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lk2fireone (0)
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| 04-29-18 07:54pm - 2429 days | #529 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User  Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Sessions aide pledged loyalty to Trump's agenda in order to be hired: report By Avery Anapol - 04/29/18 08:17 PM EDT Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s choice to serve as his spokeswoman met with President Trump to assure him of her loyalty to his agenda so that she would be hired, according to a report from the Washington Post. Sarah Isgur Flores, who has worked as an adviser for GOP candidates and organizations for at least a decade, told the president in a 2017 Oval Office meeting that she supported his agenda and would be honored to work in his administration, several sources familiar with the meeting told the Post. The meeting was seen as necessary because Isgur Flores had criticized Trump during the 2016 campaign and would likely lose her chance at the job unless she met with Trump, according to the Post. Cabinet secretaries typically have the freedom to make their own hires. Flores declined The Hill's request for comment. Trump’s reported requests for loyalty have repeatedly emerged throughout his presidency, especially with figures close to the Russia investigation. Former FBI director James Comey testified that Trump told him he expected loyalty from him, which the White House has denied. And Trump reportedly asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein if he was “on [his] team.” A GOP strategist close to the administration told the Post on the condition of anonymity that the White House’s process for vetting appointees is “an oxymoron.” “There’s only one answer,” the strategist said. “Trump decides who he wants and tells people. That’s the vetting process.” | |
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| 04-29-18 09:17am - 2429 days | #8 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Venom, with Tom Hardy, is coming. He's not as powerful as Dr. Doom. Not as evil as Dr. Doom. But maybe he will be another anti-hero to root for. Let us hope. | |
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| 04-29-18 08:52am - 2429 days | #7 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Where is Victor Von Doom when we need him? He is the perfect, all-powerful Villain that would consume with great relish the bodies of his fallen enemies: the Fantastic Four. And maybe von Doom would gain their superpowers while scarfing them down. Great taste, great powers, great satisfaction. I do not see Doom listed in the superheroes appearing in the Avengers: Infinity War movie. Why not? --------- --------- HOME Film Box Office April 29, 2018 7:41AM PT ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Closes in on All-Time Domestic Weekend Record By Rebecca Rubin avengers infinity war CREDIT: Courtesy of Marvel Studios UPDATED: To nobody’s surprise, “Avengers: Infinity War” is already off to a record breaking start. The Marvel powerhouse looks to open in North America with $250 million from 4,474 locations, which would land it the highest domestic debut of all time. This number could fluctuate when an official tally comes in on Monday. That would be enough to surpass previous title holder “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which bowed with $248 million in 2015 and went on to make over $936.6 million domestically. “Infinity War” joins the company of “The Force Awakens,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Jurassic World,” “The Avengers” and “Black Panther” as one of six films in history to cross the $200 million mark in their debuts. The latest superhero title scored the highest opening for a Marvel film, surpassing the original “Avengers'” opening of $207.4 million. Its sequel, “Age of Ultron,” launched with $191 million. “Infinity War” comes on the heels of the Disney-owned Marvel’s most recent success, “Black Panther,” which opened to a massive $202 million in February. Ryan Coogler’s tentpole continues to shatter records, and has earned an impressive $1.3 billion worldwide. The 19th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe brought Marvel’s worldwide tally to $15 billion. “The Avengers,” “Age of Ultron,” “Black Panther,” “Iron Man 3,” and “Captain America: Civil War” each surpassed $1 billion globally. Joe and Anthony Russo directed “Infinity War,” which picks up two years after the events of “Captain America: Civil War” and sees the Avengers teaming up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop the evil Thanos (Josh Brolin) from inter-galactic dominance. The lineup of heroes include Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, Chris Pratt’s Star Lord, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. | |
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| 04-29-18 08:42am - 2429 days | #528 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
The Wrap ‘The Fourth Estate’ Film Review: Inside Look at NY Times Reveals Low-Level Dread in Trump Era Showtime documentary series uncovers the challenges reporters face on a daily basis reporting on the scandal-ridden administration Dan Callahan | April 28, 2018 @ 9:34 PM Last Updated: April 29, 2018 @ 5:23 AM fourth estate liz garbus new york times The American press, or the “The Fourth Estate,” is under steady attack throughout the first episode of this documentary series for Showtime. Director Liz Garbus takes us inside the newsroom of the New York Times during the first months of the scandal-ridden Trump administration, and she reveals the challenges that the reporters face on a daily basis. A lot of what we see in the first scenes looks like impotent wheel-spinning, as the journalists try to figure out how to cover a president who is openly hostile to them. We see them patting themselves on the back a lot, and this expresses the insecurity of their position. The New York Times is in competition with the Washington Post, and we watch how they try to beat each other on stories, but there is little genuine excitement in what we see these reporters doing; there is instead a constant low-level sense of dread. The conversation we hear is peppered with the qualifying words and phrases that have crept into and degraded American vernacular: “kind of” and “sort of” turn up all the time in meetings. And the man who became president doesn’t qualify anything, unless he’s trying out one of his verbal evasions that are reliant on conspiracy theories or worse. White House correspondent Maggie Haberman is heavily relied on in the Times newsroom as a source for Trump information and Trump character analysis because she has been covering him since she worked at New York tabloids in the 1980s. He used to give her quotes to “juice” her articles then, and it is clear that she is beyond tired of having to deal with him. Haberman often openly admits to being drained of energy, and she is stuck in a disbelieving, defensive persona. What she really wants to do is get back to her children, and she talks about how she thought her coverage on the Trump beat would finally end when he lost. Garbus shows Haberman having to take a call from one of her children while she tries to do an interview for a podcast, and the way Haberman crouches on the floor of the office while she attempts to reassure her child is an image of helplessness that epitomizes what most of the people in this movie are feeling. If there is a star in “The Fourth Estate,” it may be Washington bureau chief Elisabeth Bumiller, a very tough, skeptical journalist who knows how to separate what is important from what isn’t, which turns out to be a particularly crucial skill for covering this particular White House. There’s an exciting scene where Bumiller reacts incredulously when she sees that her lede has been watered down, and we see her defiantly trying to get some of her original intent back into the top of the story. It says something about this administration that the scandals covered in “The Fourth Estate” feel like they happened in an already distant past even though they occurred just a little over a year ago. There is the start of the scandal about Russian interference with the 2016 election, and then the turnovers and resignations of officials close to Trump, and the reporters write about these things in all seriousness and with all due diligence. It is made clear that the New York Times needs money, and that Facebook and Google are eating into their business. “We’re not driven by clicks,” says Time publisher A. G. Sulzberger. “We think in decades.” But there is the very uneasy sense that the foundation of newspapers like the Times is fragile, especially when we see Trump attacking the press as any dictator would. Trump himself is seen giving speeches throughout, and we hear him on the phone with Haberman, who has to listen to his off-the-record profane anger. The thing that makes Trump so hard to fight is that he is such a comic figure on the surface. His face often takes on the supercilious look of a grand female dowager, like Margaret Dumont, before it folds back into the cartoonish grin of a minor fat-cat capitalist. Haberman says that Trump’s greatest dream is to be taken seriously, and she says that he is searching above all for respectability. “The Fourth Estate” ends on a cliffhanger that is supposed to whet our appetite for future episodes, but surely many of us are waiting for this whole thing to be finished. Everyone in this movie seems to be wondering how long we have to wait for the end of this publicity stunt gone wrong. But if we are in for a long haul, it feels as if Bumiller is the one who can best lead us through it. | |
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| 04-29-18 08:28am - 2429 days | #527 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Tales from the Darkside: Be careful before you decide to donate to a cause, political or otherwise. It might pay to know beforehand, if you are entered into a mailing list for spam, donations, etc. Also, it might pay to know if you can cancel any future donations. --------- --------- Fox News Clinton donation controversy THE CLINTONS 9 hours ago Clinton nonprofit won't let donor cancel $10.48 monthly contribution: report By Stephen Sorace | Fox News Hillary Clinton's nonprofit, Onward Together, wouldn't let a Seattle man cancel his monthly donation, a report says (Reuters) A Seattle man who recently sought to end his monthly donation to a Hillary Clinton nonprofit group ran into a small roadblock: There was no way to cancel his contribution, according to a report. Corey Koscielniak, 29, wanted to stop his $10.48 recurring tithe to Onward Together, the politican action organization Clinton formed after her 2016 election defeat, because the group disclosed little information on how it spent the money, he told the Seattle Times. “Onward Together (OT) accepts payment information, but provides no ability to alter or cancel donations once the initial donation is received,” Koscielniak wrote in his complaint to the Washington state Attorney General’s Office. Political groups have employed aggressive tactics in the past when asking for contributions, many times using email blasts to persuade would-be donors. According to the Seattle PI, one such email sent to a potential Clinton backer 11 months after the 2016 presidential election read: “Heather -- It's an old joke by now that I took a few long walks in the woods after Election Day. But I did, and I came out ready to fight for our vision of a fairer, more inclusive country by supporting the incredible groups and leaders who are encouraging people to organize and run for office. "I hope you're ready, too. Because I'd like for you to become a Founding Donor to Onward Together by starting a monthly donation of just $10." Koscielniak, who began contributing in May 2017, has spent weeks on a mission to keep that $10 and change in his bank account, the Seattle Times reported. Hillary Clinton founded Onward Together in 2017 to help progressive groups with fundraising, training and introductions to advisors and donors, its website said. The Seattle Times noted that the organization was what’s known as a 501(c)(4) in the federal tax code, making it a tax-exempt social-welfare group with no requirements to reveal its donors. Nick Merrill, communications director for Clinton, told the paper that the organization gave upwards of $1 million to “various groups” and it plans to exceed that in 2018. Koscielniak, with help from state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, was able to use a newly implemented cancel button on the group’s website. But when the next month came, another $10.48 was withdrawn from his account, the Seattle Times said. Merrill told the paper that Koscielniak’s situation has since been “rectified” and they “will make sure this doesn’t happen again, with anybody, in the future.” Koscielniak wouldn’t find out if his donation was canceled until next month’s bank statement, the paper reported. While he didn’t take issue with Clinton personally, he told the paper that “what surprised me is, the Democratic Party is supposed to stand for other people and not be part of this larger industrial complex.” | |
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| 04-29-18 02:09am - 2429 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Straight man kills gay man. Uses "gay panic" defense and is sentenced to 6 months in jail. Also has to serve 10 years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and pay $11,000 to the dead man's family. Note: a simple funeral can easily cost $20,000 or more (casket, burial servie, plot, etc.). So paying $11,000 to kill a man seems like a cheap price. As well, the 6 months in jail seems like a slap on the wrist for killing a man. But the victim was gay, and the killer claimed the victim was dangerous because he was younger and taller than the killer. Who are you going to believe? The dead man, who can't say anything in his own defense? Or the killer, who says he was afraid the gay man was going to hurt him? And why did the court rule that the killer has to use an alcohol monitoring device for at least a year? The article does not give much details of the defense, that make a strong defense for killing someone, other than to say the victim was gay. -------------------- -------------------- Texas Man Who Killed Neighbor Uses 'Gay Panic' Defense And Avoids Murder Charge [HuffPost] Curtis M. Wong ,HuffPost•April 27, 2018 A Texas man avoided murder and manslaughter convictions after his attorney cited a defense often called “gay panic” as the reason he killed a neighbor. James Miller of Austin was found guilty Tuesday of criminally negligent homicide in the 2015 death of Daniel Spencer, local NBC affiliate KXAN reports. He was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years probation and six months in jail. Miller also must complete 100 hours of community service, pay $11,000 in restitution to Spencer’s family and use an alcohol monitoring device for at least a year. In September 2015, Spencer had invited Miller to his East Austin home to drink and play music. Miller testified that Spencer, who had relocated to Texas from Los Angeles about a year before his death, grew angry when Miller rejected his sexual advances, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Miller said Spencer then moved forward, brandishing a glass. “We’re musicians and all that kind of stuff, but I’m not a gay guy,” Miller told police, according to an affidavit cited by KXAN. “It seemed like everything was alright and everything was fine. When I got ready to go, it seemed like [expletive] just started happening.” Miller later testified that he stabbed Spencer, who was 37 years younger and at least 8 inches taller than him, twice. “He had height advantage over me, arm length over me, youth over me,” he said. “I felt he was going to hurt me.” Defense attorney Charlie Baird told KXAN that he didn’t think the verdict was fair. “We thought that he should have been acquitted on the basis of self-defense,” he said. Prosecutor Matthew Foye told the TV station that the fact the jury didn’t let Miller off on his claims of self-defense “established that Daniel Spencer was a victim of a senseless killing by the defendant and he did not do anything to bring this upon himself.” At present, 48 U.S. states allow the “gay panic” or “trans panic” defense, in which a defendant can cite a victim’s sexuality or gender identity as the justification for violent crime, usually to obtain lesser charges or a reduced sentence. The defense tactic sparked debate in the LGBTQ community in 2016 when James Dixon was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the 2013 beating death of Islan Nettles. Dixon said he’d been flirting with Nettles on the street before he knew she identified as transgender and that he attacked her after friends mocked him for trying to pick up a trans woman. Queer rights advocates, including Nettles’ mother, felt the sentence was too light. In December, Illinois became the second state, after California, to prohibit the defense. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. | |
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| 04-28-18 07:30pm - 2430 days | #526 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: Bill Maher calls President Trump a liar. That is not right. The President of the United States is a man we elected President, a man we hold in respect. If Bill Maher calls President Trump a liar, the President is duty-bound to sue Maher for defamation of character, and slander. The people demand that Presidents speak the truth. And Trump has answered the people: My soul demands that I sue Bill Maher. And may God have mercy on us all. --------- --------- Bill Maher: America Must 'Start Penalizing Liars' Like Donald Trump [HuffPost] Lee Moran ,HuffPost•April 27, 2018 Bill Maher is calling time on liars. On Friday’s broadcast of “Real Time,” the comedian said people, including President Donald Trump, should be held more accountable for their lies. Speaking about Trump’s “very disturbing” Thursday interview with “Fox & Friends,” Maher said the president had broken “his own record for lying within a sentence.” “I swear to God, he was talking about CNN, and he said, ‘I don’t watch it at all. I watched it last night,’” he said. People had “normalized” Trump’s lies, Maher added, before claiming “the most important thing we have to do in America right now, is start penalizing liars.” “[Former President Barack] Obama should sue Trump for saying that he wiretapped him,” said Maher. “I’m just saying that I don’t think we can leave this in the court of public opinion anymore. That’s what the liars want.” This article originally appeared on HuffPost. | |
