Federer wins Indian Wells opener, Nishikori survives three-setter

March 10, 2019

(Reuters) – Roger Federer began his campaign for a record sixth Indian Wells title by defeating German Peter Gojowczyk 6-1 7-5 in the BNP Paribas Open in California on Sunday.

Fresh from earning his 100th ATP singles title a week ago in Dubai, the Swiss fourth seed repelled a tough second set challenge from the world No.85 before booking his third round place.

Federer, who won the last of his Indian Wells titles two years ago but lost in the 2018 final, used his backhand slice to keep Gojowczk from gaining any rhythm in the first set.

Yet the second proved more of a challenge as the German saved four break points in his first service game, then used his momentum to break for a 3-1 lead.

Federer immediately broke back before later benefiting from an untimely double fault for another break and serving out for victory in just over an hour and a quarter.

Earlier, Japan’s Kei Nishikori narrowly avoided a second round defeat against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino before battling through 6-4 4-6 7-6(4).

World number seven Nishikori was not at his best with the left-handed Mannarino’s flat groundstrokes neutralizing his attacks and the Frenchman seemed to be heading for victory when he served for the match at 6-5.

Yet he double faulted on the third break point he faced in the game and, in the deciding tiebreak, Nishikori raced into a 6-2 lead.

Still, Mannarino kept fighting, saving two match points before the Japanese finally wrapped up victory after two hours and 33 minutes.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Ian Chadband)

Trump’s top communications aide Shine resigns, moves to re-election campaign

March 8, 2019

By Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House communications director Bill Shine has resigned as Donald Trump’s top White House communications aide and will move to work on the U.S. president’s 2020 re-election campaign, the White House said on Friday.

Shine, a former Fox News executive, resigned on Thursday and will serve as a senior campaign adviser ahead of the 2020 presidential election, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

A source close to Trump, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the president had lost confidence in Shine and was relying heavily on Sanders to run the communications operation.

Shine is the latest in a string of communications directors who have had short tenures in the Trump White House, where the president in many ways serves as his own communications chief.

His is one of several high profile departures from the president’s staff during Trump’s two years in office.

The president, who is traveling in Alabama and Florida on Friday, said that Shine had done an “outstanding” job.

“We will miss him in the White House, but look forward to working together on the 2020 Presidential Campaign, where he will be totally involved,” Trump said in a statement released by Sanders that included quotes from others praising Shine.

Shine said he was looking forward to spending more time with his family.

“Serving President Trump and this country has been the most rewarding experience of my entire life. To be a small part of all this president has done for the American people has truly been an honor,” he said in the statement.

Shine did not respond to an email requesting further comment.

The former Fox News executive was named to the top White House communications job in July, 14 months after he left the network amid charges he failed to take effective steps to deal with sexual misconduct at the channel. Although not accused of harassment, Shine was named in a number of lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct and accused of not doing more to prevent it.

Shine served as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for communications. The job had been vacant since Hope Hicks, the president’s campaign confidante, left in February 2018.

Previous communications directors included Mike Dubke, who held the post for roughly three months, and Anthony Scaramucci, who lasted fewer than two weeks, getting fired after making obscene comments in an interview published by the New Yorker magazine. Trump’s first White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, also served in the role for a time.

Close ties between the White House and Fox News drew additional scrutiny this week in a New Yorker piece that cited an expert on presidential studies saying the television network founded by Rupert Murdoch is the “closest we’ve come to having state TV.”

The Hollywood Reporter reported that Shine received an $8.4 million severance package from Fox and was to get a bonus and options worth some $3.5 million from 21st Century Fox both in 2018 and 2019.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Steve Holland; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Nick Zieminski)

Ever wonder why your steak is served with a salad? The nutrients in the salad help you digest the nutrients in the meat

(Natural News) Would you believe that a simple change in your food intake could be enough to help you prevent cancer and other diseases? Many studies have shown that diet does indeed play a huge part in causing or preventing certain diseases from occurring in the human body. But experts are still a ways from…

The Brexit Betrayal: Democracy On The Brink

Authored by Mark Angelides via LibertyNation.com,

The tentacles of the unelected bureaucrats of Brussels threaten to unravel British democracy.

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Dark rumblings in the British Isles portend the betrayal of the largest democratic exercise in the nation’s long history. Storm clouds gather in the form of elitist politicians seeking to tie the United Kingdom – once a proud, independent nation – to the increasingly fragmented European Union project. As the official deadline for leaving this European Superstate approaches, it seems that elected members of Parliament are determined to override the will of the British people in a capitulation that will mark the death knell of their freedom.

Will the U.K. forever be trapped in a political union with no hope of escape? Will the British Deplorables take to the streets to demand democracy be served? And is there any doubt remaining in the minds of the electorate that the government has its own agenda that must be served out as thin gruel in this ongoing saga?

Each week, we’ll be examining the machinations and plots that infect British politics.

The Dates, The Decisions

On March 29, Britain is set to leave the European Union. Under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the U.K. gave its two-year notice of withdrawal, and that deadline is fast approaching. You might assume that Brexit is a done deal and that this nation of shopkeepers (as Napoleon described his eventual victors) should be negotiating new trade arrangements with the rest of the world. But, no, there are further machinations taking place.

The 2016 referendum asked a simple question: Should the U.K. remain part of the E.U.? Once this was decided in an historic vote, the follow-up question should have been, simply: When do we leave? Yet this question – that was handed to the British voting public – morphed into a vicious hydra of how we leave, what deal should be in place with the E.U., and how much power should remain in the hands of the unelected bureaucrats of Brussels?

The British government has decided, in its all-too-finite wisdom, that exiting the union on simple World Trade Organization (WTO) terms would be a poison pill for the economy. Remember that this is the same government that wrongly forecasted Britain would enter immediate recession upon a Leave vote. The Conservative Party under Prime Minister Theresa May is left pitiably scabbling for scraps of compromise from unbending fanatics who have stated that “Britain must be punished” for the crime of daring to leave their precious club. As Mr. Brexit himself, Nigel Farage, points out, the withdrawal agreement so far is more like a surrender document signed under the barrel of a gun by a defeated nation.

