Executive Producers: Sir John R Hall, Sir O-Nonymous of Dogpatch & Sir Angelic Knight, Dame Shannon Shanarch, JBoy, Robert Bruckner Knight of the Desert Sprawl
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Knights & Dames: Robert Bruckner -> Knight of the Desert Sprawl, John R. Hall -> Sir Hall, Shannon Brame - Dame Shanarch. (Pronounced Shan-ark, like anarch + shan.)
The Buzzfeed Report, that the CIA believed, slandering Trump can be sourced to a 4Chan Fabrication. So much for their credibility as an intelligence source!
In January, 1961, Dwight Eisenhower delivered his farewell address after serving two terms as U.S. president; the five-star general chose to warn Americans of this specific threat to democracy: ''In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.'' That warning was issued prior to the decadelong escalation of the Vietnam War, three more decades of Cold War mania, and the post-9/11 era, all of which radically expanded that unelected faction's power even further.
This is the faction that is now engaged in open warfare against the duly elected and already widely disliked president-elect, Donald Trump. They are using classic Cold War dirty tactics and the defining ingredients of what has until recently been denounced as ''Fake News.''
Their most valuable instrument is the U.S. media, much of which reflexively reveres, serves, believes, and sides with hidden intelligence officials. And Democrats, still reeling from their unexpected and traumatic election loss as well as a systemic collapse of their party, seemingly divorced further and further from reason with each passing day, are willing '-- eager '-- to embrace any claim, cheer any tactic, align with any villain, regardless of how unsupported, tawdry and damaging those behaviors might be.
The serious dangers posed by a Trump presidency are numerous and manifest. There are a wide array of legitimate and effective tactics for combatting those threats: from bipartisan congressional coalitions and constitutional legal challenges to citizen uprisings and sustained and aggressive civil disobedience. All of those strategies have periodically proven themselves effective in times of political crisis or authoritarian overreach.
But cheering for the CIA and its shadowy allies to unilaterally subvert the U.S. election and impose its own policy dictates on the elected president is both warped and self-destructive. Empowering the very entities that have produced the most shameful atrocities and systemic deceit over the last six decades is desperation of the worst kind. Demanding that evidence-free, anonymous assertions be instantly venerated as Truth '-- despite emanating from the very precincts designed to propagandize and lie '-- is an assault on journalism, democracy, and basic human rationality. And casually branding domestic adversaries who refuse to go along as traitors and disloyal foreign operatives is morally bankrupt and certain to backfire on those doing it.
Beyond all that, there is no bigger favor that Trump opponents can do for him than attacking him with such lowly, shabby, obvious shams, recruiting large media outlets to lead the way. When it comes time to expose actual Trump corruption and criminality, who is going to believe the people and institutions who have demonstrated they are willing to endorse any assertions no matter how factually baseless, who deploy any journalistic tactic no matter how unreliable and removed from basic means of ensuring accuracy?
All of these toxic ingredients were on full display yesterday as the Deep State unleashed its tawdriest and most aggressive assault yet on Trump: vesting credibility in and then causing the public disclosure of a completely unvetted and unverified document, compiled by a paid, anonymous operative while he was working for both GOP and Democratic opponents of Trump, accusing Trump of a wide range of crimes, corrupt acts and salacious private conduct. The reaction to all of this illustrates that while the Trump presidency poses grave dangers, so, too, do those who are increasingly unhinged in their flailing, slapdash, and destructive attempts to undermine it.
For months, the CIA, with unprecedented clarity, overtly threw its weight behind Hillary Clinton's candidacy and sought to defeat Donald Trump. In August, former acting CIA Director Michael Morell announced his endorsement of Clinton in the New York Times and claimed that ''Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.'' The CIA and NSA director under George W. Bush, Gen. Michael Hayden, also endorsed Clinton, and went to the Washington Post to warn, in the week before the election, that ''Donald Trump really does sound a lot like Vladimir Putin,'' adding that Trump is ''the useful fool, some naif, manipulated by Moscow, secretly held in contempt, but whose blind support is happily accepted and exploited.''
It is not hard to understand why the CIA preferred Clinton over Trump. Clinton was critical of Obama for restraining the CIA's proxy war in Syria and was eager to expand that war, while Trump denounced it. Clinton clearly wanted a harder line than Obama took against the CIA's long-standing foes in Moscow, while Trump wanted improved relations and greater cooperation. In general, Clinton defended and intended to extend the decadeslong international military order on which the CIA and Pentagon's preeminence depends, while Trump '-- through a still-uncertain mix of instability and extremist conviction '-- posed a threat to it.
Whatever one's views are on those debates, it is the democratic framework '-- the presidential election, the confirmation process, congressional leaders, judicial proceedings, citizen activism and protest, civil disobedience '-- that should determine how they are resolved. All of those policy disputes were debated out in the open; the public heard them; and Trump won. Nobody should crave the rule of Deep State overlords.
Yet craving Deep State rule is exactly what prominent Democratic operatives and media figures are doing. Any doubt about that is now dispelled. Just last week, Chuck Schumer issued a warning to Trump, telling Rachel Maddow that Trump was being ''really dumb'' by challenging the unelected intelligence community because of all the ways they possess to destroy those who dare to stand up to them:
And last night, many Democrats openly embraced and celebrated what was, so plainly, an attempt by the Deep State to sabotage an elected official who had defied it: ironically, its own form of blackmail.
Back in October, a political operative and former employee of the British intelligence agency MI6 was being paid by Democrats to dig up dirt on Trump (before that, he was paid by anti-Trump Republicans). He tried to convince countless media outlets to publish a long memo he had written filled with explosive accusations about Trump's treason, business corruption and sexual escapades, with the overarching theme that Trump was in servitude to Moscow because they were blackmailing and bribing him.
Despite how many had it, no media outlets published it. That was because these were anonymous claims unaccompanied by any evidence at all, and even in this more permissive new media environment, nobody was willing to be journalistically associated with it. As the New York Times' Executive Editor Dean Baquet put it last night, he would not publish these ''totally unsubstantiated'' allegations because ''we, like others, investigated the allegations and haven't corroborated them, and we felt we're not in the business of publishing things we can't stand by.''
The closest this operative got to success was convincing Mother Jones's David Corn to publish an October 31 article reporting that ''a former senior intelligence officer for a Western country'' claims that ''he provided the [FBI] with memos, based on his recent interactions with Russian sources, contending the Russian government has for years tried to co-opt and assist Trump.''
But because this was just an anonymous claim unaccompanied by any evidence or any specifics (which Corn withheld), it made very little impact. All of that changed yesterday. Why?
What changed was the intelligence community's resolution to cause this all to become public and to be viewed as credible. In December, John McCain provided a copy of this report to the FBI and demanded they take it seriously.
At some point last week, the chiefs of the intelligence agencies decided to declare that this ex-British intelligence operative was ''credible'' enough that his allegations warranted briefing both Trump and Obama about them, thus stamping some sort of vague, indirect, and deniable official approval on these accusations. Someone '-- by all appearances, numerous officials '-- then went to CNN to tell them they had done this, causing CNN to go on-air and, in the gravest of tones, announce the ''Breaking News'' that ''the nation's top intelligence officials'' briefed Obama and Trump that Russia had compiled information that ''compromised President-elect Trump.''
CNN refused to specify what these allegations were on the ground that they could not ''verify'' them. But with this document in the hands of multiple media outlets, it was only a matter of time '-- a small amount of time '-- before someone would step up and publish the whole thing. Buzzfeed quickly obliged, airing all of the unvetted, anonymous claims about Trump.
Its editor-in-chief Ben Smith published a memo explaining that decision, saying that'--- although there ''is serious reason to doubt the allegations'' '-- Buzzfeed in general ''errs on the side of publication'' and ''Americans can make up their own minds about the allegations.'' Publishing this document predictably produced massive traffic (and thus profit) for the site, with millions of people viewing the article and presumably reading the ''dossier.''
One can certainly object to Buzzfeed's decision and, as the New York Times notes this morning, many journalists are doing so. It's almost impossible to imagine a scenario where it's justifiable for a news outlet to publish a totally anonymous, unverified, unvetted document filled with scurrilous and inflammatory allegations about which its own editor-in-chief says there ''is serious reason to doubt the allegations,'' on the ground that they want to leave it to the public to decide whether to believe it.
But even if one believes there is no such case where that is justified, yesterday's circumstances presented the most compelling scenario possible for doing this. Once CNN strongly hinted at these allegations, it left it to the public imagination to conjure up the dirt Russia allegedly had to blackmail and control Trump. By publishing these accusations, BuzzFeed ended that speculation. More importantly, it allowed everyone to see how dubious this document is, one the CIA and CNN had elevated into some sort of grave national security threat.
Almost immediately after it was published, the farcical nature of the ''dossier'' manifested. Not only was its author anonymous, but he was paid by Democrats (and, before that, by Trump's GOP adversaries) to dig up dirt on Trump. Worse, he himself cited no evidence of any kind, but instead relied on a string of other anonymous people in Russia he claims told him these things. Worse still, the document was filled with amateur errors.
While many of the claims are inherently unverified, some can be confirmed. One such claim '-- that Trump lawyer Michael Cohen secretly traveled to Prague in August to meet with Russian officials '-- was strongly denied by Cohen, who insisted he had never been to Prague in his life (Prague is the same place that foreign intelligence officials claimed, in 2001, was the site of a nonexistent meeting between Iraqi officials and 9/11 hijackers, which contributed to 70% of Americans believing, as late as the fall of 2003, that Saddam personally planned the 9/11 attack). This morning, the Wall Street Journal reported that ''the FBI has found no evidence that [Cohen] traveled to the Czech Republic.''
None of this stopped Democratic operatives and prominent media figures from treating these totally unverified and unvetted allegations as grave revelations. From Vox's Zach Beauchamp:
BuzzFeed's Borzou Daraghai posted a long series of tweets discussing the profound consequences of these revelations, only occasionally remembering to insert the rather important journalistic caveat ''if true'' in his meditations:
Meanwhile, liberal commentator Rebecca Solnit declared this to be a ''smoking gun'' that proves Trump's ''treason,'' while Daily Kos' Markos Moulitsas sounded the same theme:
While some Democrats sounded notes of caution '-- party loyalist Josh Marshall commendably urged: ''I would say in reviewing raw, extremely raw 'intel', people shld retain their skepticism even if they rightly think Trump is the worst'' '-- the overwhelming reaction was the same as all the other instances where the CIA and its allies released unverified claims about Trump and Russia: instant embrace of the evidence-free assertions as Truth, combined with proclamations that it demonstrated Trump's status as a traitor (with anyone expressing skepticism designated a Kremlin agent or stooge).
There is a real danger here that this maneuver can harshly backfire, to the great benefit of Trump and to the great detriment of those who want to oppose him. If any of the significant claims in this ''dossier'' turn out to be provably false '-- such as Cohen's trip to Prague '-- many people will conclude, with Trump's encouragement, that large media outlets (CNN and BuzzFeed) and anti-Trump factions inside the government (CIA) are deploying ''Fake News'' to destroy him. In the eyes of many people, that will forever discredit '-- render impotent '-- future journalistic expos(C)s that are based on actual, corroborated wrongdoing.
Beyond that, the threat posed by submitting ourselves to the CIA and empowering it to reign supreme outside of the democratic process is '-- as Eisenhower warned '-- an even more severe danger. The threat of being ruled by unaccountable and unelected entities is self-evident and grave. That's especially true when the entity behind which so many are rallying is one with a long and deliberate history of lying, propaganda, war crimes, torture, and the worst atrocities imaginable.
All of the claims about Russia's interference in U.S. elections and ties to Trump should be fully investigated by a credible body, and the evidence publicly disclosed to the fullest extent possible. As my colleague Sam Biddle argued last week after disclosure of the farcical intelligence community report on Russia hacking '-- one which even Putin's foes mocked as a bad joke '-- the utter lack of evidence for these allegations means ''we need an independent, resolute inquiry.'' But until then, assertions that are unaccompanied by evidence and disseminated anonymously should be treated with the utmost skepticism '-- not lavished with convenience-driven gullibility.
Most important of all, the legitimate and effective tactics for opposing Trump are being utterly drowned by these irrational, desperate, ad hoc crusades that have no cogent strategy and make his opponents appear increasingly devoid of reason and gravity. Right now, Trump's opponents are behaving as media critic Adam Johnson described: as ideological jelly fish, floating around aimlessly and lost, desperately latching on to whatever barge randomly passes by.
There are solutions to Trump. They involve reasoned strategizing and patient focus on issues people actually care about. Whatever those solutions are, venerating the intelligence community, begging for its intervention, and equating their dark and dirty assertions as Truth are most certainly not among them. Doing that cannot possibly achieve any good, and is already doing much harm.
Sworn Donald Trump enemy John McCain admitted Wednesday that he passed the dossier of claims of a Russian blackmail plot against the president-elect - calling it 'what any citizen should do'.
McCain - a longstanding anti-Trump Republican who had disassociated himself from the candidate's campaign weeks before the election - cast himself as an innocent and concerned member of the public as he justified his move.
He claimed he had no idea whether it was accurate or not - but that he believed the FBI should have it because it was 'sensitive'.
'I did what any citizen should do. I received sensitive information and handed it to the FBI,' he told CNN - the network which broke the story that the document existed. It was then published in full by Buzzfeed.
'What any citizen should do': The Arizona senator, 80, claimed he was simply acting as a concerned member of the public when he had his face-to-face meeting with the FBI Director
'That's why I gave it to the FBI. I don't know if it is credible or not but the information I thought deserved to be delivered to the FBI, the appropriate agency of government.'
He added: 'It doesn't trouble me because I don't know if it is accurate or not. I have no way of corroborating that.
'The individual gave me the information. I looked at it. After receiving that information I took it to the FBI.'
He added that he was now aware from media reports that the FBI was apparently already in possession of the information. '
The Arizona senator had issued a public statement amid mounting questions of his exact role in the affair - and how a document riddled with errors and unverifiable claims came to be published.
'Late last year, I received sensitive information that has since been made public,' he said.
'Upon examination of the contents, and unable to make a judgment about their accuracy, I delivered the information to the Director of the FBI.
'That has been the extent of my contact with the FBI or any other government agency regarding this issue.'
But the 2008 Republican loser, who disowned his party's candidate weeks before the election, may have been far more intimately involved than that.
John McCain admits he handed the report w over to FBI Director James Comey late last year. The agency were first handed parts of it in August
Donald Trump, pictured, has denied allegations contained in an explosive dossier compiled by a former British MI6 agent claiming on Twitter he is being subjected to a 'political witch hunt'
The dossier claims Russian authorities filmed Trump in a Moscow hotel room with two prostitutes who 'defiled a bed' which had previously been used by President Barack Obama
Trump branded the leaked dossier as 'fake news' and 'a total political witch hunt'
The chain of how the document reached the FBI is not officially known.
However Carl Bernstein, the Watergate reporter who contributed to the first story about its existence, published by CNN on Tuesday afternoon, suggested that McCain was handed it by a former British ambassador to Moscow.
Bernstein told CNN: 'It came from a former British MI6 agent who was hired from a political opposition research firm in Washington who was doing work about Donald Trump for both republican and democratic candidates opposed to Trump.
'They were looking at Trumps business ties, they saw some questionable things about Russians, about his businesses in Russia, they in turn hired this MI6 former investigator, he then came up with additional information from his Russian sources, he was very concerned by the implications of it, he then took it to an FBI colleague that he had known in his undercover work for years, he took it to this FBI man in Rome who turned it over to the bureau in Washington in August.
'And then, a former British ambassador to Russia independently was made aware of these findings and he took the information to John McCain '' Senator John McCain of Arizona '' in the period just after the election, and showed it to McCain '' additional findings.
'McCain was sufficiently disturbed by what he read to take it to FBI director James Comey himself personally, they had a five minute meeting the two men, very little was said, McCain turned it over to him and is now awaiting what the FBI's response is to that information.'
The identity of the former British ambassador has not been disclosed.
Only one former British ambassador to Moscow remains in UK government service, Sir Tim Barrow, who went on to be Foreign Office political director and is now Britain's ambassador to the European Union.
McCain's long-standing opposition to Trump is well known although he only formally ended support for the Republican candidate in October, when the notorious 'p****' tape emerged.
The Arizona senator said at the time: '"Donald Trump's behavior... concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy.'
US intelligence agencies have claimed that Russian spies hacked the Democratic National Committee and leaked damaging emails designed to undermine Hillary Clinton's campaign for president.
Trump claimed Russia said the report was a 'complete and total fabrication'
Trump has once again taken to Twitter in order to defend himself from allegations
He said 'crooked opponents' were trying to destroy his victory with 'fake news'
Some of the allegations relate to a 2013 visit to Moscow of the Miss Universe competition where Trump is alleged to have paid two prostitutes to defile a bed during a bizarre sex act
The new information, which has not been independently verified, claims that Russian officials also gathered highly damaging information on Trump, but only released the details attacking Clinton through the WikiLeaks website.
The Kremlin has denied all of the allegations, while Trump tweeted: 'FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT'.
JOHN MCCAIN'S FEUD WITH DONALD TRUMP JULY 18, 2015
Donald Trump questions John McCain's war record claiming: 'He's not a war hero.
'He's a war hero because he was captured? I like people who weren't captured.'
AUGUST 1, 2016
McCain continues to endorse Trump's campaign, even though Trump attacked the Gold Star family of Captain Humayan Khan who was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004
OCTOBER 8
McCain withdrew his endorsement of Trump after audio of the reality TV star was leaked including the phrase 'grab her by the p****'
DECEMBER 9
McCain meets FBI Director James Comey and hands over the Kremlin dossier assembled by a former British spy
However, McCain was so concerned about the information contained within the 35-page dossier, which included allegations that Trump had hired prostitutes in Moscow to urinate on a bed that had previously been used by US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, that he passed the information onto the FBI
CNN reported that intelligence chiefs had presented Trump with a two-page summary of the dossier late last week following a briefing with President Obama.
It is not known if it included the most salacious details.
Trump has consistently denied that Russian intelligence agencies had launched a massive cyber attack ahead of last November's election.
The dossier which McCain passed to FBI Director James Comey was compiled by the former MI6 man.
The memos describe sex videos involving prostitutes filmed during a 2013 visit by Trump to a luxury Moscow hotel, supposedly as a potential means for blackmail.
They also suggest Russian officials proposed lucrative deals in order to win influence over the Republican real estate magnate.
One claim, that special counsel to Trump Michael Cohen met with Kremlin officials in Prague in August 2016 has been branded as 'fake news'.
Cohen denied that he was central 'to the ongoing secret liaison relationship between the New York tycoon's campaign and the Russian leadership'.
Cohen tweeted a photograph of his passport and said he had never visited Prague.
According to reports, the former MI6 man had been hired to conduct 'opposition research' on the Trump campaign by first Republican enemies of Trump, then Democratic ones.
Russia denied the claims, with President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling journalists: 'The Kremlin does not have compromising information on Trump.'
The Kremlin spokesman called the dossier a 'total fake' and 'an obvious attempt to harm our bilateral relations'.
Earlier, the Kremlin had denied hacking the Democratic National Committee and leaking information to deliberately weaken Hillary Clinton's campaign.
Donald Trump's transition team has repeatedly denied allegations that it had received any help from Moscow.
The dossier was compiled by a former member of the British Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, based in Vauxhall Cross in central London, pictured,
WHY DID BUZZFEED RUN UNVERIFIABLE 'KREMLIN DOSSIER' CLAIMS?Buzzfeed followed up a report by CNN which disclosed the existence of the explosive dossier, but only gave a brief outline of the contents.
The 35-page document, which had been collated by a former British Secret Intelligence Service agent had initially been handed over to the FBI in August.
Buzzfeed's Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith wrote an email to his staff shortly after publishing the document.
BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith sent a memo to his staff outlining the reasons why he published the Trump dossier despite reservations over its accuracy
Smith said the dossier contained 'explosive and unverified allegations about Donald Trump and Russia'.
He justified the decision to release the information to allow Americans 'to make up their own minds about the allegations' which had been circulated at the 'highest levels of the US government'.
Smith claimed publishing the dossier was an example of 'transparent' journalism.
Further down in his memo, he appeared to discredit his own story as 'there is serious reason to doubt the allegations'.
He said Buzzfeed had been trying to stand up the allegations for 'weeks' - suggesting that it had failed to do so. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post said they had been handed the material and been unable to verify it.
Trump conducts his own sting operation to ensnare intelligence briefers | Daily Mail Online
President-elect Donald Trump, after growing suspicious that intelligence officials were leaking news about their classified briefings with him, says he conducted a sting operation to try to prove top spies were behind the leaks.
Trump revealed the extraordinary scheme to try to entrap the senior spies in a furious press conference where he suggested the intelligence community had been behind salacious and totally unproven allegations against him.
'I think it's pretty sad when intelligence reports get leaked out to the press. First of all, it's illegal. These are classified and certified meetings and reports,' Trump said during a press conference at Trump Tower '' his first since getting elected.
Then he revealed the details of the stealthy sting he says he conducted on the nation's senior spooks.
'I'll tell you what does happen. I have many meetings with intelligence. And every time I meet, people are reading about it,' Trump complained, possibly referencing reports on his classified briefings, which he has chosen not to receive daily.
President-elect Donald Trump said he set a trap for his intelligence briefers and that they fell for it by leaking word of a classified briefing he had with them
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'Somebody's leaking them out,' Trump said, after inveighing against leaks generally.
'So I said, "Maybe it's my office. Maybe my office." Because I've got a lot of people '... Maybe it's them?'
'What I did, is I said I won't tell anyone. I'm going to have a meeting, and I won't tell anybody about my meeting with intelligence,' Trump continued.
He even shielded one of his closest aides from word of the meeting.
'Nobody knew '' not even Rhoda, my executive assistant for years. She didn't know '' I didn't tell her. Nobody knew,' Trump continued '' drawing laughter from collected family members and staff.
Having set the trap, Trump says the word leaked anyway.
'The meeting was held. They left, and immediately the word got out that I had a meeting. So, I don't want that. It's very unfair to the country. It's very unfair to our country what's happening,' he said.
President-elect Donald Trump blasted 'phony stuff' contained in a dirt dossier against him that was released and blasted whoever leaked it '' mentioning the intelligence agencies
Degrading acts in bed used by president: The extraordinary - and entirely unverified - allegations that Donald Trump ordered prostitutes to commit degrading sex acts in the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow are contained in a dossier drawn up by a former British spy
Trump blasted the intelligence community at his press briefing, saying it was behind the leak of a dossier of information about him, but without revealing evidence
President-elect Donald Trump conducted the sting after growing frustrated that word of his classified briefings were leaking. He is entitled to get a top-level security briefing, usually conducted by senior intelligence officers. Pictured are FBI Director James Comey, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan (L-R) testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee
Thomas Barrett, chief of media relations for the Director of National Intelligence, declined to comment on the substance of Trump's alleged sting.
'I'm sorry, we have nothing to offer on this matter,' he told DailyMail.com.
As president-elect, Trump is entitled to a daily briefing of the 'crown jewels' of the intelligence community. The briefings typically are conducted by high level intelligence officers.
On Friday, he got a briefing that included James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence and other top intelligence officials.
At his Wednesday press conference, he went after the intelligence community as being behind the leak of a dirty dossier of material alleging the Russians had compromising information on him, saying it would be a 'blot' on the record if true.
The office of Director of Intelligence James Clapper declined to comment on Trump's purported sting operation
He blasted those who published it, but in a twist, complimented outlets which stayed away from the claims.
'They looked at that nonsense that was released by maybe the intelligence agencies,' Trump said, referencing a dirt dossier against him.
'Who knows, it may be the intelligence agencies '' which would be a tremendous blot of their record if they did that,' Trump said, in just his latest shot at the intelligence community.
'A thing like that should have never been written '... and it certainly should never have been released,' Trump continued.
PIERS MORGAN: The only hookers in Trump story are the cheap, lazy journalists | Daily Mail Online
President-elect Donald Trump didn't pay prostitutes to urinate on his bed in the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow, three years ago.
Neither did Trump do this to deliberately defile a bed that had been used by Barack and Michelle Obama.
And nor did Vladimir Putin secretly videotape the whole thing to use as blackmail against Trump at a later date.
It's all complete baloney.
No, Donald Trump didn't pay prostitutes to urinate on his bed in the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow, three years ago
Horribly damaging, deeply offensive baloney which will of course have caused huge distress to Trump, his wife Melania, and their wider families.
That is my considered verdict on Watergate Scandal No2.
How can I be so sure?
First, Trump has categorically, furiously, emphatically denied it.
(His 'I'm a germaphobe' defense alone at today's press conference is pretty compelling, given I've personally seen him recoil from shaking hands many times).
Second, the Russians and Putin himself have equally categorically, furiously, emphatically denied it.
Trump - a germaphobe - denies it, Russia denies it and none of it is verifiable. Meanwhile it's horribly upsetting and distressing to his wife family
Third, the 35-page dossier containing the bombshell claim has done the rounds of many of America's leading media outlets for months and nobody's been able to verify any of it, even as they were champing at the bit to destroy Trump's presidential campaign.
Fourth, and perhaps most damningly of all, even Buzzfeed, the website part-owned by NBC that broke ranks and published it last night, admits it has no evidence to prove it's true, has not been able to independently verify it, and may never be able to verify it.
'Buzzfeed News is publishing the full document so that Americans can make up their own minds about allegations about the president-elect that have circulated at the highest levels of the US government,' it stated.
Its editor Ben Smith added: 'There is serious reason to doubt the allegations.'
Sorry?
So let me get this absolutely straight: they haven't got a Scooby-doo if this devastatingly embarrassing hookers-and-urination claim is true or not?
Nor are they prepared to investigate it further to try to verify it before publication?
Instead, Buzzfeed's just chosen to fling it all into the public domain like a farmer depositing a large truckload of excrement into a field of ravenous pigs, so we can all wallow in Trump's humiliation '' even if he never actually did any of it.
There are many other anonymously sourced, unsubstantiated allegations in this dossier about Trump's supposed links to Russia, all of which he also denies.
That doesn't necessarily mean they're all false, as Trump has been known to be economical with the truth himself when it suits him. And it absolutely right that reporters should investigate them.
Buzzfeed, part-owned by NBC, admits it has no evidence to prove any of it's true. I know and respect Ben and he was a regular on my CNN show, but saying, 'Publishing this dossier reflects how we see the job of reporters in 2017' makes me think we're all going to hell in a handcart
But he has vehemently denied them and that should be noted.
However, of all the myriad claims in the dossier, it's this explicitly lurid and distasteful one about his supposed sexual antics that ignited around the world via social and mainstream media, and exposed Trump to instant global ridicule.
The moment I heard about it, my gut reaction was that it was utter nonsense.
As Trump said at his press conference, every high profile person who goes to Russia is warned that Russian intelligence agencies routinely bug hotel rooms in big cities like Moscow and St Petersburg precisely to amass such potentially damaging material with which to blackmail people.
He may be many things, but he's not stupid.
What I think we're dealing with here is a variant on the legendary story, also involving pigs, about Lyndon Johnson when he was running for president.
Concerned about the race getting close, he told his campaign manager to start a massive rumour about his opponent having sex with a pig.
'Christ, we can't call him a pig-f***er!' the campaign manager protested. 'Nobody's going to believe a thing like that.'
'I know,' said Johnson. 'But let's make the sonafab*tch deny it!'
Trump has now had to publicly deny paying prostitutes to urinate for him. A claim that was made, it has emerged, by unnamed people who had been specifically tasked with unearthing damaging information about a political rival.
That damage is now mostly done, and it's outrageous given it's almost certainly untrue.
'Publishing this dossier reflects how we see the job of reporters in 2017,' said Ben Smith, someone I know well, and respect, from my time at CNN when he was a regular guest on my show.
Really, Ben?
Then frankly, we're all truly going to hell in a handcart.
Because if the new journalism is simply publishing whatever comes across your newsdesk, without any independent proof that it's true, then that's not journalism '' it's exactly as Trump called it today: 'cr*p.'
Or to put it more politely, it's another blazing log on the ugly bonfire currently fuelling 'fake news'.
I am more sensitive than most to this phenomenon as an alleged form of it once cost me my job.
I ran British newspaper Daily Mirror for a decade and was fired in 2004 for publishing supposedly fake photographs of British troops abusing Iraqi civilians. (The Mirror had vociferously opposed the Iraq War).
Ironically, the images depicted those troops urinating on their victims.
Years later, many of the troops we accused were prosecuted for abuse, and in one case jailed, and the veracity of those photos remains, to me at least, an unresolved mystery.
But the more relevant point for the purposes of this column is that my reporting staff worked on verifying them for two months.
We established that the two soldiers who brought them to us were who they said they were, had been fighting in Iraq when the incident occurred, and that the veracity of the incident itself was inconvertible.
Finally, when we felt we were ready to publish, we presented the photos to the Ministry of Defence in London ten hours before publication and they raised no issues of authenticity.
Nevertheless, after a two-week firestorm following publication, led by Tony Blair's government who insisted the pictures were fake, I was unceremoniously fired.
I sincerely believed then and I still believe now, that those photos, as with the abuse they depicted, were genuine.
Buzzfeed, by contrast, don't know or seemingly care if their published documents are genuine. They want the public to decide.
That way, surely, lies the death of real journalism?
Fake news is a massive problem in the modern media landscape.
It is eroding all trust in all news media.
Trump's undoubtedly helped fuel some of this crisis by aggressively promoting absurd conspiracy theories such as Barack Obama being born in Africa.
Trump's has helped fuel the fake news crisis by aggressively promoting absurd conspiracy theories such as Barack Obama being born in Africa
So for him to cry 'foul' now will strike many as pretty rich and I would absolutely urge him when he's President to stick to facts in his public pronouncements, not wild rumours.
Just as I would urge him to repair relations with the US intelligence agencies because this current war of mutual attrition helps nobody.
BUT, and it's a vital 'but', that doesn't make the behaviour of Buzzfeed any more acceptable.
If they can do this to the new President, and get away with it, then anyone in the US mainstream media can now publish anything without bothering to even check if it's true.
That will, I guarantee it, be the death of US mainstream media.
And yes, Buzzfeed is absolutely now mainstream media, given its huge financial support from NBC.
My former employers CNN, who first reported yesterday on the dossier, but crucially didn't include the details of the specific allegations, are not as culpable as Trump believes in all this, but they're not blameless either.
They gave an official gloss to a dossier that looks extremely flimsy and full of wild badly-sourced allegations, thus making it seem more important and accurate than it was, and of course, prompting Buzzfeed into running with the full works.
And the real villain here is whoever leaked it to Buzzfeed and other media in the first place, if the motivation was purely to damage Trump at the expense of the truth, particularly if that person works for the US intelligence community.
The stakes are very high here.
A free press is the very cornerstone of any democracy.
If fake news goes mainstream like this, without any checks and balances, then the pivotal place of the free press in American culture will be over, toast, defunct, kaput.
So shame on you, Buzzfeed.
As Trump said at his press conference, what you did to him was 'an absolute disgrace'.
And that's a fact
DNI Clapper Posts Statement About Trump Discussion in Advance of Senate Intelligence Hearing Tomorrow'... | The Last Refuge
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper releases a statement about a conversation held with President-elect Donald Trump this evening:
(Link to Statement Release)
Against the backdrop of the current media stories, Director Clapper is simply trying to get out in front of -and avoid- direct questions which will be coming at him tomorrow during a Senate Hearing about the ''vast Russian conspiracy''. Clapper's motive here is transparent.
Tomorrow James Clapper, John Brennan, James Comey and Mike Rogers are due to brief the Senate on the intelligence community findings of Russian hacking etc. Someone was going to ask Clapper directly about the CNN report.
The questions were, perhaps still are, going to go through the panel thusly:
Question #1.) Director Clapper did you brief President-elect Trump on anything surrounding the content of a two page addendum or index during the briefing you provided last Friday? Was the addendum discussed? Was any part of a 35 page dossier discussed?
Question #2.) Do you have any idea how a false framework of the Friday intelligence briefing would have reached CNN?
Question #3.) Director Clapper, did you or any member of your staff leak the content of the briefing with President-elect Donald Trump to any member of the press?
Question #4.) Director Clapper, do you or any member of your staff, have any information about how the construct of the briefing was revealed to CNN or any media outlet?
The answers therein, were going to destroy the manufactured IC/Media narrative being sold by CNN. Clapper needs to get out ahead of the controversy. Clapper knows what CTH knows, and what CTH has outlined.
With President-elect Donald Trump taking an assertive and investigative stance toward intelligence manipulation and leaks, Clapper is simply trying to head off inquiries which might stem as an outcome of Trump's investigative request to congress.
Nothing more.
Open Thread - And You Thought 'Golden Showers' Was Gross
Trump's Inauguration Committee Chairman said ""What we've done instead of trying to surround him with what people consider A-listers is we are going to surround him with the soft sensuality of the place....It's a much more poetic cadence than having a circus-like celebration that's a coronation."
There was yet another epic fail by a liberal elite talking head last night, this time it was Meryl Streep at the Golden Globes.
Whilst giving the now standard anti-Trump diatribe in her acceptance speech, she said, "Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners and if we kick 'em all out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts."
The is a complete fail on her part, below I have listed the current list of female and male UFC champions with their respective nationalities and as you'll see, MMA is a bit more "foreign" than Meryl Streep made it out to be, something she should have checked before making such a stupid statement.
Female Champions:
Strawweight - Joanna Jedrzeczyk (Poland)
Bantamweight - Amanda Nunes (Brazil)
Male Champions:
Flyweight - Demetrious Johnson (USA)
Bantamweight - Cody Garbrandt (USA)
Featherweight - José Aldo (Brazil)
Lightweight - Conor McGregor (Ireland)
Welterweight - Tyron Woodley (USA)
Middleweight - Michael Bisping (England)
Light Heavyweight - Daniel Cormier (USA)
Heavyweight - Stipe Miocic (USA but both parents from Croatia)
A pair of California lawmakers introduced bills Wednesday in hopes it will combat the wave of fake news that trickled to the forefront of the 2016 presidential election.
Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez wants high schools to teach students how to spot the different between real news from fake.
Gomez, a Los Angeles Democrat, said students should learn reasoning skills to assess what they read online.
"Recently, we have seen the corrupting effects of a deliberate propaganda campaign driven by fake news," Gomez said in a statement. "When fake news is repeated, it becomes difficult for the public to discern what's real. These attempts to mislead readers pose a direct threat to our democracy."
AB155 would commission new curriculum standards that include strategies for identifying false reports.
According to the Los Angeles Times, state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, proposed a separate bill to piggyback off of Gomez's fight against fake news. Dodd's bill proposes that requires the state education board to start a ''media literacy'' curriculum.
Dodd called the rise of fake news ''deeply concerning'' and added that it's also concerning people can't distinguish between what's fact and what's fiction.
The problem of false reports masquerading as news emerged as a major issue of the 2016 election. Many such reports were shared widely on social media during the campaign.
Gomez insists fake news poses "a direct threat to our democracy."
When Jim DeMint wanted to dis a TV interviewer's suggestion that Obamacare has merits as well as flaws, the former senator and tea partyer used a handy putdown: ''You can put all that under the category of fake news.''
When conspiracy theorist Alex Jones wanted to deny a CNN report that Ivanka Trump would take over the East Wing offices traditionally occupied by the first lady, he used the same label.
