Posts made by Drwas

WASHINGTON - One of the Trump administration’s first decisions about the fight against the Islamic State was made by Michael Flynn weeks before he was fired – and it conformed to the wishes of Turkey, whose interests, unbeknownst to anyone in Washington, he’d been paid more than $500,000 to represent.

The decision came 10 days before Donald Trump had been sworn in as president, in a conversation with President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, who had explained the Pentagon’s plan to retake the Islamic State’s de facto capital of Raqqa with Syrian Kurdish forces whom the Pentagon considered the U.S.’s most effective military partners. Obama’s national security team had decided to ask for Trump’s sign-off, since the plan would all but certainly be executed after Trump had become president.

Flynn didn’t hesitate. According to timelines distributed by members of Congress in the weeks since, Flynn told Rice to hold off, a move that would delay the military operation for months.

If Flynn explained his answer, that’s not recorded, and it’s not known whether he consulted anyone else on the transition team before rendering his verdict. But his position was consistent with the wishes of Turkey, which had long opposed the United States partnering with the Kurdish forces – and which was his undeclared client.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article151149702.html

Michael Flynn and other advisers to Donald Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the exchanges told Reuters.

The previously undisclosed interactions form part of the record now being reviewed by FBI and congressional investigators probing Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election and contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russia.

Six of the previously undisclosed contacts described to Reuters were phone calls between Sergei Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States, and Trump advisers, including Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser, three current and former officials said.

Conversations between Flynn and Kislyak accelerated after the Nov. 8 vote as the two discussed establishing a back channel for communication between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could bypass the U.S. national security bureaucracy, which both sides considered hostile to improved relations, four current U.S. officials said.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN18E106

Imagine what would have happened had a President Hillary Clinton abruptly fired the man overseeing an investigation of her campaign’s ties to a hostile foreign government.

Imagine if the firing came, according to The New York Times, weeks after Clinton had asked the man to drop a probe of a close associate who had lied about conversations with that nation's ambassador.

Imagine, further, what would have happened had she invited the ambassador and foreign minister of that hostile government to the Oval Office at the request of their autocratic leader, closed the meeting to U.S. journalists, and claimed to have been tricked when the foreign adversary's media arm released chummy photos from the meeting.

And then imagine that she had used the meeting to share classified intelligence with the envoys.

Republicans in Congress and conservative news outlets would undoubtedly be clamoring for investigations, if not impeachment. After all, Clinton's critics spent years trying to make a capital case out of the Benghazi tragedy, then pounded her careless handling of sensitive information through her use of a private server for State Department emails.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/05/16/pretend-clinton-did-what-trump-has-done-editorials-debates/101757556/

For the first time, President Donald Trump’s Canadian real estate dealings have been identified as another area of interest for U.S. federal investigators probing ties between Russia and Trump and his associates.

The connections between the Toronto deal and Russia are indirect and opaque but investigators appear to be zeroing in on the hundreds of millions of dollars Trump’s former business partner received from a Russian-state bank shortly before he put money into the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto, according to a Wednesday Wall Street Journal report.

The Journal reported that Russian-Canadian developer Alexander Shnaider received $850 million from Vnesheconombank in 2010 for selling his company’s share in a Ukrainian steelmaker. Russian President Vladimir Putin was chairman of the bank’s supervisory board at the time, and would have approved these sorts of high-level deals, according to the report.

According to the Journal:

After Mr. Shnaider and his partner sold their stake in the steelmaker, Mr. Shnaider injected more money into the Trump Toronto project, which was financially troubled. Mr. Shnaider’s lawyer, Symon Zucker, said in an April interview that about $15 million from the asset sale went into the Trump Toronto project. A day later, he wrote in an email: “I am not able to confirm that any funds” from the deal “went into the Toronto project.”

The second-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives said in a recorded conversation last summer that he thought then-candidate Donald Trump was being paid by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. Spokespeople insist he made the comment in jest.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made the remark in a private conversation with fellow Republican leaders on June 15, according to the report. A month earlier, McCarthy had signed up as a Republican National Convention delegate for Trump.

The Post published a full transcript of the publication tape, but here’s the relevant portion from the original report:

“I’ll guarantee you that’s what it is…The Russians hacked the DNC and got the opp [opposition] research that they had on Trump,” McCarthy said with a laugh.

Ryan asked who the Russians “delivered” the opposition research to.

“There’s… there’s two people, I think, Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy said, drawing some laughter. “Swear to God,” McCarthy added.

“This is an off the record,” Ryan said.

Some lawmakers laughed at that.

“No leaks, alright?,” Ryan said, adding: “This is how we know we’re a real family here.”

“That’s how you know that we’re tight,” Scalise said.

“What’s said in the family stays in the family,” Ryan added.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/house-majority-leader-to-colleagues-in-2016-i-think-putin-pays-trump/2017/05/17/515f6f8a-3aff-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html?utm_term=.1a167a19b341

The growing political drama in Washington rattled Wall Street Wednesday, knocking the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 370 points and giving the stock market its biggest single-day slump in eight months.