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| 04-28-18 05:21pm - 2430 days | #525 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Reporters can be put into jail for failing to reveal confidential sources. So why not put Michael Cohen in jail, for refusing to testify against Donald Trump. Yes, Michael Cohen can plead the 5th Amendment. But the judge can still put Michael Cohen in jail for refusing to answer questions. The law is a 2-edged sword. The public has the right and duty to know the facts. We, as a democracy, must follow the rule of law: So we need to know the facts: Is Donald Trump truly a scumbag, a slimeball, because he has unprotected sex with porn stars? And then has his fixers make the porn stars sign NDAs to silence them? -------------- -------------- L.A. judge delays Stormy Daniels' lawsuit, suggests Cohen likely to be indicted Rong-Gong Lin II Apr 27, 2018 | 8:55 PM A federal judge in Los Angeles has delayed a lawsuit filed by porn star Stormy Daniels against President Trump and his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, saying that a recent FBI raid targeting Cohen is significant and suggests a criminal indictment is forthcoming. U.S. District Judge S. James Otero ruled that proceedings in Daniels' civil suit be pushed back until at least July 27, saying the postponement is justified until the court is able to determine "the scope and context of the FBI investigation and potential criminal proceedings." "The significance of the FBI raid cannot be understated. This is no simple criminal investigation; it is an investigation into the personal attorney of a sitting president regarding documents that might be subject to the attorney-client privilege," Otero wrote in a ruling released Friday. "Whether or not an indictment is forthcoming, and the court thinks it likely based on these facts alone, these unique circumstances counsel in favor of stay." Cohen has come under scrutiny for crafting a hush-money agreement with Daniels, who said she had a sexual affair with Trump years ago. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was given $130,000 shortly before the November 2016 presidential election, a payment that critics have described as a potentially illegal campaign expenditure. Daniels has accused Cohen of breaking federal law when he set up a shell corporation called Essential Consultants to pay her the hush money less than two weeks before the election. Daniels' lawsuit seeks to void the agreement, saying Trump never signed it. The White House has denied that Trump and Daniels had an affair. Federal authorities have not publicly revealed the focus of their investigation, but the judge Friday said in his written order that both government officials and Cohen have indicated that the subject matter in the criminal probe, and the documents seized, "in some part reference the $130,000 payment made to Ms. Clifford." "Any criminal investigation into this payment would likely have significant overlap with plaintiff's assertion that the agreement, and the payment in particular, had an illegal purpose," Otero wrote. Cohen has said in court filings that he would assert his 5th Amendment right in connection with the civil case "due to the ongoing criminal investigation by the FBI and U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York." On April 9, after obtaining court-approved search warrants, FBI agents launched a series of raids across Manhattan and reportedly seized computers, tax documents, emails, communications and business documents from Cohen's home, his office, and his hotel room. If the civil lawsuit were to proceed without delay, Cohen would have to choose between defending himself or asserting his 5th Amendment privilege to not provide testimony that could be self-incriminating, the judge wrote, and "the adverse inference drawn from the invocation of his privilege, if he so chose to maintain it, would undeniably impact the case. … The potential prejudice to Mr. Cohen thus weighs in favor of a stay." On Thursday, the president appeared to confirm that Cohen was representing him when the lawyer paid $130,000 to Daniels. Those comments seem at odds with his April 6 statement that he knew nothing about the payment, including why Cohen made it or where he got the money. Cohen has said he used his own money and never consulted Trump about it. A lawyer for Daniels, Michael Avenatti, said on Twitter he would probably appeal the ruling. "Justice delayed is justice denied," he wrote. | |
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| 04-28-18 04:25pm - 2430 days | #524 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Stormy Daniels previous attorney who got her to sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure-Agreement) was a slimeball. He got her to sign the NDA that apparently, as far as I can see, favored the opposing side in the requirements of the NDA: complete silence, eliminating all evidence of the incident(s), or turning all evidence over to the other side, and requiring Stormy Daniels to lie and deny the incident. With massive penalties ($1 million penalty for each time the agreement was broken). For a relatively low amount of money paid to Stormy Daniels--$130,000 is a small amount of money when you are dealing with a guy running for President of the United States. An attorney is supposed to represent his client (in this case, Stormy Daniels). But it seems that Stormy Daniels attorney was playing for the opposing side (Trump and Cohen). -------- -------- https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/27/politics/...ents-invs/index.html Hush money deals business as usual for Stormy Daniels' ex-attorney By Sara Sidner and Scott Glover, CNN Updated 9:02 AM ET, Sat April 28, 2018 (CNN)California attorney Keith M. Davidson drafted a confidential contract in 2012 for a client trying to get cash for a secretly recorded video of pro wrestler Hulk Hogan having sex with a friend's wife. The ensuing deal resulted in an extortion allegation, an FBI sting and Davidson subsequently claiming he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if called to testify about the matter. Davidson was questioned by the FBI, but never arrested or charged with a crime. Years later, Davidson used a contract nearly identical to the one he'd used in the Hogan case for another client: Stormy Daniels. That's because he wrote them both, according to a source familiar with the matter. In the Hogan case it was to keep a sex tape from being sold to the press. In the Daniels case it was to keep her quiet and force her to hand over any text messages, or other evidence of an alleged affair with Donald Trump. No evidence of the affair has ever been publicly released. The documents share full paragraphs of identical information, with changes to the parties involved, the amount paid, and some other details. Davidson also wrote the contract between Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy and a former Playboy model who claims Broidy impregnated her, said the source, who asked not to be identified due to an ongoing investigation regarding the Daniels' deal. In all three instances, the source said, Davidson drafted the agreements even though it was the other side that was paying for silence or nondisclosure. It's the opposite of how such matters are typically handled, according to legal experts. "I think that's not being a good lawyer," University of Southern California law professor Robert Rasmussen told CNN. "As the attorney representing a client who wants to keep someone from talking you want to make sure that it's an airtight agreement. If the other side writes it, it could be sloppy. They have an incentive to write something that makes it easier to get out of." Judd Burstein, a New York City civil litigator with a long list of high-profile clients, including at one time Donald Trump, was more blunt: "Any attorney will tell you, you don't let the side you are trying to silence write the contract," Burstein said. "It is generally just not done." In a profile on Davidson earlier this month, The Smoking Gun noted Davidson used a template for his settlement deals, including the one he did for Daniels. The cases that bind Cohen, Davidson In the cases involving Daniels and Broidy, Davidson's opposing counsel was Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal attorney. The contracts used in both cases used the now famous pseudonyms David Dennison and Peggy Peterson to disguise the true identities of the parties involved, according to the source who has seen both agreements. Dave Wedge, a spokesman for Davidson, declined to provide a detailed characterization of his role in either case he worked on with Cohen. "Attorney Davidson cannot comment on these matters due to the constraints of attorney-client privilege," Wedge said in a prepared statement. "Generally speaking, agreements such as these can be drawn up by either side and are frequently edited by both sides as part of the negotiation process." Federal agents raided Cohen's office, home and hotel room earlier this month and seized his computer, phone and legal documents. Among the information agents sought were records pertaining to the $130,000 Cohen has acknowledged paying Daniels in exchange for keeping quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump more than a decade ago. Agents also seized recorded telephone calls between Cohen and Davidson, a source told CNN. Davidson said through a spokesman last week that he has provided federal investigators "certain limited electronic information" and intends to cooperate to the full extent possible under the law. Cohen has not responded to requests for comment. Cohen's lawyer stated in federal court in New York that Cohen has only three clients regarding legal matters: Trump, Broidy and Fox News host Sean Hannity. Hannity said he sought Cohen's advice on real estate, but had never paid him any legal fees and that their dealings never involved a third party. Cohen has long been described as a "fixer" for Trump, but relatively little is known about what exactly that title entails. Davidson might be able to provide some answers. The Beverly Hills, California, attorney has intersected with Cohen on at least five matters in recent years, CNN found. Cohen referred at least two clients to Davidson, according to the source, including a strange case involving a GoFundMe account a Trump supporter set up for a homeless woman who was trying to protect Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame from vandalism. When a homeless advocate allegedly ran off with the money, Davidson helped the Trump supporter by filing a lawsuit in an effort to reclaim the funds. The source said Davidson drafted two settlement deals involving Daniels and Trump in the weeks prior to the 2016 election. The first deal fell apart after Cohen failed to pay the $130,000 Daniels was demanding to stay quiet, said a source familiar with the matter. Documents CNN has reviewed show the second time around, Cohen provided the money for the deal two days in advance of the contract being signed. It was wired to a client trust account Davidson held at City National Bank in Los Angeles. Davidson said in an interview with CNN that the transaction raised red flags at his bank even before the scandal became public. He recalled receiving either an "email inquiry" or a "very brief phone call" from the bank, he said. He said he had never received such an inquiry before. In 2017, Davidson came to represent a former Playboy model who said she was impregnated by Broidy, then the deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. Cohen represented Broidy, who agreed to pay the woman $1.6 million for undisclosed "injuries" and to stay quiet about the deal. Michael Cohen facilitated $1.6 million agreement on behalf of GOP fundraiser Michael Cohen facilitated $1.6 million agreement on behalf of GOP fundraiser Again, it was Davidson who drafted the contract. Cohen assured Broidy that he was "very experienced" in handling such matters, according to another source familiar with the deal. Broidy assumed that Cohen "must have known what he was doing," said the source, who is not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. "He left it in the hands of Michael Cohen to write." After the story published, Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels' current lawyer, sent a comment saying, "Any suggestion that Michael Cohen was not actively involved in the negotiation and drafting of the NDA for Ms. Daniels is patently false. He has already admitted as much." | |
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| 04-28-18 03:17pm - 2430 days | #523 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Donald Trump is the President of the United States. Jon Tester is merely a Senator. If Donald Trump wants to fire Jon Tester for cowardice or dishonesty or treason, as President, Trump should have that right and power. Or, the power to order his Secret Police to eliminate this treasonous Senator. Trump is the President, after all. Just like Vladimir Putin, Trump's best buddy, is the President of Russia. Putin has the power to eliminate his enemies. Maybe Trump can ask Putin to do him a small favor, and send some Secret Agents to the US, to help with this treasonous Senator. What Trump really needs is a select advisory committee from PU members who can guide Trump in the policies that need to be carried out to Make America Great Again. As a loyal member of PU, I nominate and elect myself to be chair of the PU Committee for Glorious President for Life Donald Trump.   -------- -------- Politics Donald Trump Demands Democratic Senator Quit In Saturday Morning Twitter Rant HuffPost Lee Moran 8 hours ago President Donald Trump kickstarted his weekend by launching a blistering Twitter attack on Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, of which Tester is the ranking Democrat, was probing allegations that White House physician Ronny Jackson had created “a hostile work environment,” which included the improper dispensation of medications and “excessive drinking on the job.” Trump called on Tester to resign on Saturday morning after the Secret Service said it had no record of an alleged drunken incident that helped to sink Jackson’s nomination to become Secretary of Veterans Affairs. On Tuesday, the committee postponed Jackson’s confirmation hearings. Jackson withdrew his nomination on Thursday, citing how the “false allegations have become a distraction for this president” among his reasons. Trump similarly rebuked Tester on Thursday, saying he thought it would “cause him a lot of problems in his state.” Tester is yet to respond to Trump’s Twitter rant. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. | |
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| 04-28-18 09:52am - 2430 days | #521 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
A card from Donald is a collectible item. Especially if he signed it. That should be worth serious cash from collectors. So after Donald dumps Melania for his next trophy wife, Melania can sell the card on Ebay.  | |
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| 04-28-18 01:13am - 2430 days | #519 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I am nominating Hitler and Stalin, as fearless leaders who tried to help their countries during depression times. Also, Donald Trump, the fearless President for Life of the United States, who is trying to make America great again--while working under a massive strain of haters who can not appreciate Trump's brilliant plans for America. But before Trump can claim the Nobel Peace Prize, he needs to unleash nuclear fires on China and North Korea, our sworn enemies. They are wicked people who must be destroyed. And maybe Mexico too. -------- -------- Politics Donald Trump Deserves Nobel Peace Prize, Says GOP Congressman HuffPost Amanda Terkel,HuffPost 15 hours ago President Donald Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, according to Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.). Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.) is launching an effort to nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. “We are seeing unprecedented progress toward peace, and it’s a direct result of President Trump’s strong leadership,” Messer said in a statement Friday. The GOP congressman is pointing to Trump’s work on North Korea as the impetus for promoting the nomination. Messer first proposed the idea in March and has consistently pushed it since then. At a historic summit this week, North and South Korea announced that they agreed to the goals of removing nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula and pursuing talks with the United States to declare an official end to the Korean War. “Our peace through strength strategy is delivering never before seen results,” said Messer, saying Trump deserves the credit for the Korean leaders’ announcement. Messer said he is in the process of gathering congressional support for the nomination. Trump has agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, possibly in late May or early June. Mike Pompeo, Trump’s newly confirmed secretary of state, met with Kim in secret three weeks ago. At the time, Pompeo was the CIA director. But Trump had also ratcheted up tensions with North Korea. White House officials contemplated striking the country, and he and Kim traded insults. President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, less than one year into his first term ― an honor that infuriated conservatives. The Nobel Committee pointed to “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” and “attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.” Messer is seeking the Indiana GOP Senate nomination this year, and many of the candidates are trying to prove how much they’re like Trump. Messer has pitched himself as a “conservative who supports the Trump/Pence agenda.” This article originally appeared on HuffPost. | |
