Monday, March 05, 2018 12:47:12 AM
WATCH: Parkland High School Shooting Survivor Emma Gonzalez’s Powerful Speech Demanding Gun Control
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Democracy Now! [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw / https://www.youtube.com/user/democracynow , https://www.youtube.com/user/democracynow/videos ]
In Florida, as funerals continue for the 17 people killed in at the Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, Florida, survivors of the school shooting have launched an unprecedented youth-led movement to demand gun control. At a rally on Saturday, survivors of the school shooting demanded politicians stop accepting money from the National Rifle Association. For more, we broadcast the full speech of Emma Gonzalez, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/19/watch_parkland_high_school_shooting_survivor [with embedded video, and transcript]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoby1ODY14w [with comments]
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Five Months After Maria, San Juan Mayor Decries “Disaster Capitalism” & Privatization in Puerto Rico
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Democracy Now!
As this week marks five months since Hurricane Maria battered the island of Puerto Rico, more than a quarter of the island remains without power, marking the longest blackout in U.S. history. While the official death toll is just 64, it is believed that more than 1,000 died since the storm struck the island on September 20. Puerto Rico’s governor has also announced plans to privatize the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, known as PREPA, which is the largest publicly owned power authority in the United States. For more, we speak to San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/19/five_months_after_maria_san_juan [with embedded video, and transcript]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtt3EX-orS8 [with comments]
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San Juan Mayor Calls for End to Puerto Rico’s Colonial Status Amid Slow Hurricane Maria Recovery
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Democracy Now!
Five months after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, swaths of the island still have no electricity, while food and water supplies have been slow to arrive. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, has been hit by a series of scandals, after it was revealed that only a fraction of the 30 million meals slated to be sent to the island after Hurricane Maria was actually delivered. FEMA approved a $156 million contract for a one-woman company to deliver the 30 million meals. But in the end, FEMA canceled the contract after she delivered only 50,000 meals, in what FEMA called a logistical nightmare. This came after FEMA gave more than $30 million in contracts to a newly created Florida company which failed to deliver a single tarp to Puerto Rico. For more, we speak with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/19/san_juan_mayor_calls_for_end [with embedded video, and transcript]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwTgGizrAxc [with comments]
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Watch: “Black Panther” Director Ryan Coogler in 2013 in One of His First TV Interviews
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Democracy Now!
The film “Black Panther” smashed box office records on its opening weekend, grossing more money than any other February debut. It was also the highest-grossing film ever by a black director, 31-year-old Ryan Coogler. It was also the fifth-highest-earning opening weekend of any film in U.S. history. The superhero flick, based on the Marvel comic, features a majority-black cast and has been called a “defining moment for Black America.”
In 2013, director Ryan Coogler gave one of his first TV interviews [ https://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/25/fruitvale_ryan_cooglers_debut_film_on (with embedded video (non-YouTube version of this YouTube), and transcript)] on Democracy Now! just after the premier of his debut film, “Fruitvale Station,” about the killing of Oscar Grant. He told Democracy Now!, “I’ve seen these kind of things happen before, instances of police brutality and instances of urban violence, and people riot and rally. … I felt that myself, as an artist and as a filmmaker, maybe I could do something that could help attack this issue at the root, you know, through my art, through my outlet. … I got into film to always make things that promote ideas of social change.”
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/19/watch_black_panther_director_ryan_coogler [title and text taken from; with the same embedded video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k88HlIeGywA [with comments]
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Full Show - Sheriff Mack: A REAL Constitutionalist For Congress - 02/19/2018
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Real News with David Knight [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC1L9FOMSaPgMyoLSnps47g , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC1L9FOMSaPgMyoLSnps47g/videos ]
Full Broadcast 19Feb18 Real News with David Knight
20 yrs ago, Sheriff Mack fought President Clinton & the Brady group all the way to the Supreme Court over the 2nd Amendment & the 10th Amendment — and WON. Now there’s a special election for Congress a week away. Mack joins David Knight to explain why he deserves your support.
47:05 High School students - useful idiots for establishment agenda
1:38:20 Russian indictments & uncomfortable questions for Democrats & Mueller
2:02:32 Opioid Addiction
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSfrMzJpr6E [with comments] [also at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pULoOyE7_qU (with comments); additional text taken from the included https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSWMcK7eSDA (with comments)]
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10 Things That Make an Atheist Tune Out
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Godless Cranium [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewUkuIHNuwuMNWMa96q9ZQ , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewUkuIHNuwuMNWMa96q9ZQ/videos ]
In my last video [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pee-fz49g_8 , included at/see also in particular (linked in) https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=138819059 and preceding and following (earlier this string)] I asked theists what atheist arguments or saying make them tune out.
Today I'm going to describe some of the things theists say that make me tune out.
If you're an atheist, please leave some of your conversation-ending examples in the comment section below. Hopefully, we can raise awareness about the sorts of things that don't lead to good conversations between atheists and theists.
Godless Engineer: https://www.youtube.com/user/godlessengineer
Sources:
Kingsman The Golden Circle Bar Scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAsxKO9VBns [with comments]
Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson in Sign Language ASL by Leiticia Pestova
Athlete and model Leiticia Pestova signing Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson. Sign language/ASL, American Sign Language. Please Subscribe. Instagram @LeiticiaPestova. NEW ASL video every Wednesday! Send video requests to: LeiticiaPestova@gmail.com. Respect to all watching.
Creative Advisors:
https://www.facebook.com/MissKrystleLive
https://www.facebook.com/TonyMandarichCreatives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuWZ0miN2Yg [with comments]
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atheism-agnosticism/#DefiAthe
Snoring dog wakes up surprised
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDG_xtuUaGA [with comments]
Ray Comfort on the Banana, in context [HQ]
This video is an upload of the well known 'Banana Man' and his theory about bananas. Other copies of this clip show only the banana-related segment, and do not include the context (specifically, the segment before on soda cans). On his blog, Ray Comfort claims that his claims have been taken out of context, and that this is an atheist ploy to make a monkey out of him.
Thus, this upload contains the segments before and after the banana segment, to provide context for his claims. This video is also of higher video and audio quality than other uploads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXLqDGL1FSg [with comments]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbJvJSDH9Ds [with comments]
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Full Show - Chris Rock Pushes Racial Division And Hopes More White Children Die - 02/19/2018
Published on Feb 19, 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 ]
Monday, Feb. 19th 2018: Just Like Hitler, Democrats Call For Gun Control - Not even a week after the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School comedian Chris Rock makes the joke that he wants a world where an equal number of white children are shot. We cover new developments in the Florida shooting as leftists call for gun confiscation despite officials ignoring all the warning signs of a potential shooting. Owen Shroyer and Alex Jones host today's worldwide broadcast. Gerald Celente joins to host the final hour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrNMbQW2arM [with comments] [also at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd_UgQrd8pQ (additional text adapted from; with comments); additional text also taken from the included https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu9huxtOMII (with comments)] [a must-watch]
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Freethought Matters: Black Freethinkers podcast host, Kimberly Veal
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by FFRF [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC28jWiP7HV6mBBW3C8AXuEg / https://www.youtube.com/user/FFRForg , https://www.youtube.com/user/FFRForg/videos ]
Kimberly Veal comes to us from Chicago and hosts the "Black Freethinkers" podcast. She is president of People of Color Beyond Faith.
The half-hour show is hosted by FFRF Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnrlZvrynmg [with comments]
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Full Show - Bombshell Evidence; Clinton Body Count Witness Steps Forward And Claims To Be Eyewitness To 30 Year Old Murders - 02/19/2018
Published on Feb 20, 2018 by War Room [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClsn7QZVdszxLlUs-GOG0Sg , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClsn7QZVdszxLlUs-GOG0Sg/videos ]
On today's War Room, Rob Dew fills in for Owen Shroyer to discuss the dangerous calls for gun control, and shines light on new evidence on the mysteries behind the growing Clinton body count.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmnu-0TE6A4 [with comments] [also, edited, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EB5BAJmV9g (with comments)]
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Revealed: Russian support for Bernie began during NH primary
The Beat with Ari Melber
2/19/18
Special Counsel Mueller's indictments reveal Russian support for both the Trump and Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign. While there is no equivalence between the two campaigns when it comes to Russia, this shocking footage raises questions about what Mueller alleges was an international criminal conspiracy to defraud U.S. Elections.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/revealed-russian-support-for-bernie-began-during-new-hampshire-primary-1165228611873 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q3sHCpJB7g [with comments]
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After Mueller indictment, Bernie aide says they didn’t know Russians were helping
The Beat with Ari Melber
2/19/18
Special Counsel Mueller’s latest indictments reveal Russian interference in the U.S. Presidential Election began as early as the 2016 New Hampshire primary. Bernie Sanders’s campaign digital director tells Ari Melber "it would have been impossible" for the campaign to know about attempted Russian interference.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/after-mueller-indictment-bernie-aide-says-they-didn-t-know-russians-were-helping-1165229635824 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cbhfwvh05A [with comments]
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Black Panther Star: Movie lets us reclaim a lost history
The Beat with Ari Melber
2/19/18
Black Panther star Winston Duke tells Ari Melber the brilliance of the Black Panther movie is that it engages in wider “timely” discussion, and is a gift for children to see there is "no limit to their potential”.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/black-panther-star-movie-lets-us-reclaim-a-lost-history-1165229123837
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Inside the Russian troll factory indicted by the DOJ
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
The “Internet Research Agency” is “some kind of factory that turned lying, telling untruths, into an industrial assembly line,” said someone who once worked there. “I immediately felt like a character in the book ‘1984’ by George Orwell,” they added to the Washington Post.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/inside-the-russian-troll-factory-indicted-by-the-doj-1165271619971
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Trump went to disco party after meeting shooting survivors
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
President Trump spent roughly 35 minutes at the hospital on Friday and then went to Mar-a-Lago where he attended a Studio 54-themed disco party.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/trump-went-to-disco-party-after-meeting-shooting-survivors-1165276227686
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"I just want to ask (Trump) why" - Parkland student
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
"I want to ask why a mentally ill 19-year-old was able to legally purchase a gun here in Florida and why he was able to come into my high school and shoot 17 people," says Parkland student Sarah Chadwick of her desire to talk to Trump about the shooting at her school last week.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-i-just-want-to-ask-trump-why-parkland-student-1165277251699 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrMi9pYiwXo [with comments]
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Guess who comes in last in new ranking of presidents?