And when a writer for an arch-conservative website needed a putdown for ABC's chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, he reached for the obvious: ''fake-news propagandist.''
Fake news has a real meaning '-- deliberately constructed lies, in the form of news articles, meant to mislead the public. For example: The one falsely claiming that Pope Francis had endorsed Donald Trump, or the one alleging without basis that Hillary Clinton would be indicted just before the election.
But though the term hasn't been around long, its meaning already is lost. Faster than you could say ''Pizzagate,'' the label has been co-opted to mean any number of completely different things: Liberal claptrap. Or opinion from left-of-center. Or simply anything in the realm of news that the observer doesn't like to hear.
''The speed with which the term became polarized and in fact a rhetorical weapon illustrates how efficient the conservative media machine has become,'' said George Washington University professor Nikki Usher.
As Jeremy Peters wrote in the New York Times: ''Conservative cable and radio personalities, top Republicans and even Mr. Trump himself .'.'. have appropriated the term and turned it against any news they see as hostile to their agenda.''
So, here's a modest proposal for the truth-based community.
Let's get out the hook and pull that baby off stage. Yes: Simply stop using it.
Instead, call a lie a lie. Call a hoax a hoax. Call a conspiracy theory by its rightful name. After all, ''fake news'' is an imprecise expression to begin with.
''Fake news means different things to different people,'' Usher told me. ''Is it satire? Comedy news? Partisan conspiracy? Partisan journalism? Big mistakes reliable news institutions have made, or hoaxes they fell for?''
What's more, the term is being used to discredit '-- or at least muddy the waters for '-- legitimate fact-checking efforts.
Glenn Kessler, who writes The Post's Fact Checker, put it this way: ''People seem to confuse reporting mistakes by established news organizations with obviously fraudulent news produced by Macedonian teenagers.'' (BuzzFeed reported in early November that young Macedonians were setting up sites on Facebook devoted to click-baity, pro-Trump deception, and reaping advertising profits.)
Kessler noted that he's often asked by readers to investigate ''fake news'' that is nothing more than a correctable error in legitimate journalism.
BuzzFeed, meanwhile, is digging deeper into the rise of deliberate deception in the form of news stories, with the appointment of debunking expert Craig Silverman, formerly of Poynter.org, as its media editor.
Breitbart News '-- long run by Trump's chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon '-- took a whack at that move in an article titled, ''How BuzzFeed Editor Craig Silverman Helped Generate the 'Fake News' Crisis.'' Its point: That BuzzFeed ginned up the left's concern over these online lies by reporting on them just before the election when they had actually been around all along. (Breitbart writer Jerome Hudson noted that the Guardian had reported on the Macedonian sites earlier, but BuzzFeed's piece made it go viral.)
Don't get me wrong. Lies in the form of news stories are a real problem, and in need of real attention. That became abundantly clear when a North Carolina man carried his assault rifle into a Washington, D.C., pizzeria recently to ''self-investigate'' what he'd read on the Internet: made-up nonsense about a nonexistent child prostitution ring involving Hillary Clinton.
We need to find a way to talk about it. Usher, for one, isn't ready to dispense with the term because she thinks it serves a purpose for ''the politically independent, moderately informed, regular voter .'.'. who hasn't decamped yet to polarized media'' '-- a way to express concern about mistakes, misinformation and conspiracy all at once.
Indeed, all those problems are real, and discussing them important. But putting them all in a blender and slapping on a fuzzy name doesn't move us forward.
''Fake news'' has had its 15 minutes of fame. Let's put this tainted term out of its misery.
For more by Margaret Sullivan visit wapo.st/sullivan
A compilation of allegations, published by BuzzFeed, suggesting the Kremlin has been manipulating U.S President-elect Donald Trump reveals the strategy that opponents of dialogue with Russia are likely to pursue most ferociously in Europe throughout the year.
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OpinionThe Kremlin has no compromising materials on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump or his former rival at the presidential elections Democrat Hillary Clinton, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Jan. 11. Source: Reuters
The assortment of memos, 35 pages in total, compiled by an unidentified former British intelligence official '' who is reportedly collaborating with Trump's political opponents '' contain potentially damaging accusations related to the U.S. President-elect's personal and financial dealings.
The allegations in the dossier included suggestions that Moscow possesses original copies of Trump's tax returns. The disclosure of his actual - rumored to be meagre - wealth would be devastating for Trump's reputation and business.
The dossier also includes guesses at the scale of Trump's business interests inside Russia and sleazy supposition that Russian intelligence could have ''filmed Trump in an orgy while in Russia'' and might use the 'sex tape' to blackmail the U.S. President-elect.
The memos were floating around Washington D.C. for months (the original dossier reportedly surfaced last summer) but were only made public on the eve of Tump's inauguration - due Friday, January 20. No pure coincidence. It might be regarded as part of the hybrid war launched from within the as yet ''drained swamp'' against the new U.S. President.
'Murky' revelationsThe most intriguing allegations refer to key figures close to Trump who allegedly met with Russian officials under undisclosed circumstances, which prompted the 'source' to assume that it could have been for no other purpose than plotting against Hillary Clinton or even aimed at undermining U.S. democracy.
The claims are of dubious value, to say the least. European news outlet POLITICO notes: ''The details of these revelations remain murky and unverified.''
The report alleges that Michael Cohen, attorney for the Trump Organization, met with Russian government representatives in Prague.
Cohen has published a scan of his passport with the caption: ''I have never been to Prague in my life.'' Furthermore, as he told POLITICO, ''The entire report is inaccurate'' and added, ''I have never met with any Russian, Kremlin officials. I have never been to Russia.''
The same line of ridicule and objections was followed by long-time informal Trump adviser Roger Stone who told POLITICO: ''No substantiation, no confirmation, rife with misspellings'', and then concluded: ''This is a bad joke.''
Zack Beauchamp of Vox news made waves with a report headlined ''Bombshell CNN report: Russia might have dirt on Trump'' and speculated about the assumption that Trump might be indebted to ''Russian oligarchs and banks who are under the thumb of the Kremlin and Russian security services.''
Yet, he ends the story in a telling way: ''To be crystal clear: I have no reason to believe any of these theories are correct. We don't even know if the British intelligence officer's report, the one the intel community is currently tracking down, is accurate.''
Cohen retorted: ''Clearly, the person who created this did so from imagination or did so hoping that the liberal media would run with this fake story for whatever rationale they might have.''
Fake newsThe motivation for BuzzFeed's editor in chief, Ben Smith, to publish the compilation of allegations might be a bit questionable. He took the trouble of explaining his decision to publish the story in a memo to staff: ''So that Americans can make up their own minds.''
Smith admitted that proving the allegations may require testimony from key witnesses that have been ''silenced'' (by whom?) and that some claims are ''potentially unverifiable.''
It was revealed that BuzzFeed News reporters in the U.S. and Europe investigated the claims but failed either to verify or dismiss them.
That begs the question: What is the benefit for the public in the U.S. and elsewhere to be offered unverified assertions that can serve only to delegitimize Trump on the eve of his inauguration?
Moreover, doesn't the 'murky' (as termed by POLITICO) dossier fall into the lately much vilified category of ''fake news''?
Smear campaignOnce again, as in the case of unproven 'hacking' by Moscow of the Democratic National Convention computers, the intention of the spin-doctors close to the outgoing administration was not so much to find truth but to cast a shadow of doubt over the foreign policy priorities outlined by President-elect.
The allegations ''should shake every American to the core'', said Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, who happens to be ''a long-time Clinton ally'', POLITICO reports.
The four commentators at POLITICO (Eli Stokols, Shane Goldmacher, Josh Dawsey and Michael Crowley) are correct to pinpoint the purpose of the publication of the allegations that, '''...provide fodder for critics hoping to block Trump's planned realignment with Russia, who fear Trump could grant Moscow a freer hand in Syria, recognize Putin's March 2014 annexation of Crimea, lift U.S. sanctions, and even call for a reduced NATO presence in Eastern Europe.''
Trump's alternative foreign policy agenda is expected to be built on dialogue with Moscow. This pivot runs counter to the unarticulated Obama administration's war doctrine manifested in at least 26,171 bombs dropped in 2016 alone (72 bombs a day, or three bombs every hour) plus the project he inherited from Georg Bush - the extended and unaccountable CIA drone program dubbed ''killing by remote control'' by Medea Benjamin, cofounder of Codepink.
Presenting or rather painting Trump as either a Kremlin puppet or a dependable client who owes favors to Russian oligarchs is aimed not only at sabotaging his legitimacy but also at limiting his chances of a 'reset' in relations with Moscow.
More to comeGiven that the first shots in the disinformation war have been fired, Moscow political strategists should better follow the sensible advice from the UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson who suggested Britain should adopt a policy towards Russia, as quoted in The Guardian, of ''a twin-track policy of engagement and vigilance.''
However, one thing should be clarified: Since successive British governments have been consistently rupturing bi-lateral ties with Russia, was Johnson implying positive or negative engagement?
Surprisingly, the maverick-in-chief of the UK Foreign Office backtracked on his previous bellicose pronouncements. Despite reiterating the claim that Russia is ''up to all sorts of very dirty tricks'', Johnson during his meeting with officials of the incoming Trump administration admitted: '''...it would be folly further to demonize Russia or to push Russia into a corner.''
It might sound reassuring but the neoliberal political clans in Europe would hardly accept these tactics since the rise of popularity of the counter-elites bent on restoring state sovereignty constitute an existential threat to the concept of a globalized world, with countries deprived of cultural roots and national identity.
The coming elections in 2017 in The Netherlands, France and Germany might see a surge in the popularity of non-mainstream parties that are not out of touch with the people and the realities.
Fear of losing electorate ground and eventually power to the alternative political forces might well induce the opponents of ''national state'' resurgence to keep demonizing Russia and Putin personally '' to explain why their credibility is gradually waning.
More dangerous is the likelihood that 'fake news' campaigns would be used to challenge the results of the elections if they do not fit into the expectations of the ''globalist project'' champions.
The explosive gearing up of the misinformation crusade targeting Russia, focused on searching for foreign enemies (reminiscent of the ''Reds under the bed'' of the 1950s) and Kremlin agents of influence, gives credence to a forecast: This witch-hunt campaign is most likely to dominate the 2017 elections landscape in Europe.
Vladimir Mikheev is a freelance commentator for Russia Beyond The Headlines. His opinion does not reflect the position of RBTH or its staff.
WASHINGTON (WJLA) - Exactly two weeks away from President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, we're learning the longtime and legendary voice of the parade will not be behind the microphone this year.
Charlie Brotman has announced every inaugural parade since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957. The walls of his Silver Spring, Maryland home are lined with memorabilia and photos of him greeting many presidents, celebrities and sports stars.
In all, the 89-year-old has served as lead announcer for 11 presidents during inaugural parades. He is also remembered by many fans as the iconic voice of the Washington Senators baseball team.
He had already started preparing for the 45th president's parade, but said he was left "heartbroken'' this week when he learned he was not invited to resume that role this year.
''I've been doing this for 60 years,'' he said.
He learned about the change in an email. ''At first this is [Thursday], I was destroyed,'' he said.
In a statement, Presidential Inaugural Committee Director of Communications Boris Epshteyn said:
"Since 1957, millions of Americans and countless entertainers have come to recognize Charlie Brotman as the voice of the inaugural parade. The Presidential Inaugural Committee will be proud to honor Charlie as Announcer Chairman Emeritus on January 20th. We are thrilled for Steve Ray to be introducing a new generation of Americans to the grand traditions of the inaugural parade.''
Ray is a D.C.-based freelance announcer, audio engineer and producer. He has also done promotional segments for the Washington Nationals.
''I'm not replacing Charlie. I'm not filling his shoes,'' Ray said. ''I'm really just the guy who's next, because Charlie is irreplaceable. He's an absolute legend.''
Brotman said he still has not been told why this happened, but suspects it's because Ray supported the Trump campaign and the president-elect values loyalty.
''I want [Ray] to do good,'' Brotman said. ''As opposed to, boy, I hope he fouls up so they say, 'We want Charlie back.' No. I don't want that at all.''
He added, ''I'm saying, 'You know what? Good luck, young man. I hope you do spectacular.'''
Brotman has been offered a VIP seat and special recognition during the event.
Now that he has had time to digest it all, he said he is feeling better.
''And I'm thinking - you know what, Charlie Brotman? You are one lucky son of a gun!''
So, will Brotman attend the parade? He is still not sure.
He said he is weighing whether to accept the role of ''Announcer Chairman Emeritus.'' He is also considering several options and offers from multiple media outlets and networks.
''Two more came in just today,'' he said with excitement.
On Donald Trump's first day in office, organizers of the Women's March on Washington are calling on ''all defenders of the human rights'' to join together to stand up for women and other groups that have been marginalized.
But there's one group, comprised of about half of the population, that is hard to find in the social media and logistical frenzy leading up to the highest profile event protesting Trump's politics: Men.
Of the 175,000 people who indicated they are going on the March's Facebook page, just a fraction appear to be men. And the #WhyIMarch Twitter feeds show far more mothers and sisters than fathers and brothers. On the ground, march organizers in Houston, Cleveland and Pittsburgh reported that just a handful of the seats on their buses have been reserved by men.
''This is a movement that is led by women, but it is not just for women. It's for all people,'' said Linda Sarsour, one of the march's lead organizers.
One caveat: ''You have to be okay with being led by women,'' she said.
(Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post)
The same test that played out when Americans went to vote for the nation's first female president is now playing out in the anti-Trump response to the election. Some scholars of gender and politics say that while plenty of these men believe in women's rights and abilities to lead, many still aren't comfortable shouting their views through a bullhorn or spreading them on Twitter. Even those who show up might be unlikely to signal so beforehand.
[It started with a retiree. Now the Women's March could be the biggest inauguration demonstration]
''A lot of men are quiet supporters of women,''said Jackson Katz, author of Man Enough? Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the Politics of Presidential Masculinity. Millions of men voted for Hillary and support women's rights both politically and personally, he said, but they don't have a powerful voice.
Plans to attend the march formed quickly among female friends and relatives, many of whom also took to social media to channel their disappointment after the election.
Katz attributes the more muffled support among men in part to efforts that Trump and other Republicans have made to challenge the masculinity of men who support liberal causes or women in leadership. Trump repeatedly cast himself as the strong man.
Alex Mohajer, co-founder of Bros 4 Hillary, an advocacy group, said it this way: ''There is a sense [that] if you outwardly support a woman you are less deserving of your man stripes.''
The November election exposed the largest gender gap in more than 40 years, with women favoring Clinton by 13 points and men favoring Trump by 11 points. The gap was most stark for white men, in particular non-college educated white men, 71 percent of whom voted for Trump. For this group of economically challenged men, Trump's appeal to a simpler time when men ruled the family resonated.
At the same time, millions of men went to vote for Clinton as the first female president. Among them, 82 percent of African American me and 63 percent of Latino men. Younger men '-- aged 18 to 29 '-- were also more supportive of Clinton and also are likely to support gender-equality when it comes to a range of family-friendly policies.
Katz said these men will need to speak out if they don't want to see abortion outlawed, given Trump's pledge to appoint anti-abortion judges to federal courts. They will also need to make known, he said, that they believe preventing sexual violence should be a priority, after Trump openly bragged about assaulting women.
''That means taking some risks in challenging other men, and literally standing up to the bullying that comes from the right about masculinity,'' Katz said.
[The unexpected voters behind the widest gender gap in recorded election history]
Women are leading the charge for the march, heading up logistics and legal work, while male volunteers are playing mostly supporting roles. It's a contrast to the 1963 March on Washington, when women largely worked behind the scenes.
''This is all a part of straightening that bend in the road that women did not have a voice through the years,'' said Harry Belafonte, the music legend and civil rights leader who worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and was asked to be an honorary co-chair of the event with feminist icon Gloria Steinam.
''A lot of women are going with their friends, their sisters, and their mothers,'' said Leah Burnett, a musician who helped organize five bus loads of marchers from Cleveland. ''I think it's a bonding experience.''
She counted less than 10 of the more than 250 seats that she can confirm have been reserved by men.
Many men who have pledged support for the march on Facebook say they are motivated to attend to continue the progress that women have made.
Tim Riddick, a 36-yeard old photographer from Woodbridge, said he plans to join the march because he wants to set an example for his three young sons.
''I am worrying about the way my boys will treat women when they are older. I want to make sure they not only respect women but that they fight for women as well,'' he said.
Riddick calls himself a ''purple elephant,'' a rare liberal who is also an observant Christian. He believes that women should be leaders in the church and also in the nation - and he believes women's rights will not be successful without support from both genders. That means blending the line on what is considered a ''women's issue'' to start with, including access to abortion and birth control.
Jeffrey Allan Ellis-Lee, a public school teacher in New York City, volunteered to be a bus captain, helping to shepherd a fleet of more than 60 buses that are scheduled to bring protesters from New York City and building on organizing work he did during Clinton's campaign.
"This was such an anti-woman campaign,'' he said. ''There are so many issues, but this is the issue that I am standing up for during the march itself.''
Gerald Dudley, 33, is attending a solidarity march in Austin, Tex, where he works for a company that hosts pub quizzes. He said he wants to be much more outspoken in his support for women's rights. ''It's not enough to say, 'I'm not a misogynist,''' he said. ''This year I am trying to put my money where my mouth is.''
To him, that means donating to feminist causes, seeking out more women's perspectives in his reading, and calling out sexism when he encounters it. ''When I hear a joke where the butt of the joke is a woman ... Maybe I could say, 'I don't get it: Why is that funny?'''
Darren Battle, a 51-year old chef in Atlanta, is coming to Washington for the March because he wants to support equal pay and other equal rights.
''There are not many female chefs. But if they are doing the job, they should be making what I am making,'' he said.
Duncan Chaplin, an education policy researcher in Petworth, said when he heard about the Women's March he immediately planned to go and invited friends from out of town.
''Being part of a loyal opposition is important,'' he said. ''I want to oppose what Trump stands for, and women's issues are clearly a part of that.''
TheWomen's March on Washington D.C. is happening January 21, 2017! The Pussyhat Project launched Thanksgiving weekend! As of now, we have 12 days to knit, crochet, and sew 1.17 million pink pussyhats. Join the movement!
Please check out The PDF to get the whole picture of what we're about. We'll be updating this website with more content SOON.
A group of liberal Hollywood celebrities are threatening a ''massive, all-round Hollywood strike'' unless Donald Trump resigns. Describing Hollywood as ''the base of the entire modern American culture'', the group also claims to be speaking on behalf of ''all of humanity.''
''It's about time people understood that we're the ones with the power and that the president is there to serve us, not the other way around'', a spokesperson for the group told The New York Times.
''We're calling for a general strike that would include every single person involved in making motion pictures in Hollywood, starting with the actors and celebrities themselves and encompassing companies in charge of making props, movie memorabilia and even souvenir shops.''
Spinzon reports: Rosie O'Donnell, Debra Messing, Ed Asner and Michael Shannon are among the dozens of artists, entertainers, and activists who have attached their names to an effort calling for a month-long protest to stop President-elect Donald Trump.
''No! In the Name of Humanity We Refuse to Accept a Fascist America!'' reads a full-page ad placed in the New York Times on Wednesday by the group Refuse Racism. ''Donald Trump, the President-elect, is assembling a regime of grave danger,'' the ad says.
''Millions of people in the US and around the world are filled with deep anxiety, fear and disgust. Our anguish is right and just. Our anger must now become massive resistance '' before Donald Trump is inaugurated and has the full reins of power in his hands.''
Other Hollywood celebrities who have also joined the campaign, however, are calling for an all-out strike that would span the entire movie industry in the hopes that such a move would urge the President-elect to resign from his position as the newly elected President of the United States.
''We're calling for a general strike that would include every single person involved in making motion pictures in Hollywood, starting with the actors and celebrities themselves and encompassing companies in charge of making props, movie memorabilia and even souvenir shops,'' a spokesperson for the Refuse Racism group told The New York Times. ''It's about time people understood that we're the ones with the power and that the president is there to serve us, not the other way around.''
Asked to elaborate on why the group is targeting Hollywood out of all the industries in the country as their bargaining chip, the spokesperson argued that Hollywood ''is, simply put, the base of the entire modern American culture. It is the foundation of the country, so to speak, the glue that's holding it together. And think about what happens when you destroy the foundation of a house. It comes crashing down, right? Well, that's exactly what's going to happen to America unless Donald Trump realizes how real the danger of that actually is, and chooses to step down as President of his own free will. And while we're on the subject, between you and me '' nobody wants Hollywood to stop doing its thing, but this is a necessary move.''
''Besides, it's not like the billionaire-businessman-turned-president hasn't ventured into movies in his day, right? So, he'll understand firsthand what's going to happen if Hollywood goes to strike. Without the work of Hollywood and the lifestyle promoted by it, there will literally be no more America to rule for Trump. So, in effect, it's not us that are going to force Donald Trump to resign his office; it's the people of America who are going to make him do it, because the God's honest truth is '' without Hollywood, there is no America. It's like trying to run Nazi Germany without Hitler at the forefront '' it just becomes pointless,'' the spokesperson concluded.
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Celebrities Call For A Massive, All-Round Strike In Hollywood ''Until The Fascist Trump Resigns''
Rosie O'Donnell, Debra Messing, Ed Asner and Michael Shannon are among the dozens of artists, entertainers, and activists who have attached their names to an effort calling for a month-long protest to stop President-elect Donald Trump. ''No! In the Name of Humanity We Refuse to Accept a Fascist America!'' reads a full-page ad placed in the New York Times on Wednesday by the group Refuse Racism. ''Donald Trump, the President-elect, is assembling a regime of grave danger,'' the ad says. ''Millions of people in the US and around the world are filled with deep anxiety, fear and disgust. Our anguish is right and just. Our anger must now become massive resistance '' before Donald Trump is inaugurated and has the full reins of power in his hands.''
Other Hollywood celebrities who have also joined the campaign, however, are calling for an all-out strike that would span the entire movie industry in the hopes that such a move would urge the President-elect to resign from his position as the newly elected President of the United States. ''We're calling for a general strike that would include every single person involved in making motion pictures in Hollywood, starting with the actors and celebrities themselves and encompassing companies in charge of making props, movie memorabilia and even souvenir shops,'' a spokesperson for the Refuse Racism group told The New York Times. ''It's about time people understood that we're the ones with the power and that the president is there to serve us, not the other way around.''
Asked to elaborate on why the group is targeting Hollywood out of all the industries in the country as their bargaining chip, the spokesperson argued that Hollywood ''is, simply put, the base of the entire modern American culture. It is the foundation of the country, so to speak, the glue that's holding it together. And think about what happens when you destroy the foundation of a house. It comes crashing down, right? Well, that's exactly what's going to happen to America unless Donald Trump realizes how real the danger of that actually is, and chooses to step down as President of his own free will. And while we're on the subject, between you and me '' nobody wants Hollywood to stop doing its thing, but this is a necessary move.''
''Besides, it's not like the billionaire-businessman-turned-president hasn't ventured into movies in his day, right? So, he'll understand firsthand what's going to happen if Hollywood goes to strike. Without the work of Hollywood and the lifestyle promoted by it, there will literally be no more America to rule for Trump. So, in effect, it's not us that are going to force Donald Trump to resign his office; it's the people of America who are going to make him do it, because the God's honest truth is '' without Hollywood, there is no America. It's like trying to run Nazi Germany without Hitler at the forefront '' it just becomes pointless,'' the spokesperson concluded.
GSA wants more info on Trump's D.C. hotel plansBy Adam MazmanianJan 11, 2017 President-elect Donald Trump's Washington, D.C. hotel is housed in the government-owned Old Post Office building.
At a ranging and sometimes raucous Jan. 11 press conference, President-elect Donald Trump, with an assist from his legal team, gave the first description of plans for the disposition of the businessman-turned-politician's financial and property holdings.
In brief, Trump announced plans to recuse himself from the day-to-day operations of his businesses and place them in a trust to be managed by his son's Eric and Donald Jr.
Trump resisted calls from the Office of Government Ethics and others to divest his holdings. OGE memorably made its pitch for total divestment in a series of tweets on Nov. 30.
One holding may pose particular problems -- the Trump Organization's hotel in Washington, D.C.'s historic Old Post Office Building, which is owned and leased to Trump by the General Services Administration. The hotel lease specifies that the lease-holder cannot be an elected federal official.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, drew attention to the terms of the lease and the potential for conflict. In December, GSA said it was premature to release an opinion about whether the Trump Organization was in breach of the lease.
After the press conference, the agency put out a statement saying, "GSA understands that an announcement has been made to change the business structure of the Trump Organization. We are seeking additional information that explains and describes any new organizational structure as it applies to the Old Post Office lease."
The statement continued that GSA will "review this new organizational structure and determine its compliance with all the terms and conditions of the lease."
One of Trump's attorneys, Sheri Dillon of the firm Morgan Lewis, also addressed the issue of emoluments -- gifts from foreign powers that are prohibited to federal officials including the president and vice president under the U.S. Constitution. Dillon announced that profits from payments to Trump hotels from foreign governments will be donated to the U.S. Treasury.
"This way, it is the American people who will profit," Dillon said.
Walter M. Shaub, Jr., the director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, responded by saying that the Trump plan did not go far enough in the direction of divestment.
"Trump's current plan does not achieve anything like the clean break Rex Tillerson is making from Exxon," Shaub said at a Jan. 11 Brookings Institution event. "I don't think divestiture is too high a price to pay to be president of the United States of America."
Many prominent government ethics experts agreed with Shaub's position.
"Trump's announced structure is cleverly designed to dazzle and deceive, but it solves none of the serious ethical or legal issues," Laurence Tribe, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard said on Twitter.
Norm Eisen, the former Obama administration ethics czar, said at the Brookings event that "the president-elect has nine days to fix this problem." After he assumes office, Eisen said, Trump runs the risk of being in violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, among other potential problems.
This story was updated on Jan. 11 with analysis from government ethics experts.
About the Author
Adam Mazmanian is executive editor of FCW.
Before joining the editing team, Mazmanian was an FCW staff writer covering Congress, government-wide technology policy, health IT and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to joining FCW, Mr. Mazmanian was technology correspondent for National Journal and served in a variety of editorial at B2B news service SmartBrief. Mazmanian started his career as an arts reporter and critic, and has contributed reviews and articles to the Washington Post, the Washington City Paper, Newsday, Architect magazine, and other publications. He was an editorial assistant and staff writer at the now-defunct New York Press and arts editor at the About.com online network in the 1990s, and was a weekly contributor of music and film reviews to the Washington Times from 2007 to 2014.
Click here for previous articles by Mazmanian. Connect with him on Twitter at @thisismaz.
Obama appointee to lead VA under TrumpBy Adam MazmanianJan 11, 2017 Veterans Affairs Undersecretary for Health David Shulkin testifying before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
Dr. David Shulkin, currently under secretary of health at the Department of Veterans Affairs, has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the agency.
Shulkin, an appointee of President Barack Obama, was confirmed as the head of VA's health delivery system on June 23, 2015 on a voice vote. While Shulkin is not himself a veteran, he was born on an Army base in Highland Park, Ill., according to his statement at his confirmation hearing, where his father worked caring for military personnel. During his medical training, he worked at VA medical centers in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and West Haven, Conn.
"President-elect Trump's commitment to caring for our veterans is unquestionable and he is eager to support the best practices for care and provide our Veterans Affairs' teams with the resources they need to improve health outcomes," Shulkin said in a statement put out by the transition's communication office. "We are both eager to begin reforming the areas in our Veterans Affairs system that need critical attention, and do it in a swift, thoughtful and responsible way."
"I have no doubt Dr. Shulkin will be able to lead the turnaround our Department of Veterans Affairs needs. His sole mandate will be to serve our veterans and restore the level of care we owe to our brave men and women in the military," Trump said.
Shulkin said in his confirmation hearing that he was pleased with the reforms undertaken by current VA Secretary Robert McDonald, and he supported legislation that extended the private-sector options of VA patients.
"The Blue Print for Excellence to improve VA is a well thought out and comprehensive plan. The Choice Plan and the ability to offer seamless care between VA and the DOD and care in the private sector are also critical and efforts I would fully support," he said.
Throughout his tenure, Shulkin has worked closely with VA CIO LaVerne Council on modernizing health technology at the agency. They have pioneered a digital health platform that is designed to make VA health data more accessible and usable across its enterprise and interoperable with military and private-sector providers. The effort is also designed to makes heath data more open to veterans and give veterans the ability to connect data from wearables to their health records.
At a June 24 hearing, Shulkin said that the digital health platform was not dependent on any single electronic health record, setting the stage for a public discussion of the future of Vista, the VA's home-grown open-source health care system. The next iteration of Vista is scheduled for delivery in 2018.
Shulkin and Council appeared jointly at several hearings to sell lawmakers on the digital health platform and try to allay widespread concerns about deficiencies of Vista. Their partnership raises the question of whether Council, also a political appointee, could be asked to remain at the VA. An email to the Office of Information and Technology was not immediately answered.
About the Author
Adam Mazmanian is executive editor of FCW.
Before joining the editing team, Mazmanian was an FCW staff writer covering Congress, government-wide technology policy, health IT and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to joining FCW, Mr. Mazmanian was technology correspondent for National Journal and served in a variety of editorial at B2B news service SmartBrief. Mazmanian started his career as an arts reporter and critic, and has contributed reviews and articles to the Washington Post, the Washington City Paper, Newsday, Architect magazine, and other publications. He was an editorial assistant and staff writer at the now-defunct New York Press and arts editor at the About.com online network in the 1990s, and was a weekly contributor of music and film reviews to the Washington Times from 2007 to 2014.
Click here for previous articles by Mazmanian. Connect with him on Twitter at @thisismaz.
Chelsea Manning on 'Short List' for Obama Commutation
Whistleblower Manning has the longest sentence in U.S. history for leaking state documents.
Chelsea Manning, the former U.S. army intelligence analyst who is now serving the longest sentence of any whistleblower in U.S. history, is reportedly on President Barack Obama's ''short list'' to receive a presidential commutation.
OPINION:Presidential Pardons and the United States' Unpardonable Crimes
''The world is watching, and we hope that he stands on the side of justice, and that his legacy will be one of standing up for trans people's rights, not having extinguished one of our community's brightest lights,'' said Manning's lawyer Chase Strangio of the ACLU in a press release Wednesday.
NBC cited a source in the Justice Department Wednesday that Manning made the cut for commutations, which would shorten her sentence but not eliminate charges.
Manning is serving a 37-year prison sentence for violating the Espionage Act by leaking classified documents relating to U.S. war crimes in Iraq to WikiLeaks. She was placed in solitary confinement after attempting to commit suicide and despite a hunger strike and a petition of over 100,000 signatures to reduce her sentence, she remains behind bars.
WATCH: Llama Time: Whistleblowers
She responded with a tweet acknowledging the work of her supporters: ''Thank you all so very much. I'm totally honored.''
Manning, who said she had gender dysphoria while in the military and will undergo a sex reassignment surgery while in military prison, has become a symbol for many LGBTQ, free speech and civil liberty groups.
RELATED:Chelsea Manning: I Gave up on Trying to Live
''It is past time to start caring for a soldier who stood up for all of us,'' wrote Manning's counsels Nancy Hollander and Vincent Ward.
Edward Snowden, another whistleblower who leaked National Security Agency documents to Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, tweeted Wednesday, "Mr. President, if you grant only one act of clemency as you exit the White House, please: free Chelsea Manning. You alone can save her life." He himself is requesting clemency but may be less likely to receive it.
Obama has granted few presidential pardons but more commutations that any president, especially for nonviolent drug offenders.
President-elect Donald Trump lashed out at overspending on drugs and fighter jets during his press conference on Wednesday, giving progressives something to hope for but sending stocks in related companies diving.
First, he took aim at the drug industry, complaining that it is making too many of its products overseas and that the government does not negotiate with the industry for prices for the Medicare program.
''We have to get our drug industry coming back. Our drug industry has been disastrous, they've been leaving left and right,'' he said. ''The other thing we have to do is create new bidding procedures for the drug industry because they're getting away with murder. Pharma, Pharma has a lot of lobbyists '-- a lot of lobbyists '-- a lot of power, and there's very little bidding on drugs. We're the largest buyer of drugs in the world and yet we don't bid properly and we're going to start bidding and we're going to save billions of dollars over time.''
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a news conference at Trump Tower in New York on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017.
Photo: John Taggart/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Drug price negotiation has long been a goal of progressive health policy advocates, and was something that both Trump and Clinton campaigned on during the presidential election.
Medicare is currently prohibited by law from negotiating drug prices '-- unlike other parts of the government, such as the VA. It is estimated the government could save up to $16 billion annually if it simply was allowed to negotiate with companies for the prices. The president-elect can't do this unilaterally, however '-- he would have overturn a law passed by Congress, and thus would need the backing of lawmakers before making this change.
The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, which includes drugmakers, fell after the comments:
Google Finance
Trump also took aim at the F-35, a fighter jet whose development and support program has cost over $1 trillion and has been plagued by delays.
''I'm very much involved with the generals and admirals on the airplane, the F-35 you've been reading about it. And it's way, way behind schedule and many, many billions of dollars behind budget. I don't like that,'' he said. ''And the admirals have been fantastic. The generals have been fantastic. I've really gotten to know 'em well. And were going to do some big things on the F-35 program and perhaps the F-18 program. And we're going to get those costs way down, and we're gonna get the plane to be even better and we're going to have to competition. And it's going to be a beautiful thing.''
The stock price of Lockheed Martin, which produces the plane, did not react favorably:
Google Finance
Top photo: Specialist Mark Fitzgerald, left, works with traders at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 10, 2017.
Obamacare takes first real step closer to repeal after Senate vote
The President-elect says the Republican party 'doesn't want to own' Obamacare. He says the repeal and replace transition will happen 'essentially simultaneously'.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.(Photo: Yuri Gripas, AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON '-- After debating seven hours through the night, the Senate voted early Thursday to take the first real step toward repealing Obamacare '-- a top goal of congressional Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump.
Senators voted 51-48 to approve a budget resolution that Republicans will use as a vehicle to speed through repeal of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. House leaders plan to take it up Friday.
Senators began voting on 19 amendments to the resolution about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday before passing the budget measure about 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
Republicans said the 2010 health care law is broken and must be repealed and replaced with something better '-- although just what that replacement plan will look like has not yet been revealed by congressional leaders. Critics of the law cite sky-rocketing premiums, high deductibles and fewer health care choices for patients as insurers pull out of the program.
"When Obamacare's supporters forced their partisan law on our country, they promised an easy-to-use system; one that would lower premiums and out-of-pocket health care costs; one that would foster choice and allow families to keep the plans and doctors they liked," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "But it didn't take long for the American people to discover the truth about Obamacare. Too many have been personally hurt by this law. Too many feel they're worse off than they were before Obamacare."
Read more:
USA TODAY
Administration releases last big Obamacare sign-up report amid Hill fight
USA TODAY
Obamacare takes first real step closer to repeal after Senate vote
Democrats said repealing the law will strip millions of Americans of insurance, leave people with pre-existing medical conditions unable to find coverage, and increase the nation's budget deficit by $353 billion over the next 10 years as the tax and fee provisions that pay for Obamacare are gutted.
