right to say that far-leftists are no different from Labour operators of the past. Corbyn wants votes, like all politicians, and is not too choosy about where they come from. The real charge against his acolytes, however, is not only that they do not want to argue against racial prejudice but that they cannot argue against racial prejudice. Like the Farages and Rees-Moggs it affects to oppose, Labour wants an end to freedom of movement.
I still don’t think that Corbyn’s supporters begin to understand what the consequences of their capitulation would be if they were to come to power – and imagine the wolfish smile that would spread over Vladimir Putin’s face should that glorious day ever dawn. As the few thoughtful egalitarians left in Labour try to explain, leaving the single market will leave Britain poorer and more unequal. They might reasonably add that Labour cannot defend immigrants at the same time as making an end to freedom of movement its absolute priority. For the question that would arise on the doorstep would be: “If migrants are so good, why do you want to stop them?”
You do not need to turn to the personality cults of Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Castro to guess the sequel. The last time a startled public was told that a white politician was black was in 1998 when Toni Morrison announced that Bill Clinton was America’s “first black president”. Clinton revealed his blackness because his “unpoliced sexuality” had led the right to persecute him. Morrison was referring to Clinton’s sex with an intern and allegations that he harassed women and worse, which otherwise liberal American feminists found remarkably easy to dismiss for the greater good of protecting their leader.
Even at the time, the equation of Clinton’s sexual voracity with blackness seemed grotesque – and not only on grounds of racial stereotyping. Morrison and her allies had to forget the hundreds of thousands of black suspects that the Clinton administration forced into prison with its racially loaded laws. In retrospect, we can see the Clinton legacy crippled the Democrats. When tapes emerged of Trump boasting about grabbing women by the pussy in 2016, Republicans could reply: “Yeah, well, you stood by Bill Clinton when he did worse.”
Likewise, the legacy of Corbyn will cripple the British liberal-left. How can it not when, confronted with racism, antisemitism and a disastrous foreign policy blunder, the best it could manage was “I can sympathise with that”?
• Nick Cohen is an Observer columnist
Actor Steven Seagal made special US-Russia envoy - BBC News
August 5, 2018.
Actor Steven Seagal made special US-Russia envoy
Steven Seagal has praised President Putin's policies
Russia has appointed the US actor Steven Seagal as a special envoy to improve ties with the United States.
Seagal was granted Russian citizenship in 2016 and has praised President Putin as a great world leader.
Born in the US, the martial arts star gained international fame for roles in the 1980s and '90s like Under Siege.
He is also one of the Hollywood stars accused by several women of sexual misconduct in the wake of the #MeToo campaign, which he has denied.
Steven Seagal faces sex harassment claims
Steven Seagal denies Bond girl assault
Harassment in Hollywood: Who's been accused?
The Russian foreign ministry made the announcement on its official Facebook page, saying the unpaid position was similar to that of a United Nations' goodwill ambassador and Seagal would promote US-Russia relations "in the humanitarian sphere".
The Flight of Fury star, still popular with Russian audiences, has recently defended the Russian government over claims that it meddled in 2016 US elections.
The 66-year-old has called President Putin "one of the great living world leaders", and when Seagal was granted Russian citizenship, said he hoped it would be a symbol of how relations between Moscow and Washington were starting to improve.
Seagal was also granted Serbian citizenship in 2016, following several visits to the Balkan country.
Actor Steven Seagal made special US-Russia envoy
Steven Seagal has praised President Putin's policies
Russia has appointed the US actor Steven Seagal as a special envoy to improve ties with the United States.
Seagal was granted Russian citizenship in 2016 and has praised President Putin as a great world leader.
Born in the US, the martial arts star gained international fame for roles in the 1980s and '90s like Under Siege.
He is also one of the Hollywood stars accused by several women of sexual misconduct in the wake of the #MeToo campaign, which he has denied.
Steven Seagal faces sex harassment claims
Steven Seagal denies Bond girl assault
Harassment in Hollywood: Who's been accused?
The Russian foreign ministry made the announcement on its official Facebook page, saying the unpaid position was similar to that of a United Nations' goodwill ambassador and Seagal would promote US-Russia relations "in the humanitarian sphere".
The Flight of Fury star, still popular with Russian audiences, has recently defended the Russian government over claims that it meddled in 2016 US elections.
The 66-year-old has called President Putin "one of the great living world leaders", and when Seagal was granted Russian citizenship, said he hoped it would be a symbol of how relations between Moscow and Washington were starting to improve.
Seagal was also granted Serbian citizenship in 2016, following several visits to the Balkan country.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
Trump Broke Constitutional Law by Attacking Obamacare, Lawsuit Says - Fortune
Trump Broke Constitutional Law by Attacking Obamacare, Lawsuit Says
Donald Trump Says Obamacare Is Being Wiped Out ‘Piece By Piece’
He spoke to conservatives at CPAC.
By RENAE REINTS August 2, 2018
Four cities have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that the president is violating constitutional law by following through on his promise to “let Obamacare implode.”
Since Congress failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act last year, President Donald Trump has attempted to weaken the program through eliminating protections, discouraging enrollment, and driving up costs, the lawsuit argues. According to court filings, this directly violates a clause in the U.S. constitution, which states the president and their administration must “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”
Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Columbus, Ohio filed a joint lawsuit in a Maryland federal court Thursday, laying out the administrative actions Trump has used to negatively impact the Affordable Care Act. This includes shortening the sign-up period, cutting funding for outreach, and expanding insurance options that don’t comply with ACA standards, The Hill reports.
The latest attempt to damage Obamacare came Wednesday, when the White House announced offerings of short-term health care plans. These plans look appealing because they’re less expensive than Obamacare, but they cover fewer medical services and charge higher rates for those with pre-existing conditions.
The lawsuit against the Trump administration points to how the executive changes have cost the cities by leading to more uninsured patients seeking care and more city-funded ambulance transports. According to NBC News, 3 million fewer people had health insurance in 2017 compared to the year prior, and city-subsidized health centers in Columbus saw almost 3,000 more uninsured patients.
“President Trump and his Administration are waging a relentless campaign to sabotage and, ultimately, to nullify the law,” stated the plaintiffs in court filings. “All Americans are, quite literally, paying the price.”
Donald Trump Says Obamacare Is Being Wiped Out ‘Piece By Piece’
He spoke to conservatives at CPAC.
By RENAE REINTS August 2, 2018
Four cities have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that the president is violating constitutional law by following through on his promise to “let Obamacare implode.”
Since Congress failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act last year, President Donald Trump has attempted to weaken the program through eliminating protections, discouraging enrollment, and driving up costs, the lawsuit argues. According to court filings, this directly violates a clause in the U.S. constitution, which states the president and their administration must “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”
Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Columbus, Ohio filed a joint lawsuit in a Maryland federal court Thursday, laying out the administrative actions Trump has used to negatively impact the Affordable Care Act. This includes shortening the sign-up period, cutting funding for outreach, and expanding insurance options that don’t comply with ACA standards, The Hill reports.
The latest attempt to damage Obamacare came Wednesday, when the White House announced offerings of short-term health care plans. These plans look appealing because they’re less expensive than Obamacare, but they cover fewer medical services and charge higher rates for those with pre-existing conditions.
The lawsuit against the Trump administration points to how the executive changes have cost the cities by leading to more uninsured patients seeking care and more city-funded ambulance transports. According to NBC News, 3 million fewer people had health insurance in 2017 compared to the year prior, and city-subsidized health centers in Columbus saw almost 3,000 more uninsured patients.
“President Trump and his Administration are waging a relentless campaign to sabotage and, ultimately, to nullify the law,” stated the plaintiffs in court filings. “All Americans are, quite literally, paying the price.”