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
It's Presidents Day, and President Trump has asked us to be reflective, so we looked into where he stacks up against our nation's best - and worst - presidents.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/guess-who-comes-in-last-in-new-ranking-of-presidents-1165284931700 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM8Qi-ZQV9o [with comments]
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New Pennsylvania map is good news for Democrats
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
The state supreme court's move to un-gerrymander the state could get Democrats one-sixths of the way to taking back the House.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/new-pennsylvania-map-is-good-news-for-democrats-1165286979549
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Michael Cohen, hush money, and Trump's alleged affairs
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
The president's lawyer has played a big role in helping to ensure that the president's alleged encounters with a playboy model and adult actress didn't make headlines.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/michael-cohen-hush-money-and-trump-s-alleged-affairs-1165290563923
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New White House security rule could force Kushner, others out
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Rachel Maddow looks at how a new White House rule to remove people who haven't been granted permanent security clearance from White House jobs could snare Jared Kushner and many others.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/new-white-house-security-rule-could-force-kusher-many-others-out-1165337155728 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDJziycP3LQ [with comments]
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Mueller mention of new evidence suggests more Manafort charges
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Barbara McQuade, former U.S. attorney, talks with Rachel Maddow about why Robert Mueller would mention new evidence of a crime in Paul Manafort court papers without adding new charges that correspond to that evidence.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/mueller-mention-of-new-evidence-suggests-more-manafort-charges-1165347907555
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History offers reasons to respect the power of youth activism
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Rachel Maddow looks back at how the national voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 through the activism of young people in 1971.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/young-activists-wanted-to-lower-the-voting-age-and-made-it-happen-1165383747550
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Students react to gun massacre with swell of #NeverAgain activism
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Cameron Kasky, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, talks with Rachel Maddow about the impassioned gun safety activism he and his fellow students have engaged through the founding of the #NeverAgain movement and the upcoming March For Our Lives.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/students-react-to-gun-massacre-with-swell-of-neveragain-activism-1165352515867
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Russian foreign minister takes advantage of uncorrected Pence lie
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Rachel Maddow points out that while CIA Director Mike Pompeo corrected his misstatement about the impact of Russia on the 2016 election, Mike Pence has allowed his lie to linger and has now been cited as fact by the Russian foreign minister.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/russian-foreign-minister-takes-advantage-of-uncorrected-pence-lie-1165396547570
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White House briefing resumes Tuesday
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Rachel Maddow alerts viewers that while the White House briefing in the Trump administration is usually not worth watching, Tuesday's will be the first one after a dense week of news the White House has yet to address.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/white-house-briefing-resumes-tuesday-1165395011727
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New revelations in book are fodder for Mueller probe
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
2/19/18
Chris Whipple's new version of "The Gatekeepers" reports the dramatic scenes of ex-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus racing to save Attorney General Jeff Sessions' job amid Trump's rage over Sessions' recusal from the Russia probe. Whipple joins Lawrence O'Donnell.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/new-revelations-in-book-are-fodder-for-mueller-probe-1165110339877
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Lawrence: Advisers held off Trump's golfing, but not his tweeting
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
2/19/18
Trump didn't play golf for two days, as his advisers thought it would look bad in the wake of the Parkland school shooting. But Lawrence O'Donnell says his advisers couldn't stop him from tweeting offensive, unpresidential statements about the FBI and Russia probe.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-advisers-held-off-trump-s-golfing-but-not-his-tweeting-1165336131994 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laWH55gSDGU [with comments]
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Florida students' message to Trump: Do something
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
2/19/18
Kevin Trejos and Adam Alhanti, both students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, join Lawrence O'Donnell to share their message to lawmakers and the President after 17 students and teachers were shot and killed at their on Valentine's Day.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/florida-students-message-to-trump-do-something-1165341251542 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-TLAdgzyug [with comments]
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Ex-Intel staffer: Trump indictment reaction 'all about himself'
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
2/19/18
Mieke Eoyang, ex-House Intel staffer, says Russians "couldn't pick a better candidate to back" than Trump, who is refusing to appropriately acknowledge the election interference laid out in Mueller's indictment. Jonathan Alter & Daniel Dale join Lawrence O'Donnell.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/ex-intel-staffer-trump-indictment-reaction-all-about-himself-1165338179896
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After Mueller indictments Trump fails to criticize Russia
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
2/20/18
Trump spent the weekend after Mueller indicted 13 Russians on Twitter attacking Obama, Congress, the FBI, Democrats - even Oprah - but never said anything bad about Moscow. Our panel reacts.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired February 19, 2018]
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/after-mueller-indictments-trump-fails-to-criticize-russia-1165375555642 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ETnPvH8Rr4 [with comments]
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Is fmr. Trump aide Rick Gates about to flip on Manafort?
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
2/20/18
The Los Angeles Times reports fmr. Trump campaign aide Rick Gates will plead guilty and would testify against fmr. Trump campaign boss Paul Manafort. Our panel reacts.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired February 19, 2018]
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/is-fmr-trump-aide-rick-gates-about-to-flip-on-manafort-1165375555976 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4SX4E1f-N0 [with comments]
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FBI insider: Russia hacks a '9/11 for information warfare'
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
2/20/18
In the days since the Mueller indictments, Trump's had nothing to say about Russia or Putin or protecting our nation from further attack. Fmr. FBI Special Agent Clint Watts and fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul react.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired February 19, 2018]
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/fbi-insider-russia-hacks-a-9-11-for-information-warfare-1165381699774
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GOP Asked People to Sign Presidents Day Cards for Trump
Published on Feb 21, 2018 by Mike Malloy [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpU4j-LN_aibXA1gONvWzxw / https://www.youtube.com/user/hschulein , https://www.youtube.com/user/hschulein/videos ]
Team Trump wants Americans to help make sure that President Trump has a “GREAT!” President’s Day — by urging people to send him an online card in an email blast that slams the “smug” media and “worn out politicians.”
“HAPPY PRESIDENTS’ DAY, PRESIDENT TRUMP!” the invitation, written in a mix of conventional language and all-caps for apparent emphasis, is titled.
“Under President Trump, a new American era is on the rise — thanks to YOU, the men and women who have stood by him through thick and thin,” it continues.
Full story: https://nypost.com/2018/02/19/trump-campaign-asks-backers-to-send-him-presidents-day-cards/
[originally aired February 19, 2018]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e_W_ARMrtQ [with comments]
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Building Bridges (Not Walls) in Mexico: The Daily Show
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by The Daily Show with Trevor Noah [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWhs_6x42TyRM4Wstoq8HA , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWhs_6x42TyRM4Wstoq8HA/videos ]
As the Trump administration begins building prototypes for the president's proposed border wall, Michael Kosta and Dulce Sloan learn about its impact on U.S.-Mexico relations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoRNZMRxx40 [with comments]
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A Presidents' Day Message from Jim Jefferies - The Jim Jefferies Show
Published on Feb 19, 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-R5q27n0ECbBQFQGcTDs205-C ]
Why should Jim bother to remember the names of all the U.S. presidents if they didn't bother to be more memorable?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJbYjg7Zmrg [with comments]
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Donald J. Trump's Guide to U.S. Presidents, Vol. 1
Published on Feb 18, 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 ]
Donald J. Trump reads his book chronicling some of America's former Presidents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNdd_MotqrI [with comments]
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Is the Hourglass running out for the Trifecta of Evil "TRUMP-BIBI-KUSHNER" ?
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Bravo Von Muller [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4G1zEStJMqN3mnEONXA7Mw , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4G1zEStJMqN3mnEONXA7Mw/videos ]
Is the Hourglass running out for the Trifecta of Evil "TRUMP-BIBI-KUSHNER" ? Or is the Hourglass running out on the American Republic ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br3viWP1O9I [with comments]
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stashed February 19, 2018:
The Burden of Trump's National-Security Staff
Those toiling inside this administration are fooling themselves if they think they can somehow rise above the character and temperament of this president to shepherd this country through to a more normal time.
What a contrast.
I woke up on Sunday morning and first read the news accounts of National-Security Adviser H.R. McMaster’s cogent speech [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/mcmaster-says-evidence-of-russian-meddling-is-now-really-incontrovertible-as-he-woos-european-allies/2018/02/17/4a27f560-10e8-11e8-a68c-e9374188170e_story.html ] to the Munich Security Conference. I then read the president’s tweets. And some more tweets. And, just when I thought he was done, some more tweets.
As I have written before [ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/trump-foreign-policy/549671/ ], you have to give this administration some credit for having assembled some pretty good foreign policy talent. The Republican Party arguably didn’t have the deepest bench on foreign policy in 2017, having been out of the executive branch for eight years, and some of the best talent available to the administration after Trump was elected was ineligible for having signed one of the infamous Never Trump letters [ https://warontherocks.com/2016/03/open-letter-on-donald-trump-from-gop-national-security-leaders/ ] over the course of the 2016 campaign.
Nonetheless, I’ve been struck, in conversations with the men and women serving in the Department of Defense or on the National Security Council, by how good and earnest many of the people working for this president’s administration are. Some of them are true believers, but far more common are retired or active duty military or intelligence officers (like McMaster) dragooned into political service, or longtime Republican Hill staffers who kept their noses clean in 2016. These folks are, as one friend told me, just keeping their heads down and concentrating on what they can affect rather than the things—like the president’s tweets—that they cannot.
But here’s another thing that struck me, which has been noted by other people who speak often to those in this administration: how rarely people mention Trump’s name. You can have an hour-long conversation with someone serving in a national security billet in this administration, and they will tell you all about their problems and policies without ever mentioning the name of the president they are serving—unless I bring it up. It’s almost as if they are trying to serve this country in spite of their president rather than through him.
I take two things away from this experience: one, that all of us on the outside are little delusional, and two, that everyone serving on the inside is also delusional.
On the one hand, those of us on the outside of this administration are subjected to a never-ended torrent of reporting about this president: about his temperament, about his businesses, about his affairs, and about his family. And just in case he disappears for a few days, he tweets something outrageous just to remind us he’s here.
Most of what takes place in the U.S. government on a daily basis, though, doesn’t actually require the president. I served three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan under President Bush and then another three years in the Pentagon under President Obama and never met either man. Why would I need to? I was just a grunt and, later, a fonctionnaire executing the president’s policies, most of which did not require the direct intervention of the president. We should all remember, as our government and our nation becomes more and more inseparable in the public consciousness with the character and temperament of Donald Trump, that the government is bigger than even his outsize personality.
On the other hand, especially after this weekend, those toiling on the inside of this administration are fooling themselves if they think they can somehow rise above the character and temperament of this president to shepherd this country through to a more normal time.
Reading McMaster—either in Munich or in his national security strategy [ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf ]—is to read the words of a man laboring under the delusion he works for someone saner and more thoughtful than the current occupant of the White House. That delusion is unsustainable, in large part because the founders created a powerful executive in foreign policy, and successive generations have seen fit to increase the power of that executive. This, I would argue, is appropriate: in a time of war or in international negotiations, one voice needs to speak for the United States.
