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Trump praises potential 13k new jobs in Wisconsin Foxconn factory, but robots may get all the gigs


RT
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 17:15 UTC
Chinese Foxconn factory
© Bobby Yip / ReutersA Foxconn factory in the township of Longhua in China's southern Guangdong province.
President Donald Trump has announced that electronics giant Foxconn is investing $10 billion in its first US assembly plant in Wisconsin, where an expected minimum of 3,000 jobs will be created. Technology, however, may supplant human jobseekers

Taiwan-based Foxconn, the world's biggest contract manufacturer, which also builds parts for Apple, is expected to invest $10 billion in the state of Wisconsin. The company will produce LCD screens for high-tech electronics.
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Calculator

After Trump tweet, British generals say transgender troops welcome in military


RT
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 10:59 UTC
UK troops
© I-Images/Global Look Press
In the wake of President Donald Trump's shock ban on transgender troops serving in the US military, senior British officers have insisted the UK has no intention of following suit.

Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to confirm that the ban on transgender service personnel would be reinstated.

He said this was on the grounds that the military must be focused on their mission and "cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."

There are reportedly around 15,000 transgender people serving in the US military, while the UK is estimated to have just 10.

British military chiefs were quick to share their opposition to a similar move in the UK.
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Heart - Black

Deputy Calif. attorney general, Watergate figure Gordon Liddy's son, arrested for child porn possession

David Boroff
The New York Daily News
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 11:19 UTC
liddy
© FacebookRaymond Liddy, the son of G. Gordon Liddy, was arrested Tuesday for possession of child porn.
A deputy attorney general in California who is the son of a notorious Watergate figure has been charged with possession of child pornography.

Raymond Liddy pleaded not guilty after being charged in San Diego federal court and was placed on administrative leave by the attorney general's office, according to the Union-Tribune.

Liddy was arrested Tuesday and released in lieu of $100,000 bond, the Union-Tribune reported. He has been fitted with GPS monitoring while under house arrest.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip earlier this year that someone had uploaded an image that could be child porn, according to the criminal complaint obtained by the newspaper.

Authorities traced the activity to Liddy's home, where investigators uncovered photos on a computer and thumb drive.
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Propaganda

Maduro accuses world media of spreading fake news about Venezuela


Sputnik
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 16:24 UTC
Venezuela opposition protesters
© REUTERS/ Ueslei Marcelino
World media outlets have been disseminating misinformation about the situation in Venezuela, an act which can only be interpreted as a form of harassment against the deeply unsettled nation, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday.

In early May, Maduro announced his decision to convene the National Constituent Assembly in a bid to amend the acting constitution. The opposition regarded the president's decision as an attempted coup, resulting in an escalation of already fraught tensions. The elections of the members of the Constitutional Assembly are scheduled for Sunday.

"Venezuela is being exposed to bullying by the world media besieging [the country]. [They] spread lots of false versions, lots of lies. This is what we call 'fake news' today, isn't it? The era of post-truth [has come]," Maduro told the RT broadcaster.

Comment: Also see this article on the fake news propagated against Venezuela: 'Shelves are fully stocked': Venezuela's 'food crisis' myth revealed

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Brick Wall

Mainstream media does Wasserman Schultz a favour: Buries the Awan brothers IT scandal swamping her office

Matt Vespa
TownHall
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 16:06 UTC
Wasserman schultz
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's (D-FL)
Well, just in case you didn't hear, an information technology officer has been accused of bank fraud. He tried to flee the country, and now Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's (D-FL) office has finally fired the aide, despite this person being under investigation since last winter. His termination was made official on Tuesday.

Imran Awan is the name of the subject in question. The Capitol Police launched a probe, where he's been accused of "serious, potentially illegal, violations on the House IT network." He also provided technical assistance to other Democratic members of Congress. It was a family affair as well. As Jenn noted over the weekend, his two brothers, along with two of their wives, also worked for members of Congress. Imran moved out of his house in Virginia when he found out he was under investigation last February. He rented the home to a Marine Corps veteran and his wife, a naval officer, who found hard drives that they tried to destroy. The FBI now has possession of those hard drives. Jenn added that Imran tried to enter the home to retrieve the hard drives, though the Marine refused entry.

On Monday, Imran was arrested trying to leave the country at Dulles airport

Comment: RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel also brought attention to Wasserman Schultz's role in all this:
"[Wasserman Schultz] kept him on her staff. He was a taxpayer-funded government employee until yesterday when she finally fired him," McDaniel said during a Fox Business Network interview on Wednesday. "We need to figure out why he's under criminal investigation and we're not hearing that across the country right now."

"We have to get to the bottom of this, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz has obstructed at every level on something that affects potentially our national security," she continued. "We are not hearing the Democrats talk about it at all. Where's Debbie Wasserman Schultz?"
According to the Daily Caller, Imran "repeatedly tried to retrieve the smashed drives", and Wasserman Shultz "threatened a police chief with 'consequences' if he continued to investigate a laptop that was used by Imran."

Hmmm. What was on those drives?

