Trump’s New CIA Nominee, Gina Haspel, Faces Possible Arrest Warrant in Germany over Torture
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Democracy Now!
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw / https://www.youtube.com/user/democracynow , https://www.youtube.com/user/democracynow/videos ] On Tuesday morning, President Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson via Twitter. In the same tweet, the president announced CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who is a close ally of the Koch brothers, would be nominated to become the new secretary of state. Trump also tapped CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel to head the CIA. Haspel was directly involved in the CIA’s torture program under George W. Bush. She was responsible for running a secret CIA black site in Thailand in 2002 where one prisoner was waterboarded 83 times and tortured in other ways. Both Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel must now face Senate confirmations, but barring any Republican defections, both can be confirmed without any Democratic support. Last year, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights
[ https://www.ecchr.eu/en/home.html ] asked German prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant for Haspel for her role in the torture program. For more, we speak with Wolfgang Kaleck, founder and general secretary of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/14/trumps_new_cia_nominee_gina_haspel [with embedded video, and transcript] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdQxSdJJ7gQ [with comments] [and see also in particular (linked in)
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=39471610 and preceding and following]
* “She Tortured Just for the Sake of Torture”: CIA Whistleblower on Trump’s New CIA Pick Gina Haspel
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Democracy Now!
Former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou personally knew CIA director nominee Gina Haspel when he worked at the CIA. But their careers have taken very different paths over the past decade. Haspel, who was directly involved in torture at a secret CIA prison in Thailand, has been promoted to head the agency. Kiriakou, who blew the whistle on the torture program, ended up being jailed for 23 months. For more, we speak with John Kiriakou, who spent 14 years at the CIA as an analyst and case officer.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/14/she_tortured_just_for_the_sake [with embedded video, and transcript] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpDc1hscfeQ [with comments] [id.]
* Jeremy Scahill: Gina Haspel Should Be Answering for Her Torture Crimes, Not Heading the CIA
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Democracy Now!
Trump has tapped CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel to replace outgoing CIA Director Mike Pompeo, after Pompeo was named to succeed Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. Haspel was directly involved in the CIA’s torture program under George W. Bush. She was responsible for running a secret CIA black site in Thailand in 2002 where one prisoner was waterboarded 83 times and tortured in other ways. But she enjoys broad support, including from the intelligence community and Democrats in the Senate. For more, we speak with Jeremy Scahill, co-founder of The Intercept.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/14/jeremy_scahill_gina_haspel_should_be [with embedded video, and transcript] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTMCiKmABOQ [with comments] [id.]
* Mike Pompeo, Christian Crusader & Koch Brothers Ally, Tapped to Be Trump’s Secretary of State
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Democracy Now!
On Tuesday, President Trump announced via Twitter he was firing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and tapping CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him. As a former Kansas Republican congressmember, Pompeo has a history of making Islamophobic statements. He’s also been a major ally to the billionaire right-wing Koch brothers. For more, we speak with Lee Fang, investigative reporter with The Intercept. His 2016 piece is “Trump CIA Pick Mike Pompeo Depicted War on Terror as Islamic Battle Against Christianity
[ https://theintercept.com/2016/11/23/mike-pompeo-religious-war/ ].”
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/14/mike_pompeo_christian_crusader_koch_brothers [with embedded video, and transcript] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axAuKoKDpLw [with comments]
* Congresswoman Confirms Erik Prince Tied to Assassination Program Run Out of Dick Cheney’s Office
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Democracy Now!
On one of the latest episodes
[ https://theintercept.com/2018/03/14/intercepted-podcast-the-lyin-the-rich-and-the-warmongers/ ] of Jeremy Scahill’s podcast “Intercepted,” he interviews Democratic Congressmember Jan Schakowsky about Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, who is now under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. For more, we speak with Jeremy Scahill, co-founder of The Intercept.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/14/congresswoman_confirms_erik_prince_tied_to [with embedded video, and transcript] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiMvXcUuGiw [with comments]
* Web Bonus: Stephen Kinzer on America’s History of Regime Change and Mark Twain’s Anti-Imperialism
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Democracy Now!
https://democracynow.org - Web-only conversation with Stephen Kinzer, author of many books including “Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
[ https://www.amazon.com/Overthrow-Americas-Century-Regime-Change/dp/0805082409 ]” and “The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire
[ https://www.amazon.com/True-Flag-Theodore-Roosevelt-American/dp/1627792163 ].”
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/14/extended_interview_stephen_kinzer_on_america [with embedded video, and transcript] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9esMpuO-RHQ [with comments]
-- Full Show - Wanted Criminal Picked To Run CIA - 03/14/2018
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Real News with David Knight
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC1L9FOMSaPgMyoLSnps47g , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC1L9FOMSaPgMyoLSnps47g/videos ] 14Mar18 Broadcast
What happens to CIA officials who torture, destroy video evidence, get exposed and indicted by EU for criminal violation of human rights? They get appointed to lead the CIA. But Diane Feinstein says “it’s a new day”. Then, atheist Richard Dawkins salivates over human meat grown in labs as a way to reject moral standards through canabalism. And, media outlets shut down programming across the country at the top of every hour to fetishize the astroturf student marches for gun control and Sheriff Mack joins to explain how constitutional sheriffs can make schools safer, Lee Stranahan joins to talk about Georgetown Law School’s frivolous publicity stunt lawsuit against him and InfoWars.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkEA50Iv9wA [with comments] [also at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPxegCj61LI (with comments)] [and see also in particular (linked in)
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=39471610 and preceding and following]
-- Readout of the Gaza Conference at the White House
Issued on: March 14, 2018
Yesterday, the White House hosted a conference with representatives from 20 countries, including Israel and many Arab states, to discuss solutions to the worsening humanitarian and economic conditions in Gaza. The conference, convened by White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, and members of the National Security Council (NSC) staff and the Department of State, was attended by representatives from the United Nations, the European Union, the Office of the Quartet, and the following countries: Bahrain, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. The White House conference built upon a meeting held in Cairo, Egypt, last week, and will carry ideas forward to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) meeting in Brussels, Belgium, at the end of the month. The Administration of President Donald J. Trump believes that deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza require immediate attention. The situation in Gaza must be solved for humanitarian reasons and for ensuring the security of Egypt and Israel. It is also a necessary step toward reaching a comprehensive peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians, including Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank. The attendees yesterday discussed concrete proposals for finding realistic, effective approaches to the challenges Gaza currently faces. White House officials presented specific project ideas, developed in conjunction with the NSC staff and Department of State officials, which the AHLC may seek to fund through discussions at its upcoming meeting in Brussels. The nations and entities represented at the conference have the ability to work together and make a difference. The dialogue will continue, in the coming days, in close coordination with other stakeholders, as all parties take tangible steps toward making meaningful improvements in the humanitarian and economic situation in Gaza.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/readout-gaza-conference-white-house/ -- Why we imagine aliens the way we do
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Vox
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA / https://www.youtube.com/user/voxdotcom , https://www.youtube.com/user/voxdotcom/videos ] Aliens often resemble life on Earth. How did we land on that concept of extraterrestrials?
No one really knows what aliens look like, but we all have similar ideas about them. It’s often a creature with a big head, long arms and legs, and big buggy eyes. We see these common images of aliens depicted in movies, books, and on TV shows—which are made by us.
Science fiction stories often explore the relationship between humans and aliens. So we often find extraterrestrial creatures entangled with relatable human features. In this video, we talk to Oscar-nominated VFX supervisor Charley Henley, and the director of SETI Research Center at UC Berkely, Andrew Siemion. They both give us their views on how we, humans, perceive aliens and how that shapes our imagination of life beyond our planet.
You can read more about SETI’s work here:
http://seti.berkeley.edu/ You can see the full VFX breakdown of MPC’s work on Alien: Covenant here:
MPC Alien Covenant VFX breakdown Published on Sep 8, 2017 by mpcvfx [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCydrO9nGp1eqRZoMJxxCtSg / https://www.youtube.com/user/mpcvfx , https://www.youtube.com/user/mpcvfx/videos ]
MPC’s VFX team lead by VFX Supervisor Ferran Domenech worked alongside Director Ridley Scott and Production VFX Supervisor Charley Henley to create more than 700 stunning shots for the Alien: Covenant. As lead studio, MPC’s work included the creation of the movies terrifying creatures, alien environments, vehicles and complex FX simulation work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t-8nR0w6wM [with comments] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvq94pW4l6o [with comments]
-- The Original Motto Project
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by TheThinkingAtheist
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeYP27qLtfUMY1b1Cyy3WdQ / https://www.youtube.com/user/TheThinkingAtheist , https://www.youtube.com/user/TheThinkingAtheist/videos ] Seth Andrews speaks with Robert Ray, founder of
http://originalmotto.us/ , about his desire to return the U.S. to its original (secular) roots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVYyl9LLprM [with comments]
-- Full Show - Democrat Plan To Destroy The First Amendment And America Exposed - 03/14/2018
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by The Alex Jones Channel
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvsye7V9psc-APX6wV1twLg / https://www.youtube.com/user/TheAlexJonesChannel , https://www.youtube.com/user/TheAlexJonesChannel/videos ] Wednesday, March 14th 2018
[, with an appearance by Roger Stone, who also co-hosts the fourth hour]: Photo Finish Race! - The Pennsylvania special House election between Democrat Lamb and Republican Saccone is incredibly close! Experts say a recount is inevitable. Joining today’s show is celebrated cartoonist and author Scott Adams to provide his insight on this race and on current events. Then, media commentator Gavin Mcinnes discusses political correctness and the censorship circus. Furthermore, Dr. Steve Pieczenik provides powerful insight into the Deep State and Trump's foreign policy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ94KHTHzEk [with comments] [also at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U021_LY5hjM (additional text adapted from; with comments)] [a must-watch]
* RWW News: Gavin McInnes And Alex Jones Complain About ‘Sexless, Depressed, Old, Chubby Dikes’
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by RWW Blog
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMXqRHe8n1TX5iDvkLS62rw / https://www.youtube.com/user/RWWBlog , https://www.youtube.com/user/RWWBlog/videos ] http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/gavin-mcinnes-and-alex-jones-complain-about-sexless-depressed-old-chubby-dikes/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLy7qkMic0E [with comments]
* Meet Harmony The Sex Robot
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by VICELAND
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWF0PiUvUi3Jma2oFgaiX2w , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWF0PiUvUi3Jma2oFgaiX2w/videos , https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ_hwG6UuEJbTQtXZ0BAygM6GU2URNH0B ] In this scene from SLUTEVER, we meet Harmony, an interactive robot capable of having sex and making human conversation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orBH_Qnw3eY [with comments]
-- Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding House Passage of the STOP School Violence Act of 2018
Issued on: March 14, 2018
President Donald J. Trump applauds the House for passing H.R. 4909, the STOP School Violence Act of 2018, an important step towards keeping American students safe. This legislation helps protect our Nation’s youth and educators by authorizing State-based grants that will support evidence-based violence prevention programs. It is critical that we strengthen our laws in order to aid our law enforcement, address the needs of individuals struggling with serious mental illness, and develop proactive strategies for identifying and preventing violence in schools. This Administration is pleased with the progress we have made toward securing our schools over the last few weeks alone, and looks forward to working with the Senate to protect America’s students.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-regarding-house-passage-stop-school-violence-act-2018/ -- Statement from the Press Secretary on the Passage of S.2155
Issued on: March 14, 2018
President Donald J. Trump commends the Senate, led by Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) for passing S.2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. The President supports this bill, and as recently noted in a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP), he would sign it into law.