"Ripping apart our health care system '-- with no plan to replace it '-- will create chaos," said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the senior Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. "If Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act, it's women, kids, seniors, patients with serious illnesses, and people with disabilities who will bear the burden."
"Premiums will skyrocket," she continued. "Out-of-pocket prescription drug costs will rise. And overall health care costs will increase. It's a perfect storm to make America sick again '-- and absolutely the wrong direction for families and for our economy."
While Republicans are eager to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they have acknowledged that it could cause serious problems for Americans if the law is scrapped without a replacement plan ready to go.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters Tuesday that "it is our goal to bring it all together concurrently."
"We're going to use every tool at our disposal through legislation, through regulation, to bring replace concurrent along with repeal, so that we can save people from this mess," Ryan said. He did not offer details of what a replacement plan would include.
At a press conference Wednesday, Trump said he is prepared to offer a detailed replacement plan as soon as his nominee for Health and Human Services secretary '-- Republican Rep. Tom Price of Georgia '-- is confirmed by the Senate.
Republicans are using a procedural tactic known as budget reconciliation to prevent Senate Democrats from being able to block an Obamacare repeal. The procedure allows the Senate to pass a repeal with only a simple majority of 51 votes rather than the 60-vote super-majority required for most major bills. Republicans have 52 seats in the Senate.
The resolution that the Senate passed early Thursday directs key committees to write draft legislation by Jan. 27 to repeal the health care law. Some Republicans want the deadline to be pushed to March to give lawmakers more time to come up with a replacement plan.
Democrats offered amendments they knew would fail but that put senators on record voting for or against some of the more popular provisions of Obamacare. Those include a provision barring insurance companies from refusing to cover patients with pre-existing medical conditions and a provision that allows young adults to remain on their parents' health insurance until age 26.
Republicans have said they plan to keep those provisions in whatever replacement plan they offer.
PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP HOLDS FIRST NEWS CONFERENCEDonald Trump's news conference rattles drug stocks | 2:03President-elect Donald Trump held his first news conference in months and his comments on drug pricing sent biotech and pharma stocks lower. Newslook
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PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP HOLDS FIRST NEWS CONFERENCETrump thanks media who didn't report on Russia story | 1:33President-elect Donald Trump denounces the unverified Russian report released by Buzzfeed and thanks media organizations who didn't share the report. USA TODAY NETWORK
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PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP HOLDS FIRST NEWS CONFERENCETrump to CNN: 'You are fake news' | 1:11President-elect Trump scolded media outlets for inaccurate reports of his political adviser's whereabouts. USA TODAY NETWORK
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PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP HOLDS FIRST NEWS CONFERENCETrump: 'The greatest jobs producer that God ever created' | 0:43President-elect Trump declared he is determined to create jobs when he's in office. He also expressed excitement about his impending inauguration.
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PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP HOLDS FIRST NEWS CONFERENCETrump spokesman: Publishing Russian report, 'sad, pathetic' | 0:55Sean Spicer, the incoming White House Press Secretary for Donald Trump, opened up the President-elect's first press conference by bashing the news organizations who published the unverified reports on information allegedly obtained by Russia.
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PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP HOLDS FIRST NEWS CONFERENCEDonald Trump signs over family business to sons | 0:37President-elect Trump explains why his sons will run the Trump family business while he occupies the White House.
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PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP HOLDS FIRST NEWS CONFERENCETrump claims transition from Obamacare will be simultaneous | 0:56The President-elect says the Republican party 'doesn't want to own' Obamacare. He says the repeal and replace transition will happen 'essentially simultaneously'.
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PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP HOLDS FIRST NEWS CONFERENCETrump warns sons: Do a good job or I'll fire you | 0:46At the end of his press conference, President-elect Donald Trump says that if his two sons don't do well with his companies he'll tell them 'you're fired.' USA TODAY NETWORK
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WASHINGTON '-- Smartphone users in Russia can no longer download the LinkedIn app on iPhone or Android devices, following a similar move in China to block The New York Times app on iPhones.
The demand by Russian authorities to remove LinkedIn in Apple and Google app stores comes weeks after a court blocked the professional networking service for flouting local laws that require internet firms to store data on Russian citizens within the nation's borders.
The action is the equivalent of a nation banning ''Catcher in The Rye'' and then forcing booksellers to remove the title from their shelves. It puts Apple and Google in a difficult position. The companies are strong proponents of open internet policies and free speech but are now being asked to be agents for governments that censor its citizens.
When LinkedIn's website was blocked, the apps stopped functioning properly. Removing them from the Google Play store and Apple's App Store may not have cut off access to content, but it sent a signal that countries can push the tech giants to remove the apps.
Direct blocking of websites has been done by China, Russia, Turkey and several other nations for years, usually through their state-run internet service providers. But civil rights groups say the pressure authoritarian governments are now placing on Apple and Google is a new wrinkle.
''Apps are the new choke point of free expression,'' said Rebecca MacKinnon, who leads a project on open internet tracking at New America.
Increasingly, United States tech companies are complying with those demands. In the early 2000s, American internet firms strongly pushed back on demands by China to comply with censorship rules within the country's internet controls, known as the Great Firewall. Recently, Facebook has been working on a censorship tool to be able to access China, where it is currently blocked along with Twitter and Google.
LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, said it was ''disappointed'' with the decision by Russian regulators to block the service, which the company confirmed was extended to apps in Russian Apple and Google Play stores.
''It denies access to our members in Russia and the companies that use LinkedIn to grow their businesses,'' said Nicole Leverich, a spokeswoman for LinkedIn.
Apple confirmed it was asked to remove its LinkedIn app in Russia about a month ago. It has also confirmed it was asked by China to block The New York Times app, but declined to comment further on both events. Google would not confirm it has removed LinkedIn in Russia but said it adheres to local laws in the countries in which it operates.
More nations have enforced their own internet laws in recent years. Turkey intermittently blocks social media, such as during the attempted government coup last summer. It has also forced YouTube to remove content it considers disparaging of its modern-day founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. European nations have also drawn up their own privacy laws and in 2014 a court declared its citizens could demand internet companies like Google unlink information about users upon request.
Tech companies and civil rights advocates warn that the increasing push by nations to create their own internet rules will Balkanize the internet and potentially lead to privacy violations and the stifling of political dissent. Other countries, however, criticize Silicon Valley and the United States government for setting the norms and rules for the internet.
''Internet free speech and internet freedom are increasingly under attack all over the globe, and not just from authoritarian regimes,'' said Robert M. McDowell, a former member of the Federal Communications Commission and partner at Cooley law firm. ''It appears to be a one-way ratchet with speech control getting tighter.''
LinkedIn has several million users in Russia, it said. In November, a Russian court ruled that the professional networking site broke local laws that require foreign internet firms to keep their servers holding information on Russian accounts within the nation.
Most American internet companies in Russia operate in violation of the law, but without explanation, Russian regulators at a body known as Roskomnadzor took the rare step of enforcing its rules. The Russian regulators could not be immediately reached for comment.
The action came at a tense moment in Russian-United States relations related to cyber affairs. Russia has been accused of hacking into American accounts, including the Democratic National Committee, to try to influence the presidential election. American intelligence officials concluded in a declassified report released on Friday that the president of Russia, Vladimir V. Putin, ordered the campaign.
Cyprus (i; Greek: ÎÏÏÏÎÏIPA: [Ëcipros]; Turkish: KıbrısIPA: [Ëkɯbɾɯs]), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: ÎÏ ÏÏιακή Î--ημÎκÏαÏία; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti), is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel and Palestine, north of Egypt, and southeast of Greece.
The earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia, and Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world.[9] Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC. As a strategic location in the Middle East, it was subsequently occupied by several major powers, including the empires of the Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians, from whom the island was seized in 333 BC by Alexander the Great. Subsequent rule by Ptolemaic Egypt, the Classical and Eastern Roman Empire, Arabcaliphates for a short period, the French Lusignan dynasty and the Venetians, was followed by over three centuries of Ottoman rule between 1571 and 1878 (de jure until 1914).[10]
Cyprus was placed under British administration based on Cyprus Convention in 1878 and formally annexed by Britain in 1914. While Turkish Cypriots made up 18% of the population, the partition of Cyprus and creation of a Turkish state in the north became a policy of Turkish Cypriot leaders and Turkey in the 1950s. Turkish leaders for a period advocated the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as Cyprus was considered an "extension of Anatolia" by them; while since the 19th century,[11][12] the majority Greek Cypriot population and its Orthodox church had been pursuing union with Greece, which became a Greek national policy in the 1950s.[13] Following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960.[14] In 1963, the 11-year intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots started, which displaced more than 25,000 Turkish Cypriots[15][16] and brought the end of Turkish Cypriot representation in the republic. On 15 July 1974, a coup d'(C)tat was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists[17][18] and elements of the Greek military junta[19] in an attempt at enosis, the incorporation of Cyprus into Greece. This action precipitated the Turkish invasion of Cyprus,[20] which led to the capture of the present-day territory of Northern Cyprus the following month, after a ceasefire collapsed, and the displacement of over 150,000 Greek Cypriots[21][22] and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots.[23] A separate Turkish Cypriot state in the north was established by unilateral declaration in 1983; the move was widely condemned by the international community, with Turkey alone recognizing the new state. These events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute.
The Cyprus Republic has de juresovereignty over the island of Cyprus, as well as its territorial sea and exclusive economic area, according to international law (except for the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, administered as Sovereign Base Areas, 2.8% of the territory). However, the Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts: the area under the effective control of the Republic, located in the south and west, and comprising about 59% of the island's area; and the north,[24] administered by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, covering about 37% of the island's area. Another nearly 4% of the island's area is covered by the UN buffer zone. The international community considers the northern part of the island as territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces.[25][26][27][28][29] The occupation is viewed as illegal under international law, amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became a member of the European Union.[30]
Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean.[31][32][33] With an advanced,[34]high-income economy and a very high Human Development Index,[35][36] the Republic of Cyprus is a member of the Commonwealth since 1961 and was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement until it joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.[37] On 1 January 2008, the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone.
Contents
Etymology
A copper mine in Cyprus. In antiquity, Cyprus was a major source of copper.The earliest attested reference to Cyprus is the 15th century BC Mycenaean Greekð'ð ðªð, ku-pi-ri-jo,[38] meaning "Cypriot" (Greek: ÎÏÏÏιÎÏ), written in Linear B syllabic script.[39] The classical Greek form of the name is ÎÏÏÏÎÏ (K½pros).
The etymology of the name is unknown. Suggestions include:
Through overseas trade, the island has given its name to the Classical Latin word for copper through the phrase aes Cyprium, "metal of Cyprus", later shortened to Cuprum.[40]
The standard demonym relating to Cyprus or its people or culture is Cypriot. The terms Cypriote and Cyprian are also used, though less frequently.
History
Early Greek colonization of CyprusPrehistoric and Ancient Cyprus
Archeologic site of Choirokoitia with early remains of human habitation during Aceramic Neolithic period (reconstruction)The earliest confirmed site of human activity on Cyprus is Aetokremnos, situated on the south coast, indicating that hunter-gatherers were active on the island from around 10,000 BC,[41] with settled village communities dating from 8200 BC. The arrival of the first humans correlates with the extinction of the dwarf hippos and dwarf elephants.[42]Water wells discovered by archaeologists in western Cyprus are believed to be among the oldest in the world, dated at 9,000 to 10,500 years old.[9]
Remains of an 8-month-old cat were discovered buried with a human body at a separate Neolithic site in Cyprus.[43] The grave is estimated to be 9,500 years old (7500 BC), predating ancient Egyptian civilisation and pushing back the earliest known feline-human association significantly.[44] The remarkably well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating to approximately 6800 BC.[45]
During the late Bronze Age the island experienced two waves of Greek settlement.[46] The first wave consisted of Mycenaean Greek traders who started visiting Cyprus around 1400 BC.[47][48] A major wave of Greek settlement is believed to have taken place following the Bronze Age collapse of Mycenaean Greece from 1100 to 1050 BC, with the island's predominantly Greek character dating from this period.[48][49] Cyprus occupies an important role in Greek mythology being the birthplace of Aphrodite and Adonis, and home to King Cinyras, Teucer and Pygmalion.[50] Beginning in the 8th century BC Phoenician colonies were founded on the south coast of Cyprus, near present-day Larnaca and Salamis.[48]
Cyprus is at a strategic location in the Middle East.[51][52][53][54][55][56][57] It was ruled by Assyria for a century starting in 708 BC, before a brief spell under Egyptian rule and eventually Persian rule in 545 BC.[48] The Cypriots, led by Onesilus, king of Salamis, joined their fellow Greeks in the Ionian cities during the unsuccessful Ionian Revolt in 499 BC against the Achaemenid Empire. The revolt was suppressed, but Cyprus managed to maintain a high degree of autonomy and remained oriented towards the Greek world.[48]
The island was conquered by Alexander the Great in 333 BC. Following his death and the subsequent division of his empire and wars among his successors, Cyprus became part of the Hellenistic empire of Ptolemaic Egypt. It was during this period that the island was fully Hellenized. In 58 BC Cyprus was acquired by the Roman Republic.[48]
Middle Ages
Kyrenia Castle was originally built by the Byzantines and enlarged by the VenetiansWhen the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western parts in 395, Cyprus became part of the East Roman, or Byzantine Empire, and would remain so until the Crusades some 800 years later. Under Byzantine rule, the Greek orientation that had been prominent since antiquity developed the strong Hellenistic-Christian character that continues to be a hallmark of the Greek Cypriot community.[48]
Beginning in 649, Cyprus suffered from devastating raids launched by Muslim armies from the Levant, which continued for the next 300 years.[48] Many were quick piratical raids, but others were large-scale attacks in which many Cypriots were slaughtered and great wealth carried off or destroyed.[48]
There are no Byzantine churches which survive from this period; thousands of people were killed, and many cities '' such as Salamis '' were destroyed and never rebuilt.[48] Byzantine rule was restored in 965, when Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas scored decisive victories on land and sea.[48]
In 1191, during the Third Crusade, Richard I of England captured the island from Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus[58] He used it as a major supply base that was relatively safe from the Saracens. A year later Richard sold the island to the Knights Templar, who, following a bloody revolt, in turn sold it to Guy of Lusignan. His brother and successor Amalric was recognised as King of Cyprus by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor.[48]
Following the death in 1473 of James II, the last Lusignan king, the Republic of Venice assumed control of the island, while the late king's Venetian widow, Queen Catherine Cornaro, reigned as figurehead. Venice formally annexed the Kingdom of Cyprus in 1489, following the abdication of Catherine.[48] The Venetians fortified Nicosia by building the Venetian Walls, and used it as an important commercial hub. Throughout Venetian rule, the Ottoman Empire frequently raided Cyprus. In 1539 the Ottomans destroyed Limassol and so fearing the worst, the Venetians also fortified Famagusta and Kyrenia.[48]
Although the Lusignan French aristocracy remained the dominant social class in Cyprus throughout the medieval period, the former assumption that Greeks were treated only as serfs on the island[48] is no longer considered by academics to be accurate. It is now accepted that the medieval period saw increasing numbers of Greek Cypriots elevated to the upper classes, a growing Greek middle ranks,[59] and the Lusignan royal household even marrying Greeks. This included King John II of Cyprus who married Helena Palaiologina.[60]
Cyprus under the Ottoman EmpireIn 1570, a full-scale Ottoman assault with 60,000 troops brought the island under Ottoman control, despite stiff resistance by the inhabitants of Nicosia and Famagusta. Ottoman forces capturing Cyprus massacred many Greek and Armenian Christian inhabitants.[61] The previous Latin elite were destroyed and the first significant demographic change since antiquity took place with the formation of a Muslim community.[62] Soldiers who fought in the conquest settled on the island and Turkish peasants and craftsmen were brought to the island from Anatolia.[63] This new community also included banished Anatolian tribes, "undesirable" persons and members of various "troublesome" Muslim sects, as well as a number of new converts on the island.[64]
The Ottomans abolished the feudal system previously in place and applied the millet system to Cyprus, under which non-Muslim peoples were governed by their own religious authorities. In a reversal from the days of Latin rule, the head of the Church of Cyprus was invested as leader of the Greek Cypriot population and acted as mediator between Christian Greek Cypriots and the Ottoman authorities. This status ensured that the Church of Cyprus was in a position to end the constant encroachments of the Roman Catholic Church.[65] Ottoman rule of Cyprus was at times indifferent, at times oppressive, depending on the temperaments of the sultans and local officials, and the island began over 250 years of economic decline.[66]
The ratio of Muslims to Christians fluctuated throughout the period of Ottoman domination. In 1777''78, 47,000 Muslims constituted a majority over the island's 37,000 Christians.[67] By 1872, the population of the island had risen to 144,000, comprising 44,000 Muslims and 100,000 Christians.[68] The Muslim population included numerous crypto-Christians,[69] including the Linobambaki, a crypto-Catholic community that arose due to religious persecution of the Catholic community by the Ottoman authorities;[69][70] this community would assimilate into the Turkish Cypriot community during British rule.[71]
As soon as the Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821, several Greek Cypriots left for Greece to join the Greek forces. In response, the Ottoman governor of Cyprus arrested and executed 486 prominent Greek Cypriots, including the Archbishop of Cyprus, Kyprianos and four other bishops.[72] In 1828, modern Greece's first president Ioannis Kapodistrias called for union of Cyprus with Greece, and numerous minor uprisings took place.[73] Reaction to Ottoman misrule led to uprisings by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, although none were successful. After centuries of neglect by the Turks, the unrelenting poverty of most of the people, and the ever-present tax collectors fuelled Greek nationalism, and by the 20th century idea of enosis, or union, with newly independent Greece was firmly rooted among Greek Cypriots.[66]
NumeracyUnder the Ottoman rule, numeracy, school enrollment and literacy rates were all low. In some countries, these low levels of human capital level persisted sometime after Ottoman rule ended. Greece and Cyprus were no exception, they faced the same issue of paths taken under Ottoman educational policies. In these two countries (Greece and Cyprus), numeracy increased rapidly during the twentieth century.[74]
Cyprus under the British Empire
Hoisting the British flag at NicosiaIn the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War (1877''1878) and the Congress of Berlin, Cyprus was leased to the British Empire which de facto took over its administration in 1878 (though, in terms of sovereignty, Cyprus remained a de jure Ottoman territory until 5 November 1914, together with Egypt and Sudan)[10] in exchange for guarantees that Britain would use the island as a base to protect the Ottoman Empire against possible Russian aggression.[48]
The island would serve Britain as a key military base for its colonial routes. By 1906, when the Famagusta harbour was completed, Cyprus was a strategic naval outpost overlooking the Suez Canal, the crucial main route to India which was then Britain's most important overseas possession. Following the outbreak of the First World War and the decision of the Ottoman Empire to join the war on the side of the Central Powers, on 5 November 1914 the British Empire formally annexed Cyprus and declared the Ottoman Khedivate of Egypt and Sudan a Sultanate and British protectorate.[10][48]
In 1915, Britain offered Cyprus to Constantine I of Greece on condition that Greece join the war on the side of the British, which he declined. In 1923, under the Treaty of Lausanne, the nascent Turkish republic relinquished any claim to Cyprus,[75] and in 1925 it was declared a British crown colony.[48] Many Greek and Turkish Cypriots fought in the British Army during both world wars.[76][not in citation given] During the Second World War, many enlisted in the Cyprus Regiment.
The Greek Cypriot population, meanwhile, had become hopeful that the British administration would lead to enosis. The idea of enosis was historically part of the Megali Idea, a greater political ambition of a Greek state encompassing the territories with Greek inhabitants in the former Ottoman Empire, including Cyprus and Asia Minor with a capital in Constantinople, and was actively pursued by the Cypriot Orthodox Church, which had its members educated in Greece. These religious officials, together with Greek military officers and professionals, some of whom still pursued the Megali Idea, would later found the guerrilla organisation Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston or National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA).[77][78] The Greek Cypriots viewed the island as historically Greek and believed that union with Greece was a natural right.[79] In the 1950s, the pursuit of enosis became a part of the Greek national policy,[80]
EOKA against British soldiers in Nicosia, 1956Initially, the Turkish Cypriots favoured the continuation of the British rule.[81] However, they were alarmed by the Greek Cypriot calls for enosis as they saw the union of Crete with Greece, which led to the exodus of Cretan Turks, as a precedent to be avoided,[82][83] and they took a pro-partition stance in response to the militant activity of EOKA.[84] The Turkish Cypriots also viewed themselves as a distinct ethnic group of the island and believed in their having a separate right to self-determination from Greek Cypriots.[79] Meanwhile, in the 1950s, Turkish leader Menderes considered Cyprus an "extension of Anatolia", rejected the partition of Cyprus along ethnic lines and favoured the annexation of the whole island to Turkey. Nationalistic slogans centred on the idea that "Cyprus is Turkish" and the ruling party declared Cyprus to be a part of the Turkish homeland that was vital to its security. Upon realising the fact that the Turkish Cypriot population was only 20% of the islanders made annexation unfeasible, the national policy was changed to favour partition. The slogan "Partition or Death" was frequently used in Turkish Cypriot and Turkish protests starting in the late 1950s and continuing throughout the 1960s. Although after the Z¼rich and London conferences Turkey seemed to accept the existence of the Cypriot state and to distance itself from its policy of favouring the partition of the island, the goal of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leaders remained that of creating an independent Turkish state in the northern part of the island.[85][86]
In January 1950, the Church of Cyprus organised a referendum under the supervision of clerics and with no Turkish Cypriot participation,[87] where 96% of the participating Greek Cypriots voted in favour of enosis,[88][89][90] The Greeks were 80.2% of the total island' s population at the time (census 1946). Restricted autonomy under a constitution was proposed by the British administration but eventually rejected. In 1955 the EOKA organisation was founded, seeking union with Greece through armed struggle. At the same time the Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT), calling for Taksim, or partition, was established by the Turkish Cypriots as a counterweight.[91] The British had also adopted at the time a policy of "divide and rule". Woodhouse, a British official in Cyprus, revealed that then British Foreign Secretary Harold Macmillan "urged the Britons in Cyprus to stir up the Turks in order to neutralise Greek agitation". British officials also tolerated the creation of the Turkish underground organisation T.M.T. The Secretary of State for the Colonies in a letter dated 15 July 1958 had advised the Governor of Cyprus not to act against T.M.T despite its illegal actions so as not to harm British relations with the Turkish government.[86]
Independence and inter-communal violenceOn 16 August 1960, Cyprus attained independence after the Z¼rich and London Agreement between the United Kingdom, Greece and Turkey. Cyprus had a total population of 573,566; of whom 442,138 (77.1%) were Greeks, 104,320 (18.2%) Turks, and 27,108 (4.7%) others.[92] The UK retained the two Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, while government posts and public offices were allocated by ethnic quotas, giving the minority Turkish Cypriots a permanent veto, 30% in parliament and administration, and granting the three mother-states guarantor rights.
However, the division of power as foreseen by the constitution soon resulted in legal impasses and discontent on both sides, and nationalist militants started training again, with the military support of Greece and Turkey respectively. The Greek Cypriot leadership believed that the rights given to Turkish Cypriots under the 1960 constitution were too extensive and designed the Akritas plan, which was aimed at reforming the constitution in favour of Greek Cypriots, persuading the international community about the correctness of the changes and violently subjugating Turkish Cypriots in a few days should they not accept the plan.[93] Tensions were heightened when Cypriot President Archbishop Makarios III called for constitutional changes, which were rejected by Turkey[15] and opposed by Turkish Cypriots.[93]
Intercommunal violence erupted on 21 December 1963, when two Turkish Cypriots were killed at an incident involving the Greek Cypriot police. The violence resulted in the death of 364 Turkish and 174 Greek Cypriots,[94] destruction of 109 Turkish Cypriot or mixed villages and displacement of 25,000''30,000 Turkish Cypriots. The crisis resulted in the end of the Turkish Cypriot involvement in the administration and their claiming that it had lost its legitimacy;[15] the nature of this event is still controversial. In some areas, Greek Cypriots prevented Turkish Cypriots from travelling and entering government buildings, while some Turkish Cypriots willingly withdrew due to the calls of the Turkish Cypriot administration.[95] Turkish Cypriots started living in enclaves; the republic's structure was changed, unilaterally, by Makarios and Nicosia was divided by the Green Line, with the deployment of UNFICYP troops.[15]
In 1964, Turkey tried to invade Cyprus[96] in response to the continuing Cypriot intercommunal violence. But Turkey was stopped by a strongly worded telegram from the US President Lyndon B. Johnson on 5 June, warning that the US would not stand beside Turkey in case of a consequential Soviet invasion of Turkish territory.[97] Meanwhile, by 1964, enosis was a Greek policy that could not be abandoned; Makarios and the Greek prime minister Georgios Papandreou agreed that enosis should be the ultimate aim and King Constantine wished Cyprus "a speedy union with the mother country". Greece dispatched 10,000 troops to Cyprus to counter a possible Turkish invasion.[98]
1974 coup, Turkish invasion and divisionOn 15 July 1974, the Greek military junta under Dimitrios Ioannides carried out a coup d'(C)tat in Cyprus, to unite the island with Greece.[99][100][101] The coup ousted president Makarios III and replaced him with pro-enosis nationalist Nikos Sampson.[102] In response to the coup,[103][104][105][106][107] five days later, on 20 July 1974, the Turkish army invaded the island, citing a right to intervene to restore the constitutional order from the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. This justification has been rejected by the United Nations and the international community.[108]
The Turkish air force began bombing Greek positions in Cyprus, and hundreds of paratroopers were dropped in the area between Nicosia and Kyrenia, where well-armed Turkish Cypriot enclaves had been long-established; while off the Kyrenia coast, Turkish troop ships landed 6,000 men as well as tanks, trucks and armoured vehicles.[109][110]
Three days later, when a ceasefire had been agreed,[111] Turkey had landed 30,000 troops on the island and captured Kyrenia, the corridor linking Kyrenia to Nicosia, and the Turkish Cypriot quarter of Nicosia itself.[111] The junta in Athens, and then the Sampson regime in Cyprus fell from power. In Nicosia, Glafkos Clerides assumed the presidency and constitutional order was restored, removing the pretext for the Turkish invasion.[111] But after the peace negotiations in Geneva, the Turkish government reinforced their Kyrenia bridgehead and started a second invasion on 14 August.[112] The invasion resulted in the seizure of Morphou, Karpass, Famagusta and the Mesaoria.
International pressure led to a ceasefire, and by then 37% of the island had been taken over by the Turks and 180,000 Greek Cypriots had been evicted from their homes in the north.[113] At the same time, around 50,000 Turkish Cypriots moved to the areas under the control of the Turkish Forces and settled in the properties of the displaced Greek Cypriots. Among a variety of sanctions against Turkey, in mid-1975 the US Congress imposed an arms embargo on Turkey for using American-supplied equipment during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.[114] There are 1,534 Greek Cypriots[115] and 502 Turkish Cypriots[116] missing as a result of the fighting.
Post-division
A map showing the division of CyprusAfter the restoration of constitutional order and the return of Archbishop Makarios III to Cyprus in December 1974, Turkish troops remained, occupying the northeastern portion of the island. In 1983, the leader of Turkish Cypriots proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Turkey.
The events of the summer of 1974 dominate the politics on the island, as well as Greco-Turkish relations. Around 150,000 settlers from Turkey are believed to be living in the north'--many of whom were forced from Turkey by the Turkish government'--in violation of the Geneva Convention and various UN resolutions.[117][118]
Foreign Ministers of the European Union countries in Limassol during Cyprus Presidency of the EU in 2012The Turkish invasion, followed by occupation and the declaration of independence of the TRNC have been condemned by United Nations resolutions, which are reaffirmed by the Security Council every year.[119] The last major effort to settle the Cyprus dispute was the Annan Plan in 2004, drafted by the then Secretary General, Kofi Annan. The plan was put to a referendum in both Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus. 65% of Turkish Cypriots voted in support of the plan and 74% Greek Cypriots voted against the plan, claiming that it disproportionately favoured the Turkish side.[120] In total, 66.7% of the voters rejected the Annan Plan V. On 1 May 2004 Cyprus joined the European Union, together with nine other countries.[121] Cyprus was accepted into the EU as a whole, although the EU legislation is suspended in Northern Cyprus until a final settlement of the Cyprus problem. In July 2006, the island served as a haven for people fleeing Lebanon, due to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah (also called "The July War").[122]
Efforts have been made to enhance freedom of movement between the two sides. In April 2003, Northern Cyprus unilaterally eased border restrictions, permitting Cypriots to cross between the two sides for the first time in 30 years.[123] In March 2008, a wall that had stood for decades at the boundary between the Republic of Cyprus and the UN buffer zone was demolished.[124] The wall had cut across Ledra Street in the heart of Nicosia and was seen as a strong symbol of the island's 32-year division. On 3 April 2008, Ledra Street was reopened in the presence of Greek and Turkish Cypriot officials.[125] North and South relaunched reunification talks on 15 May 2015.[126]
Geography
Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia (both in terms of area and population). It is also the world's 80th largest by area and world's 51st largest by population. It measures 240 kilometres (149 mi) long from end to end and 100 kilometres (62 mi) wide at its widest point, with Turkey 75 kilometres (47 mi) to the north. It lies between latitudes 34° and 36° N, and longitudes 32° and 35° E.
Other neighbouring territories include Syria and Lebanon to the east (105 and 108 kilometres (65 and 67 mi), respectively), Israel 200 kilometres (124 mi) to the southeast, Egypt 380 kilometres (236 mi) to the south, and Greece to the northwest: 280 kilometres (174 mi) to the small Dodecanesian island of Kastellorizo (Megisti), 400 kilometres (249 mi) to Rhodes and 800 kilometres (497 mi) to the Greek mainland. Sources alternatively place Cyprus in Europe,[127][128][129] or Western Asia and the Middle East.[130][131]
The physical relief of the island is dominated by two mountain ranges, the Troodos Mountains and the smaller Kyrenia Range, and the central plain they encompass, the Mesaoria. The Mesaoria plain is drained by the Pedieos River, the longest on the island. The Troodos Mountains cover most of the southern and western portions of the island and account for roughly half its area. The highest point on Cyprus is Mount Olympus at 1,952 m (6,404 ft), located in the centre of the Troodos range. The narrow Kyrenia Range, extending along the northern coastline, occupies substantially less area, and elevations are lower, reaching a maximum of 1,024 m (3,360 ft). The island lies within the Anatolian Plate.[132]
Geopolitically, the island is subdivided into four main segments. The Republic of Cyprus occupies the southern two-thirds of the island (59.74%). The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus occupies the northern third (34.85%), and the United Nations-controlled Green Line provides a buffer zone that separates the two and covers 2.67% of the island. Lastly, two bases under British sovereignty are located on the island: Akrotiri and Dhekelia, covering the remaining 2.74%.
ClimateCyprus has a subtropical climate '' Mediterranean and semi-arid type (in the north-eastern part of the island) '' K¶ppen climate classificationsCsa and BSh,[133][134] with very mild winters (on the coast) and warm to hot summers. Snow is possible only in the Troodos Mountains in the central part of island. Rain occurs mainly in winter, with summer being generally dry.
Cyprus has one of the warmest climates in the Mediterranean part of the European Union.[citation needed] The average annual temperature on the coast is around 24 °C (75 °F) during the day and 14 °C (57 °F) at night. Generally, summers last about eight months, beginning in April with average temperatures of 21''23 °C (70''73 °F) during the day and 11''13 °C (52''55 °F) at night, and ending in November with average temperatures of 22''23 °C (72''73 °F) during the day and 12''14 °C (54''57 °F) at night, although in the remaining four months temperatures sometimes exceed 20 °C (68 °F).[135]
Among all cities in the Mediterranean part of the European Union, Limassol has one of the warmest winters, in the period January '' February average temperature is 17''18 °C (63''64 °F) during the day and 7''8 °C (45''46 °F) at night, in other coastal locations in Cyprus is generally 16''17 °C (61''63 °F) during the day and 6''8 °C (43''46 °F) at night. During March, Limassol has average temperatures of 19''20 °C (66''68 °F) during the day and 9''11 °C (48''52 °F) at night, in other coastal locations in Cyprus is generally 17''19 °C (63''66 °F) during the day and 8''10 °C (46''50 °F) at night.[135]
The Troodos Mountains experience heavy snowfall in winterThe middle of summer is hot '' in July and August on the coast the average temperature is usually around 33 °C (91 °F) during the day and around 22 °C (72 °F) at night (inland, in the highlands average temperature exceeds 35 °C (95 °F)) while in the June and September on the coast the average temperature is usually around 30 °C (86 °F) during the day and around 20 °C (68 °F) at night in Limassol, while is usually around 28 °C (82 °F) during the day and around 18 °C (64 °F) at night in Paphos. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare. Inland temperatures are more extreme, with colder winters and hotter summers compared with the coast of the island.[135]
Average annual temperature of sea is 21''22 °C (70''72 °F), from 17 °C (63 °F) in February to 27''28 °C (81''82 °F) in August (depending on the location). In total 7 months '' from May to November '' the average sea temperature exceeds 20 °C (68 °F).[136]
Sunshine hours on the coast are around 3,200 per year, from an average of 5''6 hours of sunshine per day in December to an average of 12''13 hours in July.[136] This is about double that of cities in the northern half of Europe; for comparison, London receives about 1,540 per year.[137] In December, London receives about 50 hours of sunshine[137] while coastal locations in Cyprus about 180 hours (almost as much as in May in London).
Water supplyCyprus suffers from a chronic shortage of water. The country relies heavily on rain to provide household water, but in the past 30 years average yearly precipitation has decreased.[138] Between 2001 and 2004, exceptionally heavy annual rainfall pushed water reserves up, with supply exceeding demand, allowing total storage in the island's reservoirs to rise to an all-time high by the start of 2005. However, since then demand has increased annually '' a result of local population growth, foreigners moving to Cyprus and the number of visiting tourists '' while supply has fallen as a result of more frequent droughts.[138]
Dams remain the principal source of water both for domestic and agricultural use; Cyprus has a total of 107 dams (plus one currently under construction) and reservoirs, with a total water storage capacity of about 330,000,000 m3 (1.21010 cu ft).[139] Water desalination plants are gradually being constructed to deal with recent years of prolonged drought. The Government has invested heavily in the creation of water desalination plants which have supplied almost 50 per cent of domestic water since 2001. Efforts have also been made to raise public awareness of the situation and to encourage domestic water users to take more responsibility for the conservation of this increasingly scarce commodity.
Turkey is building a water pipeline under the Mediterranean Sea from Anamur on its southern coast to the northern coast of Cyprus, to supply Northern Cyprus with potable and irrigation water (see Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project).
Politics
Cyprus is a presidential republic. The head of state and of the government is elected by a process of universal suffrage for a five-year term. Executive power is exercised by the government with legislative power vested in the House of Representatives whilst the Judiciary is independent of both the executive and the legislature.
The 1960 Constitution provided for a presidential system of government with independent executive, legislative and judicial branches as well as a complex system of checks and balances including a weighted power-sharing ratio designed to protect the interests of the Turkish Cypriots. The executive was led by a Greek Cypriot president and a Turkish Cypriot vice-president elected by their respective communities for five-year terms and each possessing a right of veto over certain types of legislation and executive decisions. Legislative power rested on the House of Representatives who were also elected on the basis of separate voters' rolls.
