The circumstantial evidence is mounting that the Kremlin succeeded in infiltrating the US government at the highest levels.
How else to explain a newly elected president looking the other way after an act of Russian aggression? Agreeing to a farcically one-sided nuclear deal? Mercilessly mocking the idea that Russia represents our foremost geo-political foe?
Accommodating the illicit nuclear ambitions of a Russian ally? Welcoming a Russian foothold in the Middle East? Refusing to provide arms to a sovereign country invaded by Russia? Diminishing our defenses and pursuing a Moscow-friendly policy of hostility to fossil fuels?
All of these items, of course, refer to things said or done by President Barack Obama.
To take them in order: He re-set with Russia shortly after its clash with Georgia in 2008. He concluded the New START agreement with Moscow that reduced our nuclear forces but not theirs. When candidate Mitt Romney warned about Russia in the 2012 campaign, Obama rejected him as a Cold War relic.
Hannan Adely , Staff Writer, @AdelyReporterPublished 8:32 a.m. ET April 8, 2017 | Updated 16 hours ago
Ahmed Hassan, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen and New Jersey native, spends his days in a dark, crowded Egyptian prison cell, waiting and hoping for help.
Hassan’s family and supporters say the teen, who loves basketball and who planned to attend college in the U.S., was jailed after he questioned police officers who were arresting his uncle on a zoning violation last December. A surveillance video released to The Record shows him being beaten by officers and dragged and tossed into a van.
“The family is desperate. He’s a 17-year-old kid sitting in jail with at least 20 adults. Egyptian prisons are not the best place for a kid to be,” said Praveen Madhiraju, a pro bono lawyer with the organization Pretrial Rights International who is representing Hassan.
PARIS (AP) — A political party that would abolish same-sex marriage — one whose founder wanted AIDS patients rounded up and branded homosexuality “a biological and social anomaly” — is now winning LGBT votes in France.
Motivated in part by the deadly Islamic extremist attacks at home and at a Florida gay nightclub, a growing bloc of traditionally left-leaning gay voters has embraced far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, leader of the once-fringe National Front party.
“Faced with the current threats, particularly from radical Islam, gays have realized they’ll be the first victims of these barbarians, and only Marine is proposing radical solutions,” said Kelvin Hopper, 25, a gay artist who lives in a hipster district of Paris and plans to cast his ballot for Le Pen.
While nobody knows how far Le Pen’s supporters will carry her in the April 23-May 7 vote, several years of polls have shown the National Front is now more popular with the LGBT voters who make up 6.5 percent of the French electorate than it is with straight voters.
That the constituency once reviled by the party is buoying it suggests populism has taken root in France more deeply than previously thought.
By Karen Yi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 07, 2017 at 3:36 PM, updated April 07, 2017 at 7:18 PM
NEWARK — Reality TV star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and his brother, Marc Sorrentino, were slammed with new charges on Friday including tax evasion and falsifying records, authorities said.
Michael Sorrentino, a breakout star of the MTV hit series “Jersey Shore,” is charged with tax evasion and making multiple cash deposits to evade reporting requirements. His brother, Marc Sorrentino, is charged with falsifying records to obstruct a grand jury investigation, U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg said.
The charges are in addition to a September 2014 indictment, in which the Sorrentino brothers were charged for tax offenses and conspiring to defraud the U.S. They both previously pleaded not guilty.
Ridgewood NJ, So much for the Trump Putin Alliance. Several months of nonstop accusations by the media and Democrats that our President Donald Trump is colluding with Russian Leader Vladimir Putin came to crashing halt with last nights tomahawk missile attack on a Russian ally Syria.
Trumps decisive action came on the eve of a Sino-Trump sit down in Mar-a-Lago . Leaving the Chinese leader ,many Trump allies and most trump critics in disarray. In one move Trump sent a signal to North Korea, Iran , Russia and the Democrats.
The fact that Trump campaigned so strenuously against such actions makes it that much more significant.
Students of history will remember many a new presidents ,most notable John F Kennedy who were tested in the early part of their administration .
In one decisive stroke the president silenced not only critics of his leadership ,departed from the failed policies of the Obama administration , put an end to Russian collusion accusations, and mirrored the action of what his former opponent Hillary Clinton had suggested just hours earlier .
Will the tomahawk missile attack on Syria lead to renewed entanglements in the middle east ,given Trumps campaign rhetoric I have my doubts . More likely it will be akin to Reagan’s firing of 13,000 air traffic controllers in early August of 1981. Like Reagan it says this president means business .