Deal Or No Deal

May’s ministers presently are attempting to get minor concessions to a withdrawal agreement, brokered by May but rejected by Parliament, with little luck. The opposition Labour Party has finally, after three years of dalliance, decided that what’s needed now – at the 11th hour – is another referendum to make sure the supposedly idiotic plebeians know exactly what they voted for the first time.

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And through it all, the recalcitrant E.U. leaders smugly state that not only is there no dealing to be done but also those who dared to orchestrate Brexit have “a special place in hell.”

Yet what is it that the British public actually want? A recent Politico poll asked which scenario the respondents would prefer. The option and responses were:

  • Delaying the U.K.’s exit from the E.U. to negotiate a different deal: 15.6%

  • Remaining in the E.U.: 31.5%

  • Leaving the E.U. with the government’s deal: 16.4%

  • Leaving the E.U. without a deal: 21.6%

At first glance, it seems that remaining in the E.U. has the highest amount of support, until you realize that this is a weighted question. You see, although remaining part of the E.U. project has the support of 31.5% of people (down from 48% of voters in 2016), the other three options all support leaving. In fact, 53.6% of respondents want out one way or the other. (The other responders to the poll opted for “don’t know.”)

Why The Disconnect?

Surely in a representative democracy, the elected politicians should make a reasonable effort to carry out the majority wishes of the electorate, especially if through an act of Parliament, the aforementioned politicians had agreed to carry out the will of the people.

So why is it that actually achieving Brexit is proving more difficult? It could be, as the Remain- favoring Members of Parliament suggest, that leaving is just far too complicated and an impossible task. If this is the case, it would make sense to persevere in pulling the plug now while the going is good rather than be stuck in a painful extrication procedure as the whole project collapses (as many economists now predict).

Or is the more likely scenario that of the 650 Members of Parliament, representing the 650 constituencies of the United Kingdom, the majority of them personally favor remaining, and as such ignore what their voters demanded? As it turns out, only 156 MPs openly backed leaving the E.U., yet more than 400 constituencies voted the same. This shows that a vast majority of MPs are not respecting the vote given by their own electorate.

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If there were ever an argument to be made for a British Electoral College, it is this. The vote to leave the European Union was won by a slim margin in terms of overall votes, but by area and constituency it was a huge au revoir from almost everywhere but London, the capital city. That the sheer number of people living in one small area of the U.K. have the ultimate sway over the direction and lives of those from whom they are so far removed shows us that the present system is deeply flawed.

Anger is at boiling point in Britain. Demonstrators are taking to the streets in growing numbers. Belief in the value of voting is being eroded day by day, and the murmured chatter in back rooms and bars across the nation is one of disgust and righteous indignation. When change fails to come through the ballot box, the nation will fall to chaos, and the social contract may be irreparably broken.

An Unholy Alliance: Did the US-Backed UAE Fly ISIS Leaders into Yemen’s Killing Fields?

from MintPress News: The de facto alliance between the U.S. with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, AQAP, and now allegedly ISIS in Yemen has led to one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history, ADEN, YEMEN — Ali Abdullah al-Bujairi — a Yemeni politician who served as a senior member on the failed UN-brokered transitional government […]

The post An Unholy Alliance: Did the US-Backed UAE Fly ISIS Leaders into Yemen’s Killing Fields? appeared first on SGT Report.

Seven Presidents Who Have Declared National Emergencies

Seven Presidents Who Have Declared National Emergencies

In 1976, Congress enacted the National Emergencies Act which allows the President to use special executive powers during crisis situations. Since the act was passed, CBS News reports that 58 national emergencies have been declared by presidents, 31 of them are still in effect today.

On February 15, President Trump declared the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border was a national emergency, marking his fourth emergency declaration.

President Trumps decision to declare the immigration problem a national emergency was met with mixed emotions. While many supported the President’s ‘get it done’ mentality, others feared that it set a dangerous precedent for future presidents. According to the New York Times, President Trump’s emergency declaration is similar to declarations made by Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, in that the each of the declarations sought military construction associated with a war or conflict. Where the declarations are different, however, is that neither of the Bush presidents declared an emergency to reallocate funds after Congress had already rejected the proposal.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, following President Trump’s emergency declaration, 16 states filed suit against the president questioning the legality of the action.

The states’ decision to file suit against President Trump indicates that there is an apparent lack of clarity on the restraints on executive emergency powers.

To shed some light on the seemingly complex issue, here are examples of national emergencies declared by seven presidents since 1979.

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1. President Jimmy Carter

The 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, held the office of the Presidency from 1977 to 1981. In his tenure as President, Carter declared two national emergencies, one of which is still in effect today.

In 1979, Iran held 52 American diplomats and civilians hostage for 444 days in what would be known as the Iran Hostage Crisis. In response to Iranian actions in the Iran Hostage Crisis, Carter declared a national emergency which froze Iran’s assets in the United States. One year later, with the American hostages still being held captive, Carter issued a second national emergency which strengthened restrictions on transactions with Iran.

Photo courtesy: Public Domain

2. President Ronald Reagan

Many people credit the Iran Hostage Crisis for losing Jimmy Carter the Presidency. Carter lost his run for re-election to Hollywood actor and former California Governor Ronald Reagan. Regan served two terms in office from 1981 to 1989. During his presidency, Reagan faced the Iran-Contra affair, the Cold War, the War on Drugs and the AIDS epidemic. During his eight years in the White House, Reagan declared six national emergencies all of which regarded trade. In 1983, and then again in 1984, Reagan declared national emergencies in order to continue export control regulations. In 1985, 86 and 88 Regan restricted trade from several countries including Nicaragua, South Africa, Libya and Panama. All of Reagan’s national emergencies have since been revoked.

