July 7, 2017

Massive protests prevent Melania Trump from participating in events with G20 spouses

Massive protests prevent Melania Trump from participating in events with G20 spouses



http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/massive-protests-prevent-melania-trump-from-participating-in-events-with-g20-spouses/

Plans for Melania Trump to participate in events with fellow spouses of G20 leaders have been scrapped due to massive protests rocking the G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany.

On CNN Friday morning, reporter Sara Murray explained that Hamburg Police did not clear the first lady to participate in planned events with G20 spouses over security concerns.

Murray noted that while in Hamburg, she has heard “sirens across the city” and “a number of loud bangs,” which indicates that protests have continued to remain strong even on the second day of the G20 meeting.

Melania Trump’s spokesperson confirmed that the first lady will not be attending events on Friday, and called the situation “unfortunate.”

July 7, 2017

Putin's "Take Your Puppet To Work Day" STILL includes time for Trump to whine about the election

Donald J. Trump?Verified account
@realDonaldTrump

Everyone here is talking about why John Podesta refused to give the DNC server to the FBI and the CIA. Disgraceful!

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/883229270943911936

July 7, 2017

Once again, Andy Borowitz goes for the ridiculous with something that could actually happen

The Onion's Joe Biden stories, most of the time, were hilarious...because even though a "shirtless Joe Biden" never washed his "'Zam" in the White House driveway, never sold bootlegged Hillary "merch," the most ridiculous scenarios captured the badass behind the Biden grin, and Joe himself loved them. He wasn't a joke, he was the biggest part of the joke, a larger-than-life figure who really could pull that off, if he wanted to.





But what do you do when you're Andy Borowitz and you tackle a supremely unlikable, lacking in charm, "connected" Republican who walked into a Cabinet position solely on the merits of the money her family donated? An individual who is so opposed to the things she's supposed to be fighting for that her only success will be to meet, or exceed, Bannon's desire to see government destroyed from the inside? An individual whose sense of humor is probably bribing the waiter to "forget" the toast points for that nearby table that just ordered caviar?

I guess you come up with this:

Betsy DeVos Heads to North Korea to Reverse Its Progress in Math and Science

By Andy Borowitz
July 6, 2017

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/betsy-devos-heads-to-north-korea-to-reverse-its-progress-in-math-and-science

Aim higher, Andy, or pick a different subject.

July 7, 2017

Republican consultant: Trump "going to the home office for his quarterly review" with Putin

WASHINGTON – If President Donald Trump wants to make a good first impression with Russian leader Vladimir Putin when they meet Friday, two words he might consider starting with are “thank” and “you.”

Without Putin’s decision to interfere in last year’s presidential campaign on Trump’s behalf, there’s a good possibility he would not have won, given how few votes swung the outcome in the three critical Rust Belt states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Rick Wilson, a Republican political consultant and frequent Trump critic, said the Russian assistance likely swayed 2-to-3 percentage points in those states that proved crucial to the election’s outcome.

“It certainly kept the national Republican base in Trump’s camp,” Wilson said. “Yeah, he should say thank you to Putin. I think this is Donald Trump going to the home office for his quarterly review.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-putin-meeting_us_595ea4dbe4b02e9bdb0b8478?25&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

July 6, 2017

WHAT did we learn today? For starters, Paul Ryan is terrified of women's shoulders and toes.

Women are no longer allowed to wear sleeveless attire in Paul Ryan’s House of Reps



The new dress code appears to first have been enforced in May, when, according to the report, Independent Journal Review‘s Haley Byrd was kicked out of the lobby due to violating the rule.

“When I was kicked out that day, I was just trying to pass through the area to reach another hallway, but I was told I was violating the rules. They offered to find a sweater for me to put on, so it wasn’t some tyrannical end of free press, but I opted to just go around instead. But recently they’ve been cracking down on the code, like with open-toed shoes,” she told CBS News. “I suspect the rules are being emphasized now that it’s summertime and excruciatingly hot outside and everyone is dressing for the weather.”

