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| Porn Users Forum » She Took the White House Photos. Trump Moved to Take the Profit. |
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| 04-02-22 03:18am - 995 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
She Took the White House Photos. Trump Moved to Take the Profit. She Took the White House Photos. Trump Moved to Take the Profit. Eric Lipton and Maggie Haberman Fri, April 1, 2022, 5:07 AM WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump’s tenure came to an end, the chief White House photographer, who had traveled the world with him and spent countless hours inside the White House snapping pictures, notified Trump’s aides that she intended to publish a book collecting some of her most memorable images. This was hardly a radical idea: Official photographers from every White House since President Ronald Reagan’s have published their own books. Barack Obama and George W. Bush were so supportive that they wrote forewords for them. But like so much else involving Trump, the plan by his chief photographer, Shealah Craighead, did not follow this bipartisan norm. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times First, aides to Trump asked her for a cut of her book advance payment, in exchange for his writing a foreword and helping promote the book, according to former associates of Trump. Then Trump’s team asked Craighead to hold off on her book project to allow the former president to take Craighead’s photos and those of other White House staff photographers and publish his own book, which is now selling for as much as $230 a copy. That the profits from Craighead’s labor are now going into Trump’s pocket has left several of Trump’s former aides upset — but not exactly surprised. “Shea’s a very talented photographer and this was really all of her hard work,” said Stephanie Grisham, who was the White House press secretary for Trump and wrote her own book, referring to Craighead by her nickname. “I just keep thinking: What a shame that he is actually now profiting off of it. But then again, this is the guy who is hawking caps and all kinds of stuff right now to raise money for himself.” Eric Draper, who was the chief White House photographer during Bush’s tenure, said the move was disrespectful to Craighead. “It’s a slap in the face,” Draper said, adding that he had spoken with Craighead last year about her plan to do her own book. “I would be disappointed if I were in her shoes.” Taylor Budowich, a spokesperson for Trump, did not dispute that an aide had discussed the possibility of Trump writing a foreword for Craighead’s book and perhaps taking a cut of her advance. Her tentative deal with a publisher involved an advance in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, one industry executive said. Instead, Budowich said, Trump decided to first do his own book, a separate deal that came with a much bigger, multimillion-dollar advance. “President Trump has always had an eye for beautiful and engaging curation, which came alive through the pages of his book,” he said in a statement. Craighead said she did not want to publicly comment on matters involving a former client. But she did confirm that she has decided, at least for now, to kill her own book project. “I stay apolitical as possible, as I am a neutral historical documentarian,” she said. “By staying neutral I am able to remain a keen observer.” The 317-page book Trump published in December, titled “Our Journey Together,” includes no photo credits. It does not mention any of the photographers who took the images until the last page, where he briefly offered a “grateful acknowledgment” to “all the phenomenal White House photographers,” listing them by name, including Craighead, whose pictures make up much of the book. There is no legal prohibition on Trump assembling and publishing photographs that a White House staff member took during his tenure; under federal law, those photographs are considered in the public domain and not subject to copyright. There is a public Flickr account, now managed by the National Archives, that has 14,995 photos from the Trump White House, one-third of them listing Craighead as the photographer. But in dealing with Craighead, Trump appears to have become the first former president to try to make money from a book planned by a former White House photographer, said John Bredar, a documentary filmmaker and author who has studied the history of White House photographers. (Profits from the book published by George H.W. Bush’s chief photographer, David Valdez, were donated to his presidential library, Valdez said.) The first volume of the memoir written by Obama after leaving office included a selection of nearly 50 photos taken by the White House photographer during his tenure, Pete Souza. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton also published autobiographies that included some White House photos. But there has been a long tradition of former White House photographers separately assembling their work into books. “It’s valuable for each chief photographer to do a book just for the historic record and put it together in a way that it tells sort of their story and contextualizes images,” said Souza, who worked as a White House photographer under Reagan as well as under Obama, and who has published several books of White House photos. Craighead had been a White House photographer during the tenure of George W. Bush and was known for her work with mostly Republican politicians including Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Joni Ernst of Iowa. But unlike most of her predecessors, who had built relationships with presidents before they arrived at the White House, Craighead had not worked closely with Trump when she was hired just before his inauguration after his first pick for the job fell through. Trump at times would say insulting things about Craighead, telling other White House guests that he questioned her skills as a photographer, surprising other White House officials and photographers present. Trump, former White House aides said, was intensely involved in selecting photos of himself that would be released to the public, with Grisham recalling how during long flights on Air Force One, he often set aside time to review folders of photographs, after demanding that they be first printed so he could hold them and pick winners one at a time. Since leaving office, Trump has sought multiple ways to monetize his presidency, from charging supporters to attend an event and take photos with him to selling MAGA merchandise. He also has a long history of disputes from before his political career with business partners and over the years faced regular accusations that he did not properly compensate contractors. The plan to publish “Our Journey Together” came together quickly, after Craighead had already selected a book agent and negotiated a contract to publish her own book and secured a commitment from Trump to write the foreword, former White House officials said. Craighead had some questions about whether she wanted to move ahead with her own book, telling others she was not comfortable publishing a book that would be seen as an endorsement or a disparagement of Trump. It was while Craighead was debating this question that she heard from a representative for Trump that he would no longer be able to provide her right away with a foreword to the book, because Trump had a “noncompete” clause with his own publisher. Donald Trump Jr. and Trump’s campaign apparatus soon started to send out emails to his political fundraising list, urging his supporters to buy “Our Journey Together” perhaps as a Christmas gift — an example of how Trump has mixed his political efforts and his pursuit of personal profit since he left the White House. Trump’s book was published by Winning Team Publishing, a company only incorporated in October, and which was co-founded by Donald Trump Jr. and Sergio Gor, a former Capitol Hill aide and Republican campaign operative. Gor said the company had sold out the first 300,000 copies — which at $75 apiece for the unsigned version suggests gross sales of at least $20 million, assuming many were not given away. In addition to his advance payment, Trump is likely to earn a share of all book sales. The book is not the only way that the Trump family is cashing in on photos by White House photographers. On Presidents Day, Melania Trump opened sales of a series of digital images from Donald Trump’s White House tenure — photos of him at Mount Rushmore, exiting Air Force One and in a tuxedo for a White House dinner — for $50 apiece. This week, after The New York Times asked his office questions about the book, Trump called Craighead. It was the first time they had spoken directly since he left the White House. Trump told her he was still prepared to write a foreword for a photo book they could do together in the future, Budowich said. “It would be fun to do so,” Trump told her.  2022 The New York Times Company | |
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| 04-02-22 08:05am - 995 days | #2 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Russian military problems. Russia's military is having problems invading Ukraine. That's why they need the military genius of Donald Trump aka General Bonespurs. Trump and Putin are allies. For a measley 5 or 10 billion US dollars, Trump will fly to Russia to oversee the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This would purely be a humanitarian effort on Trump's part: to reduce the death toll, the wounded, and to save historic relics in Ukraine. God bless Donald Trump, the fightenest President of the Untied States we've ever seen. -------- -------- Why Russia’s military is so shabby Yahoo Finance Rick Newman April 1, 2022, 2:40 PM Scroll back up to restore default view. In 2015, naval observers noticed that Russia had purchased and refurbished a small fleet of dilapidated cargo ships barely suitable for scrap. Russia lacked modern supply vessels and needed the creaky ships to transport weapons and supplies to Russian troops fighting in Syria on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad. In 2018, Russia’s largest floating repair dock sank near Murmansk, in northern Russia, damaging Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov. Officials blamed a power outage. In 2019, 14 Russian sailors died in a fire on a mysterious submarine operating off the coast of Norway. Five months after that, the cursed Kuznetsov, still in Murmansk, suffered a fire that killed at least one, injured many others and left the ship damaged. A superpower’s navy is supposed to project force around the world and demonstrate fearsome combat capabilities. Russia’s navy, during the last few years, has been showcasing something else: cracks in Russia’s military that stem from an unproductive economy, widespread corruption and the obstinacy of autocracy under President Vladimir Putin. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Presidential Grants Foundation CEO Ilya Chukalin in Moscow, Russia March 29, 2022. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Presidential Grants Foundation CEO Ilya Chukalin in Moscow, Russia March 29, 2022. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTER Those flaws are now on display for all the world to see in Ukraine, which Russia invaded on Feb. 24, clearly with the aim of rapidly deposing the elected government and installing a puppet regime. Much has gone wrong. Russian missiles and artillery fired from long distances have wrecked many undefended areas and killed hundreds of civilians, but Russia’s territorial gains have been minimal and its losses great. At least 10,000 Russian troops have died, approaching the death toll Russia suffered in Afghanistan during an entire decade in the 1980s. Ukraine’s military has destroyed hundreds of Russian tanks, trucks and other military vehicles, and dozens of aircraft and helicopters. The Russian effort to take Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, completely foundered and those troops have largely withdrawn. [Follow Rick Newman on Twitter, sign up for his newsletter or send in your thoughts.] More stunning than numerical losses may be widespread evidence of incompetence and hollowness. Russian vehicles break down due to dry-rotted tires and poor maintenance. Units have abandoned dozens of multimillion-dollar tanks for lack of gas. Russia seems to lack modern logistical tools such as cranes, pallets and fork lifts, crucial for moving materiel quickly and safely under stress, including combat. Camouflage efforts are primitive. Russian troops communicate over open radios, susceptible to interception, and loot Ukrainian homes and stores for basics such as food. One unit of panicked Russian troops appears to have turned on its own leader, running him over with a tank. A top British intelligence official said Russia’s “command and control is in chaos.” The cancer of corruption and inefficiency What happened? Western analysts obviously failed to notice many fundamental problems with Russia’s military, with many estimating before the invasion that overwhelming firepower and a deep kit of military tools would help Russia steamroll Ukraine. They had reason to believe that, however. For the last decade, Russia has increased defense spending and embarked on an aggressive modernization program, funded by lucrative sales of oil, natural gas and other valuable minerals. The 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region encountered little resistance and went smoothly, from a military perspective. Wrecks of a Russian Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) and military vehicles are seen on the front line near Kyiv as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, Ukraine March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich Wrecks of a Russian Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) and military vehicles are seen on the front line near Kyiv as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, Ukraine March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich One thing that’s extremely difficult to diagnose from a distance, though, is the cancer of corruption and inefficiency. Russia has adopted some market reforms since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, but it has also become a kleptocracy with endemic graft and plodding state agencies that make America’s federal bureaucracy look like a whiz-bang startup. In Ukraine, those shortcomings may have metastasized into disaster. “Corruption is part of the political and economic system in Russia, and what we are seeing in Ukraine is part of the explanation,” Katarzyna Zysk, a professor at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies in Oslo, tells Yahoo Finance. “The problem is there’s no accountability. We assume this continues to be part of the problem in the Russian military.” Russia’s annual defense budget is around $62 billion—less than one-tenth what the United States spends. Even then, secret bidding for military contracts and an overcomplicated military bureaucracy leave ample room for graft. In a couple of rare admissions, Russian military leaders have estimated that 20% to 40% of Russia’s military budget is stolen. Former Russian foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev, who now lives in the United States, said on Twitter on March 6, “the Kremlin spent the last 20 years trying to modernize its military. Much of that budget was stolen and spent on mega-yachts in Cyprus.” Some analysts have been aware of the holes in Russia’s military, even if it wasn’t yet evident on a battlefield. In a 2020 analysis for the University of Oxford, Zysk identified a slew of Russian military vulnerabilities: overlapping weapons programs that sap resources, logistical shortfalls, a weak drone program with limited attack capability, shipbuilding hindered by sanctions imposed after the 2014 invasion of Crimea, radar and satellite shortcomings, young people who want to leave the country en masse, poorly trained draftees, and more. Putin personally favors Russia’s submarine force, which might explain why the navy gets 26% of Russia’s military funding, with just 14% going to the ground forces that account for the majority of the Russian military. But the main problems behind Russia’s military woes, the Oxford paper concluded, are “pervasive corruption, low labor productivity, brain drain, the inability to acquire a large blue-water navy and, limited innovation.” A destroyed Russian armoured fighting vehicle is seen amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in