President said ‘fake news’ misreported and that he was 15 minutes early despite images of the monarch standing alone, waiting - Guardian
Trump claims he was early to meet the 'fantastic' Queen, not late
President said ‘fake news’ misreported and that he was 15 minutes early despite images of the monarch standing alone, waiting
Adam Gabbatt in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
@adamgabbatt
Sat 4 Aug 2018 00.56 AEST Last modified on Sat 4 Aug 2018 03.50 AEST
ump: ‘I was about 15 minutes early and I’m waiting with my wife and that’s fine. Hey, it’s the Queen, right? We can wait. But I’m a little early.’
Donald Trump: ‘I was about 15 minutes early and I’m waiting with my wife and that’s fine. Hey, it’s the Queen, right? We can wait. But I’m a little early.’
Many enduring images came from Donald Trump’s visit to the UK last month. There was the huge blimp baby, the streets full of protesters, Trump’s views on Brexit – and the footage of the Queen appearing to check her watch as she waited for the US president to arrive.
Trump leaves London after wreaking diplomatic destruction
The image of the Queen standing alone on a stage as she waited to be presented to Trump captured the imagination of many. Reports emerged that Trump had turned up late, enhancing the the notion that his was a gaffe-filled visit.
But everyone was wrong, Trump claimed at a rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday night. He was actually early, and the “fake news” is to blame.
Trump said: “I was asked to have tea with the Queen, who is incredible, by the way. Incredible. I landed, [and] I’m on the ground, and I’m waiting with the King’s and the Queen’s Guards, wonderful people. I’m waiting.
“I was about 15 minutes early and I’m waiting with my wife and that’s fine. Hey, it’s the Queen, right? We can wait. But I’m a little early.”
'Fake, fake, disgusting news': Trump launches new broadside against media - video
And his account was backed up on Friday by Valentine Low of the Times, who attended the event at Windsor Castle. “The shock is that he is right,” tweeted Low. “He didn’t keep the Queen waiting. In fact, he was early, and had to wait before going up to Windsor Castle.”
On Thursday, Trump, who, according to the Washington Post, has made 4,229 false or misleading claims, told the rally that after waiting he and the first lady, Melania Trump, enjoyed tea with the Queen, who he described as “fantastic”.
President said ‘fake news’ misreported and that he was 15 minutes early despite images of the monarch standing alone, waiting
Adam Gabbatt in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
@adamgabbatt
Sat 4 Aug 2018 00.56 AEST Last modified on Sat 4 Aug 2018 03.50 AEST
ump: ‘I was about 15 minutes early and I’m waiting with my wife and that’s fine. Hey, it’s the Queen, right? We can wait. But I’m a little early.’
Donald Trump: ‘I was about 15 minutes early and I’m waiting with my wife and that’s fine. Hey, it’s the Queen, right? We can wait. But I’m a little early.’
Many enduring images came from Donald Trump’s visit to the UK last month. There was the huge blimp baby, the streets full of protesters, Trump’s views on Brexit – and the footage of the Queen appearing to check her watch as she waited for the US president to arrive.
Trump leaves London after wreaking diplomatic destruction
The image of the Queen standing alone on a stage as she waited to be presented to Trump captured the imagination of many. Reports emerged that Trump had turned up late, enhancing the the notion that his was a gaffe-filled visit.
But everyone was wrong, Trump claimed at a rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday night. He was actually early, and the “fake news” is to blame.
Trump said: “I was asked to have tea with the Queen, who is incredible, by the way. Incredible. I landed, [and] I’m on the ground, and I’m waiting with the King’s and the Queen’s Guards, wonderful people. I’m waiting.
“I was about 15 minutes early and I’m waiting with my wife and that’s fine. Hey, it’s the Queen, right? We can wait. But I’m a little early.”
'Fake, fake, disgusting news': Trump launches new broadside against media - video
And his account was backed up on Friday by Valentine Low of the Times, who attended the event at Windsor Castle. “The shock is that he is right,” tweeted Low. “He didn’t keep the Queen waiting. In fact, he was early, and had to wait before going up to Windsor Castle.”
On Thursday, Trump, who, according to the Washington Post, has made 4,229 false or misleading claims, told the rally that after waiting he and the first lady, Melania Trump, enjoyed tea with the Queen, who he described as “fantastic”.
Kurt Bardella Sarah Sanders' dishonest defense of Trump and his assault on the free press reaches a new low - NBC News
Kurt Bardella Sarah Sanders' dishonest defense of Trump and his assault on the free press reaches a new low
You know things are deteriorating when you are regurgitating conspiracy theories to justify your boss’s obsession with weakening the First Amendment.
Aug.03.2018 / 6:29 PM ET
Sarah Sanders is at a crossroads, whether she realizes it or not. Mary F. Calvert / Reuters
$180,000.
That’s how much Sarah Sanders earns a year as White House Press Secretary. She joins 23 other White House employees in that top salary bracket.
That means this is also how much she is paid to spread lies to the American people and peddle conspiracy theories on behalf of the president of the United States of America.
Sanders has had her current job for a little over a year. But it’s become increasingly clear that there are very few limits to what she will do when it comes to making excuses for her boss. Being the press secretary is a difficult job in any administration, but Sanders continues to lower the bar when it comes to falsehoods and obfuscation, in the process undermining the Bill of Rights not to mention the integrity of the Trump White House.
Sarah Sanders declines to answer whether press is enemy of the people
Case in point, during the White House Press Briefing on Wednesday, Sanders declared that “the media routinely reports on classified information and government secrets that put lives in danger and risk valuable national security tools… one of the worst cases was the reporting on the U.S. ability to listen to Osama bin Laden’s satellite phone in the late ‘90s. Because of that reporting he stopped using that phone, and the country lost valuable intelligence.”
There are two problems here. The first is that Sanders was using this anecdote to deflect very real and very fair questions about the hostile environment reporters have had to deal with during Trump rallies. The second problem is that this anecdote is, as the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler wrote back in 2005, an “urban myth.” Osama bin Laden’s use of satellite phones to communicate with aides was reported back in 1996, in Time magazine. When another story reported on the satellite phone use, bin Laden himself was the source for the piece.
So Sanders was using a fabricated conspiracy theory to try and dodge responsibility for the venom now directed towards the free press — venom echoed and too often encouraged by the president himself. This is the logic of a small child — you think we did something bad, well what about what you did? And in the process, she is using the specter of one of the most hated men in the world to manipulate the American people into hating journalists.
Things continued to erode on Thursday when Sanders refused to say that the press isn’t “the enemy of the people” — a line that Trump has himself used in the past. Responding to CNN reporter Jim Acosta, Sanders said: "It's ironic, Jim, that not only you and the media attack the president for his rhetoric, when they frequently lower the level of conversation in this country.”
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times. Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, “Enemy of the People.” Sad!
10:30 PM - Jul 29, 2018
I spent the better part of a decade working as a spokesperson for various members of Congress and campaigns. I understand how you can start to see the world as “us vs them,” without stopping to really question whether you are doing the right thing. The constant 24/7 nature of the political media cycle leaves very little time for reflection and self-assessment. You spend every moment of every day fighting to get your team’s message out, responding to a growing volume of inquiries and just trying to keep your head above water. It is not an easy position to be in, even in the best of circumstances. I honestly cannot imagine what it would be like in this White House and in this toxic environment.
And yet, at the end of the day, you still have to live with yourself and live with the messages you convey. Nothing is worth losing your own self-respect or betraying your moral compass.