Today, that voice belongs to Donald Trump. As a result, Germany’s foreign minister sadly noted, “We are no longer sure whether we recognize our America.”
I’m not sure I do either. Growing up in the last decades of the Cold War, when our favorite movie as kids was, naturally enough, Red Dawn [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dawn ], I could not have imagined a day when our president—and his party, which both fears and enables him—would stand in the way of our country formulating a strategy to counter the threat Russia and disinformation campaigns present to our democracy. Since the threat affects every American who consumes content on the internet, and every state that administers elections, the president needs to be the one to formulate our response. His party must insist he does so—or be complicit in his inaction.
The president must lead [ http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2018/02/trump-has-never-asked-intelligence-chiefs-stop-russian-election-meddling-intelligence-chiefs-testify/145969/ ] in order for our country to take the necessary steps to counter Russian interference in our electoral process, but for the president to do that would be for the president to implicitly admit that his own election was affected to some degree by Russian meddling.
And, as this weekend demonstrated [ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/18/us/politics/trump-blames-obama-and-democrats-for-failing-to-stop-russian-meddling.html ], this president’s ego is too fragile for him to admit that.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/the-burden-of-trumps-national-security-staff/553691/
more: https://www.google.com/search?q=the+burden+of+trump%27s
Laughing? Not so much. Most Russians just wish the election-tampering story would go away
http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-russia-indictments-20180219-story.html
President Trump, I'm Russian and I'm Not Laughing
I fear the indictment of Russian internet trolls may lead to less freedom for both Americans and Russians.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-19/mueller-s-indictment-of-russian-trolls-may-backfire
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dJTsxhQ0Nw8XadMX9wiBtLvhIsrvM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Political scientists rank Trump last, Lincoln first in presidential greatness survey
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/politics/trump-lincoln-presidential-greatness-survey/index.html
Official Results of the 2018 Presidents & Executive Politics Presidential Greatness Survey
https://sps.boisestate.edu/politicalscience/files/2018/02/Greatness.pdf
Survey of Presidential Politics Experts Says Trump Is the Worst of All Time
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/survey-of-experts-says-trump-is-the-worst-president-ever.html
How Does Trump Stack Up Against the Best — and Worst — Presidents? - worst of the worst
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/19/opinion/how-does-trump-stack-up-against-the-best-and-worst-presidents.html
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/d5Pp6uGXpSdqycMhyhv3gykpm1CPM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Insecurity At the Munich Security Conference As Global Crises Grow More Contentious
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/02/19/587120571/insecurity-at-the-munich-security-conference-as-global-crises-grow-more-contenti
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dNZnY_xqNPIjLYMev6fx0CDURD0qM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Trump Jr. to give foreign policy speech while on ‘unofficial’ business trip to India
NEW DELHI — The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is making what has been dubbed an unofficial visit to India to promote his family’s real estate projects. But he’s also planning to deliver a foreign policy speech on Indo-Pacific relations at an event with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Beginning Tuesday, Trump Jr. will have a full schedule of meet-and-greets with investors and business leaders throughout India, where the Trump family has real estate projects — Mumbai, the New Delhi suburb of Gurgaon, the western city of Pune and the eastern city of Kolkata.
Indian newspapers have been running full-page, glossy advertisements hyping his arrival and the latest Trump Tower project under the headline: “Trump is here — Are You Invited?” The ads also solicited home buyers to plunk down a booking fee (about $38,000) to “join Mr. Donald Trump Jr. for a conversation and dinner.” Public relations executives working with two local developers arranging the Trump dinner declined to give specifics about the event.
[...]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/trump-jr-to-give-foreign-policy-speech-while-on-unofficial-business-trip-to-india/2018/02/19/37d00c37-d9e8-40c4-934b-0a26b8160dcd_story.html
President or Luxury Towers: Either Way, Trump Is the Rage in India
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/17/world/trump-tower-india.html
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dsVCefWKtzmWD5MB1msmC9iYozmLM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Exclusive: Mueller's interest in Kushner grows to include foreign financing efforts
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/politics/mueller-investigation-kushner-foreign-financing-efforts/index.html
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dlLf_OTgr2bKKFMmPnL_xGw8B-yqM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Texas Republicans getting almost 90 percent of money flowing into state elections
Donors pumped a total of $67 million into state-level campaigns from the beginning of 2017 through Jan. 25, and a whopping $57 million of it, or about 86 percent, went to GOP candidates, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. Gov. Greg Abbott got nearly a third of all the political money raised since the start of last year.
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/02/19/texas-republicans-getting-almost-90-percent-money-flowing-state-electi/
Impeachment or Bust
What if ‘Resist!’ makes it harder for Democrats to take back the House?
https://www.wsj.com/articles/impeachment-or-bust-1519070042
The Lone Star Long Shot Who Wants to Topple Ted Cruz - Representative Beto O'Rourke
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/us/politics/ted-cruz-beto-orourke-election.html
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dSGeIcJXCKrZ_YMFCT5pOy-I0UieM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Issues New Congressional Map To Replace Gerrymandered One
Republicans have enjoyed a considerable advantage under the earlier map, which was in place for three congressional elections.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pennsylvania-new-map_us_5a8b2cb6e4b0a1d0e12c1287
This Supreme Court Case Is The Biggest Threat To Organized Labor In Years
It could cost unions millions of members — but also force them to adapt and innovate.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/janus-unions-supreme-court-case_us_5a873b4de4b00bc49f43decd
High School Students Lead Protest Against Gun Violence In Front Of White House
Several student-led demonstrations also erupted across Florida on Presidents Day.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/white-house-gun-law-protest_us_5a8b0642e4b05c2bcacdfb39
Young Women Have Always Been Our Nation’s Most Powerful Force For Change
Emma Gonzalez and her peers are creating the history today we’ll read about tomorrow.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-girls-guide-to-joining-the-resistance-excerpt_us_5a8af45be4b004fc31950fd1
Slain Teacher Told His Fiancee What To Say If He Died In A School Shooting
Scott Beigel, who was shot protecting students in the massacre, didn’t want to be called a hero.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-beigel-spoke-of-possible-death_us_5a8ae016e4b004fc3194d440
Florida School Shooting Suspect Obtained 10 Rifles In Roughly The Past Year
The store that sold him the AR-15 has been closed indefinitely.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/florida-shooting-suspect-10-rifles_us_5a8b43cae4b0117adf710156
I Have Written The Same Story On Mass Shootings A Dozen Times
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-jeltsen-shootings-domestic-violence_us_5a8b06c0e4b00bc49f4732e6
The Public Health Threat Of Private Anger
One in 10 adults has a history of anger problems and access to a gun.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/anger-gun-violence_us_5a8b18f5e4b05c2bcace143f
Clarence Thomas Sexually Harassed Me. Yes, He Should Be Impeached.
By Angela Wright-Shannon
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-wright-shannon-clarence-thomas_us_5a8b4b2ae4b0a1d0e12c3095
New Leader Of UK Far-Right Party Spouts Islamophobic Rhetoric
Gerard Batten defended his belief that Islam “glorifies death.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-leader-of-uk-far-right-party-is-already-spouting-islamophobic-rhetoric_us_5a8b1775e4b00bc49f47493b
Polish Leader Faces Backlash After Suggesting Jews Shared Holocaust Blame
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is now trying to make it clear he’s not a Holocaust revisionist.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/polish-prime-minister-faces-backlash-after-suggesting-jews-shared-blame-for-holocaust_us_5a8ade67e4b004fc3194d023
U.S. Officials Tell World Leaders To Ignore Trump’s Tweets
Americans tried to calm rattled leaders at an international conference in Munich.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/world-leaders-ignore-trump-tweets_us_5a8a604ee4b004fc31939e98
Trump Spent His Sunday Night Watching ‘60 Minutes’ And Hate-Tweeting About Oprah
The president dared Winfrey to run against him in 2020.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-oprah-60-minutes_us_5a8a5ca2e4b05c2bcacc5636
The Real Threat To Campuses Isn’t ‘PC Culture.’ It’s Racism.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-cottom-campus-racism_us_5a8afb80e4b00bc49f471b41
Black Hockey Player Taunted With Racist Chant In Chicago
“It’s sad that in 2018 we’re still talking about the same thing,” said Washington Capitals hockey player Devante Smith-Pelly.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-canadian-hockey-player-taunted-with-racist-chant-in-chicago_us_5a8af0b6e4b05c2bcacdbe93
Why The Nation’s Premier Health Care Wonk Has Given Up On Congress
Andy Slavitt isn’t afraid of all politics — just the current politics in Washington, D.C.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/andy-slavitt-united-states-of-care-interview-congress-states_us_5a8744c3e4b00bc49f43edcd
Scott Pruitt Cancels Israel Trip Amid Backlash Over Travel Expenses
The EPA head’s habit of flying business or first class sparked outrage from some government ethics groups last week.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-pruitt-cancels-israel-trip_us_5a8ae5f8e4b004fc3194e579
John Oliver Defends U.S. To The World: ‘Trump Does Not Reflect America’ ( https://youtu.be/QCjk_NPsIqU , included in the post to which this is a reply)
“The point is America is not one thing. It’s a beautiful mess of contradictions where good and bad are mixed together.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-oliver-america_us_5a8a88bee4b05c2bcacc8b88
John Oliver: ‘Yes, It F**king Is’ Time To Talk About Gun Control
“Last Week Tonight” host says kids are now leading the way on this debate.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-oliver-florida-shooting_us_5a8a5876e4b00bc49f458a41
Farting Passenger Forces Plane To Make Emergency Landing
A fight broke out because the unnamed man couldn’t stop passing gas.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/transavia-airlines-farting-passenger_us_5a8af930e4b05c2bcacddc9b
A former Russian troll speaks: ‘It was like being in Orwell’s world’
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/17/a-former-russian-troll-speaks-it-was-like-being-in-orwells-world/
more: https://www.google.com/search?q=a+former+russian+troll+speaks
The Agency
From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia,
an army of well-paid “trolls” has tried to wreak havoc all
around the Internet — and in real-life American communities.
By ADRIAN CHEN
JUNE 2, 2015
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html
Podcast
Longform Podcast #171: Adrian Chen
December 9, 2015
https://longform.org/posts/longform-podcast-171-adrian-chen
more:
https://www.google.com/search?q=the+agency+chen
https://www.google.com/search?q=the+agency+chen+podcast
For the weary White House, Florida shooting offered a ‘reprieve’ from scandals
The White House was under siege.
Domestic abuse allegations against a senior aide were ignored, pointing to a potential high-level coverup. Two Cabinet secretaries were caught charging taxpayers for luxury travel. A Playboy centerfold alleged an extramarital affair with the president. And the special counsel’s Russia investigation was intensifying. The tumult was so intense that there was fervent speculation that President Trump might fire his chief of staff.
