DonViejo

DonViejo's Journal

November 22, 2017

WH military personnel removed amid investigation into contacts with foreign women during Asia trip

Source: The Washington Post

White House military personnel removed amid investigation into contacts with foreign women during Trump’s Asia trip

By Carol D. Leonnig, Dan Lamothe and Julie Tate November 21 at 7:42 PM

Three military personnel have been reassigned from their White House jobs amid allegations that they had improper contact with foreign women while traveling with President Trump on his recent trip to Asia, according to officials familiar with the situation.

The service members all worked for the White House Communications Agency, a specialized military unit that helps provide the president, vice president, Secret Service and other officials with secure communications.

The military is scrutinizing three Army noncommissioned officers who allegedly broke curfew during Trump’s trip to Vietnam this month, officials said.

Mark Wright, a spokesman for the Defense Department, confirmed that the Pentagon is examining the behavior of personnel during the visit to Vietnam.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-military-personnel-removed-amid-investigations-into-contacts-with-foreign-women-during-trumps-asia-trip/2017/11/21/3ae47736-cef3-11e7-9d3a-bcbe2af58c3a_story.html

November 21, 2017

House Ethics panel announces probe of Conyers

Source: The Hill

BY CRISTINA MARCOS - 11/21/17 04:25 PM EST

The House Ethics Committee said Tuesday that it has begun an investigation of sexual harassment allegations against Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.).

A BuzzFeed News report revealed that Conyers settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 with a former staffer who alleged she was fired because she didn't succumb to his sexual advances.

Former staffers also alleged that Conyers made unwanted sexual advances toward his female aides, touched them inappropriately, used congressional resources to transport women with whom he was suspected of having affairs, and complained that a female staffer because she was "too old" and wanted to dismiss her.

“The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative John Conyers, Jr. may have engaged in sexual harassment of members of its staff, discriminated against certain staff on the basis of age, and used official resources for impermissible personal purposes,” Ethics Committee Chairwoman Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) and ranking Democrat Ted Deutch (Fla.) said in a joint statement.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/361441-house-ethics-panel-announces-probe-of-rep-conyers

Far-right activist offered $10,000 for documents in Conyers case: report

BY BRETT SAMUELS - 11/21/17 03:47 PM EST

A far-right activist offered to pay $10,000 for documents implicating Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) in a string of sexual harassment allegations and a financial settlement with one accuser, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Mike Cernovich, a Trump supporter who has previously encouraged conspiracy theories such as “Pizzagate,” provided the documents to BuzzFeed News, which said it then independently confirmed the authenticity of the documents.

Cernovich said in a series of now-deleted tweets last week that he would pay “$10,000 for the details of these settelements. Cash or Bitcoin or check or whatever you want.”

Cernovich declined to say whether he in fact paid anyone, and BuzzFeed did not return a request for comment on whether it was aware of the offer, the newspaper reported.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/361425-far-right-activist-offered-10000-for-documents-in-conyers-settlement-report

November 21, 2017

Why BuzzFeed teamed with a far-right figure to break the John Conyers scandal

By Paul Farhi November 21 at 1:25 PM

Journalism can make for strange bedfellows. Case in point: BuzzFeed and Mike Cernovich.

Cernovich — a controversial far-right figure who has promoted blatantly false conspiracy theories, such as the discredited “Pizzagate” hoax — was the source of a big BuzzFeed scoop Monday night. The popular news and features website reported that legendary liberal Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) made repeated sexual advances toward female staffers and secretly reached a financial settlement with one accuser. The story was based largely on documents and affidavits supplied by Cernovich to BuzzFeed’s reporters.

The BuzzFeed-Cernovich collaboration is odd, to say the least — something like Michael Moore dropping damning info about President Trump to Fox News. Even that doesn’t quite capture the jagged journalistic history of Cernovich, whom “60 Minutes” described earlier this year in a story about fake news as “a magnet for readers with a taste for stories with no basis in fact.”

The partnership appears to have come with a hidden facet: Cernovich seems to have acquired the congressional documents after offering to pay $10,000 for them.The offer was made in a series of now-deleted tweets last week. “I will pay $10,000 for the details of these settlements. Cash or Bitcoin or check or whatever you want,“ he tweeted.

Cernovich declined Tuesday to say whether he actually paid anyone; he also said he didn’t know whether BuzzFeed knew about his offer. (BuzzFeed didn’t immediately return a request for comment on that element of the arrangement.)