Nicolas Maduro’s Venezuela is one place where Friedrich Hayek’s most dire warnings remain relevant.
Marian Tupy | April 4, 2017
Manaure Quintero/NurPhoto/Sipa U/NewscomOn March 29, the Supreme Court of Venezuela dissolved the country’s elected legislature, allowing Venezuela’s top court to write future laws. The court is filled with allies of Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, while the legislature is dominated by Maduro’s opponents, and the court’s ruling was seen as the latest step on Venezuela’s descent into a full-fledged dictatorship. But following international outcry—as well as the appearance of cracks within Maduro’s own party—the court reversed itself just a few days later, on April 1.
Editors note CNN tries the same tactic as the Bergen Record when they came to Ridgewood and told residents its not news till they tell you it is and you have no right to question anything.
‘We will not aid and abet the people trying to misinform you’
Apr 4, 2017
Since news broke Monday that the Obama Administration’s National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, directed the “unmasking” of NSA intercepts of Trump associates, CNN has raced to shoot down the blockbuster report.
CNN Tonight’s Don Lemon went so far as to announce he would ignore the news at all costs.
While interviewing a Democratic congressman, CNN’s Chris Cuomo claimed it was “demonstrably untrue” Rice sought surveillance of the Trump team, even as that’s exactly what yesterday’s reports prove.
Over the last 24 hours, the network has also repeatedly called on its chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, to dismiss the reports as a non-story; Sciutto has even excused Rice claiming ignorance of the unmasking scandal two weeks ago, arguing Rice “wasn’t aware” what unmasking Rep. Devin Nunes (D-Calif.) was referring to.
And on Tuesday’s “New Day,” anchor Alisyn Camerota openly pleaded with Sen. John McCain to write-off the news as unimportant.
Last night, Lemon began “CNN Tonight” with an announcement that the Rice report a “fake scandal ginned up by right-wing media and Trump” that he would not be baited into justifying with coverage.
“On this program tonight, we will not insult your intelligence by pretending,” it’s legitimate, he said. “Nor will we aid and abet the people trying to misinform you, the American people, by creating a diversion. Not going to do it.”
“fancy white people” dinning in Ridgewood photo by ArtChick
By Jeff Goldman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 04, 2017 at 8:56 AM, updated April 04, 2017 at 11:46 AM
A Newark woman enraged by “fancy white people” is being sought for allegedly attacking a man with a hammer and smashing his Porsche and boat at a gas station in what Virginia police described as a racially-motivated attack Saturday.
Angela M. Jones, 26, faces potential hate crime charges after allegedly beating the man at an Exxon Station off Interstate 95 in Caroline County, Va., according to WTVR.com.
Jones has not been located or arrested as of 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, according to a spokesman for the New Jersey State Police.
The incident began when Jones approached the Massachusetts man as he fueled his Porsche and began yelling at him, authorities told the television station.
“We’re going to win economically; we’re going to win with the economy.” – Donald J. Trump
BUILDING CONFIDENCE IN THE AMERICAN ECONOMY: Since President Donald J. Trump’s election, economic indicators have responded with record confidence to his pro-growth agenda.
April 4,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, last week the National Association of Manufacturers released its Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey showing the highest level of optimism in 20 years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up over 12 percent since Election Day 2016.
The Weekly Gallup Economic Confidence Index turned positive shortly after the President’s election and has remained positive for 19 consecutive weeks.
The Business Roundtable’s CEO Economic Outlook Index recently jumped 19 points, the largest jump since 2009.
The National Association of Home Builders Confidence Index currently is at its highest level in 12 years.
The Gallup Small Business Index reflects the most optimistic small business owners have been since July 2007.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index recently soared to its highest level in more than 16 years.
The American Dream Index recently rebounded to 100.5, up from a 12-month low point in December, the final full month of the Obama administration.
EARLY PROGRESS: In just the first full month of President Trump’s Administration, the United States economy has already made promising strides in the job market.
In February, the President’s first full month in office, the U.S economy created 235,000 new jobs.
58,000 new construction jobs were created.
28,000 new manufacturing jobs were created.
In February, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent.
In February, the U.S. labor force participation rose to 63 percent.
In February, long-term unemployment in the U.S. fell by 49,000.
IMPLEMENTING JOB CREATING POLICIES: President Trump is executing an agenda that favors the American worker.
President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum creating the White House Office of American Innovation, which will implement policies and scale proven private-sector models to spur job creation.
President Trump ordered the United States to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and negotiations.
President Trump initially signed a Presidential Memorandum to clear roadblocks to construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and recently his Administration formally approved the project.