Investors worried that the headline-fueled political turmoil that has enveloped the White House may hinder President Donald Trump’s plans to cut taxes, roll back government regulations and other aspects of his pro-business agenda.

The steep drop ended an unusually long period of calm for the markets, which had been hovering near all-time highs.

Financial stocks, which had soared in the months since the election, declined the most as bond yields fell sharply. Bonds, utilities and gold rose as traders shunned riskier assets. The dollar fell.

‘‘When you are at these valuations, the market has to reassess whether or not the agenda is actually going to be implemented,’’ said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. ‘‘What you’re seeing is a classic run toward safety.’’

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index had its biggest drop since September, sliding 43.64 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,357.03. The Dow lost 372.82 points, or 1.8 percent, to 20,606.93. The Nasdaq composite index, coming off setting two consecutive record highs, gave up 158.63 points, or 2.6 percent, to 6,011.24.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has appointed Robert S. Mueller III, the former FBI director, to serve as a special counsel to oversee its investigation into Russian meddling in the election, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced Wednesday.

The appointment of Mueller dramatically raises the stakes for President Donald Trump in the multiple investigations into his campaign’s ties to the Russians. It follows a swiftly moving series of developments that have roiled Washington, including Trump’s abrupt dismissal of the FBI director, James B. Comey, and the disclosure that the president urged Comey to drop the bureau’s investigation into his former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn.

“I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authorities and appoint a special counsel to assume responsibility for this matter,” Rosenstein said in a statement. “My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination.”

While a special counsel would remain ultimately answerable to Rosenstein — and by extension, the president — he would have greater autonomy to run an investigation than a U.S. attorney.

Several dozen torch-wielding protesters gathered in Charlottesville’s Lee Park just after 9 p.m. Saturday, chanting “You will not replace us,” “Russia is our friend” and “Blood and soil.” After about 10 minutes, Charlottesville police arrived at the scene following an altercation between protesters. The crowd quickly dispersed with no further incidents, according to police.

In April, Charlottesville City Council voted to sell the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that stands in the park, but a judge earlier this month issued an injunction that prevents the city from doing so for six months. The city’s decision has drawn considerable consternation from Southern heritage groups, Republican gubernatorial candidate Corey Stewart and a number of others in Virginia and elsewhere.

In a statement, Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer called the event “either profoundly ignorant or was designed to instill fear in our minority populations in a way that hearkens back to the days of the KKK. Either way, as mayor of this city, I want everyone to know this: we reject this intimidation. We are a welcoming city, but such intolerance is not welcome here.”

http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/torch-wielding-protesters-gather-at-lee-park/article_201dc390-384d-11e7-bf16-fb43de0f5d38.html

Fake News!

Sharia law is against gays and women, despite what SJWs tell you.

I'm still waiting for Higgs to come back and tell me all the muslim countries that are gay utopias.  He ran away from the thread after I asked him to name them.

That has NOTHING to do with the current topic.

Trump is trying as best he can to keep radical Muslims out of the country.  Muslim law dictates that homosexuals should be put to death.  In 17 Muslim countries in the world, homosexuals are put to death, and in many other Muslim countries they are beaten and tortured and imprisoned.

And yet.. the libtards do everything possible to open the borders to these intolerant, homophobic, monsters.

We're talking about scumbag repigliKKKlans here!

In Lester Holt’s interview with President Donald Trump on NBC Nightly News that aired earlier tonight, the president defended his sacking of FBI director James Comey and, in a possible gaffe, seems to have admitted that he fired Comey in part because of the agency’s ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign’s collusion with the Russian government.

“I was going to fire Comey,” Trump said defiantly. “When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, ‘You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.'”

The president then called the investigation “an excuse by the Democrats . . . an excuse for having lost an election.”

Later, Trump insisted that Comey had told him “three times” that he was not under investigation, and detailed to Holt the circumstances of those three instances.

It is unclear if Trump understands the implications of mentioning the “made-up Russia story” in the same sentence that he discussed his reasons for firing Comey. If Trump were to admit that he fired Comey because he was irked by the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible connections to Russian election interference, he would be admitting to obstruction of justice.

That same charge was what ultimately led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. Nixon was investigated for obstruction of justice for his hand in covering up the break-in at the Watergate Hotel. With this latest gaffe, the parallels between the two presidents have become more glaring.

Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe for the second time has directly contradicted White House claims. Late Thursday morning Director McCabe exposed as false a key White House claim for firing Director Jim Comey, telling Senators during an Intelligence Committee hearing Comey had "broad support within the FBI, and still does."

Minutes ago, McCabe said the FBI believes its investigation into Russia's interference with the U.S. election, presumably including the investigation of Trump associates, is "highly significant."

Asked to reconfirm his statement, Senator Angus King (I-ME) said, "You would not characterize it as 'one of the smallest things' you're engaged in?"

McCabe responded: "I would not."

Rick Brattin, a Missouri state representative from Harrisonville, seems pretty certain: Homosexuality and humanity are incompatible. “When you look at the tenets of religion, of the Bible, of the Qur’an, of other religions,” he said Monday, “there is a distinction between homosexuality and just being a human being.”