Chuck Todd
✔
@chucktodd
An extraordinarily disappointing moment by @PressSec just now... Her inability to acknowledge the role POTUS has played in all of this media bashing only hurts her own credibility...She had a chance to defend the institution and take the high ground and show leadership, instead..
4:03 AM - Aug 3, 2018
It’s the dilemma I faced a few years ago when I was consulting for Breitbart. Ultimately, it was clear to me that the site was heading down a path that I could not, in good conscience, enable. It would have been very easy for me to just say I was doing my job for a client and keep cashing those checks every month. It’s by and large what most people in Washington D.C. do every single day. Still, I found a line I could not cross. Choosing to walk away forever altered the entire course of my personal and professional life.
Far-right group ‘QAnon’ pushing false conspiracy theories
Sarah Sanders is now at a similar crossroads, whether she realizes it or not. You know things are deteriorating when you are regurgitating conspiracy theories about Osama bin Laden to justify your boss’s obsession with weakening the First Amendment.
Simply put, Sanders is reaching a point of no return; in fact, she may have already passed it. The question she needs to ask herself is $180,000 a year worth the damage she is doing to herself, the free press, the institution of the presidency and ultimately, the country at large.
Kurt Bardella is an NBC News THINK contributor and a former spokesperson for Reps. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter: @kurtbardella
You know things are deteriorating when you are regurgitating conspiracy theories to justify your boss’s obsession with weakening the First Amendment.
Aug.03.2018 / 6:29 PM ET
Sarah Sanders is at a crossroads, whether she realizes it or not. Mary F. Calvert / Reuters
$180,000.
That’s how much Sarah Sanders earns a year as White House Press Secretary. She joins 23 other White House employees in that top salary bracket.
That means this is also how much she is paid to spread lies to the American people and peddle conspiracy theories on behalf of the president of the United States of America.
Sanders has had her current job for a little over a year. But it’s become increasingly clear that there are very few limits to what she will do when it comes to making excuses for her boss. Being the press secretary is a difficult job in any administration, but Sanders continues to lower the bar when it comes to falsehoods and obfuscation, in the process undermining the Bill of Rights not to mention the integrity of the Trump White House.
Sarah Sanders declines to answer whether press is enemy of the people
Case in point, during the White House Press Briefing on Wednesday, Sanders declared that “the media routinely reports on classified information and government secrets that put lives in danger and risk valuable national security tools… one of the worst cases was the reporting on the U.S. ability to listen to Osama bin Laden’s satellite phone in the late ‘90s. Because of that reporting he stopped using that phone, and the country lost valuable intelligence.”
There are two problems here. The first is that Sanders was using this anecdote to deflect very real and very fair questions about the hostile environment reporters have had to deal with during Trump rallies. The second problem is that this anecdote is, as the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler wrote back in 2005, an “urban myth.” Osama bin Laden’s use of satellite phones to communicate with aides was reported back in 1996, in Time magazine. When another story reported on the satellite phone use, bin Laden himself was the source for the piece.
So Sanders was using a fabricated conspiracy theory to try and dodge responsibility for the venom now directed towards the free press — venom echoed and too often encouraged by the president himself. This is the logic of a small child — you think we did something bad, well what about what you did? And in the process, she is using the specter of one of the most hated men in the world to manipulate the American people into hating journalists.
Things continued to erode on Thursday when Sanders refused to say that the press isn’t “the enemy of the people” — a line that Trump has himself used in the past. Responding to CNN reporter Jim Acosta, Sanders said: "It's ironic, Jim, that not only you and the media attack the president for his rhetoric, when they frequently lower the level of conversation in this country.”
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times. Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, “Enemy of the People.” Sad!
10:30 PM - Jul 29, 2018
I spent the better part of a decade working as a spokesperson for various members of Congress and campaigns. I understand how you can start to see the world as “us vs them,” without stopping to really question whether you are doing the right thing. The constant 24/7 nature of the political media cycle leaves very little time for reflection and self-assessment. You spend every moment of every day fighting to get your team’s message out, responding to a growing volume of inquiries and just trying to keep your head above water. It is not an easy position to be in, even in the best of circumstances. I honestly cannot imagine what it would be like in this White House and in this toxic environment.
And yet, at the end of the day, you still have to live with yourself and live with the messages you convey. Nothing is worth losing your own self-respect or betraying your moral compass.
Chuck Todd
✔
@chucktodd
An extraordinarily disappointing moment by @PressSec just now... Her inability to acknowledge the role POTUS has played in all of this media bashing only hurts her own credibility...She had a chance to defend the institution and take the high ground and show leadership, instead..
4:03 AM - Aug 3, 2018
It’s the dilemma I faced a few years ago when I was consulting for Breitbart. Ultimately, it was clear to me that the site was heading down a path that I could not, in good conscience, enable. It would have been very easy for me to just say I was doing my job for a client and keep cashing those checks every month. It’s by and large what most people in Washington D.C. do every single day. Still, I found a line I could not cross. Choosing to walk away forever altered the entire course of my personal and professional life.
Far-right group ‘QAnon’ pushing false conspiracy theories
Sarah Sanders is now at a similar crossroads, whether she realizes it or not. You know things are deteriorating when you are regurgitating conspiracy theories about Osama bin Laden to justify your boss’s obsession with weakening the First Amendment.
Simply put, Sanders is reaching a point of no return; in fact, she may have already passed it. The question she needs to ask herself is $180,000 a year worth the damage she is doing to herself, the free press, the institution of the presidency and ultimately, the country at large.
Kurt Bardella is an NBC News THINK contributor and a former spokesperson for Reps. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter: @kurtbardella
Trump ex-campaign chief Manafort's 'income doctored' - BBC News
Trump ex-campaign chief Manafort's 'income doctored'
4 August 2018
Cindy Laporta was testifying in court on the fourth day of the trial
An accountant for Donald Trump's former election campaign chief Paul Manafort says she helped disguise his foreign income so he could pay less in tax.
Cindy Laporta told the court in Alexandria, Virginia, she had been told to concoct a $900,000 (£690,000) loan on his tax return in 2015.
Mr Manafort is facing charges of bank fraud, tax fraud, and failing to report foreign bank accounts.
The former political consultant has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Last month, Mr Manafort, who ran the Trump campaign for three months, was accused by prosecutors of using numerous accounts in order to evade tax.
He could face up to 30 years in jail if found guilty.
Read more: The man who helped Trump win
None of the charges that Mr Manafort faces at trial relate to the investigation into possible collusion in 2016 between Russia and the Trump campaign.
What happened in court on Friday?
Testifying on the fourth day of the trial, Ms Laporta, who has been given immunity in exchange for testifying, said she knew what she did with fabricating the loan was "not appropriate".
"You can't pick and choose what's a loan and what's income," she said. "I very much regret it."
A courtroom sketch shows Mr Manafort seated during the opening day of his trial
She added that she had agreed to do this under pressure from Mr Manafort's former associate Rick Gates, who had alleged that Mr Manafort did not have the money to pay the full tax.
Ms Laporta said Mr Manafort had likely saved up to $500,000 in taxes in 2015.
Mr Manafort's lawyers have previously argued that Mr Gates is the one responsible for the financial charges.
"This is about Mr Manafort placing his trust in the wrong person," defence lawyer Thomas Zehnle said in his opening statement.
However, prosecutors argue that Mr Manafort was closely involved in managing his own finances.
Mr Gates has already pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and lying to investigators. He has since been co-operating with the investigation into Mr Manafort.
The accused
Before joining Mr Trump's team in summer 2016, Paul Manafort had worked on a number of Republican presidential campaigns, including those of Gerald Ford in the mid-1970s and Ronald Reagan from 1978 to 1980.