Photo courtesy: Public Domain

3. President George H.W. Bush

The late President George H.W. Bush was elected to office in 1989 and served one term as the 41st President on the United States. The former CIA Director and World War II Navy veteran declared five national emergencies in his four years in office. Of his five declarations, four placed sanctions and trade restrictions on foreign nations including Iraq, Haiti, Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro. Bush’s other declaration called for “chemical and biological weapons proliferation.” Bush also built on his August 2, 1990, declaration that restricted trade with Iraq as a result of the Iraqi invasion in Kuwait. On November 14, 1990, Bush issued an executive order granting the Department of Defense the authority to respond to the Iraqi threat and invoked the “emergency construction authority” allowing the military to build as needed. All of Bush Sr.’s declarations have been revoked.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/John Moore/Staff

4. President Bill Clinton

The 42nd President of the United States holds the record for declaring the most national emergencies. In his two terms in office, Clinton declared and unprecedented 17 national emergencies. Again, Clinton’s declarations covered trade and weaponization. Clinton took the opposite stance to George H.W. Bush on chemical and biological weapons and issued and emergency declaration restricting U.S. participation in the proliferation of weapons in 1993. One year later, however, Clinton called for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This declaration – along with five others – are still in effect today.

Photo courtesy: Public Domain

5. President George W. Bush

President George W. Bush served as the 43rd President from 2001 to 2009. In his two terms in office, Bush declared 13 national emergencies. 12 of President Bush’s declarations placed trade restrictions and sanctions on several countries throughout the Middle East as well as the Western Balkans, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and North Korea. In the wake of the terror attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Bush declared a national emergency for “reasons of certain terrorist attacks.” On November 16, 2001, Bush issued an executive order granting the Department of Defense “additional authority” to build as needed in order to protect America in response to the 9/11 attacks. 11 of President Bush’s national emergency declarations are still in effect today.

Photo courtesy: Public Domain

6. President Barack Obama

The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, served two terms in the White House from 2009 to 2017. During his eight years in office, Obama declared 12 national emergencies. Ten of President Obama’s declarations regarded trade restrictions with Venezuela, South Sudan, persons involved in the conflict in the Central African Republic, etc. One emergency declaration blocked the “property of certain persons engaging in significant malicious cyber-enabled activities,” CBS News reports. Another declared the “H1N1 influenza pandemic” a national emergency. Of Obama’s 12 emergency declarations, ten are still in effect today.

Photo courtesy: Public Domain

7. President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump, America’s 45th President, has just marked his fourth emergency declaration. President Trump has placed sanctions on persons involved in “serious human right abuse or corruption,” on foreign entities who interfere with U.S. elections and on persons contributing to the situation in Nicaragua. The fourth declaration – the one being called to the carpet – will declare the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border a crisis allowing President Trump to re-appropriate funds in order to build the $8 billion border wall he promised to the American people during his presidential campaign.

Justice Thomas assails landmark U.S. libel ruling that protects media

February 19, 2019

By Andrew Chung

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas on Tuesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its landmark 1964 ruling that made it harder for public figures to sue for defamation, a precedent that has served as powerful protection for the news media.

Thomas took aim at the unanimous ruling in the libel case known as New York Times Co. v. Sullivan in an opinion he wrote concurring with the court’s decision to end a defamation suit against Bill Cosby filed by a woman who said the comedian raped her in 1974.

Thomas, one of the high court’s most conservative justices, said the 55-year-old decision was not rooted in the U.S. Constitution. That ruling and subsequent ones extending it “were policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law,” Thomas wrote, expressing views in harmony with President Donald Trump, who often attacks the media and has advocated making it easier to sue news organizations and publishers for defamation.

Thomas agreed with his fellow justices in refusing to consider reviving a defamation lawsuit against Cosby by Kathrine McKee, an actress and former Las Vegas showgirl who said the entertainer falsely called her a liar after she accused him of rape.

McKee was represented in the case by attorney Charles Harder, who represented Trump in a defamation suit brought against the president by adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Daniels has said she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which he denies. McKee had appealed a court ruling in Massachusetts that threw out her lawsuit.

The New York Times v. Sullivan ruling has served as a safeguard for media reporting on public figures.

Trump in January 2018 called current defamation laws “a sham and a disgrace” following the publication of a book about the White House by author Michael Wolff called “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which among other things questioned the president’s mental health.

The high court’s 1964 ruling held that in order to win a libel suit, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the offending statement was made with “actual malice,” meaning knowledge that it was false or reckless disregard as to whether it was false.

The case involved a lawsuit against the New York Times, a newspaper that Trump often criticizes for its coverage of him.

Thomas wrote that “we should carefully examine the original meaning of the First and Fourteenth Amendments,” referring to the constitutional provisions protecting freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the application of those rights to the states.

“If the Constitution does not require public figures to satisfy an actual-malice standard in state-law defamation suits, then neither should we,” Thomas wrote.

Thomas said defamation law was historically a matter for the states, and should remain that way.

“The states are perfectly capable of striking an acceptable balance between encouraging robust public discourse and providing a meaningful remedy for reputational harm,” Thomas wrote.

None of the other eight justices joined Thomas in his opinion.

COSBY PRISON SENTENCE

Cosby, 81, was convicted in April 2018 of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for the drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand, a former Temple University administrator, in 2004. He was sentenced last September to three to 10 years in prison.

The Supreme Court last October snubbed Cosby’s appeal in another defamation case, allowing a lawsuit by former model Janice Dickinson to go forward against the entertainer best known for his starring role in the 1980s hit television series “The Cosby Show.”

McKee went public with her rape accusation in a 2014 interview with the New York Daily News. She is one of more than 50 women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault dating back to the 1960s by using drugs to incapacitate them.

An attorney for Cosby then sent a letter to the newspaper, suggesting McKee was a liar and calling her an unreliable source. In the letter, Cosby’s lawyer said McKee had admitted lying to get hired as a showgirl.

McKee sued Cosby for defamation in 2015 in federal court in Boston, saying the letter made false statements and harmed her reputation.

A trial judge in 2017 dismissed her claims, saying the lawsuit was barred by the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling.