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| 04-28-18 12:02am - 2430 days | #518 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Hush money deals business as usual for Stormy Daniels' ex-attorney By Sara Sidner and Scott Glover, CNN Updated 10:55 PM ET, Fri April 27, 2018 Source: CNN Stormy, Hulk Hogan had nearly identical NDAs (CNN)California attorney Keith M. Davidson drafted a confidential contract in 2012 for a client trying to get cash for a secretly recorded video of pro wrestler Hulk Hogan having sex with a friend's wife. The ensuing deal resulted in an extortion allegation, an FBI sting and Davidson subsequently claiming he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if called to testify about the matter. Davidson was questioned by the FBI, but never arrested or charged with a crime. Years later, Davidson used a contract nearly identical to the one he'd used in the Hogan case for another client: Stormy Daniels. That's because he wrote them both, according to a source familiar with the matter. In the Hogan case it was to keep a sex tape from being sold to the press. In the Daniels case it was to keep her quiet and force her to hand over any text messages, or other evidence of an alleged affair with Donald Trump. No evidence of the affair has ever been publicly released. The documents share full paragraphs of identical information, with changes to the parties involved, the amount paid, and some other details. Davidson also wrote the contract between Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy and a former Playboy model who claims Broidy impregnated her, said the source, who asked not to be identified due to an ongoing investigation regarding the Daniels' deal. In all three instances, the source said, Davidson drafted the agreements even though it was the other side that was paying for silence or nondisclosure. It's the opposite of how such matters are typically handled, according to legal experts. "I think that's not being a good lawyer," University of Southern California law professor Robert Rasmussen told CNN. "As the attorney representing a client who wants to keep someone from talking you want to make sure that it's an airtight agreement. If the other side writes it, it could be sloppy. They have an incentive to write something that makes it easier to get out of." Judd Burstein, a New York City civil litigator with a long list of high-profile clients, including at one time Donald Trump, was more blunt: "Any attorney will tell you, you don't let the side you are trying to silence write the contract," Burstein said. "It is generally just not done." In a profile on Davidson earlier this month, The Smoking Gun noted Davidson used a template for his settlement deals, including the one he did for Daniels. In the cases involving Daniels and Broidy, Davidson's opposing counsel was Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal attorney. The contracts used in both cases used the now famous pseudonyms David Dennison and Peggy Peterson to disguise the true identities of the parties involved, according to the source who has seen both agreements. Dave Wedge, a spokesman for Davidson, declined to provide a detailed characterization of his role in either case he worked on with Cohen. "Attorney Davidson cannot comment on these matters due to the constraints of attorney-client privilege," Wedge said in a prepared statement. "Generally speaking, agreements such as these can be drawn up by either side and are frequently edited by both sides as part of the negotiation process." Federal agents raided Cohen's office, home and hotel room earlier this month and seized his computer, phone and legal documents. Among the information agents sought were records pertaining to the $130,000 Cohen has acknowledged paying Daniels in exchange for keeping quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump more than a decade ago. Agents also seized recorded telephone calls between Cohen and Davidson, a source told CNN. Davidson said through a spokesman last week that he has provided federal investigators "certain limited electronic information" and intends to cooperate to the full extent possible under the law. Cohen has not responded to requests for comment. Cohen's lawyer stated in federal court in New York that Cohen has only three clients regarding legal matters: Trump, Broidy and Fox News host Sean Hannity. Hannity said he sought Cohen's advice on real estate, but had never paid him any legal fees and that their dealings never involved a third party. Cohen has long been described as a "fixer" for Trump, but relatively little is known about what exactly that title entails. Davidson might be able to provide some answers. The Beverly Hills, California, attorney has intersected with Cohen on at least five matters in recent years, CNN found. Cohen referred at least two clients to Davidson, according to the source, including a strange case involving a GoFundMe account a Trump supporter set up for a homeless woman who was trying to protect Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame from vandalism. When a homeless advocate allegedly ran off with the money, Davidson helped the Trump supporter by filing a lawsuit in an effort to reclaim the funds. The source said Davidson drafted two settlement deals involving Daniels and Trump in the weeks prior to the 2016 election. The first deal fell apart after Cohen failed to pay the $130,000 Daniels was demanding to stay quiet, said a source familiar with the matter. Documents CNN has reviewed show the second time around, Cohen provided the money for the deal two days in advance of the contract being signed. It was wired to a client trust account Davidson held at City National Bank in Los Angeles. Davidson said in an interview with CNN that the transaction raised red flags at his bank even before the scandal became public. He recalled receiving either an "email inquiry" or a "very brief phone call" from the bank, he said. He said he had never received such an inquiry before. In 2017, Davidson came to represent a former Playboy model who said she was impregnated by Broidy, then the deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. Cohen represented Broidy, who agreed to pay the woman $1.6 million for undisclosed "injuries" and to stay quiet about the deal. Michael Cohen facilitated $1.6 million agreement on behalf of GOP fundraiser Michael Cohen facilitated $1.6 million agreement on behalf of GOP fundraiser Again, it was Davidson who drafted the contract. Cohen assured Broidy that he was "very experienced" in handling such matters, according to another source familiar with the deal. Broidy assumed that Cohen "must have known what he was doing," said the source, who is not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. "He left it in the hands of Michael Cohen to write." After the story published, Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels' current lawyer, sent a comment saying, "Any suggestion that Michael Cohen was not actively involved in the negotiation and drafting of the NDA for Ms. Daniels is patently false. He has already admitted as much." | |
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| 04-27-18 11:45pm - 2430 days | #517 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
It's been over 54 years since John Kennedy was assassinated. Trump, after boasting that he would release all the remaining Kennedy assassination papers that are still classified secret, now says that it will take 3 years or more before some of the remaining records will be released. 54 years since Kennedy was killed. Why not just wait 54 years before we can find out if Trump was guilty of any crimes, and seal all papers due to national security? The public is too stupid to be able to read what happened, or what is happening, with any matters that affect the United States. The president is killed. Hide the truth, until our brilliant politicians, security forces, etc. decide what facts the public has the right to know. This includes any crimes that Trump may have committed, because Trump is a Republican, and the Republicans don't want any dirt revealed to the ignorant masses. Go, Trump, President for Life of the United States of America. Go, Trump, the greatest, smartest businessman who ever lived. Maybe Trump (or one of his relatives) paid for the assassination, or furnished supplies to the assassins, and that is why the secrets must still be kept. Loose lips sink ships. ------- ------- WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump boasted last fall that he would open all remaining John F. Kennedy assassination records. So far, Trump hasn't made good on the "great transparency" he promised then. Trump announced on Thursday that the public must wait another three years or more before seeing material that must remain classified for national security reasons — more than five decades after Kennedy was killed Nov. 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. The National Archives released its last batch of more than 19,000 records on Thursday. But an undisclosed amount of material remains under wraps because Trump said the potential harm to U.S. national security, law enforcement or foreign affairs is "of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure." He ordered the CIA and other agencies to take yet another look at each blacked-out section of their documents during the next three years to see what more can be released. CIA spokesman Nicole de Haay said the agency has already released more than 99 percent of CIA information that was in the Kennedy assassination records collection. "CIA narrowly redacted information in rare instances only to protect CIA assets, officers and their families as well as intelligence methods, operations and partnerships that remain critical to the security of our nation," she said. Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics and author of a book about Kennedy, lamented that it might be 100 years post-assassination before everyone has a more complete picture of what happened. "I envy the scholars of, say, 2063," Sabato said. The files released Thursday — mostly FBI and CIA records — detail how authorities combed through tips in the wake of Kennedy's death, including a report from a woman who claimed she saw a man who looked like Oswald at a party in Mexico City. Another file shows ex-CIA officer David Atlee Phillips being grilled by lawmakers about whether he believed Oswald was the lone assassin. Phillips said he wished there was information showing the Soviets or former Cuban leader Fidel Castro had played a role "because there are so many people, especially on college campuses who are convinced the CIA did it." But Phillips said since there was no evidence showing Cuban or Soviet involvement, he had to believe Oswald was just "a kind of loony fellow who decided to shoot the President." "Lee Harvey Oswald didn't miss, and the American public doesn't want to believe that one man could murder Camelot," Phillips said. The records are still being released today because in 1992, Congress passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act. The act ordered the archives to disclose all information collected — some 5 million pages of material — on the assassination within 25 years — barring any exceptions designated by the president. Those 25 years ended Oct. 26, 2017 and Trump had to decide whether any of the documents should still be kept secret. Several days before the deadline, it appeared Trump had no plans to withhold anything. "Subject to the receipt of further information," he tweeted on Oct. 21, 2017. "I will be allowing, as president, the long blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened." Again, on the day before the deadline, it appeared every last shred of the government's material was headed for release. "The long anticipated release of the #JFKFiles will take place tomorrow. So interesting!" Trump tweeted. A lot of documents were released, but not all. Bending to appeals from the CIA and FBI, Trump blocked the release of hundreds of records pending a six-month review. "In the end there will be great transparency. It is my hope to get just about everything to public!" Trump tweeted in October. His six-month review ended Thursday when all documents, he said, were to be released "with redactions only in the rarest of circumstances." While happy for what's been released so far, Sabato said more than 15,000 of the 19,045 in Thursday's National Archives release have redactions — "some quite substantial." He said more than 500 files were held back in their entirely for various reasons. "Trump has set the next official argument over further disclosures at October 2021, when he may or may not still be president," Sabato said. ___ Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report. | |
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| 04-27-18 12:48pm - 2431 days | #515 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
However, there is a ray of hope. During his interview, Trump gave a critique of his administration: "I’ve accomplished, with all of this going on, more than any president in the first year in our history, and even the enemies and the haters admit that,” he said, without providing support for his claim. “Nobody’s done what we’ve done, what I’ve done.” With all the wondrous things Trump has accomplished, would he want to stain that legacy by starting a nuclear war? Only if some enemy country really deserves it: Not Russia, our dearest friend. But maybe China or North Korea, or the rapists in Mexico who would be better of dead instead of crawling over our borders. “Kill them all and let God sort them out.” | |
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| 04-27-18 12:23pm - 2431 days | #514 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Trump's doctor, who has a history of prescribing meds (one of the accusations that hurt his nomination to run the VA), needs to get Trump on a regimen of meds to calm Trump down. Trump could be a danger to more than just his wife and son. He is the President. With the power to start a war, even to start a nuclear war. He's got a lot of rage/anger inside of him. Good thing he doesn't drink. | |
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| 04-27-18 09:08am - 2431 days | #512 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: Trump is cleared of all wrong-doing by GOP House panel. Wonderful news: The Republican party has found that President Trump is innocent in the Russia probe. That means he can fire Mueller and the rest of the Justice Department and concentrate once again on making America the greatest country in the world. And Trump can now invite Putin to Trump's golf clubs, where Trump's billionaire friends can meet the 2nd Greatest Leader of the World. -------- -------- GOP-led House panel officially clears Trump in Russia probe Associated Press Tom Lobianco and Chad Day, Associated Press,Associated Press 1 hour 39 minutes ago Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. speaks during a committee hearing on possible tariffs and the effect on the U.S. economy and jobs, Thursday, April 12, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republican-led House intelligence committee on Friday officially declared the end of its Russia probe, saying in its final report that it found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign. The report's conclusion is fiercely opposed by committee Democrats, who say the committee did not interview enough witnesses or gather enough evidence to support its finding. The investigation began with bipartisan promise but ultimately succumbed to factional squabbling. Republicans had already announced the main findings last month. An investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller is ongoing, as are probes led by the Senate intelligence and judiciary committees. The House panel did find that Russia sought to sow discord in the U.S. through cyberattacks and social media. Some portions of the public report are redacted for national security reasons. Republicans say they will pressure intelligence agencies to be able to release more information. Trump has repeatedly said there was "no collusion." In a statement, Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, who has been leading the investigation, said he was "extremely disappointed with the overzealous redactions" made by the intelligence agencies. He said many of the blacked out details include information already public such as witness names and previously declassified information. Conaway said the committee had pledged to be "as transparent as possible" with the report. "I don't believe the information we're releasing today meets that standard, which is why my team and I will continue to challenge the IC's many unnecessary redactions with the hopes of releasing more of the report in the coming months," he said. ---------- ---------- | |
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| 04-26-18 06:56pm - 2432 days | #511 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Politics Trump’s Fox & Friends Interview Is a Nightmare for His Lawyers GQ Jay Willis,GQ 8 hours ago There’s a reason so many prominent attorneys have declined to represent him: They know he can’t be trusted. There is a really important reason that criminal defense lawyers on television constantly remind their clients to keep quiet: Clients have a nasty habit of saying dumb things that make the already complex task of mounting a legal defense into an even more difficult one. And in what is probably not a coincidence, the clients who seem to be victimized most frequently by their own self-incriminating verbosity are the ones who, it turns out, had a whole lot to hide all along. On Thursday, Donald Trump celebrated his wife Melania's 48th birthday by calling into Fox & Friends for an interview that ended up stretching for nearly 30 minutes. Even by his standards, this was a particularly unhinged performance. His voice never fell below a yell, and by the end of it, all three hosts were wearing the same thin, vacant smile, presumably to conceal the fact that producers had been screaming, "CUT HIM OFF, FOR GOD'S SAKE" in their earpieces for most of it. The president mostly played the hits, railing against the evils of James Comey, Hillary Clinton, Democrat obstructionists, Jim Comey, "NO COLLUSION," the Department of Justice, and the former FBI director he fired last May. But it was a brief tangent about his relationship with longtime fixer and archetypical casino pit boss Michael Cohen that is causing the most consternation for Rudy Giuliani, Ty Cobb, Judge Jeanine, and whoever else is on Trump's legal team these days. In a court filing on Wednesday, Cohen revealed that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in a lawsuit brought by Stormy Daniels, who seeks to return a $130,000 hush-money payment so that she can speak publicly about the extramarital affair she allegedly had with the president. Cohen, if you'll recall, has bravely insisted that he paid Daniels without Trump's knowledge. This position is absurd, but it has allowed Trump to deny any involvement in the transaction, which Cohen, in what is perhaps the saddest display of misplaced loyalty imaginable, financed by borrowing against his own home. And yet here is what Trump shouted into a smartphone today on Fox & Friends, his voice echoing throughout the hallways of the executive residence: Michael would represent me and represent me on some things. He represents me like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me. And you know, from what I see he did absolutely nothing wrong. You do not have to be a member of a state bar to understand that when your lawyer has been attempting to shield you from liability by insisting that he paid a six-figure sum on your behalf without telling you, publicly stating that your lawyer "represented" you in the matter is a devastating self-own. Just hours after the interview aired, the government cited it in a letter to the court as evidence that despite the president's social-media protestations, few (if any) of the Trump-adjacent documents seized from Michael Cohen's office earlier this month are likely to fall within the scope of attorney-client privilege. This morning's spectacle underscores the reason that every reputable white-collar attorney in the country has been politely declining the opportunity to represent Donald Trump of late: The prestige normally associated with representing a sitting president isn't worth the hassle of managing a client who keeps incinerating carefully crafted defense strategies on live national television. | |