But a gun massacre at a Florida high school last Wednesday, which left 17 dead, seemed to shift the media glare away from the Trump scandals and gave embattled aides an opportunity to refocus on handling a crisis not of their own making. While the White House mourned the loss of life in Parkland, Fla., some aides privately acknowledged that the tragedy offered a breather from the political storm.
A tentative plan for White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly to address the news media from the briefing room Wednesday — where he would have faced intense scrutiny over his role in the mishandling of the domestic abuse allegations against former staff secretary Rob Porter — was scuttled.
One White House official said the shooting forced the White House to focus on critical and serious issues — like consoling the victims and trying to heal the nation — rather than getting bogged down in what they view as more trivial West Wing drama.
“For everyone, it was a distraction or a reprieve,” said the White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reflect internal conversations. “A lot of people here felt like it was a reprieve from seven or eight days of just getting pummeled.”
The official likened the brief political calm to the aftermath of the October shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 dead and hundreds more injured. That tragedy united White House aides and the country in their shared mourning for the victims and their families.
“But as we all know, sadly, when the coverage dies down a little bit, we’ll be back through the chaos,” the official said.
In the few instances in which officials answered questions, the focus was mostly on the shooting in Florida. In two appearances Friday on Fox News Channel, deputy press secretary Raj Shah was not asked about Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin charging taxpayers for his wife’s lavish travel — a controversy that in a normal media environment might have prompted questions about whether the president would fire Shulkin.
“From an awful, cynical, purely political point of view, the tragic events in Florida probably helped the White House this week by distracting from the awful wave of scandal and bad news they have faced,” said Michael Steel, a Republican strategist.
The three-day Presidents’ Day weekend added to the hiatus, with Trump traveling to his private Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., with only a few aides and giving others on his beleaguered staff a chance to rest and recuperate.
Among those accompanying the president was Kelly, who earlier in the week appeared in serious jeopardy of losing his job. The chief of staff had lost the support of some senior aides, and last Tuesday evening rumors were rampant that his days — or even hours — were numbered because Trump had been sounding out friends and advisers about possible replacements.
Wednesday’s shooting, however, effectively stabilized Kelly’s standing internally, officials said, shifting the media glare away from him and giving the retired four-star Marine general a chance to perform his job in helping to coordinate the federal response. Although Trump remains frustrated and at times angry with his chief of staff, Kelly’s presence on the weekend trip to Mar-a-Lago was interpreted as an indication that he was on firmer ground with his boss.
But Friday’s indictments by the Justice Department’s special counsel of 13 Russians for interference in the 2016 presidential election — as well as Trump’s furious and defiant cascade of Twitter responses over the weekend — offered an early glimpse of the mayhem that likely awaits the administration when it returns to work Tuesday.
The Russia matter — a tender spot for the president that often prompts him to behave erratically — adds to the growing list of crises the White House expects to be forced to address this week in Washington.
Although staff members have not had to fully grapple with the Porter saga or other controversies in recent days, aides said privately that they have been working behind the scenes to square their accounts and strategize for when the issues resurface in the media.
For instance, Kelly released a five-page memo Friday outlining changes to the security clearance process — a move to silence scrutiny about a process aides acknowledged had grown out of control, but one that raised another perceived problem, that of senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner’s temporary clearance.
“The national tragedy in Florida has really, for now, turned the page on some of these crises,” said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist close to the White House. “They’re going to come back, but what it does do is give the White House a chance to collect itself and, if they can, organize a communications strategy and get their ducks in a row.”
In addition to the controversies, the White House will come under pressure this week to champion changes to the nation’s gun laws and to make progress on a stalled immigration deal that both parties believe could prove determinative in the midterm elections this fall.
And the scandals of last week are likely to reemerge. Kelly and White House Counsel Donald McGahn have yet to explain what they knew about the allegations against Porter, when they knew it and why they declined to act until a British paper, the Daily Mail, reported about them two weeks ago. The public accounts offered by the White House differed from sworn testimony by FBI Director Christopher A. Wray last week.
In addition, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), has launched its own inquiry into the White House’s handling of the Porter allegations.
The White House has said little publicly about the travel expenditures of two Cabinet secretaries — similar to the travel scandal that forced the resignation last year of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
The VA inspector general’s report last week about Shulkin’s travel charges that the secretary’s chief of staff doctored an email and made false statements to create a pretext for the government to pay for Shulkin’s wife’s expenses on a 10-day trip to Europe last summer. The report also found that Shulkin improperly accepted tickets to a Wimbledon tennis match and directed a government aide to act as a “personal travel concierge” to him and his wife.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, meanwhile, has drawn scrutiny and ethics questions about his pricey first-class travel, both domestically and internationally. Last week, Pruitt canceled an extensive tour of Israel amid the renewed negative attention surrounding his expensive trips.
There are still more distractions, including the now routine dishing about the West Wing by ousted senior aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman, whom Kelly dismissed at the end of last year and has since joined the cast of the reality television show “Celebrity Big Brother.”
There are also personal scandals brewing for the president. Last week, Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, spoke with the New Yorker about an alleged extramarital affair she says she had with Trump starting in 2006, a little over a year after his marriage to his third wife, Melania.
Separately, an attorney for Stephanie Clifford — the pornographic film star known as Stormy Daniels who has also alleged an extramarital affair with Trump starting in 2006 — said last week that Clifford is now free to tell her story. Clifford’s lawyer argued that Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, violated their nondisclosure agreement by publicly acknowledging that he personally paid her $130,000 not to share her account. Clifford has announced a national tour, with appearances from coast to coast between now and November.
Even as the president was sequestered this weekend between Trump-branded properties in his private South Florida paradise, the outside turmoil intruded. As Trump’s motorcade drove between Mar-a-Lago and the Trump International Golf Club on Sunday night, it passed the Ultra Gentleman’s Club. A sign outside advertised an event taking place April 13-14: “Stormy Daniels Making America Horny Again.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-the-weary-white-house-florida-shooting-offered-a-reprieve-from-scandals/2018/02/19/04293442-158a-11e8-92c9-376b4fe57ff7_story.html
more: https://www.google.com/search?q=for+the+weary+white+house
Land plants arose earlier than thought—and may have had a bigger impact on the evolution of animals
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/land-plants-arose-earlier-thought-and-may-have-had-bigger-impact-evolution-animals
Plants colonized the Earth 100 million years earlier than previously thought
https://phys.org/news/2018-02-colonized-earth-million-years-earlier.html
study http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/02/13/1719588115
Study: First Land Plants Appeared 500 Million Years Ago
According to a new study to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the first plants to colonize the Earth originated around 500 million years ago (Cambrian period) — 100 million years earlier than previously thought.
http://www.sci-news.com/biology/first-land-plants-05740.html
Plants may have colonized Earth's surface 100 MILLION years earlier than previously thought
Timetable of life was based on plant fossils, which are about 420million years old
New study used 'molecular clock' techniques to provide a more accurate record
Scientists now believe the first land plants appeared around 500mil years ago
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5410161/New-research-pushes-history-land-plants-100-million-years.html
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dOJDb-Mz2-A3XkMWhhO9A3U6InxsM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Human-Sheep Hybrids Could Grow Human Organs for Transplant and Even Cure Diabetes
http://www.newsweek.com/sheep-cells-organ-transplants-embryo-810865
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/d42k8S0CH-99keM0bEaGSNRJbvNQM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Google’s new AI algorithm predicts heart disease by looking at your eyes
Experts say it could provide a simpler way to predict cardiovascular risk
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/19/17027902/google-verily-ai-algorithm-eye-scan-heart-disease-cardiovascular-risk
study https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-018-0195-0
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dVkKPsH1urb4JIM8CLewtJ0MN3MSM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
'Loneliest tree' records human epoch - Anthropocene Epoch - tie https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=103634740 , https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=126348760 , https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=128708471
It’s been dubbed "the loneliest tree on the planet" because of its remote location, but the Sitka spruce might represent something quite profound about the age in which we live.
[...]
The spruce shouldn't really be on Campbell Island, which is some 600km from the southern tip of New Zealand. Its natural habitat is found at northern Pacific latitudes, but a single tree was placed on the subantarctic island around 1905, possibly as the start of an intended plantation.
The next nearest tree is on the Auckland Islands about 200km to the northwest.
Prof Turney and colleagues drilled a fine core into the spruce, which has wide, sharply delineated growth rings, and examined the wood's chemistry.
They found a big leap in the amount of carbon-14 in a part of a ring representing the latter half of 1965.
This peak in the radioactive form of the element is an unambiguous signature of the atmospheric nuclear tests that occurred post-war.
The radioisotope would have been incorporated into the tree as carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.
Co-author Mark Maslin, from University College London, UK, says the date comes just after the ban on atmospheric nuclear testing (1963), but describes that moment when the fallout from previous detonations had truly gone worldwide and even inveigled itself into the biosphere of the planet.
"If you want to represent the Anthropocene with the start of The Great Acceleration then this is the perfect record to define it. And what's really nice is that we planted a tree where it shouldn't be which has then given us this beautiful record of what we've done to the planet."
The international geological community is currently assessing how to update the "official" timeline of Earth history - the famous Chronostratigraphic Chart featured in all science textbooks.
The working group charged with leading the discussion recently concluded that the current epoch - the so-called Holocene, which has pertained for the last 11,700 years - could no longer constrain the immense changes taking place on Earth as a result of human activity.
The panel said the search should now be stepped up to find a suitable marker to define the onset of the proposed Anthropocene Epoch. Technically referred to as a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), the marker is more commonly called a golden spike.
[...]
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43113900
study https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-20970-5
PR https://phys.org/news/2018-02-loneliest-tree-world-age-planet.html
Humanity Officially Started Ruining The Planet In 1965 - Welcome To The Anthropocene Era
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bridaineparnell/2018/02/19/humanity-officially-started-ruining-the-planet-in-1965-welcome-to-the-anthropocene-era/
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dAnVcUoaa9Z0tIMC46sfd3B6SeTFM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
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https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139017855 and preceding (and any future following)
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Democracy Now! [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw / https://www.youtube.com/user/democracynow , https://www.youtube.com/user/democracynow/videos ]
In Florida, as funerals continue for the 17 people killed in at the Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, Florida, survivors of the school shooting have launched an unprecedented youth-led movement to demand gun control. At a rally on Saturday, survivors of the school shooting demanded politicians stop accepting money from the National Rifle Association. For more, we broadcast the full speech of Emma Gonzalez, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/19/watch_parkland_high_school_shooting_survivor [with embedded video, and transcript]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoby1ODY14w [with comments]
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Five Months After Maria, San Juan Mayor Decries “Disaster Capitalism” & Privatization in Puerto Rico
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Democracy Now!
