Israeli forces kill Palestinian suspected of deadly attack in West Bank

March 19, 2019

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli forces on Tuesday killed a Palestinian suspected of carrying out a deadly stabbing and shooting attack in the occupied West Bank two days earlier, the Israeli Shin Bet security service said.

The assailant was killed after he opened fire at Israeli forces who had come to arrest him, the Shin Bet said. The Palestinian health ministry confirmed a person had been killed in the clash, but provided no further details.

In what appeared to be a separate incident, the Palestinian health ministry said two more Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli soldiers near the West Bank city of Nablus. An Israeli army spokeswoman said the report was being looked into.

On Sunday, a suspected Palestinian assailant fatally stabbed a soldier at an intersection on a busy West Bank highway and opened fire at the scene using the conscript’s rifle, killing an Israeli rabbi and wounding a second soldier.

Palestinians, many of them people without links to armed groups, carried out a wave of attacks in the West Bank in late 2015 and 2016 but the frequency of such incidents has since decreased.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians seek to establish a state there and in the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Tom Brown and Grant McCool)

Nox Mente’s Jerry Cthulhu and Niish 3/14/19

Nox Mente’s Jerry Cthulhu and Niish join Dave Cruz. The very successful live YouTube show and podcast explores the unearthly realm of dreams. Join us in the live chat and learn more about these two amazing and enigmatic hosts. Second hour call in and speak with hosts. It’ll definitely an amazing and strange evening.
Nox Mente is a show dedicated to exploring consciousness through dreams, dreaming, and dream theory using a wide angle lens. We have opened up this conversation to a diverse world of dreamers. Our goal is to help in the process of bringing conscious intent to the state of dreaming — light to the shadowy corners of this experience we all have access to, each time we drift off to sleep.

We strive to maintain an open and neutral environment as hosts. There are many theories on the process of dreaming and altered states, and we want to hear them all. No information is irrelevant when it comes to dreams. It is in the overlap of individual experiences that we find pathways into the thinking and journeys of the collective.

Nox Mente is streamed live every Wednesday night at 6:00pm Pacific, 9:00pm Eastern on their YouTube channel

Update: New Zealand mosque shootings – White supremacist gunman videos live murder of 49 at two Christchurch mosques

 The shooter turns the camera on himself on way to the rampage. It was posted on a Facebook page belonging to Brenton Tarrant

Source:

AT least one terrorist opened fire at New Zealand mosques today murdering 49 people and injuring 48 others in a sickening attack.

The shooter executed Muslim worshippers in Christchurch during Friday prayers – and even live-streamed the slaughter on Facebook in a 17-minute video.

 One man wearing military fatigues was arrested outside Papanui High School

What we know so far:

  • At least one gunman opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, at 1.40pm local time on Friday
  • Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has declared the attack a terrorist attack
  • 49 people have been killed – 41 were killed at Masjid Al Noor Mosque, seven at Linwood Masjid Mosque and one died at hospital
  • 48 people were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds and 20 are in critical condition
  • One of the gunmen live-streamed the deadly attack on Facebook using a GoPro in footage too distressing to show
  • It was posted on a Facebook page belonging to Brenton Tarrant
  • It is understood the killer is an Australian with British parents published a chilling 74-page manifesto before the rampage
  • Cops have arrested three men and a woman, with initial reports of one wearing a suicide vest proven incorrect
  • A 28-year-old man has been charged with murder and will appear in court tomorrow
  • Two others remain in custody and it is not clear if the fourth person was involved in the attack
  • Police are searching a property on Somerville Street, Dunedin in relation to today’s attack
  • New Zealand and Australian authorities have confirmed the suspects were not on any watch lists
  • The Bangladesh cricket team were at one of the mosques and escaped the shooting
  • Cops defused improvised explosives found on nearby booby-trapped cars
  • Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called it “one of New Zealand’s darkest days”


New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared the mosque massacres a “terrorist attack” and said it was one of the country’s “darkest days”.

Three men and one woman are in custody following the shootings at Masjid Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Masjid Mosque in Christchurch at around 1.40pm local time.

Initial reports one of those arrested was wearing a suicide vest were incorrect, as cops warned “let’s not presume the danger has gone”.

New Zealand Police commissioner Mike Bush said a man in his late twenties has been charged with murder and will appear in court tomorrow.

He added police were still trying to establish if the other three were involved, though one likely had “nothing to do with this incident”.

Police also defused a number of improvised explosives which were found on nearby booby-trapped cars following the bloodbath.

Ardern confirmed 41 people were killed at the Masjid Al Noor Mosque and a further seven were killed at the Linwood Masjid Mosque. One person later died from their wounds at hospital.

As she raised the country’s security to the highest level, the PM said: “It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack.”

She said the four people in police custody held extremist views, but had not been on any police watchlists.

“It’s not a matter of someone having slipped under the radar,” the PM said.

One white-supremacist gunmen filmed the footage – too shocking to show in its entirety – on a GoPro camera and streamed it to a Facebook page.

He fired automatic weapons as people ran for their lives and executed people at point blank range – including one girl who lay on the floor screaming for help.

CHILLING MANIFESTO

The shooter – believed to be a 27-year-old Australian with British parents – also published a chilling 74-page manifesto online saying he was inspired by Norway mass murderer Anders Breivik.

In the document he writes of taking revenge for the “thousands of European lives lost to terror attacks”.

He also wrote: “I have read the writings of Dylan Roof and many others, but only really took true inspiration from Knight Justiciar Breivik.”

The video was published on the Facebook account of a man named Brenton Tarrant – and this profile has since been removed.

The names of the gunmen have not yet been confirmed by police.

In twisted footage, the gunman says “let’s get this party started” as he drives up to a mosque playing loud music.

He also says “Remember lads, subscribe to pewdiepie”, referencing the controversial YouTuber.

LIVE-STREAMED SLAUGHTER

The man is seen taking automatic weapons from his boot, daubed in bizarre references to historic Muslim wars.

He then enters and shoots down multiple people in the prayer room, as they run in panic.

The man shoots several people from the car park before stalking through the building, picking off people and shooting bodies on the floor.

The man then walks back outside and shoots a young girl on the pavement as she screams for someone to help.

The sicko drives off boasting about how he “should have stayed longer” and blaring music including “Fire” by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.

Following the shootings, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it is “one of New Zealand’s darkest days”.

In a press conference, Police Commissioner Mike Bush warned: “We’re not assuming this is contained to Christchurch.”

He revealed that police in the city and elsewhere will be carrying guns for the next week or so.

Mr Bush said “there have been some absolute acts of bravery” in the arrests of the four attackers as he confirmed a “significant” amount of casualties.

“This is absolutely tragic. So many people are affected. We don’t have the identities of those who have died yet because those places are in lockdown.”

He said he would not assume there are not other attackers.

Police today were searching a property in Dunedin, around five hours’ drive south of Christchurch, connected to the incident, and had evacuated people in neighbouring homes.

The lockdown of schools throughout Christchurch was lifted at 5.50pm.