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/why-buzzfeed-teamed-with-a-far-right-figure-to-break-the-john-conyers-scandal/2017/11/21/64688b2a-ceca-11e7-9d3a-bcbe2af58c3a_story.html

November 21, 2017

Sarah Palin Appeals Dismissal of Her Lawsuit Against the NY Times

https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/status/933043260599275522

November 21, 2017

New York Attorney General investigating false 'net neutrality' comments to FCC

Source: Reuters

NOVEMBER 21, 2017 / 1:56 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York State Attorney Eric Schneiderman on Tuesday said he has been investigating for six months who posted significant numbers of fake comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission in its review of net neutrality rules.

The FCC got more than 22 million comments during its review and several researchers found evidence that significant numbers of submissions were fake.

Schneiderman said Tuesday the “FCC has refused multiple requests for crucial evidence.” The FCC did not immediately comment.

On Tuesday FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposed reversing the Obama era net neutrality rules.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-internet-probe/new-york-attorney-general-investigating-false-net-neutrality-comments-to-fcc-idUSKBN1DL2EW

November 21, 2017

Trump Backs Roy Moore: 'We Don't Need A Liberal Democrat In That Seat'

Source: Talking Points Memo

By CAMERON JOSEPH Published NOVEMBER 21, 2017 3:31 PM

After close to two weeks of ducking questions on whether he still backs Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, President Trump made it clear Tuesday that he stood by his endorsement of Moore.

We dont need a liberal Democrat in that seat, Trump said as he exited the White House Tuesday. We dont need a liberal person in there.

And Trump defended Moore, who like Trump has faced accusations of sexual harassment and assault.

He denies it, he totally denies it, Trump said.

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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-backs-roy-moore-we-dont-need-a-liberal-democrat-in-that-seat

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https://www.rawstory.com/2017/11/trump-faces-quick-and-furious-backlash-after-defending-roy-moore-sexual-predator-supporting-a-sexual-predator/

November 21, 2017

NFL owners weighing change to anthem policy for next season if protests continue

Source: The Washington Post

By Mark Maske November 21 at 2:50 PM

Some NFL owners believe there is a strong possibility they will enact an offseason change to the league’s national anthem policy if the players’ protests during the anthem persist through the end of this season, reverting to a previous approach of keeping players in the locker room while the anthem is played, according to several people familiar with the league’s inner workings.

“I think that if players are still kneeling at the end of the year, then it could very well happen,” said one person familiar with the owners’ deliberations on anthem-related issues.

That person said it was “too early to tell” for certain if the change to the anthem policy will be made by owners and the league. The person was “not sure” if a formal vote of the owners would be required to enact such a change but said, “I think most owners would support it, particularly if players continue to kneel this season.”

Those sentiments were echoed by several others with knowledge of the owners’ thinking on the matter. They said they did not know at this point exactly how many owners would favor such an approach, and they cautioned that there have been no detailed discussions yet about leaving teams and players in the locker room for the anthem because owners did not consider it appropriate to make an in-season change to the policy.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2017/11/21/nfl-owners-weighing-change-to-anthem-policy-for-next-season-if-protests-continue

November 21, 2017

Lebanon's Army Told To Be Ready For War With Israel After Defeating ISIS and Al-Qaeda

Source: Newsweek Magazine

BY TOM O'CONNOR ON 11/21/17 AT 2:10 PM

The commander of Lebanon's armed forces instructed his troops, which are celebrating recent victories against jihadi groups on the country's restive eastern border with Syria, to be fully ready to deal with a potential attack from Israel.

On the eve of the country's 74th anniversary of independence from France, the Lebanese military commander, Joseph Aoun, commended soldiers for successfully expelling the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Al-Qaeda affiliate formerly known as Nusra Front, from the outskirts of eastern towns such as Arsal, Ras Baalbek and Hermel this summer. He warned, however, that current "exceptional political circumstances" required personnel to "maintain the utmost awareness and vigilance and to take measures to maintain stability," especially looking south, where another foe stands at the ready.

"I call on you to be fully prepared at the southern border to face the threats from the Israeli enemy, its violations and its hostile intent towards Lebanon, its people and its army, as well as to always ensure the implementation of Resolution 1701 in coordination and cooperation with United Nations forces in Lebanon, preserving a secure stability," Aoun said Tuesday, according to the Lebanese army's official Twitter account.