As this week marks five months since Hurricane Maria battered the island of Puerto Rico, more than a quarter of the island remains without power, marking the longest blackout in U.S. history. While the official death toll is just 64, it is believed that more than 1,000 died since the storm struck the island on September 20. Puerto Rico’s governor has also announced plans to privatize the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, known as PREPA, which is the largest publicly owned power authority in the United States. For more, we speak to San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/19/five_months_after_maria_san_juan [with embedded video, and transcript]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtt3EX-orS8 [with comments]
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San Juan Mayor Calls for End to Puerto Rico’s Colonial Status Amid Slow Hurricane Maria Recovery
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Democracy Now!
Five months after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, swaths of the island still have no electricity, while food and water supplies have been slow to arrive. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, has been hit by a series of scandals, after it was revealed that only a fraction of the 30 million meals slated to be sent to the island after Hurricane Maria was actually delivered. FEMA approved a $156 million contract for a one-woman company to deliver the 30 million meals. But in the end, FEMA canceled the contract after she delivered only 50,000 meals, in what FEMA called a logistical nightmare. This came after FEMA gave more than $30 million in contracts to a newly created Florida company which failed to deliver a single tarp to Puerto Rico. For more, we speak with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/19/san_juan_mayor_calls_for_end [with embedded video, and transcript]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwTgGizrAxc [with comments]
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Watch: “Black Panther” Director Ryan Coogler in 2013 in One of His First TV Interviews
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Democracy Now!
The film “Black Panther” smashed box office records on its opening weekend, grossing more money than any other February debut. It was also the highest-grossing film ever by a black director, 31-year-old Ryan Coogler. It was also the fifth-highest-earning opening weekend of any film in U.S. history. The superhero flick, based on the Marvel comic, features a majority-black cast and has been called a “defining moment for Black America.”
In 2013, director Ryan Coogler gave one of his first TV interviews [ https://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/25/fruitvale_ryan_cooglers_debut_film_on (with embedded video (non-YouTube version of this YouTube), and transcript)] on Democracy Now! just after the premier of his debut film, “Fruitvale Station,” about the killing of Oscar Grant. He told Democracy Now!, “I’ve seen these kind of things happen before, instances of police brutality and instances of urban violence, and people riot and rally. … I felt that myself, as an artist and as a filmmaker, maybe I could do something that could help attack this issue at the root, you know, through my art, through my outlet. … I got into film to always make things that promote ideas of social change.”
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/19/watch_black_panther_director_ryan_coogler [title and text taken from; with the same embedded video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k88HlIeGywA [with comments]
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Full Show - Sheriff Mack: A REAL Constitutionalist For Congress - 02/19/2018
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Real News with David Knight [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC1L9FOMSaPgMyoLSnps47g , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC1L9FOMSaPgMyoLSnps47g/videos ]
Full Broadcast 19Feb18 Real News with David Knight
20 yrs ago, Sheriff Mack fought President Clinton & the Brady group all the way to the Supreme Court over the 2nd Amendment & the 10th Amendment — and WON. Now there’s a special election for Congress a week away. Mack joins David Knight to explain why he deserves your support.
47:05 High School students - useful idiots for establishment agenda
1:38:20 Russian indictments & uncomfortable questions for Democrats & Mueller
2:02:32 Opioid Addiction
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSfrMzJpr6E [with comments] [also at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pULoOyE7_qU (with comments); additional text taken from the included https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSWMcK7eSDA (with comments)]
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10 Things That Make an Atheist Tune Out
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Godless Cranium [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewUkuIHNuwuMNWMa96q9ZQ , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewUkuIHNuwuMNWMa96q9ZQ/videos ]
In my last video [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pee-fz49g_8 , included at/see also in particular (linked in) https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=138819059 and preceding and following (earlier this string)] I asked theists what atheist arguments or saying make them tune out.
Today I'm going to describe some of the things theists say that make me tune out.
If you're an atheist, please leave some of your conversation-ending examples in the comment section below. Hopefully, we can raise awareness about the sorts of things that don't lead to good conversations between atheists and theists.
Godless Engineer: https://www.youtube.com/user/godlessengineer
Sources:
Kingsman The Golden Circle Bar Scene
Published on Nov 26, 2017 by Max Chan [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGUYxqYbibWbec0ZJYAhQ2Q , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGUYxqYbibWbec0ZJYAhQ2Q/videos ]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAsxKO9VBns [with comments]
Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson in Sign Language ASL by Leiticia Pestova
Published on Jan 27, 2015 by LeiticiaPestova [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqi0OnnpgBQVuTClM-xCPmQ / https://www.youtube.com/user/LeiticiaPestova , https://www.youtube.com/user/LeiticiaPestova/videos ]
Athlete and model Leiticia Pestova signing Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson. Sign language/ASL, American Sign Language. Please Subscribe. Instagram @LeiticiaPestova. NEW ASL video every Wednesday! Send video requests to: LeiticiaPestova@gmail.com. Respect to all watching.
Creative Advisors:
https://www.facebook.com/MissKrystleLive
https://www.facebook.com/TonyMandarichCreatives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuWZ0miN2Yg [with comments]
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atheism-agnosticism/#DefiAthe
Snoring dog wakes up surprised
Published on Sep 24, 2016 by Erik Tärk [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC92oaOnMiPO__f5CUSmA3aw / https://www.youtube.com/user/erik170 , https://www.youtube.com/user/erik170/videos ]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDG_xtuUaGA [with comments]
Ray Comfort on the Banana, in context [HQ]
Published on Apr 5, 2014 by Ray Comfort [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNLVpnXcoYf_igCg-W_b7lA , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNLVpnXcoYf_igCg-W_b7lA/videos ]
This video is an upload of the well known 'Banana Man' and his theory about bananas. Other copies of this clip show only the banana-related segment, and do not include the context (specifically, the segment before on soda cans). On his blog, Ray Comfort claims that his claims have been taken out of context, and that this is an atheist ploy to make a monkey out of him.
Thus, this upload contains the segments before and after the banana segment, to provide context for his claims. This video is also of higher video and audio quality than other uploads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXLqDGL1FSg [with comments]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbJvJSDH9Ds [with comments]
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Full Show - Chris Rock Pushes Racial Division And Hopes More White Children Die - 02/19/2018
Published on Feb 19, 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 ]
Monday, Feb. 19th 2018: Just Like Hitler, Democrats Call For Gun Control - Not even a week after the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School comedian Chris Rock makes the joke that he wants a world where an equal number of white children are shot. We cover new developments in the Florida shooting as leftists call for gun confiscation despite officials ignoring all the warning signs of a potential shooting. Owen Shroyer and Alex Jones host today's worldwide broadcast. Gerald Celente joins to host the final hour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrNMbQW2arM [with comments] [also at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd_UgQrd8pQ (additional text adapted from; with comments); additional text also taken from the included https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu9huxtOMII (with comments)] [a must-watch]
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Freethought Matters: Black Freethinkers podcast host, Kimberly Veal
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by FFRF [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC28jWiP7HV6mBBW3C8AXuEg / https://www.youtube.com/user/FFRForg , https://www.youtube.com/user/FFRForg/videos ]
Kimberly Veal comes to us from Chicago and hosts the "Black Freethinkers" podcast. She is president of People of Color Beyond Faith.
The half-hour show is hosted by FFRF Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnrlZvrynmg [with comments]
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Full Show - Bombshell Evidence; Clinton Body Count Witness Steps Forward And Claims To Be Eyewitness To 30 Year Old Murders - 02/19/2018
Published on Feb 20, 2018 by War Room [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClsn7QZVdszxLlUs-GOG0Sg , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClsn7QZVdszxLlUs-GOG0Sg/videos ]
On today's War Room, Rob Dew fills in for Owen Shroyer to discuss the dangerous calls for gun control, and shines light on new evidence on the mysteries behind the growing Clinton body count.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmnu-0TE6A4 [with comments] [also, edited, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EB5BAJmV9g (with comments)]
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Revealed: Russian support for Bernie began during NH primary
The Beat with Ari Melber
2/19/18
Special Counsel Mueller's indictments reveal Russian support for both the Trump and Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign. While there is no equivalence between the two campaigns when it comes to Russia, this shocking footage raises questions about what Mueller alleges was an international criminal conspiracy to defraud U.S. Elections.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/revealed-russian-support-for-bernie-began-during-new-hampshire-primary-1165228611873 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q3sHCpJB7g [with comments]
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After Mueller indictment, Bernie aide says they didn’t know Russians were helping
The Beat with Ari Melber
2/19/18
Special Counsel Mueller’s latest indictments reveal Russian interference in the U.S. Presidential Election began as early as the 2016 New Hampshire primary. Bernie Sanders’s campaign digital director tells Ari Melber "it would have been impossible" for the campaign to know about attempted Russian interference.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/after-mueller-indictment-bernie-aide-says-they-didn-t-know-russians-were-helping-1165229635824 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cbhfwvh05A [with comments]
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Black Panther Star: Movie lets us reclaim a lost history
The Beat with Ari Melber
2/19/18
Black Panther star Winston Duke tells Ari Melber the brilliance of the Black Panther movie is that it engages in wider “timely” discussion, and is a gift for children to see there is "no limit to their potential”.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/black-panther-star-movie-lets-us-reclaim-a-lost-history-1165229123837
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Inside the Russian troll factory indicted by the DOJ
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
The “Internet Research Agency” is “some kind of factory that turned lying, telling untruths, into an industrial assembly line,” said someone who once worked there. “I immediately felt like a character in the book ‘1984’ by George Orwell,” they added to the Washington Post.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/inside-the-russian-troll-factory-indicted-by-the-doj-1165271619971
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Trump went to disco party after meeting shooting survivors
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
President Trump spent roughly 35 minutes at the hospital on Friday and then went to Mar-a-Lago where he attended a Studio 54-themed disco party.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/trump-went-to-disco-party-after-meeting-shooting-survivors-1165276227686
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"I just want to ask (Trump) why" - Parkland student
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
"I want to ask why a mentally ill 19-year-old was able to legally purchase a gun here in Florida and why he was able to come into my high school and shoot 17 people," says Parkland student Sarah Chadwick of her desire to talk to Trump about the shooting at her school last week.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-i-just-want-to-ask-trump-why-parkland-student-1165277251699 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrMi9pYiwXo [with comments]
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Guess who comes in last in new ranking of presidents?