Paul Manafort (L) in 1985 with fellow political consultants Roger Stone (C) and Lee Atwater (R)
As a lobbyist, he developed a reputation for representing the unrepresentable, including former Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos, who was accused of torturing, abducting and killing thousands of opponents.
Mr Manafort took over as chairman of the Trump campaign in May 2016 and aimed to present a more thoughtful candidate, who stuck to scripts instead of ad-libbing in campaign rallies.
He was in the hot seat when Mr Trump eventually won the Republican nomination, and organised the Republican convention in July 2016.
But Mr Manafort quickly faced allegations that he had not disclosed millions of dollars he received for consultancy work he carried out in Ukraine for its then pro-Russian president.
At the same time, the Republican Party changed the language in its manifesto regarding the conflict in Ukraine, removing anti-Russian sentiment.
Mr Manafort quit Mr Trump's team in August 2016.
4 August 2018
Cindy Laporta was testifying in court on the fourth day of the trial
An accountant for Donald Trump's former election campaign chief Paul Manafort says she helped disguise his foreign income so he could pay less in tax.
Cindy Laporta told the court in Alexandria, Virginia, she had been told to concoct a $900,000 (£690,000) loan on his tax return in 2015.
Mr Manafort is facing charges of bank fraud, tax fraud, and failing to report foreign bank accounts.
The former political consultant has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Last month, Mr Manafort, who ran the Trump campaign for three months, was accused by prosecutors of using numerous accounts in order to evade tax.
He could face up to 30 years in jail if found guilty.
Read more: The man who helped Trump win
None of the charges that Mr Manafort faces at trial relate to the investigation into possible collusion in 2016 between Russia and the Trump campaign.
What happened in court on Friday?
Testifying on the fourth day of the trial, Ms Laporta, who has been given immunity in exchange for testifying, said she knew what she did with fabricating the loan was "not appropriate".
"You can't pick and choose what's a loan and what's income," she said. "I very much regret it."
A courtroom sketch shows Mr Manafort seated during the opening day of his trial
She added that she had agreed to do this under pressure from Mr Manafort's former associate Rick Gates, who had alleged that Mr Manafort did not have the money to pay the full tax.
Ms Laporta said Mr Manafort had likely saved up to $500,000 in taxes in 2015.
Mr Manafort's lawyers have previously argued that Mr Gates is the one responsible for the financial charges.
"This is about Mr Manafort placing his trust in the wrong person," defence lawyer Thomas Zehnle said in his opening statement.
However, prosecutors argue that Mr Manafort was closely involved in managing his own finances.
Mr Gates has already pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and lying to investigators. He has since been co-operating with the investigation into Mr Manafort.
The accused
Before joining Mr Trump's team in summer 2016, Paul Manafort had worked on a number of Republican presidential campaigns, including those of Gerald Ford in the mid-1970s and Ronald Reagan from 1978 to 1980.
Paul Manafort (L) in 1985 with fellow political consultants Roger Stone (C) and Lee Atwater (R)
As a lobbyist, he developed a reputation for representing the unrepresentable, including former Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos, who was accused of torturing, abducting and killing thousands of opponents.
Mr Manafort took over as chairman of the Trump campaign in May 2016 and aimed to present a more thoughtful candidate, who stuck to scripts instead of ad-libbing in campaign rallies.
He was in the hot seat when Mr Trump eventually won the Republican nomination, and organised the Republican convention in July 2016.
But Mr Manafort quickly faced allegations that he had not disclosed millions of dollars he received for consultancy work he carried out in Ukraine for its then pro-Russian president.
At the same time, the Republican Party changed the language in its manifesto regarding the conflict in Ukraine, removing anti-Russian sentiment.
Mr Manafort quit Mr Trump's team in August 2016.
North Korea calls US actions on nuclear programme 'alarming' - BBC News
August 8, 2018
North Korea calls US actions on nuclear programme 'alarming'
The two men appeared friendly at a summit but North Korea has some strong words for the US
North Korea's foreign minister has called US actions "alarming" as tensions over the North's nuclear programme again flared.
Ri Yong-ho was responding to comments by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who urged other countries to keep up sanctions pressure on Pyongyang.
A landmark summit between the two sides in Singapore in June saw the North agree to work towards denuclearisation.
But details remain vague and the UN says its nuclear programme continues.
At a regional forum, also in Singapore, Mr Pompeo said it was important to maintain "diplomatic and economic pressure" on North Korea to achieve "the final, fully verified denuclearisation".
Pyongyang is currently under a range of international and US sanctions over its nuclear programme and missile tests.
What was said at the latest meeting?
Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishna said discussions about the North Korean nuclear programme at the Asean regional forum had been "brutally frank" but there was some good news.
"People acknowledge that there has been some progress and that the summit in Singapore did change the tone of the conversation and hopefully will help set the stage for a peaceful resolution of the outstanding issues," he told AFP news agency.
North Korea carried out a series of long-range missile tests in 2017
Mr Pompeo said he expected all nations to abide by sanctions, singling out Russia amid reports that it had potentially violated them by allowing thousands of North Korean labourers into the country. Russia has denied this.
In response, Mr Ri said that North Korea "stands firm" in its commitment made at the June summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
He added: "What is alarming, however, is the insistent moves manifested within the US to go back to the old, far from its leader's intention."
Mr Ri and Mr Pompeo only met face-to-face briefly, exchanging smiles, handshakes and a few brief words.
Also at Saturday's meeting, the US delegation delivered a letter from Mr Trump for Mr Kim. It is unclear what it contained.
What did the two leaders agree in June?
Mr Trump and Mr Kim made a commitment to work towards denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, but it is still unclear how this could be achieved.
Nukes, Trump Towers and human rights - what might peace look like between the US and North Korea?
The commitment was included in a one-page agreement at the end of the summit aimed at reducing regional tensions.
Aside from the written agreement, the US president also announced that joint military exercises with South Korea, which he described as "provocative", would end.
What has happened since the summit?
Amid a tentative warming of relations since June, North Korea appears to have begun dismantling part of a key rocket launch site in the north-west, in compliance with a promise by Mr Kim to destroy an engine test site.
And at the end of July, the North returned to the US remains believed to be of 55 US troops killed during the Korean War, as agreed at the summit.
The satellite imagery appears to show the dismantling of facilities at North Korea's Sohae site
But reports last month based on US intelligence leaks suggest Pyongyang is still upgrading its uranium enrichment sites.
The reports are seen as undermining the spirit of the summit and casting doubt on the North's sincerity.
Then last week, unnamed US officials said that Pyongyang appeared to be building new ballistic missiles after spy satellites spotted continuing activity at one site.
A UN Security Council-commissioned report on Friday said North Korea was continuing its nuclear and missile programmes, violating UN sanctions.
It was increasing illegal ship-to-ship transfers of oil products and trying to sell weapons abroad, it said.
North Korea calls US actions on nuclear programme 'alarming'
The two men appeared friendly at a summit but North Korea has some strong words for the US
North Korea's foreign minister has called US actions "alarming" as tensions over the North's nuclear programme again flared.
Ri Yong-ho was responding to comments by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who urged other countries to keep up sanctions pressure on Pyongyang.
A landmark summit between the two sides in Singapore in June saw the North agree to work towards denuclearisation.
But details remain vague and the UN says its nuclear programme continues.
At a regional forum, also in Singapore, Mr Pompeo said it was important to maintain "diplomatic and economic pressure" on North Korea to achieve "the final, fully verified denuclearisation".
Pyongyang is currently under a range of international and US sanctions over its nuclear programme and missile tests.
What was said at the latest meeting?
Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishna said discussions about the North Korean nuclear programme at the Asean regional forum had been "brutally frank" but there was some good news.