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| 04-26-18 06:46pm - 2432 days | #510 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: Will the White House spokesperson deny it was really Donald Trump who gave an interview to Fox and Friends today? My guess: Trump's lawyers wish they could deny it was really Donald Trump who spoke. Instead, they will claim it was a Fake News Imposter who was hired by his Evil Democratic enemies, to embarrass the President. And that all the comments be stricken from all records. So they can go on defending the President from his enemies (including the President himself). ------- ------- Politics Trump dug himself into a legal hole during 'Fox and Friends' interview, and Twitter loved it Heather Gardner 7 hours ago Viewers of Fox News’ Fox and Friends got a real treat this morning when President Trump called in for an exclusive interview. Trump rambled on for roughly 30 minutes, making several noteworthy remarks about his 2013 trip to Moscow, his controversial relationship with rapper Kanye West, and his feelings about the Justice Department. But the internet latched on to the president’s shocking confession concerning his former attorney Michael Cohen and the former adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. After Cohen confessed to paying Daniels $130,000 in hush money during the presidential election, Trump denied having any knowledge of the exchange. During the interview, however, he changed his tune. “Michael would represent me, and represent me on some things,” Trump told the morning show. “He represents me, like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me. And you know, from what I see, he did absolutely nothing wrong.” The internet went crazy with Trump’s admission, seemingly confessing he did know about the payment, for which Cohen is currently under investigation. Even Daniels’s attorney, Michael Avenatti, couldn’t believe the development; he tweeted a thank-you to the Fox and Friends. The reactions that followed were a mix of shock and mockery. The White House has not issued a statement on Trump’s long-winded interview. | |
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| 04-26-18 01:35pm - 2432 days | #509 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Thank God Trump is innocent. As Trump defenders have explained, Trump is the President of the United States. As President, the President has the right to direct any investigation. Therefore, the President can never be guilty of obstruction of justice. (Even if it is somehow proven that the President has lied.) And since Trump is a moral man, he would never lie, anyway. God save the President, who is God's choice to lead the American people. -------- -------- Jurisprudence Donald Trump’s Russia Trip Lies Might Prove Obstruction Why would he mislead James Comey about the amount of time he spent in Moscow? By Liam Brennan April 24, 20187:53 PM President Donald Trump talks with journalists before signing tax reform legislation into law on Dec. 22 in Washington. President Donald Trump talks with journalists before signing tax reform legislation into law on Dec. 22 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images On Monday, Bloomberg revealed that President Trump spent at least one full night in Moscow during the Miss Universe pageant in 2013. While Trump’s travel schedule might be unremarkable in most circumstances, his flight plans directly conflict with statements he reportedly made to former FBI Director James Comey. To any prosecutors investigating possible obstruction of justice allegations, this data would seem to provide further evidence of possible “corrupt intent”—the linchpin of any obstruction prosecution—in Trump’s dealings with the Russia investigation. For months, Trump’s defenders have pressed a public relations campaign aimed at promoting the idea that a president could not obstruct justice. They argue that as the chief executive, the president is essentially the chief law enforcement official. In this role, any actions he takes regarding an investigation would be considered official acts: They may direct the investigation, but they cannot technically be considered to obstruct it. That has always been wrong. One way to understand how official actions can be criminal violations is to look at bribery law. Bribery convictions hinge on proving the corruption of public servants who engage in official acts that they have the power to take but who do so with a corrupt purpose. Official duties shed their harmless nature when they are undertaken for such corrupt purposes. In these cases, judges instruct juries that they can conclude that an act is corrupt if it is “motivated by a hope or expectation of either financial gain or other benefit to one’s self.” Obstruction of justice cases against public officials operate in the same way, turning on the defendant’s intent. However, whereas juries can infer an official’s corrupt intent in bribery cases by looking at his or her illicit benefit, proof of obstruction of justice is much more nebulous, depending on whether a defendant acted “with an evil or wicked purpose.” While proving an “evil or wicked purpose” is not the clearest standard, courts have provided one helpful guide: dishonesty. Most jury instructions make clear that a defendant acts “corruptly” if he or she acts “knowingly and dishonestly.” Trump’s misleading statements about his stay in Moscow predate his alleged request to Comey to let Michael Flynn go. Under this theory, DOJ prosecutors have convicted police officers from East Haven, Connecticut for obstruction of justice in the falsification of police reports. They also nabbed a captain and two deputies in Decatur County, Georgia for the same conduct on the same theory. And they convicted a member of the Detroit Police Department’s aviation section for falsifying his flight logs. In each of these cases, the corrupt intent of the action was shown by its dishonesty. ADVERTISING To date, the potential obstruction case against Donald Trump has offered some such evidence, but not necessarily enough. The obstruction allegations have focused on two things—the Michael Flynn investigation and Comey’s firing. Comey may believe that the president was attempting to obstruct justice when he allegedly asked him to let Flynn “go,” but proving that to a jury is not easy. Trump, for his part, has denied that he ever said this to Comey. If you believe that Trump is lying and Comey is telling the truth here, that might be evidence of corrupt intent. There’s further possible evidence of deception by Trump in this episode, as well. In an interview with the New York Times, Trump said he never cleared the Oval Office before this disputed conversation with Comey. The fact that he did clear the room could be testified to by others who were there—and by itself could help prove a corrupt intent. The fact that he has apparently lied about that would offer further proof of corrupt intent. But the corrupt intent evidence was never as clear for the Russian investigation itself. Although the president stated that the Russia investigation was on his mind when he fired Comey, he claimed that was because the investigation was based on a “made up story,” not because he was trying to keep it from revealing the truth. The guilty pleas special counsel Robert Mueller has secured against Trump’s associates are all tangential to this discrete issue and, thus, virtually worthless for purposes of proving obstruction. (Unless, of course, the defendants have additional non-public information, which is always a possibility.) While Trump’s explanation may seem far-fetched, if it were true, it wouldn’t be obstruction and there is currently nothing to disprove it. Without a witness or documents to explain the president’s thinking, no prosecutor is going to get “beyond a reasonable doubt“ with this evidence. The recently released Comey memos and Donald Trump’s flight records might change the game. According to the memos, On Jan. 6, 2017, Comey informed then–President-elect Trump about allegations that the Russians had a 2013 recording of him with prostitutes. Comey explained that it was the FBI’s job to try to understand what the Russians were doing and to ensure that the Russians do not try to coerce the president. Then, on Jan. 28, 2017, Trump allegedly raised the allegations again with Comey during a private dinner. According to Comey’s memo: ADVERTISING He said he had spoken to people who had been on the Miss Universe trip with him and they had reminded him that he didn’t stay [overnight] in Russia for that. He said he arrived in the morning, did events, then showered and dressed for the pageant at the hotel (he didn’t say the hotel’s name) and left for the pageant. Afterwards, he returned only to get his things because they departed for New York by plane that same night. Trump reportedly reiterated the claim in a Feb. 8 meeting with Comey, this time in front of then–Chief of Staff Reince Priebus: He […] explained, as he did at our dinner, that he hadn’t stayed overnight in Russia during the Miss Universe trip. The flight records directly contradict these statements, providing the first direct evidence of Trump’s concealment of facts from investigators and, thus, real evidence of his corrupt intent. As Bloomberg reported: The Bombardier jet [Trump was travelling on] landed in Moscow on Friday, Nov. 8, at a time unspecified in the records. He had a day full of public events that Friday, and the Miss Universe pageant wasn’t until Saturday evening. From Bloomberg: [T]he flight records support a narrow slice of what Trump told Comey: On the night of the pageant itself, the plane Trump was said to be using didn’t fully overnight in Russia. [The] Bombardier took off from Vnukovo airport at 3:58 a.m. Moscow time, the records show. Importantly, Trump’s misleading statements about his stay in Moscow predate his alleged request to Comey to let Michael Flynn go. Establishing that Trump was corruptly trying to mislead the investigation from the outset makes his subsequent statements about Flynn and his firing of Comey appear more nefarious. Under these circumstances, prosecutors could also call the various witnesses who have heard Trump contemplate firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Mueller, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to drive home his desire to close the investigation at all costs and for corrupt purposes. On Sunday, Trump addressed the obstruction allegations in a tweet that quoted a Wall Street Journal writer who said this case “would be one of the weakest obstruction cases ever brought.” Based only on what the public knows, that is a lot less true today. Obstruction cases are won or lost on evidence of intent. Trump’s false claims to Comey provide just that. | |
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| 04-26-18 01:26pm - 2432 days | #508 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: Trump changes his mind. Now says he did stay overnight in Moscow. But Trump says lying, leaking, slimeball James Comey lied in his memos, that Trump denied he ever stayed in Moscow. So who are you going to believe: the President of the United States, a man known for his morality and honesty, or leaking, lying, slimeball James Comey, who was fired from the FBI because Comey is a slimeball? ------- ------- Politics Trump Says He Did Stay Overnight In Moscow, Claims James Comey Lied In Memo HuffPost Paige Lavender,HuffPost 7 hours ago President Donald Trump acknowledged to Fox News on Thursday that he did stay overnight in Moscow during a 2013 trip tied to the Miss Universe pageant. “I went to Russia for a day or so, a day or two,” Trump said. “Of course I stayed there. I stayed there a very short period of time, but of course I stayed,” he added. Trump claimed former FBI Director James Comey lied in a memo noting that the president had told him he never stayed overnight in Moscow. Flight records uncovered by Bloomberg this week show Trump’s plane was in Moscow for more than 24 hours during the weekend of the pageant. Thomas Roberts, the host of the pageant that year, told The Daily Beast he could confirm Trump was in Moscow overnight, having seen him both the day before and the day of the Miss Universe broadcast. The trip was mentioned in a dossier, parts of which remain unconfirmed, compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. Steele’s dossier cites claims Trump hired prostitutes while staying at the Moscow Ritz-Carlton in 2013, asking them to urinate on the bed in the hotel’s presidential suite. The document also suggests the Russians may have proof of this encounter they could potentially use as blackmail. Trump denies the encounter ever occurred. Comey has said Trump discussed the claims with him at length, on multiple occasions, while he was FBI director. Trump fired Comey in May 2017. This article has been updated. CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misattributed a quote from James Comey to President Donald Trump. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. | |
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| 04-26-18 12:34pm - 2432 days | #507 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Side Note: Bill Cosby found guilty of 3 counts of sexual assault. ------- ------- The Latest: Cosby lawyer: 'Fight is not over' Associated Press Associated Press NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The Latest on Bill Cosby's sexual assault retrial (all times local): 2:50 p.m. Bill Cosby's lawyer says the "fight is not over" after the 80-year-old comedian's conviction on sexual assault charges. Tom Mesereau spoke Thursday outside the suburban Philadelphia courthouse where a jury found that Cosby drugged and molested a woman at his home in 2004. Mesereau says Cosby will appeal his conviction on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Each count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. He'll be sentenced in 60 to 90 days. Cosby said nothing to reporters but acknowledged the crowd on the courthouse steps, then gave a thumbs-up as his car pulled away. ___ 2:35 p.m. A lawyer for some of Bill Cosby's accusers says "justice has been done" after the comedian's conviction on sexual assault charges. Gloria Allred represents three of the five additional accusers who testified that Cosby drugged and molested them. Cosby's lawyers painted the women as home-wreckers and liars who made up their allegations in a bid for money and fame. Allred spoke Thursday outside the suburban Philadelphia courthouse where Cosby was convicted. She says her clients are grateful to the jury for seeing past "his defense attorney's lies." Cosby accuser Janice Baker-Kinney, who alleges he drugged and raped her in 1982, says in a statement she's relieved "this toxic chain of silence has been broken" and says the women can move forward "with heads held high." ___ 2:10 p.m. Bill Cosby is lashing out at prosecutors after a jury convicted him of three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Cosby stood up and erupted after jurors left the courtroom. He used an expletive to refer to District Attorney Kevin Steele, who was arguing to revoke Cosby's bail. Cosby shouted, "I'm sick of him!" The judge ruled that Cosby will remain free pending sentencing. Cosby was convicted Thursday of drugging and molesting a woman 14 years ago. The 80-year-old entertainer stared straight ahead as the verdict was read. His chief accuser, Andrea Constand, remained stoic. Shrieks erupted in the courtroom and some of his other accusers whimpered and cried. Judge Steven O'Neill told the panel of seven men and five women that it was "an extraordinarily difficult case." He says the jurors "sacrificed in the service of justice." ___ 1:50 p.m. Bill Cosby has been convicted of drugging and molesting a woman in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. A jury outside Philadelphia convicted the "Cosby Show" star of three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday. The guilty verdict came less than a year after another jury deadlocked on the charges. Cosby was charged with violating Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. His lawyer called Constand a "con artist" who leveled false accusations against Cosby so she could sue him. Cosby could get up to 10 years in prison on each of the counts. Dozens of women have come forward in recent years to say he drugged and assaulted them. Five of the other accusers testified against him at the retrial. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission. Constand has done so. | |