The CBS report details the experiences of another young reporter who was told she couldn’t enter the lobby because of her dress. She improvised by tearing pages from her notebook to create “sleeves” — but was still turned away.

The speaker’s lobby is one of the prime places to conduct quick interviews during breaks, and as the report noted, men are expected to adhere to a suit-and-tie dress code too. Women, on the other hand, apparently cannot wear shoulder-baring blouses or dresses, or open-toed shoes.

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/women-are-no-longer-allowed-to-wear-sleeveless-attire-in-paul-ryans-house-of-reps/

July 6, 2017

Ex-spies say Putin will eat Trump and his "massive, delicate ego" for lunch at G-20 meeting

Ex-spies say Putin will eat Trump and his ‘massive, delicate ego’ for lunch at G-20 meeting



http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/ex-spies-say-putin-will-eat-trump-and-his-massive-delicate-ego-for-lunch-at-g-20-meeting/

Spencer Ackerman of The Daily Beast spoke to a number of former agents who don’t hold out much hope for America’s thin-skinned “sociopathic narcissist” president against someone like Putin, who is known for his cunning, manipulative nature and his apparent ease at reading and besting opponents.

And Putin’s biggest ally in getting the measure of the U.S. president, Ackerman said, will be “Trump’s massive, delicate ego.”

Putin is certainly expected to flatter Trump. He is known for being charming and disarmingly friendly in one-on-one interactions, although once — knowing she was afraid of dogs — he brought a Labrador to a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in an effort to unnerve her and place her off-balance.

***

“(F)lattery is key to dealing with the ‘sociopathic narcissist’ tendencies one ex-CIA interrogator sees in Trump,” wrote Ackerman. “Putin is likely to stoke Trump’s ire, encourage him against his perceived enemies and validate his inclinations — particularly the ones that move U.S. policy in the directions Putin wants.”

July 6, 2017

Trump's "very friendly" pal offers to eat militants' livers, and even what cannot be swallowed

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte reacted to the discovery Wednesday of the bodies of two Vietnamese sailors who had been held hostage by saying he would eat alive the militants responsible.

The sailors were kidnapped along with four other crew members of a Vietnamese cargo ship in November 2016. Their remains were found off the Southern region of Mindanao by Philippine troops.

The country's military said Abu Sayyaf, the radical Islamist militant group that had previously attacked other sailors, including German Jurgen Kantner, is to blame.

"I will eat your liver if you want me to. Give me salt and vinegar and I will eat it in front of you," Duterte told local officials late Wednesday, holding up a mobile phone with pictures of the deceased Vietnamese soldiers.

"I eat everything. I am not picky. I eat even what cannot be swallowed."

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/duterte-threatens-to-eat-alive-abu-sayyaf-militants/

July 6, 2017

JOBS! JOBS! JOBS! Except at Microsoft, where they are cutting thousands of them. Stop winning!

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) plans to cut "thousands" of jobs, with a majority of them outside the United States, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Reuters reported on Monday that Microsoft would undergo a reorganization that would impact its sales and marketing teams as the company doubles down on its fast-growing cloud business.

Microsoft's shares were down 0.7 percent at $68.63 on Thursday.

The Redmond, Washington-based company employed about 120,000 people globally as of March 31, with sales and marketing teams accounting for about 19 percent of the workforce, according to the company's website. (bit.ly/2tgetOg)

Microsoft has notified some employees about the reductions, the source said. However, in some geographies, the company plans to notify employees that their jobs are under consideration, the source added.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-layoffs-idUSKBN19R2IO

July 6, 2017

Trump: "I think it was Russia, but nobody really knows for sure."

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/882888001109360640

NBC News?Verified account
@NBCNews

.@HallieJackson: “You THINK it was Russia, your intelligence agencies say it WAS Russia, why won’t you say it was?”

July 6, 2017

Trump "calls out Russia" at Poland address, fails to say "stay the F*CK out of our elections"