But patrols have been stepped up around mosques in other cities including Los Angeles “out of caution”.

CRICKET TEAM CAUGHT UP IN CARNAGE

The Bangladesh cricket team among worshippers caught up in the carnage – although all escaped unharmed.

Team manager Khaled Mashud said: “This was a kind of accident that we would never expect nor want in any part of the world.

“Only two of the players had stayed back in the hotel, and rest of the squad had gone there.

“We were very close to the mosque, and we could see from the bus. We must have been about 50 yards from the mosque.

“I would say we were really lucky. Had we arrived even three or four minutes earlier, we probably would have been inside the mosque.

“We are very thankful that we weren’t caught in the crossfire, but what we saw was straight out of a movie scene. We could see bloodstained people staggering out of the mosque.

“Maybe in about eight-10 minutes, we were all inside the bus and were sitting with our heads bowed, just in case someone fired at us.”

Mohammed Nazir told TVNZ he saw three women bleeding on the ground outside at Masjid Al Noor Mosque.

Another witness told the station: “My husband was driving past he said he took three people to the hospital, one was a little girl all been shot.

“He wanted to take more he said there was like a dozen people just lying on the road.”

Small children are said to be among the dead, and bodies have been reported laying on the ground outside.

A massive police response is under way with the city locked down.

Canterbury Police tweeted: “We have a critical incident in Christchurch. Please avoid the area. We will give more in the near future.”

One schoolboy caught up in the middle of shootings has described the blood-curdling “screams” amid the carnage.

Idris Khairuddin revealed Friday prayers were just about to start when multiple gunshots shattered the peace.

He said: “At first I thought it was just like construction work or something, then people were all running and screaming.”

The Bangladesh cricket team was at the mosque for Friday prayer when the shooting started.

Tamim Iqbal tweeted: “Entire team got saved from active shooters!!! Frightening experience and please keep us in your prayers.”

Mushfiqur Rahim said: “Alhamdulillah Allah save us today while shooting in Christchurch in the mosque…we r extremely lucky…never want to see this things happen again….pray for us”.

The upcoming third Test between New Zealand and Bangladesh has been called off following the mass shootings.

THE WORLD REACTS

Prime Minister Theresa May has led the UK condemnation of the Christchurch mosque shootings that killed 49 people.

In a tweet she sent “deepest condolences to the people of New Zealand after the horrifying terrorist attack in Christchurch”.

She added: “My thoughts are with all of those affected by this sickening act of violence.”

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “Our hearts go out to the people of New Zealand following the news of this terrible act in Christchurch.

“NZ is one of the most peaceful, peace-loving and generous nations in the world. Your friends in the UK stand with you today in deepest sympathy.”

The Queen said she is “deeply saddened by the appalling events in Christchurch today”, adding: “Prince Philip and I send our condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives.”

The UK’s counter-terrorism chief also said he was stepping up patrols around mosques in the UK and Brit officers were ready to support their counterparts in New Zealand.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said: “I blame these increasing terror attacks on the current Islamophobia post-9/11 (where) 1.3 billion Muslims have collectively been blamed for any act of terror.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the attack was a deliberate demonising of Muslim political struggles.

He wrote on Twitter: “Not only the perpetrators, but also politicians & media that fuel the already escalated Islamophobia and hate in the West, are equally responsible for this heinous attack.”

In a statement, Al-Azhar University, Egypt’s 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Islamic learning, said the attacks had “violated the sanctity of the houses of God”.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he’s shocked at the “terrible attacks”.

He wrote on Twitter: “We emphatically condemn violence and the lack of reason of fanatics and extremists who want to break our societies.”

Update: New Zealand mosque shootings – White supremacist gunman videos live murder of 49 at two Christchurch mosques

 The shooter turns the camera on himself on way to the rampage. It was posted on a Facebook page belonging to Brenton Tarrant

Source:

AT least one terrorist opened fire at New Zealand mosques today murdering 49 people and injuring 48 others in a sickening attack.

The shooter executed Muslim worshippers in Christchurch during Friday prayers – and even live-streamed the slaughter on Facebook in a 17-minute video.

 One man wearing military fatigues was arrested outside Papanui High School

What we know so far:

  • At least one gunman opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, at 1.40pm local time on Friday
  • Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has declared the attack a terrorist attack
  • 49 people have been killed – 41 were killed at Masjid Al Noor Mosque, seven at Linwood Masjid Mosque and one died at hospital
  • 48 people were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds and 20 are in critical condition
  • One of the gunmen live-streamed the deadly attack on Facebook using a GoPro in footage too distressing to show
  • It was posted on a Facebook page belonging to Brenton Tarrant
  • It is understood the killer is an Australian with British parents published a chilling 74-page manifesto before the rampage
  • Cops have arrested three men and a woman, with initial reports of one wearing a suicide vest proven incorrect
  • A 28-year-old man has been charged with murder and will appear in court tomorrow
  • Two others remain in custody and it is not clear if the fourth person was involved in the attack
  • Police are searching a property on Somerville Street, Dunedin in relation to today’s attack
  • New Zealand and Australian authorities have confirmed the suspects were not on any watch lists
  • The Bangladesh cricket team were at one of the mosques and escaped the shooting
  • Cops defused improvised explosives found on nearby booby-trapped cars
  • Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called it “one of New Zealand’s darkest days”


New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared the mosque massacres a “terrorist attack” and said it was one of the country’s “darkest days”.

Three men and one woman are in custody following the shootings at Masjid Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Masjid Mosque in Christchurch at around 1.40pm local time.

Initial reports one of those arrested was wearing a suicide vest were incorrect, as cops warned “let’s not presume the danger has gone”.

New Zealand Police commissioner Mike Bush said a man in his late twenties has been charged with murder and will appear in court tomorrow.

He added police were still trying to establish if the other three were involved, though one likely had “nothing to do with this incident”.

Police also defused a number of improvised explosives which were found on nearby booby-trapped cars following the bloodbath.

Ardern confirmed 41 people were killed at the Masjid Al Noor Mosque and a further seven were killed at the Linwood Masjid Mosque. One person later died from their wounds at hospital.

As she raised the country’s security to the highest level, the PM said: “It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack.”

She said the four people in police custody held extremist views, but had not been on any police watchlists.

“It’s not a matter of someone having slipped under the radar,” the PM said.

One white-supremacist gunmen filmed the footage – too shocking to show in its entirety – on a GoPro camera and streamed it to a Facebook page.

He fired automatic weapons as people ran for their lives and executed people at point blank range – including one girl who lay on the floor screaming for help.

CHILLING MANIFESTO

The shooter – believed to be a 27-year-old Australian with British parents – also published a chilling 74-page manifesto online saying he was inspired by Norway mass murderer Anders Breivik.

In the document he writes of taking revenge for the “thousands of European lives lost to terror attacks”.

He also wrote: “I have read the writings of Dylan Roof and many others, but only really took true inspiration from Knight Justiciar Breivik.”

The video was published on the Facebook account of a man named Brenton Tarrant – and this profile has since been removed.

