Society's ChildS


Vader

Reports says top US general assured Israel Trump not pulling troops from Syria

US soldiers Raqqa
© Sputnik/FileUS soldiers stand near military vehicles, north of Raqqa city, Syria. File photo
A month ago, President Donald Trump told a cheering crowd in Ohio that US troops would be pulled out from Syria "very soon" to let others take care of it.

According to the Israeli Arutz Sheva 7 news website, citing a diplomatic source, the head of the US military's Central Command, Gen. Joseph Votel, arrived in Israel to reassure the head of the National Security Council, the IDF Chief of Staff and other senior defense officials that Americans have no "immediate plans" to leave Syria, and will continue supporting Tel Aviv's means of maintaining security and stability on its border.

Immediately after Donald Trump announced that the United States would be withdrawing from Syria "very soon," Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reportedly held a "tough" phone conversation with the US president, according to two White House officials, as cited by Haaretz.

Comment: Who to believe, Trump or the Deep State? Realists would go with the Deep State. And why: The one-third of Syria illegally occupied by US and proxy forces contain most of its oil, water and gas


Blackbox

Michael Cohen case brings details of Fox host Sean Hannity's property empire to light

sean hannity
© Nicholas Kamm/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Fox News host who said Trump's fixer 'knows real estate' has a portfolio that includes support from Department of Housing, a fact he did not mention when interviewing Ben Carson last year

When Sean Hannity was named in court this week as a client of Donald Trump's embattled legal fixer Michael Cohen, the Fox News host insisted their discussions had been limited to the subject of buying property.

"I've said many times on my radio show: I hate the stock market, I prefer real estate. Michael knows real estate," Hannity said on television, a few hours after the dramatic hearing in Manhattan, where Cohen is under criminal investigation.

Hannity's chosen investment strategy is confirmed by thousands of pages of public records reviewed by the Guardian, which detail a real estate portfolio of remarkable scale that has not previously been reported.

Attention

Addressing MSNBC host Joy Reid's claims of "manipulated" blog posts in the Wayback Machine

Joy Reid
Some recent press stories (1, 2) have discussed archived blog posts of a prominent journalist, Joy Ann Reid, in the Wayback Machine and her claims that some of these posts were "manipulated" by an "unknown, external party".

This past December, Reid's lawyers contacted us, asking to have archives of the blog (blog.reidreport.com) taken down, stating that "fraudulent" posts were "inserted into legitimate content" in our archives of the blog. Her attorneys stated that they didn't know if the alleged insertion happened on the original site or with our archives (the point at which the manipulation is to have occurred, according to Reid, is still unclear to us).

When we reviewed the archives, we found nothing to indicate tampering or hacking of the Wayback Machine versions. At least some of the examples of allegedly fraudulent posts provided to us had been archived at different dates and by different entities.

Comment: See also:


Info

Russia dispatches more Pantsir-S air defense systems to Syria

Pantsir-S systems
© IMAGE SOURCE: Ilya Pitalev/RIAPantsir-S systems
Russia delivered a new batch of Pantsir-S air defense systems to the Syrian port Tartus last week, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on April 26 citing a military diplomatic source.

Kommersant's source did not provide details on the destination of the delivered air defense systems. However, according to some Syrian pro-government sources, the systems will be delivered to the Syrian Air Defense Forces (SADF).

The Pantsir-S is a surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system. It is already in service with the Syrian military. On April 16, the Russian Defense Ministry revealed that the SADF successfully used Pantsir-S systems when it was repelling the April 14 missile strike on the country by the US-led bloc. According to the statement, the Pantsir-S systems fired 25 missiles hitting 23 targets.

Comment: See also: Russian MoD: Pantsir-S1 repelling US strikes on Syria showed 100% effectiveness


Cut

MSNBC host Joy Reid stripped of LGBTQ award after more homophobic posts uncovered

Joy Reid
MSNBC host Joy Reid is stripped of an award from a prominent LGBTQ group following the discovery of more anti-gay blog posts.
Months after homophobic posts emerged from MSNBC host Joy Reid's former blog, new details prompted LGBTQ advocacy group PFLAG National to rescind an award it had given the journalist.

Reid admitted in December to writing blog posts attacking Charlie Crist roughly a decade ago, accusing him of being a closeted homosexual. She has since apologized to the public and to Crist directly.

But last week, additional excerpts were reportedly unearthed from the same now-defunct blog written by Reid, saying "most straight people cringe at the sight of two men kissing," and that "gay men tend to be attracted to very young, post-pubescent types."

In response, PFLAG's president, Jean Hodges, issued the following statement: "PFLAG National - the nation's first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, their families, and allies - has rescinded its Straight for Equality in Media award to political analyst Joy Reid."

Comment: If all else fails, blame hackers - it's surprising that she didn't name Russia: MSNBC Russiagater host says Wayback Machine 'hackers' made her blog look homophobic


Bullseye

'You've lost the plot': Nigel Farage blasts American universities after seeing tweet about 'cry closet' for students to sit when feeling overwhelmed

crying woman
© Compassionate Eye Foundation/David Oxberry/OJO Images Ltd/ Getty
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has accused America's higher education of "losing the plot" after one of its universities set up a "cry closet" for students to lock themselves in when feeling anxious.

The closet - which has gone viral on social media - was introduced by the University of Utah after being designed by student artist Nemo Miller. It is supposed to be a safe place for students to "take a break" when they are feeling overwhelmed during the exam session.

A sign pinned to the door of the closet reads: "A safe place for stressed out students otherwise known as the Cry Closet. This space is meant to provide a place for students studying for finals to take a short 10-minute break."