The bill provides much-needed relief from the Dodd-Frank Act for thousands of community banks and credit unions and will spur lending and economic growth without creating risks to the financial system. By tailoring regulation, the bill seeks to prevent excessive regulation from undermining the viability of local and regional banks and their ability to serve their communities.
The President looks forward to discussing any further revisions the House is interested in making, with the goal of bipartisan, pro-growth Dodd-Frank relief reaching his desk as soon as possible.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-passage-s-2155/ -- Press Gaggle by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah
Aboard Air Force One
En Route St. Louis, Missouri
March 14, 2018
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-gaggle-principal-deputy-press-secretary-raj-shah-031418/ [official transcript]
-- Statement by the Press Secretary on the United Kingdom’s Decision to Expel Russian Diplomats
Issued on: March 14, 2018
The United States stands in solidarity with its closest ally, the United Kingdom. The United States shares the United Kingdom’s assessment that Russia is responsible for the reckless nerve agent attack on a British citizen and his daughter, and we support the United Kingdom’s decision to expel Russian diplomats as a just response. This latest action by Russia fits into a pattern of behavior in which Russia disregards the international rules-based order, undermines the sovereignty and security of countries worldwide, and attempts to subvert and discredit Western democratic institutions and processes. The United States is working together with our allies and partners to ensure that this kind of abhorrent attack does not happen again.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-united-kingdoms-decision-expel-russian-diplomats/ -- President Trump Participates in a Roundtable Discussion on Tax Cuts and Tax Reform
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by The White House
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYxRlFDqcWM4y7FfpiAN3KQ / https://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse , https://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse/videos ] St. Louis, MO
[no official transcript (yet) at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/ ]
President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts are a Windfall for Americans
“At the heart of our plan is tremendous relief for working families and for small businesses.”
- President Donald J. Trump
March 14, 2018
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-tax-cuts-windfall-americans/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yalnLpsgXm0 [with comments]
-- On National Walkout Day, students demand action on gun violence
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by mediamatters4america
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_70iWZ6ym2cglS_kv5YfmA / https://www.youtube.com/user/mediamatters4america , https://www.youtube.com/user/mediamatters4america/videos ] Tens of thousands of students across America walked out of school today to demand action on gun violence. Listen to what they all had to say: "We're out here, we're saying enough...students should no longer be in fear of going to school."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2vvyeB4-Es [with comments]
-- Full Show - Democrats Brainwash Students To March Against American Traditions - 03/14/2018
Published on Mar 15, 2018 by War Room
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClsn7QZVdszxLlUs-GOG0Sg , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClsn7QZVdszxLlUs-GOG0Sg/videos ] An eventful War Room today, as Roger Stone breaks down the latest White House intrigue, as well as the most recent fake news about Russian Collusion. Meanwhile, Facebook is banning anyone who is a nationalist, Nikki Haley is saber rattling against Russia, and the ACLU is brainwashing the American public with anti-American propaganda. Lee Ann McAdoo joins as well to talk about the madness that is gender fluidity.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axOGYpdxtbM [with comments] [also at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylGEFkmJTyA (with comments)]
-- Remarks by Vice President Pence at a Women’s History Month Reception
The Mayflower Hotel
Washington, D.C.
March 14, 2018
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-vice-president-pence-womens-history-month-reception/ [official transcript]
* Ask an Atheist: 'Are Science and Religion Incompatible?'
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by FFRF
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC28jWiP7HV6mBBW3C8AXuEg / https://www.youtube.com/user/FFRForg , https://www.youtube.com/user/FFRForg/videos ] FFRF Co-President Dan Barker and Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel will interview Jerry Coyne, an Evolutionary Biologist and the University of Chicago's Professor of Ecology and Evolution. Dr. Coyne, author of the best-selling book "Why Evolution is True," will touch on topics including creationism, religion, and why he thinks the separation of state and church is vital.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naM7nGrRpR8 [with comments]
* Defending Anti-Theism: Friended FOREVER Edition
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Godless Cranium
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewUkuIHNuwuMNWMa96q9ZQ , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewUkuIHNuwuMNWMa96q9ZQ/videos ] In this video we take a look at a video by Friended Forever, who claims that antitheism is anti-science.
Friended was originally responding to a Genetically Modified Skeptic's video titled, "Awful Objections to Anti-Theism
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ7l1klmen8 , included at/see also in particular (linked in) https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139624347 and preceding and following (earlier this string)]".
I'm not sure if Friended actually believes what he's saying or has just decided to take a contrarian view for clicks. Noel Plum has already addressed his concerns a few times, as have I and Nightmare Fuel.
I decided to give it one more try, but this will likely be my last response to Friended.
Original video:
Is Anti-Theism is Anti-Science? | Part 1 of 2 Published on Mar 11, 2018 by Friended FOREVER [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6Q3wg-PgsgO2XtQxZpZEg , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6Q3wg-PgsgO2XtQxZpZEg/videos ]
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPueuOqeLck
"8th rule of Think Club. If this is your first night at Think Club, you have to read." ~ PSA Sitch
VIDEO NOTES
Original Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ7l1klmen8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxqhd2HA5co
Parts of this video are paraphrased from this 2008 paper by Jonathan Haidt:
(1) MORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE MISUNDERSTANDING OF RELIGION
Jonathan Haidt
University of Virginia
February 3, 2008
Published in J. Schloss & M. Murray (eds.), (2009). The believing primate: Scientific, philosophical, and theological reflections on the origin of religion. New York: Oxford. pp. 278-291
This article is adapted from an essay first published on www.edge.org. To see that essay, plus responses from Sam Harris, Marc Hauser, Michael Shermer, D.S. Wilson, and P.Z. Meyers, see: https://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/haidt07/haidt07_index.htmlwww.edge.org/3rd_culture/haidt07/haidt07_index.html ["Page not found"]
Quotes:
"1) Intuitive primacy but not dictatorship. It's clear that Richard Dawkins (2006) and Sam Harris (2006) have strong feelings about religion in general and religious fundamentalists in particular. The passions of Dawkins and Harris don't mean that they are wrong, or that they can't be trusted. One can certainly do good scholarship on slavery while hating slavery. But the presence of passions should alert us that the authors, being human, are likely to have great difficulty searching for and then fairly evaluating evidence that opposes their intuitive feelings about religion. We can turn to Dawkins and Harris to make the case for the prosecution, which they do brilliantly, but if we readers are to judge religion we will have to find a defense attorney. Or at least we'll have to let the accused speak."
"It's time to examine the question anew. Yet Dawkins has referred to group selection in interviews as a "heresy," and in The God Delusion he dismisses it without giving a reason. In chapter 5 he states the standard Williams free rider objection, notes the argument that religion is a way around the Williams objection, concedes that Darwin believed in group selection, and then moves on. Dismissing a credible position without reasons, and calling it a heresy (even if tongue in cheek), are hallmarks of standard moral thinking, not scientific thinking."
PewDiePie quote is actually by Jonathan Haidt. Looks like I got the publication date wrong in the video.
(18) The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion is a 2012 social psychology book by Jonathan Haidt, in which the author describes human morality as it relates to politics and religion.
"I read a book on witchcraft among the Azande of Sudan.17 It turns out that witchcraft beliefs arise in surprisingly similar forms in many parts of the world, which suggests either that there really are witches or (more likely) that there’s something about human minds that often generates this cultural institution. The Azande believed that witches were just as likely to be men as women, and the fear of being called a witch made the Azande careful not to make their neighbors angry or envious. That was my first hint that groups create supernatural beings not to explain the universe but to order their societies.18"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWErdHaUbAk [with comments] Disappointed Optimist channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC56bXEa-ppzYwx7LLbAmzsw The Godless Iowan channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtZhXy31sCAMd5Js_k29khA Sources:
Oooooo, Sick Burn Published on Mar 21, 2013 by Brian [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKQNc-w4ThdjZGVfbVh5AZA / https://www.youtube.com/user/therealjustbriand , https://www.youtube.com/user/therealjustbriand/videos ]
Clerks 2 Sick Burn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD9WiTTE6FU [with comments] http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-43373389 https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-2017-fewer-suicide-attacks-but-more-women-bombers-1.5729575 https://apnews.com/a4b39a25b90a4bd68c0995f446a332e7 https://nypost.com/2016/11/01/woman-caned-for-standing-too-close-to-her-boyfriend/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Islamist_terrorist_attacks https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/most-religious-countries-in-the-world/ https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/topic-pages/violent-crime http://www.businessinsider.com/why-japans-murder-rate-is-so-low-2014-4 http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/China/United-States/Crime http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Estonia/United-States/Crime https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/WP0KG/the-crime-situation-in-sweden-compared-to-the-us-in-4-charts https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/evolution-of-prejudice/ https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/02/sweden-crime-rates-statistics-immigration-trump-fox-news/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNByO4nyKKM [with comments]
-- Roger Stone Filmmaker: We "prepared" to meet Assange in London in 2016
The Beat with Ari Melber
3/14/18
The documentarian who spent over five years with Roger Stone details preparations for a 2016 trip to London to meet WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and rebuts Stone’s claim the idea of a meeting with Assange was “a joke.”
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/stone-filmmaker-we-prepared-to-go-to-london-for-assange-meeting-1186206275927 ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EjqVkKhOhs [with comments]
* Schiff: “Indications” Trump hiding materials on Comey discussions
The Beat with Ari Melber
3/14/18
As the House Intelligence Committee ends its Russia probe, the top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Adam Schiff, reveals “indications” of “some memorialization” of discussions between Trump and former FBI director James Comey that would “shed light on the issue of obstruction of justice.”