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| 04-26-18 12:26pm - 2432 days | #506 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: The President of the US is an expert on the law. He hardly needs any lawyers, because of his profound knowledge of the law and how it works. That is why he only uses Michael Cohen for only a tiny, tiny part of Trump's legal work. And prosecutors have welcomed Trump's statement. They regard what the President says as the simple truth. Therefore, the documents they seized in the raid on Cohen's properties are probably not protected by attorney-client privilege, since Trump is hardly a client of Cohen. Will the judge also rule that Trump is not a client of Cohen? Or will the judge have a different opinion, that sometimes Trump does not tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? "These critical decisions concerning a sacred privilege are not for a team of prosecutors to make,” Trump attorney Joanna Hendon wrote in a court filing last week. Does that mean that Trump is not only President, but also a preacher, minister, or God, that Trump's actions, letters, emails, twitters, etc. are sacred utterings of our God-like President. So Trump has not only civil rights and responsibilities, but religious rights and responsibilities, as well. Hail Trump, God-like President for Life of the United States of America. ------- ------- Prosecutors seize on President Trump's comments about Cohen on 'Fox & Friends' By Aaron Katersky, James Hill Pete Madden Apr 26, 2018, 12:04 PM ET Prosecutors have seized on comments made by President Donald Trump on Fox News on Thursday morning that could undermine his argument that records seized in the FBI’s recent raids of his personal lawyer Michael Cohen’s properties should be subject to attorney-client privilege. In a phone interview with Fox & Friends ahead of Cohen’s appearance in federal court in New York, Trump distanced himself from Cohen’s legal woes, saying his longtime attorney and confidant handles only a “tiny, tiny little fraction” of his legal work. “I don't know his business, but this doesn't have to do with me,” Trump said of Cohen. “Michael is a businessman. He has got a business. He also practices law. I would say probably the big thing is his business, and they're looking something having to do with his business. I have nothing to do with his business, I can tell you.” President Donald Trump called in to speak with the hosts of "Fox & Friends," April 26, 2018. It didn’t take long for federal prosecutors to take note. In a letter to Judge Kimba Wood filed to the court on Thursday morning, prosecutors suggested Trump may have damaged his own argument with his comments to the cable network. “President Trump reportedly said on cable television this morning that Cohen performs ‘a tiny, tiny little fraction’ of his overall legal work,” wrote U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami. “These statements … suggest that the seized materials are unlikely to contain voluminous privileged documents, further supporting the importance of efficiency here.” Cohen has requested that a “special master” be appointed to review the seized material to weed out any potentially privileged material. President Trump’s attorneys have argued that he should get the first look at any documents that might contained privileged communications with Cohen before prosecutors are permitted to review the seized materials. “These critical decisions concerning a sacred privilege are not for a team of prosecutors to make,” Trump attorney Joanna Hendon wrote in a court filing last week. Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, have argued that appointing an outside referee would needlessly delay the investigation. They have said an internal team, separate from the investigators, is capable of reviewing the seized material without prejudice. In Thursday’s letter, prosecutors indicated they’re willing to withdraw their objections to a “special master” and proposed a compromise position that would give the special master a first look for potentially privileged materials “and then hear from both sides before making a final determination.” Judge Wood has signaled that the dispute will play out in public view on Thursday. “Counsel should be prepared to address the process to be undertaken by a Special Master, should one be appointed, to review claims of privilege,” Judge Wood wrote in her order summoning the parties to court. | |
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| 04-26-18 09:40am - 2432 days | #505 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
President Trump strengthens his defenses. Michael Cohen, the lawyer who says he has President Trump as a client, represents Trump in only a tiny, tiny part of Trump's affairs. (Get the joke: affairs. Ha-ha-ha.) --------- --------- Politics President Trump distances himself from personal attorney Michael Cohen, says the lawyer handled only 'a tiny, tiny fraction' of his legal work President Trump says his longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, handled only a "tiny, tiny fraction" of his overall legal work. Cohen "is really a businessman" who "also practices law," Trump says, apparently referring to Cohen's ownership of several taxicab medallions. Cohen is under federal investigation related to several matters, including work he says he did for Trump. Christina Wilkie | Brian Schwartz Published 3 Hours Ago Updated 34 Mins Ago CNBC.com Donald Trump Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Donald Trump President Donald Trump on Thursday sought to distance himself from his longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, telling Fox News hosts that Cohen handled only a "tiny, tiny fraction" of his "overall legal work." Cohen, who has served as Trump's lawyer for more than a decade, is under federal investigation related to a 2016 payment he made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, among other matters. Cohen has said he did it on Trump's behalf but without Trump's knowledge. "Michael is in business, he is really a businessman, a fairly big business, as I understand it," Trump said on "Fox and Friends." "I don't know his business, but [the investigation] doesn't have to do with me." Cohen "also practices law," Trump said, but "I would say probably the big thing is his business, and they're looking into something having to do with his business." Trump added that Cohen handles only "a tiny, tiny little fraction" of the president's "overall legal work" but "represents me on some things ... like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal." "I've been told I'm not involved" in the investigation, Trump said. "From what I understand, they're looking at his businesses." Federal agents raided Cohen's home, office and hotel room earlier this month, where they seized documents relevant to the investigation. Cohen's lawyers immediately pressed to let Cohen, and potentially Trump himself review the seized documents and remove any covered by attorney-client privilege before the government is permitted to comb through them. Trump's latest comments appeared to undermine the argument being made by Cohen lawyers, who say their client was Trump's personal attorney first and foremost, and therefore, practically everything Cohen did was protected by attorney-client privilege. Following the Trump interview, CNBC spoke briefly to Cohen. At first, Cohen said he would need to call back. Moments later, he added, "I'm on the other line with my lawyers," before hanging up the phone. Christina WilkiePolitical Reporter for CNBC.com Brian SchwartzPolitics and Finance Reporter for CNBC.com | |
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| 04-26-18 09:23am - 2432 days | #504 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Politics Trump had a revealing meltdown on 'Fox & Friends' this morning Ken Tucker 2 hours 57 minutes ago President Trump called in to Fox & Friends on Thursday morning. Hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade were prepared for a cozy chat, a reassuring pep talk. What they got was a half hour of pure Trump meltdown mode, as the president said “no collusion” a half dozen times, railed against James Comey, and referred to “this crazy Stormy Daniels deal.” What began with all smiles ended with three grim-faced Fox News hosts trying to get a word in edgewise, as Trump, his voice raised and hoarse, blared past any questions they were asking. It was a tough morning for the president. The news broke just before Trump went on Fox that his nominee to run the Veterans Administration, Dr. Ronny Jackson, has dropped out of consideration. “These are all false accusations,” Trump said about allegations of drunken behavior and worse regarding Jackson. Again and again, over the course of 30 minutes, Trump went on long, loopy, repetitive riffs about how “fake” and “phony” everything is: the Jackson allegations, Comey’s memos, Stormy Daniels’s assertions, the Robert Mueller investigation. The hosts kept trying to bring up Kanye West’s pro-Trump tweets, but all they got were warmed-over campaign lines about how “black unemployment is at the lowest” and how the Republican party is better for African-Americans: “If you go back to the Civil War, it was the Republicans who did the thing.” In Trump-speak, “Did the thing” = “freed the slaves.” Toward the end, Trump tipped his hand. Asked by Doocy to grade his performance in office, Trump veered off, saying, “I’m fighting a battle … a phony battle … it’s a cloud over my head.” He seemed to be referring to the Mueller probe. “The message now is, ‘It’s a fix.’ I’ve been able to message it.” This is a crucial statement. This is how Trump — and his media handmaiden Fox News — views things. Figure out how you want to interpret facts, twist things to your liking, and then repeat it over and over and over again, thereby “messaging it.” The current message is, “It’s a fix.” What’s fixed? Everything: Mueller, Dr. Jackson’s nomination, the investigation of Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels. Listening to Trump this morning was like hearing a week’s worth of Hannity episodes crunched into a half hour. All the same conspiracy theories and twisted logic. For the Fox audience, it works like a charm. It’s what put Trump in office. By the end, Trump, who could not be controlled in any coherent way for the previous 30 minutes, suddenly became friendly and precise. “Ainsley, good luck with your book!” he called out to Earhardt, who’s just published a memoir. Your president of the United States: Useless on articulating policy, great at promotion. Fox & Friends airs weekdays at 6 a.m. on Fox News. | |
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| 04-26-18 08:32am - 2432 days | #503 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: President Donald Trump is deeply disappointed in the Justice Department. The Justice Department is a complete disgrace, and brings down the respect that Donald Trump has earned for his strength, honesty, and living the great American life story of a poor boy who rose to greatness by his pussy-grabbing style. The only fair solution would be for Trump to fire the entire Justice Department employees, including the secretaries and filing clerks and janitors and the entire taint-smeared disloyal traitors, and install his own personal picks, who will remain loyal to Trump the Godfather for Life of the United States of America. And if Congress refuses to confirm Trump's picks for the Justice Department, Trump should throw Congress in jail, for treason to the President, our Glorious Leader for Life (and beyond life, since his daughter Ivanka will continue her father's winning ways--with less pussy-grabbing, because she is a married woman with kids). ------------ ------------ Reuters Trump says hands-off approach to Justice Dept. could change: Fox News interview Reuters Reuters 1 hour 30 minutes ago FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump toasts French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) during a State Dinner at the White House in Washington, U.S. April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday the hands-off approach he has taken to the U.S. Justice Department given the probe into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia could change, comments that could re-ignite concerns he might move to impede the investigation. "Because of the fact that they have this witch hunt going on with people in the Justice Department that shouldn't be there, they have a witch hunt against the president of the United States going on, I've taken the position - and I don't have to take this position and maybe I'll change - that I will not be involved with the Justice Department," Trump said in an interview with Fox News Channel. In the interview, Trump railed at former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey for what he said were illegal leaks of classified information, and suggested the Justice Department should be pursuing charges against him. Comey has said he never leaked any classified information. "I am very disappointed in my Justice Department," Trump said. "I may change my mind at some point, because what's going on is a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace." Trump has frequently criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his decision to recuse himself from matters relating to the Russia probe, and has blasted both Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees it. Many Democrats have expressed concern that Trump may try to remove either Rosenstein or Mueller. Trump has denied there was any collusion between his campaign and Russia - and he did so again on Thursday - and Russia has denied interfering in the U.S. election, as U.S. intelligence agencies have charged. (Reporting by Tim Ahmann and Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci) | |
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| 04-26-18 08:05am - 2432 days | #502 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Not just the world, but the entire Universe is imploding. Trump never heard of any payment made to Stormy Daniels by Michael Cohen, one of Trump's many lawyers. But now, it seems, that Trump is saying that Cohen represented Trump in the crazy Stormy Daniels payment. "Crazy", because Trump never heard of Stormy Daniels? "Crazy", because that's a lot of money to give to a porn star? "Crazy", because Trump did not receive $130,000 worth of services from Stormy Daniels? Enquiring minds want to know. And to see if there are any videos of the Trump-Stormy Daniels sex tape. And to see the "pee tape" people keep talking about. This is a matter of public interest. The public has the right to see if prostitutes peed on the future president, or how they peed. Or maybe Trump did the manly thing, and peed on the prostitutes. We want to see the tapes, preferably in UHD (Ultra High Definition). ------ ------ Trump says Cohen represented him in "Stormy Daniels deal" Associated Press Catherine Lucey, Associated Press,Associated Press 52 minutes ago FILE - In this April 16, 2018, file photo, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, center, leaves federal court, in New York. A New York judge wants more information from prosecutors and lawyers for President Donald Trump and personal attorney Cohen to help speedily analyze materials seized from Cohen. U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood set a hearing for Thursday, April 26. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Thursday that his personal attorney Michael Cohen represented him "with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal," after previously denying any knowledge of a payment Cohen made to the porn actress alleging an affair with Trump. Trump spoke by phone Thursday to "Fox & Friends." He told reporters weeks ago that he had no knowledge of a $130,000 payment Cohen made to Daniels before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual tryst with Trump in 2006. Arguing that Cohen was one of his "many attorneys," Trump said: "He represents me like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal," and added, "From what I see, he did absolutely nothing wrong. There were no campaign funds going in." The telephone connection seemed to cut out for a few seconds after Trump mentioned Daniels. Cohen is under federal criminal investigation in New York into his personal business dealings. Trump said he has been told he was not involved. Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti responded Thursday: "Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen previously represented to the American people that Mr. Cohen acted on his own and Mr. Trump knew nothing about the agreement with my client, the $130k payment, etc. As I predicted, that has now been shown to be completely false." Avenatti told the AP on Thursday, "This is going to add considerable momentum to our effort to depose the president and place him under oath in an effort to discover which version of the facts is accurate." Cohen on Wednesday said he would assert his constitutional right against self-incrimination in a civil case brought by Daniels, who is seeking to invalidate the confidentiality agreement. Cohen has been asking a federal judge in Los Angeles to delay Daniels' case after FBI agents raided his home and office earlier this month. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is also suing Cohen, alleging defamation. In a court filing on Wednesday, Cohen said that FBI agents had seized "various electronic devices and documents in my possession" which contain information about the payment to Daniels. Agents also seized communications with his lawyer, Brent Blakely, about the civil case, Cohen said. Daniels has offered to return the $130,000 and argues the agreement is legally invalid because it was only signed by her and Cohen, not by Trump. Reuters Trump says hands-off approach to Justice Dept. could change: Fox News interview Reuters Reuters 1 hour 30 minutes ago | |
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| 04-26-18 07:23am - 2432 days | #307 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Amanda, thanks for the prize. Take care of yourself, drink plenty of hot soups and take your meds, (antihistamines, cough suppressants, whatever seems to help. Colds seem to be popular this season. I had one that lasted about a week a month ago. The meds helped me get through it.  | |
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| 04-25-18 10:54pm - 2432 days | #501 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
POLITICS 8 hours ago Trump attorney Michael Cohen says he'll plead the Fifth in Stormy Daniels civil case By Elizabeth Zwirz | Fox News President Trump's longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen says he will assert his Fifth Amendment rights in lawsuit filed against him by Stormy Daniels; Catherine Herridge reports. Michael Cohen, the personal attorney for President Trump, has said he will plead the Fifth in a lawsuit with adult-film star Stormy Daniels due to an ongoing criminal investigation in New York, according to court documents. The formal declaration was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In it, Cohen noted the April 9 FBI raid on his home, office and hotel room, during which he said the agency seized “various electronic devices and documents in my possession, which contain information relating to the $130,000 payment to Plaintiff Stephanie Clifford at the center of this case, and my communications with counsel, Brent Blakely, relating to this action.” He continued to say that “based upon the advice of counsel” he would be pleading the Fifth “in connection with all proceedings in this case due to the ongoing criminal investigation by the FBI and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.” MICHAEL COHEN RAID RATTLES TRUMP ALLIES: DID FEDS SEIZE PRESIDENT’S COMMUNICATIONS Cohen asked a judge to delay the civil case 90 days following the FBI raid. Federal prosecutors in New York said they are investigating Cohen's personal business dealings. This comes as attorneys for the president informed a federal judge on Wednesday that Trump would “make himself available, as needed” to look over materials seized in the FBI raid to ensure the protection of privileged information, ABC News reported. Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford and is referenced by Cohen in the filing, has claimed that she had a one-time sexual encounter with the president in 2006 and was paid $130,000 by Cohen in the days before the 2016 presidential election as part of a nondisclosure agreement she has sought to invalidate in order to speak freely. FBI RAID TARGETS TRUMP ATTORNEY MICHAEL COHEN, UNDER SCRUTINY OVER STORMY DANIELS PAYMENTS Trump has denied the allegations. Daniels has offered to return the $130,000 and argues the agreement is legally invalid because it was signed by her and Cohen, not by Trump. Daniel’s attorney Michael Avenatti tweeted that Cohen’s filing was “a stunning development.” “Never before in our nation’s history has the attorney for the sitting President invoked the 5th Amend in connection with issues surrounding the President,” Avenatti said. “It is esp. stunning seeing as MC served as the 'fixer' for Mr. Trump for over 10 yrs.” “And yes, my record of prediction stays intact,” he continued. “We will keep shooting until we miss.” Fox News Jodie Curtis, Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. | |
