VIDEO: New York Times Reporter Claims There’s a Tape of Trump’s Golden Showers Incident.
When do we get to see the Khalidi tape?
Author Archive: Stephen Green
March 22, 2017
COURAGE: Apple omits (PRODUCT)RED branding for red iPhone in China, perhaps to avoid AIDS controversy.
Tim Cook said yesterday it was in celebration of ten years’ partnership with the charity, and the PRODUCT(RED) branding was prominent on the homepage of its websites around the world – except in China, that is …
As TechCrunch notes, Apple’s Chinese website omits all mention of the link to the charity. This isn’t a language thing – the Taiwanese site has the same PRODUCT(RED) branding as the rest of the world – but the site suggests this is instead a political decision by Apple. Its theory is that Apple doesn’t want to jeopardise its somewhat delicate relationship with the Chinese government by getting embroiled in what is a controversial topic in the country.
There is reason to support this theory. China has been criticized in many quarters for failing to adequately respond to a growing AIDS crisis in the country.
It’s a great-looking phone — my wife wants one now, even though our contracts don’t come up until this autumn when newer models are expected. But it sure would be nice if Tim Cook showed Beijing the same courage of his convictions as he does Washington.
THE ART OF THE DEAL: Lockheed CEO: Trump Accelerated F-35 Price Drop.
DIGITAL TERROR: Hamas tried to get more accurate maps to aim rockets.. “Shin Bet security agency says terror group sought advanced mapping program from Turkish organization.”
The Shin Bet discovered after questioning Muhammad Murtaja, who was arrested last month on suspicion of working on behalf of Hamas, that over the past two years the terror terror organization had asked the Turkish IHH organization for advanced satellite mapping programs to improve the accuracy of its rockets, the Hebrew-language Ynet news site reported.
The Shin Bet investigation reportedly revealed that during its last war with Israel in 2014, Hamas used Google Maps in order to target locations in Israel, leading to most of the rockets missing their targets. Many of the other rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.
Murtaja, the manager of the Gaza branch of the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA), is accused of having taken advantage of his position in TIKA in order to direct funds and resources away from “meaningful humanitarian projects” and toward Hamas’s military wing.
One apparent scam detailed by the security service allowed “millions of shekels” to be given to Hamas members in food and cash.
Hamas is backed by Iran, whose finances were backed in violation of U.S. law by the previous Obama Administration.
SMALL-TIME CROOK: Former Colorado GOP chairman charged with voter fraud, forgery.
The former chairman of Colorado’s Republican Party has been charged with voter fraud and forgery. Steve Curtis, 57, is accused of filling out and mailing in his ex-wife’s ballot for the 2016 presidential election.
Curtis was the state’s GOP chairman from 1997 to 1999 and currently hosts a talk radio show on KLZ-560 AM.
He made his first court appearance Tuesday morning in Weld County to be advised of the charges against him.
“We’re not going to talk about this,” Curtis said when asked if he voted for his ex-wife in November.
This case demands a statewide investigation into voter fraud by both parties, due to the seriousness of the charge.
PROCUREMENT: Army Still Testing Ripsaw, the ‘Luxury Super Tank’
A handful of the Ripsaw Extreme Vehicle 2, or EV2, products made by Howe and Howe Technologies Inc., based in Waterboro, Maine, are undergoing evaluations at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey to assess how they could be used in future combat operations. Indeed, on Tuesday, Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins, head of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, rode in one of the vehicles with a driver as part of a demonstration.
The company describes the 750-horsepower, optionally manned vehicle — which is capable of reaching speeds of almost 100 miles per hour and costs roughly $250,000 — as a “handcrafted, limited-run, high-end, luxury super tank developed for the public and extreme off road recreation.”
The EV2 looks more than a little like the Batmobile from the Chris Nolan/Christian Bale movies, but unless it sports a 105mm cannon they really shouldn’t call it a tank.
120mm for the genuine luxury version.
YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH! The Real Story About Neil Gorsuch and the TransAm ‘Frozen Trucker’
MORE ON THE PARLIAMENT ATTACK: Bridget Johnson has a video tweet from Westminster Bridge.
DISPATCHES FROM THE FALL OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION: Gender-neutral Pronoun Disclaimers.
LIFE SUPPORT: AFP Key Voting Against GOP Healthcare Plan.
Today Americans for Prosperity, the nation’s largest and most aggressive advocate for healthcare freedom, reaffirmed the organization’s deep concerns with core elements of the GOP healthcare bill. The group said that as currently written, it was unable to support the legislation, and would key vote against it unless significant changes were made.
Chief Government Affairs Officer Brent Gardner had this to say:
“Republicans in Congress promised a full repeal of Obamacare, but the current plan falls far short. It leaves intact some of the most harmful aspects of the law, including burdensome regulations that send insurance costs spiking and federal subsidies rebranded as tax credits. We simply cannot support this bill, and commit to standing with champions in the House who also oppose the continuation of Obamacare.”
That’s a solid no, and here’s another one from Mike Lee:
Lee doesn’t seem like the kind of senator who could have his vote budged by a tweet, and Rand Paul says there are at least 35 GOP “No!” votes just in the House.
BREAKING: Terror Attack at U.K. Parliament.
About a dozen injured, two dead, after being “mowed down” by a car on Westminster Bridge. Assailant stabbed cop, then was shot to death.
More to come.