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/schiff-indications-trump-hiding-materials-on-comey-discussions-1186214979676 ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0nhp5ybBlg [with comments]
* GOP Congressman confronted over how Trump firing Mueller could be illegal
The Beat with Ari Melber
3/14/18
Congressman Matt Gaetz who is leading the charge to have Special Counsel Mueller fired says recused Attorney General Jeff Sessions should fire Mueller.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/gop-congressman-confronted-over-how-trump-firing-mueller-could-be-illegal-1186217539596 ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDPKBPiiOOM [with comments]
* GOP Lawmaker in Florida bucks the NRA: "I made the right vote"
The Beat with Ari Melber
3/14/18
Florida Republican State Rep. Scott Plakon joins “The Beat” on voting against the NRA for new gun control laws for the first time in two decades. Plakon saying "some things…are worth losing elections over.”
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/gop-lawmaker-in-florida-bucks-the-nra-i-made-the-right-vote-1186221123560 -- How Israel Rules The World Of Cyber Security, VICE on HBO, Full Episode
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by VICE News
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZaT_X_mc0BI-djXOlfhqWQ / https://www.youtube.com/user/vicenews , https://www.youtube.com/user/vicenews/videos ] U.S. intelligence agencies accuse Russia of hacking the 2016 presidential election, a Ben Ferguson travels to Tel Aviv to find out how Israel is on its way to becoming the world's top cyber superpower.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca-C3voZwpM [with comments]
* How Russian Prisoners Are Using Tattoos To Protest Putin (HBO)
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by VICE News
The jailed brother of Russia’s opposition leader is designing tattoos from behind bars as an underground protest against Vladimir Putin’s certain reelection.
Oleg Navalny was jailed on dubious charges of embezzling cash in 2015, while his brother Alexei was handed a suspended sentence which led to him to being barred from running in the presidential poll.
Navalny’s artwork and designs are smuggled out by mail to supporters, who share the designs online and auction tattoos to help raise cash for Oleg’s family.
Pavel Akimov, a Navalny supporter who helps run the auctions, said: “Art to him may be the only way of engaging with the outside world. So we have decided to widen the reach of this art.”
Alexei Navalny is urging his supporters to boycott the election to weaken the legitimacy of Putin’s inevitable victory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX901O0hEtA [with comments]
* This Is What An Ivory Bust In New York City Looks Like (HBO)
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by VICE News
When the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Crimes Investigation Unit goes undercover, they do it in style — or at least they try to.
That’s what our crew learned when the unit allowed VICE News to tag along during an undercover mission to buy illegal ivory at an art gallery in Queens, New York.
The ivory trade in the U.S. is estimated to be a $23 billion dollar industry — and New York City is its hub. To discourage this, a 2014 law tightened restrictions by making the sale of undocumented elephant or even mammoth ivory completely illegal. The only sales allowed now are those where the dealer is selling articles that contain less than 20 percent ivory, and that have paperwork showing the items are more than 100 years old. Under any other circumstance, the sale of ivory is a crime.
The new law hasn’t stopped some dealers from trying, however — so the DEC is still conducting undercover operations. During the June mission at the Ro Gallery in Queens, DEC officers dressed as ivory-loving art connoisseurs. For Lieutenant Jesse Paluch, who headed the mission, that meant wearing a large ivory necklace and bracelet, as well as a linen shirt that he joked was designed to keep “a level of GQ.”
“There's always a level of paranoia because you know who you are, so you automatically think that these people are going to know who you are,” he said. “The best thing to do is just hide in plain sight and act normal.”
The mission was successful; Paluch and a fellow officer purchased a statue, which they later authenticated as containing ivory. One month later, with a warrant in hand, the officers returned to raid the gallery. VICE News filmed the bust as well, which led to the seizure of three additional pieces of ivory, worth a total of $36,000, according to the DEC.
The case against the owner of the art gallery is now pending pre-indictment. We spoke to the owner, Robert Rogal, during an “ivory crush” held in Central Park this past August where the DEC publicly destroyed illegal ivory agents had seized.
“A lot of the items that they're confiscating are vintage items that should go to a museum,” Rogal said. On Wednesday, he also disputed the DEC’s account of the items that were seized at his store, stating that they don’t contain ivory. He added that the statue that was purchased by the DEC officers contained less than 10 percent ivory and was over 100 years old. The case is “costing me my reputation over a ridiculous thing I wasn’t even aware of,” he said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtwq8rh2cyg [with comments]
-- 'Trump Country' rejects Trump
All In with Chris Hayes
3/14/18
President Trump promised the GOP would win the Pennsylvania special election because he is so beloved in a district he won by 20 points. That's not how things went.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-trump-country-rejects-trump-1186243651791 * Isikoff to Chris Hayes: 50/50 that the 'pee tape' is real
All In with Chris Hayes
3/14/18
Michael Isikoff and David Corn explore the relationship between Trump and Putin, interference in the 2016 presidential election, the claims in the infamous Trump dossier, and more in their new book "Russian Roulette."
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/isikoff-to-chris-hayes-50-50-that-the-pee-tape-is-real-1186260547922 ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGFQyMo1o2M [with comments]
* Trump likes to hire TV personalities for important roles
All In with Chris Hayes
3/14/18
From Larry Kudlow to Omarosa and Sebastian Gorka, Donald Trump looks to TV talking heads for important positions in the United States government.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/trump-likes-to-hire-tv-personalities-for-important-roles-1186263619801 ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6UGnoXO_Lo [with comments]
* Emails reveal Ben Carson lied about $31,000 dining set
All In with Chris Hayes
3/14/18
Ben and Candy Carson were directly involved in selecting a $31,000 dining set for the HUD secretary's office, new emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/emails-reveal-ben-carson-lied-about-31-000-dining-set-1186261571974 * Trump target Andrew McCabe faces FBI firing
All In with Chris Hayes
3/14/18
Another alarming turn in President Trump's attack on the American justice system.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/trump-target-andrew-mccabe-faces-fbi-firing-1186269763919 -- UK punishes Russia over spy poisoning, Trump oddly quiet
The Rachel Maddow Show
3/14/18
Rachel Maddow looks at the history of the spy who was poisoned by Russia south of London and the strong response from the UK, and even strong statements from Nikki Haley and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, though Donald Trump himself has been wishy-washy.
You can read the Democrats' report here (pdf):
https://democrats-intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/final_-_minority_status_of_the_russia_investigation_with_appendices.pdf ©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/uk-punishes-russia-over-spy-poisoning-trump-oddly-quiet-1186347075558 ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_LLeC_drl4 [with comments] [and see also in particular the Maddow segment "Surprising revelations in Democrats' new Trump Russia report" included in the post to which this is a reply]
* Japan once bitten, twice shy on New York real estate, except...
The Rachel Maddow Show
3/14/18
Rachel Maddow sets up an upcoming story with a look back at Japan's disastrous New York City real estate investing in the 1980s and how it upset Donald Trump.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/japan-once-bitten-twice-shy-on-new-york-real-estate-except-1186389571764 * Kushner deal with Japan-backed company gets new scrutiny
The Rachel Maddow Show
3/14/18
Caleb Melby, financial investigations reporter for Bloomberg News, talks with Rachel Maddow about a hundred million dollar real estate deal the Jared Kushner's family company did with a Japan-backed company.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/kushner-deal-with-japan-backed-company-gets-new-scrutiny-1186353219548 * Democrats ebullient at 2018 implications of PA18 win
The Rachel Maddow Show
3/14/18
Rachel Maddow looks at estimates of what it would mean in the unlikely event that all Democrats enjoy the 20-point swing that earned Conor Lamb his victory in Pennsylvania, noting that Democrats need to pick up only 23 seats to take back the House.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/democrats-ebullient-at-2018-implications-of-pa18-win-1186402883503 * Nationwide gun violence walkouts raise expectations for DC rally
The Rachel Maddow Show
3/14/18
Sarah Chadwick, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, talks with Rachel Maddow about National Walkout Day and how the national response has increased expectations for the March 24th rally planned in Washington, D.C.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/nationwide-gun-violence-walkouts-raise-expectations-for-dc-rally-1186367555507 * HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAITH!! WELCOME!
The Rachel Maddow Show
3/14/18
Rachel Maddow welcomes the best brand new thing in the world today to the world.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/happy-birthday-laith-welcome-1186321475839 -- Trump loses in Trump country
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
3/14/18
Democrats turned out to lead Conor Lamb to an apparent victory in Pennsylvania's special election, but he couldn't have done it without some GOP votes in spite of the president's personal pleas. Lawrence O'Donnell explains why Republicans should be worried.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/trump-loses-in-trump-country-1186345539652 ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPcOtI8GDpQ [with comments]
* Trump reportedly says PA Democrat won because he's 'like Trump'
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
3/14/18
The Atlantic reports President Trump broke his silence on the GOP PA-18 defeat at a closed-door fundraiser, insisting that Democrat Conor Lamb won because he said, "Oh, I'm like Trump." Did the audience buy it? The Atlantic's Elaina Plott joins Lawrence O'Donnell.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/trump-reportedly-says-pa-democrat-won-because-he-s-like-trump-1186345027878 ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAeff9MMutc [with comments]
* Parkland student on the resistance's national school walkout
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
3/14/18
Cameron Kasky, a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who helped organize the student resistance against Trump's gun policy, joins Lawrence O'Donnell for tonight's last word on the national student walkouts today protesting school safety and gun violence.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/parkland-student-on-the-resistance-s-national-school-walkout-1186347587789 ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP4mCcpKNIA [with comments]
-- Insider: Trump White House is 'most toxic' workplace on Earth
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
3/15/18
With reports indicating more staff changes are on the way inside the Trump administration, an insider tells Axios the Trump White House's atmosphere is 'ripping people apart.' Our panel reacts.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired March 14, 2018] http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/insider-trump-white-house-most-toxic-workplace-on-earth-1186389571890 ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR1zFJssR9Q [with comments]
* Second Trump lawyer signed Stormy Daniels gag order docs
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
3/15/18
Newly revealed documents show a top Trump Organization lawyer was involved in trying to enforce a $130,000 hush agreement with porn star Stormy Daniels. Our panel reacts.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired March 14, 2018] http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/second-trump-lawyer-signed-stormy-daniels-gag-order-docs-1186392131604 * Trump lawyers struggle with prospect of a Mueller interview
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
3/15/18
A new Associated Press report shows Trump's legal team seems to have no good options when it comes to the possibility of Pres. Trump sitting down with Russia Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Our panel reacts.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired March 14, 2018] http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/trump-lawyers-struggle-with-prospect-of-a-mueller-interview-1186397251612 * After spy poisoned in UK, Trump leaves blasting Russia to aides
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
3/15/18
The harsh words for Putin's Russia came - not from Trump - but his aides in the wake of an ex-spy's poisoning in the United Kingdom. Malcolm Nance joins to discuss.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired March 14, 2018] http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/after-spy-poisoned-in-uk-trump-leaves-blasting-russia-to-aides-1186397251960 ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXNLy-eF4dU [with comments]
-- Rex & Mike & Conor & Teens | March 14, 2018 Act 1 | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18vz5hUUqxbGvym9ghtX_w , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18vz5hUUqxbGvym9ghtX_w/videos ] Chaos churned around us all week, but it was the teens' footsteps that spoke the loudest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dmNlsZhTUQ [with comments]
* Cy Vance: Technically Legal | March 14, 2018 Act 2, Part 1 | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Cy Vance, what you are doing may be legal, but so is bestiality in 5 states.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI2X78ZvfF0 [with comments]
* Cy Vance: Technically Legal | March 14, 2018 Act 2, Part 2 | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Cy Vance, what you are doing may be legal, but so is bestiality in 5 states.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j_giyX24zo [with comments]
* Elected Prosecutors: Doin' Whatever They Want | March 14, 2018 Act 3 | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
If you watched our first segment on District Attorneys and wondered, "But does it get worse?" look no further.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC2jpKfgKko [with comments]
-- Students Walk Out To Protest Gun Violence | The Daily Show
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWhs_6x42TyRM4Wstoq8HA , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWhs_6x42TyRM4Wstoq8HA/videos ] Students hold #NationalWalkoutDay to protest gun violence on the one month anniversary of the Parkland shooting, and the House passes a school safety bill devoid of gun control measures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhyC1ia_3eA [with comments]
-- Fox News Gets a New Slogan - The Opposition w/ Jordan Klepper
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Comedy Central
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUsN5ZwHx2kILm84-jPDeXw / https://www.youtube.com/user/comedycentral , https://www.youtube.com/user/comedycentral/videos , https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD7nPL1U-R5r5XD8saDuOBVj1z69Y_4iK ] Fox News ditched its "Fair & Balanced" tagline for something more subtle, inspiring Jordan to create a slogan that separates him from other late-night hosts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3gXRE6aFJ8 [with comments]
-- Which Trump Cabinet Member Will Survive The DCAA Tournament?