The names of the gunmen have not yet been confirmed by police.

In twisted footage, the gunman says “let’s get this party started” as he drives up to a mosque playing loud music.

He also says “Remember lads, subscribe to pewdiepie”, referencing the controversial YouTuber.

LIVE-STREAMED SLAUGHTER

The man is seen taking automatic weapons from his boot, daubed in bizarre references to historic Muslim wars.

He then enters and shoots down multiple people in the prayer room, as they run in panic.

The man shoots several people from the car park before stalking through the building, picking off people and shooting bodies on the floor.

The man then walks back outside and shoots a young girl on the pavement as she screams for someone to help.

The sicko drives off boasting about how he “should have stayed longer” and blaring music including “Fire” by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.

Following the shootings, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it is “one of New Zealand’s darkest days”.

In a press conference, Police Commissioner Mike Bush warned: “We’re not assuming this is contained to Christchurch.”

He revealed that police in the city and elsewhere will be carrying guns for the next week or so.

Mr Bush said “there have been some absolute acts of bravery” in the arrests of the four attackers as he confirmed a “significant” amount of casualties.

“This is absolutely tragic. So many people are affected. We don’t have the identities of those who have died yet because those places are in lockdown.”

He said he would not assume there are not other attackers.

Police today were searching a property in Dunedin, around five hours’ drive south of Christchurch, connected to the incident, and had evacuated people in neighbouring homes.

The lockdown of schools throughout Christchurch was lifted at 5.50pm.

But patrols have been stepped up around mosques in other cities including Los Angeles “out of caution”.

CRICKET TEAM CAUGHT UP IN CARNAGE

The Bangladesh cricket team among worshippers caught up in the carnage – although all escaped unharmed.

Team manager Khaled Mashud said: “This was a kind of accident that we would never expect nor want in any part of the world.

“Only two of the players had stayed back in the hotel, and rest of the squad had gone there.

“We were very close to the mosque, and we could see from the bus. We must have been about 50 yards from the mosque.

“I would say we were really lucky. Had we arrived even three or four minutes earlier, we probably would have been inside the mosque.

“We are very thankful that we weren’t caught in the crossfire, but what we saw was straight out of a movie scene. We could see bloodstained people staggering out of the mosque.

“Maybe in about eight-10 minutes, we were all inside the bus and were sitting with our heads bowed, just in case someone fired at us.”

Mohammed Nazir told TVNZ he saw three women bleeding on the ground outside at Masjid Al Noor Mosque.

Another witness told the station: “My husband was driving past he said he took three people to the hospital, one was a little girl all been shot.

“He wanted to take more he said there was like a dozen people just lying on the road.”

Small children are said to be among the dead, and bodies have been reported laying on the ground outside.

A massive police response is under way with the city locked down.

Canterbury Police tweeted: “We have a critical incident in Christchurch. Please avoid the area. We will give more in the near future.”

One schoolboy caught up in the middle of shootings has described the blood-curdling “screams” amid the carnage.

Idris Khairuddin revealed Friday prayers were just about to start when multiple gunshots shattered the peace.

He said: “At first I thought it was just like construction work or something, then people were all running and screaming.”

The Bangladesh cricket team was at the mosque for Friday prayer when the shooting started.

Tamim Iqbal tweeted: “Entire team got saved from active shooters!!! Frightening experience and please keep us in your prayers.”

Mushfiqur Rahim said: “Alhamdulillah Allah save us today while shooting in Christchurch in the mosque…we r extremely lucky…never want to see this things happen again….pray for us”.

The upcoming third Test between New Zealand and Bangladesh has been called off following the mass shootings.

THE WORLD REACTS

Prime Minister Theresa May has led the UK condemnation of the Christchurch mosque shootings that killed 49 people.

In a tweet she sent “deepest condolences to the people of New Zealand after the horrifying terrorist attack in Christchurch”.

She added: “My thoughts are with all of those affected by this sickening act of violence.”

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “Our hearts go out to the people of New Zealand following the news of this terrible act in Christchurch.

“NZ is one of the most peaceful, peace-loving and generous nations in the world. Your friends in the UK stand with you today in deepest sympathy.”

The Queen said she is “deeply saddened by the appalling events in Christchurch today”, adding: “Prince Philip and I send our condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives.”

The UK’s counter-terrorism chief also said he was stepping up patrols around mosques in the UK and Brit officers were ready to support their counterparts in New Zealand.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said: “I blame these increasing terror attacks on the current Islamophobia post-9/11 (where) 1.3 billion Muslims have collectively been blamed for any act of terror.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the attack was a deliberate demonising of Muslim political struggles.

He wrote on Twitter: “Not only the perpetrators, but also politicians & media that fuel the already escalated Islamophobia and hate in the West, are equally responsible for this heinous attack.”

In a statement, Al-Azhar University, Egypt’s 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Islamic learning, said the attacks had “violated the sanctity of the houses of God”.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he’s shocked at the “terrible attacks”.

He wrote on Twitter: “We emphatically condemn violence and the lack of reason of fanatics and extremists who want to break our societies.”

Contesting the Arctic Railway

The Arctic railway would have opened up the Arctic trade routes and allowed Finland to have a direct connection to central Europe for transport of raw materials. However, a recent report has brought the project’s commercial and ethical viability into

The post Contesting the Arctic Railway appeared first on Global Research.

David Horowitz Exposes the Left’s Dark Agenda

David Horowitz Exposes the Left's Dark Agenda

Source: Richard Kirk

Dark Agenda: The War to Destroy Christian America, by David Horowitz, Humanix Books, March 5, 2019 (224 pages, $17.70, Hardcover)

David Horowitz has always been a writer whose work I’ve appreciated since his compelling political biography, Radical Son, which related the author’s break from his communist upbringing after Black Panther associates murdered his bookkeeper friend Betty Van Patter.  But brevity and crisp linkage of multiple intellectual threads were never characteristic of Horowitz’s brilliant, often voluminous, exposés of leftist thought and practice.  By contrast, Dark Agenda is a concise, chilling book brimming with evidence that links numerous cultural depredations to one overriding theme:  The left’s attack on Christian America’s founding in the name of “cultural Marxism.”

“Christian America” is the novel component in Horowitz’s analysis, a term that acknowledges the historical fact that America, at its founding, was 98 percent Protestant.  Protestantism, in turn, was intimately linked to the doctrine of “the priesthood of all believers” and to the more broadly Christian idea that all people are created by God.  In view of these beliefs and the fact that Protestant groups were living side by side, it followed that in America there would be no institutional or governmental mediator between the individual and God.  It also meant that each individual’s rights were endowed solely by their Creator and that freedom of conscience and speech would be hallmarks of the new republic.