"People acknowledge that there has been some progress and that the summit in Singapore did change the tone of the conversation and hopefully will help set the stage for a peaceful resolution of the outstanding issues," he told AFP news agency.
North Korea carried out a series of long-range missile tests in 2017
Mr Pompeo said he expected all nations to abide by sanctions, singling out Russia amid reports that it had potentially violated them by allowing thousands of North Korean labourers into the country. Russia has denied this.
In response, Mr Ri said that North Korea "stands firm" in its commitment made at the June summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
He added: "What is alarming, however, is the insistent moves manifested within the US to go back to the old, far from its leader's intention."
Mr Ri and Mr Pompeo only met face-to-face briefly, exchanging smiles, handshakes and a few brief words.
Also at Saturday's meeting, the US delegation delivered a letter from Mr Trump for Mr Kim. It is unclear what it contained.
What did the two leaders agree in June?
Mr Trump and Mr Kim made a commitment to work towards denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, but it is still unclear how this could be achieved.
Nukes, Trump Towers and human rights - what might peace look like between the US and North Korea?
The commitment was included in a one-page agreement at the end of the summit aimed at reducing regional tensions.
Aside from the written agreement, the US president also announced that joint military exercises with South Korea, which he described as "provocative", would end.
What has happened since the summit?
Amid a tentative warming of relations since June, North Korea appears to have begun dismantling part of a key rocket launch site in the north-west, in compliance with a promise by Mr Kim to destroy an engine test site.
And at the end of July, the North returned to the US remains believed to be of 55 US troops killed during the Korean War, as agreed at the summit.
The satellite imagery appears to show the dismantling of facilities at North Korea's Sohae site
But reports last month based on US intelligence leaks suggest Pyongyang is still upgrading its uranium enrichment sites.
The reports are seen as undermining the spirit of the summit and casting doubt on the North's sincerity.
Then last week, unnamed US officials said that Pyongyang appeared to be building new ballistic missiles after spy satellites spotted continuing activity at one site.
A UN Security Council-commissioned report on Friday said North Korea was continuing its nuclear and missile programmes, violating UN sanctions.
It was increasing illegal ship-to-ship transfers of oil products and trying to sell weapons abroad, it said.
Friday, August 3, 2018
China says it wants to resolve differences with U.S. 'on equal footing' - Reuters
AUGUST 3, 2018
China says it wants to resolve differences with U.S. 'on equal footing'
Christian Shepherd
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China is willing to resolve differences with the United States on an equal footing, the Chinese government’s top diplomat said on Friday after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, but added they did not address their trade war too specifically.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday instructed his trade officials to look at increasing tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion in Chinese imports into the United States.
Trump, who has accused China and others of exploiting the United States in global trade, has demanded that Beijing make a host of concessions to avoid the new duties, which could be imposed in the weeks after a comment period closes on Sept. 5.
China, however, shows no sign of bending to Washington’s pressure.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Pompeo on the sidelines of a regional summit in Singapore, Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi said Pompeo told him he was “was willing to maintain constructive contact”.
“As two members of the U.N. Security Council and the world’s largest two economies, we should of course maintain talks at all times,” Wang said.
“Cooperation is the only correct choice for the United States and China. It’s the universal expectation of the international community. Opposition can only bring dual loss and will hurt the peaceful and stable development of the world,” he added.
“We are willing to resolve the concerns of both sides via talks on the basis of an equal footing and mutual respect. He (Pompeo) was accommodating on this as a direction, and said that he does not want current frictions to continue,” Wang said.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands before their bilateral meeting at the 51st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore, August 3, 2018. Mohd Rasfan/Pool via Reuters
Answering a question about what was specifically said on trade, Wang said: “We did not speak in such details. But actually, as journalists have noted, how can talks take place under this pressure?”
Wang, who is also China’s foreign minister, urged the United States on Thursday to calm down and “carefully listen to the voices of U.S. consumers”.
So far, the United States has imposed duties on $34 billion of imports from China as part of a first tranche of sanctions on $50 billion of goods.
It wants China to stop stealing U.S. corporate secrets, abandon plans to boost its high-tech industries at America’s expense and stop subsidizing Chinese companies with cheap loans that enable them to compete unfairly.
China says the United States is trying to stop the rise of a competitor and it has imposed its own tariffs on U.S. goods. The rising tensions have weighed on stock and currency markets, with the Chinese yuan falling against the dollar.
The two countries have not had formal talks on their trade dispute since early June.
Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie
China says it wants to resolve differences with U.S. 'on equal footing'
Christian Shepherd
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China is willing to resolve differences with the United States on an equal footing, the Chinese government’s top diplomat said on Friday after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, but added they did not address their trade war too specifically.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday instructed his trade officials to look at increasing tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion in Chinese imports into the United States.
Trump, who has accused China and others of exploiting the United States in global trade, has demanded that Beijing make a host of concessions to avoid the new duties, which could be imposed in the weeks after a comment period closes on Sept. 5.
China, however, shows no sign of bending to Washington’s pressure.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Pompeo on the sidelines of a regional summit in Singapore, Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi said Pompeo told him he was “was willing to maintain constructive contact”.
“As two members of the U.N. Security Council and the world’s largest two economies, we should of course maintain talks at all times,” Wang said.
“Cooperation is the only correct choice for the United States and China. It’s the universal expectation of the international community. Opposition can only bring dual loss and will hurt the peaceful and stable development of the world,” he added.
“We are willing to resolve the concerns of both sides via talks on the basis of an equal footing and mutual respect. He (Pompeo) was accommodating on this as a direction, and said that he does not want current frictions to continue,” Wang said.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands before their bilateral meeting at the 51st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore, August 3, 2018. Mohd Rasfan/Pool via Reuters
Answering a question about what was specifically said on trade, Wang said: “We did not speak in such details. But actually, as journalists have noted, how can talks take place under this pressure?”
Wang, who is also China’s foreign minister, urged the United States on Thursday to calm down and “carefully listen to the voices of U.S. consumers”.
So far, the United States has imposed duties on $34 billion of imports from China as part of a first tranche of sanctions on $50 billion of goods.
It wants China to stop stealing U.S. corporate secrets, abandon plans to boost its high-tech industries at America’s expense and stop subsidizing Chinese companies with cheap loans that enable them to compete unfairly.
China says the United States is trying to stop the rise of a competitor and it has imposed its own tariffs on U.S. goods. The rising tensions have weighed on stock and currency markets, with the Chinese yuan falling against the dollar.
The two countries have not had formal talks on their trade dispute since early June.
Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie
Iran's foreign minister says China 'pivotal' to salvaging its nuclear deal - Reuters
WORLD NEWS AUGUST 3, 2018
Iran's foreign minister says China 'pivotal' to salvaging its nuclear deal
Reuters Staff
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Iran’s foreign minister said on Friday China was “pivotal” to salvaging a multilateral nuclear agreement for the Middle Eastern country after the United States pulled out of the pact earlier this year.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif smiles as he attends a bilateral meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Singapore, August 3, 2018. REUTERS/Feline Lim
U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 deal in May. International sanctions were lifted under the pact between world powers and Tehran in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump has ordered U.S. sanctions on Tehran, while a senior State Department official said Washington has told allies to cut imports of Iranian oil by November. Iran and other signatories, including China, have been trying to salvage the deal.
“The role of China in the implementation of JCPOA, in achieving JCPOA, and now in sustaining JCPOA, will be pivotal,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said, referring to the technical name for the nuclear deal.
Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Paul Tait
Donald Trump: President claims the Queen was actually late to meet him, and the internet can't cope - Independent
Donald Trump: President claims the Queen was actually late to meet him, and the internet can't cope
Posted on August 3, 2018 by Lowenna Waters in news
UPVOTE
Remember when Trump came to visit the UK, a huge orange baby blimp flew across London, and more than 25,0000 people took to the streets in protest?
Well, the president of the United States is now claiming that when he met with the Queen during his July state visit, it was HER who was late, not him, when they met for afternoon tea at Windsor Castle.
Yes, really. This is despite the fact it was reported he managed to break royal protocol twice when meeting the Queen, first by failing to bow, and second by walking in front of her.
Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania last night, Trump said that the 'fake fake disgusting' news was responsible for lying about his encounter with Queen Elizabeth.
Speaking to the rally, he said:
I was asked to have tea with the Queen, who is incredible by the way. Incredible.
I landed [and] I'm on the ground and I'm waiting with the King's and the Queen's guards, wonderful people. I'm waiting.
I was about 15 minutes early and I'm waiting with my wife and that's fine. Hey, it's the Queen, right? We can wait. But I'm a little early.
He continued:
So, I then go up and meet the Queen and she is fantastic. We then go up and we have tea. And I didn't know this - it was supposed to last 15 minutes but it lasted like an hour. Because we got along. And she liked our first lady and our first lady liked her.
But we got along fantastically well. But the time went by - you know, sometimes you get along and the time goes by.
So here was the story by the fake news: The president was 15 minutes late for the Queen. Wrong.
And then, here's the rest of the story: The president overstayed. So I was late and I overstayed. But honestly, folks, it was such a beautiful, beautiful visit and afternoon.
But they can make anything bad because they are the fake, fake, disgusting news.
Right, OK. Many people on the Internet were quick to point out that this doesn't really add up.
Some were quick to point out that when they two met, there is video of the Queen appearing to check her watch.
11th Hour
✔
@11thHour
WATCH: Here's the moment when the Queen appeared to check her watch before Pres. Trump arrived to meet her today. Learn more: https://nbcnews.to/2uxNopg
12:58 PM - Jul 14, 2018
Others were shocked that Trump doesn't seem to realise that the meeting was televised.
Donna Richards
@ResumeWonder
Replying to @11thHour @ryaninteractive
Does he not realize that there is video?
10:09 AM - Aug 3, 2018
Denise Bali
@DBalistrer
Replying to @11thHour @StacieDerepent2
Does he know the event was televised live and he left a 92 year old woman standing in the heat?
10:20 AM - Aug 3, 2018
10
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Others pointed out they thought the claims to be completely untrue.
michael movic
@oldmanliver
Replying to @11thHour @MSNBC
At This Point The Only
One To Believe Trump
Is Trump
9:55 AM - Aug 3, 2018
4
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Gemma Greene
@gemmagreene16
Trump says HM The Queen made HIM wait.
We, Mr Trump, are not blind to your vile character & will not be convinced to disbelieve our own eyes.
Whatever one might think of her position, you kept a 92 yr old lady waiting in blazing heat.
We will not forget that.
6:23 PM - Aug 3, 2018
2
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Denise
@denise76300
Replying to @11thHour @MSNBC
Hey @realDonaldTrump is this one of those time when we shouldn’t believe what we see??
10:12 AM - Aug 3, 2018 · Canton, MA
Others brought up the fact Queen Elizabeth wore a brooch gifted to her by Obama to meet Trump.
Darla Beattie
@BeattieDarla
Replying to @11thHour @MSNBC
He lies about absolutely everything! Still makes me laugh that Her Majesty was wearing a brooch given to her from President Obama though😂
9:55 AM - Aug 3, 2018
LaRhonda
@LaRhondaS
Replying to @BeattieDarla and 2 others
I’m sure he will have something nasty to say about that brooch, soon enough. He may even say he told her that he would give her a much nicer one than Obama did. A bigger one. The biggest and nicest brooch she ever got from anyone.
10:14 AM - Aug 3, 2018
Others brought up the fact that he appeared to walk in front of her, a 92-year-old woman, when the two met.
Kelly Hamilton
@kellyhamilton49
Replying to @11thHour @MSNBC
Trump is such an embarrassment!
10:56 AM - Aug 3, 2018
Some just thought the whole thing was rather ridiculous.
alien
@osseuscadaver
why does trump talking about not being late to meet the queen sound like a bad stand up story
5:09 PM - Aug 3, 2018
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HT The Daily Mail
More: Cher was asked to compliment Trump or eat a cow tongue. She chose the tongue
More: Kim Kardashian has 'nothing bad to say' about Donald Trump
UPVOTE
Black student claims member of college staff reported her to police for eating lunch
Posted about an hour ago by Greg Evans in news
UPVOTE
A sophomore student at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, has claimed that she was questioned by a 'member of staff' at the school as to if she was a student while she read and ate in a common room.
Oumou Kanoute, who is working as a residential advisor and teaching assistant for the summer, posted two videos on her Facebook page on Tuesday when she was approached by a police officer during a break.
In her Facebook post, you can see an officer approach her and ask what she is doing there. Once she says why, the officer apologises and explains why he had been called over.
She writes:
I am blown away by the fact that I cannot even sit down and eat lunch peacefully.
Today someone felt the need to call the police on me while I was sitting down reading, and eating in a common room at Smith College.
This person didn't try to bring their concerns forward to me but instead decided to call the police.
I did nothing wrong, I wasn't making any noise or bothering anyone. All I did was be black.
It's outrageous that some people question my being at Smith College and my existence overall as a woman of colour.
I was very nervous and had a complete meltdown after this incident. It's just wrong and uncalled for.
No students of colour should have to explain why they belong at prestigious white institutions.
I worked my hardest to get into Smith, and I deserve to feel safe on my campus.
In the second video, she calmly responds to the officer by highlighting how often these type of incidents are becoming in America.
It’s OK. It’s just like, the kind of stuff like this happens way too often, where people just feel threatened.
According to The Daily Dot, a school official told MassLive.com that someone was reported who "seemed out of place" but upon inspection campus police "found nothing suspicious about the student's presence".
In a separate Facebook post, Oumou states that a white member of staff had reported her as a "suspicious black male".
She also demands that Smith releases the name of the employee who called 911 so that "they can confront and acknowledge the harm done to me as a student".
However, the school has responded by saying that it is not policy to release the name of the caller.
In a statement on Facebook the school writes:
We have received multiple requests to release the name of the individual who called campus police.
Under college policy, any campus police records that are released must redact the names of parties involved.
This policy recognises the potentially adverse consequences of releasing identifying information, especially in those cases where doing so may discourage the use of this critical safety resource.
They also clarified that they have reached out to Oumou and that an investigation into the incident will be conducted by Human Resources and Campus Police.
Yesterday, campus police responded to a call from an employee reporting an unknown person who “seemed to be out of place” in a Smith building where the dining area was in use by the college’s summer programmes.
A campus police officer responded to the site and spoke with the individual, a Smith undergraduate student of colour, who was on a break from her on-campus job.
Campus police found nothing suspicious about the student's presence.
This incident has raised concerns in our community about bias and equity. Smith College does not tolerate race or gender-based discrimination in any form.
Such behaviour can contribute to a climate of fear, hostility and exclusion that has no place in our community.
We have reached out to the student to offer support and discuss next steps and will conduct an investigation of the incident with the employee, with human resources and with campus police.
We strongly encourage any member of the community experiencing bias in any form to immediately notify the college,
This incident is just one in a growing trend of incidents where black members of the public in the United States have been reported to the police for having BBQs, selling water or attending a public swimming pool.
HT New York Post
Posted on August 3, 2018 by Lowenna Waters in news
UPVOTE
Remember when Trump came to visit the UK, a huge orange baby blimp flew across London, and more than 25,0000 people took to the streets in protest?