IT SURE LOOKS THAT WAY TO ME: Did Neil Gorsuch roll his eyes at Al Franken?
As my friend and colleague Scott Ott said during yesterday’s Right Angle taping, “Franken used to be a comedian but now he’s just someone people laugh at.”
RETAIL BLUES: Sears warns of ‘going concern’ doubts.
“Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” Sears said in the annual report for the fiscal year ended Jan. 28. (bit.ly/2mRUcce)
The company said an inability to generate additional liquidity might limit its access to new merchandise or its ability to procure services. Continued operating losses also could restrict access to new funds under its domestic credit agreement, according to the filing.
The warning comes less than six weeks after the company announced what it called the “next phase of its strategic transformation,” in which it hoped this year to reduce costs by $1 billion and cut its debt and pension obligations by at least $1.5 billion. Sears also is considering selling some of its businesses, such as the Kenmore appliances and DieHard car battery brands.
Sears has already sold off its most precious crown jewel, the Craftsman brand.
SARRAH LE MARQUAND: It should be illegal to be a stay-at-home mum.
Yes, the role played by parents in the early months and years following the birth of a child is vital and irreplaceable. It also stands to reason that for many (but certainly not all) families, it is the mother who opts to take time off work during this period to solely focus on caring for her baby.
Once again, there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, that time at home should be a privilege afforded to more new mums, which is why a few years back I was a lone voice in supporting Tony Abbott’s grossly misunderstood and thus ill-fated paid parental leave scheme, which proposed all female employees receive their normal salary for six months.
So it’s not as simple as suggesting that the OECD’s rallying call to utilise the potential of stay-at-home mums is an insult to mothers — on the contrary, it is the desperately needed voice of reason that Australians cannot afford to ignore.
Rather than wail about the supposed liberation in a woman’s right to choose to shun paid employment, we should make it a legal requirement that all parents of children of school-age or older are gainfully employed.
Feminism has gone from pursuing legal equality to encouraging forced labor in just three generations.
DEMOGRAPHICS IS DESTINY: ISIS Shows French Jihadist Raising 9 Young Kids in Terror Group.
GOOD RIDDANCE: Manafort had plan to benefit Putin government.
Manafort proposed in a confidential strategy plan as early as June 2005 that he would influence politics, business dealings and news coverage inside the United States, Europe and the former Soviet republics to benefit the Putin government, even as U.S.-Russia relations under Republican President George W. Bush grew worse. Manafort pitched the plans to Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, a close Putin ally with whom Manafort eventually signed a $10 million annual contract beginning in 2006, according to interviews with several people familiar with payments to Manafort and business records obtained by the AP. Manafort and Deripaska maintained a business relationship until at least 2009, according to one person familiar with the work.
“We are now of the belief that this model can greatly benefit the Putin Government if employed at the correct levels with the appropriate commitment to success,” Manafort wrote in the 2005 memo to Deripaska. The effort, Manafort wrote, “will be offering a great service that can re-focus, both internally and externally, the policies of the Putin government.”
Manafort’s plans were laid out in documents obtained by the AP that included strategy memoranda and records showing international wire transfers for millions of dollars. How much work Manafort performed under the contract was unclear.
Getting rid of Manafort may have been Trump’s smartest “You’re fired!” moment ever.
Meanwhile, the Clintons and John Podesta and his Russian “investors” seem to be as close as ever.
“HACKED”: Podesta Was Board Member Of Firm Linked To Russian ‘Investors’
Podesta — best known as Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign chairman and former President Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff — first made contact with the Russian firm in 2011, when he joined the boards and executive committees of three related entities: Boston-based Joule Unlimited; Rotterdam-based Joule Global Holdings; Joule Global Stichting, the company’s controlling interest. All are high-tech renewable energy enterprises.
Three months after Podesta’s arrival, Joule Unlimited accepted a 1 billion ruble investment from Rusnano, amounting to $35 million in U.S. currency. The firm also awarded a Joule board seat in February 2012 to Anatoly Chubais, Rusnano’s CEO, who has been depicted as a corrupt figure.
Podesta has attempted to downplay his relationship with Joule and Rusnano, but it could come to haunt him.
One potential legal problem for him relates to the time he joined former President Barack Obama’s White House staff in 2014 as a senior counselor and failed to reveal his 2011 Joule stock vesting agreement in his government financial disclosure form.
Further, he failed to disclose 75,000 common shares of Joule stock he received, as disclosed in a WikiLeaks email.
After Podesta began working at the White House, his lawyer indicated in a Jan. 6, 2014 email that he had not yet finished the legal work on the private transfer of the stock to a family-owned entity called Leonido Holdings, LLC.
Read the whole thing.
PROCUREMENT: Navy Builds Ramjet Missile with Model Rocket Engines and a Credit Card.
U.S. Navy engineers at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division recently designed and flew a prototype ramjet missile in just six months. The engineers not only met their deadline, they flew the missile using off-the-shelf equipment, items so inexpensive they were paid for with a credit card. The result is a missile that could join the fleet in 3-4 years.
The United States military is currently in the midst of a major strategic shift. The post 9/11 era has seen the armed services concentrate on fighting insurgencies and anti-terrorism operations. While American involvement in such conflicts will persist for the foreseeable future like it or not, the U.S. must also contend with an increasingly aggressive Russia and China. Deterring conflict with such “near peer” competitors will require smart, fast, highly responsive weapons capable of striking targets at great distances.
Well done.