Published on Mar 15, 2018 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMtFAi84ehTSYSE9XoHefig , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMtFAi84ehTSYSE9XoHefig/videos ] The only difference between Trump's cabinet and NCAA basketball is the college athletes deserve to be paid.
[originally aired March 14, 2018] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV1D4v-a_1w [with comments]
* Stormy Daniels Suggests Trump Has Been . . . Bad
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Stephen provides a sneak peek into the highly anticipated '60 Minutes' interview that Trump's lawyers don't want you to see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02Q4RAS09Mg [with comments]
* Trump Inspects Some Models (Of The Border Wall)
Published on Mar 15, 2018 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Yesterday, the President headed to San Diego to inspect prototypes of his marquee campaign promise: The Wall.
[originally aired March 14, 2018] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQTbB8QmD2I [with comments]
* Stephen Colbert Goes To Art Therapy
Published on Mar 15, 2018 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Stephen gets a firsthand look at the cause Second Lady Karen Pence has decided to champion: art therapy.
[originally aired March 14, 2018] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JtYr0tiONc [with comments]
-- The President Is Putting on a Great Big Special - The President Show
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Comedy Central
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUsN5ZwHx2kILm84-jPDeXw / https://www.youtube.com/user/comedycentral , https://www.youtube.com/user/comedycentral/videos , https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD7nPL1U-R5o-p0I_6RGUR2MZus6O8cpX ] On April 3, the president will restore our nation's telethons to their former glory with an hour-long special, Make America Great-A-Thon: A President Show Special.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iCvFXOt1S0 [with comments]
-- Conor Lamb's Win, Trump's "Space Force" and #NationalStudentWalkout: A Closer Look
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Late Night with Seth Meyers
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVTyTA7-g9nopHeHbeuvpRA / https://www.youtube.com/user/LateNightSeth , https://www.youtube.com/user/LateNightSeth/videos ] Seth takes a closer look at Democrats racking up another major win, #NationalStudentWalkout and President Trump musing about weaponizing space.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lPvUKtHBJA [with (over 4,000) comments]
* Amber Ruffin and Jenny Hagel Talk Diversity in Late Night with Joy Reid at SXSW
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Late Night with Seth Meyers
Late Night writers Amber Ruffin and Jenny Hagel talk diversity in late night television and news with MSNBC’s Joy Reid live at South by Southwest. The Late Night Podcast is released every Wednesday and Friday on Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmfHlTygFaA [with comments]
-- Putin Pushes Hillary Clinton down Stairs in India, What do Americans Think ?
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Bravo Alternative Media
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVV0_xnA_z-ALo6kZJz2WXA , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVV0_xnA_z-ALo6kZJz2WXA/videos ] Russian Vladimir Putin Pushes Hillary Clinton down the stairs in India.., What do Americans Think ? Comments by real People !!! She Came, She Saw, She Fell or Did Putin Push her ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL1XoCflO1M [with comments]
* Hillary Clinton "SHE CAME, SHE SAW, SHE FELL" The Big Mumbai Trip
Published on Mar 14, 2018 by Bravo Von Muller
[ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4G1zEStJMqN3mnEONXA7Mw , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4G1zEStJMqN3mnEONXA7Mw/videos ] The Hillary Clinton Big Mumbai India TRIP.., "She Came, She Saw, She Fell" !!! (Follow the Money)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzSWWnXuV8A [with comments]
-- stashed March 14, 2018: Andrew McCabe, a Symbol of Trump’s F.B.I. Ire, Faces Possible Firing
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing a recommendation to fire the former F.B.I. deputy director, Andrew G. McCabe, just days before he is scheduled to retire on Sunday, people briefed on the matter said. Mr. McCabe was a frequent target of attack from President Trump, who taunted him both publicly and privately.
Mr. McCabe is ensnared in an internal review that includes an examination of his decision in 2016 to allow F.B.I. officials to speak with reporters about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation. The Justice Department’s inspector general concluded that Mr. McCabe was not forthcoming during the review, according to the people briefed on the matter. That yet-to-be-released report triggered an F.B.I. disciplinary process that recommended his termination — leaving Mr. Sessions to either accept or reverse that decision.
Lack of candor is a fireable offense, but like so much at the F.B.I., Mr. McCabe’s fate is also entangled in presidential politics and the special counsel investigation. He was involved from the beginning in the investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. He is also a potential witness in the inquiry into whether Mr. Trump tried to obstruct justice.
Mr. Trump’s supporters have tried to cast Mr. McCabe as part of a “deep state” that operates in secret to undermine the administration. Mr. Trump has goaded Mr. Sessions into taking action against him.
[...]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/us/politics/andrew-mccabe-fbi-firing-recommendation-justice-department.html FBI disciplinary office recommends firing former deputy director Andrew McCabe
The FBI office that handles employee discipline has recommended firing the bureau’s former deputy director over allegations that he authorized the disclosure of sensitive information to a reporter and misled investigators when asked about it — though Justice Department officials are still reviewing the matter and have not come to a final decision, a person familiar with the case said.
The recommendation from the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility is likely to add fuel to the political fire surrounding former deputy director Andrew McCabe, who abruptly stepped down from his post earlier this year but technically remained an FBI employee.
McCabe was hoping to retire in just days, when he becomes eligible for his full benefits. If he is fired, he could lose his retirement benefits. President Trump has long made McCabe a particular target of his ire, and the recommendation to fire the former No. 2 FBI official could give him new ammunition.
Through a representative, McCabe declined to comment. A Justice Department spokeswoman said in a statement: “The Department follows a prescribed process by which an employee may be terminated. That process includes recommendations from career employees and no termination decision is final until the conclusion of that process. We have no personnel announcements at this time.”
An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment.
[...]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-disciplinary-office-recommends-firing-former-deputy-director-andrew-mccabe/2018/03/14/c1d0dc1a-208a-11e8-86f6-54bfff693d2b_story.html Jeff Sessions Weighs Firing of Former FBI Deputy Chief Andrew McCabe
Dismissal could occur before McCabe’s retirement, a person said
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeff-sessions-weighs-firing-of-former-fbi-director-andrew-mccabe-1521052143 more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dCB3t-MLW4bLGgMDEf1hL0jHb1ZXM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en The International Criminal Court moved to investigate Duterte. Now he wants out.
BEIJING - President Rodrigo Duterte will withdraw the Philippines from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to a statement released to reporters in Manila on Wednesday.
The move comes about a month after the ICC opened a preliminary examination into thousands of deaths linked to his violent campaign against suspected drug users and dealers.
A preliminary examination is used to determine if there is a “reasonable basis” to proceed with an investigation — in this case into charges of crimes against humanity.
Duterte’s statement said the decision to withdraw was due to “baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks” by U.N. officials and an attempt by the ICC prosecutor to seek jurisdiction “in violation of due process and presumption of innocence.”
“I therefore declare and forthwith give notice, as President of the Republic of the Philippines, that the Philippines is withdrawing its ratification of the Rome Statute effective immediately,” it read.
According to the Rome Statute, a state party’s withdrawal takes effect one year after the United Nations secretary general receives written notification. The statement argued that the rule does not apply because “there appears to be fraud in entering such agreement.”
[...]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/the-international-criminal-court-moved-to-investigate-duterte-now-he-wants-out/2018/03/14/eccb2b44-2753-11e8-ab19-06a445a08c94_story.html more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dAnz9OUXMcivIoMKXF9G94rG7qR-M?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Trump plans to name Larry Kudlow his top economic advisor, replacing Gary Cohn: Sources
President Trump will name economist and CNBC senior contributor Larry Kudlow his top economic advisor, sources say.
He would replace Gary Cohn as National Economic Council director.
Kudlow is a free trade advocate who may disagree with some of Trump's protectionist views.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/14/trump-to-name-larry-kudlow-as-gary-cohn-replacement.html Trump hires Kudlow: 'You're looking handsome, Larry'
The president tapped the CNBC contributor to be his top economic adviser Tuesday night, a week after Gary Cohn announced his resignation.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/14/trump-taps-larry-kudlow-to-be-top-economic-adviser-462049 Lawrence Kudlow Says He’s Accepted Post as Trump’s White House Economic Adviser
Adds announcement could be made as soon as Thursday
https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawrence-kudlow-says-hes-accepted-post-as-trumps-white-house-economic-adviser-1521048580 more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/du5y9o67TdHbcmMvZG8DP_ia3GVDM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Austria says intelligence raids were legal but political storm rolls on
VIENNA (Reuters) - Police raids at Austria’s BVT domestic intelligence agency and the homes of some of its staff were carried out legally, the government said, aiming to quell suspicions of a purge at the agency by the far right, which controls the Interior Ministry.
The case has caused a political uproar amid fears the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which became the junior partner in the governing coalition in December, sought to secure intelligence on right-wing groups or sideline political opponents within the BVT - accusations it denies.
Austria’s president said last week the handling of the case involved “extremely unusual” actions, and demanded explanations. Opposition parties have called a special session of parliament next week to discuss the case.