Since 1965, following clashes between the two communities, the Turkish Cypriot seats in the House remain vacant. In 1974 Cyprus was divided de facto when the Turkish army occupied the northern third of the island. The Turkish Cypriots subsequently declared independence in 1983 as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus but were recognised only by Turkey. In 1985 the TRNC adopted a constitution and held its first elections. The United Nations recognises the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over the entire island of Cyprus.
The House of Representatives currently has 59 members elected for a five-year term, 56 members by proportional representation and 3 observer members representing the Armenian, Latin and Maronite minorities. 24 seats are allocated to the Turkish community but remain vacant since 1964. The political environment is dominated by the communist AKEL, the liberal conservative Democratic Rally, the centrist[140]Democratic Party, the social-democraticEDEK and the centrist EURO.KO. In 2008, Dimitris Christofias became the country's first Communist head of state. Due to his involvement in the 2012''13 Cypriot financial crisis, Christofias did not run for re-election in 2013. The Presidential election in 2013 resulted in Democratic Rally candidate Nicos Anastasiades winning 57.48% of the vote. As a result, Anastasiades was sworn in on and has been President since 28 February 2013.
Administrative divisionsThe Republic of Cyprus is divided into six districts: Nicosia, Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos.[141]
Exclaves and enclavesCyprus has four exclaves, all in territory that belongs to the British Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia. The first two are the villages of Ormidhia and Xylotymvou. The third is the Dhekelia Power Station, which is divided by a British road into two parts. The northern part is the EAC refugee settlement. The southern part, even though located by the sea, is also an exclave because it has no territorial waters of its own, those being U.K. waters.[142]
The UN buffer zone runs up against Dhekelia and picks up again from its east side off Ayios Nikolaos and is connected to the rest of Dhekelia by a thin land corridor. In that sense the buffer zone turns the Paralimni area on the southeast corner of the island into a de facto, though not de jure, exclave.
Foreign relationsThe Republic of Cyprus is a member of the following international groups: Australia Group, CN, CE, CFSP, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ITUC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO.[143][144]
Law, justice and human rightsThe Cyprus Police (Greek: ÎÏÏÏ Î½Îμία ÎÏÏÏÎÏ , Turkish: Kıbrıs Polisi) is the only National Police Service of the Republic of Cyprus and is under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order since 1993.[145]
In "Freedom in the World 2011", Freedom House rated Cyprus as "free".[146] In January 2011, the Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the question of Human Rights in Cyprus noted that the ongoing division of Cyprus continues to affect human rights throughout the island "... including freedom of movement, human rights pertaining to the question of missing persons, discrimination, the right to life, freedom of religion, and economic, social and cultural rights."[147] The constant focus on the division of the island can sometimes mask other human rights issues.[citation needed]
In 2014, Turkey was ordered by the European Court of Human Rights to pay well over $100m in compensation to Cyprus for the invasion;[148]Ankara announced that it would ignore the judgment.[149] In 2014, a group of Cypriot refugees and a European parliamentarian, later joined by the Cypriot government, filed a complaint to the International Court of Justice, accusing Turkey of violating the Geneva Conventions by directly or indirectly transferring its civilian population into occupied territory.[150] Over the preceding ten years, civilian transfer by Turkey had "reached new heights", in the words of one US ambassador.[e][151] Other violations of the Geneva and the Hague Conventions'--both ratified by Turkey'--amount to what archaeologist Sophocles Hadjisavvas called "the organized destruction of Greek and Christian heritage in the north".[152] These violations include looting of cultural treasures, deliberate destruction of churches, neglect of works of art, and altering the names of important historical sites, which was condemned by the International Council on Monuments and Sites. Hadjisavvas has asserted that these actions are motivated by a Turkish policy of erasing the Greek presence in Northern Cyprus within a framework of ethnic cleansing, as well as by greed and profit-seeking on the part of the individuals involved.[152]
Armed forcesThe Cypriot National Guard is the main military institution of the Republic of Cyprus. It is a combined arms force, with land, air and naval elements. Historically all men were required to spend 24 months serving in the National Guard after their 17th birthday, but in 2016 this period of compulsory service was reduced to 14 months. The land forces of the Cypriot National Guard comprise the following units:
First Infantry Division (Îη Î'εÏαÏÏία Î Î)Second Infantry Division (ÎÎα Î'εÏαÏÏία Î Î)Fourth Infantry Brigade (ÎVη ΤαξιαÏÏία Î Î)Twentieth Armoured Brigade (ΧΧη ΤΠΤαξιαÏÏία)Third Support Brigade (ÎÎÎη ΤαξιαÏÏία ΥΠ)Eighth Support Brigade (VIIIη ΤαξιαÏÏία ΥΠ)The air force includes the 449th Helicopter Gunship Squadron (449 Î'ÎÎ) '' operating A(C)rospatiale SA-342L and Bell 206 and the 450th Helicopter Gunship Squadron (450 ME/P) '' operating Mi-35P helicopters and the Britten-Norman BN-2B and Pilatus PC-9 fixed-wing aircraft. Current senior officers include Supreme Commander, Cypriot National Guard, Lt. General Stylianos Nasis,[153] and Chief of Staff, Cypriot National Guard: Maj. General Michalis Flerianos.[citation needed] The Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion, which occurred on 11 July 2011, was the most deadly military accident ever recorded in Cyprus.
Economy
In the early 21st century the Cypriot economy has diversified and become prosperous.[154] However, in 2012 it became affected by the Eurozone financial and banking crisis. In June 2012, the Cypriot government announced it would need '¬1.8 billion in foreign aid to support the Cyprus Popular Bank, and this was followed by Fitch downgrading Cyprus's credit rating to junk status.[155] Fitch said Cyprus would need an additional '¬4 billion to support its banks and the downgrade was mainly due to the exposure of Bank of Cyprus, Cyprus Popular Bank and Hellenic Bank, Cyprus's three largest banks, to the Greek financial crisis.[155]
The 2012''2013 Cypriot financial crisis led to an agreement with the Eurogroup in March 2013 to split the country's second largest bank, the Cyprus Popular Bank (also known as Laiki Bank), into a "bad" bank which would be wound down over time and a "good" bank which would be absorbed by the Bank of Cyprus. In return for a '¬10 billion bailout from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, often referred to as the "troika", the Cypriot government was required to impose a significant haircut on uninsured deposits, a large proportion of which were held by wealthy Russians who used Cyprus as a tax haven. Insured deposits of '¬100,000 or less were not affected.[156][157][158]
Limassol General HospitalAccording to the latest International Monetary Fund estimates, its per capita GDP (adjusted for purchasing power) at $30,769 is just above the average of the European Union.[citation needed][159] Cyprus has been sought as a base for several offshore businesses for its low tax rates. Tourism, financial services and shipping are significant parts of the economy. Economic policy of the Cyprus government has focused on meeting the criteria for admission to the European Union. The Cypriot government adopted the euro as the national currency on 1 January 2008.[154]
In recent years significant quantities of offshore natural gas have been discovered in the area known as Aphrodite in Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EEZ),[160] about 175 kilometres (109 miles) south of Limassol at 33°5'²40'"N and 32°59'²0'"E.[161] However, Turkey's offshore drilling companies have accessed both natural gas and oil resources since 2013.[162] Cyprus demarcated its maritime border with Egypt in 2003, and with Lebanon in 2007.[163] Cyprus and Israel demarcated their maritime border in 2010,[164] and in August 2011, the US-based firm Noble Energy entered into a production-sharing agreement with the Cypriot government regarding the block's commercial development.[165]
Turkey, which does not recognise the border agreements of Cyprus with its neighbours,[166] threatened to mobilise its naval forces if Cyprus proceeded with plans to begin drilling at Block 12.[167] Cyprus' drilling efforts have the support of the US, EU, and UN, and on 19 September 2011 drilling in Block 12 began without any incidents being reported.[168]
Because of the heavy influx of tourists and foreign investors, the property rental market in Cyprus has grown in recent years.[when?][169] In late 2013, the Cyprus Town Planning Department announced a series of incentives to stimulate the property market and increase the number of property developments in the country's town centres.[170] This followed earlier measures to quickly give immigration permits to third country nationals investing in Cyprus property.[171]
Transport
A1 Motorway between Agios Athanasios junction and Mesa Ghetonia junction in LimassolAvailable modes of transport are by road, sea and air. Of the 10,663 km (6,626 mi) of roads in the Republic of Cyprus in 1998, 6,249 km (3,883 mi) were paved, and 4,414 km (2,743 mi) were unpaved. In 1996 the Turkish-occupied area had a similar ratio of paved to unpaved, with approximately 1,370 km (850 mi) of paved road and 980 km (610 mi) unpaved.[citation needed] Cyprus is one of only four EU nations in which vehicles drive on the left-hand side of the road, a remnant of British colonisation (the others being Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom). A series of motorways runs along the coast from Paphos east to Ayia Napa, with two motorways running inland to Nicosia, one from Limassol and one from Larnaca.
Per capita private car ownership is the 29th-highest in the world.[172] There were approximately 344,000 privately owned vehicles, and a total of 517,000 registered motor vehicles in the Republic of Cyprus in 2006.[173] In 2006, plans were announced to improve and expand bus services and other public transport throughout Cyprus, with the financial backing of the European Union Development Bank. In 2010 the new bus network was implemented.[174]
Cyprus has several heliports and two international airports: Larnaca International Airport and Paphos International Airport. A third airport, Ercan International Airport, operates in the Turkish Cypriot administered area with direct flights only to Turkey (Turkish Cypriot ports are closed to international traffic apart from Turkey). Nicosia International Airport has been closed since 1974.
The main harbours of the island are Limassol and Larnaca, which service cargo, passenger and cruise ships.
CommunicationsCyta, the state-owned telecommunications company, manages most telecommunications and Internet connections on the island. However, following deregulation of the sector, a few private telecommunications companies emerged, including MTN, Cablenet, OTEnet Telecom, Omega Telecom and PrimeTel. In the Turkish-controlled area of Cyprus, three different companies are present: Turkcell, KKTC Telsim and Turk Telekom.
Demographics
Population growth, 1961''2003 (numbers for the entire island, excluding Turkish settlers residing in Northern Cyprus).
2005 Population structureAccording to the CIA World Factbook, in 2001 Greek Cypriots comprised 77%, Turkish Cypriots 18%, and others 5% of the Cypriot population.[175] At the time of the 2011 government census, there were 10,520 people of Russian origin living in Cyprus.[176][177][178][179]
According to the first population census after the declaration of independence, carried out in December 1960 and covering the entire island, Cyprus had a total population of 573,566; of whom 442,138 (77.1%) were Greeks, 104,320 (18.2%) Turkish, and 27,108 (4.7%) others.[92][180]
Due to the inter-communal ethnic tensions between 1963 and 1974, an island-wide census was regarded as impossible. Nevertheless, the Greek Cypriots conducted one in 1973, without the Turkish Cypriot populace.[181] According to this census, the Greek Cypriot population was 482,000. One year later, in 1974, the Cypriot government's Department of Statistics and Research estimated the total population of Cyprus at 641,000; of whom 506,000 (78.9%) were Greeks, and 118,000 (18.4%) Turkish.[182] After the partition of the island in 1974, Greeks conducted four more censuses: in 1976, 1982, 1992 and 2001; these excluded the Turkish population which was resident in the northern part of the island.[180]
According to the Republic of Cyprus's latest estimate, in 2005, the number of Cypriot citizens currently living in the Republic of Cyprus is around 871,036. In addition to this, the Republic of Cyprus is home to 110,200 foreign permanent residents[183] and an estimated 10,000''30,000 undocumented illegal immigrants currently living in the south of the island.[184]
Largest groups of foreign residentsNationalityPopulation (2011)
Greece29,321
United Kingdom24,046
Romania23,706
Bulgaria18,536
Philippines9,413
Russia8,164
Sri Lanka7,269
Vietnam7,028
Syria3,054
India2,933According to the 2006 census carried out by Northern Cyprus, there were 256,644 (de jure) people living in Northern Cyprus. 178,031 were citizens of Northern Cyprus, of whom 147,405 were born in Cyprus (112,534 from the north; 32,538 from the south; 371 did not indicate what part of Cyprus they were from); 27,333 born in Turkey; 2,482 born in the UK and 913 born in Bulgaria. Of the 147,405 citizens born in Cyprus, 120,031 say both parents were born in Cyprus; 16,824 say both parents born in Turkey; 10,361 have one parent born in Turkey and one parent born in Cyprus.[185]
In 2010, the International Crisis Group estimated that the total population of Cyprus was 1.1 million,[186] of which there was an estimated 300,000 residents in the north, perhaps half of whom were either born in Turkey or are children of such settlers.[187] One source claims that the population in the north has reached 500,000,[188] 50% of which are thought to be Turkish settlers or Cypriot-born children of such settlers.[189]
The villages of Potamia (Nicosia district) and Pyla in the Larnaca District are the only settlements in the Republic of Cyprus with a mixed Greek and Turkish Cypriot population.[citation needed]
Y-Dna haplogroups are found at the following frequencies in Cyprus: J (43.07% including 6.20% J1), E1b1b (20.00%), R1 (12.30% including 9.2% R1b), F (9.20%), I (7.70%), K (4.60%), A (3.10%).[190] J, K, F and E1b1b haplogroups consist of lineages with differential distribution within Middle East, North Africa and Europe while R1 and I are typical in West European populations.
Outside Cyprus there is a significant and thriving Greek Cypriot diaspora and Turkish Cypriot diaspora in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the United States, Greece and Turkey.
Functional urban areas[191]ReligionThe majority of Greek Cypriots identify as Greek Orthodox,[193][194][195] whereas most Turkish Cypriots are adherents of Sunni Islam. According to Eurobarometer 2005,[196] Cyprus was the second most religious state in the European Union at that time, after Malta (although in 2005 Romania wasn't in the European Union; currently Romania is the most religious state in the European Union) (see Religion in the European Union). The first President of Cyprus, Makarios III, was an archbishop. The current leader of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus is Archbishop Chrysostomos II.
Hala Sultan Tekke, situated near the Larnaca Salt Lake, is considered by some secular orientalists as the third holiest site in Sunni Islam[197][198] and an object of pilgrimage for both Muslims[199] and Christians.[200]
According to the 2001 census carried out in the Government-controlled area,[201] 94.8% of the population are Eastern Orthodox, 0.9% Armenians and Maronites, 1.5% Roman Catholics, 1.0% Church of England, and 0.6% Muslims. There is also a Jewish community on Cyprus. The remaining 1.3% adhere to other religious denominations or did not state their religion.
Languages
Cyprus road signs in Greek and English. An estimate of 87% of the Cypriot population speaks English.Cyprus has two official languages, Greek and Turkish.[202]Armenian and Cypriot Maronite Arabic are recognised as minority languages.[203][204] Although without official status, English is widely spoken and it features widely on road signs, public notices, and in advertisements, etc.[205] English was the sole official language during British colonial rule and the lingua franca until 1960, and continued to be used (de facto) in courts of law until 1989 and in legislation until 1996.[206] 80.4% of Cypriots are proficient in the English language as a second language.[207]Russian is widely spoken among the country's minorities, residents and citizens of post-Soviet countries, and Pontic Greeks. Russian, after English and Greek, is the third language used on many signs of shops and restaurants, particularly in Limassol and Paphos. In addition to these languages, 12% speak French and 5% speak German.[208]
The everyday spoken language of Greek Cypriots is Cypriot Greek and that of Turkish Cypriots is Cypriot Turkish.[206] These vernaculars both differ from their standard registers significantly.[206]
EducationCyprus has a highly developed system of primary and secondary education offering both public and private education. The high quality of instruction can be attributed in part to the fact that nearly 7% of the GDP is spent on education which makes Cyprus one of the top three spenders of education in the EU along with Denmark and Sweden.[209]
State schools are generally seen as equivalent in quality of education to private-sector institutions. However, the value of a state high-school diploma is limited by the fact that the grades obtained account for only around 25% of the final grade for each topic, with the remaining 75% assigned by the teacher during the semester, in a minimally transparent way. Cypriot universities (like universities in Greece) ignore high school grades almost entirely for admissions purposes. While a high-school diploma is mandatory for university attendance, admissions are decided almost exclusively on the basis of scores at centrally administered university entrance examinations that all university candidates are required to take.
The majority of Cypriots receive their higher education at Greek, British, Turkish, other European and North American universities. It is noteworthy that Cyprus currently has the highest percentage of citizens of working age who have higher-level education in the EU at 30% which is ahead of Finland's 29.5%. In addition, 47% of its population aged 25''34 have tertiary education, which is the highest in the EU. The body of Cypriot students is highly mobile, with 78.7% studying in a university outside Cyprus.
Culture
Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots share a lot in common in their culture but also have differences. Several traditional food (such as souvla and halloumi) and beverages are similar, as well as expressions and ways of life. Hospitality and buying or offering food and drinks for guests or others are common among both. In both communities, music, dance and art are integral parts of social life and many artistic, verbal and nonverbal expressions, traditional dances such as tsifteteli, similarities in dance costumes and importance placed on social activities are shared between the communities.[210] However, the two communities have distinct religions and religious cultures, with the Greek Cypriots traditionally being Greek Orthodox and Turkish Cypriots traditionally being Sunni Muslims, which has partly hindered cultural exchange.[211] Greek Cypriots have influences from Greece and Christianity, while Turkish Cypriots have influences from Turkey and Islam.
The Limassol Carnival Festival is an annual carnival which is held at Limassol, in Cyprus. The event which is very popular in Cyprus was introduced in the 20th century.
Arts
Typical Cypriot architecture in old part of Nicosia, CyprusThe art history of Cyprus can be said to stretch back up to 10,000 years, following the discovery of a series of Chalcolithic period carved figures in the villages of Khoirokoitia and Lempa.[213] The island is the home to numerous examples of high quality religious icon painting from the Middle Ages as well as many painted churches. Cypriot architecture was heavily influenced by French Gothic and Italian renaissance introduced in the island during the era of Latin domination (1191''1571).
In modern times Cypriot art history begins with the painter Vassilis Vryonides (1883''1958) who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice.[214] Arguably the two founding fathers of modern Cypriot art were Adamantios Diamantis (1900''1994) who studied at London's Royal College of Art and Christopheros Savva (1924''1968) who also studied in London, at Saint Martin's School of Art.[215] In many ways these two artists set the template for subsequent Cypriot art and both their artistic styles and the patterns of their education remain influential to this day. In particular the majority of Cypriot artists still train in England[216] while others train at art schools in Greece and local art institutions such as the Cyprus College of Art, University of Nicosia and the Frederick Institute of Technology.
One of the features of Cypriot art is a tendency towards figurative painting although conceptual art is being rigorously promoted by a number of art "institutions" and most notably the Nicosia Municipal Art Centre. Municipal art galleries exist in all the main towns and there is a large and lively commercial art scene. Cyprus was due to host the international art festival Manifesta in 2006 but this was cancelled at the last minute following a dispute between the Dutch organizers of Manifesta and the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture over the location of some of the Manifesta events in the Turkish sector of the capital Nicosia.[217][218]
Other notable Greek Cypriot artists include Helene Black, Kalopedis family, Panayiotis Kalorkoti, Nicos Nicolaides, Stass Paraskos, Arests Stas, Telemachos Kanthos, Konstantia Sofokleous and Chris Achilleos, and Turkish Cypriot artists include Ä°smet G¼ney, Ruzen Atakan and Mutlu erkez.
Music
Laouto, dominant instrument of the Cypriot traditional music.The traditional folk music of Cyprus has several common elements with Greek, Turkish, and Arabic music including Greco-Turkish dances such as the sousta, syrtos, zeibekikos, tatsia, and karsilamas as well as the Middle Eastern-inspired tsifteteli and arapies. There is also a form of musical poetry known as chattista which is often performed at traditional feasts and celebrations. The instruments commonly associated with Cyprus folk music are the bouzouki, oud ("outi"), violin ("fkiolin"), lute ("laouto"), accordion, Cyprus flute ("pithkiavlin") and percussion (including the "toumperleki"). Composers associated with traditional Cypriot music include Evagoras Karageorgis, Marios Tokas, Solon Michaelides and Savvas Salides. Among musicians is also the acclaimed pianist Cyprien Katsaris and composer and artistic director of the European Capital of Culture initiative Marios Joannou Elia.
Popular music in Cyprus is generally influenced by the Greek La¯ka scene; artists who play in this genre include international platinum star Anna Vissi,[219][220][221][222]Evridiki, and Sarbel. Hip Hop, R&B and reggae have been supported by the emergence of Cypriot rap and the urban music scene at Ayia Napa. Cypriot rock music and ntekhno rock is often associated with artists such as Michalis Hatzigiannis and Alkinoos Ioannidis. Metal also has a small following in Cyprus represented by bands such as Armageddon (rev.16:16), Blynd, Winter's Verge, Methysos and Quadraphonic.
LiteratureLiterary production of the antiquity includes the Cypria, an epic poem, probably composed in the late 7th century BC and attributed to Stasinus. The Cypria is one of the very first specimens of Greek and European poetry.[223] The Cypriot Zeno of Citium was the founder of the Stoic School of Philosophy.
Epic poetry, notably the "acritic songs", flourished during Middle Ages. Two chronicles, one written by Leontios Machairas and the other by Georgios Voustronios, cover the entire Middle Ages until the end of Frankish rule (4th century''1489). Po¨mes d'amour written in medieval Greek Cypriot date back from the 16th century. Some of them are actual translations of poems written by Petrarch, Bembo, Ariosto and G. Sannazzaro.[225] Many Cypriot scholars fled Cyprus at troubled times such as Ioannis Kigalas (c. 1622''1687) who migrated from Cyprus to Italy in the 17th century, several of his works have survived in books of other scholars.[226]
Hasan Hilmi Efendi, a Turkish Cypriot poet, was rewarded by the Ottoman sultan Mahmud II and said to be the "sultan of the poems".[227]
Modern Greek Cypriot literary figures include the poet and writer Kostas Montis, poet Kyriakos Charalambides, poet Michalis Pasiardis, writer Nicos Nicolaides, Stylianos Atteshlis, Altheides, Loukis Akritas[228] and Demetris Th. Gotsis. Dimitris Lipertis, Vasilis Michaelides and Pavlos Liasides are folk poets who wrote poems mainly in the Cypriot-Greek dialect.[229][230] Among leading Turkish Cypriot writers are Osman T¼rkay, twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature,[231]zker YaÅın, Neriman Cahit, Urkiye Mine Balman, Mehmet YaÅın and NeÅe YaÅın.
There is an increasingly strong presence of both temporary and permanent emigre Cypriot writers in world literature, as well as writings by second and third -generation Cypriot writers born or raised abroad, often writing in English. This includes writers such as Stephen Laughton, Michael Paraskos, Stel Pavlou and Stephanos Stephanides.[232]
Examples of Cyprus in foreign literature include the works of Shakespeare, with most of the play Othello by William Shakespeare set on the island of Cyprus. British writer Lawrence Durrell lived in Cyprus from 1952 until 1956, during his time working for the British colonial government on the island, and wrote the book Bitter Lemons about his time in Cyprus which won the second Duff Cooper Prize in 1957. More recently British writer Victoria Hislop used Cyprus as the setting for her 2014 novel The Sunrise.
Mass mediaIn the 2015 Freedom of the Press report of Freedom House, the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus were ranked "free". The Republic of Cyprus scored 25/100 in press freedom, 5/30 in Legal Environment, 11/40 in Political Environment, and 9/30 in Economic Environment (the lower scores the better).[233]Reporters Without Borders rank the Republic of Cyprus 24th out of 180 countries in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index, with a score of 15.62[234]
The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combine to ensure freedom of speech and of the press. The law prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the government generally respects these prohibitions in practice.[235]
Local television companies in Cyprus include the state owned Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation which runs two television channels. In addition on the Greek side of the island there are the private channels ANT1 Cyprus, Plus TV, Mega Channel, Sigma TV, Nimonia TV (NTV) and New Extra. In Northern Cyprus, the local channels are BRT, the Turkish Cypriot equivalent to the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, and a number of private channels. The majority of local arts and cultural programming is produced by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and BRT, with local arts documentaries, review programmes and filmed drama series.
CinemaThe most worldwide known Cypriot director, to have worked abroad, is Michael Cacoyannis.
Cypriot cinema was born much later than that of other countries. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, George Filis produced and directed Gregoris Afxentiou, Etsi Prodothike i Kypros (Cyprus Betrayal), and The Mega Document.
In 1994, cinematographic production received a boost with the establishment of the Cinema Advisory Committee. As of the year 2000, the annual amount set aside in the national budget stands at Cy Pounds 500,000 (about 850,000 Euros). In addition to government grants, Cypriot co-productions are eligible for funding from the Council of Europe's Eurimages Fund, which finances European film co-productions. To date, four feature-length films in which a Cypriot was executive producer have received funding from Eurimages. The first was I Sphagi tou Kokora (1992), completed in 1996, Hellados (And the Trains Fly to the Sky, 1995), which is currently in post-production, and Costas Demetriou's O Dromos gia tin Ithaki (The Road to Ithaka, 1997) which premiered in March 2000. The theme song to The Road to Ithaka was composed by Costas Cacoyannis and sung by Alexia Vassiliou. In September 1999, To Tama (The Promise) by Andreas Pantzis also received funding from the Eurimages Fund.[236] In 2009 the Greek director, writer and producer Vassilis Mazomenos filmed in Cyprus Guilt. The film was awarded in 2012 with the Best Screenwriting and Best Photography award in London Greek Film Festival (UK) and was official selection in Montreal World Film Festival, Cairo International Film Festival, India International Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Fantasporto and opening film in the Panorama of European Cinema in Athens. In 2010 the film was Nominated for the best film from the Hellenic Film Academy.
Only a small number of foreign films have been made in Cyprus. This includes Incense for the Damned, filmed in 1969 and starring Patrick Macnee, Patrick Mower and Peter Cushing. In 1970 The Beloved, starring Raquel Welch was also filmed in Cyprus, as was the 1973 British comedy movie Ghost in the Noonday Sun, directed by Peter Medak, starring Peter Sellers, Anthony Franciosa and Spike Milligan.[237] Parts of the 1962 film The Longest Day, starring John Wayne were also filmed on Cyprus.
CuisineHalloumi cheese originated in Cyprus[238][239] and was initially made during the Medieval Byzantine period.[240] Halloumi (Hellim) is commonly served sliced, either fresh or grilled, as an appetiser.
Cypriot style cafe in an arcade in NicosiaSeafood and fish dishes include squid, octopus, red mullet, and sea bass. Cucumber and tomato are used widely in salads. Common vegetable preparations include potatoes in olive oil and parsley, pickled cauliflower and beets, asparagus and taro. Other traditional delicacies of are meat marinated in dried coriander seeds and wine, and eventually dried and smoked, such as lountza (smoked pork loin), charcoal-grilled lamb, souvlaki (pork and chicken cooked over charcoal), and sheftalia (minced meat wrapped in mesentery). Pourgouri (bulgur, cracked wheat) is the traditional source of carbohydrate other than bread, and is used to make the delicacy koubes.
Fresh vegetables and fruits are common ingredients. Frequently used vegetables include courgettes, green peppers, okra, green beans, artichokes, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and grape leaves, and pulses such as beans, broad beans, peas, black-eyed beans, chick-peas and lentils. The most common fruits and nuts are pears, apples, grapes, oranges, mandarines, nectarines, medlar, blackberries, cherry, strawberries, figs, watermelon, melon, avocado, lemon, pistachio, almond, chestnut, walnut, and hazelnut.
Cyprus is also well known for its desserts, including lokum (also known as Turkish Delight) and Soutzoukos.[241] This island has protected geographical indication (PGI) for its lokum produced in the village of Geroskipou.[242][citation needed]
SportsSport governing bodies include the Cyprus Football Association, Cyprus Basketball Federation, Cyprus Volleyball Federation, Cyprus Automobile Association, Cyprus Badminton Federation,[243]Cyprus Cricket Association, Cyprus Rugby Federation and the Cyprus Pool Association.
Notable teams in the Cyprus League include APOEL FC, Anorthosis Famagusta FC, AC Omonia, AEL Lemesos, Apollon FC, Nea Salamis Famagusta FC and AEK Larnaca FC. Stadiums or sports venues include the GSP Stadium (the largest in the Republic of Cyprus-controlled areas), Tsirion Stadium (second largest), Neo GSZ Stadium, Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Ammochostos Stadium and Makario Stadium.
In the 2008''09 season, Anorthosis Famagusta FC was the first Cypriot team to qualify for the UEFA Champions League Group stage. Next season, APOEL FC qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage, and reached the last 8 of the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League after finishing top of its group and beating French Olympique Lyonnais in the Round of 16.
The Cyprus national rugby union team known as The Moufflons currently holds the record for most consecutive international wins, which is especially notable as the Cyprus Rugby Federation was only formed in 2006.
Tennis player Marcos Baghdatis was ranked 8th in the world, was a finalist at the Australian Open, and reached the Wimbledon semi-final, all in 2006. High jumper Kyriakos Ioannou achieved a jump of 2.35 m at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan, in 2007, winning the bronze medal. He has been ranked third in the world. In motorsports, Tio Ellinas is a successful race car driver, currently racing in the GP3 Series for Marussia Manor Motorsport. There is also mixed martial artist Costas Philippou, who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion's middleweight division. Costas holds a 6''3 record in UFC bouts, and recently defeated "The Monsoon" Lorenz Larkin with a Knockout in the 1st round.
Also notable for a Mediterranean island, the siblings Christopher and Sophia Papamichalopoulou qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They were the only athletes who managed to qualify and thus represented Cyprus at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The country's first ever Olympic medal, a silver medal, was won by the sailor Pavlos Kontides, at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's Laser class.