the town of Trostianets, in Sumy region, Ukraine March 28, 2022. Picture taken March 28, 2022. REUTERS/Oleg Pereverzev A destroyed Russian armoured fighting vehicle is seen amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in the town of Trostianets, in Sumy region, Ukraine March 28, 2022. Picture taken March 28, 2022. REUTERS/Oleg Pereverzev Putin himself is responsible for those problems. As Russia’s leader or de facto leader for 22 years, he has fashioned the entire economy according to his liking, and probably purloined more of the nation’s wealth for himself than anyone else. “Putin is the corrupter-in-chief,” Barry Pavel, director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council, tells Yahoo Finance. “In autocratic systems like Russia, China or North Korea, it’s much easier to skim a lot of money off the top. The same thing is happening in the military. Each branch of the military gets a certain budget, and it seems to me there are chunks off the top that go for the aggrandizement of those leaders.” Dude, I stole your army U.S. intelligence officials have deduced that Putin’s deputies are reluctant or afraid to tell him the truth about Russia’s shoddy military and its halting war in Ukraine. That might be because those are the same people who plundered the military budget in the first place, leaving poorly equipped troops to deal with the deadly consequences on foreign turf against a determined defender. Nobody wants to tell Putin, dude, I stole your army. America shouldn’t gloat. The U.S. military is clearly more competent than Russia’s, with better accountability, superior integration and a highly professionalized officer and enlisted corps. But there’s still plenty of waste, fraud and abuse in the U.S. military budget, plus the infamous military-industrial complex that sometimes prioritizes profits and campaign donations over national security. America’s two-decade mission in Afghanistan ended with an ignominious withdrawal last year, followed by the immediate collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government. A general view of destroyed Russian tanks and vehicles, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Dmytrivka village, west of Kyiv, Ukraine April 1, 2022. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra A general view of destroyed Russian tanks and vehicles, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Dmytrivka village, west of Kyiv, Ukraine April 1, 2022. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra | |
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| 04-02-22 08:06am - 995 days | #3 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
NEWS ARTICLE (CONTINUES) Russia does have an effective submarine force, advanced missile technology and, of course, a vast nuclear arsenal. So it would be a mistake to assume Russia’s sloppy performance in Ukraine means it would roll over in a broader conflict with NATO or any other power. “After 2014, when Russia took over Crimea, we exaggerated Russia’s capabilities,” says Zysk. “Now we are in danger of exaggerating in the other direction. If Russia were preparing for a war with NATO, they’d be preparing very differently. They would use different kinds of weapons, morale would be better, their psychology would be different.” That's a test best avoided. Rick Newman is the author of four books, including "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success.” | |
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| 04-02-22 10:28am - 995 days | #4 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
This is not right. The GOP is the party of the Republicans. Republicans believe in the right to free speech. But they have censored a major figure in the Republican party for reporting that some members of Congress have engaged in sex orgies and illicit drug use. The truth will come out. And Republican leaders will be forced to admit they have tried to keep the dirty waters and swamp that Trump was trying to clean. Republicans are abandoning Trump's goals. And they are abandoning Rep. Madison Cawthorn. As honest, patriotic citizens of the United States, we must rally behind those leaders who will clean the swamps of Washington. Vote for Trump. And God bless America. ---- ---- North Carolina Republicans look to sink GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn Yahoo News Jon Ward April 1, 2022, 12:36 PM North Carolina Republicans believe Rep. Madison Cawthorn is beatable in a May 17 party primary, following his recent comments about orgies and cocaine, multiple sources in the state told Yahoo News. Cawthorn can still secure the nomination if he gets more than 30% of the primary vote, which is what he’ll need to avoid a runoff. But Republican Sen. Thom Tillis’s decision to endorse one of Cawthorn’s primary opponents, state Sen. Chuck Edwards, is the biggest sign yet that the North Carolina GOP believes it can oust Cawthorn and replace him with a less attention-grabbing alternative. "Madison Cawthorn has fallen well short of the most basic standards western North Carolina expects from their representatives," Tillis said of his decision to back Edwards. Cawthorn’s comments on a conservative podcast in which he accused other members of Congress of taking part in sex parties and illicit drug use angered his fellow lawmakers. He later tried to walk back the remarks, saying they were “exaggerated.” But the 26-year-old is vulnerable to defeat in large part because of two other mistakes he’s made this year that have angered the GOP