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
It's Presidents Day, and President Trump has asked us to be reflective, so we looked into where he stacks up against our nation's best - and worst - presidents.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/guess-who-comes-in-last-in-new-ranking-of-presidents-1165284931700 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM8Qi-ZQV9o [with comments]
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New Pennsylvania map is good news for Democrats
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
The state supreme court's move to un-gerrymander the state could get Democrats one-sixths of the way to taking back the House.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/new-pennsylvania-map-is-good-news-for-democrats-1165286979549
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Michael Cohen, hush money, and Trump's alleged affairs
All In with Chris Hayes
2/19/18
The president's lawyer has played a big role in helping to ensure that the president's alleged encounters with a playboy model and adult actress didn't make headlines.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/michael-cohen-hush-money-and-trump-s-alleged-affairs-1165290563923
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New White House security rule could force Kushner, others out
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Rachel Maddow looks at how a new White House rule to remove people who haven't been granted permanent security clearance from White House jobs could snare Jared Kushner and many others.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/new-white-house-security-rule-could-force-kusher-many-others-out-1165337155728 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDJziycP3LQ [with comments]
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Mueller mention of new evidence suggests more Manafort charges
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Barbara McQuade, former U.S. attorney, talks with Rachel Maddow about why Robert Mueller would mention new evidence of a crime in Paul Manafort court papers without adding new charges that correspond to that evidence.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/mueller-mention-of-new-evidence-suggests-more-manafort-charges-1165347907555
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History offers reasons to respect the power of youth activism
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Rachel Maddow looks back at how the national voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 through the activism of young people in 1971.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/young-activists-wanted-to-lower-the-voting-age-and-made-it-happen-1165383747550
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Students react to gun massacre with swell of #NeverAgain activism
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Cameron Kasky, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, talks with Rachel Maddow about the impassioned gun safety activism he and his fellow students have engaged through the founding of the #NeverAgain movement and the upcoming March For Our Lives.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/students-react-to-gun-massacre-with-swell-of-neveragain-activism-1165352515867
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Russian foreign minister takes advantage of uncorrected Pence lie
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Rachel Maddow points out that while CIA Director Mike Pompeo corrected his misstatement about the impact of Russia on the 2016 election, Mike Pence has allowed his lie to linger and has now been cited as fact by the Russian foreign minister.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/russian-foreign-minister-takes-advantage-of-uncorrected-pence-lie-1165396547570
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White House briefing resumes Tuesday
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/19/18
Rachel Maddow alerts viewers that while the White House briefing in the Trump administration is usually not worth watching, Tuesday's will be the first one after a dense week of news the White House has yet to address.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/white-house-briefing-resumes-tuesday-1165395011727
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New revelations in book are fodder for Mueller probe
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
2/19/18
Chris Whipple's new version of "The Gatekeepers" reports the dramatic scenes of ex-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus racing to save Attorney General Jeff Sessions' job amid Trump's rage over Sessions' recusal from the Russia probe. Whipple joins Lawrence O'Donnell.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/new-revelations-in-book-are-fodder-for-mueller-probe-1165110339877
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Lawrence: Advisers held off Trump's golfing, but not his tweeting
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
2/19/18
Trump didn't play golf for two days, as his advisers thought it would look bad in the wake of the Parkland school shooting. But Lawrence O'Donnell says his advisers couldn't stop him from tweeting offensive, unpresidential statements about the FBI and Russia probe.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-advisers-held-off-trump-s-golfing-but-not-his-tweeting-1165336131994 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laWH55gSDGU [with comments]
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Florida students' message to Trump: Do something
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
2/19/18
Kevin Trejos and Adam Alhanti, both students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, join Lawrence O'Donnell to share their message to lawmakers and the President after 17 students and teachers were shot and killed at their on Valentine's Day.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/florida-students-message-to-trump-do-something-1165341251542 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-TLAdgzyug [with comments]
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Ex-Intel staffer: Trump indictment reaction 'all about himself'
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
2/19/18
Mieke Eoyang, ex-House Intel staffer, says Russians "couldn't pick a better candidate to back" than Trump, who is refusing to appropriately acknowledge the election interference laid out in Mueller's indictment. Jonathan Alter & Daniel Dale join Lawrence O'Donnell.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/ex-intel-staffer-trump-indictment-reaction-all-about-himself-1165338179896
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After Mueller indictments Trump fails to criticize Russia
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
2/20/18
Trump spent the weekend after Mueller indicted 13 Russians on Twitter attacking Obama, Congress, the FBI, Democrats - even Oprah - but never said anything bad about Moscow. Our panel reacts.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired February 19, 2018]
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/after-mueller-indictments-trump-fails-to-criticize-russia-1165375555642 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ETnPvH8Rr4 [with comments]
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Is fmr. Trump aide Rick Gates about to flip on Manafort?
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
2/20/18
The Los Angeles Times reports fmr. Trump campaign aide Rick Gates will plead guilty and would testify against fmr. Trump campaign boss Paul Manafort. Our panel reacts.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired February 19, 2018]
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/is-fmr-trump-aide-rick-gates-about-to-flip-on-manafort-1165375555976 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4SX4E1f-N0 [with comments]
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FBI insider: Russia hacks a '9/11 for information warfare'
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
2/20/18
In the days since the Mueller indictments, Trump's had nothing to say about Russia or Putin or protecting our nation from further attack. Fmr. FBI Special Agent Clint Watts and fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul react.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired February 19, 2018]
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/fbi-insider-russia-hacks-a-9-11-for-information-warfare-1165381699774
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GOP Asked People to Sign Presidents Day Cards for Trump
Published on Feb 21, 2018 by Mike Malloy [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpU4j-LN_aibXA1gONvWzxw / https://www.youtube.com/user/hschulein , https://www.youtube.com/user/hschulein/videos ]
Team Trump wants Americans to help make sure that President Trump has a “GREAT!” President’s Day — by urging people to send him an online card in an email blast that slams the “smug” media and “worn out politicians.”
“HAPPY PRESIDENTS’ DAY, PRESIDENT TRUMP!” the invitation, written in a mix of conventional language and all-caps for apparent emphasis, is titled.
“Under President Trump, a new American era is on the rise — thanks to YOU, the men and women who have stood by him through thick and thin,” it continues.
Full story: https://nypost.com/2018/02/19/trump-campaign-asks-backers-to-send-him-presidents-day-cards/
[originally aired February 19, 2018]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e_W_ARMrtQ [with comments]
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Building Bridges (Not Walls) in Mexico: The Daily Show
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by The Daily Show with Trevor Noah [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWhs_6x42TyRM4Wstoq8HA , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWhs_6x42TyRM4Wstoq8HA/videos ]
As the Trump administration begins building prototypes for the president's proposed border wall, Michael Kosta and Dulce Sloan learn about its impact on U.S.-Mexico relations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoRNZMRxx40 [with comments]
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A Presidents' Day Message from Jim Jefferies - The Jim Jefferies Show
Published on Feb 19, 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-R5q27n0ECbBQFQGcTDs205-C ]
Why should Jim bother to remember the names of all the U.S. presidents if they didn't bother to be more memorable?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJbYjg7Zmrg [with comments]
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Donald J. Trump's Guide to U.S. Presidents, Vol. 1
Published on Feb 18, 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 ]
Donald J. Trump reads his book chronicling some of America's former Presidents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNdd_MotqrI [with comments]
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Is the Hourglass running out for the Trifecta of Evil "TRUMP-BIBI-KUSHNER" ?
Published on Feb 19, 2018 by Bravo Von Muller [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4G1zEStJMqN3mnEONXA7Mw , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4G1zEStJMqN3mnEONXA7Mw/videos ]
Is the Hourglass running out for the Trifecta of Evil "TRUMP-BIBI-KUSHNER" ? Or is the Hourglass running out on the American Republic ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br3viWP1O9I [with comments]
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stashed February 19, 2018:
The Burden of Trump's National-Security Staff
Those toiling inside this administration are fooling themselves if they think they can somehow rise above the character and temperament of this president to shepherd this country through to a more normal time.
What a contrast.
I woke up on Sunday morning and first read the news accounts of National-Security Adviser H.R. McMaster’s cogent speech [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/mcmaster-says-evidence-of-russian-meddling-is-now-really-incontrovertible-as-he-woos-european-allies/2018/02/17/4a27f560-10e8-11e8-a68c-e9374188170e_story.html ] to the Munich Security Conference. I then read the president’s tweets. And some more tweets. And, just when I thought he was done, some more tweets.
As I have written before [ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/trump-foreign-policy/549671/ ], you have to give this administration some credit for having assembled some pretty good foreign policy talent. The Republican Party arguably didn’t have the deepest bench on foreign policy in 2017, having been out of the executive branch for eight years, and some of the best talent available to the administration after Trump was elected was ineligible for having signed one of the infamous Never Trump letters [ https://warontherocks.com/2016/03/open-letter-on-donald-trump-from-gop-national-security-leaders/ ] over the course of the 2016 campaign.
Nonetheless, I’ve been struck, in conversations with the men and women serving in the Department of Defense or on the National Security Council, by how good and earnest many of the people working for this president’s administration are. Some of them are true believers, but far more common are retired or active duty military or intelligence officers (like McMaster) dragooned into political service, or longtime Republican Hill staffers who kept their noses clean in 2016. These folks are, as one friend told me, just keeping their heads down and concentrating on what they can affect rather than the things—like the president’s tweets—that they cannot.
But here’s another thing that struck me, which has been noted by other people who speak often to those in this administration: how rarely people mention Trump’s name. You can have an hour-long conversation with someone serving in a national security billet in this administration, and they will tell you all about their problems and policies without ever mentioning the name of the president they are serving—unless I bring it up. It’s almost as if they are trying to serve this country in spite of their president rather than through him.
I take two things away from this experience: one, that all of us on the outside are little delusional, and two, that everyone serving on the inside is also delusional.
On the one hand, those of us on the outside of this administration are subjected to a never-ended torrent of reporting about this president: about his temperament, about his businesses, about his affairs, and about his family. And just in case he disappears for a few days, he tweets something outrageous just to remind us he’s here.
Most of what takes place in the U.S. government on a daily basis, though, doesn’t actually require the president. I served three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan under President Bush and then another three years in the Pentagon under President Obama and never met either man. Why would I need to? I was just a grunt and, later, a fonctionnaire executing the president’s policies, most of which did not require the direct intervention of the president. We should all remember, as our government and our nation becomes more and more inseparable in the public consciousness with the character and temperament of Donald Trump, that the government is bigger than even his outsize personality.
On the other hand, especially after this weekend, those toiling on the inside of this administration are fooling themselves if they think they can somehow rise above the character and temperament of this president to shepherd this country through to a more normal time.
