Posts made by Drwas

Police investigating the Manchester Arena bomb attack have stopped sharing information with the US after leaks to the media. UK officials were outraged when photos appearing to show debris from the attack appeared in the New York Times.

It came after the name of bomber Salman Abedi was leaked to US media just hours after the attack, which left 22 dead. Theresa May said she would tell Donald Trump at a NATO meeting that shared intelligence “must remain secure”.

Greater Manchester Police hope to resume normal intelligence relationships – a two-way flow of information – soon but is currently “furious”, the BBC understands. Its chief constable Ian Hopkins said the recent leak had caused “much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss.”.

The force – which is leading the investigation on the ground – gives its information to National Counter-Terrorism, which then shares it across government and – because of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement – with the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40040210

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos says she has no problem with states that allow schools to discriminate against LGBT students while receiving federal funds, and believes that the federal government should not intervene.

Wednesday afternoon at the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Sevices, and Education, Democratic Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts shared with Secretary DeVos the policies of an Indiana private school, the Lighthouse Christian Academy, which is allowed to accept state vouchers – a program for which DeVos has spent decades advocating.

As Rep. Clark told DeVos, the school's handbook states it will refuse admission to or expel students when someone in the child's home is "living in, condoning sexual immorality; practicing homosexual lifestyle or alternate gender identity; promoting such practices."

Rep. Clark, noting that the Lighthouse Academy receives over $665,000 in state vouchers, told DeVos the school policy is that "if you are from a family where there is homosexual or bisexual activity – their word not mine – or practicing alternate gender identity, you may be denied admissions."

President Donald Trump in April told Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that the United States has two nuclear submarines stationed in Korean waters, according to several reports.

“We have a lot of firepower over there. We have two submarines, the best in the world,” Trump bragged to Duterte, according to reports by the New York Times and the Intercept. “We have two nuclear submarines, not that we want to use them at all.”

Defense officials were shocked by reports Trump had disclosed the location of the submarines because: “We never talk about subs!”

Trump’s cavalier attitude toward sensitive information is nothing new. The Washington Post reported last week that Trump shared highly classified information with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador to the U.S. during a meeting in the Oval Office earlier in May.

A majority of voters believe that President Donald Trump is abusing the powers of his office, according to a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University.

Fifty-four percent of voters think Trump is abusing his power as President, according to the survey, while 43 percent think he is not.

In addition, a majority of those surveyed — 54 percent — disapproved of Trump’s decision to abruptly fire James Comey as director of the FBI, while only 36 percent approved.

but the instant Billy spotted that he had a camera pointed at him, his face turned from a smile to a frown.

Well that settles it, he must be guilty. :crazy2:

Former CIA Director John Brennan said on Tuesday that he had concerns that Russian officials may have successfully recruited aides from Donald Trump’s campaign to help in the Kremlin’s efforts to influence last year’s presidential election.

"I encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U.S. persons involved in the Trump campaign that I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals," he told lawmakers. "And it raised questions in my mind again whether or not the Russians were able to gain the cooperation of those individuals."

His remarks, before the House Intelligence Committee, are the most direct acknowledgment yet by a current or former U.S. official that Russia sought to recruit Americans to help in its effort to affect the 2016 contest. The remarks also further complicate matters for President Donald Trump, who has dismissed the investigations into Russia’s election meddling as a “witch hunt.”

Indiana heating and cooling company Carrier is eliminating more than 600 jobs from its Indianapolis facility, despite promises made as part of a deal with President Donald Trump to keep the positions in the U.S.

In a letter received by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development on Monday, Carrier said it isn’t closing the facility but the job eliminations will be permanent.

“This action follows a thorough evaluation of our manufacturing operations and is intended to address the challenges the business faces in a a rapidly changing industry,” Carrier Senior Human Resources Manager Steven Morris wrote in a letter announcing the move.

Fox News on Tuesday removed a story based on an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory about the unsolved murder of a DNC staffer.

“The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting,” Fox said in a brief statement. “Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed.”

The network did not apologize and said it “will continue to investigate this story.”

Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman is one of unpopular President Trump’s “advisers” in everything from trade to infrastructure. President Trump just gave the world a Twitter-rant-free vacation as he and his wife visited Saudi Arabia to discuss things like weapons. Coincidentally, CNN Money is reporting that Mr. Schwarzman’s Blackstone Group just got a pledge for $20 billion from the Saudi government. How serendipitous is that?

The firm said Saturday that it will raise another $20 billion from other investors. With debt financing, Blackstone hopes eventually to bring the total to $100 billion.