But a Justice Ministry review found no fault with the way the case has been dealt with, including a decision to have the raids carried out by a street crime unit of the police that is headed by an FPO official, the government said on Wednesday.
“This report has established that the course of action was legal,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, whose mainstream conservative party runs the Justice Ministry, told a news conference.
“I expect a rapid decision by the judiciary as far as these accusations are concerned,” said Kurz, whose government is the only one in western Europe with the far right in it.
Five BVT staff are under investigation on suspicion of misuse of office for failing to handle sensitive information properly, including a failure to delete it, the Justice Ministry said. Apart from BVT chief Peter Gridling, who has been suspended, the government has not named the staff members.
The newspaper Der Standard and weekly Profil jointly reported last week that one of the raids was at the home of a BVT official who is a witness rather than a suspect but who heads a department on extremism, and that information on extremist groups including rightist ones had been seized.
The Justice Ministry has said no official BVT documents were seized or accessed but it is possible such data was on private hard drives or other material now under seal and with prosecutors.
“Only those files that were marked as private were secured.... Because here the suspicion was that information that should have been deleted was copied into private files,” Justice Ministry Secretary General Christian Pilnacek told a separate news conference.
The opposition Social Democrats (SPO) said they were not satisfied. “Today more questions were raised than answered,” SPO justice spokesman Hannes Jarolim said in a statement. “I therefore call on all those involved...not to try and play down this affair but to finally put all their cards on the table.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-politics-intelligence/austria-says-intelligence-raids-were-legal-but-political-storm-rolls-on-idUSKCN1GQ2R5 Austin package bomb victims connected by family ties, skin color
The two Texans killed by package bombs in Austin, Texas, this month were members of prominent African-American families and knew each other, the local NAACP president said Wednesday.
“They have a long history and go to the same church,” Nelson Linder said of the two victims, Stephen House and Draylen Mason, in an interview with NBC News.
Linder identified their church as Wesley United Methodist Church, which was founded 152 years ago by newly freed slaves.
House was killed on March 2, and Mason on Monday. In another bombing on Monday, investigators believe that a Hispanic woman, Esperanza Herrera, 75, picked up an explosive package that was intended for somebody else. She remained hospitalized in critical condition on Wednesday.
“The intended target was another person who might be connected to the House and Mason families,” said Linder, who declined to identify the targeted person or discuss a possible motive.
The revelations came as the city remained on high alert after the spate of blasts. Austin police — backed by the FBI and investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — were continuing to search Wednesday for whoever was responsible.
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley has already called the three blasts, which happened in different parts of east Austin, “related incidents.” But other than confirming that the packages weren’t delivered by U.S. mail, he has not yet said how they are related.
Manley has also not ruled out the possibility that these could be hate crimes.
[...]
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/austin-package-bomb-victims-connected-family-ties-skin-color-n856621 2 Austin families targeted by package bombs knew each other
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/austin-families-targeted-by-package-bombs-knew-each-other/ ‘Who did this and why?’: Austin remains tense after deadly bombings as police look for answers
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/14/who-did-this-and-why-austin-remains-tense-after-deadly-bombings-as-police-look-for-answers/ more:
https://www.google.com/search?q=austin+bombings Britain to expel 23 Russian diplomats after ex-spy poisoning
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/britains-theresa-may-prepares-response-to-russian-spy-poisoning/2018/03/14/0a232d2c-26f5-11e8-a227-fd2b009466bc_story.html more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dXUA3pOlL3DpflMlA_zmGf3i-qLiM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Tillerson’s Ouster Has Allies Hoping for Coherence, but Fearing the Worst
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/world/europe/tillerson-ouster-allies-pompeo.html more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dFR4jx8bUMkzCQMAEZyIwsB8byI2M?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en How a notorious white nationalist’s family came to blows over a trailer tryst
Matthew Heimbach, who came to national attention in 2016 for shoving a black woman at a campaign rally for Donald Trump, was arrested Tuesday and accused of attacking his wife and choking his white nationalist group’s co-founder unconscious, after the pair caught Heimbach having an affair in a trailer, authorities said.
Heimbach helped launch the Traditionalist Worker Party years ago and has been involved in organizing white separatist, supremacist and nationalist events around the country. Heimbach, who is in his mid-20s, is “the affable, youthful face of hate in America,” an editor for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch blog once told The Washington Post.
His desire for a United States split into separate racial states has lost Heimbach many friends, The Post’s Joe Heim wrote after the Trump rally incident in 2016. He’s been excommunicated from his church and clashed with his parents — and last week was seen brawling with protesters at at white nationalist event at Michigan State University.
[...]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/13/white-nationalist-leader-matthew-heimbach-arrested-for-domestic-battery/?utm_term=.3b5f3c2b7ad0 more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/d9v9ggaABJ44R8MLbshybRJmrMiiM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Oklahoma mom who once married her son will now go to jail for marrying her daughter
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article205088034.html more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dWo5ceP9htFhNzMJ9EfJYO6nDEnfM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Texas Anti-Sanctuary Law Mostly Survives Appeals Court Fight
State can crack down on cities, law enforcement personnel
Trump administration backed Republican-led measure in Texas
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-14/texas-anti-sanctuary-law-mostly-survives-appeal-court-fight ‘Show me your papers’ law goes into effect as Texas activists and lawmakers vow to continue fight
For now, SB4 stands.
https://thinkprogress.org/sb4-texas-immigration-activists-6316013d5e4b/ more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dDeGd4LeNoe6GYMqbWDVLba_31jRM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en The Wife of the Pulse Night-Club Shooter Goes on Trial
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-wife-of-the-pulse-night-club-shooter-goes-on-trial more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dw4znkVt3vYTC7Mc-105a8xYG7IVM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Finland Tops World Happiness Report 2018 As U.S. Ranking Falls
“Alarm bells should be ringing.”
The annual World Happiness Report is out, and it’s not great news for the U.S., which fell four places to 18th this year.
Finland inched out last year’s winner Norway to take the top spot. The tiny country of 5.5 million people tucked into a northern corner of Europe has long received accolades for its quality of life. The World Economic Forum judged it one of the best countries in the world for gender equality, and it made the top 10 of the world’s most environmentally friendly countries in Yale and Columbia universities’ Environmental Performance Index. Finland also has an estimated 2 million saunas and the densest forests in the world.
“The most important building blocks for a happy society are democracy, equality, good education and high quality child care, as well as taking care of each other,” Finnish Ambassador Päivi Luostarinen told HuffPost. “These values are very important for Finns. I also think our relationship with nature, and national character, play parts in our happiness.”
Finland placed well across all indicators – income, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, trust and generosity – in the United Nations report, which ranked 156 countries on happiness levels using data from Gallup World Poll Surveys from 2015 to 2017.
The top 10, as usual, was dominated by Nordic countries: Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland. This strong showing demonstrates “Nordic happiness”, according to Michael Birkjær, an analyst at the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen. This, he said, comes from “healthy amounts of personal freedom, trust (both in other people and in the system) and social security, which outweighs residents having to pay some of the highest taxes in the world.”
For the first time since it began in 2012, the report made migration a big focus. “Human populations have always migrated,” Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, an Oxford professor who co-authored the report, told HuffPost. “But what has been lost in that account has been the focus on well-being. Are they becoming happier by moving to a new country? How does that relate to the well-being in the country of origin? The recipient country?”
The findings are striking, De Neve said. The report found an almost complete convergence between the happiness of the host nation and the happiness of the migrants. That means people who move from unhappier countries to happier ones see an upward shift in their well-being.
“What makes Finland very special,” he added, “is [that it] is both No. 1 in terms of self-reported life satisfaction across the board, but also No. 1 for migrant happiness.”
Well-being levels were much less positive in the U.S., however. The report points out a paradox about happiness in America. While income per capita has more than doubled in the U.S. since 1972, happiness and well-being has declined. This year’s 14th-place U.S. ranking is down from 11th the previous year.
“It’s scary,” said De Neve, “The U.S. is at its lowest unemployment levels and seeing huge growth at the moment ? Trump obviously wants even more than that ? and yet in terms of well-being they’re actually decreasing.”
The report attributes this to factors that include weakening social support networks, perceptions of government corruption, and falling confidence in public institutions. But the factor the report dwells on most is public health.
Obesity, the opioid crisis, and depression are global problems, but “the prevalence of all three problems has been growing faster and further [in the U.S.] than in most other countries,” according to the report.
This can be ascribed to factors including rising income inequality, economist Jeffrey Sachs, another report co-author, wrote in the report, and the “persistent absolute and relative poverty” of a significant portion of the U.S. population, which shoulders a disproportionate share of these public health crises.
“Alarm bells should be ringing,” said De Neve. “We can’t just rely on economic growth and think everything will be fine. It’s not translating into more well-being for the general population.”
[...]
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/world-happiness-report-finland-us_us_5aa92fc1e4b018e2f1c39e12 Accused Casino Robber Tried To Disguise Himself With Blackface
The cashier assumed the robber was actually white because his skin tone appeared irregular and blotchy.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cameron-james-kennedy-blackface-casino-robbery_us_5aa93d5ae4b001c8bf160d67 Trump’s Hateful Rhetoric And Policies Have Created A New Kind Of Melting Pot
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-sridaran-trump-south-asian-crimes_us_5aa7e469e4b0a09afeae4652 Tillerson Firing Tells U.S. Allies That Russia Comes First
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-pike-tillerson-fired_us_5aa80032e4b04042d27ebb18 Obama Photographer Taunts Trump Over Rex Tillerson Ousting
“Back in the day...”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pete-souza-rex-tillerson-donald-trump_us_5aa8d7a4e4b0f7a689cdbaab GOP Candidate Apologizes For Calling Parkland Massacre Survivor A ‘Skinhead Lesbian’
The unopposed candidate for a Maine state House seat called another Parkland teen “a moron” and “bald-faced liar.”
A Republican candidate for the Maine legislature apologized after attacking two students who survived the Parkland high school massacre, calling one a “skinhead lesbian” and another a “bald-faced liar.”
Leslie Gibson, who’s running unopposed in this year’s election for the Maine House 57th District, deleted tweets bashing the students and wrote a letter to 18-year-old Emma Gonzalez, who he had called a “skinhead lesbian.” Gonzalez identifies as bisexual.
“I would like to extend to you my most sincere apology for how I addressed you. It was wrong and unacceptable,” Gibson said in a tweet. “You are doing work that is important to you. I would like to extend my hand in friendship and understanding to you.”
Gibson didn’t apologize for calling 17-year-old David Hogg a “bald-faced liar.”
Gonzalez and Hogg have been among the most vocal student advocates for stricter gun control since the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Hogg appeared on CNN this week to urge President Donald Trump to prove he isn’t “owned” by the National Rifle Association. Gonzalez was honored by LGBTQ rights group Equality Florida for her activism.