“Cultural Marxism,” by contrast, represents the application of its “oppressor versus oppressed” vision of society to various victim groups:  blacks, “people of color,” women, native Americans, homosexuals, transsexuals, and any other group claiming victimhood.  For Marxists what stands between these oppressed groups and a world in which “social justice” and equality is fully realized are the oppressors, those who supposedly establish the laws and mores that keep them in power.  Thus, failure or success isn’t the result of individual choices but the inevitable outcome of a system designed to unfairly help one group (white, Christian, males) and harm the others.  Accordingly, what matters politically is destroying the patriarchal Christian system itself with its emphasis on individual moral and economic choices and replacing it with a group-focused system that, in my own words, oppresses the oppressors.  Put quite simply, “Christian doctrines were foundational to the American Republic, which the left despises.”

After reading the last two paragraphs, one might think Dark Agenda is highly philosophical and abstract.  This impression couldn’t be further from the truth, as these core ideas are given clear expression and development via an array of examples, many of which are doubtless unknown to even the most politically-astute readers.  Who knew, for example, that the $621 million U.S. Capitol Visitor Center that opened in 2008 “is less a monument to the nation’s founding and institutions than it is to the antireligious left’s vision for America.  When it opened, all references to God and faith had been carefully, deliberately edited out of its photos and historical displays.”  For example, the national motto was said to be “E Pluribus Unum” when, in fact, it is “In God We Trust.”  Among other historical travesties, a large “image of the Constitution was photoshopped to remove the worlds ‘in the Year of our Lord’ above the signatures of the signers.” Similarly, the “table on which President Lincoln placed his Bible during his second inauguration is on display — just the table, not the Bible.”

These examples are picayune compared to the spiteful governmental coercion that’s been employed to force The Little Sisters of the Poor, among others, to violate their consciences thanks to Obamacare abortion provisions.  The Supreme Court has been the giant secular lever employed by leftists to fundamentally transform “Christian America” into a state hostile even to a school-girl who joined hands with classmates to give thanks for her food. These politically-motivated  “lawyers,” as Horowitz contemptuously labels the high court, began their anti-Christian, anti-Constitutional mission with the expulsion of prayer from public schools in 1962 (Engel v. Vitale).  That assault on the free exercise of religion now extends beyond commencement ceremonies and football fields to a bakery that was  embroiled in legal battles for years for refusing to provide a celebratory cake for a gay ceremony billed as a wedding — a “crime” made possible by Court rulings against the Defense of Marriage Act and in favor of redefining marriage.

The case of Roe v. Wade (1972), which awakened religious conservatives to the fundamental attack on Christian America, is cogently dissected in Dark Agenda, both from a constitutional perspective as well as through the eyes of Norma McCorvey, the anonymous “Jane Roe” who was intentionally deceived and reduced to a legal prop to secure the Supreme Court’s “right to privacy” abortion ruling.  (As Horowitz notes, in Marxist thought it’s the grand arc of history and oppressed groups that matter, not mere individuals.)  That ruling officially brought about the cultural civil war that for the anti-Christian left involves not simply a virulent hatred of President Trump but also hatred directed toward his supporters who are regularly vilified as Nazis, sexists, racists, homophobes, and “deplorables” who are rightly denied freedom of speech and conscience.  Trump’s Oval Office predecessor did his best to stoke these emotions as Horowitz’s litany of anti-Christian comments and actions by President Obama illustrate — from avoiding religious references during a traditional Thanksgiving ceremony to pursuit of a foreign policy that led to the annihilation of the ancient Christian community in Syria.

Among the sidebars accompanying Horowitz’s central narrative are insights into the abusive and mendacious character of atheist Madelyn Murray.  For example, in 1960 Murray “set out with her two sons . . . intending to renounce her American citizenship and defect to the Soviet Union.” Her repeated attempts at emigration were rebuffed by the Soviets who were probably aware of her emotional instability and violent outbursts.  Murray’s revolutionary predecessor, Margaret Sanger, was also a communist sympathizer and racist.  A 1930 article in The New Yorker about Ms. Sanger noted that her monthly newspaper, Woman Rebel, “mixed its birth-control propaganda with a good deal of red-flag-waving, and perorations of the ‘Workers of the World, Arise!’ variety.” The author also observed that she “composed an editorial declaring: ‘Even if dynamite were to serve no other purpose than to call forth the spirit of revolutionary solidarity and loyalty, it would prove its great value.’”

Horowitz ends Dark Agenda with this chilling paragraph reminiscent of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: “A nation divided by such fundamental ideas — individual freedom on one side and group identity on the other — cannot long endure, any more than could a nation that was half slave and half free.  The urgency that drew the religious right into politics fifty years ago is now an urgency of the nation itself.”  Even individuals well aware of the cultural Civil War that now rages in America would do well do arm themselves with the insights in this book — insights that both explain the ideological  roots of the conflict and document a host of grievous wounds that “Christian America” has already suffered.  Horowitz, an honest agnostic, is doing his best to prevent those wounds from becoming mortal.

Fire salvage draw with Orlando at the death

March 9, 2019

Forward C.J. Sapong equalized on a header in the fifth minute of extra time Saturday afternoon, allowing the Chicago Fire to salvage a 1-1 draw with visiting Orlando City SC despite being down to 10 men.

It appeared the Lions were headed for a 1-0 win until the Fire counter-attacked quickly after an Orlando City offsides infraction, getting the game-tying goal on a cross by substitute Przemyslaw Frankowski that found the head of Sapong.

The last-minute dramatics prevented an 0-2 start for the Fire, who were beaten 2-1 by the Los Angeles Galaxy last week in the opener.

Orlando City, which had opened its season with a 2-2 draw against New York City, tied for the second straight game.

Dom Dwyer turned a Chicago turnover and defensive miscommunication into the Tigers’ only goal in the 47th minute of the match.

The Lions caught a break when Nani stole a misplayed ball near midfield and chipped a pass over the head of the Chicago defense. When Fire goalie David Ousted and the last defender hesitated in clearing the bouncing ball, Dwyer swooped in and poked it over Ousted’s head for Orlando’s only goal of the match.

Dwyer had entered the game as a substitute in the 21st minute after teammate Tesho Akindele suffered an injury.

The Chicago comeback occurred after it was relegated to playing with 10 men after Jorge Corrales received a red card in the 64th minute, which was given upon video review of a late slide tackle just outside the box.

Chicago outshot the visitors 7-2 in the match, but just 3-2 in shots on target.

Orlando goalie Brian Rowe made two saves, while Chicago’s Ousted had one.

The Fire had won their last three matches against the Lions. They remained unbeaten (3-0-4) against Orlando City since 2015.

The two Eastern Conference rivals don’t meet again until the season finale on Oct. 6.

–Field Level Media

Amazon to close U.S. pop-up stores, focus on opening more book stores

March 6, 2019

(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc will close all of its U.S. pop-up stores and focus instead on opening more book stores, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The company’s shares closed down 1.4 percent, while shares of bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc ended 8.9 percent lower.

Amazon’s 87 pop-up stores in the United States are expected to close by the end of April, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Wednesday, citing some of the employees at the stores.

The news underscores how the online retailer is still working out its brick-and-mortar strategy.