The announcement Saturday was a year in the making, but the timing was significant. It came as Trump kicked off his first overseas trip this weekend in Saudi Arabia, where he touted his ability to attract foreign investment in the United States.

"When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them, two years later, three years later? I call them. They are there for me."

Those words hang over Trump this week as he fields questions about a campaign contribution he made three years ago to a fundraising committee for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. That contribution has drawn scrutiny in part because the $25,000 came from Trump's nonprofit charitable foundation — in violation of IRS rules — and because the foundation failed to properly report the gift on its tax return. The foundation incorrectly reported that the money went to an unrelated charity in Kansas with a similar name.

"There's a problem first of all with a charity giving a political contribution, and then it looks like there's a problem with giving false information to the IRS," said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog group.

CREW filed a complaint over the Trump contribution in March.

http://www.npr.org/2016/09/06/492857874/trump-dismisses-questions-over-donation-tied-to-florida-attorney-general

Donald Trump is going to appoint Pam Bondi, who got an illegal payment from the Trump Foundation, to a White House spot

It is now being reported that Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a member of Donald Trump’s transition team who has a history with the president-elect, is being considered for an appointment in the Trump White House.

When the Trump transition team was asked about the possibility of a Bondi appointment on Thursday, incoming press secretary Sean Spicer refused to divulge any information on the subject.

“We have no additional announcements at this time,” Spicer said. “I don’t want to get ahead of any announcements that may or may not come.”

When asked for comment by the Tampa Bay Times, Bondi said “I’d never discuss anything confidential.”

It is unclear what position Bondi could be in contention for, although given that she is a career prosecutor, a position in law enforcement would be the most immediately logical.

Although Bondi is widely considered to be quite close to the Trump team, her appointment would almost certainly raise controversy due to her association with the scandals embroiling the Trump Foundation.

A spokesperson for Bondi’s office had told the Orlando Sentinel in September 2013 that it was determining whether they should join the New York Attorney General’s case against Trump University; four days after that, a pro-Bondi PAC received a $25,000 check from the Trump Foundation; and in October, Bondi’s office decided that “no action was necessary.”

Did Donald Trump Bribe an Attorney General to Protect Trump University?
http://www.vanityfair.com/people/donald-trump#intcid=dt-hot-link

Donald Trump has long boasted that his past political contributions have given him unique insight into the way Washington is rigged. “I give to everybody. When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them, two years later, three years later, I call them. They are there for me,” he bragged during the first presidential debate. Trump’s candor won him fans, and burnished the billionaire’s claim to be the one candidate who both understands how the donor-donee relationship really works while not being beholden to donors himself.

Now, with just two months until Election Day, the Republican presidential nominee’s claims to have worked the system to his advantage are coming back to haunt him. Over the Labor Day weekend, Trump faced renewed questioning about why his family foundation had donated $25,000 to a political group supporting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in 2013—in violation of federal rules preventing foundations from donating to political candidates—at the same time that her office was considering whether to investigate Trump University for alleged fraud. Bondi, according to reporting by the Associated Press in July, “personally solicited” the political contribution, just before she declined to move forward with the Trump University case.

@mhorndisk:

Especially compared to Clinton and Haiti OMG. There IS NO comparison. Clinton took almost a billion dollars from Haiti and promised to build a hospital and took 90% of those donations to "administrative costs." What a fucking bitch. And a loser. And a whore. And a horrible human being! How dare you vote for a witch like her!

Only one candidates charitable foundation was shut down during the campaign, and it wasn't Hillary Clintons!

http://video.foxnews.com/v/5261855990001/?#sp=show-clips

Trump Foundation Ordered to ‘Immediately’ Halt Fundraising in New York
http://www.snopes.com/2016/10/03/trump-foundation-ordered-to-immediately-halt-fundraising-in-new-york/

Trump Foundation Ordered by New York AG to Stop Fundraising
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-foundation-ordered-new-york-ag-stop-fundraising-n658651

Trump pays IRS a penalty for his foundation violating rules with gift to aid Florida attorney general
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/01/trump-pays-irs-a-penalty-for-his-foundation-violating-rules-with-gift-to-florida-attorney-general/?utm_term=.5a7987ecfcc6

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former chairman of President Donald Trump’s transition team, said Monday that he repeatedly recommended that Trump not give a job to Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser now under investigation for potential collusion with Russia during the campaign.

‘‘If I were president-elect of the United States, I wouldn’t let General Flynn in the White House, let alone give him a job,’’ Christie said during a during a wide-ranging news conference in Trenton, N.J.