Gibson, a lifetime NRA member, took to Twitter to attack Gonzalez after seeing an article in The Hill about the teen surpassing the NRA in Twitter followers.
“There is nothing about this skinhead lesbian that impresses me and there is nothing that she has to say unless you’re a frothing at the mouth moonbat,” he wrote.
[...]
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/leslie-gibson-gop-maine-parkland-survivor-twitter-attack_us_5aa8c26be4b001c8bf151517 New York Post Riffs On Old Donald Trump Sex Headline For Rex Tillerson Firing - "Worst Rex He Ever Had"
The Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid waited almost three decades to deliver this punchline.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-york-post-donald-trump-rex-tillerson-firing_us_5aa9071be4b018e2f1c345db Veterans Are Pissed At Trump For Not Knowing How To Spell Marine Corps
The president called it the Marine “Core.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-marine-corps-spelling_us_5aa8b28ce4b0f7a689cd8a75 National Geographic Editor Admits: ‘Our Coverage Was Racist’
“Some of what you find in our archives leaves you speechless,” editor-in-chief Susan Goldberg wrote.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/national-geographic-racist-coverage_us_5aa8f433e4b018e2f1c32b0f Parents Of 12-Year-Old Say Son Killed Himself After Being Bullied Over Sexuality
Andrew Leach had told classmates he thought he was bisexual, his father said.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/andrew-leach-mississippi-death_us_5aa93aa0e4b001c8bf15fd17 Emails Reveal Role Ben Carson And His Wife Played In Controversial Office Redecorating
The HUD secretary previously denied knowing $31,000 in taxpayer money had been spent on a dining set.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/emails-carson-decorating-role_us_5aa90bdfe4b001c8bf158d9e Trump’s Visit To Wall Prototypes Shows The Hubris And Absurdity Of The Idea
As the president inspected 8 slabs at the border, familiar campaign chants echoed again.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-border-walls-visit_us_5aa88967e4b018e2f1c2b2ee As Surgery Centers Boom, Patients Are Paying With Their Lives - Kaiser Health News
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/as-surgery-centers-boom-patients-are-paying-with-their_us_5a9daba5e4b06a04fecca858 original
https://khn.org/news/medicare-certified-surgery-centers-are-expanding-but-deaths-question-safety/ Readers: White Nationalist Teacher Is Why We Shouldn’t Put Firearms In Classrooms
Racial bias plays a crucial role in the discussion of whether or not we should arm teachers.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/readers-white-nationalist-teacher-is-why-we-shouldnt-put-firearms-in-classrooms_us_5aa91c38e4b001c8bf15af3b Twitter Erupts Over Donald Trump’s ‘Immigrants Are Pro Mountain Climbers’ Warning
“We’re gonna build a climbing wall and Mexico is going to pay for it!”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-border-wall-comments-mocked_us_5aa8ce09e4b018e2f1c2eaab The third party candidate in Pennsylvania’s 18th District congressional race says he ‘made history’
“I don’t want to say I’m excited to be a spoiler. I’m excited to get that new message out.”
Drew Gray Miller, the Libertarian candidate for Pa. Congressional District 18, is the self-proclaimed “most hated man in America” right now — and he loves it.
A first-time candidate, Miller had unofficially earned 1,380 votes by Wednesday morning.
[...]
https://theincline.com/2018/03/14/the-third-party-candidate-in-pennsylvanias-18th-district-congressional-race-says-he-made-history/ I’m Married To A Psychic Medium. This Is What It’s Like.
“We are a pretty normal family - only, I suppose, our dinner conversations are maybe a bit different than average.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/married-to-a-psychic-medium_us_5aa7171fe4b009b705d570e9 Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes charged with massive fraud
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who promised to revolutionize blood testing, has been charged by the SEC with a "massive fraud" involving more than $700 million.
http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/technology/theranos-fraud-scandal/index.html Theranos president exaggerated the company's revenue by 1,000 times to investors, says SEC
Balwani and Holmes told Investors that Theranos had generated or would generate over $100 million in revenues in 2014.
In total, the startup generated little more than $100,000 in revenue that year — and the SEC alleges Balwani must have known.
The same month Balwani sold potential investors revenue projections up to $140 million, he told insurers that the company was operating at about a $9 million monthly net loss.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/14/theranos-president-exaggerated-revenue-by-1000x-says-sec.html SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION,
Plaintiff,
vs.
ELIZABETH HOLMES and THERANOS, INC.
Defendants.
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2018/comp-pr2018-41-theranos-holmes.pdf The Blood Unicorn Theranos Was Just a Fairy Tale
Founder Elizabeth Holmes spun a beautiful fantasy for investors, not so much for patients.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-14/theranos-misled-investors-and-consumers-who-used-its-blood-test more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dXDZtLWDq70S-tMT9OYlkczdYDl9M?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Equifax CIO Put ‘2 and 2 Together’ Then Sold Stock, SEC Says
SEC, Justice Department say illicit sale followed cyberattack
Ying sold almost $1 million worth of stock, government says
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-14/sec-says-former-equifax-executive-engaged-in-insider-trading more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dcI1c6dzebMScfMeALtSOYlZhMVfM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Turkey hopes for ‘respectful’ relations with Pompeo - AP
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/turkey-hopes-for-respectful-relations-with-pompeo/2018/03/14/4f9b6082-278a-11e8-a227-fd2b009466bc_story.html original
https://www.apnews.com/6b33c61a7d94402a8c4f0bbbd878ae26/Turkey-hopes-for-'respectful'-relations-with-Pompeo more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dih3PjQJnUHcXgMuBEr6INaOjgqmM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Trump Organization Tied to Deal to Keep Ex-Porn Star Quiet
An assistant general counsel at the president’s flagship holding company intervened in arbitration proceeding in California to enforce a nondisclosure deal with former porn star
https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-trump-company-lawyer-worked-to-silence-stormy-daniels-1521072252 more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/db9EdUaleFILPXM-ExZiaMcYulgMM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Senate passes rollback of banking rules enacted after financial crisis
The Senate on Wednesday passed the biggest loosening of financial regulations since the economic crisis a decade ago, delivering wide bipartisan support for weakening banking rules despite bitter divisions among Democrats.
The bill, which passed 67 votes to 31, would free more than two dozen banks from the toughest regulatory scrutiny put in place after the 2008 global financial crisis. Despite President Trump’s promise to do a “big number” on the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, the new measure leaves key aspects of the earlier law in place. Nonetheless, it amounts to a significant rollback of banking rules aimed at protecting taxpayers from another financial crisis and future bailouts.
In a statement, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders praised the legislation’s passage. “The bill provides much-needed relief from the Dodd-Frank Act for thousands of community banks and credit unions and will spur lending and economic growth without creating risks to the financial system,” she said.
Given the bipartisan support for the bill, Wednesday’s passage was expected. But for the first time since Trump became president, the divisions lurking within the Senate Democratic Caucus burst into full view, with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio) leading vehement opposition to the bill, even as supporters — including Democrats up for reelection in states Trump won — supported it with equal vigor.
Warren and Brown argued the bill amounts to a gift to Wall Street that increases taxpayer risk while boosting the chances of another financial crisis. Supporters of the legislation — including endangered Democratic Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and Jon Tester (Mont.) — disputed that characterization, contending that the bill’s aim is to loosen onerous regulations on local banks and credit unions, freeing them to focus more on community lending, particularly in rural states.
“It is a bill that I am incredibly proud of,” Heitkamp said in a Senate floor debate this week. “Dodd-Frank was supposed to have stopped too big to fail, but the net result has been too small to succeed. The big banks have gotten bigger since the passage of Dodd-Frank, and the small banks have disappeared.”
Following Heitkamp on the floor, Warren condemned the legislation as “the bank lobbyist act” and said it “puts American families in danger of getting punched in the gut.”
“Washington is poised to make the same mistake it has made many times before, deregulating giant banks while the economy is cruising, only to set the stage for another financial crisis,” Warren said.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) opposed the legislation but has played little role in a debate that has allowed liberals and moderates in his caucus to stake out positions tailored to their own political needs. But after Warren called out red-state Democrats and other supporters of the bill by name in a fundraising appeal, Schumer encouraged her to stay focused on the substance in the debate, according to a person familiar with the exchange who requested anonymity to discuss it.
Few of the Democrats named by Warren wanted to comment publicly on dissension within the caucus. Heitkamp downplayed their disagreements, saying of Warren in an interview, “She feels very, very strongly about this. I think it’s a difference between where we’ve always been on these banking issues. And you know obviously as you’re moving the bill forward, these differences were going to come to a head, and we were going to see a conflict because I just don’t see the bill the way she does.”
It’s not clear whether the Democratic divisions laid bare by the banking bill will resurface anytime soon, given the light legislative schedule expected in the Senate for the remainder of this midterm election year. But the debate highlighted how the political imperatives for red-state Democrats can collide with those of liberals such as Warren, who’s seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2020, creating the potential for conflict that could flare anew in future.
Banks with more than $50 billion in assets are now considered “too big to fail” and are subject to the toughest regulations, including a yearly stress test to prove they could survive another period of economic turmoil. The Senate legislation, shepherded by Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), would raise that threshold to $250 billion in assets, potentially allowing several high-profile financial institutions, including American Express, Ally Financial and Barclays, to escape the extra regulatory scrutiny.
The bill’s supporters say these banks have been unfairly saddled with regulations originally intended for global behemoth banks such as JPMorgan Chase, not regional or midsized firms. Lifting the restrictions would save the industry billions a year in compliance costs, industry analysts say. It would also make it easier for them to reward shareholders with dividends and stock buybacks, they say.
Democrats and advocacy groups warn that the push to loosen the regulations fails to recognize that many of the midsized institutions that would be helped by the Senate legislation fell into dire financial straits less than a decade ago and needed more than $40 billion in taxpayer bailouts. During a financial crisis, they say, banks tend to fail in tandem, suffering from similar ailments. And the failure of several in a short time period could strain the U.S. economy.
The bill has largely been marketed as long-overdue help for small community banks and credit unions. The legislation, for example, would exempt banks with less than $10 billion in assets from the “Volcker rule,” which bars banks from making risky wagers with their own money. The bill would also exempt many small banks from a Dodd-Frank requirement that financial institutions report more detailed data on whom they lend to. The industry has complained that both measures are too cumbersome and time-consuming.
Exempting small banks from the mortgage data requirement would weaken the government’s ability to enforce fair-lending requirements, making it easier for community banks to hide discrimination against minority mortgage applicants and harder for regulators to root out predatory lenders, consumer advocates say.