The appeals court said that by deliberately wading into the controversy, McKee had become a public figure, requiring her to prove Cosby acted with malice to win a defamation claim.

McKee told the justices that she “should not be victimized twice over” by making it harder for her to prove defamation merely because she went public as an alleged victim.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung. Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)

Canada PM’s chief secretary resigns amid SNC-Lavalin controversy

February 18, 2019

By David Ljunggren

(Reuters) – A top aide to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned unexpectedly on Monday amid allegations Trudeau’s office had pressured the former justice minister to help construction firm SNC-Lavalin Group Inc avoid criminal prosecution.

Gerald Butts, Trudeau’s principal private secretary and a key architect of the Liberals’ 2015 election victory, said in a statement he did not pressure then-Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould over SNC-Lavalin.

Trudeau, who faces a re-election bid in October, has faced criticism since Wilson-Raybould quit his Cabinet following a Globe and Mail newspaper report this month that officials in Trudeau’s office had urged her to let SNC-Lavalin escape with a fine rather than face trial on charges of bribing Libyan officials.

SNC-Lavalin has said it had sought to avoid a corruption trial because the executives accused of wrongdoing had left the company and it had overhauled its ethics and compliance systems.

Any accusation that “I or the staff put pressure on the Attorney General (Wilson-Raybould) is not true,” Butts said in the statement on Monday.

He added that the allegation was distracting from the “vital work” Trudeau was doing and that it was in the best interest of the Prime Minister’s Office for him to step aside.

Trudeau accepted Butts’ resignation and said he had served the country with “integrity, sage advice and devotion.”

“I want to thank him for his service and continued friendship,” Trudeau said in a post on Twitter.

Neither Butts nor chief Trudeau spokesman Cameron Ahmad was immediately available for comment.

Butts, 47, has known Trudeau for more than 25 years, going back to when they were students at McGill University in Montreal. Along with Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, Butts is widely credited with helping Trudeau’s Liberals win a surprise election victory in October 2015.

DIVISIVE FIGURE

Butts was a polarizing figure inside the Liberal Party, where some dubbed him PMGB – short for Prime Minister Gerald Butts – and complained privately he had too much influence.

Wilson-Raybould has not commented on the matter, citing solicitor-client privilege. But Butts’ resignation fueled an opposition demand to drop the privilege.

“It is now more important than ever before that Mr. Trudeau waive solicitor-client privilege so Jody Wilson-Raybould can tell her side of the story to Canadians,” Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said in a statement.

“The resignation of Gerald Butts, the Prime Minister’s longest serving and most-trusted aide, does not in any way settle this matter,” added Scheer.

Wilson-Raybould was shuffled to Veteran Affairs in January, a move widely seen as a demotion for one of Canada’s most prominent indigenous federal politicians.

Last week, a Canadian parliamentary committee rejected an opposition bid to question senior officials about the allegations of political interference.

“It’s impossible to overstate his (Butts’) commitment to Trudeau and his importance to this government and today’s Liberal Party,” said senior Liberal Scott Reid, who served as chief spokesman to former Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin from 2003 to 2006.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Additional reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Peter Cooney)

Richard Grenell Emerges As Favorite For UN Ambassador

Following the sudden withdrawal of Heather Nauert from consideration to replace Nikki Haley as America’s ambassador to the United Nations, several names have been floated as contenders to fill the role. 

Among those, US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has emerged as a clear favorite among President Trump’s base. 

Having spent eight years serving as a U.S. spokesman and political appointee to the U.N. – the longest in U.N. history, Grenell has vast experience representing U.S. interests in controversial international matters; including the war on terror, the seemingly endless Middle Eastern conflicts and the U.N.’s oil-for-food corruption scandal. 

Grenell also served with, and advised, National Security Adviser John Bolton – a previous U.S. ambassador to the U.N. during President George W. Bush’s administration. 

He’s a family favorite,” reported the Washington Examiner in October, when word of Haley’s departure was made public. 

It’s clear that President Trump’s base feels the same way. 

I’m a huge fan of Ambassador Grenell,” President Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told Breitbart News on Saturday. “He has served the President of the United States with distinction in Germany and would make a great ambassador to the U.N.

Grenell has also garnered the support of former White House official and current adviser to Donald Trump Jr., Andrew Surabian, as well as former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Turning Point USA president and founder Charlie Kirk, and former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka – who told Breitbart News “Ric Grenell needs to be recalled and nominated forthwith for the U.N. post,” adding “He has been the President’s most effective ambassador bar none. The best thing about his nomination is that with his rock solid MAGA credentials the globalist America-haters at the U.N. will be put on notice.” 

Trump deputy campaign manager David Bossie told Breitbart that “Rick Grenell stands for America in Germany and would do a great job at the United Nations,” adding “Grenell’s unabashed belief in President Trump’s America First foreign policy would make him a fantastic UN Ambassador. Rick Grenell has extensive experience at the United Nations and would bring a depth of knowledge to hit the ground running.”

Other names supporting Grenell include White House ally Arthur Schwartz, who tweeted on Sunday: “I can’t name another ambassador that has done as much as Ric.” 

Grenell has served as the U.S. ambassador to Germany for around a year after his confirmation was vehemently blocked by some Democrats. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate with 56 votes in early 2018 when Republicans had just a 51-seat majority, which suggests he would likely sail through confirmation to the U.N. ambassadorship with ease, writes Breitbart‘s Matt Boyle.  

Other names under consideration include Jamie McCourt, the U.S. ambassador to France, Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, and Kevin Moley, assistant secretary of state for International Organizations. 

Greek PM hands over foreign ministry to deputy minister George Katrougalos

February 15, 2019

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appointed George Katrougalos as foreign minister, relinquishing a post he temporarily filled after the departure of former foreign minister Nikos Kotzias in October 2018, the government’s spokesman said on Friday.

Katrougalos had served as alternate foreign minister, handling European affairs.