President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum declaring that the Dakota Access pipeline serves the national interest and is being prepared to be put into service.
President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum to help ensure that new pipeline construction and repair work uses materials and equipment from the United States.
CUTTING GOVERNMENT RED TAPE: President Trump has quickly taken steps to get the Government out of the way of job creation.
President Trump signed an Energy Independence Executive Order to help eliminate burdensome regulations on America’s energy industry.
President Trump directed each agency to establish a Regulatory Reform Task Force to identify costly and unnecessary regulations in need of modification or repeal.
President Trump has required that for every new Federal regulation, two existing regulations be eliminated.
President Trump directed the Department of Commerce to streamline Federal permitting processes for domestic manufacturing and to reduce regulatory burdens on domestic manufacturers.
President Trump signed legislation, House Joint Resolution 38, to prevent the burdensome “Stream Protection Rule” from causing further harm to the coal industry.
President Trump ordered the review of the “Clean Water Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States,” known as the WOTUS rule, to evaluate whether it is stifling economic growth or job creation.
PARTNER OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR: President Trump has worked hand-in-hand with the private sector to get companies re-investing in America.
Exxon Mobil Corporation announced a $20 billion investment in the United States, which will create more than 45,000 jobs.
Charter Communications announced a $25 billion investment in the United States, and that it will hire 20,000 American workers in the next four years.
Accenture announced the creation of 15,000 new high skilled jobs in the next four years and a $1.4 billion investment in training its own employees.
Intel announced a $7 billion investment in a new factory in the United States, supporting over 10,000 jobs.
Fiat Chrysler announced a $1 billion investment to modernize two plants in the United States, creating 2,000 jobs.
General Motors announced plans to invest $1 billion in the United States, creating over 1,000 new jobs.
Ford announced the cancelation of a plant in Mexico, while adding 700 jobs in Michigan.
FOLLOWING THROUGH FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: President Trump campaigned on jumpstarting the economic engine of America so businesses could grow and Americans could get back to work.
As a candidate, Mr. Trump promised “I am going to bring back the jobs that have been stripped away from you and your country.”
As a candidate, Mr. Trump promised “we will make America the best place in the world to start a business; we’ll hire workers, and we’ll open factories.”
As a candidate, Mr. Trump promised “we will also get rid of wasteful rules and regulations, which are destroying our job-creation capacity.”
By Thomas Moriarty | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 03, 2017 at 5:31 PM, updated April 03, 2017 at 8:22 PM
CAMDEN — A Camden County teen admitted in federal court Monday to plotting to kill Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to Philadelphia.
Santos Colon, 17, of Lindenwold, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden to a charge of attempting to provide material support to terrorists, according to court records.
Colon, also known as Ahmad Shakoor, had tried to recruit a person he thought was a sniper to join him in his plot, which involved shooting the Pope during his Papal mass and setting off explosive devices, according to a statement from Acting U.S. Attorney William E Fitzgerald and Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord.
Authorities say the “sniper” was actually an undercover operative for the FBI, which arrested Colon after he scoped out possible targets with an informant, who Colon also instructed to purchase bomb components.
Editors note :Susan Rice, former President Obama’s national security adviser — who is infamously known for her role in misleading the American people about the nature of the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya — is in the middle of another national controversy.
BY OLIVIA BEAVERS – 04/03/17 02:27 PM EDT
White House lawyers discovered last month that Susan Rice, a national security adviser in the Obama administration, requested that identities of U.S. citizens be revealed in raw intelligence reports connected to President Trump’s transition team, according to a Monday Bloomberg View report.
U.S. officials told Bloomberg that the White House discovered Rice’s requests during a National Security Council review of how the government handles the “unmasking” of American citizens whose communications and information are incidentally collected in broader foreign surveillance. Those names are normally redacted in reports.
Foreign officials discussing the Trump transition, as well as conversations between foreign officials and Trump aides, were reportedly monitored during the government’s usual surveillance work.
The relationship between the U.S. and Russia may be more antagonistic now than it was during the decades-long Cold War, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top spokesman said Friday.
Asked by ABC’s “Good Morning America” host George Stephanopoulos if the U.S. and Russia were in a “new Cold War,” Dmitry Peskov said the current situation may be worse, blaming the U.S. for disintegrating cooperation between the two countries.
“New Cold War? Well, maybe even worse. Maybe even worse, taking into account actions of the present presidential administration in Washington,” Peskov told Stephanopoulos.