Reading McMaster—either in Munich or in his national security strategy [ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf ]—is to read the words of a man laboring under the delusion he works for someone saner and more thoughtful than the current occupant of the White House. That delusion is unsustainable, in large part because the founders created a powerful executive in foreign policy, and successive generations have seen fit to increase the power of that executive. This, I would argue, is appropriate: in a time of war or in international negotiations, one voice needs to speak for the United States.
Today, that voice belongs to Donald Trump. As a result, Germany’s foreign minister sadly noted, “We are no longer sure whether we recognize our America.”
I’m not sure I do either. Growing up in the last decades of the Cold War, when our favorite movie as kids was, naturally enough, Red Dawn [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dawn ], I could not have imagined a day when our president—and his party, which both fears and enables him—would stand in the way of our country formulating a strategy to counter the threat Russia and disinformation campaigns present to our democracy. Since the threat affects every American who consumes content on the internet, and every state that administers elections, the president needs to be the one to formulate our response. His party must insist he does so—or be complicit in his inaction.
The president must lead [ http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2018/02/trump-has-never-asked-intelligence-chiefs-stop-russian-election-meddling-intelligence-chiefs-testify/145969/ ] in order for our country to take the necessary steps to counter Russian interference in our electoral process, but for the president to do that would be for the president to implicitly admit that his own election was affected to some degree by Russian meddling.
And, as this weekend demonstrated [ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/18/us/politics/trump-blames-obama-and-democrats-for-failing-to-stop-russian-meddling.html ], this president’s ego is too fragile for him to admit that.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/the-burden-of-trumps-national-security-staff/553691/
more: https://www.google.com/search?q=the+burden+of+trump%27s
Laughing? Not so much. Most Russians just wish the election-tampering story would go away
http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-russia-indictments-20180219-story.html
President Trump, I'm Russian and I'm Not Laughing
I fear the indictment of Russian internet trolls may lead to less freedom for both Americans and Russians.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-19/mueller-s-indictment-of-russian-trolls-may-backfire
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dJTsxhQ0Nw8XadMX9wiBtLvhIsrvM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Political scientists rank Trump last, Lincoln first in presidential greatness survey
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/politics/trump-lincoln-presidential-greatness-survey/index.html
Official Results of the 2018 Presidents & Executive Politics Presidential Greatness Survey
https://sps.boisestate.edu/politicalscience/files/2018/02/Greatness.pdf
Survey of Presidential Politics Experts Says Trump Is the Worst of All Time
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/survey-of-experts-says-trump-is-the-worst-president-ever.html
How Does Trump Stack Up Against the Best — and Worst — Presidents? - worst of the worst
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/19/opinion/how-does-trump-stack-up-against-the-best-and-worst-presidents.html
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/d5Pp6uGXpSdqycMhyhv3gykpm1CPM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Insecurity At the Munich Security Conference As Global Crises Grow More Contentious
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/02/19/587120571/insecurity-at-the-munich-security-conference-as-global-crises-grow-more-contenti
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dNZnY_xqNPIjLYMev6fx0CDURD0qM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Trump Jr. to give foreign policy speech while on ‘unofficial’ business trip to India
NEW DELHI — The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is making what has been dubbed an unofficial visit to India to promote his family’s real estate projects. But he’s also planning to deliver a foreign policy speech on Indo-Pacific relations at an event with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Beginning Tuesday, Trump Jr. will have a full schedule of meet-and-greets with investors and business leaders throughout India, where the Trump family has real estate projects — Mumbai, the New Delhi suburb of Gurgaon, the western city of Pune and the eastern city of Kolkata.
Indian newspapers have been running full-page, glossy advertisements hyping his arrival and the latest Trump Tower project under the headline: “Trump is here — Are You Invited?” The ads also solicited home buyers to plunk down a booking fee (about $38,000) to “join Mr. Donald Trump Jr. for a conversation and dinner.” Public relations executives working with two local developers arranging the Trump dinner declined to give specifics about the event.
[...]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/trump-jr-to-give-foreign-policy-speech-while-on-unofficial-business-trip-to-india/2018/02/19/37d00c37-d9e8-40c4-934b-0a26b8160dcd_story.html
President or Luxury Towers: Either Way, Trump Is the Rage in India
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/17/world/trump-tower-india.html
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dsVCefWKtzmWD5MB1msmC9iYozmLM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Exclusive: Mueller's interest in Kushner grows to include foreign financing efforts
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/politics/mueller-investigation-kushner-foreign-financing-efforts/index.html
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dlLf_OTgr2bKKFMmPnL_xGw8B-yqM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Texas Republicans getting almost 90 percent of money flowing into state elections
Donors pumped a total of $67 million into state-level campaigns from the beginning of 2017 through Jan. 25, and a whopping $57 million of it, or about 86 percent, went to GOP candidates, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. Gov. Greg Abbott got nearly a third of all the political money raised since the start of last year.
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/02/19/texas-republicans-getting-almost-90-percent-money-flowing-state-electi/
Impeachment or Bust
What if ‘Resist!’ makes it harder for Democrats to take back the House?
https://www.wsj.com/articles/impeachment-or-bust-1519070042
The Lone Star Long Shot Who Wants to Topple Ted Cruz - Representative Beto O'Rourke
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/us/politics/ted-cruz-beto-orourke-election.html
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dSGeIcJXCKrZ_YMFCT5pOy-I0UieM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Issues New Congressional Map To Replace Gerrymandered One
Republicans have enjoyed a considerable advantage under the earlier map, which was in place for three congressional elections.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pennsylvania-new-map_us_5a8b2cb6e4b0a1d0e12c1287
This Supreme Court Case Is The Biggest Threat To Organized Labor In Years
It could cost unions millions of members — but also force them to adapt and innovate.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/janus-unions-supreme-court-case_us_5a873b4de4b00bc49f43decd
High School Students Lead Protest Against Gun Violence In Front Of White House
Several student-led demonstrations also erupted across Florida on Presidents Day.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/white-house-gun-law-protest_us_5a8b0642e4b05c2bcacdfb39
Young Women Have Always Been Our Nation’s Most Powerful Force For Change
Emma Gonzalez and her peers are creating the history today we’ll read about tomorrow.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-girls-guide-to-joining-the-resistance-excerpt_us_5a8af45be4b004fc31950fd1
Slain Teacher Told His Fiancee What To Say If He Died In A School Shooting
Scott Beigel, who was shot protecting students in the massacre, didn’t want to be called a hero.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-beigel-spoke-of-possible-death_us_5a8ae016e4b004fc3194d440
Florida School Shooting Suspect Obtained 10 Rifles In Roughly The Past Year
The store that sold him the AR-15 has been closed indefinitely.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/florida-shooting-suspect-10-rifles_us_5a8b43cae4b0117adf710156
I Have Written The Same Story On Mass Shootings A Dozen Times
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-jeltsen-shootings-domestic-violence_us_5a8b06c0e4b00bc49f4732e6
The Public Health Threat Of Private Anger
One in 10 adults has a history of anger problems and access to a gun.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/anger-gun-violence_us_5a8b18f5e4b05c2bcace143f
Clarence Thomas Sexually Harassed Me. Yes, He Should Be Impeached.
By Angela Wright-Shannon
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-wright-shannon-clarence-thomas_us_5a8b4b2ae4b0a1d0e12c3095
New Leader Of UK Far-Right Party Spouts Islamophobic Rhetoric
Gerard Batten defended his belief that Islam “glorifies death.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-leader-of-uk-far-right-party-is-already-spouting-islamophobic-rhetoric_us_5a8b1775e4b00bc49f47493b
Polish Leader Faces Backlash After Suggesting Jews Shared Holocaust Blame
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is now trying to make it clear he’s not a Holocaust revisionist.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/polish-prime-minister-faces-backlash-after-suggesting-jews-shared-blame-for-holocaust_us_5a8ade67e4b004fc3194d023
U.S. Officials Tell World Leaders To Ignore Trump’s Tweets
Americans tried to calm rattled leaders at an international conference in Munich.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/world-leaders-ignore-trump-tweets_us_5a8a604ee4b004fc31939e98
Trump Spent His Sunday Night Watching ‘60 Minutes’ And Hate-Tweeting About Oprah
The president dared Winfrey to run against him in 2020.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-oprah-60-minutes_us_5a8a5ca2e4b05c2bcacc5636
The Real Threat To Campuses Isn’t ‘PC Culture.’ It’s Racism.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-cottom-campus-racism_us_5a8afb80e4b00bc49f471b41
Black Hockey Player Taunted With Racist Chant In Chicago
“It’s sad that in 2018 we’re still talking about the same thing,” said Washington Capitals hockey player Devante Smith-Pelly.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-canadian-hockey-player-taunted-with-racist-chant-in-chicago_us_5a8af0b6e4b05c2bcacdbe93
Why The Nation’s Premier Health Care Wonk Has Given Up On Congress
Andy Slavitt isn’t afraid of all politics — just the current politics in Washington, D.C.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/andy-slavitt-united-states-of-care-interview-congress-states_us_5a8744c3e4b00bc49f43edcd
Scott Pruitt Cancels Israel Trip Amid Backlash Over Travel Expenses
The EPA head’s habit of flying business or first class sparked outrage from some government ethics groups last week.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-pruitt-cancels-israel-trip_us_5a8ae5f8e4b004fc3194e579
John Oliver Defends U.S. To The World: ‘Trump Does Not Reflect America’ ( https://youtu.be/QCjk_NPsIqU , included in the post to which this is a reply)
“The point is America is not one thing. It’s a beautiful mess of contradictions where good and bad are mixed together.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-oliver-america_us_5a8a88bee4b05c2bcacc8b88
John Oliver: ‘Yes, It F**king Is’ Time To Talk About Gun Control
(unofficial upload https://youtu.be/giN_vioeg6g , still there for the time being anyway)
“Last Week Tonight” host says kids are now leading the way on this debate.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-oliver-florida-shooting_us_5a8a5876e4b00bc49f458a41
Farting Passenger Forces Plane To Make Emergency Landing
A fight broke out because the unnamed man couldn’t stop passing gas.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/transavia-airlines-farting-passenger_us_5a8af930e4b05c2bcacddc9b
A former Russian troll speaks: ‘It was like being in Orwell’s world’
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/17/a-former-russian-troll-speaks-it-was-like-being-in-orwells-world/
more: https://www.google.com/search?q=a+former+russian+troll+speaks
The Agency
From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia,
an army of well-paid “trolls” has tried to wreak havoc all
around the Internet — and in real-life American communities.
By ADRIAN CHEN
JUNE 2, 2015
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html
Podcast
Longform Podcast #171: Adrian Chen
December 9, 2015
https://longform.org/posts/longform-podcast-171-adrian-chen
more:
https://www.google.com/search?q=the+agency+chen
https://www.google.com/search?q=the+agency+chen+podcast
For the weary White House, Florida shooting offered a ‘reprieve’ from scandals
The White House was under siege.