Pop-up stores for years helped Amazon showcase novel products like its voice-controlled Echo speakers, but the company is now able to market those products and more at its larger chain of Whole Foods stores, acquired in 2017, and cashierless Amazon Go stores, which opened to the public last year.

The online retail giant will also open more “4-star stores” – stores that sell items rated 4-stars or higher by Amazon customers, the spokesperson added.

“After much review, we came to the decision to discontinue our pop-up kiosk program, and are instead expanding Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star, where we provide a more comprehensive customer experience and broader selection.”

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Stocks Skid, Bonds Bid As “Sell The News” Strikes At Critical Resistance

“off the lows” … or “off the highs” – it appears sell-the-news was the order of the day as yet another headline proclaiming a US-China trade deal is close sparked overnight gains, but met a wall of selling at the cash open…

China was up once again overnight – with SHCOMP back above 3,000 – but the afternoon session was notable selling…

 

European markets opened gap higher but faded into the close with Span and Germany ended unch…

 

US Futures show the day’s actions best as stocks gapped open overnight after the WSJ trade headlines and then dumped at the cash open, not helped by construction spending and McConnell headlines…

Today was the worst day for the Dow since Jan 3rd before the panic bid lifted everything back…

Trannies are down 7 days in a row (longest losing streak since Nov 2017)

 

TICK showed the biggest selling pressure since Jan 28th hit around 1215ET, before stocks bounced on a series of buy programs…

 

S&P 2,800 confirmed the Quadruple Top…

 

The algos BTFD in a desperate attempt to get us back to 2800…

 

Nasdaq futures tested the 200DMA…

 

Tesla stocks hit a 5-mo low and caught down to bonds…

 

VIX topped 17 intraday, but compressed back as stocks bounced…

 

We note VIX broke above its 200DMA before pulling back…

 

Bonds and stocks decoupled as the latter rebounded…

 

Treasury yields fell on the day – after 3 big up days – with the long-end outperforming…

 

30Y yields fell around 4bps…

 

The Dollar refused to be impacted by the weakness in stocks and continued to trend higher in a tight range…so much for Trump’s weak dollar call…

 

However, overnight strength in the yuan on the WSJ trade headlines, were erased…

 

Cryptos had another ugly day…

 

Despite dollar gains, WTI managed to rally as PMs and copper slipped lower…

 

Gold extended its losses against the Yuan…

 

Coincidence?

What happens next?

Venezuela False Flag Underway? Washington’s “Humanitarian” Regime Change Effort

As I write this, there is a false flag underway on the border of Venezuela and Brazil. 

It looks like two people were killed and a dozen wounded after Venezuelan troops opened fire on locals. The confrontation is part of …

The post Venezuela False Flag Underway? Washington’s “Humanitarian” Regime Change Effort appeared first on Global Research.

Wall Street’s Banksters Are Clandestinely Trading the “Digital Gangster” Stock of Facebook

by Pam Martens and Russ Martens, Wall St On Parade: Being called a “digital gangster” by an investigative committee of the United States’ closest ally, the United Kingdom, might have been expected by the rational among us to do some serious damage to the share price of Facebook when it opened for trading this morning. […]

The post Wall Street’s Banksters Are Clandestinely Trading the “Digital Gangster” Stock of Facebook appeared first on SGT Report.

More Than Half Of Homes Listed In NYC Last Year Never Sold

from ZeroHedge: A torrid post-crisis recovery in the NYC housing market came to a screeching halt last year as a chasm opened up between what sellers were asking and what buyers were willing to pay. But in the clearest post-mortem showing just how bad last year was for one of the world’s most unaffordable real […]

The post More Than Half Of Homes Listed In NYC Last Year Never Sold appeared first on SGT Report.

“Something Changed” – Stocks Buck 2019 Trend With Late-Day Dump

“Back to the future”…

 

Chinese stocks extended their epic run overnight…

 

Italian stocks are leading in Europe…

 

US equities drifted higher overnight, surged at the cash open, dumped on Marco Rubio’s tweet about taxing buybacks, then ramped back to the highs – because, well… just because…. and then faded as Trump asked Congress for more funding in the border bill…

 

Nasdaq futures plunged into the red late in the day after Trump funding headlines…

 

Notably – The Dow made a lower high on its post-European close surge before fading fast…

 

Once again the short-squeeze is invoked (5th day in a row)…

 

And once again it was all buybacks supporting the bid…

 

The S&P 500 opened (and closed) above its 200DMA for the first time since early December…

 

Before we leave stocks, we note that something changed today (and yesterday) with a late-day weakness we have not seen all year…

 

Treasury yields rose for the 3rd day in a row – led by the belly of the curve…

 

Debt Ceiling anxiety is starting to appear in the T-Bill curve…The slight dislocation aligns with Wall Street strategists’ very early forecasts as to when the Treasury could exhaust its extraordinary measures.

 

After rallying for 8 straight days, the dollar dipped yesterday… but that was all forgotten today as the dollar soared back to new highs…

 

The dollar strength weighed on PMs and copper but oil prices surged despite inventory builds…

 

Finally, we note that the initial Plunge Protection Team surge in global central bank balance sheets has now faded, leaving stocks on their own… for now…

With a gaping spread to reality…

It can’t happen again right?

Dollar Jumps, Yuan Dumps, Dow Slumps As Chinese Return To Work

The Lunar New Year celebrations are over – China was up… Europe was up… But The Dow closed down – is that even allowed?

 

Chinese traders returned from their week-long vacation and played catch up to global stocks, with tech-heavy CHINEXT soaring 3.5%…

 

Having drifted lower during the lunar new year celebrations, Offshore Yuan spiked at the open, but then plunged as the day wore on…

 

European markets surged out of the gate after China’s gains…

 

US equities surged overnight as Europe opened then dumped it all back as the US cash markets opened…Futures show the late-Friday-close panic-buying gains evaporated…

 

In cash markets, Trannies soared, Nasdaq and S&P struggled all day and The Dow was red…

 

“Most Shorted” stocks were squeezed again – erasing the drop from last Thursday

 

S&P is holding just above its 100DMA…

 

Equity and credit protection costs were higher on the day but faded (improved) into the close…

 

Treasury yields ended the day higher, despite equity weakness (and dollar gains)…

Chatter of a huge investment grade calendar likely prompted the marginal weakness in bonds as rate-locks set

However, 30Y held just below 3.00%…

 

The dollar index surged by the most in 3 months for its 8th daily gain in a row into the green for 2019 – the longest win streak since Jan 2016…

This is the biggest 8-day gain in the dollar since June 2018.