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| 04-25-18 10:36pm - 2432 days | #500 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Yahoo World That's One Reason To Suspend Nuclear Tests: North Korea's Most Recent Blast Collapsed a Mountain David Meyer David Meyer 17 hours ago Last weekend, North Korea suspended its nuclear tests and shut down the site where the last six detonations took place: underneath Mount Mantap, in the country’s northeast. The reasons are ostensibly diplomatic, pointing to a thaw in relations between Kim Jong-un’s regime and South Korea and the West, but some noted that Pyongyang might have also been worried that the mountain was at risk of collapsing, as it visibly shifted during the last nuclear test. However, two separate groups of Chinese scientists now say Mount Mantap did in fact collapse after that detonation. That means there’s a risk of radioactive contamination spreading not only within North Korea, but to other countries in the region. The site is not far from North Korea’s borders with China and Russia. According to geologists from the University of Science and Technology of China, the collapse took place minutes after Kim Jong-un’s regime conducted its last nuclear test in September of last year. The test of the 100-kiloton bomb, which led Chinese seismologists to register a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, apparently opened up a hole of up to 656 feet in diameter. Part of the mountain then fell into the hole. The findings of the team, led by renowned seismologist Wen Lianxing, are set to be published next month in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, another team from the China Earthquake Administration reckons the collapse created a “chimney” that could allow the escape of fallout. The publication quoted researcher Zhao Lianfeng from the Chinese Academy of Sciences as saying the site was “wrecked” beyond repair. So Pyongyang’s renouncement of land-based nuclear tests, for now, appears to be motivated by more than mere diplomatic concerns. | |
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| 04-25-18 09:52pm - 2432 days | #4 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
April 24, 2018 3:36PM PT ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Heads to Monster $225+ Million Opening Weekend By Rebecca Rubin In case you haven’t heard, “Avengers: Infinity War” is heading towards an opening weekend that could end all opening weekends. The Marvel superhero adventure is eyeing a debut weekend of $225 million to $245 million, with a possibility of even crossing the $250 million mark. If numbers reach the end of that range, “Infinity War” could have one of the biggest debuts of all time. The hefty launch should go a long way to justify its wildly expensive price tag of somewhere from $300 million to $400 million. As of now, the biggest opening weekend of all time belongs to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which bowed with $248 million in 2015 and went on to make over $936.6 million domestically. Only five films in history have hit the $200 million mark in their debuts. “Infinity War” picks up two years after the events of “Captain America: Civil War” with the Avengers teaming up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop the evil Thanos from inter-galactic dominance. The heroic ensemble cast includes Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, Chris Pratt’s Star Lord, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. Joe and Anthony Russo directed from a script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. “Infinity War,” the sequel to 2012’s “The Avengers” and 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” is the 19th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The original “Avengers” had the highest opening to date for a Marvel film, debuting with $207.4 million. Its sequel, “Age of Ultron,” launched with $191 million. The first movie earned $623 million in North America, while the second made $459 million. “Infinity War” comes on the coattails of the Disney-owned Marvel’s most recent success, “Black Panther,” which opened to a massive $202 million in February. Ryan Coogler’s tentpole continues to shatter records, and has earned an impressive $1.3 billion worldwide. | |
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| 04-25-18 07:02am - 2433 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I know that the year is not finished. But the anticipation is dreadful. Will Infinity War be as good as fans are hoping for? Find out tomorrow, or this weekend. The truth is, I'm not the biggest fan of comic book movies. I think there are better movies out there, at times. But I'm thinking of seeing Infinity War. The last superhero movie I really enjoyed was Captain America, with Chris Evans. The story was simple: origin story about how a dedicated, loyal American became a powerful hero fighting for America in WW11. Simple story, easy to follow. Not a lot of characters, so it was easy to root for the hero, who has his ups and downs. The inventions were marvelous: submarine, plane, whatever. And an Evil Villain, with an Evil henchman. I didn't care for the follow-up movie about Captain America, because now it's the hero fighting against evil, greedy Americans. (Sort of a reflection of today's America.) But maybe I will enjoy Infinity War. I'm hoping that the Evil Villain will finally prevail, and we can start again, with new characters that I can root for. Any PU members plan to see this movie, this weekend or soon? Or is everyone else overdosed on superhero movies, like I seem to be. Though I did enjoy Wonder Woman. That was a good action flic. | |
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| 04-24-18 10:29pm - 2433 days | #497 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Ex-Sheriff David Clarke sounds like the black Donald Trump. I actually read a short internet news article about the airplane incident a while back, and the sheriff using the internet to call the guy a fool (not the exact expression) and the guy being hassled by cops at the airport. Power just goes to people's heads. Especially some cops. But that news cast is a blast. I'd like to hang a large TV on my bedroom wall, and have it play that newscast, when I need to get into a fighting mood. Or want to vomit on Donald Trump. What I really need is to read a book on Buddhism or something, to clear my mind of this crap. And stop reading news about Trump and his cronies.  | |
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Words I haven't heard since the 60's. He isn't alone. There are plenty of other black hosts that share his views.| 04-24-18 01:27pm - 2434 days | #495 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
There's usually at least 2 sides to every issue. Did Donald Trump pardon Scooter Libby because Trump considers Libby was unfairly treated for leaking confidential information (and outing a CIA agent who's husband was critical of George Bush)? And for lying under oath to Federal investigators? Or did Donald Trump pardon Scooter Libby to send a message that people who stay loyal to Trump can expect a pardon if they refuse to co-operate with Federal investigators into Trump's affairs? --------- --------- Scooter Libby prosecutor says Trump's pardon was a loyalty message to Cohen Dylan Stableford 2 hours 58 minutes ago I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby; President Trump. (Yahoo News photo Illustration; photos: AP, Getty) One of the prosecutors who brought the case against I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby says President Trump’s pardon of the ex-top aide to former Vice President Dick Cheney sends a not-so-subtle message to potential witnesses in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation: Stay loyal to Trump and Trump will stay loyal to you. “I don’t see any other logic to it,” Peter Zeidenberg, top deputy to the special counsel in Libby’s case, Patrick Fitzgerald, said in a recent interview for Yahoo News’ Skullduggery podcast. Libby was convicted in 2007 of lying to investigators and obstruction of justice in the 2003 leak of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame’s identity. Then President George W. Bush later commuted Libby’s 30-month prison sentence, but did not issue a pardon. “He already had his law license back,” Zeidenberg said. “It’s not a case, if you thought he was treated unjustly, that the poor guy is rotting in jail and is gonna die in prison. I mean, this isn’t a situation like that.” Trump issued the full pardon to Libby on April 13 — four days after the FBI raid on the office and hotel of the president’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen. “There was no urgency or critical need to step in right now except for what else was going on — Trump’s consigliere, Michael Cohen, had just gotten his office raided,” Zeidenberg said. The raid led to speculation that Cohen could face federal charges related to the hush-money payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 presidential election — and the possibility Cohen could strike a deal with prosecutors to incriminate Trump and mitigate his own sentence. Over the weekend, Trump predicted that Cohen would not “flip” on him, and on Tuesday he sharply rejected a question from a reporter who asked whether he is considering pardoning Cohen. “Stupid question,” the president shot back. Download or subscribe on iTunes: “Skullduggery” by Yahoo News “I don’t think it’s a reach to think he’s sending a message to others, and hoping they’ll stay strong and won’t cooperate and hold out hope for a pardon,” Zeidenberg said. Zeidenberg said Trump’s pardon of Libby would likely not be a concern of Mueller’s investigation. But it would be if the president moved to pardon Cohen or any of those already charged in the case — like former National Security Director Michael Flynn, Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, adviser Rick Gates or foreign policy aide George Papadopoulos. “If he pardons Cohen, if he pardons Manafort, if he pardons Gates or any of these other guys — Flynn, Papadopoulos — any of these people, then at that point I think you’re getting much closer to an obstruction case,” Zeidenberg said. Trump, as president, has the absolute authority to pardon anyone. But Zeidenberg said that a pardon could be evidence of obstruction, depending on the motive. “The fact that the conduct in and of itself is legal is not the end of the inquiry,” Zeidenberg said. “If he’s doing it in the hope to thwart a legitimate investigation into his own conduct, then yeah, I think those are building blocks to an obstruction piece.” | |
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| 04-24-18 10:31am - 2434 days | #18 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Many years ago, a small HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) was going to convert from a non-profit to a for-profit organization in California. Organization had an offer from a larger, competing HMO to buy them out. But the Organization has a lower, different offer from the executives who ran the HMO to buy it out for themselves. The executives running the HMO said they were the best suited to buy the HMO, because they knew the HMO and its clients best. And they had the interests of the HMO clients and the state of California as well, more so than an outside HMO that was merely interested in profits. The HMO executives also agreed, as proof of their sincerity, that they would not sell the HMO to anyone, for a set number of years. So California sold or let the HMO executives buy the HMO, at a lower price than the competing HMO was willing to pay. Once the set time period expired, the HMO was sold to the competing HMO, and the top executives of the HMO split over 100 million dollars among themselves, because they were the legal owners. The HMO executives also got golden parachutes, worth millions of dollars each, because there was a change of control of ownership (a legal term in the stock market). However, in addition to the millions from the golden parachutes, as part of the sale, the HMO executives were given new executive positions in the combined HMO. California sued the HMO executives for millions, because they didn't like the HMO executives making so much money from the deal. However, the courts sided with the HMO executives, saying whatever they did was legal. Greed? Yes. For the good of the state or the HMO clients? Not in my opinion, but the combined HMO said the combination was for everyone's benefit. I think this was back in the 1990s, when HMOs were a hot sector in the stock market. You want to call it sinister? That's a little strong. Call it business. Just like Sean Hannity used shell companies to buy property worth around $90 million, many in foreclosures. At the same time he was criticizing President Obama for people losing their homes through foreclosure. And Hannity was using HUD (federal) to insure millions of dollars of his property loans, at the same time Hannity criticizes people for getting welfare aid from the government--while Hannity's loans were a form of welfare aid. The difference is that Hannity was making millions from welfare aid, while poor people were only making thousands. But Hannity would say that he was investing to help poor sections, as a humanitarian investment (buying foreclosed properties at a discount). Edited on Apr 24, 2018, 10:42am | |
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| 04-24-18 08:17am - 2434 days | #494 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
One reason the price of tickets have gone up: Inflation. Money is no longer what it used to be worth, from years ago. A different reason the price of tickets have gone up: In theory, tickets are given as a fine to discourage "bad" behavior. Such as parking where you are not supposed to park, unless you have some special permission. But increasingly, tickets are being used to generate revenues for local government: town, city, county, state. And that's a big reason why some tickets are getting to be expensive. When I started driving (back in the 1960s), a parking ticket was $2 or $3 in my area. It's been a very long time since I got a parking ticket (except for a handicap parking violation that was $250 years ag0), so I don't know what a parking ticket costs now, in my area. But $75 does not sound fantastic any more. Many local governments are desperate for cash, they are going broke, can't pay their future bills-for many different reasons. So raising ticket prices, raising taxes, are ways to get more money. And it's easier to raise ticket prices than it is to raise taxes. Less government regulation on ticket prices than on taxes, which often require voter approval. | |
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| 04-24-18 07:58am - 2434 days | #16 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I think that most businesses (and people) tend to shape their communications to paint themselves in the best possible light. That is normal. And many times, basic honesty, or plain speaking, is ignored. My mother belonged to a health care organization when she was alive. Blue Cross. A very large organization. She paid a monthly fee for health care coverage. Shortly before she died, Blue Cross sent her a letter. They were raising her monthly fee by a significant amount. At the same time, they were reducing her covered conditions. In the letter, Blue Cross said they were doing this for my mother's benefit. Charging her more money, for less coverage. The rational was that Blue Cross would be in a stronger financial condition, so they would be able to serve her better. To me, that letter was dishonest. The rational was dishonest. It was not to my mother's benefit to pay a higher fee, for less coverage. But that's what businesses and people do: they describe their actions in the best possible light, even when the words are dishonest or self-flattery. Blue Cross, at the time, was in a strong financial position before raising my mother's fees. They were raising my mother's fees to increase their profits. So they could give their executives higher pay, higher bonuses. Plus, I'm not sure, but I think Blue Cross was classified as a non-profit at the time. As a shield to pay lower taxes. There are many ways that big business can earn huge amounts of money, and pay little or no taxes. | |
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| 04-24-18 01:01am - 2434 days | #14 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I am a hulu member. I pay $7.99/month with commercials. If I paid $11.99/month, there would be fewer commercials. But Hulu no longer offers a commercial-free plan. At least in my area (Los Angeles, CA). | |
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| 04-23-18 09:02pm - 2434 days | #492 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Note on handicap parking permit. You have to either have it shown on your car license plate, or hung on the front mirror of your car. I have a handicap parking permit, but forgot to hang it on the interior front mirror one time. I saw the cop who was giving me a ticket for parking in the handicap slot. I showed him my handicap parking permit (I had it in my glove compartment). He said, "sorry, once I start to write the ticket, that's it. Take it up in court." So I went to court, showed I had the disabled parking permit, and the separate receipt that the permit was valid and issued to me, and I was lucky enough to get off with no fine. Otherwise, I would have had to pay the $250 fine. Even though I had the permit, but I did not display it properly (since it was in the glove department of my car, and not hanging on the interior front mirror). | |
