June 13, 2018

John Kelly refuses Trump order to promote Giuliani's son to special asst to the president

How swampy is this swampy White house? Giuliani's son works in the White House?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5840877/Rudy-Giulianis-son-loses-West-Wing-access-John-Kelly-refuses-Trumps-order-promote-him.html

June 13, 2018

Longtime Scott Pruitt ally Sen. James Inhofe says it may be time for EPA chief to 'leave that job

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-pruitt-inhofe-20180613-story.html

In an interview with conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham, who expressed exasperation with Pruitt’s incessant ethics scandals — which range from building himself a $43,000 private telephone booth to using his position to land his wife a job with Chick-fil-A — Inhofe said it all needs to stop.

“Every day, something new comes up,” he said. “I have taken the position that if that doesn’t stop, I am going to … be in a position where I am going to be forced to say ‘Scott you are not doing your job.’ … I am sending over a communication today that says we have had enough of these things.”

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Inhofe pointed out that even if Pruitt were to depart, his legacy of rolling back environmental protections, climate denial and boosting the coal industry would endure, as he would be replaced by his deputy, Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist.

“That might be a good swap,” Inhofe said.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-pruitt-inhofe-20180613-story.html

June 13, 2018

Japanese govt lowering "age of adulthood" from 20 to 18. age that parental consent ends

Currently, young people aren't considered adults in Japan until they reach the age of 20, a policy set in 1876. For the first time since then, the government is changing the age of adulthood: Starting in 2022, it will be 18 years of age, thanks to a bill that will revise the country's civil code. As the BBC reports, the main changes will be that 18-year-olds will be able to get married without parental consent, obtain a passport that is valid for 10 years rather than five, and apply for credit cards and loans without parental consent.

Anyone diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder will also be allowed to apply for a legal gender change at 18. But 18 won't cut it when it comes to drinking alcohol, smoking, gambling, or adopting children; the legal age for those activities will remain 20. The Japan News explains the reasoning: "The amendment is intended to encourage more young people to get involved in society amid the aging of the country’s population." A potential consequence of the move: the kimono industry will likely suffer. The Japan Times explains why here.

http://www.newser.com/story/260600/the-age-of-adulthood-is-changing-in-japan.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_top

June 13, 2018

'What the hell?' Trump-Kim lovefest ignores human rights nightmare

'What the hell?' Trump-Kim lovefest ignores human rights nightmare
The president once raged at the North Korean leader as a 'madman' and a killer, but showed little concern for his brutal style during their meeting in Singapore.

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Some activists nevertheless argued that Trump could have used his interaction with Kim to win a broad gesture such as granting the United Nations access to his forced labor camps, and that if Kim agreed, it would have bolstered the credibility of his pledge to denuclearize. But Kim offered no hint that he is prepared to address the subject, and a joint statement he and Trump signed after their meeting made no mention of it.

Kim’s totalitarian regime may be the world’s cruelest, with practices reminiscent of the Nazis and the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin. The government, run by Kim’s father and grandfather before him, is believed to keep as many as 100,000 people — quite possibly more — in gulags and other detention sites, many in slave-like conditions. Defectors describe a terror state with zero tolerance for dissent, in which entire families are often punished for the actions of one member.

The young Kim — thought to be in his early- to mid- 30s — has ruled just as ruthlessly as his father, who died in 2011. He’s alleged to have consolidated power by having an uncle executed – reportedly by anti-aircraft guns — and ordering his half-brother’s murder with nerve agent in a Malaysian airport.

Few observers expected Trump to challenge Kim vigorously on human rights. The subject in general hasn’t been a priority for the Republican president.


https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/12/trump-north-korea-human-rights-642336

June 13, 2018

Kim remains a totalitarian monster who can't be trusted--and Trump remains a gullible mark

This was a very good day for the leader of North Korea

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So Kim went home from Singapore with a bevy of prizes: the legitimization of his regime as a world power worthy of peer treatment by an American president (who, afterward, suggested a possible future White House meeting); a suspension of military exercises on his border (which had been a tangible sign of the U.S.–South Korean military alliance, which Pyongyang has long wanted to disrupt); and the easing of once-firm demands on the pace and verification of disarmament.

Kim remains a totalitarian monster who can’t be trusted—and Trump remains a gullible mark.
Trump went home with a promise by Kim to recover dead soldiers’ remains, suspend operations at a missile-engine test site, and dismantle North Korea’s nuclear weapons sometime in the future.

Game and set to Kim.

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https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/the-summit-with-trump-couldnt-have-gone-better-for-kim-jong-un.html

June 13, 2018

long flight back from Singapore gave President Trump plenty of time to settle all scores

The long flight back from Singapore gave President Trump plenty of time to settle all scores, including with Robert De Niro.