While the small, coastal Mediterranean country's most recent conflicts have been concentrated on its eastern border with Syria, there is a long, bloody history of violence at its southern border with Israel. Like Syria and a number of other Arab states, Lebanon has never recognized Israel since the majority-Jewish state's 1948 creation that saw a mass expulsion of Palestinians, a number of whom ended up in Lebanon. These Palestinians were joined by others expelled after a failed uprising against the Jordanian government in 1971, and Lebanon became a base of guerrilla operations against Israel, which responded with military action.

Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/lebanon-army-told-prepare-war-israel-after-defeat-isis-718550

November 21, 2017

Trump's Secret War? U.S. Military's Presence in Middle East Has Grown 33% In Past Four Months

Source: Newsweek Magazine

BY JOHN HALTIWANGER ON 11/21/17 AT 2:27 PM

President Donald Trump has increased the number of U.S. troops and civilians working for the Department of Defense in the Middle East to 54,180 from 40,517 in the past four months, representing a 33 percent rise.

This number doesn't even account for the big rise in troops stationed in Afghanistan since Trump announced his new strategy for the fight against the Taliban in late August.

These figures, first pointed out on Twitter by Dr. Micah Zenko, a foreign policy expert, come from the Pentagon's quarterly reports on personnel. In other words, these numbers are no secret, which raises concerns about the apparent lack of discourse over the expansion of the U.S. military in a region in which it already has a long, complicated history.

https://twitter.com/MicahZenko/status/932599653970989059
https://twitter.com/MicahZenko/status/932600210634739712

Based on the latest report, published November 17, here are the number of U.S. troops and Department of Defense civilians in each Middle Eastern country: Egypt, 455; Israel, 41; Lebanon, 110; Syria, 1,723; Turkey, 2,265; Jordan, 2,730; Iraq, 9,122; Kuwait, 16,592; Saudi Arabia, 850; Yemen, 14; Oman, 32; United Arab Emirates, 4,240; Qatar, 6,671; Bahrain, 9,335.

Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/trumps-secret-war-us-militarys-presence-middle-east-has-grown-33-percent-past-718089

November 21, 2017

The Retaliatory State: How Trump Is Turning Government Into a Weapon of Revenge

By Jonathan Chait

November 21, 2017
1:57 pm

Do you remember the “IRS scandal”? Unlike the conspiracy theories supported by “crazy” Republicans, like birtherism and Sharia law spreading in the U.S., the IRS scandal is one of the conspiracy theories supported by “Establishment” Republicans, like climate-science denial and Benghaaaazi. The premise of the “IRS scandal” held that the agency, supported explicitly or implicitly by the Obama administration, targeted conservative groups for harassment. Years of investigation by Congress and the IRS Inspector General firmly proved the opposite. The IRS, trying to enforce ambiguous rules governing political activity by nonprofit groups, flagged organizations on both the right and left in roughly equal measure.

The intensity of the IRS conspiracy theory petered out, but has never surrendered its place in the right-wing imagination. (Indeed, Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn regurgitated the fantasy again yesterday.) The “IRS Scandal” has some importance beyond its insight into conservative paranoia. It has turned out to prefigure the Republicans’ own blueprint for the use of government as an implement of partisan domination and revenge.

In his essay on the “paranoid style” in American politics, which focused on the ravings of the conservative movement, Richard Hofstadter identified their penchant for reproducing the very techniques they decried. “The enemy seems to be on many counts a projection of the self: both the ideal and unacceptable aspects of the self are attributed to him. A fundamental paradox of the paranoid style is the imitation of the enemy.” Conservatives simultaneously suspect that Democrats have perverted government as a tool of partisan domination and that this is a proper and normal — or at least inevitable — use of executive power.

Politico reports that the Trump administration is leaning toward appointing Thomas Brunell to the top operational job running the Census. While Brunell “appears to have little experience in federal statistics or at managing a big organization, both characteristics that census-watchers believe are vital for the job,” he does have one point on his résumé that makes him deeply attractive for the post. He is a committed advocate of Republican gerrymandering efforts, and the author of a book titled Redistricting and Representation: Why Competitive Elections Are Bad for America. The Census is written into the Constitution and serves an essential governing function. Nobody has ever before thought to turn the direction of it over to a figure whose public career is so closely identified with partisan maneuvering.

more
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/11/the-retaliatory-state-trump-using-government-as-revenge.html

Profile Information

Name: Don
Gender: Male
Hometown: Massachusetts
Home country: United States
Member since: Sat Sep 1, 2012, 03:28 PM
Number of posts: 60,536

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