Well, the president of the United States is now claiming that when he met with the Queen during his July state visit, it was HER who was late, not him, when they met for afternoon tea at Windsor Castle.
Yes, really. This is despite the fact it was reported he managed to break royal protocol twice when meeting the Queen, first by failing to bow, and second by walking in front of her.
Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania last night, Trump said that the 'fake fake disgusting' news was responsible for lying about his encounter with Queen Elizabeth.
Speaking to the rally, he said:
I was asked to have tea with the Queen, who is incredible by the way. Incredible.
I landed [and] I'm on the ground and I'm waiting with the King's and the Queen's guards, wonderful people. I'm waiting.
I was about 15 minutes early and I'm waiting with my wife and that's fine. Hey, it's the Queen, right? We can wait. But I'm a little early.
He continued:
So, I then go up and meet the Queen and she is fantastic. We then go up and we have tea. And I didn't know this - it was supposed to last 15 minutes but it lasted like an hour. Because we got along. And she liked our first lady and our first lady liked her.
But we got along fantastically well. But the time went by - you know, sometimes you get along and the time goes by.
So here was the story by the fake news: The president was 15 minutes late for the Queen. Wrong.
And then, here's the rest of the story: The president overstayed. So I was late and I overstayed. But honestly, folks, it was such a beautiful, beautiful visit and afternoon.
But they can make anything bad because they are the fake, fake, disgusting news.
Right, OK. Many people on the Internet were quick to point out that this doesn't really add up.
Some were quick to point out that when they two met, there is video of the Queen appearing to check her watch.
11th Hour
✔
@11thHour
WATCH: Here's the moment when the Queen appeared to check her watch before Pres. Trump arrived to meet her today. Learn more: https://nbcnews.to/2uxNopg
12:58 PM - Jul 14, 2018
Others were shocked that Trump doesn't seem to realise that the meeting was televised.
Donna Richards
@ResumeWonder
Replying to @11thHour @ryaninteractive
Does he not realize that there is video?
10:09 AM - Aug 3, 2018
Denise Bali
@DBalistrer
Replying to @11thHour @StacieDerepent2
Does he know the event was televised live and he left a 92 year old woman standing in the heat?
10:20 AM - Aug 3, 2018
10
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Others pointed out they thought the claims to be completely untrue.
michael movic
@oldmanliver
Replying to @11thHour @MSNBC
At This Point The Only
One To Believe Trump
Is Trump
9:55 AM - Aug 3, 2018
4
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Gemma Greene
@gemmagreene16
Trump says HM The Queen made HIM wait.
We, Mr Trump, are not blind to your vile character & will not be convinced to disbelieve our own eyes.
Whatever one might think of her position, you kept a 92 yr old lady waiting in blazing heat.
We will not forget that.
6:23 PM - Aug 3, 2018
2
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Denise
@denise76300
Replying to @11thHour @MSNBC
Hey @realDonaldTrump is this one of those time when we shouldn’t believe what we see??
10:12 AM - Aug 3, 2018 · Canton, MA
Others brought up the fact Queen Elizabeth wore a brooch gifted to her by Obama to meet Trump.
Darla Beattie
@BeattieDarla
Replying to @11thHour @MSNBC
He lies about absolutely everything! Still makes me laugh that Her Majesty was wearing a brooch given to her from President Obama though😂
9:55 AM - Aug 3, 2018
LaRhonda
@LaRhondaS
Replying to @BeattieDarla and 2 others
I’m sure he will have something nasty to say about that brooch, soon enough. He may even say he told her that he would give her a much nicer one than Obama did. A bigger one. The biggest and nicest brooch she ever got from anyone.
10:14 AM - Aug 3, 2018
Others brought up the fact that he appeared to walk in front of her, a 92-year-old woman, when the two met.
Kelly Hamilton
@kellyhamilton49
Replying to @11thHour @MSNBC
Trump is such an embarrassment!
10:56 AM - Aug 3, 2018
Some just thought the whole thing was rather ridiculous.
alien
@osseuscadaver
why does trump talking about not being late to meet the queen sound like a bad stand up story
5:09 PM - Aug 3, 2018
See alien's other Tweets
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HT The Daily Mail
More: Cher was asked to compliment Trump or eat a cow tongue. She chose the tongue
More: Kim Kardashian has 'nothing bad to say' about Donald Trump
UPVOTE
Black student claims member of college staff reported her to police for eating lunch
Posted about an hour ago by Greg Evans in news
UPVOTE
A sophomore student at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, has claimed that she was questioned by a 'member of staff' at the school as to if she was a student while she read and ate in a common room.
Oumou Kanoute, who is working as a residential advisor and teaching assistant for the summer, posted two videos on her Facebook page on Tuesday when she was approached by a police officer during a break.
In her Facebook post, you can see an officer approach her and ask what she is doing there. Once she says why, the officer apologises and explains why he had been called over.
She writes:
I am blown away by the fact that I cannot even sit down and eat lunch peacefully.
Today someone felt the need to call the police on me while I was sitting down reading, and eating in a common room at Smith College.
This person didn't try to bring their concerns forward to me but instead decided to call the police.
I did nothing wrong, I wasn't making any noise or bothering anyone. All I did was be black.
It's outrageous that some people question my being at Smith College and my existence overall as a woman of colour.
I was very nervous and had a complete meltdown after this incident. It's just wrong and uncalled for.
No students of colour should have to explain why they belong at prestigious white institutions.
I worked my hardest to get into Smith, and I deserve to feel safe on my campus.
In the second video, she calmly responds to the officer by highlighting how often these type of incidents are becoming in America.
It’s OK. It’s just like, the kind of stuff like this happens way too often, where people just feel threatened.
According to The Daily Dot, a school official told MassLive.com that someone was reported who "seemed out of place" but upon inspection campus police "found nothing suspicious about the student's presence".
In a separate Facebook post, Oumou states that a white member of staff had reported her as a "suspicious black male".
She also demands that Smith releases the name of the employee who called 911 so that "they can confront and acknowledge the harm done to me as a student".
However, the school has responded by saying that it is not policy to release the name of the caller.
In a statement on Facebook the school writes:
We have received multiple requests to release the name of the individual who called campus police.
Under college policy, any campus police records that are released must redact the names of parties involved.
This policy recognises the potentially adverse consequences of releasing identifying information, especially in those cases where doing so may discourage the use of this critical safety resource.
They also clarified that they have reached out to Oumou and that an investigation into the incident will be conducted by Human Resources and Campus Police.
Yesterday, campus police responded to a call from an employee reporting an unknown person who “seemed to be out of place” in a Smith building where the dining area was in use by the college’s summer programmes.
A campus police officer responded to the site and spoke with the individual, a Smith undergraduate student of colour, who was on a break from her on-campus job.
Campus police found nothing suspicious about the student's presence.
This incident has raised concerns in our community about bias and equity. Smith College does not tolerate race or gender-based discrimination in any form.
Such behaviour can contribute to a climate of fear, hostility and exclusion that has no place in our community.
We have reached out to the student to offer support and discuss next steps and will conduct an investigation of the incident with the employee, with human resources and with campus police.
We strongly encourage any member of the community experiencing bias in any form to immediately notify the college,
This incident is just one in a growing trend of incidents where black members of the public in the United States have been reported to the police for having BBQs, selling water or attending a public swimming pool.
HT New York Post
UN experts condemn President Trump's media criticism - BBC News
UN experts condemn President Trump's media criticism
2 August 2018
Jim Acosta: "All I am asking you to do is to acknowledge that the media is not an enemy of the people"
President Donald Trump's media attacks raise the risk of violence against journalists, UN experts have warned.