establishment, as well as grassroots activists, in North Carolina. Rep. Madison Cawthorn arrives for the State of the Union address at the Capitol on March 1. Rep. Madison Cawthorn arrives for the State of the Union address at the Capitol on March 1. (Saul Loeb/Pool/Getty Images) Last November, Cawthorn announced he would switch congressional districts and run in a newly drawn district where it would be easier for him to win reelection. The Republican House speaker in the state Legislature, Tim Moore, had planned on running for Congress in that district. Cawthorn, in an implicit dig at Moore, explained his switch by saying he wanted to make sure an “establishment, go-along-to-get-along Republican” did not win that seat. But after the North Carolina Supreme Court rejected new congressional maps drawn by the Legislature, Cawthorn said he would switch back to his old district. While he was saying he would run in the new district, multiple GOP candidates had joined the primary to replace him in his old one. They all decided to stay in the race after he jumped back in, including Michele Woodhouse, a former local party chair, who says Cawthorn had endorsed her. Federal election records show that Cawthorn donated to her campaign before he switched back to his old district. The congressman angered the top Republican power brokers in the state by announcing his intention to move. When he switched back, he irritated grassroots activists, said one person working to oust him. “He’s ticked a lot of people off,” a North Carolina Republican lawmaker told Yahoo News. Moore, the House speaker, has endorsed Edwards, just as Tillis did. This week, Moore called Cawthorn a “clown.” “If you have clowns in office who aren’t serious about what they’re doing, you can’t get somewhere,” Moore, who is now running for reelection to the state House, told local reporters. “I’m just kind of without the words to describe what congressman Cawthorn is doing and saying. I mean, some of these ridiculous recent comments that continue to build on one another.” North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore speaks to reporters at the Legislative Building in Raleigh. North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore speaks to reporters at the Legislative Building in Raleigh. (Gary D. Robertson/AP) Moore and the Republican leader in the state Senate, Phil Berger, hosted a fundraiser for Edwards this week. It’s not just Cawthorn’s remarks about orgies and cocaine that have drawn the ire of other Republicans. This week, after the latest episode, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy summoned Cawthorn to his office for a dressing-down. McCarthy said afterward that Cawthorn provided “no evidence behind his statements” and that “he’s got a lot of members very upset.” "I just told him he's lost my trust, he's gonna have to earn it back, and I laid out everything I find is unbecoming," McCarthy said. Cawthorn has a long track record of questionable behavior, and of late he has increasingly found himself on the wrong side of his own party. In early March, he called Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky a “thug” and said the Ukrainian government was “incredibly evil,” which angered many Republican lawmakers and is at odds with how most GOP voters view Ukraine and its response to the Russian invasion. Cawthorn had raised $2.8 million for his reelection at the last disclosure, at the end of 2021. His penchant for garnering headlines has become a successful way to drum up online donations from rabid partisans willing to give $5 or $10 at a time. But the freshman lawmaker had spent $2.6 million at that point, most of what he had raised so far, and had only about $282,000 left to spend. Such a small war chest might have been fine in a noncompetitive primary. But Cawthorn will likely need plenty of cash to win a close contest. The fast-approaching primary will be a test of whether he can surpass the 30% threshold. When he was first elected in 2020, Cawthorn received only 20% in the primary but then won the ensuing runoff. In the meantime, Democrats have pounced on his comments. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., went so far as to connect Cawthorn’s remarks with the ongoing sex trafficking investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. “Not sure why Republicans are acting so shocked by Cawthorn’s alleged revelations about their party,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter this week. “One of their members is being investigated for sex trafficking a minor and they’ve been pretty OK w/ that. They issued more consequences to members who voted to impeach Trump." The next day, Gaetz, who denies any wrongdoing, told a reporter that he did not know about what Cawthorn was referencing. “I don’t get invited to the same parties Madison Cawthorn does,” Gaetz said. | |