WikiLeaks published 676 source code files today which it claimed are from CIA It says the CIA disguised its own hacking attacks to make it appear those responsible were Russian, Chinese, Iranian or North Korean
By MAIL ONLINE REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 07:02 EDT, 31 March 2017 | UPDATED: 07:20 EDT, 31 March 2017
WikiLeaks has published hundreds more files today which it claims show the CIA went to great lengths to disguise its own hacking attacks and point the finger at Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.
The 676 files released today are part of WikiLeaks’ Vault 7 tranche of files and they claim to give an insight into the CIA’s Marble software, which can forensically disguise viruses, trojans and hacking attacks.
WikiLeaks says the source code suggests Marble has test examples in Chinese, Russian, Korean, Arabic and Farsi (the Iranian language).
“I am going to lift the restrictions on American energy, and allow this wealth to pour into our communities.” – Donald J. Trump
MUCH NEEDED REFORM: The past Administration burdened Americans with costly regulations that harmed American jobs and energy production.
The previous Administration’s Clean Power Plan could cost up to $39 billion a year and increase electricity prices in 41 States by at least ten percent, according to NERA Economic Consulting.
The Clean Power Plan would cause coal production to fall by 242 million tons, according to the National Mining Association.
27 states, 24 trade associations, 37 rural electric co-ops, and 3 labor unions are challenging the Clean Power Plan in Federal court.
AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE: President Donald J. Trump’s Energy Independence Policy Executive Order reverses the regulations on American jobs and energy production.
President Trump’s Executive Order directs the Environmental Protection Agency to suspend, revise, or rescind four actions related to the Clean Power Plan that would stifle the American energy industry.
President Trump’s Executive Order directs the Attorney General to seek appropriate relief from the courts over pending litigation related to the Clean Power Plan.
President Trump’s Executive Order rescinds Executive and Agency actions centered on the previous administration’s climate change agenda that have acted as a road block to energy independence.
President Trump’s Executive Order lifts the ban on Federal leasing for coal production.
President Trump’s Executive Order lifts job-killing restrictions on the production of oil, natural gas, and shale energy.
President Trump’s Executive Order directs all agencies to conduct a review of existing actions that harm domestic energy production and suspend, revise, or rescind actions that are not mandated by law.
Within 180 days, agencies must finalize their plans.
President Trump’ Executive Order directs agencies to use the best available science and economics in regulatory analysis, which was not utilized by the previous administration.
It disbands the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases.
By revisiting the federal overreach on energy regulation, President Trump is returning power to the states – where it belongs.
FREEING AMERICA’S POTENTIAL: President Trump has worked tirelessly to free American industry and ingenuity from the constraints of Government overreach.
President Trump has signed four pieces of legislation to clear burdensome and costly regulations on energy production from the previous Administration.
President Trump has required that for every new Federal regulation, two existing regulations be eliminated.
President Trump has directed each agency to establish a Regulatory Reform Task Force to identify costly and unnecessary regulations in need of modification or repeal.
President Trump has directed the Department of Commerce to streamline Federal permitting processes for domestic manufacturing and to reduce regulatory burdens on domestic manufacturers.
President Trump signed legislation, House Joint Resolution 38, to prevent the burdensome “Stream Protection Rule” from causing further harm to the coal industry.
President Trump ordered the review of the “Clean Water Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States,” known as the WOTUS rule, to evaluate whether it is stifling economic growth or job creation.
President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum and gave a Presidential permit to clear roadblocks to construct the Keystone XL Pipeline.
President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum declaring that the Dakota Access Pipeline serves the national interest and initiating the process to complete its construction.
FULFILLING HIS PROMISE: By taking action on the Clean Power Plan, President Trump is fulfilling his promise to the American people.
As a candidate, Mr. Trump promised “we will eliminate… the Clean Power Plan—these unilateral plans will increase monthly electric bills by double-digits without any measurable improvement in the climate.”
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez has launched a major overhaul of the party’s organization, which has been stung by recent crises — and the DNC has requested resignation letters from all current staffers.
Party staff routinely see major turnover with a new boss and they had been alerted to expect such a move. However, the mass resignation letters will give Perez a chance to completely remake the DNC’s headquarters from scratch. Staffing had already reached unusual lows following a round of post-election layoffs in December.
Immediately after Perez’s selection as party chairman in late February, an adviser to outgoing DNC Interim Chair Donna Brazile, Leah Daughtry, asked every employee to submit a letter of resignation dated April 15, according to multiple sources familiar with the party’s internal workings.
A committee advising Perez on his transition is now interviewing staff and others as part of a top-to-bottom review process to decide not only who will stay and who will go, but how the party should be structured in the future.