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos and Angeliki Koutantou)

John Dingell, longest-serving member of U.S. Congress, dead at 92

February 12, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – John Dingell, a gruff Michigan Democrat who entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1955 to finish his late father’s term and became a legislative heavyweight and longest-serving member of Congress, died on Thursday. He was 92.

The former lawmaker’s wife, Debbie Dingell, who was elected to succeed him, was with him when he died peacefully at home in Michigan, her office said.

“He was a lion of the United States Congress and a loving son, father, husband, grandfather, and friend,” Debbie Dingell’s office said.

“He will be remembered for his decades of public service to the people of Southeast Michigan, his razor sharp wit, and a lifetime of dedication to improving the lives of all who walk this earth.”

The Detroit News reported that he was in hospice care after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, which he had decided not to treat.

Dingell served 59 years in the House before retiring in 2015 because, as he said to a Michigan business group at the time, he could no longer “live up to my own personal standard” for serving in Congress.

Dingell served as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee for 16 years, where he pushed major legislation, including the breakup of telecommunications firm AT&T, cable deregulation, the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act.

He also played an important role in passing the legislation leading to Medicare, the health insurance program for elderly Americans, in 1965, and the Affordable Care Act in 2010, popularly known as Obamacare.

Dingell did not win all of his legislative fights. He opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was approved in 1993.

In his later years as a legislator, Dingell navigated Capitol Hill in a motorized scooter bearing a vanity plate emblazoned with the words “THE DEAN,” the title for the longest-serving member of the House.

Well after leaving Congress, he remained popular, deploying his wit in posts on Twitter.

“HONOR, INTEGRITY”

Three former presidents – Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama – expressed their condolences for the long-serving lawmaker.

“Hillary and I mourn the passing of John Dingell, one of the finest public servants in American history,” Clinton, a Democrat, said in a statement.

“For nearly 60 years, John represented the people of Michigan with honor, integrity, great good humor, and unequaled ability to get good legislation passed.”

Bush, a Republican, said he was fortunate to speak to Dingell shortly before he died.

“I thanked him for his service to our country and being an example to those who have followed him into the public arena,” Bush said in a statement.

Obama, a Democrat, lauded Dingell for his steady, determined efforts over a long career to bring change.

“John led the charge on so much of the progress we take for granted today,” Obama said in a statement, adding that American lives are better for his lifetime of service.

Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow wrote in a post on Twitter: “We have been incredibly lucky to have you and will miss you dearly.”

On Wednesday, Dingell’s wife said on Twitter that she skipped Tuesday’s State of the Union address in Washington to be with him as his health declined.

On Wednesday, Dingell dictated a tweet for his wife to write: “I want to thank you all for your incredibly kind words and prayers. You’re not done with me just yet.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Eric Beech, Makini Brice, and Rich McKay; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney)

Kamala Harris’ A.G. Office Tried to Keep Inmates Locked Up for Cheap Labor

Lawyers for California also argued that allowing certain inmates to be paroled early would deplete a program that allowed prisons to fight wildfires.

Source: Jackie Kucinich

Ordered to reduce the population of California’s overcrowded prisons, lawyers from then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris’s office made the case that some non-violent offenders needed to stay incarcerated or else the prison system would lose a source of cheap labor.

In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Plata that California’s prisons were so overcrowded that they violated the Constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. Three years later, in early 2014, the state was ordered to allow non-violent, second time offenders who have served half of their sentence to be eligible for parole.

By September 2014, plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit were back in court, accusing California of slow-walking the process, which lawyers for Harris’s office denied.

Read More

 

UK Mother Arrested And Detained For 7 Hours After ‘Misgendering’ Trans Activist

The days when liberals could credibly claim that “nobody will go to jail” for violating laws making misgendering a trans individual a crime are now firmly in the past. And though the UK hasn’t passed such a law – like Canada did back in 2017 – apparently, UK police are now acquiescing to demands that individuals who misgender a trans person on the Internet can be investigated and charged for engaging in a “targeted harassment campaign.

Because according to a report in the Daily Mail, a 38-year-old mother from Hertfordshire was arrested in front of her two young children then brought to a nearby police station for questioning, where she was locked in a cell without the use of hygiene products (which she said she had specifically requested) while police questioned her about the incident.

Writing on online forum Mumsnet, Mrs Scottow – who has also been served with a court order that bans her from referring to her accuser as a man – claimed: “I was arrested in my home by three officers, with my autistic ten-year-old daughter and breastfed 20-month-old son present.”

“I was then detained for seven hours in a cell with no sanitary products (which I said I needed) before being interviewed then later released under investigation…I was arrested for harassment and malicious communications because I called someone out and misgendered them on Twitter.”

The woman in question, Kate Scottow, was arrested after repeatedly misgendering transgender activist Stephanie Hayden during a debate on the UK-based online forum Mumsnet. After being detained (Scottow was also served with an order prohibiting from ever referring to Hayden as a man), police confiscated Scottow’s phone and laptop, and have so far refused to return them more than two months later. The Hertfordshire PD confirmed the arrest, saying “We take all reports of malicious communication seriously.”

Hayden

Scottow (left) and Hayden (right)

Court papers obtained by the Mail confirmed that Scottow had been detained for engaging in a “campaign of targeted harassment” and that she multiple twitter accounts to “defame” Hayden, a trans activit.

High Court papers obtained by The Mail on Sunday detail how Mrs Scottow is accused of a ‘campaign of targeted harassment’ against Miss Hayden, allegedly motivated by her ‘status as a transgender woman’.

The papers claim that, as a ‘toxic’ debate raged online over plans to allow people to ‘self-ID’ as another gender, Mrs Scottow tweeted ‘defamatory’ messages about Miss Hayden.

She is also alleged to have used accounts in two names to ‘harass, defame, and publish derogatory and defamatory tweets’ about Miss Hayden, including referring to her as male, stating she was ‘racist, xenophobic and a crook’ and mocking her as a ‘fake lawyer’.