See also
Notes
References
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Christians and Muslims in Ottoman Cyprus and the Mediterranean World, 1571''1640. NYU Press. pp. 596''. ISBN 978-0-8147-4318-8. ^Captain A. R. Savile (1878). Cyprus. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 130. ^Chrysostomos Pericleous (2009). Cyprus Referendum: A Divided Island and the Challenge of the Annan Plan. I.B.Tauris. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-85771-193-9. ^Mirbagheri, Farid (2010). Historical dictionary of Cyprus ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Lanham, Md. [u.a.]: Scarecrow Press. pp. xxvii, 124. ISBN 9780810862982. ^William Mallinson; Bill Mallinson (2005). Cyprus: a modern history. I.B.Tauris. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-85043-580-8. ^Baten, J¶rg (2016). A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present. Cambridge University Press. p. 51. ISBN 9781107507180. ^Xypolia, Ilia (2011). "'Cypriot Muslims among Ottomans, Turks and British"(PDF). Bogazici Journal. 25 (2): 109''120. Retrieved 15 October 2012. ^Ertl, Alan W. (2008). Toward an Understanding of Europe: A Political Economic Pr(C)cis of Continental Integration. Universal-Publishers. p. 418. ISBN 978-1-59942-983-0. ^Ker-Lindsay, James (2011). The Cyprus Problem: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press. pp. 14''5. ISBN 9780199757169. They hoped that the transfer of administration would pave the way for the island to be united with Greece'--an aspiration known as ''enosis.'' At the time, these calls for enosis were not just limited to Cyprus. Instead, Cyprus was part of a wider political movement [...] This overarching political ambition was known as the Megali Idea (Great Idea). ^Lange, Matthew (2011). Educations in Ethnic Violence: Identity, Educational Bubbles, and Resource Mobilization. Cambridge University Press. p. 88. ISBN 9781139505444. ^ abDiez, Thomas (2002). The European Union and the Cyprus Conflict: Modern Conflict, Postmodern Union. Manchester University Press. p. 83. ISBN 9780719060793. ^Huth, Paul (2009). Standing Your Ground: Territorial Disputes and International Conflict. University of Michigan Press. p. 206. ISBN 9780472022045. From early 1950s onward Greece has favored union with Cyprus through a policy of enosis ^Papadakis, Yiannis; Peristianis, Nicos; Welz, Gisela (18 July 2006). Divided Cyprus: Modernity, History, and an Island in Conflict. Indiana University Press. p. 2. ISBN 9780253111913. ^Isachenko, Daria (2012). The Making of Informal States: Statebuilding in Northern Cyprus and Transdniestria. Palgrave Macmillian. p. 37. ISBN 9780230392076. ^Pericleous, Chrysostomos (2009). Cyprus Referendum: A Divided Island and the Challenge of the Annan Plan. I.B.Tauris. pp. 135''6. ISBN 9780857711939. ^Mirbagheri, Farid (2009). Historical Dictionary of Cyprus. Scarecrow Press. p. xiv. ISBN 9780810862982. Greek Cypriots engaged in a military campaign for enosis, union with Greece. Turkish Cypriots, in response, expressed their desire for taksim, partition of the island. ^Behlul (Behlul) Ozkan (Ozkan) (26 June 2012). From the Abode of Islam to the Turkish Vatan: The Making of a National Homeland in Turkey. Yale University Press. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-300-18351-1. In line with the nationalist rhetoric that "Cyprus is Turkish", Menderes predicated his declaration upon the geographic proximity between Cyprus and Anatolia, thereby defining "Cyprus as an extension of Anatolia". It was striking that Menderes rejected partitioning the island into two ethnic states, a position that would define Turkey's foreign policy regarding Cyprus after 1957 ^ abG. Bellingeri; T. Kappler (2005). Cipro oggi. Casa editrice il Ponte. pp. 27''29. ISBN 978-88-89465-07-3. The educational and political mobilisation between 1948''1958, aiming at raising Turkish national consciousness, resulted in the involving Turkey as motherland in the Cyprus Question. 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I.B.Tauris. p. 5. ISBN 9781780761077. In response to the coup, Turkey launched a military offensive in Cyprus that divided the island along the Green Line, which now splits the entire island. ^Diez, Thomas (2002). The European Union and the Cyprus Conflict: Modern Conflict, Postmodern Union. Manchester University Press. p. 105. ISBN 9780719060793. Turkey did, however, act unilaterally in 1974, in response to a military coup in Cyprus instigated by the military junta ruling then in Greece with the apparent objective of annexing the island. ^Ker-Lindsay, James; Faustmann, Hubert; Mullen, Fiona (2011). An Island in Europe: The EU and the Transformation of Cyprus. I.B.Tauris. p. 3. Divided since 1974, when Turkish forces invaded in response to a Greek led coup, many observers felt that taking in the island would either be far too risky or far too problematic. ^Mirbagheri, Faruk (2009). Historical Dictionary of Cyprus. Scarecrow Press. p. 43. ISBN 9780810862982. 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Retrieved 25 October 2009. ^Chrysanthos Christou, A short History of Modern and Contemporary Cypriot Art, Nicosia 1983.^Ministry of Education and Culture, State Gallery of Contemporary Cypriot Art (Nicosia: MOEC,1998)^Michael Paraskos, 'The Art of Modern Cyprus', in Sunjet, Spring 2002, 62f^"Schools Out". www.frieze.com]. September 2006. ^"Manifesta no more". www.artnet.com]. ^Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (8 May 1999). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 8. ISSN 0006-2510. Sony Music executives congratulate Greek artist Anna Vissi before her recent sold-out performance at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York the first stop in her North-American tour to promote her album Antidoto ^Hellander, Paul; Kate Armstrong; Michael Clark; Christopher Deliso (2008). Lonely Planet Greek Islands. Lonely Planet. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-74104-314-3. The country's big pop and la¯ka stars include Anna Vissi, Notis Sfakiana- kis, Despina Vandi, Yiannis Ploutarhos, Antonis Remos, Mihalis Hatziyian- nis, heartthrob Sakis Rouvas and Greek-Swedish singer Elena Paparizou, who won Greece ... ^Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (14 July 2001). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 71. ISSN 0006-2510. The hits of platinum stars Anna Vissi, Despina Vandi and Keti Garbi are played in clubs together with the Anna Vissi international dance hits of Deep- swing, Planetfunk ... ^Rhythm: Global Sounds and Ideas. 9. World Marketing Incorporated. 2000. p. 70. We have a Euro Music category with clips by the Gipsy Kings and Anna Vissi, a huge star for Sony Greece "We also have .. ^"An indication that at least the main contents of the Cypria were known around 650 BC is provided by the representation of the Judgment of Paris on the Chigi vase" (Burkert 1992:103). On the proto-Corinthianewer of c. 640 BC known as the Chigi "vase", Paris is identified as Alexandros, as he was apparently called in Cypria.[dead link]^Serena, Sebastiano; Barbarigo, Gregorio (1963). S. Gregorio Barbarigo e la vita spirituale e cultuale nel suo Seminario di Padova; lettre e saggi editi dagli amici in memoria. Editrice Antenore. p. 495. OCLC 6706000. Giovanni Cicala, greco di Cipro, prof. di Filosofia nella Universit ... Al qual fine permetteva tutta la confidenza con il Cigala e con il Papadopoli, ambedue greci nativi e Lettori pubblici nell'Universita di Padova, coi quail si tratteneva, in frequenti discorsi sopra questa material, le mezze giornate intiere ... ^Th. Siapkaras- Pitsillid(C)s, Le P(C)trarchisme en Cypre. Po¨mes d' amour en dialecte Chypriote d' apr¨s un manuscript du XVIe si¨cle, Ath¨nes 1975 (2¨me (C)dition)^Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. Institut f¼r Griechisch-R¶mische Altertumskunde, Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. Zentralinstitut f¼r Alte Geschichte und Arch¤ologie (1956). Berliner byzantinistische Arbeiten, Volume 40. Akademie-Verlag. pp. 209''210. John Cigala (born at Nicosia 1622). He studied at the College of Saint Athanasios, Rome (1635''1642), which he graduated as Doctor of Philosophy and Theology and at which he taught Greek successfully for eight years (1642''1650) ... What has survived of his work as a number of epigrams published in books of other scholars. ^GazioÄlu, Ahmet C. (1990). The Turks in Cyprus: a province of the Ottoman Empire (1571''1878), 293''295, K. R¼stem.^"Cyprus Stamp Issue: Loukis Akritas". ^"Cyprus Stamp Issue: Cyprus Poets". ^"Cyprus Stamp Issue: Centenary Birthday Anniversary of Poet Pavlos Liasides". ^Kozmik Åiirin yazarı (H¼rriyet). Retrieved 31 December 2014.^Alexander Davidian, 'A literary resilience' in The Cyprus Weekly (Cyprus newspaper), 10 January 2016^Freedom House, 2015 report Cyprus^RSF, Cyprus^"Cyprus", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 22 March 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.^"Film Birth '' History of Cinema '' Cyprus".^Roger Lewis, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (London: Arrow, 1995) p.130^Robinson, R. K.; Tamime, A. Y. (1991). Feta and Related Cheeses. Woodhead Publishing. p. 144. ISBN 1-85573-278-5. Halloumi is a semi-hard to hard, unripened cheese that traditionally is made from either sheep's or goat's milk or a mixture. Although the cheese has its origins in Cyprus, it is widely popular throughout the Middle East, and hence many countries have now become involved with its manufacture. ^Murdoch Books Pty Limited (2005). Essential Mediterranean. Murdoch Books. p. 21. ISBN 1-74045-539-8. HALOUMl Originating in Cyprus, this salty, semi-hard sheep's milk cheese is a popular table cheese ^Goldstein, Darra; Merkle, Kathrin; Parasecoli, Fabio; Mennell, Stephen; Council of Europe (2005). Culinary cultures of Europe: identity, diversity and dialogue. Council of Europe. p. 121. ISBN 92-871-5744-8. Most culinary innovations in the Cypriot cuisine occurred during the Byzantine era ... Experimentation with dairy products resulted in the now-famous halloumi and feta cheese. ^"Cyprus villagers make giant sweet", BBC News, 18 October 2004^"Turks riled as Cyprus set to win EU trademark on Turkish Delight". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 13 December 2007. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2007. ^"Cyprus Badminton Federation". Cyprusbadminton.com. Retrieved 27 March 2009. Further reading
Anastasiou, Harry (2008). Broken Olive Branch: Nationalism Ethnic Conflict and the Quest for Peace in Cyprus. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-3196-0. Brewin, Christopher (2000). European Union and Cyprus. Eothen Press. ISBN 0-906719-24-0. Dods, Clement (ed.) (1999). Cyprus: The Need for New Perspectives. The Eothen Press. ISBN 0-906719-23-2. Durrell, Lawrence (1957). Bitter Lemons. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-20155-5. Faustmann, Hubert; Nicos Peristianis (2006). Britain and Cyprus: Colonialism and Post-Colonialism, 1878''2006. Bibliopolis. ISBN 978-3-933925-36-7. Gibbons, Harry Scott (1997). The Genocide Files. Charles Bravos Publishers. ISBN 0-9514464-2-8. Hannay, David (2005). Cyprus: The Search for a Solution. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-665-7. Hitchens, Christopher (1997). Hostage to History: Cyprus from the Ottomans to Kissinger. Verso. ISBN 1-85984-189-9. Ker-Lindsay, James (2005). EU Accession and UN Peacemaking in Cyprus. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-4039-9690-3. Ker-Lindsay, James; Hubert Faustmann (2009). The Government and Politics of Cyprus. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-03911-096-4. Mallinson, William (2005). Cyprus a Modern History. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-580-4. Merin, Jennifer; Burdick, Elizabeth B. (1 November 1979). International directory of theatre, dance, and folklore festivals: a project of the International Theatre Institute of the United States, inc. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-20993-2. Mirbagheri, Farid (1989). Cyprus and International Peacemaking. Hurst. ISBN 1-85065-354-2. Nicolet, Claude (2001). United States Policy Towards Cyprus, 1954''1974. Bibliopolis. ISBN 3-933925-20-7. Oberling, Pierre (1982). The Road to Bellapais. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-88033-000-7. O'Malley, Brendan; Ian Craig (1999). The Cyprus Conspiracy. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 1-86064-737-5. Palley, Claire (2005). An International Relations Debacle: The UN Secretary-General's Mission of Good Offices in Cyprus, 1999''2004. Hart Publishing. ISBN 1-84113-578-X. Papadakis, Yiannis (2005). Echoes from the Dead Zone: Across the Cyprus Divide. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-428-X. Plumer, Aytug (2003). Cyprus, 1963''64: The Fateful Years. Cyrep (Lefkosa). ISBN 975-6912-18-9. Richmond, Oliver (1998). Mediating in Cyprus. Frank Cass. ISBN 0-7146-4431-5. Richmond, Oliver and James Ker-Lindsay (eds.) (2001). The Work of the UN in Cyprus: Promoting Peace and Development. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-91271-3. Richter, Heinz (2010). A Concise History of Modern Cyprus 1878''2009. Rutzen. ISBN 978-3-447-06212-1. Sacopoulo, Marina (1966). Chypre d'aujourd'hui. Paris: G.-P. Maisonneuve et Larose. 406 p., ill. with b&w photos. and fold. maps.Tocci, Nathalie (2004). EU Accession Dynamics and Conflict Resolution: Catalysing Peace or Consolidating Partition in Cyprus?. Ashgate. ISBN 0-7546-4310-7. Yiorghos, Leventis, (2002). Cyprus: The Struggle for Self-Determination in the 1940s. Peter Lang. ISBN 0-8204-5428-1. Yiorghos, Leventis; Murata Sawayanagi Nanako; Hazama Yasushi (2008). Crossing Over Cyprus. Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA) Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS). ISBN 978-4-86337-003-6. External links
Cyprus reunification talks: Everything you need to know about one of the world's most intractable disputes
It has been described as ''the moment of truth'' for one of the world's most intractable territorial disputes.
Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders are meeting in Geneva this week to try to reach a deal on the political reunification of the Mediterranean island, more than 40 years after it was split in two.
They face formidable challenges but both sides have expressed cautious optimism that a resolution could, finally, be within reach.
What is the history of the dispute?Britain occupied Cyprus in 1878, largely for strategic reasons, although it remained nominally under Ottoman sovereignty. The British formally annexed Cyprus in 1914.
In the 1950s, Greek Cypriots engaged in a guerrilla war against the British, calling for unification with Greece.
In 1960, London granted independence to the island, instituting a power-sharing arrangement between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
When and why was Cyprus split in two? In 1974 Greece's military junta government backed a coup against Cyprus's president, Archbishop Makarios, with Athens demanding a greater say in Cypriot affairs and pushing for union with the island.
In response to the coup, Turkey launched a military invasion, occupying the northern third. Greek Cypriots were forced to flee from the north to the south, while Turkish Cypriots fled in the opposite direction.
In 1983 the northern part of the island was declared as the breakaway state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus but the only country to recognise it was Turkey.
There is a large military presence '' around 30,000 Turkish troops.
What's happening now? Reunification talks have dragged on for decades, but the latest round of discussions is seen as the best chance in a long time for a deal to be concluded.
The objective is a federation of two states, one largely Greek-speaking and the other mostly Turkish-speaking.
The two regions would be largely autonomous, but there would be one head of state. The Greek Cypriot side is represented by President Nicos Anastasiades, while the Turkish Cypriot leader is Mustafa Akinci.
On Thursday they will be joined by representatives of Cyprus's three guarantors '' Turkey, Greece and Britain.
The talks are being facilitated by the United Nations. The UN special envoy, Espen Barth Eide, a former Norwegian foreign minister, said that both sides were demonstrating ''a lot of courage, a lot of will.'' He said reaching an argument would be hard but not impossible.
"We are now in the final moment. We are now in the moment of truth," Mr Eide said. He urged Cypriots on both sides of the divide to ''seize the moment''. The talks in Switzerland have been described by Antonio Guterres, the new UN Secretary-General, as an "historic opportunity".
What are the main obstacles? Land and property are two of the main sticking points '' whether Turkish Cypriots displaced from the southern part of the island should be allowed to return to their old homes, and vice versa with Greek Cypriots who were forced to leave the north.
That would mean turfing some families out of homes that they have lived in for decades.
The town of Morphou (known in Turkish as Guzelyurt) in the northwest of the island, for instance, is home to around 18,000 Turkish Cypriots. But before the 1974 invasion it was almost entirely Greek. The Greek Cypriots want it back but many Turkish Cypriots refuse to leave.
It's envisaged that the disputes could be addressed through a combination of land swaps and financial compensation, although it is not clear who would foot the bill.
Territorial boundaries between the Turkish and Cypriot parts of the island also need to be worked out.
Security is a big issue '' the Greek Cypriots want the removal of the 30,000 Turkish troops in the north. If an agreement can be reached, it will be voted on in two separate referendums, one for the Greek Cypriots and the other for the Turkish Cypriots. The votes could be held sometime in the summer.
Why is it important?In the past, the Cyprus issue has brought Turkey and Greece '' both members of Nato '' close to war.
It is also an impediment to Turkey's hopes of joining the EU.
And it would provide a rare good news story for a Europe that has been battered in the past year by terrorist attacks, political discord and the refugee crisis.
Could Israel Lose the Energy Prize in the Eastern Mediterranean? > Jerry Gordon
Source: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Daniel Wurmser ''The Geopolitics of Israel's Offshore Gas Reserves'', April 4, 2013
In December 2011, we published what might have been a prescient prediction of Israel's emerging energy independence, Will Israel Win the Energy Prize in the Levant Basin? We drew attention to the geo-political opportunities and security risks to the Jewish nation from the discovery and development of significant off shore gas deposits in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Levant Basin. These have been developed by Houston, Texas-based Noble Energy, Inc. and its Israeli partner, Delek Group, Ltd. (hereafter referred to as ''the Consortium''). In 2009 came the discovery of the Tamar gas field with estimated reserves of 7.9 trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) by the Consortium followed by the giant Leviathan field a year later in 2010 with estimated reserves of 21.9 TCF. Production from Tamar began flowing in April 2013 with immediate economic benefits to Israel. A third major gas field discovery in Israel's offshore EEZ, the Royee, with estimated reserves of 3.2 TCF was announced in mid-December 2014 by Ratio Oil. The potential significance of these energy developments for Israel is huge.
Combined, Israel's current gas reserves in the leading Tamar and Leviathan gas fields amount to more than 31.6 trillion cubic feet (TCF). The US Geological Survey has estimated that the Eastern Levant Basin in the Mediterranean may conservatively hold upwards of 125 TCF of gas and 81 billion barrels of oil at lower depths.
Using the US Energy Information Administration current NYMEX natural gas futures price as of December 26, 2014 for delivery January 2015 of $3.07 07 per MBTU, the estimated value of the 31.6 trillion cubic feet of estimated reserves in Israel's offshore fields developed by the Consortium could be worth approximately $97 billion. That is equivalent to over 35.5% of Israel's 2013 GDP of $273 billion. The impact on the country's GDP growth would be significant.
As evidence of how Israel values these offshore gas discoveries in September 2014, the Ministry of Defense after a delay of several years, issued tenders to naval shipyards in Germany, South Korea, US and Israel for procurement of four specialized patrol vessels at an estimated cost of NIS 2 Billion ($510 Million dollars) to provide security for offshore gas production platforms. Israel was also concerned about Hezbollah threats to these offshore gas facilities. One of the suspected reasons for an Israel Air Force covert attack in Syria on December 8, 2014 was to prevent delivery of long range missiles including Iranian supplied Yakhont anti-shipping missiles to proxy Hezbollah that might used to attack offshore platforms and Israeli Naval patrol vessels.
However, these prospects of an energy independent future may have been thrown in jeopardy by a ruling in late December 2014 by Israel's independent Anti-Trust Authority (IAA) essentially declaring the Consortium a monopoly and reneging on prior compromise deals with the Consortium partners. Noble Energy, Inc. and Delek Group had agreed in the compromise to sell interests in smaller developed offshore gas fields in exchange for retaining ownership of both the Tamar and Leviathan gas fields in Israel's EEZ. The Consortium partners have requested an early 2015 hearing on the IAA ruling. Many believe this unprecedented IAA ruling may have been a political maneuver aimed squarely at the caretaker government of Israeli PM Netanyahu in the midst of a campaign for a snap election on March 17, 2015. The question before us is could Israel lose it's much sought after energy prize in the Eastern Mediterranean?
Potential Economic Benefits to Israel from its Off Shore Gas Developments
One indication of the importance is reflected in the long term economic benefits to Israel. An Ernst & Young report released at a January 2014 energy conference in Israel pegged the value of those economic benefits to Israel at $52 billion reported by Globes Israel Business:
The Tamar gas field, which began production in April 2013, boosted Israel's GDP by almost half a percentage point, and it is projected to boost GDP by 1.5 percentage points in 2014.
Ernst & Young Israel found that the main component of the gas's value is not the government's expected tax revenues from oil and gas, but the savings to the economy from the purchase of cheaper natural gas for electricity production, industry, and transportation. Gas currently costs Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) about $6 per million BTU, a third of the cost of the alternative fuels - diesel, industrial oil, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) - all of which are imported.
Tamar Gas Platform offshore Israel: Source Noble Energy, Inc.
Tamar comes on line beginning Israel's Energy Independence
The intervening three years have witnessed the opening of production for the Tamar field and negotiations of several deals to export production authorized by the Israeli cabinet.
The Consortium had opened up smaller gas deposits before discovering on January 1, 2009 the Tamar gas field with 7.9 TCF, 50 miles offshore Haifa. The Consortium committed $3 billion for development of Tamar. In March 2012 the Tamar Consortium ''signed a 15-year, US$14 billion deal with the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) to supply it with 42 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas, with an option to increase the gas purchases up to $23 billion. By March 2012, the consortium developing Tamar had signed deals worth up to a total of $32 billion with six Israeli companies, committing up to 133BCM.'' Delivery of Tamara's first gas to Israel's national power company began in April 2013. The growing Tamar field deliveries to the IEC eliminated reliance on supply of Egyptian gas via pipeline from the Sinai frequently disrupted by terrorist bombings.
Leviathan gas platform offshore Israel Source Ynet.org
Leviathan Emerges but Strategic Investment Deals Falter
In 2010 came word of the discovery and development of the large Leviathan gas field located 81 miles West of Haifa and 29 miles southwest of the Tamar field with an estimated 21.9 TCF that lies in Israel's EEZ. Leviathan is due to begin producing gas in 2017. Leviathan attempts at exports have taken its lumps. That is reflected in the failure to reach a deal with Australian energy concern, Woodside, Pty.
Meanwhile, the Woodside Leviathan Partners deal hasn't been inked. UPI had this update on talks with the Delek Group:
Bloomberg News reported that Woodside, the No. 2 oil and gas producer in Australia, would pay more than $2 billion for a 30 percent stake in the Leviathan natural gas field from partners Delek, Noble Energy and Avner Oil Exploration.
Delek said, however, that a formal deal was still in the works.
"The negotiation between the Leviathan partners and Woodside toward signing a binding agreement is ongoing," the company said. "Should a significant development in relation to the above-mentioned negotiations take place, the partnerships will publish an immediate report."
Woodside's CEO Peter Coleman at a Houston HIS/CERA energy conference in early March 2013 expressed ''confidence'' about closing on the purchase of Nobel partner interest in the overall Leviathan deal.
Negotiations between the Consortium and Woodside continued. In February 2014, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed for final negotiations between the Consortium and Woodside. There was the hope that the Woodside deal might finally close at an enhanced its price for purchase of a minority interest in Leviathan which would provide LNG technology.
On May 21, 2014, Bloomberg reported, ''Woodside Scraps $2.6 Billion Israeli Gas Deal as Talks Fail'':
Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL), Australia's second-biggest oil and gas producer, scrapped an agreement to buy a quarter of Israel's largest natural gas field for as much as $2.6 billion after talks to complete the deal collapsed.
''Negotiations between the parties failed to reach a commercially acceptable outcome,'' the Perth-based company said today in a statement. Woodside had been in talks with a group including Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) to invest in the Leviathan venture.
Tamar and Leviathan Consortium Potential Gas Deals with Jordan and Egypt
Agreement between the Consortium and the Israeli government allotted up to 40 percent of Tamar and Leviathan production for export. The US State Department thought this might be useful for development of regional economic and peace prospects. That resulted in negotiations of gas delivery projects with a Palestinian energy group and major Jordanian potash and bromine companies. A potential Egyptian contract may be in the works, as well. Consortium partner Noble Energy played a key role in facilitating these initial agreements. The New York Timesreported:
Noble helped break the impasse by striking a separate deal with two Jordanian mineral companies, Arab Potash and Jordan Bromine. The companies will buy about $500 million of gas over 15 years from Tamar.
Jordan is one of the latest deals for Leviathan. In January, Noble and its Israeli partners reached an agreement to supply a power plant under construction in the West Bank by a Palestinian group.
Industry experts say that Noble will need more long-term commitments to support the expense of Leviathan. The project is expected to cost as much as $8 billion, and the Jordan deal accounts for only about 9 percent of the gas.
The most likely anchor customer is Egypt, a huge and growing market. Today, two gas export facilities on the Mediterranean are sitting largely idle. The Egyptian government is blocking exports in order to meet high domestic demand and stave off power blackouts.
This year, Noble reached nonbinding agreements with the owners of both of these facilities '-- British Gas, the large British producer, and a joint venture of Italy's ENI and Spain's Gas Natural Fenosa '-- to supply their facilities from Tamar and Leviathan. As part of the deals, the gas would also probably flow to the domestic market in Egypt.
Source: Turkish News September 8, 2011
Turkish Double Dealings over Offshore Gas in the Levant Basin
Turkey under Islamist Premier, now President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan had threatened the Republic of Cyprus with retaliation over the discovery of the Aphrodite gas field off the southern coast of the Republic an EU member. The Aphrodite field with 7 TCF of natural gas is located 24 miles west of the giant Leviathan field with 21.9 TCF in Israel's EEZ. Both the Aphrodite and Leviathan fields were developed by the Noble Energy, Inc. and Delek Partners consortium. We noted the quickening pace in November 2011 of geo-political moves and countermoves over exploitation of these strategic gas fields in the Levant Basin:
On November 2, 2011 Israel signed a bilateral energy development agreement with Cyprus, and Noble Energy announcing the development of a major LNG facility off the Island nation's south coast;
On November 16th Turkey announced an offshore drilling deal with Shell Oil in an area in the waters close to the Turkish enclave in northern Cyprus;
On November 20-21, Israel's then deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon met with Greek officials to discuss joint exploration of the region's gas fields;
On November 23rd, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Israeli and Cypriot energy exploration in the Mediterranean was illegal, an agreement should first be reached with all relevant parties, and resources should be equally shared; and
On November 25th, Russia announced that it was sending its aircraft carrier the Admiral Kuznetzov for maneuvers in the disputed area offshore of Cyprus in a clear demonstration of support for Greek Cypriot claims and as a warning to the Erdogan regime in Ankara.
In mid-September, 2011, two Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-15s flew over both the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish northern enclave after buzzing a Turkish research vessel off Cyprus' southern coast in violation of Cyprus' EEZ. An Israeli helicopter loitered overhead near a Turkish research vessel, Piri Reis, while the later was in the Aphrodite gas field claimed by the Republic of Cyprus. IAF AWACs aircraft were patrolling along the EEZ of Cyprus and Israel, at an altitude of more than 40,000 feet. They were monitoring Turkish intrusions over Cypriot airspace. In symbolic retaliation, Turkey's Air Force jets made passes over a Greek island off Turkey's southwestern coast.
A week prior to these confrontations over Greece and Cyprus, Turkey and Turkish Cyprus concluded an agreement delimiting maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean. Agreements that conflict with the Republic of Cyprus-Israel EEZ. Turkey declared that it would protect its sole research vessel with warships. These actions raised the prospect of possible armed conflict.
Turkey's posturing in 2011 was based on its seizure of an enclave, the rump Turkish Northern Cypriot 'Republic' carved out by a Turkish invasion in 1974. An opportunistic invasion contrived by the Turkish government at the time to counter the Greek military coup of the Archbishop Makarios government of Cyprus. All of Cyprus is recognized by the EU. The Island's offshore EEZs are divided among the Republic, the North Turkish "Republic" and two British bases on the Island.
Machinations over the Turkish Northern Cypriot Republic's stake hold in the Cypriot EEZ gas field surfaced in an embarrassing episode at an international energy conference in Tel Aviv on November 6, 2014. That was the surprise address by zdil Nami, the foreign minister of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) at an Energy and Business Conference. Turkey is the only country that recognizes the TRNC enclase it seized from Cyprus in 1974. The Jerusalem Post noted these remarks of Nami that drew the ire of Cypriot businessmen at the conference and an official involved with pursuit of joint development of the proposed Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline:
Natural resources of Cyprus belong to all Cypriots and must benefit all Cypriots.Nami called for a united Cyprus comprised of Cyprus and Turkish federations, with cooperation fueled by the offshore natural gas discoveries. Dealing with a united Cyprus expands the options available.
That led to this comment in a press release from Prof. Toula Onoufriou, president of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company:
The invitation of Mr. [zdil] Nami to this conference and his appearance in the opening session without any mention in the conference program is unacceptable and is not in the spirit of collaboration that has been developed between our countries.
Earlier in 2014, there was an abortive round of Turkish negotiations with Cyprus over "unification" of the Republic of Cyprus. Meanwhile Turkey was pressing for a lucrative share of the gas development offshore Cyprus and transmission to EU markets via its network of pipelines.
Erdogan threatened to bring Israel before the International Criminal Courts over the deaths of Turkish nationals in an Israeli naval commando raid on the Turkish ferry vessel, the Mavi Marmara that pierced the enforced blockade during the May 2010, Free Gaza flotilla. The dispute threatened a diplomatic impasse between the two countries until the March 2013 trip by President Obama to Jerusalem. He prevailed upon Israeli PM Netanyahu to call then PM Erdogan and apologize. Israel offered compensation to the Turkish victims in the Mavi Marmara incident. That cleared the way for bi-lateral discussions for possible transmission of gas via a submarine pipeline from the Leviathan field to on-shore Turkish receiving facilities at Ceyhan on the Mediterreanean coast with its network of pipelines servicing the EU. Today's Zaman in February 2014 reported the burgeoning commercial rapprochement with the Consortium over a possible gas pipeline deal:
Turkey's Vatan daily said that representatives from US-based Noble Energy and Israel's Delek Group, two of Leviathan's largest stakeholders, are in talks with four Turkish energy firms for a possible deal in the construction of a natural gas pipeline via Turkey to Europe. Vatan said the Leviathan shareholders are in negotiations with Turkey's Turcas, Zorlu, al?k and Enka Enerji for a pipeline that would carry 8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Israeli gas via Turkey starting in 2017, the year Israel expects to start extracting gas.
Globes Israel Business reported:
In March 2014 ''that two Turkish companies, Zorlu Holding and Turcas Petrol, had participated in a tender for the possible construction of a 7-10 bcm/y gas pipeline to link Leviathan with the Turkish mainland. The proposed 500 kilometer pipeline would cost about $3.5 billion. Zorlu Holding has stakes in several power plants in Israel and its chairman, Ahmet Nazif Zorlu, is known to have close links with the governing Justice and Freedom Party (AKP) in Turkey.
Then, Israel's 50 day summer 2014 war with Hamas erupted, that virtually ended these discussions. In early August Turkish Energy Minister, Taner Yildiz announced that a deal was unlikely until a cease fire was concluded between Israel and Hamas. The Jerusalem Post noted:
Calling for ''an end to the cruelty in Palestine,'' Y?ld?z said that his country's ''door will be closed,'' until calm has been attained, the Hurriyet added.
''If we build a natural gas pipeline from Israel or the eastern Mediterranean under these circumstances, the blood of innocent infants and mothers, not natural gas, would flow through it,'' Y?ld?z said, according to the Hurriyet report.
Turkish parliamentary opposition in Ankara and Israeli Consortium partner Delek Group optimistically suggested that there might be renewal of talks. Erdogan's opposition over the 2014 IDF conflict with Hamas virtually ended the discussions. As we shall see the Consortium's hopes for a means of transmitting Leviathan gas fields output the lay in the EU's interest in the Eastern Mediterranean pipeline with Cyprus.
Russian President Putin and Turkish President ErdoganAnkara, December 1, 2014Source: Turkish PresidentialPhoto Service
Putin's December 2014 ''Surprise'' Gas Deal with Turkey
Turkey's President Erdogan a new card to play in the energy geo-politics of the region with Russia's embattled President Putin. On December 1, 2014 at a meeting between the two heads of government in Ankara, Putin announced abandonment of the yet to be completed South Stream pipeline to the EU via Bulgaria. In its stead, Putin proposed a proposition to Erdogan that was hard to pass up despite Turkey's increasingly being beholden to Russia as its principal gas supplier. As reported by Eurasia.net, the pact presented compelling opportunities for both countries:
Energy-poor Turkey stands to benefit from Moscow's surprise decision to drop the $45-billion South Stream natural gas pipeline project. At the same time, it raises questions about whether Turkey will become a pawn in the broader energy contest between Russia and the EU. Ankara has long been keen to wean itself off Russian energy, which currently accounts for an estimated 57 percent of its gas needs, according to the 2014 BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Both the Turkish government and the European Union had seen gas imports from Azerbaijan, a cultural cousin and close ally of Ankara's, via the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) as the answer to decreasing their level of energy dependency on the Kremlin.
Eurasia.netdetailed Putin's deal noting:
He proposed a new, 63-billion-cubic-meter-per-year gas pipeline running under the Black Sea from Russia via Turkey to the Greek border, which would serve as a forwarding point to Europe. He pledged a 6 percent discount on the price of the 14 bcm of gas available for sale annually to Turkey from the pipeline.
The deal would increase Turkey's reliance on Russia for supply of gas, while reducing the cost for its power and commercial requirements. However, it places Islamist President Erdogan in a diplomatic quandary given Putin's support for the embattled Syrian regime of Bashar Assad. Erdogan has argued to the Obama Administration that the toppling of the Assad regime was the price of Turkey's joining the US-led coalition seeking the ''degrading and destruction'' of the Islamic State occupying large swaths of both Syria and Iraq. The Putin Erdogan deal is presently embodied in a Memorandum of Understanding awaiting further negotiations. Given both US and EU sanctions against Russia over its takeover of the Crimea and support for the irredentist conflict in Eastern Ukraine, the deal between the two autocrats over gas deliveries to the EU market is problematic. Enter the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Pipeline involving Israel, Cyprus and Greece.
The Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline Project Rises to the Fore
President Erdogan has been relentlessly pursuing a reckless geo-political strategy for several years disputing Cyprus' sovereign right to exploration and development of offshore gas and oil in its EEZ. We saw that reflected in actions Erdogan directed in 2011 sending research vessels, Turkish air craft and naval vessels to violate the United National Convention of the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS). Turkey issued a NAVTEX (Navigation Telex) warning on October 3, 2014 that rattled the Cypriot Republic, EU and spurred Israel to suggest a counter proposal - The Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline. Moreover, as we saw on November 6, 2014 the sudden appearance of the foreign minister of the Turkish Northern Republic of Cyprus disrupted a Tel Aviv Energy conference. He conveyed less than subtle demands of Ankara for development of undersea resources benefitting "all Cypriots" and presumably Turkey. When Vice President Biden visited President Erdogan in Istanbul in November 2014, while primarily concerned about enlisting Turkey in the war against the Islamic state, he also expressed the Administration position on Cyprus. He suggested that moribund unification talks be resurrected and that both sides on the Island seek joint development of the EEZ energy resources.
In partial response, the European Parliament passed a resolution on November 5, 2014, titled, ''European Parliament (EUP) resolution on Turkish actions creating tensions in the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus.'' The EUP resolution underscored the illegal actions of the October 3, 2014 NAVTEX issued by Erdogan's Turkey violating UNCLOS. Turkey was conducting seismic surveys in Cyprus' sovereign EEZ over the period from October 30 to December 30, 2014. These illegal actions by Turkey violated Cyprus' maritime border with Egypt. Moreover, it jeopardized exploration by Italy's ENI and KOGAS in blocks of the Cypriot EEZ. The EUP resolution drew attention to Turkey's 2005 accession filing to the EU, as it required approval of all EU members and poisoned prospects for unification discussions between the Republic of Cyprus and the Northern Turkish enclave on the Island. The resolution suggested that Turkish withdrawal of troops stationed in the enclave was a pre-condition for accession to the EU. It urged immediate revocation of the offending NAVTEX and negotiation of bilateral agreements with the Cypriot Republic covering exploration and developments of undersea resources to benefit all Cypriots. The EUP Resolution suggested that Turkey sign the UNCLOS and honor its provisions.
In late November 2014 Israel's Energy Minister, Sylvan Shalom, raised the EasternMediterranean Pipeline project in meetings with the European Commission's new energy chiefMaros Sefcovic at a meeting hosted by the Italian EU President. An article in Natural GasEurope reported, ''The Cypriots also seem supportive of such an endeavor, the Cypriot Foreign Minister receiving Israel's suggestion positively and stating that a viability study was beingconducted'' for joint development of a submarine pipeline to Greece connecting the gas fields in the Israeli and Cypriot EEZs for delivery of gas to EU.
This was a geo-political gauntlet thrown down to counter the illegal moves of Turkish President Erdogan. It was an outgrowth of the bi-lateral agreement struck in November 2011 between Israel and Cyprus that would enable the Noble Energy-Delek Group to undertake exploration of the feasibility of the Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline. The announcement came just before the strategic December 1, 2014 meeting in Ankara between Putin and Erdogan during which the Russian President announced abandonment of the $45 Billion South Stream Pipeline that would deliver Russian gas to the EU. The Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline offered a secure means of transmitting gas through several EU members and associate member Israel.
On December 9th, Israel, Cyprus and Greece pitched the Eastern Mediterranean pipeline a day before a conference organized jointly by Natural Gas Europe, the Greek Energy Forum, ESCP Europe, RCEM and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The conference was titled ''2030 EU Energy Security, the Role of the Eastern Mediterranean Region'' and took place at EESC headquarters in Brussels. Natural Gas Europe in an article on the EESC conference noted the comments of Greek Energy Minister, Ioannis Maniatis:
Europe will need an extra 100 bcm of natural gas in the next 15 years, and in light of Europe's increasing dependence on imports to fulfill its energy needs, the EU must find a sustainable model to ensure it is a competitive economy.
The EU needs to reduce external dependence, increase efficiency, diversify its sources and routes of supply, and improve interconnectors, he added. Fully connected energy grids, greater transparency, good governance and a thorough understanding of global events should also be the focus of the EU according to Maniatis. He explained that Greece's importance is growing. The East Med pipeline pitched by Israel, Cyprus and Greece would run from Israel and Cyprus via Greece to Italy and then to the rest of Europe is technically feasible and attached to attractive prospects said Maniatis. He told the audience that the results of a feasibility study on the East Med pipeline will be released next year and that the pipeline would serve as a new source and provider of natural gas comparable to the Southern Corridor. The attractiveness of the East Med Pipeline, said Maniatis, is that unlike the Southern Corridor, it would pass exclusively through four member states and hence deserves strong EU backing for its materialization.
The Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline had received the endorsement of the EC as a priority project for underwriting in November 2013. According to The Guardian that could provide the Eastern Mediterranean pipeline project ''access to a '¬5.85bn fund, and preferential treatment from multilateral banks.''
Natural Gas Europereported at the time the options under consideration:
The basic plan will see the pipeline stretch from the Leviathan field offshore Israel on to Cyprus ending in eastern part of the Island of Crete in Greece. Three alternate routes were discussed:
To the Peloponnesus Peninsula joint via spur with the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP)
From Crete to northern Greece where it would join the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB)
From Crete to the Revythousa LNG terminal close to Athens. The terminal would be significantly upgraded to accommodate large amounts of gas exports thereafter.
The technically difficult 1,880 kilometer long submarine pipeline project, reaching depths of more than 2,000 meters, would connect Leviathan and Aphrodite gas fields ultimately to Italy. Cost for the project was estimated at over $20 Billion and would likely not be concluded at the earliest until 2020, assuming that production of the Leviathan field in the Israeli EEZ begins in 2017. With the demise of both the Turkish Leviathan-Ceyhan pipeline and the Australian Woodside Pty. Ashdod LNG ''Eilat pipeline for delivery of gas to the Asian markets, the Eastern Mediterranean pipeline project may have serious consideration. There is the alternative of the onshore LNG facility at Vassilikos on Cyprus' south shore to be built by the Consortium at an estimated cost of $10 billion. A Memorandum of Understanding for planning the Vassilikos LNG complex was signed by Cyprus and the Consortium in June 2013. In the interim, offshore floating LNG processing platforms that might be leased to ship processed gas via pressured LNG vessels to receiving terminals in Greece and Italy. However, Noble Energy was not initially supportive of the Eastern Mediterranean pipeline option, instead concentrating on sales from Leviathan to regional users like Jordan and Egypt and building the proposed Cypriot LNG processing facility. As we will shortly see, as a result of regulatory actions by the independent Israeli Anti-Trust Authority (IAA), both Noble Energy and its Israeli consortium partner Delek Group plans for Leviathan as well as the Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline may be in jeopardy
Watch this CNBC video: Israel-Cypriot Pipeline: Game Changer for EU Energy?