The last few times that the dollar has surged at this pace, things reversed rather quickly…

 

Ugly day for cable today…

 

Emerging Market FX was hammered also…

 

In cryptos, Litecoin continues to rise (admittedly with plenty of vol) along with Ethereum…Bitcoin was deadstick…

 

Commodities and Bonds have already started to reject the rampant buying panic in stocks…

 

Commodities were all lower on the strong dollar but gold dropped the least…

 

Magical comeback in WTI rescued it from a $51 handle…

 

Gold was down on the day as the dollar spiked but the precious metal managed to bounce…

 

As the dollar has surged back into the green for 2019, Platinum has been punished most (but Palladium remains the best performer of the year)…

 

Finally, we note that the fun-durr-mentals are not getting any better…

Even The Fed’s model is starting to signal recession looms…

Fire at Flamengo training centre in Rio kills 10: firefighters

February 8, 2019

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – A fire at the training centre of Rio de Janeiro soccer club Flamengo killed 10 people and injured at least three others on Friday, firefighters said.

The fire broke out at Ninho do Urubu, a state-of-the-art training centre that was expanded and opened only two months ago. The facility has accommodation for teenage players.

“The kids from the Flamengo youth team were sleeping there at the time,” firefighter Douglas Henaut told Globo News.

Television channel Globo reported that youth players were among the dead, although it did not cite its sources.

Ariel footage showed corrugated iron roofs distorted by the fire and piles of charred items. Nearby trees were also scorched by the flames.

After years of financial difficulties, Flamengo last year spent 23 million reais ($6.2 million) to expand the Ninho do Urubu facilities. In addition to accommodation for young players, the facilities include several pitches, an aquatic park, a gym, a medical centre and a mini stadium.

The Ninho do Urubu, or Vulture’s Nest, is so called because the club’s symbol is a vulture.

Vinicius Junior, the teenage Real Madrid forward who trained at the facility before joining for the Spanish giants last year, tweeted his condolences.

“What sad News! Praying for everyone! Strength, strength, strength,” he wrote.

The fire follows days of heavy rains that hit the city and claimed at least six lives.

Flamengo, the alma mater of players such as Zico, Junior and Leonardo, is one of the best-supported clubs in Brazil and is famous around the world.

Known by fans as the red-and-black, they won the Copa Libertadores, South America’s version of the Champions League, in 1981 and lifted the Intercontinental Cup a few months later.

($1 = 3.7053 reais)

(Reporting by Debora Moreira; Writing by Andrew Downie; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Senate Investigating Mueller FBI’s Prosecution Of “Orgy Island Billionaire” Jeffrey Epstein

This article was originally published by Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge

Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced New York financier who served 13 months in prison for soliciting an underaged girl for prostitution, has served his time, and despite all of the negative press surrounding his “Lolita Express” and the many celebrities and politicians – including former President Bill Clinton and disgraced actor Kevin Spacey – who have reportedly traveled to his “orgy island”, he will likely live out his life as a free man (unless new offenses are committed).

But thanks to a series published by the Miami Herald last year that delved into how prosecutors worked with powerful defense attorneys to ensure Epstein received such a lenient sentence. The expose shed a light on the role played by Alex Acosta, who went on to become Trump’s Secretary of Labour, in handing down the light sentence. Acosta was the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida at the time Epstein’s sentence was handed down.

Now, thanks to those stories, the DOJ has reportedly opened an investigation into the conduct of DOJ attorneys in the case, and whether they committed “professional misconduct” in their working relationship with Epstein’s attorneys.

The probe was opened in response to a request lodged by Sen. Ben Sasse, a a Nebraska Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who raised questions about the case after reading the Herald’s stories about how Acosta and other DOJ attorneys worked with defense attorneys to cut a lenient plea deal for Epstein back in 2008, per the Herald.

At the time, the FBI was run by Robert Mueller.

Though the reasons for the lenient deal could be rooted in the natural advantages of the wealthy, one Twitter user who did a deep dive into a cache of redacted FBI Vault documents released last year raised the possibility that Epstein could have been an informant for the FBI, providing information on executives from failed investment bank Bear Stearns in exchange for the lenient sentence (though there’s nothing in his guilty plea that suggested he provided information).

To be sure, records show that Epstein passed a polygraph test showing that he didn’t know any of the girls he solicited were under the age of 18 at the time. Also, the case has taken on renewed importance since opposition research shops tried to link President Trump to Epstein during the campaign.

While that hasn’t been conclusively proven, it could have been part of a separate agreement that has yet to be disclosed.

Senate Investigating Mueller FBI’s Prosecution Of “Orgy Island Billionaire” Jeffrey Epstein  

Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced New York financier who served 13 months in prison for soliciting an underaged girl for prostitution, has served his time, and despite all of the negative press surrounding his “Lolita Express” and the many celebrities and politicians – including former President Bill Clinton and disgraced actor Kevin Spacey – who have reportedly traveled to his “orgy island”, he will likely live out his life as a free man (unless new offenses are committed).

But thanks to a series published by the Miami Herald last year that delved into how prosecutors worked with powerful defense attorneys to ensure Epstein received such a lenient sentence. The expose shed a light on the role played by Alex Acosta, who went on to become Trump’s Secretary of Labour, in handing down the light sentence. Acosta was the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida at the time Epstein’s sentence was handed down.

Now, thanks to those stories, the DOJ has reportedly opened an investigation into the conduct of DOJ attorneys in the case, and whether they committed “professional misconduct” in their working relationship with Epstein’s attorneys.

Epstein

The probe was opened in response to a request lodged by Sen. Ben Sasse, a a Nebraska Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who raised questions about the case after reading the Herald’s stories about how Acosta and other DOJ attorneys worked with defense attorneys to cut a lenient plea deal for Epstein back in 2008, per the Herald.

At the time, the FBI was run by Robert Mueller.

Though the reasons for the lenient deal could be rooted in the natural advantages of the wealthy, one Twitter user who did a deep dive into a cache of redacted FBI Vault documents released last year raised the possibility that Epstein could have been an informant for the FBI, providing information on executives from failed investment bank Bear Stearns in exchange for the lenient sentence (though there’s nothing in his guilty plea that suggested he provided information).

To be sure, records show that Epstein passed a polygraph test showing that he didn’t know any of the girls he solicited were under the age of 18 at the time. Also, the case has taken on renewed importance since opposition research shops tried to link President Trump to Epstein during the campaign.

While that hasn’t been conclusively proven, it could have been part of a separate agreement that has yet to be disclosed.

Pelosi To Block Trump’s SOTU Address Despite Government Reopening

In a move that’s sure to infuriate President Trump and likely impede negotiations over the border security funding that Trump has demanded be part of any permanent plan to avert another shutdown, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is still planning to postpone the State of the Union by refusing to officially invite the president to give the annual speech on Tuesday.

Asked about the SOTU, Pelosi said after a deal to end the shutdown had been reached that she and the president would discuss holding the SOTU once the government had reopened, a cryptic response that many interpreted as meaning that the speech would be postponed, according to USA Today.

“What I said to the president is when the government is opened we will discuss a mutually agreeable date,” Pelosi said, adding “I’ll look forward to doing that” and welcoming Trump in the House chambers when that is done. 

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, later affirmed that the speech wouldn’t be happening on 1/29. And on Sunday, CNN’s Jim Sciutto reported that an aide to Pelosi had anonymously confirmed that the House wouldn’t consider the concurrent resolution that must be passed to officially invite the president to House chambers, where the speech has traditionally been held.