President Trump lashes out at 'punch-drunk' Robert De Niro after actor's Tony Awards curse

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ny-ent-president-trump-robert-de-niro-tony-awards-20180612-story.html

“Robert De Niro, a very Low IQ individual, has received (too) many shots to the head by real boxers in movies. I watched him last night and truly believe he may be ‘punch-drunk,’” Trump tweeted around 5 p.m. Tuesday on his way back from his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“I guess he doesn’t realize the economy is the best it’s ever been with employment being at an all time high, and many companies pouring back into our country. Wake up Punchy!”

Just days after the election, De Niro said he wanted to “punch (Trump) in the face,” although the then-President-elect never acknowledged that comment.

June 12, 2018

"Road Rage" update women faked it! have history of faking injuries in vehicle accidents

He did punch out her window but didn't injure her

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210696986

Charges were dropped against a man accused of hurting two women in a horrific road-rage attack after Oregon prosecutors found too many holes in the victims’ stories — and that they had a history of apparently faking injuries in other vehicular incidents.

Jay Allen Barbeau, 49, was arrested June 1 after Megan Stackhouse, 34, and her fiancée, Lucinda Mann, 26, told officers in Bend that he attacked them after their Kia Soul cut him off in traffic. Stackhouse had claimed that she pulled over to let Barbeau pass them, but the imposing, 5-foot-8, 245-pound man instead smashed their rear window before breaking Stackhouse’s arm and knocking Mann unconscious.

But Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said most of the allegations could not be proved — and that Barbeau’s 11-day stint in jail and the “national ridicule he endured for the road-rage attack was a just punishment.

“I have no confidence in the credibility of Mann and Stackhouse,” Hummel said in a statement. “Mann’s claimed injuries in the Barbeau case were debunked by the medical records. While Stackhouse did suffer a broken bone in her wrist, there are competing claims as to how her injury occurred and based on her lack of credibility, I cannot stand by her version of events.”

Here’s what is clear, according to Hummel: Stackhouse, who was leaving a carnival with Mann, pulled her car in front of Barbeau’s in a “dangerous manner,” he said. Barbeau then started aggressively following Stackhouse for more than a mile, eventually exiting his car and punching Stackhouse’s rear window, shattering it, Hummel said.

Mann got out of her car and “quickly went to the ground,” according to Hummel’s statement.

“Mann said she was thrown to the ground by Barbeau and suffered serious injury,” Hummel said. “Medical records contradict her claim.”
https://nypost.com/2018/06/12/charges-in-road-rage-attack-dropped-over-terrible-lie/

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June 12, 2018

'Promposal' vandal who defaced Colorado National Monument sought by National Park Service

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-orlando-police-officer-shot-0611-story.html








If there's one place a teenager or young adult should not scribble down words of affection, it's on federally protected land.

Unfortunately, whoever took black spray paint to the Colorado National Monument last month apparently didn't get the memo, and the National Park Service is trying to find the vandal responsible.

A local who lives nearby was the first to report the damage caused by the "promposal" — a term ascribed to a creative invitation to a high school prom — on May 23. On Saturday, the monument posted a few photos of the vandalism on Facebook, asking followers to contact the park's visitor center with any information.


The park tries to take care of any vandalism within 24 hours of receiving a report, as Ranger Operations Supervisor for the city of Boulder Geoff Jasper told local Fox31. The process is "meticulous," so as to not degrade the natural features of the park.

June 12, 2018

Finally, a president with the guts to stand up to Canada

O Canada: You had it coming, eh.

They inflicted Nickelback on us. We did nothing.

They sent us Justin Bieber . We turned the other cheek.

They were responsible for one abomination after the other: Poutine. Diphthong vowels. Hawaiian pizza. Instant mashed potatoes. Ted Cruz.

Still, we did not retaliate — until now.

Finally, the United States has a president with the brains and the guts to stand up to the menace of the north. This weekend President Trump called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “meek,” “very dishonest & weak” for protesting U.S. tariffs. Trump’s trade adviser said “there’s a special place in hell” for Trudeau, and Trump’s economic adviser said Trudeau “stabbed us in the back” and is guilty of “betrayal” and “double-crossing.”


https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/finally-a-president-with-the-guts-to-stand-up-to-canada/2018/06/11/474d948c-6db1-11e8-bd50-b80389a4e569_story.html?utm_term=.35ae88320f3e

June 12, 2018

Time to weep. Time to scream. Time to register to vote. says Juan Williams

wasn't Juan williams a tool of the right???


Time to weep. Time to scream. Time to register to vote.

Under a barbaric policy, hundreds of immigrant children are being taken away from their parents — some of whom are seeking legal asylum — as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to deter families from trying to get into the U.S.

Last week, a friend told me she was on a flight when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official got on board with crying children being transported to a detention center far from their parents.

This businesswoman began to cry, too, out of shame at seeing children forced to suffer severe psychological trauma.



And for what?

Are Americans really allowing President Trump to use children as pawns in his ongoing attacks on illegal immigrants and his demand that Congress pay for a wall?

http://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/391549-juan-williams-trumps-immigration-outrage