See also:

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Laptop

Vault 7 'Imperial': CIA ability to trojan Apple OS exposed in latest hacking release


RT
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 16:06 UTC
CIA headquarters
© Global Look Press
The CIA's alleged ability to trojan an Apple OS disk image has been exposed in 'Imperial,' the latest release from WikiLeaks Vault 7 series. This new batch is made of three hacking exploits, 'Achilles,' 'SeaPea' and 'Aeris.'

'Achilles' is detailed by WikiLeaks in a statement as producing one or more operators to access an OS X disk image, and execute operations one time. The OS X disk image contains the contents and structure of the device's storage.

Intel Core 2 Processor and OS X are required on the target's computer for 'Achilles' to operate, according to a user guide.

'Imperial' is part of a series by the whistleblowers named 'Vault 7' which began in March and has seen releases from WikiLeaks on an almost weekly basis.

WikiLeaks claims the leaks, which detail hacking exploits, come from a computer within the CIA, who would not comment on their alleged origin.
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Handcuffs

DNC staffer Awan arrested at Dulles airport hires long-time Clinton lawyer

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 15:20 UTC
Imran Awan arrested
© Fox News
After getting arrested Monday night at Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia while attempting to flee the country on a flight to Qatar, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz' IT staffer, according to Conservative Review, has decided to hire a lawyer with longstanding connections to the Clinton family for legal help.

Chris Gowen, a founding partner at Gowen, Rhoades, Winograd and Silva, apparently did a little bit of everything for the Clintons over the course of multiple years including working in the Clinton White House, helping President Bill Clinton write his book, My Life, and serving on Hillary's 2008 presidential campaign. Per Gowen's bio:
Mr. Gowen left the Public Defender's office to work for former President William Jefferson Clinton and then-Senator Hillary Clinton. Chris was a fact checker for President Clinton's memoir, My Life. He also served as a traveling aid for President Clinton's national and international trips. Chris finished his tenure with the Clintons by directing the advance operations for then-Senator Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign.
Another biography, published on the American University website, says Gowen worked with several other controversial Clinton projects, including The Clinton Global Initiative, The Clinton Foundation, and The Clinton Health Access Initiative.

Shortly after Awan's arrest, Gowen immediately jumped into the fray and hit the ground running with allegations that Awan was a victim of Islamophobia. He labeled Awan's arrest as part of "a right-wing media-driven prosecution by a United States Attorney's Office that wants to prosecute people for working while Muslim"...it's almost as if the words are coming straight from Hillary's mouth.

Comment: The Awan clan has been on the radar for some time in the alt media

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Boat

UK to send warship to South China Sea amid maritime dispute, says defense sec


RT
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 15:54 UTC
UK battleship, Royal Navy
© Luke MacGregor / Reuters
The Royal Navy will deploy a warship to the South China Sea next year for a so-called freedom of navigation mission - a challenge to Beijing's claim of sovereignty over the area - UK Defence Minister Michael Fallon said.

"We hope to send a warship to [the] region next year. We have not finalized exactly where that deployment will take place, but we won't be constrained by China from sailing through the South China Sea," Fallon told Reuters during a trip to Australia.

"We have the right of freedom of navigation and we will exercise it."

Comment: Like a kid stomping through someone's yard just because the sign says, "Please keep off grass."

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Star of David

Lindsey Graham asks whether AIPAC is a foreign agent which comes to Capitol Hill in 'droves'

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 15:49 UTC
Lindsey Graham and the Prime Minister, Netanyahu
Lindsey Graham and the Prime Minister, Netanyahu.
This morning the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and out of the blue South Carolina's Lindsey Graham brought up AIPAC - the Israel lobby group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC comes to Capitol Hill "in droves" and has a lot of contacts in Israel so maybe it should be considered a "foreign agent?" Graham asked.

Then Graham tacked and said, AIPAC doesn't do anything wrong, "quite the contrary," it's just a group of Americans banding together to exercise influence; and "we all know how the game's played" at AIPAC conferences. His comments are at 1:04.
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Cookie

Duterte's latest: 'Oxford is a school for stupid people'


RT
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 15:40 UTC
Rodrigo Duterte
© Erik De Castro / ReutersPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Oxford University is just a "school for stupid people," Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said, in response to research from the institution which said that the leader had paid "keyboard trolls" to support his presidential campaign.

The heated discussion began when the University of Oxford released a report titled "Troops, Trolls and Troublemakers"earlier in July. It examines how governments across the globe allegedly use fake social media accounts for political purposes. The Philippines was among the countries mentioned in the report.

"In the Philippines, many of the so‐called 'keyboard trolls' hired to spread propaganda for presidential candidate [Rodrigo] Duterte during the election continue to spread and amplify messages in support of his policies now he's in power," the document states.

Comment: Duterte has an immense popularity in the Philippies...far greater than any Western leader. The implication that his rise in popularity during the elections was due to 'social media trolls' actually is rather stupid and ignores the rather significant issues that have been affecting The Philippines for some time. Seems Oxford is taking a page from the US propaganda handbook, which as it happens is also for stupid people.

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