The bill still needs to be approved in the House, where Republicans have been pushing a more aggressive rollback of financial regulations. That chamber passed a bill last year that stripped the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created under Dodd-Frank, of much of its power, for example. But the future of the CFPB is not addressed in the Senate bill.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has said that House Republicans will want to alter the Senate bill to reflect their priorities. But that could drive away the Senate Democrats needed to pass the legislation, and so the House will face significant pressure to accept the Senate legislation with few, if any, changes.
Although the banking bill marked the first bipartisan legislation of the Trump era aside from must-pass spending deals, it was far from a freewheeling debate on the floor. Because of disagreement between the parties that has become routine, no amendment votes were permitted, frustrating senators in both parties who hoped to advance favored policies.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a member of the Banking Committee, had been pushing an amendment to strike a section of the bill that could reduce the capital cushions of five of America’s biggest banks. Though supported by liberal Senate Democrats, it never came up for a vote amid the wrangling over the amendment process.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/senate-passes-rollback-of-post-financial-crisis-banking-rules/2018/03/14/43837aae-27bd-11e8-b79d-f3d931db7f68_story.html more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dSIPZFlVpKZvtZMh8l-13TRpoYrSM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Team of Sycophants
Tillerson’s dismissal leaves the White House more than ever the conniving and dishonest court of an erratic, ill-informed, and willful monarch.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/dirty-work-trump-administration/555617/ What Happened at the Thailand 'Black Site' Run By Trump's CIA Pick - Gina Haspel
The Senate's 2014 report on torture details what "enhanced interrogation" really entailed.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/03/gina-haspel-black-site-torture-cia/555539/ Robert Mueller’s Russia Probe Just Got a Lot Weirder
A mysterious Middle East fixer, the founder of Blackwater, an Emirati prince, and a secret meeting in the Seychelles are now under investigation as Robert Mueller uncovers a nexus of foreign influence on the Trump campaign.
March 7, 2018
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/03/robert-mueller-george-nader-russia-investigation “I’m More Scared by a Factor of 10”: Wall Street Is Terrified to Be Left Alone with Gary Cohn’s Understudies
As one former Goldman Sachs partner put it, Peter Navarro “is missing a few strings on his banjo.”
March 7, 2018
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/03/wall-street-is-terrified-to-be-left-alone-with-gary-cohns-understudies Unplugging From the Internet Nearly Destroyed Me
A totally true account of a time I went off-line
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/03/the-internet-is-bad/555536/ The 'Most Elusive' Man in North America
(
https://youtu.be/QcJoW9Lwzs0 )
Somewhere in the mountains of Vernon, British Columbia lives a 76-year-old man by the name of Dag Aabye. He has no cell phone or email address. Revered by locals for having escaped from the shackles of modern society, he is the champion of the 80-mile ultramarathon aptly named the “death race.” Aabye is the oldest person to have ever finished the race.
Determined to locate and interview Aabye, filmmakers Adam Maruniak and Justin Pelletier spent weeks canvassing the nearby town, leaving postcards with their contact information. They visited the bar that the reclusive septuagenarian is said to frequent and even summited a mountain in search of him—to no avail. Then, the day before the co-directors had planned to scrap what they thought was a futile project, Dag called them from a payphone. Their resulting documentary, Never Die Easy, is named after Aabye’s motto.
“Never die easy,” Aabye says in the film. “To me, there is no age. Age is something other people put on you. You put a person in an old folk’s home, and this person’s gonna die pretty quick because you tell them, ‘You’re old now—you’re ready to go.’”
True to local lore, the filmmakers were taken by Aabye’s ardent self-reliance and motivation. “In our final moments with Dag,” Maruniak said, “he embraced us both and told us, ‘Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping, and always have a mountain in life to climb.’ Those words will resonate with us forever.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/555527/dag-aabye-death-race/ Horrifying Videos Show Racist Moms Teaching Kids To Be Patriots By Vandalizing A Mosque - Tempe, Arizona
The disturbing Facebook live video captures a troubling excursion in which two women and three children trespass and vandalize a mosque.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/facebook-videos-mosque-vandalism-women-children_us_5aa9a121e4b0600b82ffe195 White Students Allegedly Tied Black Classmate To Lamppost And Whipped Him
The alleged incident in Bath, England, has been described as a “mock slave auction.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/british-students-black-classmate-whipped_us_5aa95e60e4b0004c04069a15 First You’re The Party Of Torture [dubya]. Then You’re The Party Of Trump.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-berlatsky-bush-trump-torture-haspel_us_5aa97a6de4b0004c0406c9c9 Rand Paul Says He’ll Oppose Trump Nominees For CIA, Secretary Of State
The GOP senator’s stance could imperil both nominations in what is expected to be a heated confirmation process.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rand-paul-trump-nominees_us_5aa93d5fe4b001c8bf160d72 Jeff Sessions Has Power To Shape Asylum Policy. He Could Be Gearing Up To Use It To Deny Relief To Domestic Violence Victims.
The attorney general has criticized the asylum system. Now he’s taking steps that could make getting relief tougher.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sessions-asylum-deportations_us_5aa9729fe4b0600b82ff93b4 FBI Official Trump Loathes May Be Fired For Disclosing Info That Helped Trump’s Campaign
Andrew McCabe’s pension would be in question if Jeff Sessions fires him before Sunday, his official retirement date.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/andrew-mccabe-trump-fbi_us_5aa958b4e4b0004c040691f6 NRA Tweets Photo Of AR-15 On Day Of National School Walkout For No Particular Reason - in meme with "I'll control my own guns, thank you."
Timing is everything.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nra-ar15-tweet-national-school-walkout_us_5aa985b0e4b0600b82ffaddd A City Struggling With Gun Violence Confronts The Firearms Manufacturer In Its Midst - Smith & Wesson headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts
Students rallied outside Smith & Wesson to pressure the company and claim a voice for communities where gun violence extends far beyond school shootings.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/smith-and-wesson-rally_us_5aa975e0e4b0f4aaa1132012 The Only Way To Get Rid Of Some Male Politicians May Be If ‘Me Too’ Voters Throw Them Out
The impact of the Me Too movement might also extend to electing a historic number of female lawmakers.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/me-too-state-races-politics_us_5aa95c88e4b0f4aaa112f30c Emails Reveal Role Ben Carson And His Wife Played In Controversial Office Redecorating
The HUD secretary previously denied knowing $31,000 in taxpayer money had been spent on a dining set.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/emails-carson-decorating-role_us_5aa90bdfe4b001c8bf158d9e Growing Push To Ban Down Syndrome Abortions Misses The Heartbreak Behind Them
Proponents cry eugenics while opponents see a bad faith effort to control reproductive choices.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/down-syndrome-abortions-ban-ohio_us_5aa7ef79e4b0a09afeae602c Make Every Class Sex Ed Class
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-petrzela-sex-education_us_5aa8304fe4b001c8bf149605 By Focusing On Dyslexia, We Ignore Other Struggling Readers
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-elliott-dyslexia-diagnosis_us_5aa83c91e4b001c8bf14aa07 These Personality Traits Could Put You At Risk For Social Media Addiction - Live Science - three personality traits in particular — neuroticism, conscientiousness and agreeableness
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/these-personality-traits-could-put-you-at-risk-for-social-media-addiction_us_5aa9368ee4b001c8bf15ea93 original
https://www.livescience.com/61996-personality-social-media-addiction.html study
https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/50546/1/paper0659.pdf Ryan Zinke Worries Wind Turbines Kill Birds. His Agency Just Made It Easier.
The Interior secretary slashed protections for migratory birds less than three months ago.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ryan-zinke-birds-wind-energy_us_5aa94e76e4b0f4aaa112e237 USDA Kills Rule For Organic Farms That Would Ensure Animals Could Go Outside
The rule would have put in place a variety of new animal welfare standards for farms producing certified organic meat, milk and egg.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/usda-organic-animal-welfare-rule_us_5aa84209e4b018e2f1c276f0 Kushner Conflict Cloud Hovers Over Brooklyn Sale Linked to Japan - Maddow segment 3-14-18
Unit of telecom giant NTT bought stake with U.S. firm
Kushner was helping oversee trade policy at the time
Two months after Jared Kushner joined the White House as a senior adviser, his family firm sold [at a 60% premium] a stake in a Brooklyn building to a unit of a company whose largest shareholder is the government of Japan.
[...]
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-13/kushner-conflict-cloud-hovers-over-brooklyn-sale-linked-to-japan more:
https://www.google.com/search?q=kushner+conflict+cloud+hovers Another Trump lawyer signed Stormy Daniels gag-order documents - Jill A. Martin, whose LinkedIn profile says she is assistant general counsel for the Trump Organization
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/another-trump-lawyer-signed-stormy-daniels-gag-order-documents-n856786 Another Trump attorney involved in Stormy Daniels case
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/14/politics/stormy-daniels-jill-martin-trump-organization/index.html BuzzFeed maneuver could free Stormy Daniels to speak on Trump
BuzzFeed may have found a legal opening to allow the porn actress Stormy Daniels to discuss her alleged relationship with President Donald Trump and a $130,000 payment she received just before the 2016 election as part of a nondisclosure agreement she is now trying to void.
The same Trump attorney who brokered the deal with Daniels, Michael Cohen, filed a libel suit in January against BuzzFeed and four of its staffers over publication of the so-called dossier compiling accurate, inaccurate and unproven allegations about Trump’s relationship with Russia.
Now, BuzzFeed is using Cohen’s libel suit as a vehicle to demand that Daniels preserve all records relating to her relationship with Trump, as well as her dealings with Cohen and the payment he has acknowledged arranging in 2016.
On Tuesday, BuzzFeed’s lawyer wrote to Daniels’ attorney asking that the adult film actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, preserve various categories of documents. Such preservation letters are often a prelude to a subpoena. If Daniels’ testimony is formally demanded in a deposition, the nondisclosure agreement would likely be no obstacle, legal experts said.
[...]
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/14/buzzfeed-stormy-daniels-trump-462261 more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/d7sDd03Eu72itVM-ExZiaMcYulgMM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en "The most toxic working environment on the planet"
Never in the 14 months of the Trump White House has there been such a mood of acute anxiety from within the West Wing.
What we're hearing: Nobody knows what exactly is happening, who’s about to be fired, or which staffer will next be frogmarched out the door by security for some shadowy clearance issue.
"This is the most toxic working environment on the planet. Usually tough times bring people together. But right now this atmosphere is ripping people apart. There's no leadership, no trust, no direction and this point there's very little hope. Would you want to go to work every day not knowing whether your future career was going to be destroyed without explanation?"
— A White House official to Axios
Senior officials are equivocating privately when asked whether they think John Kelly and H.R. McMaster are staying or going. Nobody knows because it’s Trump, and the way he dealt with Rex Tillerson was sudden, even though he’d long been fed up with his Secretary of State.
But the clearance issues are more serious:
•West Wingers believe more people are set to be escorted out the building for security clearance issues.