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| 04-03-22 05:12pm - 994 days | #5 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Ukraine says Russian troops killed citizens without provocation. Russia denies senseless killing, says Ukraine is lying. Who you gonna believe? Russia, who only invaded Ukraine to keep the peace? Or Ukraine, who refused to surrender to Russian peace keepers, who were only trying to help? Go Trump, the fightenest US President we've ever known. Go Putin, man of peace, who wants Russia to be strong again. ----- ----- Ukraine accuses Russia of massacre, city strewn with bodies Associated Press OLEKSANDR STASHEVSKYI and NEBI QENA April 3, 2022, 3:00 PM BUCHA, Ukraine (AP) — Bodies with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds and signs of torture lay scattered in a city on the outskirts of Kyiv after Russian soldiers withdrew from the area. Ukrainian authorities accused the departing forces on Sunday of committing war crimes and leaving behind a “scene from a horror movie.” As images of the bodies — of people whom residents said were killed indiscriminately — began to emerge from Bucha, a slew of European leaders condemned the atrocities and called for tougher sanctions against Moscow. In a sign of how the horrific reports shook many leaders, Germany's defense minister even suggested that the European Union consider banning Russian gas imports. So far, the bodies of 410 civilians have been found in Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian forces, Ukraine’s prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova, said. Associated Press journalists saw the bodies of at least 21 people in various spots around Bucha, northwest of the capital. One group of nine, all in civilian clothes, were scattered around a site that residents said Russian troops used as a base. They appeared to have been killed at close range. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs, one was shot in the head, another's legs were bound. Ukrainian officials laid the blame for the killings in Bucha and other Kyiv suburbs squarely at the feet of Russian troops, with the president calling them evidence of genocide. But Russia’s Defense Ministry rejected the accusations as “provocation.” The discoveries followed the Russian retreat from the area around the capital, territory that has seen heavy fighting since troops invaded Ukraine from three directions on Feb. 24. Troops who swept in from Belarus to the north spent weeks trying to clear a path to Kyiv, but their advance stalled in the face of resolute defense from Ukraine’s forces. Moscow now says it is focusing its offensive on the country's east, but it also pressed a siege on a city in the north and continued to strike cities elsewhere in a war that has left thousands dead and forced more than 4 million Ukrainians to flee their country. Russian troops rolled into Bucha in the early days of the invasion and stayed up to March 30. With those forces gone, residents gave harrowing accounts Sunday, saying soldiers shot and killed civilians without any apparent reason. One resident, who refused to give his name out of fear for his safety, said that Russian troops went building to building and took people out of the basements where they were hiding, checking their phones for any evidence of anti-Russian activity and taking them away or shooting them. Hanna Herega, another resident, said Russian troops shot a neighbor who had gone out to gather wood for heating. “He went to get some wood when all of a sudden they (Russians) started shooting. They hit him a bit above the heel, crushing the bone, and he fell down,” Herega said. “Then they shot off his left leg completely, with the boot. Then they shot him all over (the chest). And another shot went slightly below the temple. It was a controlled shot to the head.” The AP also saw two bodies, that of a man and a woman, wrapped in plastic that residents said they had covered and placed in a shaft until a proper funeral could be arranged. The resident who refused to be identified said the man was killed as he left a home. “He put his hands up, and they shot him,” he said. Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described bodies lying the streets of the suburbs of Irpin and Hostomel as well as Bucha as a “scene from a horror movie.” He alleged that some of the women found dead had been raped before being killed and the Russians then burned the bodies. “This is genocide,” Zelenskyy told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. But Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that the photos and videos of dead bodies “have been stage managed by the Kyiv regime for the Western media.” It noted that Bucha's mayor did not mention any abuses a day after Russian troops left. The ministry charged said “not a single civilian has faced any violent action by the Russian military" in Bucha. In Motyzhyn, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Kyiv, residents told AP on Sunday that Russian troops killed the town’s mayor, her husband and her son and threw their bodies into a pit in a pine forest behind houses where Russian forces had slept. Inside the pit, AP journalists saw four bodies of people who appeared to have been shot at close range. The mayor’s husband had his hands behind his back, with a piece of rope nearby, and a piece of plastic wrapped around his eyes like a blindfold. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk confirmed that the mayor was killed while being held by Russian forces. Some European leaders said the killings in the Kyiv area amounted to war crimes. The U.S. has previously said that it believes Russia has committed war crimes, and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called images of what happened near Kyiv “a punch to the gut” on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It is a brutality against civilians we haven’t seen in Europe for decades,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on the same show. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko called on nations to immediately end Russian gas imports, saying they were funding the killings. In a turnaround, Germany’s defense minister said that the EU should consider doing just that. Ministers “would have to talk about halting gas supplies from Russia,” Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said Sunday night on German public broadcaster ARD. “Such crimes must not go unanswered.” As Russian forces retreated from the area around the capital, they pressed their sieges in other parts of the country. Russia has said it is directing troops to the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years. In that region, Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov that has seen some of the war's greatest suffering, remained cut off. About 100,000 civilians — less than a quarter of the prewar population of 430,000 — are believed to be trapped there with little or no food, water, fuel and medicine. The International Committee of the Red Cross said Sunday that a team sent Saturday to help evacuate residents had yet to reach the city. Ukrainian authorities said Russia agreed days ago to allow safe passage from the city, but similar agreements have broken down repeatedly under continued shelling. The mayor of Chernihiv, which has also been cut off from shipments of food and other supplies for weeks, said Sunday that relentless Russian shelling has destroyed 70% of the northern city. On Sunday morning, Russian forces launched missiles on the Black Sea port of Odesa, in southern Ukraine, sending up clouds of dark smoke that veiled parts of the city. The Russian military said the targets were an oil processing plant and fuel depots. The regional governor in Kharkiv said Sunday that Russian artillery and tanks launched over 20 strikes on Ukraine’s second-largest city and its outskirts in the country's northeast over the past day. In a town southeast of the city, Oleh Synyehubov said Russian troops fired on a convoy of buses that was trying to evacuate patients from a hospital that had been heavily damaged in shelling a day earlier. Synyehubov said about 70 patients needed to be taken away from the hospital in Balakliya, but that the buses were not able to enter the town. The head of Ukraine’s delegation in talks with Russia said Moscow’s negotiators informally agreed to most of a draft proposal discussed during face-to-face talks in Istanbul this week, but no written confirmation has been provided. ___ Qena reported from Motyzhyn, Ukraine. Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. | |
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| 04-04-22 09:54am - 993 days | #6 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Putin reveals the truth: The United States is responsible for dead civilians in Ukraine. The cowardly United States has ordered Ukraine to kill its own innocent civilians, as a ploy to blame Russia. The United States, too much of a coward to do its own fighting, told Ukraine that it was needed for Ukraine to kill innocent civilians, and then to blame Mother Russia. Mother Russia, which loves everyone, even its enemies. ----- ----- Kremlin claims footage in Ukraine's Bucha was 'ordered' to blame Russia Reuters April 4, 2022, 1:57 AM (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said that footage of dead civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha had been "ordered" by the United States as part of a plot to blame Russia. "Who are the masters of provocation? Of course the United States and NATO," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview on state television late on Sunday. Zakharova said the immediate Western outcry over the images of dead civilians indicated the story had been part of a plan to sully Russia's reputation. "In this case, it seems to me that the fact that these statements (about Russia) were made in the first minutes after these materials appeared leaves no doubt as to who 'ordered' this story." Ukrainian authorities said on Sunday they were investigating possible war crimes by Russia after finding hundreds of bodies, some bound and shot at close range, strewn around towns outside the capital Kyiv after Russian troops withdrew from the area. Taras Shapravskyi, deputy mayor of Bucha, a town around 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Kyiv city, said 50 of some 300 bodies found after the Kremlin's forces withdrew late last week were the victims of extra-judicial killings carried out by Russian troops. Reuters reporters saw one man sprawled by the roadside, his hands tied behind his back and a bullet wound to his head, though Reuters could not independently verify those figures or who was responsible for the killings. A satellite image shows the grave site near the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints, in Bucha A satellite image shows the grave site near the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints, in Bucha Pictures of the destruction and apparent killings of civilians sparked shock and condemnation and looked set to galvanise the United States and Europe into fresh sanctions against Moscow, but it was not clear how quickly a new package could come together or if it would included Russian energy exports. Russian authorities have said the photographs and footage broadcast from Bucha are a "provocation" designed to disrupt peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv. The Russian defence ministry said the images were "another staged performance by the Kyiv regime." Footage and photographs of dead civilians strewn across the town have prompted Western countries to call for those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine to be punished. The atrocities were also set to overshadow peace talks between Russia and Ukraine due to restart by video link on Monday. Asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would be held accountable for the civilian killings , Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said others also shared the blame. "I think all the military commanders, everyone who gave instructions and orders should be punished," he told CBS' "Face the Nation" news program. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the images as "a punch in the gut," while United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation. "Putin and his supporters will feel the consequences," said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, adding that Western allies would agree on further sanctions in the coming days. A Ukrainian service member inspects a compound of the Antonov airfield in the settlement of Hostomel A Ukrainian service member inspects a compound of the Antonov airfield in the settlement of Hostomel Germany's Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said the European Union must discuss banning the import of Russian gas - a departure from Berlin's prior resistance to that idea. French President Emmanuel Macron said there were very "clear clues pointing to war crimes" by Russian forces and that new sanctions was needed, and Japan said it would consult with allies on that issue. Macron said new sanctions should include oil and coal. The U.N. Security Council will discuss Ukraine on Tuesday and will not meet on Monday as requested by Russia, said Britain's mission to the United Nations, which holds the presidency of the 15-member council for April. Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its southern neighbour's military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists. Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw its forces. | |
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| 04-05-22 08:55am - 992 days | #7 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
HuffPost Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Condemned For One Of Her Vilest Tweets Yet Lee Moran Tue, April 5, 2022, 1:54 AM Conspiracy theory-endorsing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) faced fierce backlash on Monday for a vile attack on three fellow Republicans. Greene used her congressional account to tweet the baseless accusation that GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Mitt Romney (Utah) are “pro-pedophile” because they said will vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. During Jackson’s Senate confirmation hearings, GOP lawmakers falsely accused Brown of being lenient in cases involving photos of child sexual abuse. Greene’s personal profile was nixed from Twitter in January for repeated violations of the platform’s coronavirus misinformation policies. Critics said they reported her latest outrageous post to the company. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. | |
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| 04-07-22 10:49pm - 990 days | #8 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Jimmy Kimmel reported to Capitol Police for making a joke about Marjorie Taylor Greene. Free speech is only available to politicians. Everyone else must get an OK from the police department, before they can open their mouth. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the homophobic, gun-toting Congresswoman representing the great state of Georgia. ------ ------ Jimmy Kimmel mocks Marjorie Taylor Greene for reporting his slap joke to Capitol Police Variety Zack Sharf April 7, 2022, 8:20 AM Jimmy Kimmel fired back at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on social media over her claim that she reported one of his jokes to Capitol Police. Greene took issue with a joke Kimmel made on the April 5 episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” During his monologue, Kimmel evoked Will Smith in joking about wanting someone to slap Greene over her thoughts on the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Ketanji Brown Jackson. “This woman, Klan mom, is especially upset with the three Republican senators who said they’ll vote yes on Ketanji Brown Jackson, who’s nominated for the Supreme Court,” Kimmel said, referring to Greene. “She tweeted, ‘Murkowski, Collins and Romney are pro-pedophile. They just voted for KBJ.’ Wow, where is Will Smith when you really need him?” Greene called Kimmel’s joke a “threat of violence against me” in a Twitter post. The Georgia Republican told ABC she had filed a report over the joke to Capitol Police. Kimmel responded by mocking Greene, writing, “Officer? I would like to report a joke.” Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings have prompted several Hollywood figures to condemn Republicans for their views on the matter. Ron Perlman went viral after calling Ted Cruz a “big prick” for his questioning of Brown in late March. Cruz asked Jackson about her role as a board member of the Georgetown Day School, where books such as Ibram X. Kendi’s “Antiracist Baby” are taught. Cruz used the book to question Jackson on whether or not she believes “babies are racist.” “Hi Ted, Ron here,” Perlman said in a video responding to Cruz. “Listen, I know how tempting it is to appeal to the real lowest form of humanity here in the United States, the bottom feeders…but Jesus Christ Ted, for somebody with a really, really small dick, you get to be a bigger prick every fucking day. Go fuck yourself.” | |
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