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| 04-23-18 08:47pm - 2435 days | #491 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I live in California. I haven't been out of the state for many years. But I recall, one time, when I came back into the state by driving a car, that I was stopped at the state border (I don't recall if it was Arizona or Nevada) and asked if I had any fruit or vegetables. I said no, and continued on. They did not search my car. California has one of the world's largest agricultural communities (don't know if I should write community or communities) for fruits, vegetables and nuts, worth billions of dollars each year. So, yes, California takes the threat of infestation seriously. A $500 fine does seem steep to me, as well. But it could easily cost millions if crops become infected. And $500 is no longer a lot of money. In my area (Los Angeles county), if you run a red light, the fine is around $500. If you park your car in a handicap parking slot, without showing a handicap permit, the fine is around $250 (first time offense, higher for each conviction after that). Money isn't what it used to be. | |
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| 04-23-18 11:34am - 2435 days | #489 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: Sean Hannity is a God-fearing man who spends his money investing in low-cost housing to help his fellow man. Just like his hero, Donald Trump. If only America had more men like these, America would be a finer place to live. Maybe that's why Trump is fighting to reduce payments to Social Security, Welfare, Food Stamps, etc. He wants to get rid of the unsightly poor. Make them work to become the righteous rich. ------ ------ Business Sean Hannity Net Worth: Fox News Host Linked to Shell Companies that Bought $90 Million Worth of Properties Newsweek Shane Croucher,Newsweek 8 hours ago Fox News host Sean Hannity is linked to shell companies which have spent at least $90 million on hundreds of homes across America, and he had help building his property empire from the federal housing department. This is according to a report by The Guardian, which said it reviewed public documents to identify Hannity as the beneficial owner of shell companies which own more than 870 properties ranging from luxury mansions to cheap rentals. Those purchases were made over the past decade. The report raises ethics questions for Hannity, who did not disclose any commercial relationship with the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) when interviewing Ben Carson, its secretary, on his highly-popular Fox News show. Fox News and HUD did not respond to a request for comment. HUD’s support for Hannity’s investments came in the form of insurance for millions of dollars’ worth of mortgages. HUD Secretary Carson appeared on Hannity's show in June 2017. Hannity, who gave a sympathetic and praiseworthy interview, told him he is doing "a good job" and did not make public his commercial interests. They both agreed on the importance of home ownership and supporting people to achieve this. "Knowing you as well as I do, you're going to think out of the box," Hannity said. "This is going to be different. Whatever you do, I expect something very innovative." Hannity called Carson “a good man” and that he wished him “all the best.” “You've got to come see us,” Hannity said at the end of the interview. "You don't even take my calls anymore," the host joked. "He becomes a HUD secretary—that's it, Hannity's out!" The report is the latest embarrassment for Hannity, who hosted America’s most-watched cable news show in 2017 and Forbes said earned $36 million that same year, after it emerged he is a client of Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime attorney. Hannity failed to disclose his relationship with Trump's embattled lawyer and fixer despite using his show to promote the president and defend Cohen multiple times. The conservative host was named in court as a client of Cohen’s after an FBI raid of the lawyer’s office found documents with his name on. Cohen is under investigation over hush payments made to keep women quiet about alleged affairs with Trump. But Hannity denied any formal relationship with Cohen, saying the two spoke about real estate matters. “Michael Cohen never represented me in any legal matter,” Hannity told viewers of his show, referring to reports of their relationship as “wild speculation.” “I never retained his services. I never received an invoice. I never paid Michael Cohen for legal fees. I did have occasional brief conversations with Michael Cohen—he's a great attorney—about legal questions I had, or I was looking for input or perspective. “My discussions with Michael Cohen never rose to any level that I needed to tell anyone that I was asking him questions. “And to be absolutely clear: They never involved any matter, any—sorry to disappoint so many—matter between me or third parties, or third groups, at all. “My questions, exclusively almost, focused on real estate. I said many times on my radio show, I hate the stock market. I prefer real estate. Michael knows real estate.” This article was first written by Newsweek. --------- --------- The Wrap Sean Hannity Defends Investments in Low-Income Housing The Wrap Jon Levine,The Wrap 1 hour 21 minutes ago Sean Hannity Defends Investments in Low-Income Housing Sean Hannity came out swinging Monday, defending his real estate empire and saying that his investment in low-income housing was more than his liberal critics had ever done to help disadvantaged communities. “It is ironic that I am being attacked for investing my personal money in communities that badly need such investment and in which, I am sure, those attacking me have not invested their money,” said Hannity in a statement posted to his blog. “The fact is, these are investments that I do not individually select, control, or know the details about; except that obviously I believe in putting my money to work in communities that otherwise struggle to receive such support.” Hannity also swatted back news that he had received jumbo mortgage guarantees from HUD, saying he had no personal knowledge or involvement. “I have never discussed with anybody at HUD the original loans that were obtained in the Obama years, nor the subsequent refinance of such loans, as they are a private matter. I had no role in, or responsibility for, any HUD involvement in any of these investments,” said Hannity. On Sunday, The Guardian revealed that Hannity had spent the last decade investing heavily in real estate in the United States, using a series of shell companies to amass more than 870 homes across the country. Many were in low-income neighborhoods, which Hannity’s companies purchased out of foreclosure. Hannity is facing growing scrutiny over his legal involvement with Trump attorney Michael Cohen. Earlier this month Cohen’s Manhattan apartment and offices were raided by the FBI for reasons which still remain mysterious. Hannity was outed as a Cohen client after a federal judge forced the disclosure two weeks ago. Related stories from TheWrap: Fox News Employees Split Over Sean Hannity Disclosure: 'I'm F-ing Livid' to 'It's a Nothing Burger' Alan Dershowitz Chides Sean Hannity to His Face Over Michael Cohen Connection (Video) 'Morning Joe' Nukes Sean Hannity Over Michael Cohen Disclosure: 'Bold-Faced Lying to His Viewers' (Video) Colbert Completely Loses It Over Hannity-Cohen Shocker: 'Who Did Sean Hannity Have Sex With?' (Video) | |
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| 04-23-18 01:45am - 2435 days | #487 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Pearls before swine. | |
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| 04-22-18 10:06am - 2436 days | #11 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Thanks for the tip about deleting special spam advertising placed in Yahoo email inbox. But your tip does not work. What yahoo has done: They have re-written their software, so that certain positions in your inbox list of emails are reserved for special promotional ads. With these ads, that I consider spam, since they appear in my inbox without my requesting them: 1. the check box beside the spam line is pre-filled, so you can not check it and then select delete this message. 2. if you open the spam message, and then select the delete icon, the spam message is not deleted. There is a qualification on this non-deletion: Sometimes the spam message is deleted, but it's replaced by a new spam message, that also has the checkbox blocked. And if you open the new, replacement spam message, and select the deletion icon, that spam is not deleted. So that line in your inbox list is reserved for special spam messages, that are either hard to delete, or if deleted, replaced by a new spam message in the same position on your inbox mail list. Refreshing the Yahoo inbox page does not seem to help in any way, to delete these Yahoo special promo spam messages. I would assume that there will soon be a mass protest against this technique, by many Yahoo email users. Edit: As I said before, one purpose of this technique is to force/encourage Yahoo email users to upgrade from the free to the paid, premium Yahoo email, since there is a message by the special spam that premium Yahoo email users will have the special spam blocked. And there are other pages that explain how to opt out of ads, or controls that might help, that I haven't read yet. But it's not the end of the world. I will keep my Yahoo email open, since I've had it over 20 years, I believe, and it's the email address I have given out to all my contacts. Edited on Apr 22, 2018, 10:18am | |
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| 04-22-18 09:41am - 2436 days | #484 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: Everyone must follow the law. Here is a criminal who did not follow the law, and she is facing a $500 fine. This proves that Donald Trump, if he broke the law, must pay the consequences. Even though he has the Republican party behind him, who will certainly argue that the President is above the law: False: No one is above the law. Not even the President. ------- ------- Airlines 4 hours ago Woman fined $500 for saving free Delta Air Lines snack By Alexandra Deabler | Fox News Crystal Tadlock was fined $500 for bringing a free apple given to her by Delta Air Lines into the United States. Crystal Tadlock was fined $500 for bringing a free apple given to her by Delta Air Lines into the United States. (Fox 31 Denver) A Colorado woman is facing a $500 fine from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for saving a free apple she received as a snack from Delta Air Lines on her way back to the United States from Pairs, France. Crystal Tadlock told Fox 31 Denver, toward the end of her flight from Paris, flight attendants passed out apples in plastic bags as a snack. Tadlock put the fruit in her carry-on to save for when she was hungry during the second leg of her trip. Once Tadlock arrived in the U.S., she went through Customs and her bag was chosen to be randomly searched, Fox 31 reported. Tadlock says a Customs agent pulled out the apple in the plastic bag with Delta’s logo on it. When questioned about the snack, Tadlock explained she received the apple from the airline and asked if she could throw it away or eat it, Fox 31 reported. The Customs agent allegedly told her no and fined her $500 for carrying the undeclared fruit. "He had asked me if my trip to France was expensive and I said, 'yeah.' I didn’t really get why he was asking that question, and then he said 'It’s about to get a lot more expensive after I charge you $500,'" said Tadlock to Fox 31. Tadlock said the innocent mistake could end up costing her bigger than just the $500 fine – she could also lose her Global Entry Status, which allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to have expedited clearance into the U.S. Tadlock told Fox 31 she’s frustrated with the incident and feels Delta should not have passed the apples out to customers or should have at least reminded passengers not to take the fruit off of the plane. She also thinks Customs could have handled the situation differently after seeing the fruit was in an airline-marked bag. "It’s really unfortunate someone has to go through that and be treated like a criminal over a piece of fruit," said Tadlock to Fox 31. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website, “every fruit or vegetable must be declared to a CBP Agriculture Specialist or CBP Officer and must be presented for inspection.” A spokesperson for Delta said in a statement to Fox 31, “we encourage our customers to follow U.S. Customs and Border Protection protocols." Tadlock is planning to fight the charge in court. | |
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| 04-22-18 06:48am - 2436 days | #6 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
@jook, I wrote a long reply to you, hit the "add reply" button, and my reply was sent to computer heaven. Much better to write to notepad, and cut and paste. Anyway, I will look into Gmail. Sounds like the easiest option. ProtoMail sounds complicated. And I have trouble remembering passcodes, keys, whatever. Thanks for the tip. And thank Jade1, but Gmail seems easier to use. | |
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| 04-22-18 06:15am - 2436 days | #483 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: Trump is horrified by witch hunt into his Russian ties. Decides to strike back by installing his own survelliance cameras. One is found at a Starbucks restroom in Fulton County, Ga. Will Trump admit the camera is his? Will he show footage to Congress, showing how people are using the restroom to commit illegal crimes? ------- ------- 10 hours ago Starbucks restroom's hidden camera prompts investigation By Bradford Betz | Fox News According to a police report, a woman found a camera taped to the bottom of a baby changing station in a Starbucks restroom in Fulton County, Ga. (Associated Press) Police have launched an investigation after a camera was discovered last week inside a restroom at a Starbucks store in an Atlanta suburb. A 25-year-old customer reportedly found the device Tuesday, taped under a baby changing station. According to a police report, the woman removed the camera and alerted the manager. The manager then notified Starbucks’ corporate office. “We were quite concerned to learn this and are grateful to our customers and partners who took action to involve local authorities,” a Starbucks spokesperson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The manager gave the camera to police for inspection. Authorities reportedly found 25 videos stored on the camera, including several that reportedly showed people using the restroom. “We’ve learned that the device had about an hour’s worth of recorded video on it and detectives found 8 to 10 men and women videotaped while in that restroom,” one officer told Atlanta's FOX 5. He added that the video quality was poor and no “private parts” were seen. No suspects have been identified. Police say whoever is responsible faces a charge of eavesdropping, which is a felony. Never has a request to use the bathroom caused so much havoc. Tuesday’s discovery comes less than a week after the coffee giant faced a national backlash over an incident at a Philadelphia location in which two black men were arrested for allegedly trespassing. The arrests drew apologies from the company and from Philadelphia's police commissioner. The company announced that it would close 8,000 locations on May 29 to conduct “racial bias” training. Bradford Betz is an editor for Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @bradford_betz. | |
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| 04-22-18 03:31am - 2436 days | #482 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: This is wrong. The cops, who wore bulletproof vests and helmets and carried semi-automatic rifles (and sidearms), should have shot to kill the protesters who wore masks, instead of arresting them. Arresting them gives the protesters another chance to protest. Shooting them to death ends the threat to the police. And Trump should have been there, speaking to the crowd as the leader of the neo-Nazis, since he believes there are good people on both sides of the issue. Trump is the leader we need to make America great again. Thankfully, none of the neo-Nazis were arrested. Just the people protesting against the neo-Nazis. ---------- ---------- U.S. Militarized Cops At Tiny Georgia Neo-Nazi Rally Arrest Counterprotesters For Wearing Masks NEWNAN, Ga. — A heavily militarized police force of some 400 officers aggressively patrolled a small neo-Nazi rally in this city 40 miles southwest of Atlanta on Saturday and arrested about 10 counterprotesters, many for the crime of wearing a mask. Police officers arrived before the rally began and approached a group of about 50 anti-fascist protesters. They demanded the protesters remove their masks or face arrest. The officers — who wore bulletproof vests and helmets, and carried semi-automatic rifles — cornered the anti-fascist protesters, then grabbed those who were still masked, tossing them to the ground and handcuffing them. At one point, an officer pointed what seemed to be a modified AR-15 at the faces of counterprotesters, none of whom appeared to be armed. The lead officer in the arrests said the counterprotesters were breaking a state law regarding masks, likely referring to a seldom-enforced 1951 law originally aimed at combating hooded Ku Klux Klan members. Anti-fascist protesters ― many belonging to chapters of antifa groups, known for sometimes violently confronting white supremacists ― often wear masks to avoid being identified by both law enforcement and neo-Nazis. “The irony of enforcing masking laws to prosecute leftists is just incredible,” said Molly, a counterprotester from Charlottesville, Virginia, who traveled to Georgia to protest neo-Nazis. She asked that her last name not be published for fear of retribution. “Those are anti-Klan statutes.” “And to be roughing up anti-Nazi protesters while handling literal Nazis with kid gloves... it’s absurd,” added Molly, who said she saw one of her friends get arrested Saturday. The rally in Newnan was the latest, and one of the most pitifully attended, neo-Nazi events to be held in the South since the deadly “Unite The Right” rally in Charlottesville last August, when a neo-Nazi drove his car into a crowd of anti-fascist protesters, killing one person and injuring 19 others. Certain seemingly innocuous items, including balloons, were not allowed at the rally. But Georgia has an open carry gun law, so people could bring