Dr. David Gilo, Director Israel Anti-Trust Authority
Could Regulatory Zeal and Politics Deprive Israel of its Offshore Energy Prize?
Israel's pursuit of energy independence and potential gas exports may have been upended by a ruling regarding Israel's Cartel Law by the head of the independent Israel Anti-trust Authority (IAA). Dr. David Gilo of the IAA effectively ruled that the Noble Energy '' Delek consortium constituted a monopoly and would be forced to sell the Leviathan or Tamar fields in Israel's offshore Exclusive Economic Zone. Gilo was cited by the New York Times saying, ''The entry of Delek and Noble into Leviathan has created a situation in which these groups control all the gas reserves on the coast of the state of Israel.'' Gilo's rationale for his ruling was the prior agreed to sale of smaller gas fields Tanin and Karish owned by the Consortium ''did not create a real competitive solution to solve the problem of a monopoly in the market.'' Globes, Israel Business reported in an article, Regulator decides Tamar and Leviathan form monopoly:
[Gilo] is going back on his decision, subject to a hearing, to let the companies continue holding both the Tamar and Leviathan gas fields. The State will now require the companies to sell their holdings in one of the fields.
Sources in the energy market believe that such a step will delay development of the Leviathan field by several years and could see Israel dragged into the international court of arbitration by US company Noble Energy, which has been developing both fields.
The reaction from Noble Energy was swift:
Noble Energy Israel Country Manager Binyamin (Bini) Zomer said, "For 16 years, Noble Energy has invested in the exploration and development of Israel's gas and oil resources. To date we have invested with our partners close to $6 billion in developing the country's oil and gas sector. These investments contribute to the Israeli economy and environment, and at the same time grant Israel energy independence while providing an opportunity for regional cooperation and contributing to regional stability."
['...]
He warned, "The antitrust regulator's decision to go back on the agreement. casts a shadow over the future of Israel's gas and oil sector and influences Noble Energy's continued investment in the country."
Zoma's comments were mirrored in official statements from Houston-based Noble Energy's Chairman in a news release:
Earlier today, Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) and its partners in the Leviathan field were advised by the Israel Anti-trust Authority of its decision to not submit the Consent Decree to the Anti-trust Tribunal for final approval. In response, Noble Energy and partners have requested a hearing on the topic with the Anti-trust Authority, which Noble Energy expects to occur in the next few weeks.
In March 2014, Noble Energy, its partners, and the Anti-trust Authority reached agreement for the Consent Decree that included the divestiture of the Tanin and Karish gas fields. This agreement is a key component for the final investment decision on the Leviathan development.
Charles D. Davidson, Noble Energy's Chairman, commented, "The actions of the Anti-trust Authority are another disturbing example of the uncertain regulatory environment in Israel. Specifically, this is a matter that we believed was resolved some time ago and follows on recent assurances from the Anti-trust Authority that approval was forthcoming. We believe this is a harmful precedent for Israel to set and we will vigorously defend our rights relating to our assets."
Ominously, the ruling may delay, if not stop, development of the significant Leviathan gas field with more than 21.9 TCF. Further, the IAA would significantly delay indefinitely the implementation of the Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline connecting Leviathan with the adjacent Cypriot Aphrodite gas field with 7 TCF via Greece and Italy to securely supply gas to the EU thereby stymieing geo resource hegemony by Russia and Turkey. The Noble-Delek Consortium had signed agreements with the Republic of Cyprus in 2011 for the joint development of Cyprus' offshore gas fields, despite threats from Turkey and its enclave the Northern Turkish Cypriot Republic.
Billions of Israeli tax revenue, billions of returns to the Noble Energy''Delek consortium and billions in sales to Egypt, Jordan and other regional markets in signed agreements are now at risk. The effects on the trading values of the Noble Energy-Delek consortium stocks on the NYSE and Tel Aviv Stock Exchanges were immediate. Noble Energy stock (NBL-NYSE) plummeted by over 6.4 % from $50.97 at the market close on December 22nd to $ 47.73, currently. Globesreported the fall off in trading for the Delek and Tamar partners caused by the IAA announcement:
In the stock market, Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) fell 16.5% for the largest fall on the Tel Aviv 25 Index following the antitrust order to sell either its Leviathan or Tamar holdings. Delek's energy exploration units Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) and Delek Drilling Limited Partnership (TASE: DEDR.L) fell 11.75% and 12.73% respectively. Tamar partner Isramco Ltd. (Nasdaq: ISRL; TASE: ISRA.L) fell 7.44% on the day's largest turnover, and Leviathan partner Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L) fell 16.9%.
This ruling comes amidst the snap election campaign triggered by a no-confidence vote confounding the ability of the Netanyahu caretaker government to seek possible redress via the Knesset. There are suspicions in Israel that the IAA ruling may have been politically motivated by Labor Party and Histadrut leaders, given the latter's control over the Israel Electric Company, the national power authority.
These rapid fire developments brought troubling assessments from Gal Luft in an article in The Journal of Energy Security, ''Israel's Energy Dream- the End is Nigh'':
After years of delays and billions of dollars spent, a new and increasingly likely scenario should be considered '' the premature '' and tragic '' death of the Israeli gas dream. I alluded to this option in an August 2013 article titled "Israel's Zero Gas Game" in which I warned that Israel has become so busy dividing the pie that its leaders forgot it must first be baked and that due to the failure of the government to present a clear vision for the country's energy sector, articulate the rights and responsibilities of foreign investors and most importantly set rules and stick to them.
['...]
There are very few oil and gas companies who have both the experience of drilling in deep waters and the willingness to associate themselves with Israel, especially in light of Noble's experience. With falling energy prices worldwide, the chance of a Noble-like operator popping out of nowhere is slim. This means that in its desire to avoid the creation of a monopoly, Israel is taking the risk that Leviathan, the world's largest offshore gas discovery of the past decade, will not be developed for many years to come - if ever.
Dr. Norman A. Bailey, former Reagan era National Security Advisor on national economic security, offered this assessment of the IAA ruling in a Globes Israel Businesscolumn, ''Israel shoots itself in both knees'':
This is not Israel shooting itself in the foot, it is Israel shooting itself in both knees. This incredibly stupid, illegal and immoral decision will undoubtedly be reversed by the courts and/or international arbitral tribunals, but by the time that happens much of the damage will have been done and recovery will be difficult or perhaps impossible. Even if an accommodation is reached without legal action, the image of Israel as a reliable partner will have been severely degraded.
Echoing Dr. Bailey's concerns, our NER colleague Dr. Richard L. Rubenstein commented:
The Israeli regulators are both insane and suicidal, but not that different than some U.S. regulators, save that America has a greater margin of error to protect it from comparable damage. Instead of being glad that an American firm has taken the huge risk in this investment, they prefer ideological rigidity to a quantum leap in Israel's economic and political situation. Will petty little men who probably never managed anything approaching the magnitude of this project have the power to ruin it?
Given this maligned IAA ruling, will Israel in 2015 come to its senses, overcome misplaced regulatory zeal and re-gain the prospect of a promising economic future fueled by these important energy discoveries in the Levant Basin?
_____________________________________
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[4]Îu-Artic-Forum, Barents Euro-Arctic Council: from Kiruna to the Norwegian Mission in Brussels, a growing importance of the BEAC in the North and in the EU>>.
woensdag 11 januari 2017, 8:54 ECB-president Mario Draghi. (C) AFPPortugal is het jaar moeizaam begonnen, de rente op de staatsschuld stijgt weer. Maar de ECB kan minder doen om de rente te drukken, aangezien staatsobligaties op dreigen te raken.
Eind vorige week kwam de rente op Portugese staatsobligaties met een looptijd van tien jaar voor het eerst sinds februari vorig jaar weer boven de 4% uit. Dat is deels te wijten aan de Europese Centrale Bank (ECB) die minder obligaties van het land opkoopt. Bij obligaties beweegt de rente tegengesteld aan de koers.
De ECB koopt maandelijks '¬80 miljard aan Europese obligaties op en drukt zo de rentes in de eurozone. In december kocht de ECB '¬726 miljoen aan Portugese schuld, 40% minder dan de kapitaalsleutel waarmee de ECB schuld opkoopt in verhouding tot de economie van een land.
Volgens obligatiestrateeg Kim Liu van ABN Amro is dat omdat er een tekort aan Portugese staatsobligaties dreigt te ontstaan. De ECB mag niet meer dan 33% van een schulduitgifte opkopen, omdat de centrale bank anders een blokkerende minderheid krijgt in geval van een herstructurering van de schuld. Liu: 'De obligaties die de ECB onder een eerder steunprogramma kocht, vallen daar ook onder. De ECB dreigt dus tegen haar eigen grenzen aan te lopen.''
Klik hier voor het gehele artikel over het dilemma van de ECB.
A district court judge in Texas has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Ahmed Mohamed on his own behalf and on behalf of his 15-year-old son, Ahmed Mohamed. They had sued Fox News, Glenn Beck, and the mayor of Irving -- among others -- for defamation in September of 2016.
A year earlier, Ahmed, then a 14-year-old freshman at an Irving, Texas, high school, was arrested, briefly detained by police, and suspended for three days after bringing to school a "cool clock" that looked like a briefcase bomb. Ahmed claimed to have "invented" the easily assembled clock, and that he had brought it to school to show it to his shop teacher.
The incident led many to question the Mohamed family's motives. Newly appointed District Court Judge Maricela Moore dismissed the lawsuit following a nearly three-hour hearing on Monday, according to the American Freedom Law Center:
The motion to dismiss was filed by lawyers from the American Freedom Law Center (''AFLC'') and local counsel Pete Rowe on behalf of the Center for Security Policy (''CSP'') and Jim Hanson, two of the defendants in the defamation case, which also named as defendants the local Fox affiliate, Glenn Beck, and Beck's production company.
Mohamed had sued Hanson and CSP for statements Hanson had made on Beck's program about the connection between the Clock Boy hoax bomb affair, the attendant media frenzy created in large part by his father Mohamed, civilization jihad, and the Counsel on American-Islamic Relations (''CAIR''), the Muslim Brotherhood-Hamas front group in the United States that promotes civilization jihad.
During the hearing, AFLC co-founder and senior counsel David Yerushalmi explained to Judge Moore that the purpose of the lawfare-driven lawsuit was to intimidate into silence those who might comment publicly on the connection between jihad, terrorism, sharia, and Islam. As such, Yerushalmi argued, "this case is a classic Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation or 'SLAPP' case and should be dismissed.''
During the lengthy hearing, Judge Moore pressed Mohamed's lawyer, Fort Worth attorney Susan Hutchison, to provide any facts that would suggest that Hanson and the other defendants had said anything false or defamatory about Mohamed or his son during the television broadcasts. After spending a painfully embarrassing 15 minutes flipping through reams of paper, Mohamed's lawyer was unable to provide any such evidence.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Moore said that she would rule by the end of the day. On Tuesday, the court published Judge Moore's ruling dismissing the lawsuit against Hanson and CSP with prejudice.
Upon leaving the courtroom, Yerushalmi made the following statement:
''This lawsuit filed by Clock Boy's father is yet another example of Islamist lawfare, which is a component of the Muslim Brotherhood's civilization jihad.''
Yerushalmi further explained that the purpose of such lawsuits, formally labelled Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (''SLAPP''), is to intimidate into silence those who might comment publicly on the connection between jihad, terrorism, sharia, and Islam.
Redditor, Law School Graduate, and nimble navigator William Craddick (/u/PleadingtheYiff, and brand new Twitter handle @williamcraddick) has made quite the name for himself on Reddit's ''The_Donald'' forum. In just three short months, Craddick has managed to rack up over 153,000 ''post karma'' and 48k ''comment karma,'' which (if you're not familiar) is impressive. The guy is an incredibly effective dot-connector, perhaps owing it to his legal training '' often posting lengthy reads that are well worth the investment in time. Craddick made the Clinton '' Silsby '' Haiti connection, which is un-refuted to the best of my knowledge.
In his latest piece, Craddick presents frightening evidence of a massive ISIS network covering the USA. Let's start with the conclusion:
Either the US government and current administration is so hopelessly incompetent that they are unable to detect domestic and foreign threats which are discoverable by investigative journalists and whistleblower organizations. Or, there are factions within the United States government who are seeking to prevent competent, well-intentioned members of the intelligence community, law enforcement, and legislative/regulatory branches from taking action against ISIS operatives and extremist recruits who are active both on the American border as well as in the United States.
Dig in:
The director of the FBI, James Comey, has stated that ISIS now has a presence in all 50 of the United States:
ABC 7 News Chicago: https://archive.fo/OiEHM
This presence varies in its form from state to state. It exists in the form of smaller cells attached to mosques run by radicalized imams, paramilitary groups operating out of compounds throughout the US, reinforced by veterans and command figures from ISIS' Syria theater and bolstered by recruits from American minority communities. If all the reports outlined here are in fact found to be true, ISIS has managed to amass a terrifyingly impressive network across the United States that would be capable of wreaking heavy damage in the event of a large-scale terror incident.
One of the ways ISIS has established a military presence in the US is by directly franchising out training camps that build operations centers/cells in various parts of the country. Some of these camps are public knowledge although the media has tried to hide them from the public.
At least one established network of paramilitary training camps has been public knowledge since at least the 1980's. The Jamaat ul-Fuqra, or ''Muslims of America'' network has run a network of camps estimated in a report from Sean Hannity to be spread across 35 different locations. The report (linked here) showed a number of Islamic jihadist style military training videos filmed at these sites in the United States. News site WND has placed the number of camps at least 22:
WND: http://archive.is/eYGbK
Here is a map showing the location of most of the compounds run by Jamaat ul-Fuqra:
http://i.sli.mg/nmtohh.jpg
The Clarion Project ran a report citing FBI documents which state that in 2014 the FBI investigated the organization '''...based upon specific and articulate facts giving justification to believe they are engaged in international terrorism or activities in preparation thereof'...'' This was due in part to an ''accidental'' deadly shooting that occurred in one of their compounds, Mahmoudberg, in Texas:
Mahmoudberg was one of several compounds located on property Jamaat ul-Fuqra had purchased in the area:
Clarion: http://archive.is/6yjBu
Jamaat ul-Fuqra was based in Pakistan and its leader, Mubarak Ali Gilani was directly involved in the kidnapping and murder of journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped while going to interview Gilani in Iraq. He was questioned but never arrested for the role he played:
http://archive.is/vjwk5
You will recall of course, that the group who carried out the murder of Pearl was Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which was the forerunner of ISIS. This indicates that ISIS has had established connections to this network in particular since at least 2002.
Hannity's report and the piece by WND both mention the fact that Jamaat ul-Fuqra has produced a video titled ''Soldiers of Allah'' where Gilani states:
We are fighting to destroy the enemy. We are dealing with evil at its roots and its roots are America.
Despite all of this troubling information, the Department of State does not list Jamaat ul-Fuqra as a terrorist organization. Here is a list of videos both showing footage these Islamic jihadist paramilitary groups have filmed or reports referencing them:
https://vid.me/64tH
https://vid.me/Fade
https://vid.me/d7Fd
https://vid.me/4RMz
It appears that there may be a correlation between the states where camps run by Jamaat ul-Fuqra are located and recent terror attacks which have linked to ISIS.
For example, one of the largest compounds is located in Islamberg, New York. Many of the training and propaganda films made by Jamaat ul-Fuqra are produced at this location. It is interesting that this particular location is so significant to the group when one considers terror activity in the New York/New Jersey area, such as the recent pressure cooker bombings:
The Telegraph: https://archive.fo/hom7j
The Telegraph: https://archive.fo/VVGKJ
The Washington Post: https://archive.fo/wJzdm
The authorities attempted to claim that the individual arrested, Ahmad Khan Rahami, acted alone and there was no cell. But that contradicts other prior reports complete with footage showing multiple other individuals who were active in the terror operation:
CNN: https://archive.fo/kEPW1
The ''lone wolf'' narrative pushed by the mainstream media is a lie in almost every single case. Wherever there is a ''lone wolf'' there is a bigger wolf pack nearby providing logistical and operational support. We've all seen the damage that individual attackers have caused in various terror incidents and how much chaos an entire squad of ISIS operatives such as those who perpetuated the 2015 Paris attacks can cause. Imagine what will happen when all of them decide to attack at once? The death toll in each location might potentially be in the hundreds, if not thousands.
It is also interesting to note that these pressure cooker attacks happened at the tail end of a spree of ''gas leak'' explosions in New York. The most recent one occurred in September and was first blamed on a Marijuana growing operation, then a meth lab showing apparent law enforcement confusion as to what and who had actually caused the blast. Others mention that residents didn't actually smell gas leaking before the explosion. The shifting stories and common stated causes of the explosions are very interesting. When done intentionally, this is known as a ''supplement narrative'' or a cover story that the public is more likely to accept than what really happened. Here are a number of local news reports on the incidents:
Gothamist: https://archive.fo/bQzwo
NY Daily News: https://archive.fo/Z4zkp
WKRC Cincinnati: https://archive.fo/CwyWr
Pix 11 TV: https://archive.fo/ruuGN
In addition to Jamat ul-Fuqra, other Islamic groups in the United States are Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Masjid at-Taqwa (led by Siraj Wahhaj) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). I have not yet researched these other groups, am not alleging that they are paramilitary in nature and merely list them for referential purposes.
In addition to training camps, domestic ISIS terrorists seem to have been groomed to some extent at local mosques by extremist imams. It is of course not logistically tenable to have paramilitary wings located in every single US state. In such cases, smaller cells coordinated by handlers preaching extremist Wahabbist or Salafist Islam are a much more secure and low profile option.
Mosques in Europe have been proved to be at risk of being coopted by jihadi groups for use as operations centers. In the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks, French authorities raided a number of mosques and made more than 200 arrests, confiscating 334 weapons of which 34 were described as ''war grade.'' The raids led to the closure of over 100 mosques in France:
Al Jazeera: https://archive.fo/TIjnV
American security officials have also highlighted that many mosques in the United States are involved to some extent with extremism. Breitbart cited a former FBI counter-terrorism special agent as opining that as many as 75% of American mosques were used by jihadist networks:
Breitbart: https://archive.fo/JCTe8
The imams and mosques of specific ''lone wolf'' attackers in the U.S. have been suspected of having varying levels of involvement in their radicalization process. The Los Angeles cleric Roshan Zamir Abbassi who ministered to the San Bernardino terror attackers was questioned after it emerged he had exchanged a flurry of texts with attacker Syed Rizwan Farook and was allegedly lying about the fact that he knew his wife:
NY Post: http://archive.is/YX4yw
In a revelation suggesting evidence that mosques can and do play host to more than one radicalized attacker, it was revealed that Pulse nightclub attacker Omar Mateen and American suicide bomber Moner Abu Salha both were enrolled in the radical cleric Marcus Dwayne Robertson's Timbuktu Seminary.
Daily Mail: https://archive.fo/iudwl
In the aftermath of the Pulse shooting, the imam of The Husseini Islamic Center was caught on camera calling for death to gays:
WFTV 9: https://archive.fo/8Q2WU
https://vid.me/E2w8
The imam of the Boston Marathon bombers, Abdullah Faaruuq, denied radicalizing them despite videos emerging of him making fiery sermons alluding to committing acts of violence. New also surfaced that he was on the radar of groups monitoring preachers of extremism before the attacks occurred:
Fox News: https://archive.fo/ZrlIB
More moderate imams also spoke to the press talking about how extremist clerics had taken over many Boston mosques in recent years:
Fox News: https://archive.fo/G6En6
It has also been revealed in a report by The Gateway Pundit that yesterday's airport shooter, Esteban Santiago lived within walking distance of the only mosque in Alaska. As more information emerges about the cleric running this facility, will we find out that he too has a history of preaching extreme Islamic ideology?
The Gateway Pundit: https://archive.fo/s9fsg
A. ISIS operatives' presence and activity are now being routinely reported at the southern US border
While developing domestic paramilitary capabilities, ISIS and groups collaborating with them are attempting to move military assets including combat veterans and command figures from the Syrian/Iraqi theaters into the West. These redeployments are likely rapidly increasing as regional and international coalitions have been closing in on their Middle East territories. ISIS movements into Europe among the refugee population are already fairly well documented. Not so well known are a growing number of reports that ISIS members are locating into the Western Hemisphere and infiltrating the United States.
In 2015, Judicial Watch ran a series of reports based on testimony from various Mexican military sources stating that ISIS was running a small camp just a few miles from the border of Texas near El Paso:
Judicial Watch: https://archive.fo/aQkhJ
The watchdog further claimed that ISIS was paying multiple cartel organizations to smuggle members across the US border using rural smuggling routes and regional airports to avoid the U.S. Border Control:
They supported their sources with a leaked document from the Texas Department of Public Safety stating that several known members of Islamic terror organizations have been apprehended attempting to enter the U.S. in recent years:
Additionally cited was a 2004 document from the Department of State, which stated that multiple known Arab extremists were using Mexico to enter the United States, including a top Al Qaeda operative, Adnan G. El Shurkrjumah who was wanted by the FBI:
These reports follow a 2014 project conducted by Judicial Watch documenting the existence of an operation stretching from the southern border to Chicago being run by cartel and ISIS members to move drugs, weapons and individuals from Mexico into the US. This is especially interesting considering the fact that the recent Ft. Lauderdale attacker was Hispanic:
Judicial Watch: https://archive.fo/2c4J8
This year, Judicial Watch reported they had been tipped off by a Homeland Security official that cartel groups were helping multiple ISIS members, including leadership figure Shaykh Mahmood Omar Khabir, enter the United States to conduct surveillance for an attack on American soil:
Judicial Watch: https://archive.fo/9xzZ5
In April 2016 Khabir bragged to Italian newspaper Il Giornale that it would be easy for him to ''get in with a handful of men, and kill thousands of people in Texas or in Arizona in the space of a few hours.''
Judicial Watch quoted Mexican officials who were incredulous that the Obama administration was not taking these threats more seriously.
Judicial Watch's reports were denied by Texas DPS Director Robert Bodisch. However, the language Mr. Bodisch indicates that his denial is in fact untrue, though it does not legally qualify as perjury. When confronted about the two reports that Judicial Watch had obtained from Texas DPS contradicting his statement, he merely asserted that neither he nor intelligence officials could ''confirm'' the reports and he did not accuse Judicial Watch of misquoting their other sources. Notice the language here: to explicitly deny the authenticity of the documents would be to make an untruthful statement, hence Bodisch's decision to merely state that he could neither confirm nor deny their authenticity. The two reports outlined plans by ISIS operatives to attack Fort Bliss, Texas, and that four of their members had been detained in Texas.
Politifact made a similarly disingenuous attempt to discredit Judicial Watch's reports. The report also cited Texas DPS officials who merely said they could neither ''confirm nor deny'' the documents and sources cited by Judicial Watch. In fact, officials with El Paso's Sherriff's Department expressed shock the Judicial Watch's findings, before their superiors told Politico they similarly ''couldn't provide relevant information'' about the report. Again, notice that no authorities have outright denied Judicial Watch's findings as to do so would be to commit perjury, especially if the official in fact had knowledge suggesting that the reports and information was in fact true. Finally, Politico cited a Border Patrol official who merely cast doubt on Judicial Watch's reports before it emerged that he had left the Border Patrol in contentious circumstances. None of this refutes the findings and reports of Judicial Watch.
B. How ISIS can cross from West Africa to the Western Hemisphere
It is, in theory, actually incredibly easy for ISIS operatives and commanders to leave the theater of war in Syria and move into the Western Hemisphere, potentially linking up with paramilitary forces located in some of the camps mentioned above. South American and Mexican drug cartels have been increasingly running drugs into West Africa using entire fleets of decrepit and unregistered cargo planes:
The Telegraph: https://archive.fo/lyFCe
CNN: https://archive.fo/9p3bM
In order to move the drugs from West Africa to their ultimate markets in Europe, narco groups have been working to smuggle them in cooperation with multiple Islamic terror groups. These terror groups benefit financially from the arrangement. Below are reports from the United Nations and Financial Action Task Force explaining these business arrangements in addition to an article from The Telegraph outlining the arrangement:
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: https://archive.fo/OV4fV
ISIS has known franchises in West Africa, most notably the Nigerian extremist group Boko Haram. It would logistically possible to move assets from Syria into West Africa via their franchises in Libya and jump the Atlantic into the Western Hemisphere:
NY Times: https://archive.fo/tivy4
ISIS' estimated monthly income of $80-120 million USD (and that number relies only on what is public knowledge) also shows that it is financially possible for them to pay their way through Western smuggling networks. All that would be needed is the willingness to outbid competing state agencies reaching out to cartels in the hope that they will keep extremists out of the United States and the adjacent countries:
Stuff Mag New Zealand: https://archive.fo/5rL6K
As a final note, once ISIS members have entered the United States, it is quite easy for them to take up positions and embed themselves within Sanctuary Cities, where lax immigration laws give them a veritable free pass to move around without fear of harassment from or detection by local law enforcement.
There are also indications that recruitment and radicalization is occurring in various black American communities in recent years. ISIS has publicly stated its desire to recruit African Americans and exploit unrest caused by police violence incidents to increase sympathy for it's cause in the black community:
Heavy: https://archive.fo/IkYAL
In some of their recruitment media, ISIS has actually used Black Lives Matter talking points in an attempt to convince Americans to join the organization:
Breitbart: https://archive.fo/tXFhh
Recently I came across a nine month long program Black Lives Matter has been running labeled as the ''Youth Empowerment Strategy program at Dubai.'' The stated purpose of the program is to ''to empower our youth with the knowledge, skills and confidence to conduct themselves with poise and professionalism''.
http://i.sli.mg/t4fYOr.png
Here is BLM's main web page with the program visible in their event calendar:
http://blacklivesmatter.com/events/
Here is the website for the program in Dubai
http://www.uvconsultants.com/youthempowerment/
Given that it is common knowledge Saudi and UAE state groups use educational programs as a way to radicalize youth and infect them with the Wahabbist ideology that breeds terrorism, what exactly is this program BLM is partnering with? Does it involve religious teaching? More research and demands for clarification from Black Lives Matter is needed to clarify that American youth are not intentionally being exposed to state agents who are radicalizing them.
It is worth remembering that George Soros funds Black Lives Matters:
Breitbart: https://archive.fo/MFLe6
The man who broke the Bank of England makes his money and gains control through sewing economic and political chaos. In fact, documents released by DC Leaks have proved he has used Black Lives Matter protests to further his agendas in the past. This current ''educational'' program and recent shifts towards extremist behavior should be alarming to many given what is known about the way he uses the organization:
The Free Thought Project: https://archive.fo/UGxST
From what information is publicly available, ISIS or groups affiliated with them are creating and training paramilitary groups around the country, infiltrating American mosques to turn them into centers for radicalization and staging points for ''lone wolf'' style attacks and attempting to engage in recruitment and radicalization campaigns among American minority groups. It beggars belief that the United States government is not aware of these developments. In fact, Director Comey's statement about ISIS' presence in all 50 states implies that intelligence agencies do in fact know of this threat.
The State Department, who Wikileaks have revealed to have illegally helped Hillary Clinton delay the process of turning email records over to Congress, has tried to deny that ISIS operatives are present on the US southern border.
Fox News: http://archive.is/WoW91
Their claims that Judicial Watch's reports are ''unfounded'' are in direct contradiction to their reports from over 10 years ago which describe Al Qaeda terrorists operating in and around Mexico in attempts to gain entry to the United States just as ISIS allegedly seeks to do now. And again, they do not explicitly deny the authenticity of the documents produced by Judicial Watch because this would legally land them in very hot water.
Other reports of government failure to tackle this apparent extremism exist as well. In 2016, the Daily Mail reported that the FBI had failed to inform American citizens that their names were present on a ''kill list'' of 15,000 potential targets complied by ISIS:
Daily Mail: https://archive.fo/Kf3lq
There are two conclusions to draw from incidents such as this. Either the US government and current administration is so hopelessly incompetent that they are unable to detect domestic and foreign threats which are discoverable by investigative journalists and whistleblower organizations. Or, there are factions within the United States government who are seeking to prevent competent, well-intentioned members of the intelligence community, law enforcement, and legislative/regulatory branches from taking action against ISIS operatives and extremist recruits who are active both on the American border as well as in the United States.
The fact that certain agencies and news groups have engaged in legalistic denials of reports about the growing ISIS threat to the United States certainly indicate that the latter might sadly be the case.
Original thread on Reddit with tons of great additive discussion in the comments section
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The destroyer fired three warning shots at the Iranian vesselsThe USS Mahan destroyer launched three warning shots at four Iranian Revolutionary Guard ships in the Strait of Hormuz, located between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
Officials said US warship reportedly tried to establish contact with the Iranian vessels and asked them to reduce their speed, but the ships did not respond.
Related articlesThe Iranian ships came as close as 800 metres to the USS Mahan, which had began guarding other US vessels, on Sunday.
The incident comes amid escalating tensions between the countries.
In November, the Pentagon said an Iranian vessel pointed its gun at a US chopper in the Strait of Homuz.
US NAVY
The USS Mahan fired the warning shots at the four Iranian shipsREUTERS
10 US sailors were captured by Iran last JanuaryThey are latest in a series of similar encounters between Thehran's and America's navies.
And in January 2016, 10 US soldiers '' nine men and one woman - were taken into custody after their boats crossed into Iranian waters '' a move the Pentagon claimed was due to a malfunction in navigation equipment.
Video footage published by Tehran state television showed the servicemen kneeling on the deck of the patrol boat with their hands up.
The group were questioned for several hours by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard but were later pictured sitting cross-legged without shoes while eating food inside a bare room.
A female sailor among the captured was forced to wear a headscarf during her 16 hours in captivity, according to US experts.
Several pictures of the captive group appeared to show the woman wearing a makeshift veil she was given by the captors to cover her head.
John Schindler, a naval expert and former employee of America's spy agency NSA, said the move was a stunt designed to send a signal to Washington.
He said at the time: "Tehran naturally insisted the sole female sailor in the group be covered in hijab for the cameras, for political effect."
GETTY
The makeshift headscarf was branded a political stunt by expertsIran has reportedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz path for the US amid political tensions.
The strait is essential to the global economy, accounting for one third of the world's oil shipments.
This is a breaking news story. Please refresh the page for updates.
Section 230 of Title 47 of the United States Code (47 U.S.C. § 230) was passed as part of the much-maligned Communication Decency Act of 1996. Many aspects of the CDA were unconstitutional restrictions of freedom of speech, but this section survived and has been a valuable defense for Internet intermediaries ever since. "By its plain language, § 230 creates a federal immunity to any cause of action that would make service providers liable for information originating with a third-party user of the service''. Zeran v. America Online, Inc., 129 F.3d 327, 330 (4th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 524 U.S. 937 (1998).
EFF maintains an archive of CDA cases: http://www.eff.org/legal/ISP_liability/CDA230/
Upheld in Variety of Factual ContextsCourts across the country have upheld Section 230 immunity and its policy of regulatory forbearance in a variety of factual contexts.
Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018 (9th Cir. 2003) (website operator immune for distributing email sent to listserv)Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, Inc., 339 F.3d 1119 (9th Cir. 2003) (Internet dating service provider was entitled to Section 230 immunity from liability stemming from third party's submission of false profile);Gentry v. eBay, Inc., 99 Cal. App. 4th 816 (2002) (eBay is entitled to immunity);Kathleen R. v. City of Livermore, 87 Cal. App. 4th 684 (2001) (library not liable for providing access);Universal Commc'ns Sys., Inc. v. Lycos, Inc., 478 F.3d 413 (1st Cir. 2007) (message board not liable for users' messages);Schneider v. Amazon.com, Inc., 31 P.3d 37, 39 (Wash. Ct. App. 2001) (online bookseller providing forum for others to submit book reviews is ''interactive computer service'' provider (''ICS provider''));Doe v. America Online, 783 So.2d 1010, 1013-1017 (Fl. 2001), cert. denied, 122 S.Ct. 208 (2000) (§ 230 immunizes America Online (''AOL'') for negligence);Ben Ezra, Weinstein & Co. v. America Online, 206 F.3d 980, 984-985 (10th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 824 (2000) (no liability for posting of incorrect stock information);Marczeski v. Law, 122 F.Supp.2d 315, 327 (D. Conn. 2000) (individual who created private ''chat room'' was ICS provider entitled to immunity);Blumenthal v. Drudge, 992 F. Supp. 44, 49-53 (D.D.C. 1998) (AOL has Section 230 immunity from liability for content of independent contractor's news reports, despite agreement with contractor allowing AOL to modify or remove such content).Global Royalties, Ltd. v. Xcentric Ventures, LLC, 544 F.Supp.2d 929 (D. Ariz. 2008) (website operator immune under 230 for refusing to remove post despite notification of its potentially defamatory content).Goddard v. Google, Inc., 640 F. Supp. 2d 1193 (N.D. Cal. 2009). Plaintiff, Jenna Goddard, claimed that she and a class of similarly situated individuals suffered injury at the hands of Google, Inc., Defendant, as a result of clicking on Google AdWords web-based advertisements created by allegedly fraudulent providers of services for various mobile devices. In its prior decision, the court granted Defendant's motion to dismiss with leave to amend, holding that, ''[e]ach of Plaintiff's claims, as currently pled, is premised fundamentally on Google's publication of the AdWords advertisements,'' and therefore Plaintiff was unable to avoid section 230 immunity. 2008 WL 5245490 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 17, 2008) at *7. In the latest decision, the court dismissed without leave to amend under 12(b)(6) and CDA § 230, because "Plaintiff has not come close to substantiating the 'labels and conclusions' by which she attempts to evade the reach of the CDA." 640 F. Supp. 2d at 1196. Furthermore, the court stressed that the CDA ''must be interpreted to protect websites not merely from ultimate liability, but from having to fight costly and protracted legal battles.'' Id. at 1202.Nemet Chevrolet Ltd. v. ConsumerAffairs.com, Inc., 591 F.3d 250 (4th Cir. 2009). The court granted immunity from defamation and tortious interference with a business expectancy claims to a website that included consumer complaints. The court found the allegations that ConsumerAffairs.com was a ICP because it fabricated complaints or helped write them was insufficiently supported by facts to survive a motion to dismiss.Johnson v. Arden, 614 F. 3d 785 (8th Cir. 2010). The interactive website www.ComplaintsBoard.com immune for allegedly defamatory statements about the Cozy Kitten Cattery because Section 230 "bar[s] plaintiffs from holding ISPs legally responsible for information that third parties created and developed."Causes of Action CoveredCourts have routinely held that the immunity conferred by Section 230 is available for myriad causes of action.