The statement, made on the Missouri House floor, was deplorable. It betrayed a stunning lack of understanding of theology and self-government: The Constitution protects all Americans from the tyranny of any single faith-based approach to secular law.

We asked Rep. Brattin to explain his statement, but he did not return a phone call to his office. It isn’t the first time state Brattin has tripped over the Constitution.

He has sought an equal footing for teaching creationism in public schools. He proposed requiring the father’s consent before an abortion except in cases of “legitimate rape.”

http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article149595284.html?fb_comment_id=fbc_1677900092223401_1678946095452134_1678946095452134

Five activists were arrested in Moscow Thursday morning while attempting to deliver a petition demanding Russian authorities investigate the kidnapping and torture of gay men in Chechnya.

Several dozen men have been detained and tortured by authorities in Chechnya in the past few months, according to reports by the Russian independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta. Chechnya is a semi-autonomous region inside Russia, and its leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, responded to the reports by saying "we have never had gay men" in the republic.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he'd order federal authorities to assist in an investigation after being pressed on the issue by German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this month, but there is concern whether this investigation will be allowed to do its work.

The petition drive was organized by a trio of Russia LGBT organizations in partnership with US-based online activist platforms All Out, Avaaz, and Change.org. The five activists were delivering 2 million signatures to Russia's prosecutor general, the head of the agency that oversees federal investigations, when they were detained by the Moscow police. The Russia LGBT Network issued a statement saying they were arrested under a law prohibiting unauthorized public gatherings.

Former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes is still costing the network that used to employ him a lot of money.

The network’s parent company, 21st Century Fox, disclosed in its most recent quarterly report on Wednesday that the company has paid a total of $45 million in costs “related to settlements of pending and potential litigations following the July 2016 resignation of the Chairman and CEO of Fox News Channel after a public complaint was filed containing allegations of sexual harassment.”

Former “Fox and Friends” co-host Gretchen Carlson, who sued Ailes for sexual harassment last year, settled her case for $20 million. Of the remaining $25 million, $10 million was paid during the first three months of 2017.

After Carlson filed her suit, more than 20 women stepped forward accusing the former CEO of improper behavior and sexual harassment ― allegations that reportedly spanned the course of decades.

And accusations of inappropriate behavior during his tenure continue to surface. Last month, Fox News severed ties with Bill O’Reilly, the network’s most popular personality, after a bombshell New York Times report about mounting sexual harassment allegations and settlements. Just last week, Bill Shine, who was one of Ailes’ chief lieutenants at the network and tapped to run things when he left, resigned amid allegations that he worked to coverup and downplay continued reports sexual harassment and racial discrimination.

In addition to harassment litigation, 13 former and current Fox News employees are suing the network for racial discrimination.

Despite the allegations that led to Ailes and O’Reilly’s removal from the network, which both men deny, they each left Fox News with payouts worth millions. O’Reilly received $25 million as part of his settlement to leave the network, while Ailes was rumored to have received as much as $40 million to exit.

If you're gay and you want a baby go to a non faith based adoption agency.

Longing for the days of separate drinking fountains too?

A man was caught on video delivering a long, Anti-Muslim tirade against a family vacationing last week on a Texas beach, repeatedly screaming at them about Sharia law, ISIS and Donald Trump.

Fourteen members of the family were on weeklong reunion in South Padre Island when the man, who was identified in a police report obtained by BuzzFeed News as Alexander Downing, of Waterford, Connecticut, approached them.

"You're a fucking Muslim, motherfucker," the man says at one point in front of the family, which included children playing on the beach, just feet away. "You will never ever, ever, stop me, my Christianity," the man says, "from rising above your Sharia law. Your Sharia law don't mean shit to me."

Sharia — a religious code of conduct, no different than those contained in other Abrahamic religions — has often been used as a fear-inducing term associated with anti-Western beliefs in recent years.

The incident, which was captured on video by Noria Alward, 19, and posted on YouTube, shows Downing, intoxicated, approaching the family in an aggressive manner — repeatedly shouting obscenities and veiled threats while pointing his finger in their faces.

Youtube Video

President Donald Trump’s meeting Wednesday morning with two top Russian officials was closed to all press — except, apparently, official government photographers.

Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, along with Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak.

“The Lavrov meeting was closed to the press and the only visual account we have of it thus far is via handout photos from the Russian government,” The Hill’s Jordan Fabian wrote in a pool report Wednesday morning. “Those images show Trump also met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.”

Gizmodo’s Matt Novak noted on Twitter that Getty wire images of the meeting were credited to TASS, which is commonly described as state-run or state-owned.

Nope, that's not how a dark cloud works. Slow drip, drip, drip just like the Hillary Clinton emails. That keeps it constantly on the minds of people. This thing is already over, it's all about time at this point. The funny thing, just like with Nixon, #45's last line of defense is the courts and we all know he blew his reputation with them before he even took office. Nixon tried to stop the Watergate tapes from being released and it was the court that brought the end to him by forcing the release of those tapes. Looks like we're headed for a repeat

So true. How funny was it that tRump had a meeting with Kissinger today too! Wonder what they talked about?