their weapons; HuffPost saw one neo-Nazi and one anti-fascist protester carrying semi-automatic rifles. The Newnan rally was organized by the National Socialist Movement, an older neo-Nazi group that favors explicit Third Reich iconography over the more coded racist memes of the so-called alt-right. Fewer than 30 NSM members, along with a small contingent of the white supremacist group League of the South, showed up for the event. The city granted NSM a permit to hold the rally at Greenville State Park, and security and police presence for the event is expected to cost taxpayers thousands of dollars. NSM members arrived about an hour late for their rally. Then they stood on a stage in the park, looking out over hundreds of counterprotesters yelling from behind a fence some 100 yards away as police helicopters and drones circled overhead. Jeff Schoep, the so-called commander of the NSM, rambled about the need to keep Confederate statues. He referred to himself and his companions as “Alpha males” and complained about men who look like “homosexuals” by wearing skinny jeans. He also lashed out against the “Zionist media” for portraying NSM as a hate group. NSM members flanking him threw up Nazi salutes. Schoep then left the stage to address a gaggle of reporters. When asked by HuffPost about NSM members throwing up Nazi salutes, Schoep claimed they were actually “Roman salutes.” He then threatened to have HuffPost removed from the park for being “disrespectful.” At 5 p.m. local time, less than an hour after the rally had started, police appeared to pull the plug on the sound system. An officer speaking into a megaphone issued a dispersal order, warning the neo-Nazis that they would be arrested if they didn’t leave the park. They left without incident. The paltry NSM showing was indicative of the gradually diminishing strength of the so-called alt-right since the Charlottesville rally last year. That rally, the largest of its kind of over a decade, was attended by upwards of 1,000 white supremacists. Since then, alt-right figurehead Richard Spencer canceled a planned campus speaking tour after being humiliated by anti-fascist protesters at the University of Florida and Michigan State University. Last month, a domestic dispute precipitated the collapse of neo-Nazi group the Traditionalist Workers Party. Infighting has also severely fractured the rest of the alt-right. NSM and League of the South now appear to be the white supremacist groups most willing to hold rallies. On Friday night, they held a meeting at a bar in Bremen, Georgia. The annual gathering is typically held on or near April 20, the birthday of Adolf Hitler. There were times on Saturday when Newnan looked as if it was under military occupation. Armored vehicles and heavily armed officers, some in military fatigues, patrolled the streets. Ahead of the event, Newnan Police Chief D.L. “Buster” Meadows appeared to draw an equivalency between the racist and anti-Semitic neo-Nazis — who argue for creating a white ethnostate in America — and the anti-fascists showing up to protest them. “Neither one of these groups represent who we are and what we stand for,” he told local news outlet The Newnan Times-Herald. It was a sentiment shared by some of the other 39,000 residents of Newnan, a town whose city square is home to two monuments exalting the Confederate Army. Jeff Nelms, a Newnan resident who works as a millwright, went to a friend’s gun shop Saturday to make sure no one vandalized the store during the day’s chaos. He called both the neo-Nazis and the anti-fascists “scum.” Newnan resident Jeff Nelms went to his friend's gun store during the rally on Saturday to make sure no one vandalized it. (Christopher Mathias HuffPost) Newnan resident Jeff Nelms went to his friend's gun store during the rally on Saturday to make sure no one vandalized it. (Christopher Mathias HuffPost) Julio Gilgorri, 26, who has lived in Newnan for five years, had a different take on the anti-fascists arriving to drown out the neo-Nazis. Gilgorri was among hundreds of residents who attended a festival in the city square on Friday night, at which local businesses, churches and charities handed out #NewnanStrong T-shirts. Children drew chalk hearts and rainbows on the sidewalks, while adults wrote messages like “Nazis suck.” “Newnan has taken me in as a Hispanic American and someone who’s looking for a new home. I felt accepted since the moment I stepped foot here,” Gilgorri said. “If we shut up and stay quiet and allow these guys to rally without any opposition, my opportunity might not happen for other people down the line.” “I’m absolutely glad that people are coming to be heard because, at the end of the day, there truly are more voices on our side than theirs,” he added. “History has already shown who’s right here.” America does not do a good job of tracking incidents of hate and bias. We need your help to create a database of such incidents across the country, so we all know what’s going on. Tell us your story. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. | |
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| 04-22-18 02:56am - 2436 days | #481 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: Not everyone who worked for Obama was happy with everything Obama did. Obama's sanctions czar bashes Obama's weak response to Russian interference in the the 2016 election. Republicans will use this to bash Obama, blame his for the Russian interference. And this means Trump is the innocent victim of a fake witch hunt. Unfortunately, Trump will probably not be able to put Obama and Hillary Clinton in prison, where they belong. But at least he can tweet about their crimes. --------- --------- Ex-sanctions czar bashes Obama administration's 'weak' response to Russian interference Michael Isikoff Fri, Apr 20 5:29 AM PDT Daniel Fried, Barack Obama. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Jung Yeon-je/Pool photo via AP, Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP) The former State Department diplomat who oversaw U.S. government sanctions policy said he was “extremely” frustrated when the Obama administration issued “weak” and “frankly inadequate” sanctions against Russia in December 2016 in response to that country’s campaign to disrupt the U.S. presidential election. Daniel Fried, who retired in 2017 after a 40-year State Department career that included serving as U.S. sanctions “coordinator” under President Obama, offered his sharp critique of the Obama administration’s response to Russian actions during an interview on the Yahoo News podcast “Skullduggery.” “The Obama administration — in my view, and I was in it, OK? I was working on sanctions then — did not respond with adequate strength to the Russian interference in our elections,” Fried said. ”What we did in December 2016 was a very light set of sanctions, which I think was frankly inadequate. … We went after some cybertargets, we expelled some diplomats, we sanctioned some of the intel services. But those sanctions are not apt to be terribly effective, and we knew it. This was not enough.” Fried was referring to a series of sanctions Obama announced in late December 2016. Declaring that “all Americans should be alarmed” by Russia’s actions during the election, Obama said at the time that the actions were “a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm U.S. interests in violation of established international norms of behavior.” But Fried said the lack of teeth in the president’s actions may have only emboldened the Russians. “I think it was an inadequate response, and I think the Russians understood it as inadequate,” Fried said. “The Russians are pretty good at calculating costs and benefits.” Fried said he gives the Obama White House “a lot of credit” for a forceful response to Russia’s “aggression” in Ukraine in 2014 — including authorizing the deployment of NATO troops in the Baltics and Poland. But asked how frustrated he was by the White House election response, Fried replied: “Extremely. I think we missed an opportunity.” Fried’s comments came during a wide-ranging interview in which he described as “puzzling” the fact that President Trump’s White House undercut U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley this week by pulling back on plans for additional sanctions against the Russians to punish President Vladimir Putin’s government for its support of the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad. In an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” last Sunday, Haley declared that the new sanctions would be announced by the next day by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin — an announcement that never came after Trump overruled his advisers and scrapped the additional sanctions. After White House economics adviser Larry Kudlow suggested Haley had misstated U.S. policy because she was confused, Haley issued a stinging rebuke: “With all due respect, I don’t get confused.” Fried said he found Trump’s pullback on sanctions especially “disheartening” because the administration had just a week earlier unveiled stiff actions — including blacklisting Russian oligarchs and senior government officials — in response to what was described as Moscow’s “malign activity” around the globe. At a moment when the Trump administration could make a “reasonable case” that it was starting to develop a serious policy toward Russia, Fried said, the president had once again undercut the effort. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and U.S President Trump during the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July 2017. (Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Fried also elaborated on comments he made to Yahoo News last year about his distress when he learned that, shortly after Trump took office, the White House was planning to scrap all sanctions against Russia — including those imposed in 2014 in response to that country’s intervention in Ukraine. What especially infuriated him, Fried told “Skullduggery,” is that the White House’s plan was to lift the sanctions “in exchange for nothing — sort of as a goodwill gesture to the Russians, which I found somewhere between shocking and astonishing, that somebody would be played for such a sucker.” The proposed action, which Fried believed was being pushed by then National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, would have been “an actual surrender of an important American position and a betrayal of a country, Ukraine, that was under the threat of Russian aggression.” Fried was a career diplomat who was still serving in the State Department at the time. He didn’t retire until February 2017. But he decided to take his own actions to try to block the Trump administration move by appealing to members of Congress to pass legislation to codify the Ukraine sanctions and call for additional ones — a move that came to fruition later that year. Trump at first considered vetoing the legislation, but reluctantly signed it when it was clear any veto would be overturned by Congress. | |
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| 04-22-18 02:16am - 2436 days | #4 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
slutty, The ads are spam. But they are sent by different advertisers, promoting different products, most of which I've never heard of. The spam is sent to my Yahoo inbox. And it can not be easily deleted, as most regular spam can be deleted. If you open the spam message, and then click delete, the spam message is not deleted. Separately, with most messages (spam and non-spam), there is a box beside the message that you can select, and then hit the delete icon, and the message (spam and non-spam) is deleted. But the spam advertisement emails delivered to your inbox, have the box filled in with a symbol, that does not allow you to select the box with a checkmark, because the box has already been filled-and blocks you from adding a check mark. So there is no simple way to delete the spam advertisement. 1. The normal box with the message, that you can use to select it for deletion, has been blocked. 2 If you open the spam advertisement and then hit the deletion icon, the spam advertisement is not deleted, but remains in the inbox folder. Annoying. The easiest way to get rid of this new spam advertisement would be to pay for the premium Yahoo email account ($3.49/month or $34.99/year), which I assume would stop the spam advertisement from appearing in your email inbox. Otherwise, you can't delete these spam emails that are sent to your inbox. You can't move them to the trash or spam boxes. They are pinned to your inbox. Tricky. They just started showing up in my inbox this week. My guess is that Yahoo wants to make money of the people who use their email system. More than the money they were making before, with random spam and other advertisements. Edited on Apr 22, 2018, 03:33am | |
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| 04-22-18 01:51am - 2436 days | #480 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Fake news: To get a simple truth, you need to appoint a special counsel investigation into Scott Pruitt's activities. Unless you want to believe whatever Pruitt says. However, if you have a lot of money, Pruitt might be willing to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge. At a substantial discount, of course. ------- ------- Despite denials, lobbyist tied to condo met with EPA chief Associated Press MICHAEL BIESECKER,Associated Press 2 hours 38 minutes ago FILE - In this Tuesday, April 3, 2018, file photo, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt attends a news conference at the EPA in Washington, on his decision to scrap Obama administration fuel standards. The fossil-fuels lobbyist tied to the bargain-priced Capitol Hill condo leased by Pruitt is taking early retirement as a result of the scandal. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) WASHINGTON (AP) — Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt met in his office last year with a veteran Washington lobbyist tied to the bargain-priced condo where Pruitt was living. Both Pruitt and lobbyist Steven Hart had previously denied Hart had conducted any recent business with EPA. A spokesman for Hart confirmed Saturday that the lobbyist met with Pruitt at EPA headquarters in July 2017 to discuss efforts to preserve the Chesapeake Bay. The admission about the meeting came after the lobbying firm Williams & Jensen filed a new disclosure report late Friday hours after Hart announced his early retirement as chairman. The firm's filing, first reported by The Hill, says Hart lobbied EPA during the first quarter of 2018 on behalf of Smithfield Foods. The world's largest pork producer, Smithfield has been involved with efforts to clean up the bay since EPA fined the company $12.6 million in 1997 for illegally dumping hog waste into a tributary. EPA's press office did not respond to questions about Pruitt's meeting with Hart. Pruitt's connections to the prominent lobbyist have been under intense scrutiny since last month, when media reports first revealed that the EPA chief had rented a luxury Capitol Hill condo from a corporation co-owned by Hart's wife for just $50 a night. Pruitt's daughter, then a White House summer intern, also stayed at the condo. On Pruitt's 2017 condo lease, a copy of which was reviewed by AP, Steven Hart's name was originally typed in as "landlord" but was scratched out. The name of his wife, health care lobbyist Vicki Hart, was scribbled in. Pruitt's public calendar shows he met at EPA headquarters on July 11 with the Smithfield Foundation, the pork-producer's philanthropic arm. The calendar entry does not include a list of attendees. Pruitt's calendar does not disclose any 2018 meetings with Smithfield or its affiliates, the period covered by the report filed by Williams & Jensen. Hart's spokesman, Ryan Williams, confirmed on Saturday that the lobbyist had met with Pruitt at EPA in July. In a statement, Hart disputed the legal filing made by his former firm. "I assisted a friend who served on the Chesapeake Bay Commission, and this is inaccurately being tied to Smithfield Foods," Hart said. "I was not paid for this assistance and any suggestion that I lobbied for Smithfield Foods is inaccurate." Lobbying disclosures show Williams & Jensen has represented Smithfield for more than a decade, with Hart intermittently reported as working directly on the pork-producer's behalf. The firm reported receiving $70,000 from Smithfield in the first quarter of this year. In a statement issued Saturday, Smithfield said it did not direct any contacts with EPA about the Chesapeake Bay. "The objective, while laudable, was not undertaken at the direction of or on behalf of Smithfield Foods," said a written statement provided by Smithfield spokeswoman Diana Souder. "These activities were conducted at the request of a then former executive and current Smithfield Foundation board member, Dennis Treacy, in his personal capacity." Treacy is a member of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, which was created by the states of Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania to coordinate on issues involving the bay. He did not respond to a phone message on Saturday seeking comment. Pruitt denied in an interview earlier with Fox News earlier this month that there was anything improper with his rental of the condo from Hart's wife. "Mr. Hart has no client that has business before this agency," Pruitt said. "It was like an Airbnb situation." Hart also denied having any meaningful recent contacts with the EPA chief. "Pruitt is a casual friend but I have had no contact with him for many months except for a brief pass by at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2018," Hart said last month. Prior to being tapped by Trump to lead EPA, Pruitt served as the elected attorney general of Oklahoma. Williams & Jensen represents several clients with interests before the agency, including OGE Energy Corp., an electricity provider in Pruitt's home state. Campaign finance records show Hart hosted a 2014 fundraiser for Pruitt's state re-election effort where more than three dozen OGE executives cut checks, even though he was running without a Democratic opponent. Records show that once Pruitt arrived at EPA last year, he met with a lobbyist from Hart's firm and two executives from OGE Energy, which was then seeking to scuttle tighter pollution standards for coal-fired power plants. The company paid Williams & Jensen $400,000 in lobbying fees last year. Pruitt's calendar also shows another meeting with OGE last month, though the agency provided no specifics about who attended. Hart's spokesman declined to answer Saturday whether the lobbyist attended those or any other additional meetings with Pruitt. | |
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