Domestic abuse allegations against a senior aide were ignored, pointing to a potential high-level coverup. Two Cabinet secretaries were caught charging taxpayers for luxury travel. A Playboy centerfold alleged an extramarital affair with the president. And the special counsel’s Russia investigation was intensifying. The tumult was so intense that there was fervent speculation that President Trump might fire his chief of staff.
But a gun massacre at a Florida high school last Wednesday, which left 17 dead, seemed to shift the media glare away from the Trump scandals and gave embattled aides an opportunity to refocus on handling a crisis not of their own making. While the White House mourned the loss of life in Parkland, Fla., some aides privately acknowledged that the tragedy offered a breather from the political storm.
A tentative plan for White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly to address the news media from the briefing room Wednesday — where he would have faced intense scrutiny over his role in the mishandling of the domestic abuse allegations against former staff secretary Rob Porter — was scuttled.
One White House official said the shooting forced the White House to focus on critical and serious issues — like consoling the victims and trying to heal the nation — rather than getting bogged down in what they view as more trivial West Wing drama.
“For everyone, it was a distraction or a reprieve,” said the White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reflect internal conversations. “A lot of people here felt like it was a reprieve from seven or eight days of just getting pummeled.”
The official likened the brief political calm to the aftermath of the October shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 dead and hundreds more injured. That tragedy united White House aides and the country in their shared mourning for the victims and their families.
“But as we all know, sadly, when the coverage dies down a little bit, we’ll be back through the chaos,” the official said.
In the few instances in which officials answered questions, the focus was mostly on the shooting in Florida. In two appearances Friday on Fox News Channel, deputy press secretary Raj Shah was not asked about Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin charging taxpayers for his wife’s lavish travel — a controversy that in a normal media environment might have prompted questions about whether the president would fire Shulkin.
“From an awful, cynical, purely political point of view, the tragic events in Florida probably helped the White House this week by distracting from the awful wave of scandal and bad news they have faced,” said Michael Steel, a Republican strategist.
The three-day Presidents’ Day weekend added to the hiatus, with Trump traveling to his private Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., with only a few aides and giving others on his beleaguered staff a chance to rest and recuperate.
Among those accompanying the president was Kelly, who earlier in the week appeared in serious jeopardy of losing his job. The chief of staff had lost the support of some senior aides, and last Tuesday evening rumors were rampant that his days — or even hours — were numbered because Trump had been sounding out friends and advisers about possible replacements.
Wednesday’s shooting, however, effectively stabilized Kelly’s standing internally, officials said, shifting the media glare away from him and giving the retired four-star Marine general a chance to perform his job in helping to coordinate the federal response. Although Trump remains frustrated and at times angry with his chief of staff, Kelly’s presence on the weekend trip to Mar-a-Lago was interpreted as an indication that he was on firmer ground with his boss.
But Friday’s indictments by the Justice Department’s special counsel of 13 Russians for interference in the 2016 presidential election — as well as Trump’s furious and defiant cascade of Twitter responses over the weekend — offered an early glimpse of the mayhem that likely awaits the administration when it returns to work Tuesday.
The Russia matter — a tender spot for the president that often prompts him to behave erratically — adds to the growing list of crises the White House expects to be forced to address this week in Washington.
Although staff members have not had to fully grapple with the Porter saga or other controversies in recent days, aides said privately that they have been working behind the scenes to square their accounts and strategize for when the issues resurface in the media.
For instance, Kelly released a five-page memo Friday outlining changes to the security clearance process — a move to silence scrutiny about a process aides acknowledged had grown out of control, but one that raised another perceived problem, that of senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner’s temporary clearance.
“The national tragedy in Florida has really, for now, turned the page on some of these crises,” said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist close to the White House. “They’re going to come back, but what it does do is give the White House a chance to collect itself and, if they can, organize a communications strategy and get their ducks in a row.”
In addition to the controversies, the White House will come under pressure this week to champion changes to the nation’s gun laws and to make progress on a stalled immigration deal that both parties believe could prove determinative in the midterm elections this fall.
And the scandals of last week are likely to reemerge. Kelly and White House Counsel Donald McGahn have yet to explain what they knew about the allegations against Porter, when they knew it and why they declined to act until a British paper, the Daily Mail, reported about them two weeks ago. The public accounts offered by the White House differed from sworn testimony by FBI Director Christopher A. Wray last week.
In addition, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), has launched its own inquiry into the White House’s handling of the Porter allegations.
The White House has said little publicly about the travel expenditures of two Cabinet secretaries — similar to the travel scandal that forced the resignation last year of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
The VA inspector general’s report last week about Shulkin’s travel charges that the secretary’s chief of staff doctored an email and made false statements to create a pretext for the government to pay for Shulkin’s wife’s expenses on a 10-day trip to Europe last summer. The report also found that Shulkin improperly accepted tickets to a Wimbledon tennis match and directed a government aide to act as a “personal travel concierge” to him and his wife.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, meanwhile, has drawn scrutiny and ethics questions about his pricey first-class travel, both domestically and internationally. Last week, Pruitt canceled an extensive tour of Israel amid the renewed negative attention surrounding his expensive trips.
There are still more distractions, including the now routine dishing about the West Wing by ousted senior aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman, whom Kelly dismissed at the end of last year and has since joined the cast of the reality television show “Celebrity Big Brother.”
There are also personal scandals brewing for the president. Last week, Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, spoke with the New Yorker about an alleged extramarital affair she says she had with Trump starting in 2006, a little over a year after his marriage to his third wife, Melania.
Separately, an attorney for Stephanie Clifford — the pornographic film star known as Stormy Daniels who has also alleged an extramarital affair with Trump starting in 2006 — said last week that Clifford is now free to tell her story. Clifford’s lawyer argued that Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, violated their nondisclosure agreement by publicly acknowledging that he personally paid her $130,000 not to share her account. Clifford has announced a national tour, with appearances from coast to coast between now and November.
Even as the president was sequestered this weekend between Trump-branded properties in his private South Florida paradise, the outside turmoil intruded. As Trump’s motorcade drove between Mar-a-Lago and the Trump International Golf Club on Sunday night, it passed the Ultra Gentleman’s Club. A sign outside advertised an event taking place April 13-14: “Stormy Daniels Making America Horny Again.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-the-weary-white-house-florida-shooting-offered-a-reprieve-from-scandals/2018/02/19/04293442-158a-11e8-92c9-376b4fe57ff7_story.html
more: https://www.google.com/search?q=for+the+weary+white+house
Land plants arose earlier than thought—and may have had a bigger impact on the evolution of animals
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/land-plants-arose-earlier-thought-and-may-have-had-bigger-impact-evolution-animals
Plants colonized the Earth 100 million years earlier than previously thought
https://phys.org/news/2018-02-colonized-earth-million-years-earlier.html
study http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/02/13/1719588115
Study: First Land Plants Appeared 500 Million Years Ago
According to a new study to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the first plants to colonize the Earth originated around 500 million years ago (Cambrian period) — 100 million years earlier than previously thought.
http://www.sci-news.com/biology/first-land-plants-05740.html
Plants may have colonized Earth's surface 100 MILLION years earlier than previously thought
Timetable of life was based on plant fossils, which are about 420million years old
New study used 'molecular clock' techniques to provide a more accurate record
Scientists now believe the first land plants appeared around 500mil years ago
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5410161/New-research-pushes-history-land-plants-100-million-years.html
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dOJDb-Mz2-A3XkMWhhO9A3U6InxsM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Human-Sheep Hybrids Could Grow Human Organs for Transplant and Even Cure Diabetes
http://www.newsweek.com/sheep-cells-organ-transplants-embryo-810865
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/d42k8S0CH-99keM0bEaGSNRJbvNQM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
Google’s new AI algorithm predicts heart disease by looking at your eyes
Experts say it could provide a simpler way to predict cardiovascular risk
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/19/17027902/google-verily-ai-algorithm-eye-scan-heart-disease-cardiovascular-risk
study https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-018-0195-0
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dVkKPsH1urb4JIM8CLewtJ0MN3MSM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
'Loneliest tree' records human epoch - Anthropocene Epoch - tie https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=103634740 , https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=126348760 , https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=128708471
It’s been dubbed "the loneliest tree on the planet" because of its remote location, but the Sitka spruce might represent something quite profound about the age in which we live.
[...]
The spruce shouldn't really be on Campbell Island, which is some 600km from the southern tip of New Zealand. Its natural habitat is found at northern Pacific latitudes, but a single tree was placed on the subantarctic island around 1905, possibly as the start of an intended plantation.
The next nearest tree is on the Auckland Islands about 200km to the northwest.
Prof Turney and colleagues drilled a fine core into the spruce, which has wide, sharply delineated growth rings, and examined the wood's chemistry.
They found a big leap in the amount of carbon-14 in a part of a ring representing the latter half of 1965.
This peak in the radioactive form of the element is an unambiguous signature of the atmospheric nuclear tests that occurred post-war.
The radioisotope would have been incorporated into the tree as carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.
Co-author Mark Maslin, from University College London, UK, says the date comes just after the ban on atmospheric nuclear testing (1963), but describes that moment when the fallout from previous detonations had truly gone worldwide and even inveigled itself into the biosphere of the planet.
"If you want to represent the Anthropocene with the start of The Great Acceleration then this is the perfect record to define it. And what's really nice is that we planted a tree where it shouldn't be which has then given us this beautiful record of what we've done to the planet."
The international geological community is currently assessing how to update the "official" timeline of Earth history - the famous Chronostratigraphic Chart featured in all science textbooks.
The working group charged with leading the discussion recently concluded that the current epoch - the so-called Holocene, which has pertained for the last 11,700 years - could no longer constrain the immense changes taking place on Earth as a result of human activity.
The panel said the search should now be stepped up to find a suitable marker to define the onset of the proposed Anthropocene Epoch. Technically referred to as a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), the marker is more commonly called a golden spike.
[...]
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43113900
study https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-20970-5
PR https://phys.org/news/2018-02-loneliest-tree-world-age-planet.html
Humanity Officially Started Ruining The Planet In 1965 - Welcome To The Anthropocene Era
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bridaineparnell/2018/02/19/humanity-officially-started-ruining-the-planet-in-1965-welcome-to-the-anthropocene-era/
more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dAnVcUoaa9Z0tIMC46sfd3B6SeTFM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
--
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https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139014796 (and any future following)
elsewhere this string, https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139015446 and preceding and (future) following
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139016201 and preceding and following,
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139016506 and preceding and following
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139017001 and preceding (and any future following)
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139017855 and preceding (and any future following)
Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
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