Mrs Scottow denied harassing or defaming Miss Hayden and said she holds a ‘genuine and reasonable belief’ that a human ‘cannot practically speaking change sex’, but Deputy Judge Jason Coppel QC issued an interim injunction that bans her from posting any personal information about Miss Hayden on social media, ‘referencing her as a man’ or linking her to her ‘former male identity’.

And Scottow isn’t the only person who has faced legal repercussions for engaging in these types of debates with Hayden.

Sitcom writer Graham Linehan was given a verbal harassment warning by West Yorkshire Police after transgender activist Stephanie Hayden reported him for referring to her by her previous names and pronouns on Twitter.

As a reminder, here’s how far the fight for trans rights has come over the past year:

DOJ Now Investigating Jeffrey Epstein’s Special Treatment from Lawmakers

from The Free Thought Project: (ZH) 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 […]

The post DOJ Now Investigating Jeffrey Epstein’s Special Treatment from Lawmakers appeared first on SGT Report.

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.

Congresswoman Gabbard to officially declare 2020 candidacy

February 2, 2019

By James Oliphant

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran who at times has had a spiky relationship with the Democratic Party, on Saturday will add another liberal voice to a burgeoning field of candidates seeking the party’s 2020 presidential nomination.

Gabbard, 37, will officially launch her candidacy in Hawaii, where she has served as a congresswoman since 2013. A Samoan-American, she was the first Hindu elected to Congress.

She made headlines in 2016 by quitting a leadership post at the Democratic National Committee over the party’s decision to limit the number of debates between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, a move analysts said helped Clinton.

Gabbard then endorsed Sanders for president, becoming one of the few members of Congress to do so. She remains popular with some progressives but will have serious competition on that front with candidates such as Senators Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren in the presidential field.

Gabbard has not been a factor in early 2020 opinion polls, and her nascent campaign already has shown signs of trouble.

Politico reported this week that her campaign manager was set to depart in the coming days after weeks of disarray.

Gabbard’s campaign on Friday confirmed the departure but said Rania Batrice would remain an adviser to Gabbard. 

Gabbard also was forced to apologize for her past opposition to same-sex marriage, which she now supports, and has been engaged in a public feud with Hawaii’s popular Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono over a federal judicial nominee.

Democratic nominating contests begin in February 2020. The candidate who amasses the majority of delegates will be nominated at the party’s convention in the summer and will likely face Republican President Donald Trump in November’s general election.

Gabbard served in Iraq and Kuwait in a Hawaii National Guard field medical unit, experiences she said helped inform her noninterventionist foreign policy views. She has made veterans issues a priority while in Congress.

Gabbard has consistently opposed U.S. intervention in Syria, going as far as to secretly meet with Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, in January 2017, sparking fierce criticism from some in her own party. She opposes removing Assad from power.

Later that year, she expressed skepticism over the Trump administration’s conclusion that Assad’s regime was behind a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens in Syria. Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean called Gabbard’s views “a disgrace” and said she was unfit to be in Congress.

Last November, she blasted Trump for not taking a harder stance toward Saudi Arabia following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

She also slammed the administration for supporting Saudi Arabia in its conflict with Yemen.

In 2015, she parted with many Democrats by criticizing then-President Barack Obama for refusing to use the term “Islamic extremism” to describe members of Islamic State and other militant groups.

(Reporting by James Oliphant; editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jonathan Oatis)

Turkey jails two Kurdish former parliamentarians

February 2, 2019

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A Turkish court has sentenced two Kurdish politicians to lengthy jail terms on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization and disseminating terrorist propaganda, Demiroren News Agency (DHA) reported.

It said former parliamentarian Gultan Kisanak, who was arrested in 2016 when she was the joint mayor of Diyarbakir city in southeast Turkey, was jailed for 14 years and three months.

Sebahat Tuncel, who had also served in parliament, was jailed for 15 years, the agency said. She has been on hunger strike for three weeks and did not attend the court hearing.

Kisanak rejected the charges in court and said she had been held for two years before Friday’s sentencing.

“I do what I do because it is true, legal, legitimate, humanitarian,” Demiroren quoted her as saying. “Everything I do is in the frame of democratic politics.”

Kisanak was arrested in October 2016 and accused of making speeches in support of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey since the 1980s. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Turkey, the European Union and the United States have all designated the PKK a terrorist organization.

President Tayyip Erdogan has said the removal of elected officials and civil servants accused of links to the PKK is a vital part of the battle against it.

(Reporting by Dominic Evans; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

MAGA Hats Banned At California Restaurant; Owner Addresses Outrage In Ham-Handed Statement

A California restaurant owner sparked controversy in a now-deleted tweet in which he declared that anyone wearing a “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) hat would not be served.

Wursthall Restaurant & Bierhaus in San Mateo, CA

The owner of Wursthall Restaurant & Bierhaus in San Mateo, J. Kenji López-Alt wrote on January 25: “

In a separate now-deleted tweet to his 42,000 Twitter followers, López-Alt wrote “MAGA hats are like white hoods except stupider because you can see exactly who is wearing them.”

The award winning cookbook author’s tweets sparked an immediate controversy, with those on the left supporting the restaurateur, and free speech advocates condemning him. 

“I see where he’s coming from, but I don’t think you should just keep people out because of a hat,” said San Mateo resident Jamie Hwang while sitting at a table inside Wursthall. “I get that idea, that maybe that hat could mean the person wearing it is just looking for a fight, but just cutting off dialogue, not giving a chance to get to know someone — I just don’t know if that’s something I would do.”

Not the first time…

Last May the Cheesecake Factory apologized after a 22-year-old Trump supporter Eugenior Joseph was harassed by employees, with some threatening to “knock his head in so hard his hat’s going to come off.” 

According to multiple witnesses and Joseph’s own account, a woman who worked at the restaurant walked up to him and started pointing at his hat, signaling for the other employees to come over.

Her finger was literally on top of his head, we were all looking at her like ‘what is happening?’” one witness told The Daily Wire. “She was pointing at him, calling her other coworkers, telling them to look at this guy wearing a Make America Great Again hat.” –Daily Wire

And in June of last year, the manager of a Canadian restaurant was fired after he ejected a man wearing a MAGA hat – leading to Trump-hating Canadians swarming their Yelp page with negative reviews. 