•Swan has learned that it’s not just Johnny McEntee — the president’s trusted body man — who’s been pushed out for security clearance issues in recent days.
•The same thing happened last week to an aide to the First Lady. He was escorted from the premises and his former colleagues don’t know what the security clearance issue was that forced him out. (The Daily Beast first reported [
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-moves-to-remake-his-team-with-loyalists-cable-news-stars-and-killers ] his departure.)
Why this matters: This acute level of uncertainty — and these rapid fire executions, especially the security clearance issues — are shredding an already devastated morale inside the building.
Be smart: This makes it harder than ever to attract top-tier talent. They're going to have big problems replacing the next wave of vacancies.
https://www.axios.com/the-most-toxic-working-environment-on-the-planet-1521061118-87211185-63b7-468b-aa1b-880f3dcaf524.html The Top Three Symptoms Of A Toxic Workplace Environment (And Three Cures)
Jan 22, 2018
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2018/01/22/the-top-three-symptoms-of-a-toxic-workplace-environment-and-three-cures/ It’s Not You–It’s Your Job: 7 Signs of a Toxic Workplace
Protect your well-being from the effects of a dysfunctional job.
Oct 30, 2017
https://medium.com/the-mission/its-not-you-it-s-your-job-7-signs-of-a-toxic-workplace-b7ce564f082d 11 signs your workplace's culture is toxic (and what you can do to be happier)
15 Dec 2017
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/15/11-traits-of-a-toxic-workplace-and-how-to-be-happier.html more:
https://www.google.com/search?q=the+most+toxic+working+environment Democrats issue rebuttal to GOP ‘capitulation’ report on Russia
WASHINGTON - Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee vowed to carry on with their investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, accusing Republicans of prematurely shuttering the probe in a “capitulation” to the White House.
One day after the GOP announced they had completed a draft report concluding that the Trump campaign had not colluded with Russians in an effort to defeat Hillary Clinton, Democrats issued a 22-page document specifying unresolved issues they said the committee needed to continue exploring — and that they would attempt to do so even without the GOP’s cooperation.
Most, but not all of the items Democrats point to address collusion, and whether the Russian government had leverage on President Trump that could affect his decision-making. The report also lists key individuals that the committee’s Republicans refused to bring in for interviews, documents that should have been sought, and steps that should have been taken to compel answers from uncooperative witnesses like the attorney general, the president’s son and his son-in-law.
“The work is too important to be left undone,” Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead Democrat on the committee, told reporters Tuesday night. “The American people need to know whether the Russians still have something they can hold over the president's head.”
Even in the earliest hours of the Republican’s report circulating among members of the committee, the GOP appeared to back-pedal on some of their initial comments.
Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas, who has been running the Russia probe, told reporters he misspoke Monday when he said that he in fact believed the Russian government had sought to help Clinton in the campaign and hurt Trump. And he seemed to step back from a key claim in the report, disputing the Intelligence Community’s January 2017 assessment that Russia had shown a “clear preference” for Trump in the campaign.
“Nothing that they did remotely helped Hillary Clinton,” Conaway said. But asked if there was any distinction between attempting to harm Clinton and help Trump, Conaway said: “glass half full, glass half empty. You could pitch that either way."
Schiff called the GOP report “little more than another Nunes memo in long form,” saying it cherry-picked intelligence while ignoring or mischaracterizing others. He said he had assumed that even despite clear differences of opinion about collusion, Democrats and Republicans could jointly validate the conclusion of intelligence agencies that Russia sought to elect Trump.
“If this is where the GOP is coming from, it represents to me the completeness of their capitulation to the White House, and that leaves little common ground,” he said.
Asked if he could say definitively whether he found evidence that Trump campaign aides or allies had colluded with Russians — just as the GOP insisted it had not — Schiff said he could.
“What I cannot say, because I do not know what Bob Mueller knows, is whether that evidence rises to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt of conspiracy to violate U.S. election laws,” he said.
Schiff has increasingly drawn attention to the question of financial leverage the Russians have on Trump. The Democratic status report says the committee had only begun to explore “credible allegations” about whether Russian oligarchs and others used Trump properties to launder money, and notes that Deutsche Bank, which has been fined before for involvement in Russian money-laundering, has been a regular source of financing for Trump’s businesses.
Democrats also say the committee should probe whether the president sought to obstruct justice by impeding the Mueller probe — something Republicans have maintained is outside the committee’s agreed-upon scope of inquiry.
The Democrats said they have “a good faith reason to believe” that the White House has documentation of Trump’s conversations with James Comey, which could corroborate the then-FBI director’s accounts that the president pressured him to drop an investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Among the key witnesses Democrats say the committee still needs to hear from are current and former administration officials including Trump’s first chief of staf, Reince Priebus, senior policy advisor Stephen Miller, former press secretary Sean Spicer and senior counselor and former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway.
The list also includes names recently brought to light in relation to the Mueller probe like George Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman who the Washington Post and New York Times reported helped orchestrate the January 2017 meeting in the Seychelles involving a known Trump associate and a Russian banker with ties to the Kremlin.
Committee Democrats say there should be new document requests, including bank records from Deutsche Bank, additional information from social media companies like Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat, and records from the Ritz Carlton Moscow related to Trump’s 2013 visit for the Miss Universe pageant.
And Democrats fault Republicans for now taking further action to compel testimony from uncooperative witnesses including Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and Corey Lewandoswki.
All of these are issues that Schiff said Democrats could ultimately revisit if the party wins control of the House next year – and along with it control of the committee and subpoena power.
“If the majority in the Congress changes hands we’ll have to evaluate where is the investigation at that point.,” he said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-issue-rebuttal-gop-capitulation-report-russia-n856426 more:
https://www.google.com/search?q=democrats+issue+rebuttal+to+gop Trump Says a Democrat Won in Pennsylvania Because He’s ‘Like Trump’
In remarks delivered at a private fundraising event and obtained by The Atlantic, the president attributed Conor Lamb’s success to the fact that he “sounds like a Republican.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/trump-on-the-lamb/555668/ Conor Lamb Wins Pennsylvania House Seat, Giving Democrats a Map for Trump Country
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/us/politics/democrats-republicans-pennsylvania-special-election.html Take a look at Rick Saccone’s “Rate My Professor” scores from his time as a college professor
https://rare.us/rare-news/rare-exclusive/check-out-rick-saccone-rate-my-professor-scores-st-vincent-college/ more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/diVjVU7-75yEEkM0_OnemfINgglSM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Meet 'Steve,' the Aurora-Like Mystery Scientists Are Beginning to Unravel
https://www.space.com/39968-steve-aurora-mystery-explained.html study
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/3/eaaq0030 The Aurora Named STEVE
NASA Goddard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRHwGD-is9U more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/d6VapV2oPHas3pM-ZG7qL5RUDasXM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Einstein made his share of errors. Here are three of the biggest
Lucky for us, he was a persistent sort. - 3-14-18 his 139th birthday
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/einstein-made-his-share-errors-here-are-three-biggest-ncna855731 Albert Einstein Quotes: 6 Sayings From the Theoretical Physicist on His Birthday
http://www.newsweek.com/albert-einstein-quotes-birthday-said-pi-day-845494 How Einstein Lost His Bearings, and With Them, General Relativity
By 1913, Albert Einstein had nearly completed general relativity. But a simple mistake set him on a tortured, two-year reconsideration of his theory. Today, mathematicians still grapple with the issues he confronted.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-einstein-lost-his-bearings-and-with-them-general-relativity-20180314/ The Universe According To Albert Einstein: Relativity
https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2018/03/14/593156411/the-universe-according-to-albert-einstein-relativity more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dwbJXZu6sYzEbSMOlbp4WoKAw26sM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en Stephen Hawking Is Still Underrated - died 3-14-18 (UK time) - further to
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139269175 The late physicist’s radical ideas are still changing the way we look at the cosmos.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/03/stephen-hawking-is-still-underrated/555590/ A brief history of Stephen Hawking’s atheism - tie
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=63306014 ,
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=97287110 - and (Einstein)
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=30820541 Say the words “British,” “scientist” and “atheist” and the first person to come to mind probably isn’t Stephen Hawking.
But while Hawking, the theoretical physicist who died Wednesday at age 76, was certainly overshadowed in the atheist department by his countryman, the evolutionary biologist and atheist activist Richard Dawkins, Hawking’s atheism was more of a slow simmer than Dawkins’ explosive ire.
“What could define God (is thinking of God) as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of that God,” Hawking told Diane Sawyer in 2010. “They made a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible.”
One reason Hawking’s atheism was less well-known was he seemed to fudge the question of God’s existence for years. In his 1988 seminal best-seller, “A Brief History of Time,” he wrote, “The whole history of science has been the gradual realization that events do not happen in an arbitrary manner, but that they reflect a certain underlying order, which may or may not be divinely inspired.”
Later in the book, he writes of the quest for a unifying theory of the universe: “It would be the ultimate triumph of human reason — for then we should know the mind of God.”
Some saw those statements as proof that Hawking held private religious beliefs. He fed that idea with a few statements over the years — “The laws may have been decreed by God,” he told Reuters in 2007, “but God does not intervene to break the laws” — and even titled a 2005 book “God Created the Integers.”
He also went to the Vatican and met briefly with then-Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.
Then, in 2010, with the publication of “The Grand Design,” Hawking seemed to have begun a sort of atheist striptease, slowly revealing his nonbelief:
“Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing,” he and co-author Leonard Mlodinow write. “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”
Within a year, Hawking said in a Discovery Channel documentary: “We are each free to believe what we want and it is my view that the simplest explanation is there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate.”
And just in case that wasn’t clear enough, Hawking dropped the last veil in a 2014 interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
“What I meant by ‘we would know the mind of God’ is, we would know everything that God would know, if there were a God. Which there isn’t. I’m an atheist.”
After his death, some atheists remarked that Hawking’s outlook on having just this one life, which was marked, for him, by debilitating Lou Gehrig’s disease, fortified their own lack of belief.
“Hawking had to aggressively face his own mortality every single day, it would have been understandable for him to abandon evidential reasoning and fall into the old adage that there are ‘no atheists in a foxhole,'” Lianna Brinded, an atheist, wrote in the online magazine Quartz. “Instead, he continued to approach his stance on religion with scientific evidence-based reasoning.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/03/14/brief-history-stephen-hawkings-atheism/425724002/ Stephen Hawking Taught Us a Lot About How to Live
The cosmologist not only overturned our imaginations, he became an icon of mystery, curiosity and determination to understand this place we are in.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/science/stephen-hawking-life.html Stephen Hawking: The 60 Minutes interview
In 2003 the renowned physicist appeared on 60 Minutes in celebration of his 60th birthday—a milestone he never thought he'd reach
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stephen-hawking-the-60-minutes-interview/ more:
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