State Causes of ActionSection 230 is not limited to defamation actions. It extends to claims of negligence. Doe v. America Online, 783 So. 2d at 1013-1017; Schneider, 31 P.3d at 41-42 (negligent misrepresentation and interference with business expectancy). It extends to state causes of action for violating a statute that forbids dealers in autographed sports items from misrepresenting those items as authentically autographed. Gentry, 99 Cal. App. 4th at 828-833 (§ 230 immunity protects against liability under Civil Code § 1739.7). It extends to unfair competition laws. Stoner v. eBay, Inc., 2000 WL 1705637, (Cal. Super. 2000) (unpublished) (claiming eBay violated Calif. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 for auctions of bootleg and other unauthorized 'infringing' sound recordings); Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill, LLC,340 F. Supp. 2d 1077 (C.D. Cal. 2004) (applying § 230 to claim of unfair competition based on state law). It protects a library from being held liable for misuse of public funds, nuisance, and premises liability for providing computers allowing access to pornography. Kathleen R., 87 Cal. App.4th at 692. Novak v. Overture Services, Inc., 309 F. Supp. 2d 446 (E.D.N.Y. 2004) (applying § 230 to claim of tortious interference with prospective economic advantage); Beyond Systems, Inc. v. Keynetics, Inc., 422 F. Supp. 2d 523 (D. Md. 2006) (state anti-spam law); Doe v. MySpace, 528 F.3d 413 (5th Cir. 2008). (negligence and gross negligence); Cornelius v. Deluca, 2009 WL 2568044 (E.D. Mo. Aug. 18, 2009) (civil conspiracy claim).
It also extends to breaches of state securities laws and cyberstalking, Universal Communications Systems, Inc. v. Lycos, Inc., 478 F.3d 413 (1st Cir. 2007). Additionally, the 9th Circuit has found that section 230 extends to state intellectual property claims, but courts in other circuits have found the opposite. See Section 230 and Intellectual Property for details.
Contract LawsSection 230 extends to contract claims. Morrison v. America Online, Inc., 153 F.Supp.2d 930, 934 (N.D. Ind. 2001) (rejecting attempt to evade § 230 immunity by claiming to be third-party beneficiary of AOL's member agreement with chat-room users); Jane Doe One v. Oliver, 755 A.2d 1000, 1003-1004 (Conn. Super. Ct. 2000) (applying § 230 to dismiss breach of contract action against AOL, as well claims such as negligence, breaching a mandated public policy, intentional nuisance, and emotional distress); Promissory Estoppel can waive the immunity provided by section 230. The court in Barnes v. Yahoo!, Inc., 570 F.3d 1096, as amended at 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 20053 at *33-34 (9th Cir. June 22, 2009) (amending 565 F.3d 560) stated that, "once a court concludes a promise is legally enforceable according to contract law, it has implicitly concluded that the promisor has manifestly intended that the court enforce his promise. By so intending, he has agreed to depart from the baseline rules (usually derived from tort or statute) that govern the mine-run of relationships between strangers. Subsection 230(c)(1) creates a baseline rule: no liability for publishing or speaking the content of other information service providers. Insofar as [a party] made a promise with the constructive intent that it be enforceable, it has implicitly agreed to an alteration in such baseline."
Criminal LawsSection 230 also protects against state criminal laws and civil claims based on federal criminal statutes. Voicenet Communications, Inc. v. Corbett, No. 04-1318, 2006 WL 2506318 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 30, 2006) (finding the "CDA confers a § 1983-enforceable right upon internet service providers and users to not be 'treated' under state criminal laws as the publisher or speaker of information provided by someone else..."); Doe v. Bates, No. 5:05-CV-91-DF-CMC, 2006 WL 3813758 (E.D. Tex. Dec. 27, 2006) (230 preempts civil claims predicated on federal criminal statutes). Additionally, the Michigan Court of Appeals, in an unpublished decision, stated that section 230 applies to criminal prosecutions. In People v. Gourlay, 2009 WL 529216, at *5 (Mich. App. Ct. March 3, 2009), the court found that, ''the prosecution of defendant for distributing or promoting images of child sexually abusive material, as tried and argued before the jury, was based on defendant's active involvement in the creation of [multiple] websites;'' and thus his conviction on state criminal charges was not inconsistent with § 230.
Federal Causes of ActionSection 230 ImmunitySection 230 has been held to immunize ISPs from federal causes of action. See Noah v. AOL Time Warner, Inc., 261 F. Supp. 2d 532 (E.D. Va. 2003), aff'd by unpublished per curiam opinion 2004 WL 602711 (4th Cir. 2004) (AOL immune from federal civil rights claim that treated it as a publisher); see also Associated Bank-Corp. v. Earthlink, Inc., 05-C-0233-S, 2005 WL 2240952 (W.D. Wis. Sept. 13, 2005) (Section 230 protected against claim under Lanham Act, 1125(a)); see also Chicago Lawyers' Comm. for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. v. Craigslist, Inc., 519 F.3d 666 (7th Cir. 2008) (Section 230 immunizes Craigslist against Fair Housing Act claims).
Internet Service Provider v. Internet Content ProviderThe dividing line in determining whether an entity is an "internet service provider" or an "internet content provider" hinges on editorial publisher function and when something is a statement being made by the information content provider. An emerging trend, though, has been noted in some recent 230 cases where courts have begun to develop an inducement model. In these cases, facilitating or inducing illegal behavior seems to be troubling for claiming 230 immunity.
In Fair Housing v. Roommates.com, 489 F.3d 921 (9th Cir. 2007), [hereinafter Roommates], in which the 9th Circuit held that the housing locator site, Roommates.com, was not immune under Section 230. Roommates was not a passive publisher of the content; rather, the site had developed questionnaires to elicit potentially discriminatory information from users. Although the court found that Roommates.com was immune in regard to open-ended questions that suggested no particular information to be provided by members, the court found that its search mechanism and e-mail notifications meant that it was neither a passive pass-through of information provided by others nor merely a facilitator of expression. "By categorizing, channeling and limiting the distribution of users' profiles, Roommates provides an additional layer of information that it is 'responsible' at least 'in part' for creating or developing." Id. at 17. The court therefore held that the site was an information content provider and not immune under the publisher provisions of the CDA.
Concurring in Roommates, Judge Ikuta disagreed with the majority's narrow interpretation of a content provider, writing, "Unless a website operator directly provides 'the essential published content,'... it is not an 'information content provider.'" Id. at 26. Judge Reinhardt argued in dissent that no immunity should attach at all because the user profiles had to be conceived as a whole, over which Roommates.com was exercising editorial control, and that therefore no part of the site deserved immunity.
The Ninth Circuit revised the Roommates decision en banc. Fair Housing v. Roommates.com, 521 F.3d 1157 (9th Cir. 2008). The Court clarified that "providing neutral tools to carry out what may be unlawful or illicit searches does not amount to 'development' for purposes of the immunity exception." Id. at 1169. Likewise, a "website operator who edits user-created content-such as by correcting spelling, removing obscenity or trimming for length-retains his immunity for any illegality in the user-created content, provided that the edits are unrelated to the illegality." Id.
Like Roommates, the court in Mazur v. eBay Inc., No. C 07-03967 MHP, 2008 WL 618988 (N.D. Cal. March 4, 2008) also found the defendant to be an information content provider. In this case, eBay made statements regarding the safety, circumstances and caliber of its live auctions. The court found that, ''[t]hough eBay styles safety as a screening function whereby eBay is responsible for the screening of safe auctioneers, this court is unconvinced. eBay's statement regarding safety affects and creates an expectation regarding the procedures and manner in which the auction is conducted and consequently goes beyond traditional editorial discretion."
Similarly, in NPS LLC v. StubHub, Inc., 25 Mass.L.Rptr. 478, 2009 WL 995483 (Mass. Super. Ct. Jan. 26, 2009), the court found StubHub to be an ''information content provider'' if it could be shown that they encouraged their users to violate ticket scalping laws. The court held that, ''there is evidence in the record that StubHub materially contributed to the illegal 'ticket scalping' of its sellers. In effect the same evidence that is sufficient, if proven, to establish improper means is also sufficient to place StubHub outside the immunity provided by the CDA.'' Id. at *14.
The Tenth Circuit, noting that the meaning of ''development'' is more than simply creation, broadens the definition of ''information content provider'' in F.T.C. v. Accusearch Inc., 570 F.3d 1187 (10th Cir. 2009), and finds Accusearch responsible for the development of content as a result of their converting legally protected records from confidential material to publicly exposed information. In doing so, the court found ''that a service provider is 'responsible' for the development of offensive content only if it in some way specifically encourages development of what is offensive about the content." Id. at 1199. The Court distinguished Ben Ezra, Weinstein & Co. v. America Online, 206 F.3d 980 (10th Cir. 2000), which held AOL not responsible for inaccurate stock information, because, although AOL solicited the stock information, "America Online had done nothing to encourage what made the content offensive." Id. at 1199-1200.
Alternatively, the Seventh Circuit in Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law v. Craigslist, Inc., 519 F.3d 666 (7th Cir. 2008) [hereinafter Craigslist], mirrored part of the decision in Roommates, where the court found craigslist not responsible for the open-ended ''Additional Comments'' form on their website. Like Roommates, where the court found Defendant did not prompt or solicit any of the questionable material submitted by its users, the court in Craigslist also held that, ''[n]othing] in the service craigslist offers induces anyone to post any particular listing or express a preference for discrimination; for example, craigslist does not offer a lower price to people who include discriminatory statements in their postings.'' Id. at 671-672. From this, it appears that the point at which an "internet service provider'' becomes an ''internet content provider'' is when the provider takes an active role in inducing their users to engage in illegal activity.
In Nemet Chevrolet, Ltd. v. Consumeraffairs.com, Inc., 591 F.3d 250 (4th Cir. 2009), the Fourth Circuit distinguished Roommates, and found that the "structure and design of the website" was not sufficiently contributing to the content to transform Consumeraffairs.com into an information content provider.
Section 230 and Intellectual Property"Nothing in [Section 230] shall be construed to limit or expand any law pertaining to intellectual property." Section 230(e)(2). No legislative history exists regarding subsection (e)(2).
This provision has led courts to hold that Section 230 immunity is not available for federal intellectual property claims. See Gucci Am., Inc. v. Hall & Assocs., 135 F. Supp. 2d 409, 413 (S.D.N.Y. 2001) (holding that to immunize defendant from trademark claims would limit laws pertaining to intellectual property); Ford Motor Co. v. GreatDomains.com, Inc., No. 00-CV-71544-DT, 2001 WL 1176319, at *1 (E.D. Mich. Sept. 25, 2001) (holding that if defendant violated federal trademark laws Section 230 would not provide immunity); Parker v. Google, Inc., 422 F. Supp. 2d 492, 502 n.8 (E.D. Pa. 2006) ("Google argues that it is immune from Lanham Act claims because of its § 230 immunity under the CDA. We agree with those courts that have rejected this argument based on § 230(c)(2)'s exception for intellectual property laws."); cf. Associated Bank-Corp. v. Earthlink, Inc., 2005 WL 2240952 (W.D. Wis. Sept. 13, 2005) (dismissing Lanham Act claim ("15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), Injury to Business Reputation") under Section 230).
The Ninth Circuit has "constru[ed] the term 'intellectual property' to mean 'federal intellectual property.'" Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill, LLC, 488 F.3d 1102, 1119 (9th Cir. 2007); accord Curran v. Amazon.com, Inc., 2008 WL 472433 (S.D. W.Va. Feb. 19, 2008). In Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill, LLC, 340 F. Supp. 2d 1077 (C.D. Cal. 2004), the District Court had initially found that a state law right of publicity was an intellectual property right, and therefore not covered by Section 230. However, the Ninth Circuit reversed "[b]ecause material on a website may be viewed across the Internet, and thus in more than one state at a time, permitting the reach of any particular state's definition of intellectual property to dictate the contours of this federal immunity would be contrary to Congress's expressed goal of insulating the development of the Internet from the various state-law regimes." Id. at 1118.
In an earlier Ninth Circuit decision, Carafano v. Metrosplash.Com, Inc., 339 F.3d 1119, 1125 (9th Cir. 2003), the Ninth Circuit dismissed a right of publicity claim pursuant to Section 230, but without any discussion. Alternatively, the court in Doe v. Friendfinder Network, Inc., 540 F. Supp. 2d 288 (D.N.H. 2008) [hereafter Friendfinder] followed the First Circuit's dictum in Universal Commc'n Sys., Inc. v. Lycos, Inc., 478 F.3d 413 (1st Cir. 2007), and disagreed "with the Ninth Circuit's decision in Perfect 10 that [section] 230(e)(2) exempts only federal intellectual property laws from the operation of [section] 230." The Friendfinder court stated that, "[c]onsistent with its text, § 230(e)(2) applies simply to 'any law pertaining to intellectual property,' not just federal law." Moreover, the court in Atlantic Recording Corp. v. Project Playlist, Inc. [hereafter Atlantic], relying on the plain language of the CDA, disagreed with the Ninth Circuit. 603 F. Supp. 2d 690 (S.D.N.Y. 2009) (holding that the CDA did not bar New York state law claims for common law copyright infringement and unfair competition). The Atlantic court reasoned that "Congress specified whether it intended a subsection to apply to local, state, or federal law. It is therefore clear from the statute that if Congress wanted the phrase 'any law pertaining to intellectual property' to actually mean 'any federal law pertaining to intellectual property,' it knew how to make that clear, but chose not to." Id. at 703 (citations omitted; emphasis in original).
Almeida v. Amazon.com, Inc., 456 F.3d 1316 (11th Cir. 2006) declined to rule on whether 230 preempts right of publicity rights claim, but engaged in extensive discussion. See also Stayart v. Yahoo! Inc., 651 F.Supp.2d 873 (E.D.Wis. 2009) (also discussing without deciding).
Scope of Interactive Computer ServiceCourts have almost unanimously held that, while the phrase ''provider . . . of interactive computer services'' may seem to refer only to the activities of traditional ISPs, the broad language and policy rationale behind Section 230 require that entities as different as an online matchmaking service, a copy shop, an online bookseller, an online auction service, a public library, and an Internet user who created a chat room all receive immunity from civil liability. Accordingly, courts have interpreted Section 230 protection to be ''quite robust, adopting a relatively expansive definition of 'interactive computer service[.]''' Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, Inc., 339 F. 3d 1119, 1123 (9th Cir. 2003); see also Parker v. Google, 422 F. Supp. 2d 492, 501 n.6 (E.D. Pa. 2006) (same); Associated Bank-Corp. v. Earthlink, Inc., No. 05-C-0233-S, 2005 WL 2240952, at *3 (W.D.Wis. Sept. 13, 2005) (quoting Carafano, 339 F.3d at 1123)."[T]he most common interactive computer services are websites." Roommates.com, 521 F.3d at 1162 n.6.
Carafano, 339 F.3d 1119 (online matchmaking service is an ICS);PatentWizard, Inc. v. Kinko's, Inc., 163 F. Supp. 2d 1069, 1071 (D.S.D. 2001) (photocopy shop not contested as ICS provider under § 230);Schneider v. Amazon.com, Inc., 31 P.3d 37, 39 (Wash. Ct. App. 2001) (online bookseller providing forum for others to submit book reviews is ''interactive computer service'' provider); Corbis v. Amazon.com, 351 F. Supp. 2d 1090, 1118 (W.D. Wash. 2004) (same);Gentry, 99 Cal. App. 4th at 931 n.7 (eBay an ICS);Kathleen R., 87 Cal. App. 4th at 692-693 (public library protected by § 230);Marczeski v. Law, 122 F. Supp. 2d 315, 327 (D. Conn. 2000) (organizer of chat room for discussion of dispute about plaintiff held to be ICS provider);Batzel, 333 F.3d at 1031 (website and listserv operator held to be ICS provider and user);Smith v. Intercosmos Media Group, Inc., 2002 WL 31844907 (E.D. La. 2002) (domain name registrar is an ICS provider).Parker v. Google, Inc., 422 F. Supp. 2d 492 (E.D.Pa. 2006), aff'd 242 Fed. Appx. 833 (3rd Cir. 2007) (search engine Google immune for archiving of, caching of, or providing access to allegedly defamatory, unauthorized, or threatening usenet postings).DiMeo v. Max,full text of opinion, 433 F. Supp. 2d 523 (E.D. Pa. May 26, 2006) (online message board is covered by section 230 despite editorial review by message board operator), aff'd 248 Fed. Appx. 280 (3rd Cir. 2007).Prickett v. infoUSA, Inc., 561 F. Supp. 2d 646 (E.D. Tex. 2006) (database publisher retains section 230 immunity for content furnished to it by third parties even if the database publisher later licenses the database content to third parties).D'Alonzo v. Truscello, No. 0274, 2006 Phila. Ct. Comm. Pl. LEXIS 244 (Phila. Ct. Comm. Pl. May 31, 2006), 2006 WL 1768091 (Pa. Com. Pl. 2006) (website was "interactive computer service," and not "internet content provider," within meaning section 230 immunity provision. )Delfino v. Agilent Technologies, Inc., 52 Cal. Rptr. 3d 376, 145 Cal. App. 4th 790 (Cal. App. Ct. 2006) (employer that provided its employees with Internet access through employer's internal computer system was ''provider or user of an interactive computer service'' within meaning of section 230 immunity provision).Application to Users of Interactive Computer ServicesSection 230 expressly grants providers and users the same immunity on the same terms. 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1) (''[n]o provider or user . . .''); see also Barrett v. Rosenthal, 40 Cal. 4th 33, 146 P.3d 510 (Cal. 2006) (''By declaring that no 'user' may be treated as a 'publisher' of third party content, Congress has comprehensively immunized republication by individual Internet users.''); Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018, 1030 (9th Cir. 2003), cert. denied, 124 S.Ct. 2812 (2004) (''language of § 230(c)(1) confers immunity not just on 'providers' of such services, but also on 'users' of such services''); Optinrealbig.com, LLC v. Ironport Systems, Inc., 323 F. Supp. 2d 1037 (N.D. Cal. 2004) (defendant protected where it ''uses interactive computer services to distribute its on-line mailing and to post the reports on its website''); Barrett v. Fonorow, 799 N.E. 2d 916, 923-24 (Ill. App. 2003) (poster of Bolen's messages was ICS ''provider or user''). This parity of treatment is also reflected in the statute's second immunity provision, subsection 230(c)(2), which uses the same phrasing of ''[n]o provider or user. . . .'' Cf. Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc v. Stop Huntingdon Cruelty USA, Inc. 143 Cal. App. 4th 1284, 1301 (Cal. App. 2006) (in a decision prior to the California Supreme Court in Barrett, limiting 230 to interactive computer service providers without discussing or addressing statutory language).
Court have generally found that website operators are both providers and users of interactive computers services. As one court opined, for a ''Web site to exist, it must access the Internet through some form of interactive computer service; otherwise, the public could not view it. Thus, [the defendant's] Web site is also the 'user' of an interactive computer service.'' DiMeo v. Max, 433 F. Supp. 2d at 529-530 (E.D. Pa. 2006); see also Donato v. Moldow, 374 N.J. Super. at 488 (finding website operator both provider and user); Batzel at 1031 (finding no need to determine if website and listserv was user or provider, since it was clearly one or the two).
Exercise of Editorial FunctionsSection 230 forbids the imposition of publisher liability on a service provider for the exercise of its editorial and self-regulatory functions. As the Fourth Circuit noted:
[L]awsuits seeking to hold a service liable for its exercise of a publisher's traditional editorial functions '' such as deciding whether to publish, withdraw, postpone or alter content '' are barred. The purpose of this statutory immunity is not difficult to discern. Congress recognized the threat that tort-based lawsuits pose to freedom of speech in the new and burgeoning Internet medium. . . . Section 230 was enacted, in part, to maintain the robust nature of Internet communication[.]
Zeran v. America Online, 129 F.3d 327, 330-31 (4th Cir. 1997) (in enacting § 230, Congress sought "to encourage service providers to self-regulate the dissemination of offensive material over their services" and to remove disincentives to self-regulation); see also Blumenthal v. Drudge, 922 F. Supp. 44, 52 (D.D.C. 1998) (§ 230 forbids the imposition of publisher liability on a service provider for the exercise of its editorial and self- regulatory functions); 141 Cong. Rec. H8460-01, H8470 (1995) (statement of Rep. Barton) (Congress enacted § 230 to give interactive service providers "a reasonable way to . . . help them self-regulate themselves without penalty of law").
As noted by the Ninth Circuit, a central purpose of Congress in enacting Section 230 ''was to protect from liability service providers and users who take some affirmative steps to edit the material'....'' Batzel, 333 F.3d at 1031. Accordingly, Section 230 ''precludes liability for exercising the usual prerogative of publishers '... to edit the material published'....'' Id. "The exclusion of 'publisher' liability necessarily precludes liability for exercising the usual prerogative of publishers to choose among proffered material and to edit the material published while retaining its basic form and message." Id.
Numerous courts have agreed. See Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, Inc., 339 F.3d 1119, 1124 (9th Cir. 2003) ("So long as a third party willingly provides the essential published content, the interactive service provider receives full immunity [under Section 230] regardless of the specific editing or selection process."); Ben Ezra, 206 F.3d at 985-986 (deleting of information did not transform ICS provider into ''information content provider''); Schneider, 31 P.3d at 39-43 (website not liable despite right to edit posted matter); D'Alonzo v. Truscello, 2006 WL 176809, 2006 Phila. Ct. Com. Pl. LEXIS 244 (Phila. Ct. Common Pleas May 31, 2006) (not liable where ICS affirmatively gets content elsewhere);
Thus, minor alterations and categorizations do not remove the immunity. In Ramey v. Darkside Producs., Inc. 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10107, *19-20 (D.D.C. 2004) the Court followed Batzel and Carafano, and held that defendant's "minor alterations of that advertisement (printing its website address on every advertisement that it publishes on its website, placing a watermark on the photos used, and categorizing the advertisements by subject matter) do not constitute "creation or development" of the advertisement within the definition of "information content provider." To the contrary, "because Defendant did no more than select and make minor alterations to Crittenden's advertisement, it cannot, as a matter of law, be considered the content provider of the advertisement for purposes of § 230." Id., cf.MCW, Inc. v. badbusinessbureau.com, LLC, No. 3:02-CV-2727-G, 2004 WL 833595 (N.D. Tex. Apr. 19, 2004) (no immunity where allegation that defendant Rip-Off Report created "disparaging titles, headings, and editorial messages," and that editorial contributions contributed to and shaped content, holding that "actively encouraging and instructing a consumer to gather specific detailed information is an activity that goes substantially beyond the traditional publisher's editorial role."); Hy Cite Corp. v. badbusinessbureau.com, LLC, 418 F. Supp. 2d 1142, 1148-49 (D. Ariz. 2005) (no immunity when plaintiff alleged "that wrongful content appears on the Rip-off Report website in editorial comments created by Defendants and titles to Rip-off Reports, which Defendants allegedly provide."); Whitney Information Network v. Xcentric Ventures, 199 Fed. Appx. 738 (11th Cir. Aug 1, 2006) (bare declaration on non-authorship insufficient to get 230 defense on summary judgment).
Even providing the canvas upon which a third party places material is insufficient for liability. Gentry, 99 Cal. App. 4th at 833-34 (eBay not liable despite highly structured Feedback Forum); see alsoUniversal Communications 2007 WL 549111 (message board postings do not cease to be ''information provided by another information content provider'' merely because the ''construct and operation'' of the website might have some influence on the content of the postings); Carafano, 339 F.3d at 1124-25 (Internet dating service immune even though it ''contributes much more structure and content than eBay by asking 62 detailed questions and providing a menu of 'pre-prepared responses.'''); Prickett v. InfoUSA, Inc. 561 F. Supp. 2d 646 (E.D. Tex. 2006) (immunity even though system prompts uses "to select subcategories...The fact that some of the content was formulated in response to the Defendant's prompts does not alter the Defendant's status.")
While Section 230(f)(3)'s definition of an information content provider includes "any person ... that is responsible ... for the creation or development of information," the inclusion of "development" does not prohibit editorial activities. "Development requires material substantive contribution to the information that is ultimately published. Deleting profanity, selectively deleting or allowing to remain certain postings, and commenting favorably or unfavorably on some postings, without changing the substance of the message authored by another, does not constitute ''development'' within the meaning of § 230(f)(3)." Donato v. Moldow, 374 N.J. Super. 475, 865 A.2d 711, 727-728 (N.J. Super. A.D. 2005). Moreover, failing to remove a posting after being put on notice of the posting's potentially defamatory nature, constitutes an editorial function and thus falls within the immunity provided by section 230. Global Royalties, Ltd. v. Xcentric Ventures, LLC, 544 F. Supp. 2d 929 (D. Ariz. 2008). Universal Commc'n Sys., Inc. v. Lycos, 478 F.3d 413, 420 (1st Cir. 2007). However, when an internet service provider requests potentially defamatory material for the purpose of incorporating the provided material into a larger posting containing original "thoughts and contributions," section 230 immunity may not apply. Woodhull v. Meinel, 145 N.M. 533, 202 P.3d 126 (N.M. App. Ct. 2008)(in reversing a grant of summary judgment, the court stated that, the "defendant created a question as to whether [a previous posting] could reasonably be viewed as containing two substantive elements calling for separate analysis and treatment.")
Editorial Control Not RequiredWhile encouraging self-regulation, Section 230 ''does not require [information content providers] to restrict speech; rather, it allows [them] to establish standards of decency without risking liability for doing so.'' Green v. American Online, Inc., 318 F.3d 465, (3rd Cir. 2003); see also Blumenthal, 992 F. Supp. at 52 (''Congress has conferred immunity from tort liability as an incentive to Internet service providers to self-police the Internet for obscenity and other offensive material, even where the self-policing is unsuccessful or not even attempted.''); Barrett, 40 Cal. 4th at 34 (Section 230's protection ''applies even when self-regulation is unsuccessful, or completely unattempted'').
Minority ViewsView that Distributor Liability is Not CoveredIn Barrett v. Rosenthal, 40 Cal. 4th 33, 146 P.3d 510 (Cal. 2006), the California Supreme Court reversed Barrett v. Rosenthal, 9 Cal. Rptr. 3d 142, 2003 Cal. App. LEXIS 1551 (Cal. App. 2003), and rejected the view that Section 230 did not cover distributor liability.
The California Court of Appeal had explicitly disagreed with the Zeran line of federal cases, holding that the CDA's immunity only applies to publisher, not distributor, liability for tortious statements. In Zeran, the Fourth Circuit had ruled that ''distributors are considered to be publishers for purposes of defamation law,'' noting that Congress ''employ[ed] the legally significant term 'publisher,' which has traditionally encompassed distributors and original publishers alike.'' Zeran, at 332-334; see also Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill, LLC, 340 F. Supp. 2d 1077, 1111 (C.D. Cal. 2004) ("[E]ven if the Defendants are considered distributors rather than publishers, the CDA immunities would still apply...."); Blumenthal, 992 F. Supp. at 52 (in enacting Section 230, "Congress made no distinction between publishers and distributors in providing immunity from liability").
However, the California appeals court, in a case in which a user of an Internet discussion group repeatedly re-posted defamatory statements on a message board, had held that the distributor can be liable if he or she has reason to know of the messages' defamatory character, overruling Barrett v. Clark, 29 Media L. Rep. 2473 (Cal. Sup. Ct. 2001). In Grace v. eBay, Inc., 120 Cal. App. 4th 984, 16 Cal. Rptr. 3d 192 (Cal. App. 2004), another California court followed Barrett, holding no immunity against liability for a distributor of information who knew or had reason to know that the information was defamatory. Both Grace and Barrett were depublished pending the California Supreme Court decision, and are now superseded. See alsoAustin v. CrystalTech Web Hosting, 211 Ariz. 569, 125 P.3d 389 (Ariz. App. Div. 2005) (declining invitation to "reject the Zeran analysis and instead follow Barrett v. Rosenthal," and noting that "every [federal] appellate court to reach the issue has followed the Fourth Circuit's approach in Zeran.")
In Barnes v. Yahoo!, Inc., 570 F.3d 1096, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 20053 at *21-22 (9th Cir. June 22, 2009), the 9th Circuit found that the publisher/distributor distinction in defamation law has little to do with section 230 because "section 230(c)(1) precludes courts from treating internet service providers as publishers not just for the purposes of defamation law, with its particular distinction between primary and secondary publishers, but in general. The statute does not mention defamation, and we decline to read the principles of defamation law into it."
For academic views, see Susan Friewald, Comparative Institutional Analysis in Cyberspace: The Case of Intermediary Liability for Defamation, 14 Harv. J.L. & Tech 569 (2001) and David R. Sheridan, Zeran v. AOL and the Effect of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act upon Liability for Defamation on the Internet, 61 Alb. L.Rev. 147 (1997).
View that Section 230 is an Affirmative DefenseFour courts have supported the minority view that Section 230 is an affirmative defense, and therefore defendants generally cannot dismiss claims under FRCP 12(b)(6). In Novak v. Overture Servs., Inc., 309 F.Supp.2d 446, 452 (E.D.N.Y. 2004), the court noted that ''invocation of Section 230(c) immunity constitutes an affirmative defense[, a]s the parties are not required to plead around affirmative defenses, such an affirmative defense is generally not fodder for a Rule 12(b)(6) motion." Nevertheless, the court granted the defendant's motion to dismiss pursuant to Section 230. Likewise, in Doe v. GTE Corp., 347 F.3d 655, 657 (7th Cir. 2003), the Seventh Circuit wrote that ''[a]ffirmative defenses do not justify dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6); litigants need not try to plead around defenses,'' but also affirmed the District Court's grant of the motion to dismiss. Doctor's Associates, Inc. v. QIP Holders, LLC, 2007 WL 1186026 (D. Conn. 2007) became the first case to actually deny a motion to dismiss pursuant to the dicta Novak and GTE. Curran v. Amazon.com, Inc., 2008 WL 472433 (S.D. W.Va. Feb. 19, 2008) also followed GTE and denied a motion to dismiss, stating that, "immunity pursuant to § 230(c) of the CDA constitutes an affirmative defense."
This view is not widely shared, and the majority of jurisdictions regularly grant FRCP 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss when it is clear that Section 230 barred the claims alleged in the plaintiff's complaint. See e.g. Universal Communications Systems v. Lycos, Inc., 2005 WL 5250032, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44778, at * 4 (D. Mass. 2005), aff'd, 478 F. 3d 413 (1st Cir. 2007); Green v. America Online, 318 F.3d 465, 472 (3d Cir. 2003); Noah v. AOL Time Warner, Inc., 261 F. Supp. 2d 532, 534 (E.D. Va. 2003), aff'd, 2004 WL 602711, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 5495 (4th Cir. Mar. 24, 2004); Parker v. Google, Inc., 422 F.Supp.2d 492 (E.D.Penn. 2006); Morrison v. American Online, Inc., 153 F.Supp.2d 930 (N.D.Ind. 2001).
Key CasesZeran v. America Online, Inc., 129 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 1997)Blumenthal v. Matt Drudge & America Online, Inc., 992 F. Supp. 44 (D.D.C. 1998)Ben Ezra, Weinstein, and Co. v. America Online, Inc., 27 Media L. Rep. 1794 (D.N.M. 1999), aff'd, 206 F.3d 980 (10th Cir. 2000)Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018 (9th Cir. 2003)Barnes v. Yahoo!, Inc., 565 F.3d 560 (9th Cir. May 7, 2009), later amended by 570 F.3d 1096, as amended at 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 20053 (9th Cir. June 22, 2009)Fair Housing Coun., San Fernando v. Roommates. com, 521 F. 3d 1157 (9th Cir. 2008)(en banc)Chapter 1 - DefamationGeneral · Defamation In Cyberspace · Judicial Decisions on CDA · Selected Defenses · International Defamation Decisions
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act | Electronic Frontier Foundation
47 U.S.C. § 230, a Provision of the Communication Decency ActTucked inside the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 is one of the most valuable tools for protecting freedom of expression and innovation on the Internet: Section 230.
This comes somewhat as a surprise, since the original purpose of the legislation was to restrict free speech on the Internet. The Internet community as a whole objected strongly to the Communications Decency Act, and with EFF's help, the anti-free speech provisions were struck down by the Supreme Court. But thankfully, CDA 230 remains and in the years since has far outshone the rest of the law.
Section 230 says that "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider" (47 U.S.C. § 230). In other words, online intermediaries that host or republish speech are protected against a range of laws that might otherwise be used to hold them legally responsible for what others say and do. The protected intermediaries include not only regular Internet Service Providers (ISPs), but also a range of "interactive computer service providers," including basically any online service that publishes third-party content. Though there are important exceptions for certain criminal and intellectual property-based claims, CDA 230 creates a broad protection that has allowed innovation and free speech online to flourish.
This legal and policy framework has allowed for YouTube and Vimeo users to upload their own videos, Amazon and Yelp to offer countless user reviews, craigslist to host classified ads, and Facebook and Twitter to offer social networking to hundreds of millions of Internet users. Given the sheer size of user-generated websites (for example, Facebook alone has more than 1 billion users, and YouTube users upload 100 hours of video every minute), it would be infeasible for online intermediaries to prevent objectionable content from cropping up on their site. Rather than face potential liability for their users' actions, most would likely not host any user content at all or would need to protect themselves by being actively engaged in censoring what we say, what we see, and what we do online. In short, CDA 230 is perhaps the most influential law to protect the kind of innovation that has allowed the Internet to thrive since 1996.
Click here for our infographic about the importance of CDA 230.
CDA 230 also offers its legal shield to bloggers who act as intermediaries by hosting comments on their blogs. Under the law, bloggers are not liable for comments left by readers, the work of guest bloggers, tips sent via email, or information received through RSS feeds. This legal protection can still hold even if a blogger is aware of the objectionable content or makes editorial judgments.
The legal protections provided by CDA 230 are unique to U.S. law; European nations, Canada, Japan, and the vast majority of other countries do not have similar statutes on the books. While these countries have high levels of Internet access, most prominent online services are based in the United States. This is in part because CDA 230 makes the U.S. a safe haven for websites that want to provide a platform for controversial or political speech and a legal environment favorable to free expression.
EFF works to ensure strong legal protections for Internet intermediaries and endeavors to fight threats that would weaken such protections for intermediaries and users. We realize that a combination of technology policy and law protecting intermediaries ultimately helps uphold freedom of speech online.
NOTE: This summary of CDA 230 isn't a substitute for, nor does it constitute, legal advice. Only an attorney who knows the details of your particular situation can provide the kind of advice you need if you're being threatened with a lawsuit. The goal of these pages is to give you a basic roadmap to the legal issues surrounding the interactive computer services covered by CDA 230.
War on Ca$h
New York State to Eliminate Cash Option for Paying Tolls - NYTimes.com
For motorists in New York, the only things that may rival death and taxes as certainties are traffic and tolls '-- the latter of which, for the better part of the last 80 years, have been collected by hand.
Those near-certainties are soon to change.
In an effort to reduce congestion, tollbooths will be eliminated at all Metropolitan Transportation Authority bridges and tunnels next year, and replaced with automatic tolling, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Wednesday.
Instead of charging drivers who are stopped at toll plazas, the authority will use sensors and cameras to automatically charge cars that have been equipped with E-ZPass; those without it will have their license plates recorded by camera, and a bill will be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle.
The move is part of a national trend, with tolling authorities adapting to E-ZPass or similar electronic toll systems, allowing participating drivers to whisk through toll plazas as the ever-shrinking cash-only lanes pile with traffic.