Comment: Keep in mind, on the bottom of the poster description the 'cry closet' is listed as an art project. So it might not be 100% serious, but it's surely not a far cry from 'safe spaces' and all the other libtard nonsense that exists at Western universities to protect the fragile feelings of college students.


Bad Guys

Dangerous potentials: Syrian story far from over

US missile strikes on Syria
Recent events in Syria make it clear that the withdrawal the anti-war Right desires isn't right around the corner.

While doomsday predictions have proven to be far too pessimistic, the recent strikes in Syria show that a US withdrawal isn't happening any time soon. The strikes were limited in scope and effectiveness, meaning that the immediate ramifications are only minor. However, lobbing over 100 missiles at a sovereign nation is not something to merely shrug off -- the strike represents a marked increase of Western involvement in a volatile regional conflict that has the potential to spiral out of control.

The war-mongering elite have shown that they are completely brazen and have no problem pushing for war again and again regardless of a reasonable casus belli. Every time Trump gives in to them, they grow bolder. A dangerous precedent has been set. Anti-Assad actors (Islamists and Israelis) know that unconfirmed stories of chemical weapons attacks will get Trump to launch missiles on their behalf. At a time when the US should be deescalating and withdrawing from the Middle East, it is reaffirming its status as the protector of Israel and Sunni Islamists.

Mr. Potato

Could "Russiagate" get any sillier? Apparently, yes

gavel
© unknown
April 20 is cannabis culture's high holiday, and the Democratic National Committee celebrated it with fervor this year: Blaze up, get silly, file a bizarre lawsuit accusing the Russian government, Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, and transparency activist group WikiLeaks of conspiring to steal an election.

The suit confirms that after more than a year, special counsel Robert Mueller still hasn't amassed the evidence required for a successful criminal prosecution, requiring proof "beyond a reasonable doubt." A civil suit lowers that bar to "a preponderance of the evidence."

But even that's a long shot. The only credible evidence produced so far implicates only the Trump campaign, not the other two defendants, and only to the same extent that it likewise implicates the Clinton campaign.

Comment: Suing Trump just puts him in his element. What a show it will be!

Trump team responds to ridiculous DNC lawsuit - Warns of "aggressive discovery phase - everything will be on the table"


Newspaper

Irony: NY Times forced to issue lengthy correction in article about fake news on Facebook

new york times building
© Shannon Stapleton / Reuters
The New York Times was forced to issue a lengthy correction after it published a false statement in an article about "fake news" on Facebook.

In an article about Facebook's Head of News Partnerships Campbell Brown, NYT journalist Nellie Bowles originally wrote that news about the Palestinian Authority paying rewards to the families of jihadists who die fighting Israel was "an example of the sort of far-right conspiracy theories that have plagued Facebook."

The Palestinian Authority does in fact pay a stipend to the families of dead or captured jihadists, under the Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund. The fund was introduced by Fatah in 1964, and is now administered by the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

"This financial reward clearly demonstrates the PA's institutional commitment to sponsoring terror against Israel," read a study from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

Handcuffs

Obnoxious ex-Port Authority commissioner and Clinton minion threatens cop in attempt to get her kid out of a traffic stop

traffic stop port authority rank
© Tenafly Police DepartmantA New Jersey police department has released a video showing a former commissioner of a powerful government agency trying to use her position to threaten officers who pulled over her daughter’s friend during a traffic stop on Easter weekend
'You may shut the f*** up': Shocking video shows a Port Authority commissioner and ex-Clinton aide flashing her golden badge during a traffic stop and telling cops they had 'ruined her holiday' by pulling her daughter's friend over

A New Jersey police department has released a video showing a former Port Authority commissioner and ex-Hillary Clinton aide trying to use her position to threaten officers who pulled over her daughter's friend during a traffic stop on Easter weekend.

The remarkable video released by the Tenafly Police Department shows Caren Z. Turner, 60, a Democratic Party lobbyist, flash her badge and boast of her connections to the chief of police and the local mayor while berating two officers who pulled over a car whose Nevada registration had expired.

She also tells officers: 'You may shut the f*** up'.

The car was driven by a male friend of her daughter, who was a passenger in the back seat.

Comment: Politico follows up:
Until her resignation, Turner had chaired the board's ethics committee. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appointed her to the role last year. A public relations professional, her appointment was championed by Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, a Democrat.

When police pulled over the Toyota Corolla with Nevada plates that Saturday afternoon, they discovered the car's registration was out of date and the driver didn't have a current insurance card. The car would have to be impounded, Savitsky informed the driver, who handled the news calmly.

Then Turner arrived.

"She immediately walked up to PO Casper and I and began attempting to hand me a business card identifying herself as 'the commissioner of the Port Authority,'" wrote Savitsky, referring to his fellow officer. "She also exhibited a full-size gold badge in a badge wallet that had the same printed on it. She then began a line of questioning in a demanding nature."

In the video, she can be heard identifying herself as "the commissioner of the Port Authority." She said that meant that she was "heading up over 4,000 police officers" apparently referring to the Port Authority Police Department. According to the Port Authority, the agency employs about 1,600 police officers.

She demanded that the police explain to her the reason for the police stop and took affront when the police told her they were under no obligation to, since the four people in the car were adults.

An attorney for Turner didn't immediately provide additional comment.

"The video speaks for itself," Port Authority spokesman Ben Branham said. "The conduct was indefensible. The board takes its recently adopted Code of Ethics for commissioners extremely seriously and was preparing to form a special committee to review the findings of the inspector general investigation and take action at this Thursday's board meeting. Commissioner Turner's resignation was appropriate given her outrageous conduct."