Christie, a Republican who was relieved of his duties overseeing the transition shortly after the November election, declined to detail his concerns about Flynn.

‘‘I’m not going to get into specifics,’’ Christie said. ‘‘Some of it involves classified information that I’m just not at liberty to discuss.’’

President Donald Trump’s administration has asked the head of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter M. Shaub Jr., to withdraw a request for the disclosure of all ethics waivers granted to former lobbyists working for the White House or federal agencies, according to a report by The New York Times. Shaub asked for copies of the waivers from every federal agency, but the Office of Management and Budget insists that it needs to “seek further legal guidance” and claims that “the very fact that this internal discussion was leaked implies that the data being sought is not being collected to satisfy our mutual high standard of ethics.”

Shaub seemed taken aback by the White House’s response, telling the Times: “It is an extraordinary thing. I have never seen anything like it.”

Although Shaub was appointed by President Barack Obama, his view on the Trump administration’s behavior seems to be shared by Marilyn L. Glynn, who served as general counsel for and acting director to the Office of Government Ethics under President George W. Bush.

“It challenges the very authority of the director of the agency and his ability to carry out the functions of the office,” Glynn told the Times.

Authorities are investigating whether the stabbing death of a black college student who was visiting the University of Maryland during graduation weekend was a hate crime.

The chief of the university police said Sunday the suspect, a white University of Maryland student, is a member of a racist Facebook group. An FBI official said the federal agency will assist with the investigation.

The victim, identified by police Sunday as Richard Collins III, was due to graduate from Bowie State University this week. The Calvert County man had completed ROTC in college and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army on Thursday, according to school officials and a family spokesman. He was 23.

Police have charged Sean Christoper Urbanski, 22, of Severna Park with first-degree murder in the attack.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-umd-stabbing-arrest-20170521-story.html

A WhoWhatWhy investigation has uncovered numerous substantive falsehoods and mischaracterizations —  raising doubts about a case that changed the 2016 election and American history:

•  The girl was presented in news accounts — and Weiner’s plea deal — as being 15 at the time, that is, under the age of consent in her state. She was not.

•  Weiner’s victim and her family were not, as represented, Clinton fans — they actually were strong Trump enthusiasts. Her story was trusted in part because she was characterized as having no axe to grind with Clinton or the Democrats.

•  Weiner’s “sexting” partner was not simply a victim. Contrary to tabloid accounts, she initiated the contact with Weiner. And she went out of her way to seek advice from a GOP-associated figure behind prior efforts to harm Weiner and other Democrats.

https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/05/22/exclusive-weiners-underage-sexting-girl-lied-damage-clinton/

HOUSTON — A black Texas congressman said Saturday that he’s been threatened with lynching by callers infuriated over him seeking impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Representative Al Green held a town hall meeting and played recordings of several threatening voicemails left at his offices in Houston and Washington, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The seven-term Democrat told the crowd of about 100 people that he won’t be deterred.

“We are not going to be intimidated,” Green said. “We are not going to allow this to cause us to deviate from what we believe to be the right thing to do and that is to proceed with the impeachment of President Trump.”

One male caller used a racial insult and threatened Green with “hanging from a tree” if he pursues impeachment. Another man left a message saying Green would be the one impeached after “a short trial” and then he would be hanged, according to the recording.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Racial-slurs-thrown-at-Al-Green-after-calling-for-11161204.php

The official Russian Foreign Ministry Twitter account has posted a video of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, his aides and European officials laughing about “passing secrets” to Russians.

The meeting took place between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland. “These pictures won’t cause any problems for you?” Jagland joked.

“Depends on what kind of secrets you pass to me,” Lavrov responded before the group shared a laugh at the expense of the United States and Donald Trump.

https://twitter.com/mfa_russia/status/865270479103418368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com%2Fryanjent%2Fwatch_russian_government_posts_video_of_russian_officials_laughing_about_being_passed_secrets

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Trump administration has refused to release a memo from the commission established by former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani concerning Donald Trump’s failed Muslim Ban, despite a federal court’s order to produce the document.

“Under a federal order, the memo was to be produced on Friday,” ACLU of Michigan’s statement on the matter reads, “but the Trump administration objected late Friday night, claiming, among other things, that a federal court cannot require the President to release documents.”

The ACLU of Michigan, in conjunction with the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL), challenged the president’s “travel ban” in federal court, and has called on the White House “to be transparent on the issue.” The judge had previously directed the Trump administration to produce the document by May 19th.