For his part, Trump has said that he wouldn’t look for an alternative venue for the speech. On Jan. 23, he tweeted that no venue would match the “history, tradition and historic importance of the House Chamber”.

We imagine we’ll be hearing more from Trump on this very sensitive subject in the near future.

‘Nasty Nancy’ Blocks President Trump’s SOTU Address; Vows to Kick Him out of Congress

Nancy Pelosi cancels President Trump's SOTU address, vows to physically block him from entering Congress

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cancelled President Trump’s State of the Union address on Wednesday, warning him that she would physically block him from entering Congress.

The Democratic leader’s response came just a few hours after the White House issued a letter indicating that Trump was still planning to proceed with his SOTU address.

Sputniknews.com reports: The White House letter to the House Sergeant-at-Arms had been requesting to schedule a dry run for Trump’s address since a previous walk-through had been postponed.

“I am writing to inform you that the House of Representatives will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the President’s State of the Union address in the House Chambers until the government has opened,” Pelosi wrote, noting that she is open to setting a “mutually agreeable date” once the government has reopened.

Trump has responded to Pelosi’s Wednesday letter, saying that he’s “not surprised” and that “it’s really a shame what’s happening with the Democrats.”

“They’ve become radicalized,” Trump said. “They don’t want to see crime stop, which we can very easily do on the southern border. And it really is a shame what’s happening with the Democrats… this will go on for awhile.”

The latest development comes after Pelosi initially urged Trump to reconsider his address in light of the current partial government shutdown, instead suggesting that he either reschedule or submit his address in writing.

It’s presently unclear where or if the address will be held.

In a tit-for-tat- move, last week, Trump canceled a trip Pelosi was planning to take to Afghanistan, Brussels and Egypt. Trump indicated that rather than traveling overseas, it would be better for the Democrat to stay in Washington to hash out a spending bill that would include funding for his promised wall along the US-Mexico border.

More than 95,000 data breach complaints since EU rules kicked in

January 25, 2019

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europe’s data protection regulators have received more than 95,000 complaints about possible data breaches, eight months after the adoption of a landmark EU privacy law, the European Commission said on Friday.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives new powers to privacy enforcers, allowing them to levy fines of up to 4 percent of global revenue or 20 million euros ($23 million), whichever is higher.

Last week, the French data protection watchdog slapped a 50 million euro fine on Alphabet-owned Google for failing to properly obtain users’ consent for personalized ads, the largest sanction under GDPR rules to date.

More penalties could come as Europeans become more aware of their rights, EU digital chief Andrus Ansip, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, EU justice chief Vera Jourova and EU digital economy commissioner Mariya Gabriel said in a joint statement.

“What is at stake is not only the protection of our privacy, but also the protection of our democracies and ensuring the sustainability of our data-driven economies,” they said.

The majority of the complaints focused on telemarketing, promotional emails and video surveillance by closed-circuit televisions. Privacy regulators have opened 225 investigations to date.

($1 = 0.8821 euros)

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Mark Potter)

Pelosi Blocks Trump’s “State Of The Union” Speech

Update: Well that did not take long.

A few hours after President Trump told Speaker Pelosi he would accept her earlier invitation to deliver his SOTU speech in the House, daring the House Democratic leader to rescind her invitation, the Democrat leader responded angrily doing just that, and blocking the President from delivering his annual address next Tuesday:

Dear Mr. President:

When I extended an invitation on January 3″I for you to deliver the State of the Union address, it was on the mutually agreed upon date, January 29th. At that time, there was no thought that the government would still be shut down.

In my further correspondence of January 16th, I said we should work together to find a mutually agreeable date when government has re-opened and I hope that we can still do that.

I am writing to inform you that the House of Representatives will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the President’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber until government has opened.

Again, I look forward to welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when government has been opened.

 

Later on Wednesday, while he was speaking to reported in the White House, Trump was informed that Pelosi blocked his SOTU. His response was the following:

 “I’m not surprised. It’s really a shame, what’s happening with the Democrats—they’ve become radicalized. They don’t want to see crime stopped, which we could very easily do on the southern border. …

“This will go on for a while.”

The circus will indeed go for a while, although one wonders…

*  *  *

Earlier:

President Trump has rebuffed Speaker Pelosi’s politically-charged threat to delay his speech due to the shutdown, saying in a letter that he plans to deliver the State of the Union Address at the House chamber as planned on Tuesday as scheduled (accepting an invitation that Pelosi had sent earlier in the year).

Pelosi had suggested Trump consider delaying the speech if the shutdown continued, citing security concerns because Secret Service agents and Department of Homeland Security staff aren’t being paid during the shutdown.

However, both have reassured Trump that security will not be a problem and so he sent the following letter to the California Democrat:

Dear Madam Speaker:

Thank you for your letter of January 3, 2019, sent to me long after the Shutdown began, inviting me to address the Nation on January 29th as to the State of the Union.

As you know, I had already accepted your kind invitation, however, I then received another letter from you dated January 16, 2019, wherein you expressed concerns regarding security during the State of the Union Address due to the Shutdown. Even prior to asking, I was contacted by the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Secret Service to explain that there would be absolutely no problem regarding security with respect to the event. They have since confirmed this publicly.

Accordingly, there are no security concerns regarding the State of the Union Address. Therefore, I will be honoring your invitation, and fulfilling my Constitutional duty, to deliver important information to the people and Congress of the United States of America regarding the State of our Union.

I look forward to seeing you on the evening on January 29th in the Chamber of the House of Representatives. It would be so very sad for our Country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location!

So what will Nancy do next? Politico’s Jake Sherman notes that…

Or there are alternatives…

Democrats push technology as alternative to Trump wall in shutdown impasse

January 23, 2019

By Richard Cowan and John Whitesides

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives floated the idea on Wednesday of ending a partial U.S. government shutdown by giving President Donald Trump most or all of the money he seeks for security along the Mexican border but for items other than the wall he wants.

As a shutdown that has left 800,000 federal workers without pay hit its 33rd day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi essentially disinvited Trump from delivering the annual State of the Union address in the House chamber until the government is fully opened.

Other leaders in the Democratic-controlled House said they were drafting a funding offer they will likely make to Trump in a letter. Representative James Clyburn, the No. 3 House Democrat, said Democrats could fulfill Trump’s request for $5.7 billion for border security with technological tools such as drones, X-rays and sensors, as well as more border patrol agents.

Representative Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, said Democrats also would discuss “substantial sums of additional money” for border security as part of a possible deal. He did not say if it would amount to the $5.7 billion sought by Trump.

The Republican president triggered the shutdown last month by demanding money for the wall, opposed by Democrats, as part of any legislation to fund about a quarter of the government. Clyburn’s offer would be a significant monetary increase over bills previously passed by Democrats, which included only about $1.3 billion for this year in additional border security, with none for a wall.

“Using the figure the president put on the table, if his $5.7 billion is about border security then we see ourselves fulfilling that request, only doing it with what I like to call using a smart wall,” Clyburn told reporters.