“As a person with a strong moral backbone, I had to take a stand against this guest’s choice of headwear while in my former place of work. Absolutely no regrets,” the former employee told CBC News.

Kenji backpedals, kind of

In a carefully crafted Friday PR statement, Kenji suggests that he wasn’t attacking individuals – but the “hate” that a MAGA hat represents. 

“My message was intended to reject anger, hate and violence, and indicate that these shouldn’t be welcomed in our society and aren’t welcome in our community. It was meant to be directed at those who would try to bring messages of hate, violence, and anger into my place of business,” wrote López-Alt, adding “It was aimed at these three elements rather than at a physical object, but I understand that many interpreted my words in a different context, and construed a message of hate directed at them.”

In short, “If you come into my restaurant wearing a MAGA cap, you aren’t getting served” wasn’t directed at people (it was), rather it was aimed at MAGA hats themselves – and he’s sorry for any confusion caused by his clear language.

“Wursthall will continue, as it always has, to serve all customer regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual preference, gender orientation, disability, or political opinion — so long as they leave hate, anger, and violence outside of the doors of our restaurant.”

In short, you still can’t wear a MAGA hat inside of his eatery. 

If Lying To Congress Is An Enforceable Crime, We’re Gonna Need More Jails…

While the Left’s new agenda appears to one of socialist utopia – where helicopters are hateful, billionaires are obscene, and “getting back to equal” is the over-arching agenda (aside from hating Trump), one glance at the last few years of judicial system decisions makes one wonder, while we’re all equal under the law, it just seems, some are more equal than others…

After the recent Bib-Laden-esque operation against a former 65-year-old campaign advisor in the dead of night, President Trump recently opined, “If Roger Stone was indicted for lying to Congress, what about the lying done by Comey, Brennan, Clapper, Lisa Page & lover, Baker and soooo many others?”

It’s a good question, and as Rep Matt Gatez details below: “If lying to Congress is an enforceable crime, we are going to need more jails…”

And, here are a few people who’ve been found to have lied to Congress over the past half century or so, and what happened to them (via NBC News):

W. SAMUEL PATTEN

Under a plea agreement in late August, Patten, an American, Washington-based lobbyist, pleaded guilty to failing to register as a foreign lobbyist. The agreement revealed that in January, he “gave false and misleading testimony” — which included misinformation about his representation of a foreign government in the U.S. — to the Senate Intelligence Committee in its Russia probe. According to the agreement, after the interview with the panel, “Patten deleted documents pertinent to his relationships with the above-described foreign principals.” Under the agreement, Patten was not charged with making false statements.

W. Samuel Patten leaves the federal court in Washington on Aug. 31, 2018. Patten entered a guilty plea in federal court in Washington, shortly after prosecutors released a four-page charging document that accused him of performing lobbying and consulting work in the United States and Ukraine but failing to register as a foreign agent as required by the Justice Department.Jose Luis Magana / AP

Patten has not been sentenced for not registering as a foreign agent and had agreed to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller and federal prosecutors.

ROGER CLEMENS

Clemens, a seven-time winner of the Cy Young Award as a Major League Baseball pitcher for teams such as the New York Yankees and Red Sox, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2010 for making false statements and perjury during his 2008 testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, when he claimed that he never used performance-enhancing drugs such as human growth hormone or steroids.

At the time, he faced a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine, if convicted.

In 2011, an initial trial involving Clemens ended in a mistrial. The following year, he was acquitted of all charges.

H.R. HALDEMAN

Haldeman, who served as President Richard Nixon’s first White House chief of staff, was convicted, along with John Mitchell, one of Nixon’s attorneys general, in 1975 of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury related to testimony he gave to the Senate Watergate Committee investigating the cover-up of the Watergate break-in at the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters.

H.R. Haldeman, a former top aide to President Richard Nixon, testifies before the Senate Watergate Committee in Washington on July 31,1973.AP file

Haldeman was sentenced to a maximum of 8 years in prison, which was later reduced to one to four years. He wound up serving 18 months. Mitchell served 19 months in prison.

HARVEY MATUSOW

Matusow, an ex-Communist who had become an FBI informant, was convicted of lying to Congress in the 1950s after revealing in his book “False Lies,” that in testimony to lawmakers, he had falsely named 200 people as Communists or Communist sympathizers just a few years earlier.

He faced the prospect of a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, but was ultimately sentenced to five years, of which he served 44 months.

CASPAR WEINBERGER

Weinberger, a former Defense secretary, was indicted on felony charges in 1992 for lying to Congress about his role in the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration, in which officials sold arms to the Iranian government to support militant rebels in Nicaragua. Weinberger was among a number of Reagan aides who were charged with lying to Congress, along with Clair George, deputy director of operations at the CIA, and John Poindexter, Reagan’s national security adviser.

Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger in Washington, D.C. in Feb. 1981.Bob Daugherty / AP file

Weinberger had been scheduled to stand trial, but before that occurred, President George H.W. Bush granted him and five other advisers involved in the scandal — including George — full pardons. Meanwhile, an appeals court reversed Poindexter’s conviction.

HE LIED: Native American Activist Nathan Phillips Never Served in Vietnam — But Raised Money By Saying He Did

The Washington Post has had to issue yet another retraction after falsely claiming that far-left Native American activist Nathan Phillips served in the Vietnam War. He didn’t — but this lie was previously used to help raise money for a documentary about his life.

On Monday, the Washington Post quietly issued a correction to their story about the activist, saying that while he served in the Marines, he was never deployed to Vietnam.

“Correction: Earlier versions of this story incorrectly said that Native American activist Nathan Phillips fought in the Vietnam War. Phillips served in the U.S. Marines from 1972 to 1976 but was never deployed to Vietnam,” the update reads.

This wasn’t the first time that Phillips has misrepresented his service.

In 2012, over $6,000 was raised for a documentary about his life in which he claimed to be a Vietnam veteran.