In a statement, David Kaye and Edison Lanza of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called the attacks "strategic" and said they undermined press freedom and "verifiable facts".
The comments follow hours after Mr Trump's daughter Ivanka distanced herself from her father's attacks.
Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised the media before and during his presidency.
He has declared journalists to be "enemies of the people", drawing condemnation from across the political spectrum.
Why Trump attacks the media
How Trump 'enemies' remark echoes tyrants
Earlier on Thursday, his daughter Ivanka broke from her father's remarks - prompting a tweet from Mr Trump in which he attacked "fake news" as the real threat.
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!
6:24 AM - Aug 3, 2018
But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Thursday refused to say the media were not enemies, causing a CNN reporter to walk out of the briefing.
Mr Kaye and Mr Lanza said the president's assaults "increase the risk of journalists being targeted with violence" in their joint statement, and were "designed to undermine confidence in reporting".
Reality Check: Are journalists increasingly under attack?
Donald Trump decries 'fake news' on UK visit
Their warning follows a number of attacks from the president, his administration and his supporters over the past week.
At a presidential rally in Florida on Tuesday, CNN filmed Mr Trump's supporters yelling insults and swearing at reporters covering the event. CNN presenter Jim Acosta tweeted a clip, which contained strong language.
Jim Acosta
✔
@Acosta
Just a sample of the sad scene we faced at the Trump rally in Tampa. I’m very worried that the hostility whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media will result in somebody getting hurt. We should not treat our fellow Americans this way. The press is not the enemy.
11:32 AM - Aug 1, 2018
And on Sunday, the publisher of the New York Times urged the president to stop using the phrase "enemies of the people" after he launched a Twitter tirade against the media.
Mr Trump's frequent attacks have drawn criticism from even those close to him and within his party.
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci condemned Trump's supporters at the Florida rally on Twitter, saying the behaviour was "not who we are".
Republican senator for Arizona Jeff Flake meanwhile has compared Mr Trump to the former USSR dictator Joseph Stalin.
2 August 2018
Jim Acosta: "All I am asking you to do is to acknowledge that the media is not an enemy of the people"
President Donald Trump's media attacks raise the risk of violence against journalists, UN experts have warned.
In a statement, David Kaye and Edison Lanza of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called the attacks "strategic" and said they undermined press freedom and "verifiable facts".
The comments follow hours after Mr Trump's daughter Ivanka distanced herself from her father's attacks.
Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised the media before and during his presidency.
He has declared journalists to be "enemies of the people", drawing condemnation from across the political spectrum.
Why Trump attacks the media
How Trump 'enemies' remark echoes tyrants
Earlier on Thursday, his daughter Ivanka broke from her father's remarks - prompting a tweet from Mr Trump in which he attacked "fake news" as the real threat.
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!
6:24 AM - Aug 3, 2018
But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Thursday refused to say the media were not enemies, causing a CNN reporter to walk out of the briefing.
Mr Kaye and Mr Lanza said the president's assaults "increase the risk of journalists being targeted with violence" in their joint statement, and were "designed to undermine confidence in reporting".
Reality Check: Are journalists increasingly under attack?
Donald Trump decries 'fake news' on UK visit
Their warning follows a number of attacks from the president, his administration and his supporters over the past week.
At a presidential rally in Florida on Tuesday, CNN filmed Mr Trump's supporters yelling insults and swearing at reporters covering the event. CNN presenter Jim Acosta tweeted a clip, which contained strong language.
Jim Acosta
✔
@Acosta
Just a sample of the sad scene we faced at the Trump rally in Tampa. I’m very worried that the hostility whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media will result in somebody getting hurt. We should not treat our fellow Americans this way. The press is not the enemy.
11:32 AM - Aug 1, 2018
And on Sunday, the publisher of the New York Times urged the president to stop using the phrase "enemies of the people" after he launched a Twitter tirade against the media.
Mr Trump's frequent attacks have drawn criticism from even those close to him and within his party.
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci condemned Trump's supporters at the Florida rally on Twitter, saying the behaviour was "not who we are".
Republican senator for Arizona Jeff Flake meanwhile has compared Mr Trump to the former USSR dictator Joseph Stalin.
Apple’s Stock Is Going Gangbusters and it Could Be the First American Company Worth $1 Trillion - TIME Business
Apple’s Stock Is Going Gangbusters and it Could Be the First American Company Worth $1 Trillion
Posted: 01 Aug 2018 07:17 AM PDT
(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. shares jumped 3.5 percent in pre-market trading Wednesday after the company projected sales that suggest consumers are still snapping up the company’s high-end iPhones even as updated models are on the horizon.
The Cupertino, California-based technology giant said on Tuesday it expects fiscal fourth-quarter revenue between $60 billion and $62 billion. Analysts were looking for $59.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Fiscal third-quarter results also beat Wall Street expectations, at one point sending the shares to $198 in extended trading, a record price if the increase holds through Wednesday.
Apple’s stock gained 12 percent this year though Tuesday’s close — before the results were announced — putting the iPhone maker on a path to become the first U.S.-based company with a market value of $1 trillion.
“These results and guidance will increase investor confidence,” Shannon Cross of Cross Research wrote in a note to investors. “We expect the vast majority of Apple’s product line-up to be refreshed during the next couple of quarters which should support near-term results.”
More than a decade after its debut, the iPhone is still Apple’s most-important product, accounting for about 60 percent of revenue. While unit sales have slowed recently, the company is building digital services and a suite of other gadgets around the device. Those newer businesses, along with higher iPhone prices, have supported revenue growth.
Apple’s fiscal fourth-quarter outlook is closely watched because this is usually the period when the company unveils new iPhones. The company is expected to launch three new phones later this year. That’s raised Wall Street expectations for more sales and profit.
The results “were driven by continued strong sales of iPhone, Services and Wearables, and we are very excited about the products and services in our pipeline,” Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Read about Apple’s future iPhone plans here.
Fiscal third-quarter sales rose 17 percent to $53.3 billion, Apple said. Profit came in at $2.34 per share. Analysts expected revenue of $52.4 billion and earnings of $2.18 a share.
The company sold 41.3 million iPhones in its third quarter, generating revenue of $29.9 billion. That was driven by a higher average selling price of $724, thanks in part to the iPhone X, which starts at $999.
Analysts were looking for 41.6 million iPhone units in the quarter, and an average selling price of $699, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.
During a conference call with analysts, Cook said the iPhone X was the most popular iPhone in the fiscal third quarter, gaining market share around the world.
Apple reported record services revenue of $9.55 billion, up 31 percent from a year earlier. Analysts forecast $9.2 billion. The category includes the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud storage and Apple Pay. The company is working on expanding these offerings with original videos and a news subscription service.
Cook told analysts that Apple is on track to meet a goal of doubling Services revenue by 2020. Paid subscriptions have now passed 300 million, he also noted.
Apple said its gross profit margin will be 38 percent to 38.5 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, versus analysts’ estimates of 38.2 percent.
The company’s Other Products segment continued to see strong growth, with revenue up 37 percent to $3.7 billion. The category includes AirPods headphones, the Apple Watch, Apple TV, and the HomePod. Cook said wearables were a highlight of the quarter, with sales up 60 percent year over year. The Apple Watch had a record quarter with mid-40 percent growth, the CEO also said. The company doesn’t report sales figures for the Watch.
Apple said it sold 11.6 million iPads in the quarter, up from the 11.4 million in the year-ago period. In March, Apple launched an updated $329 iPad geared toward students. It’s also working on an upgraded Pro model with iPhone X features like Face ID, which could increase sales of the device.
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