Republican Representative Tom Cole, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters the Democratic proposal could help.

“Any movement, any discussion is helpful,” Cole said. “We’ve got to get past this wall-or-no-wall debate.”

The battle over border security and government funding spilled over into a parallel dispute over the president’s State of the Union address. Trump sent a letter to Pelosi on Wednesday saying he looked forward to delivering it as scheduled next Tuesday in the House chamber. Pelosi previously had asked Trump to consider postponing it because security could not be guaranteed during the shutdown.

But Pelosi told Trump on Wednesday the House would not consider a measure authorizing his address until the shutdown ends. “Again, I look forward to welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when government has been opened,” Pelosi said to Trump in a letter.

In a sign Trump may be bracing for a long shutdown, a senior administration official said agencies without funding had been asked to give the White House a list of programs that could be hurt “within the coming weeks” if the funding lapse continues.

SENATE PLANS VOTES

The U.S. Senate, controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans, planned votes for Thursday on competing proposals that face steep odds to end the shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans a vote on a Democratic proposal that would fund the government for three weeks but does not include the $5.7 billion in partial funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Its prospects appeared grim. The House has passed several similar bills but Trump has rejected legislation that does not include the wall funding. McConnell previously said he would not consider a bill that Trump did not support.

McConnell also planned to hold a vote on legislation that would include wall funding and a temporary extension of protections for “Dreamers,” people brought illegally to the United States as children, an offer Trump made on Saturday. Trump’s 2017 plan to rescind protections against deportation for hundreds of thousands of “Dreamers” has been blocked by the courts.

Democrats have dismissed the offer, saying they would not negotiate on border security before reopening the government, and that they would not trade a temporary extension of the immigrants’ protections in return for a permanent border wall they have called ineffective, costly and immoral.

Barclays economists said on Wednesday they reduced their outlook on U.S. economic growth in the first quarter to an annualized rate of 2.5 percent from an earlier projection of 3 percent as a result of the shutdown.

Furloughed federal workers are struggling to make ends meet during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Many have turned to unemployment assistance, food banks and other support, or have sought new jobs.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan and John Whitesides; Additional reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb, Roberta Rampton, Eric Beech, Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter Cooney)

Trump “Couldn’t Care Less” If Putin Conversation Becomes Public; Slams “Most Insulting Article” By NYT

President Trump brushed off a report by the Washington Post stating that he “has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal details” of his discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin – telling Fox News host Jeanine Pirro in a phone interview that he would be willing to release the details of a private conversation in Helsinki last summer. 

“I would. I don’t care,” Trump told Pirro, adding: “I’m not keeping anything under wraps. I couldn’t care less.”

“I mean, it’s so ridiculous, these people making up,” Trump said of the WaPo report. 

The president referred to his roughly two-hour dialogue with Putin in Helsinki — at which only the leaders and their translators were present — as “a great conversation” that included discussions about “securing Israel and lots of other things.”

“I had a conversation like every president does,” Trump said Saturday. “You sit with the president of various countries. I do it with all countries.” –Politico 

In July an attempt by House Democrats to subpoena Trump’s Helsinki interpreter was quashed by Republicans. 

“The Washington Post is almost as bad, or probably as bad, as the New York Times,” Trump said.

When Pirro asked Trump about a Friday night New York Times report that the FBI had opened an inquiry into whether he was working for Putin, Pirro asked Trump “Are you now or have you ever worked for Russia, Mr. President?” 

“I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked,” Trump responded. “I think it’s the most insulting article I’ve ever had written.”

Trump went on an epic tweetstorm Saturday following the Times article, defending his 2017 firing of former FBI Director James Comey, and tweeting that he has been “FAR tougher on Russia than Obama, Bush or Clinton. Maybe tougher than any other President. At the same time, & as I have often said, getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. I fully expect that someday we will have good relations with Russia again!”

Trump slammed the recent reports as “all nonsense.”  

Costco Can’t Keep Its 27lb “Emergency” Mac-And-Cheese Bucket In Stock

If the demand is there, the supply will show up.

This is likely going to be the business school case study conclusion years from now when someone first asks the question of why Costco was selling a 27 pound bucket of macaroni and cheese to begin with. And it will likely also be the answer when the discussion turns to how quickly the product has been selling out.

Just when you thought the country couldn’t get any more gluttonous, Costco has “blessed” its customers, according to the NY Post, with the massive “storage bucket” of macaroni and cheese. It contains 180 servings and six gallons worth of separate pouches of elbow pasta and cheddar cheese sauce. It sells for $89.99. 

But don’t get this confused with any old grocery purchase – it’s listed on the company’s website under the category of “Emergency Kits and Supplies”. The reason? You can amortize your $89.99 purchase over the course of two decades, as the product has an astonishing listed shelf life of 20 years. This is sure to make it a mainstay in millennial’s parents’ basements bomb shelters and underground bunkers nationwide.

People Magazine also noted you can even fit “100 baseballs, half a bale of hay or your average 3-year-old child” in the bucket when you’re done with it. That’s the gift that could keep on giving well after 20 years has passed.

And of course, people are not waiting until Armageddon to crack open their bucket of mac & cheese. Consumer reviews have poured in on the item, and they’re almost all positive. 

“Good stuff! We bought this for our grandson. He was here the day it arrived. We opened it and made it. Very pleasantly surprised. I have made it a couple of different ways. You can’t mess it up. Have purchased it again, and will continue to use it,” one review says.

“Honestly, I was expecting something that tasted horrible. I was surprised to find out that it was very good,” another says.

Don’t want to make the trip to the store to pick up your trough of mac and cheese? Costco.com will deliver it, too. But for right now, the product’s popularity has it temporarily out of stock.

As financial Twitter veteran Barbarian Capital (@BarbarianCap) often says, “The American eater wins again.”

Britain cautions Russia after U.S./UK citizen detained for spying

January 4, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain cautioned Russia on Friday that individual citizens should be not used as pawns in a diplomatic chess game after a dual U.S./UK national was detained in Moscow on espionage charges.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he was extremely worried about Paul Whelan, who was detained by Russia’s FSB state security service in Moscow last Friday on suspicion of spying.

“Individuals should not be used as pawns of diplomatic leverage (or) being used in diplomatic chess games,” Hunt said.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this week that the United States had asked Russia to explain Whelan’s arrest and would demand his immediate return if it determines his detention is inappropriate.

“We are extremely worried about Paul Whelan, we have offered consular assistance,” Hunt said. “The U.S. are leading on this because he is a British and American citizen.”

The FSB has opened a criminal case against Whelan but not given any details of his alleged espionage activities.

Whelan’s family has said that he was visiting Moscow for the wedding of a retired Marine and is innocent of the espionage charges against him.

Asked if other Britons in Russia should be concerned about their safety in Russia, Britain’s Hunt replied:

“This is something that is under active consideration and we’re constantly reviewing our travel advice in all parts of the world.

“If we see the need to make a change then we’ll make it.”

(Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

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