In a video about the documentary, director Maria Stanisheva explained that her documentary was about Phillips’ belief that he could pray cancer away from his wife.

Stanisheva explained in the footage that Phillips had been sent to a Catholic boarding school at the age of five. From the sound of it, he resents the experience.

“Nathan’s past is a difficult one. He was forced out of his family at the age of five to be integrated into a Catholic school — like so many other Native Americans — not being allowed to see his family for ten years,” Stanisheva stated.

 

Stanisheva goes on to say that “he was then a Marine in Vietnam — and right after that he became an alcoholic for 20 years.”

Countless media outlets and reporters used this false claim about his service in an attempt to shame those who questioned his antics when he confronted the students in Washington, DC.

POLL: Should The Covington Students Sue The Mainstream Media For Defamation?

Another day — another fake news media lie.

“I Can’t Say I’m Sorry” Says Covington MAGA Hat Teen; “Vietnam Vet” Indian Outed As Fridge-Fixer

Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann refused to apologize for standing his ground as a native american “Vietnam veteran” approached him banging a drum. 

“I mean, in hindsight, I wish we could’ve walked away and avoided the whole thing. But I can’t say that I’m sorry for listening to him and standing there,” Sandmann told “NBC Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie in an interview which has received harsh criticism from both the left and the right. 

Wednesday’s interview evoked strong reactions – with liberals condemning NBC for interviewing Sandmann, and conservatives knocking the network for asking loaded questions. 

The Native American “Vietnam Vet” Nathan Phillips, meanwhile, has been outed for never serving in Vietnam despite repeatedly claiming to have done so, in a case of stolen valor. 

Skeptics of Phillips’ claim were vindicated following a correction in the Washington Post that reads: “Earlier versions of this story incorrectly said that Native American activist Nathan Phillips fought in the Vietnam War. Phillips said he served in the U.S. Marines but was never deployed to Vietnam.”

According to retired Navy Seal Don Shipley – whose YouTube channel is devoted to exposing stolen valor, Phillips’ records reveal that he was a refrigerator technician who went AWOL several times, and who was never deployed outside of the United States. 

Shipley adds that Phillips never served as a “recon ranger” as he has previously claimed. 

As the Gateway Pundit’s Cassandra Fairbanks notes, Phillips raised over $6,000 for a documentary about his life in which he claimed to be a Vietnam Veteran. 

Meanwhile, the memes are flowing:

This man donated $2 million to Trump’s inauguration:

Does this help explain Trump’s rabid desire to overthrow and replace Iran’s Government?:

https://www.citytomb.com/biographies/Houshang_Ansari/en

Hushang Ansary

Hushang Ansary was born in 1926 in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, Iran.

Spouse: Maryam Panahi (Shahla Nazemian)

Life events:

Hushang Ansary, “a resident of the United States since 1979 and citizen since 1986, has had a remarkable career in business, economic development and diplomacy. Born in Ahvaz, in Iran’s Khuzestan Province, Ansary first worked as a newspaper and magazine photographer in Ahvaz, Tehran, and England before moving to Japan in 1954. There he met Abbas Aram, Iran’s ambassador to Japan, who soon brought him to the attention of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Shah asked Ansary to return to Iran and appointed him to several government positions starting in 1961, including Undersecretary of Commerce, ambassador to many African nations and to Pakistan, and Minister of Information. In 1964 he married Maryam Panahi, a friend of ambassador Aram who had many high-ranking acquaintances in the governments of the United States and Iran. He served as Ambassador to the United States and then as Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance. Ansary has long championed the cause of International trade and economic cooperation as a tool to enhance greater understanding among Nations. He has received special recognition by TIME Magazine for his contributions in this area. He is a Republican Regent. He was a member of the National Finance Committee of the Bush-Cheney Presidential Campaign. He is a recipient of the distinguished Woodrow Wilson International Center Award and has been decorated by the Governments of Japan, South Korea, Italy, Norway, Spain, Egypt, Romania and Pakistan. By the 1970s, the CIA considered Ansary to be one of seventeen members of “the Shah’s Inner Circle” and he was one of the Shah’s top two choices to succeed Amir Abbas Hoveyda as Prime Minister.Ultimately, this appointment went to Jamshid Amouzegar, and Ansary became the leader of the Constructionist wing of the Rastakhiz party, which opposed Amouzegar’s Progressive wing.

Occupations and Career:

He is a diplomat, businessman, and philanthropist with a net worth of over $2 billion. Hushang Ansary served as Chief Executive Officer of IRI International Corporation since March 1997. He served as Chief Executive Officer of National Iranian Oil Company. He was an Economic and Finance Minister of Iran and Iranian Ambassador to the United States. He has been the Chairman of Stewart & Stevenson LLC since January 2006. He served as Chairman of National Iranian Oil Company. Ansary served as Chairman of Sun Resorts Ltd. N.V., since 1986 and Parman Capital Investments Ltd., since 1982. He also served as Chairman of Parman Capital Group, LLC. He also served as Chairman of IRI International Corporation from March 19, 1995 to June 2000. He serves as a Trustee Emeritus of Asia Society. Mr. Ansary served as a Director of National Oilwell Varco, Incorporated from June 2000 to March 2005. Hushang Ansary is a Trustee of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation. He sits on the Board of Overseers of the Weill Cornell Medical College. He is a John Harvard Fellow and a member of the Senior Advisory Board of the Shorenstein Barone Center for the Press, Politics and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government. He serves on the President’s Council of the Center for Middle East Public Policy at RAND.

Awards /Honors:

Ansary is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (2003) and the Woodrow Wilson Award.

Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University established the Ansary Center for Stem Cell Therapeutics in 2004 in honor of a grant from Ansary and his wife Shahla.

The American Academy of Diplomacy’s Ansary Outreach Program was a two-year series of discussions, lectures, and seminars about U.S. foreign policy which began in 2004.

The Ansary Gallery of American History at the George Bush Presidential Library was named in his honor in 2004.

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