But the move also heralds the end of an era and a way of life that precedes even the opening of the Triborough Bridge in 1936, when collectors would extend a hand '-- and perhaps exchange some pleasantries or worse '-- as they collected a 25-cent toll.
The conversion to automatic tolling, along with changes to the lighting of the bridges and tunnels, will cost $500 million from the authority's capital budget. The electronic tolling will begin in January at its two tunnels '-- the Brooklyn-Battery and Queens-Midtown Tunnels '-- and will be completed at all its toll bridges by the end of 2017, Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, said.
On average, 800,000 vehicles use the authority's seven bridges and two tunnels each day, and as a whole, New York drivers spend more than 6,400 hours per day waiting to pay tolls. Commuters were projected to save 21 hours of driving time each year as a result of the electronic tolls, the authority said in a news release.
In addition, eliminating tollbooth delays will conserve about one million gallons of fuel and save $2.3 million each year.
''There are some bugs that need to be worked out, especially with people not paying,'' said Robert Sinclair Jr., AAA New York's manager of media relations. ''Over all, it's certainly a very good thing,'' especially on holidays, he added.
AAA analyzed city toll data and found that on Labor Day, the use of cash tolls increased by 34 percent, Mr. Sinclair said, leading to worse traffic and pollution.
Automated tolls have already been in place on the Tappan Zee Bridge and the Henry Hudson Bridge, a smaller Metropolitan Transportation Authority crossing. Collisions on the Henry Hudson have been reduced from 32 before automatic tolling to seven so far this year.
Of the vehicles on the Henry Hudson Bridge, 94 percent had E-ZPass and 6 percent were billed by mail, Mr. Cuomo said. Only two-thirds of those drivers paid their tolls by mail, but, Mr. Cuomo said, penalties made up for the loss.
Likewise, the transportation authority did not anticipate a loss in revenue as a result of the elimination of cash fares. Beth DeFalco, a spokeswoman for the authority, added that no jobs would be cut as bridges and tunnels transitioned to automated tolls; tollbooth personnel will be reassigned to other posts focused on safety, security and enforcement.
Wayne Joseph, the president of Bridge and Tunnel Officers Benevolent Association, said the changes announced by the governor had been foreseen for years.
Through attrition, the union's membership had been reduced to 525 from 790 in 2009, Mr. Joseph said, with many of those cuts affecting security positions.
''We have no idea what they're going to be doing,'' he added. ''I'm almost certain it's going to create a decline in our head count.''
The announcement on Wednesday also included a major security component: Mr. Cuomo said an extra 150 state troopers and 150 National Guard members will be placed at the ends of tunnels or bridges.
Sensors and cameras will be suspended over the highway to capture E-ZPass transactions and record license plate numbers at each tolling site. Along with the additional security personnel, each crossing will incorporate new facial recognition software and equipment.
''There are security concerns about our tunnels and bridges in this age of terrorist activity and lone wolves,'' Mr. Cuomo said. ''If you look at points of vulnerability, you'll go to our tunnels and our bridges.''
Video message boards at tunnels and bridges will display real-time communication to update drivers on routes and accidents. In addition, as part of the transportation authority's adoption of LED lighting at bridges and tunnels, each crossing '-- as well as the George Washington Bridge '-- will be illuminated in multicolor light shows from dusk until dawn, similar to those displayed on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia.
Funding for all crossing transformation projects is already secured as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $27 billion capital plan. Many of the contractors have already been selected, and much of the work is already underway, Mr. Cuomo said.
''This is not a proposal,'' he said. "This is going to be a reality.''
Correction: October 7, 2016
An article on Thursday about the elimination of tollbooths at all Metropolitan Transportation Authority bridges and tunnels next year misstated the timing of new light shows planned for New York City bridges and tunnels, as well as for the George Washington Bridge. Light shows at each crossing will take place from dusk until dawn, not from dawn until dusk.
Vaccine$
HUGE news for anti-vaccine and parental rights supporters
President-elect Donald Trump will meet with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to speak about vaccines, a spokesperson told CNN's Dan Merica Tuesday.
''Trump to meet w/ RFK Jr. today on vaccines, per spoke person. Kennedy, incorrectly, believes a vaccine preservative makes autism more likely,'' Merica tweeted.
Kennedy has long fought against the vaccine industry, citing his belief that mercury / thimerosal, a controversial vaccine ingredient, is linked to autism. Additionally, Kennedy does not think the Pharmaceutical industry acts with any degree of philanthropy or good will of the people.
And then of course, there is Trump. Trump has a long history as well in regards to vaccine skepticism.
Being that the two don't support pharmaceutical industry vaccines in the way they are now, it is easy to see how this meeting could influence future vaccine policy. Trump will likely turn out to be the softest President we've ever seen in terms of vaccine legislations. Mandatory vaccination bills are being pushed across multiple states, including in typically libertarian Texas, a state which has long stood for parental rights.
''I've seen people where they have a perfectly healthy child, and they go for the vaccinations, and a month later the child is no longer healthy,'' Trump said. ''It happened to somebody that worked for me recently. I mean, they had this beautiful child, not a problem in the world. And all of a sudden, they go in, they get this monster shot. You ever see the size of it? It's like they're pumping in '-- you know, it's terrible, the amount. And they pump this into this little body. And then all of the sudden, the child is different a month later. And I strongly believe that's it.''
This meeting makes clear that the vaccine debate isn't going to go away any time soon.
President-elect Donald Trump met with Robert Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, on Tuesday. According to incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer, the two discussed ''the issues pertaining to vaccines and immunizations.''
After the meeting concluded, Kennedy told reporters that Mr. Trump had asked him to ''chair a commission on vaccination safety and scientific integrity.'' Kennedy said he told Mr. Trump he would chair such a commission, and that their meeting was held at Mr. Trump's request.
Kennedy, the eldest son of liberal icon Sen. Robert Kennedy, was best known as an environmental advocate before increasingly devoting his time to the supposed dangers of vaccines.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly shared his belief that there is a link between vaccines and autism.
(C) Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Trace Amounts rfk-jr.jpg''I am totally in favor of vaccines,'' Mr. Trump said in a 2015 GOP primary debate. ''But I want smaller doses over a longer period of time. Same exact amount, but you take this little beautiful baby, and you pump''I mean, it looks just like it's meant for a horse, not for a child, and we've had so many instances, people that work for me. '... [in which] a child, a beautiful child went to have the vaccine, and came back and a week later had a tremendous fever, got very, very sick, now is autistic.''
He also also tweeted about the issue multiple times:
Kennedy has argued that vaccines, specifically those containing the element thimerosal, may cause autism, a view unsupported by scientific evidence and dismissed as a conspiracy theory by experts.
''Research does not show any link between thimerosal in vaccines and autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder,'' says the Center for Disease Control on its website. Moreover, studies linking vaccines and autism have been repeatedly been debunked and discredited, although many parents continue to insist that their children were damaged by immunizations.
Kennedy, who criticized Mr. Trump during the election campaign, has also written a book and promoted a documentary on the subject. During one showing of that documentary, according to the Sacramento Bee, Kennedy compared the damage done by vaccines to ''a holocaust.''
''They get the shot, that night they have a fever of a hundred and three, they go to sleep, and three months later their brain is gone,'' Kennedy said at the screening in 2015. ''This is a holocaust, what this is doing to our country.'' It was a comment which he later apologized for, saying, ''I employed the term during an impromptu speech as I struggled to find an expression to convey the catastrophic tragedy of autism which has now destroyed the lives of over 20 million children and shattered their families.''
Donald Trump, who promoted the debunked conspiracy theory that vaccines cause autism during his presidential campaign, asked a fellow skeptic of the scientific consensus on the issue, Robert Kennedy Jr., to chair a commission on ''vaccine safety and scientific integrity'' during a meeting at Trump Tower on Tuesday.
Kennedy, who recently accused the Centers for Disease Control of orchestrating a ''cover up of the vaccine-autism connection,'' and scolds the media for ''undue reverence for the CDC'' told reporters after the meeting that ''President-elect Trump was very thoughtful on the issue,'' and that he had agreed to lead the commission.
''President-elect Trump has some doubts about the current vaccine policies and he has questions about it,'' Kennedy said. ''He says his opinion doesn't matter, but the science does matter and we ought to be reading the science and we ought to be debating the science.''
''Everybody ought to be able to be assured that the vaccines that we have '-- he's very pro-vaccine, as am I '-- but that they're as safe as they possibly can be,'' Kennedy added.
Kennedy's activism on the issue is well-known. He launched a new advocacy group, the World Mercury Project, in November with a fundraising pitch in which he likened vaccinating children to ''assault and battery '-- it's child abuse, in some cases, it's even worse.''
''This is a holocaust, what this is doing to our country,'' Kennedy said in 2015, during an unsuccessful fight to block the passage of a new law in California that eliminated exemptions for ''personal belief'' from mandatory childhood vaccinations.
Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician who represents Sacramento in the California Senate, rejected Kennedy's comments at the time. ''I think it is dangerous that he is spreading misinformation about something that's very important for public health,'' Pan told the Sacramento Bee after Kennedy invited state legislators to an anti-vaccine documentary. ''Autism rates have continued to rise even though we are not using thimerosal in vaccines for children,'' Pan noted. ''We still haven't figured out exactly what causes autism. We do know it's not vaccines,'' he said.
Pan was among the many people to express dismay on Tuesday that Trump plans to use the power of the presidency to advance Kennedy's anti-science agenda.
Before entering the political arena, Trump had made it plain on Twitter that he was convinced that vaccines cause autism, despite the fact that the medical study that first suggested a link in 1998 was formally retracted in 2004 by the Lancet, the British medical journal where the research was published.
Trump held fast to his erroneous belief despite being corrected by Dr. Ben Carson during a Republican primary debate in 2015.
Asked during that televised exchange if Trump should stop saying that vaccines cause autism, Carson said, ''I think he's an intelligent man and will make the correct decision after getting the real facts.'' Trump then described anecdotal evidence which, he said, showed that there was a link.
When Carson replied by saying, ''the fact of the matter is: we have extremely well-documented proof that there's no autism associated with vaccinations,'' Trump shook his head in vigorous disagreement.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2014 found that majorities of Democrats (76 percent), Republicans (65 percent) and independents (65 percent) said that vaccines should be required. Still, sizable minorities, including 34 percent of Republicans and 22 percent of Democrats, told Pew that parents should be able to decide whether or not to have their children vaccinated.
As the Boston Globe's STAT news site reported in November, Trump's election energized anti-vaccine activists, including Andrew Wakefield, the leader of the movement who met with the candidate in August during a fundraiser in Florida.
Wakefield was stripped of his medical license by the General Medical Council of Britain in 2010 for ethical violations in his work on the retracted study that first linked the vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella with autism. The council found that Wakefield had failed to disclose that he had received funds from lawyers who were mounting a case against vaccine manufacturers.
As Susan Dominus explained in the New York Times Magazine in 2011, ''the British Medical Journal concluded that the research was not just unethically financed but also 'fraudulent' (that timelines were misrepresented, for example, to suggest direct culpability of the vaccine).''
Wakefield told STAT that he and a group of anti-vaccine activists spent nearly an hour with Trump in August. ''I found him to be extremely interested, genuinely interested, and open-minded on this issue, so that was enormously refreshing,'' Wakefield said.
Update | 7:05 p.m.:
After news of the appointment was widely criticized, Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Trump, said in a statement he had not yet decided for certain if he would form a presidential commissioned on the issue.
''The president-elect is exploring the possibility of forming a commission on Autism, which affects so many families; however no decisions have been made at this time,'' Hicks said.
Top photo: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. waited for the elevator in Trump Tower on Tuesday before meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.
LGBBTQQIAAP
BBC film on child transgender issues worries activists | Society | The Guardian
Kenneth Zucker, a psychologist who features in the film Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best? Photograph: Alex Gower-Jackson/BBC
The transgender community is ''very scared and very worried'' by a BBC documentary on how to approach gender dysphoria in children, organisations and activists are claiming.
The film '' Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best? '' prominently features Kenneth Zucker, a Canadian psychologist whose controversial approach with transgender children led to his being sacked in 2015 from a Toronto gender identity clinic.
Zucker disagrees with the now widely favoured ''gender affirmative'' approach to young people who feel they were born with the wrong gender. The approach encourages parents to allow their children with gender dysphoria to live as their chosen sex.
Instead, Zucker's approach was likened to reparative therapy, which had the intended goal of ''curing'' children of transgender status. He also advocated more exploration into underlying psychological and mental health issues that might lead children to believe they were born the wrong gender.
Zucker's comment in the documentary, where he says, ''a four-year-old might say that he's a dog '' do you go out and buy dog food?'' was a particular concern for the Mermaids Foundation, which represents transgender issues.
''That quote in itself is incredibly inflammatory for parents of trans children,'' said Susie Green, chief executive officer of Mermaids.
''We've had real concern that this is going to cause them to be targeted, because it supports this idea of trans children being mentally disturbed or that they can be cured. Parents are very afraid.''
Green said she had been contacted by the producer of the documentary but only to see if she knew anyone who had ''detransitioned'', and said it was worrying that this had been a focus for the programme makers.
''In certain media outlets there have been a lot of negative comments around this idea of parents facilitating, or making their children be trans,'' she said.
''To then think that Kenneth Zucker has been given a platform on the BBC, particularly, and be touted as an expert, that is going to further undermine the support and acceptance of their children.''
Discussion about the healthiest way to deal with children who present with gender dysphoria has been in the media headlines recently as numbers of referrals to the UK's main child gender clinic have increased by 1,000% over the past five years.
Green expressed concern that Zucker's approach emphasised links between gender dysphoria and mental health issues. In the documentary he says a ''whole range of psychological issues can manifest themselves in a child's desire to change their gender''.
Green added: ''We are trying to move away from the perception of it being perceived as a psychological ailment, and this just goes backwards.''
In December 2015 an investigation into the practices used by Zucker at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found that his clinic, which he had run for 30 years, was ''not in step with the latest thinking''.
A highly critical external review was released showing the clinic encouraged parents to ''limit cross gender behaviour''. Zucker was dismissed.
Zucker claimed the sacking was due to the politicisation of transgender issues. In the documentary he denies that he had practised conversion therapy and calls his approach ''developmentally informed therapy''.
However, he had previously said that his goal was ''lowering the odds that as such a kid gets older he or she will move into adolescence feeling so uncomfortable about their gender identity that they think that it would be better to live as the other gender and require treatment with hormones and sex-reassignment surgery''.
In 1990 he also spoke out in favour of discouraging children to be gay because, ''a homosexual lifestyle in a basically unaccepting culture simply creates unnecessary social difficulties''.
Michelle Bridgeman, a psychotherapist for children with gender dysphoria, said: ''I don't think anybody has got this right just yet. But if you set out, as Zucker is, with the intention of curing somebody of their gender issues you are in danger of causing the very kind of mental health distress that you're talking about avoiding.
''And the problem with putting Zucker on a programme like this is it gives further weight to those voices in places like the Daily Mail who say parents who let their children live as a different gender are evil or inhumane. It can be quite destructive.''
Laurie Stafford, of the LGBT foundation in Manchester, said: ''We are at a precipice in terms of trans rights in the UK and this programme is really taking us back a few years, putting forward the question of whether young children's trans experiences are legitimate.''
He was backed by Zinnia Jones, who co-founded Gender Analysis, a web series offering an in-depth look at transgender issues in society.
She described Zucker's approach as ''harmful and coercive'' and was scathing of his view that such situations were often caused by a damaged childhood.
''Family dysfunction and unhealthy environments for child-rearing are so tragically commonplace that if this were a real contributor to transgender identity, we would likely see that a vastly greater portion of the population is transgender,'' said Jones.
However the BBC documentary also features Zucker's critics.
A BBC statement said: ''With a rise in the number of children being referred to gender clinics, this programme sensitively presents different views from experts and parents on gender dysphoria in children.
''For more than 30 years Dr Kenneth Zucker ran Canada's biggest child gender clinic and was considered a recognised authority on childhood gender dysphoria until he lost his job. He believes he was fired for challenging the gender affirmative approach.
''This documentary examines Zucker's methods, but it also includes significant contributions from his critics and supporters of gender affirmation, including transgender activists in Canada and leading medical experts as well as parents with differing experiences of gender dysphoria and gender reassignment.''
HollyWoodWhackers
Does The Hollywood Elite Use Rituals And Sexual Blackmail To Keep Its Stars In Line?
Most people in the mainstream already know that Hollywood is a liberal safe space that was the first to promote leftist causes such as socialism, drug use, feminism, hookup culture, atheism, environmentalism, homosexuality, and transsexualism. This can be attributed to the fact that Hollywood is run by Jews who seem to greatly dislike traditional America, small-town values, and Christianity. What's even more peculiar is that we hardly see any infighting between Hollywood actors and the producers or executives who hire them. It's like they're one big happy family. Or are they?
You probably already know that the casting couch is a way for directors and producers to have sex with the female talent in exchange for jobs, but what if I were to tell you that male actors also must have sex with other men to get work, and that the top male actors in Hollywood have had to submit to degrading homosexual rituals in order to get acting jobs, and that trophies like the Oscars are not based on merit but on those who have paid their dues into the system by enduring the most humiliation, and that the degrading sexual acts all actors commit are used to keep them in line?
You'd think I'm crazy, surely, but every now and then something happens which lends credibility to ''conspiracy theories'' that were floating around beforehand.
A couple of months ago I found a detailed article showing how producers, writers, and directors leverage their influence to sodomize young boys. Many of those boys go on to become ''heterosexual'' male stars, all because they gave up the ass for a shot at fame.
''I never slept with [X-Men producer Bryan Singer] before I was 18,'' he writes. ''But after my 18th birthday, I was quickly passed off to him by a friend, Gary Goddard, who was having sex with me at 17. Gary was his good friend at the time, so Bryan would be out with us'--with his dates of the moment, all young guys. I saw him at parties and out in LA, and we hooked up in Gary's house when I was 18, like three days after my birthday.''
Two years ago, a compelling video was published that made outlandish claims about the Hollywood system. Here's a sample of the claims that were made:
'' Will Smith, Denzel Washington, and other big-name stars not immune from ritual sodomy'' Benny Medina and Quincy Jones sexually initiated actor Will Smith'' If someone in the Kabbalah cult likes the daughter of a star, he/she must relinquish their child in order to move up'' Queen Latifah initiates Hollywood women using a strap-on'' Monster's Ball movie with Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thorton featured live sex ritual'' Jewish produced ''Ghetto Gaggers'' not just a porn but also in Hollywood'' Porn stars go to Pandora's Box Hollywood sex parties, initiate stars'' Tony Braxton driven out of her mind over what she had to give up to be famous
Wait, Will Smith is gay? No way. The entire video must be bullshit, because Will Smith is heterosexual and masculine. He's married with two kids. But then his wife Jada Pinkett Smith went full social justice and called for a boycott at the Oscars because it was not black enough. Only one day later, a marginal transsexual actress named Alexis Arquette came out with this, confirming what the above video stated years before:
The video explained how Hollywood actors are controlled: their sexual hazing is recorded on video and used to manage their future behavior so it's in line with Hollywood elite interests. When actors go off the rails, or refuse to submit to the demands of their bosses, ''rumors'' are leaked that destroy their reputation and acting jobs are withheld from them.
What I think happened is that Will Smith's ''owners'' gave Alexis the information to publish in exchange for later favors while making it appear as a ''leak.'' But if you examine the final three sentences of the Facebook post above, it's easy to see how those words are coming from the men who write Smith's paycheck, warning him to get his wife in line immediately. And she did. Not even half a day later, she thanked the Academy for their response.
No further rumors about Will Smith were disseminated. Within only two days, a challenge to Hollywood's elite seemed completely squashed. Will Smith, sitting on his $200 million fortune, did later double down and state that the boycott would take place anyway. We should now expect him to never work in a major Hollywood blockbuster again.
Consider that in Hollywood there is hardly any public infighting at all, but here in the alt sphere we have fights seemingly every week. Human nature is aggressive. People fight and argue publicly. Yet in Hollywood, everyone is calm as sheep. It could be because stars are controlled. Through submitting to hazing rituals and having gay blackmail hanging over them, they are slaves to the Hollywood elite who give them fame and money in exchange for their complete compliance, including having to display stupid Illuminati symbols in music videos and photo shoots.
Every major actor in Hollywood has made a deal with the devil, and has had to trade things that you wouldn't, often starting when they were children and passed around to pedophiles, as Corey Feldman revealed. Therefore Hollywood looks not for talent, but for souls, explaining why you can't even name more than five actors who are actually good. This is the industry that has sway not only among the mainstream American public, but the world as a whole.
One of my favorite actors is Leonardo DiCaprio. Before the recent Oscars, I noticed that he was spouting some social justice ideas:
On Tuesday, Leo received the Crystal Award for ''improving the state of the world'' at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. During his acceptance speech he called out the ''corporate greed of the coal, oil and gas industries'' who ''have denied and even covered-up the evidence of our changing climate.''
It seemed so out of place for a man who travels around in private jets banging hoes on yachts, but then when you understand that stars must submit to rituals in order to gain favor, and that DiCaprio was up for an Oscar this year, it makes complete sense. He must satisfy his masters by helping their leftist agenda in order to receive a reward. We can only guess what private rituals DiCaprio had to submit to before becoming a top contender for the award'--which he did win'--especially when he was a child actor, and what gay rumor will come out about him if he ever calls for a boycott against the Oscars. There is dirt on all the stars, and even most of the famous musicians and rappers. If you research the issue further, the rabbit hole goes much deeper than what I'm describing.
My personal take is that the younger someone enters the entertainment machine, and the lower amount of natural talent they have, the more likely they have submitted to deplorable degradations in order to be famous. I wouldn't be surprised if pop singers like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry serve as personal port-a-potties to industry bigwigs. In fact, Hollywood is probably where the Saudis got the idea to use paid ''models'' as hired toilets.
I write about this today not to participate in Hollywood gossip, but to shine a light in how elite circles operate. All the actors and singers that you may respect, whose views you may actually allow to influence you, have traded their dignity and their souls for fame and money. All the ''masculine'' Hollywood actors you like watching in films have certainly been sodomized or privately humiliated. At best, Hollywood spreads anti-male propaganda to the world. At worst, they are devil worshipers who practice every degenerate cause known to man.
I fully denounce Hollywood and their liberalism, their communism, their social justice, and their faggotry. There is no room for them in a man's life, and I personally won't be casually brainwashed and influenced by the anti-American and degenerate content they put out.
.
CLIPS AND DOCS
VIDEO - Copper In Food, Water Could Cause Unpleasant Symptoms, Experts Say CBS New York
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) '-- Kale, coconuts, and avocados could be bad for you.
Experts say there's something metallic lurking in those foods, in our water, and elsewhere that could be making us feel miserable.
Anxiety, trouble focusing, exhaustion, and an all around mental funk are familiar symptoms for a lot of people.
''People will come in with very non-specific symptoms; they feel moody, have depression, difficulty falling asleep,'' Dr. Svetlana Kogan explained.
After some investigation Dr. Kogan '-- an internist '-- said she found that copper is increasingly the culprit.
''Copper is an essential element,'' she explained.
Like iron, our bodies need copper for normal growth and health, Dr. Kogan said.
Certain foods like shellfish, leafy greens, cashews, and chickpeas are naturally high in copper.
''These are wonderful things to have as part of our diet, but if somebody is consuming excess they could certainly be at risk,'' she said.
At risk for a condition known as 'copper toxicity.'
''If you had six cups of coffee and you're feeling jittery, that's the feeling to describe copper toxicity,'' she explained.
An increase in vegetable based diets may also be contributing to copper overload, Kogan said.
Environmental exposure to things like copper water pipes may also be a factor.
''We always recommend to have your water tested,'' said Rob Zadotti.
Zadotti, co-owner of Gold Medal Service, said if the PH of your water is not within a safe range it will start to deteriorate the lining of your copper pipes.
While you might not be able to taste the copper in your water, there are other telltale signs it's there.
''Bluish stains or greenish stains on their tubs,'' Mike Jackson explained.
Jackson is a technical field supervisor at Gold Medal, he recommended a water filtration system.
As for treating copper toxicity, Kogan prescribed an infrared sauna.
''Patient is literally sweating out the toxins,'' she said.
More importantly '-- as she outlines in her book 'Diet Slave No More' '-- Kogan said it's important to eat foods that are balanced.
''Full of rainbow colored vegetables and fruits, and avoid focusing on one group,'' she said.
Prolonged use of estrogen medications such as birth control pulls may also contribute to an increased level of copper in the body.
Several studies have shows that daily exposure to copper can lead to Alzheimer's Disease and other former of dementia.
VIDEO - Tillerson Good Man | User Clip | C-SPAN.org
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See more in the cross-post on the NewsBusters blog.
Todd still had plenty of ammo as he accused Smith of using transparency to mask the laziness of BuzzFeed [emphasis mine]:
TODD: But at one point, I understand this and all this transparency, but transparency can turn into a crutch to turn into laziness. I mean, the job of the reporters is we're doing our best to find truth, okay? At the end of the day, it's the best truth we can have. And you are '-- you are '--
SMITH: If we had an unlimited amount of '--
TODD: '-- you made a knowingly '-- you made a knowing decision to put out an untruth '--
SMITH: If we had '--
TODD: '-- or at least something you hadn't proven true yet.
VIDEO - BuzzFeed Editor Tanks in Interview Defending Salacious, Unsubstantiated Trump Report (Pt.1) | MRCTV
See more in the cross-post on the NewsBusters blog.
Early Wednesday night, BuzzFeed News editor in chief Ben Smith conducted his first interview since his outlet irresponsibly published an unsubstantiated dossier concerning President-elect Donald Trump. Needless to say, Smith failed miserably on MSNBC's MTP Daily.
Over the course of a roughly ten-minute debate, Smith was annihilated by host Chuck Todd, who chastised him for pushing ''an untruth'' and/or ''fake news,'' which is equivalent of ''a false birth certificate'' under the pathetic guise of ''transparency.''
VIDEO - Journalist Mistakes 2 Black-Led Films as 1 at Golden Globes | News | teleSUR English
The awards show saw a journalist mix up films with Black leads, while Trump has characteristically responded to Meryl Streep's tirade against his bigotry.
As usual, Hollywood's first award show of the year, the Golden Globes, was rife with a number of noteworthy incidents.
RELATED:Will Cher's Non-Black Flint Movie Really Help City in Crisis?
In the blend was the casually racist gaffe of journalist Jenna Bush. As she approached actor and producer Pharrell Williams Sunday evening at the awards show to ask him about his new Golden Globe-nominated film, she called it ''Hidden Fences'' '-- mixing and mashing up two award-nominated films with Black leads, "Hidden Figures" and "Fences."
''You know, because all black people _______ (fill in the blank): 1) are the same, 2) fit into one movie 3) don't deserve to have more than one nomination or 4) all of the above. If you chose choice No. 4, you are correct!'' wrote The Root's Danielle Young.
In response, Twitter users, mostly Black, jumped at the chance to produce comedic tweets in response to the blunder with the hashtag #HiddenFences.
Later, actor and director Michael Keaton managed to make the same mistake as he presented the award for best-supporting actress, sparking the #GoldenGlobesErrors hashtag, which combined titles of movies with predominantly Black casts.
That same evening, when the prolific actor Meryl Streep took to stage to accept her Cecil B. Demille Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, she dedicated the better part of her speech to speak about how U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's ascension to presidency has lent to a more openly xenophobic and bigoted society.
RELATED:The Inspiration for Mexico's Day of the Dead Parade? Hollywood
She cited the instance of when Trump mocked a disabled journalist in November 2015, saying it was this incident that stunned her most.
''Disrespect invites disrespect, violence invites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose,'' she told the crowd.
The morning after, right on cue, Trump took to Twitter to attack Streep, calling her ''overrated'' and ''a Hillary flunky.''
VIDEO - Seth Meyers Confronts Kellyanne Conway Over Alleged Russian Efforts to Blackmail Trump - The Daily Beast
In her combative sit-down with the 'Late Night' host, Conway said Trump is 'not aware' of the report that states Russian operatives have compromising information about him.
Over the course of her time as a spokesperson for Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway has managed to both disarm Bill Maher and get tripped up by The View. So it was an open question how the president-elect's spinner-in-chief would fare when she came face-to-face with Seth Meyers Tuesday night.
Meyers jokingly banned Trump from appearing on his show last June after the then-candidate revoked the Washington Post's press credentials for his campaign events. ''I think it would be interesting television if he came on our show,'' he said a few months later, ''but it's a moot point because it's not going to happen.''
For now, he'll have to settle for the next best thing: Trump's special counselor Conway, who has made a name for herself confounding those who try to interview her. And given Meyers' relentless hammering of Trump both before and perhaps even more so after the election, she no doubt came prepared for one of her signature smiley fights.
Fortunately, Meyers' taping happened late enough that he was able to confront Conway over the bombshell report that alleges U.S. intelligence officials briefed both President Obama and President-Elect Trump on Russia's alleged plan to blackmail Trump over ''compromising personal and financial information.''
''Well, guess what hasn't happened, Seth, nobody has sourced it,'' Conway said, a broad smile plastered across her face. ''They're all unnamed, unspoken sources in the story.'' She tried to discredit the report by saying it originated with an Russian investigator, but Meyers corrected her to say that it appears to have come from a former British intelligence officer.
''It also says that groups that wanted Hillary Clinton to win may have been involved in the investigations themselves,'' Conway continued. ''And, most importantly, it says the FBI is trying to confirm it. So, nothing has been confirmed.''
As an ''American citizen'' regardless of political party, Conway said, ''we should be concerned that intelligence officials leak to the press and won't go and tell the president-elect or the president of the United States himself now, Mr. Obama, what the information is. They'd rather go tell the press.''
At that point, Meyers cut her off, saying, ''But the report was about them going to the president.'' When she pushed back, he added, ''I believe it said they did brief him on it.''
The first sentence of CNN's report reads, ''Classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.''
''He has said he's not aware of that,'' Conway replied of her boss, to which Meyers said, ''That concerns me.''
When Conway shook her head, saying, ''That's not fair, and that's not true,'' Meyers asked if she was disputing the fact that he is ''concerned'' about Trump. ''I assure you I am,'' he said.
Later in their interview, Meyers cornered Conway in regards to a widely-ridiculed comment she made on CNN earlier this week about how the media covers Trump. "You always want to go by what's come out of his mouth rather than look at what's in his heart," she told New Day host Chris Cuomo. "So you think it's not important to listen to what he's saying?" Meyers asked her. "How can we know what's in his heart?"
"He expresses it'--" she began, at which point he interrupted her. "He expresses it how?" Meyers asked. "Out of his mouth."
VIDEO - Even Fox News is defending CNN against Trump
While many are still shaking their heads at the testy exchange Wednesday afternoon between President-elect Donald Trump and CNN reporter Jim Acosta, CNN's biggest competitor is coming to the network's defense.
Fox News anchor Shephard Smith closed the Wednesday edition of his daily news show with a reflection on Trump's raucous press conference, his first in six months, and stood up for Acosta and CNN's reporting.
Said Smith, "neither [CNN] nor any other journalists should be subjected to belittling and delegitimizing by the president-elect of the United States."
During Wednesday's press conference, Trump shouted down a question from Acosta, accusing the network of being "fake news" for reporting on Tuesday night on a memo alleging that Russia may possess compromising information on Trump and that his campaign members had irregular contact with Russian officials.
Unlike BuzzFeed, whom Trump also railed against, CNN did not include any of the allegations within the memo in its report, because it could not verify them.
That apparently meant little to Trump, who berated Acosta before moving on to field a question from another reporter.
After the press conference, CNN posted a statement refuting Trump. "We are fully confident in our reporting," it read. "It represents the core of what the First Amendment protects, informing the people of the inner workings of their government."
Additional reporting by Heather Dockray
VIDEO - Epic '' Trump Confronts CNN's Russia Narrative Directly: ''You are fake news'' '' NBC Confirms CNN is ''fake news'''... | The Last Refuge
Today, during President-elect Donald Trump's press conference, PE Trump took exception with ''fake news'' surrounding the ridiculous release of an unverified dossier by Buzzfeed and the intentional efforts of CNN to promote the accompanying narrative.
President-elect Trump directly called Buzzfeed a ''failing piece of garbage'', and further rightly calling CNN ''fake news''. Watch:
' Jim Acosta: ''Since you are attacking us, can you give us a question?''' Trump replied ''No, not you, your organization is terrible!''' Acosta continued: ''You are attacking our news organization, can you give us a chance to ask a question, sir?''' Trump reminded Acosta: ''don't be rude.'' ''I'm not going to give you a question. I'm not going to give you a question. You are fake news!''
Following the press conference, NBC and the Trump Transition exposed the entire construct of the CNN narrative, as created by Jake Tapper, Jim Sciutto, Evan Perez and Carl Bernstein was ENTIRELY FALSE:
(Via The Hill) CNNLIE #1 '' President-elect Donald Trump was never briefed on the allegations that Russian intelligence services have collected compromising information on him, according to NBC and Trump's transition team.
CNN LIE #2 '' Officials prepared a two-page summary of unverified reports that have been circulating Capitol Hill for months in advance of their Friday meeting with Trump, an intelligence official told NBC, but never discussed it with him.
CNN LIE #3 '' The briefing was shared with Trump verbally, the report said, and no documents were left with the president-elect. (read more)
VIDEO - Hacking, RT & stinging scorpions: Senate asks intel chiefs about Russian election influence '-- RT America
The Senate Intelligence Committee is holding a rare open hearing on accusations that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election. They are asking questions about a recent report by the US intelligence community on such activities.
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, NSA Director Admiral Michael Rogers and FBI Director James Comey will testify about a recently declassified report on the supposed Russian influence on the election.
The report, made public Friday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), concluded with ''high confidence in these judgments'' that Russian President Vladimir Putin ''ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election.'' The goals of the campaign were ''to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary [Hillary] Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency.'' The Russian government, under Putin, ''developed a clear preference for President-elect [Donald] Trump.''
The ''multifaceted'' campaign blended propaganda, namely by RT, with covert intelligence operations, including cyber activity, with official efforts by the government, third-party intermediaries and ''paid social media users or 'trolls.'''
Read more
''We are not here to relitigate the results of the election,'' Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia), the ranking member on the committee, said in his opening remarks. Instead, the focus of the hearing was to be accusations of Russian hacking and release of stolen info, the use of state-owned media as a means to amplify real and fake news, and any contact between Russian actors and the campaigns.
Clapper's opening statement reiterated the findings of the ODNI report, noting that the investigation didn't assess the impact of Russian influence on the elections, only the intentions. He added that there was no evidence of Russia altering the vote tally.
The FBI did not have access to the Democratic National Committee's servers after they were hacked, Comey said, but rather a highly respected third-party company was able to investigate them. It was unusual for the bureau to be denied access, especially when it made multiple requests.
Warner asked Clapper if it was correct that ''some'' information was taken from Republican-linked entities, but a ''great deal'' was taken from Democrats; the DNI agreed.
None of the four intelligence chiefs said they had seen ''this level'' of Russian interference in another country's elections before.
''This sounds like a pretty effective and successful effort to sow chaos, to undermine credibility of our leaders and of our government institutions,'' said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), who ran for the Republican nomination. ''In essence, it sounds like they achieved what they wanted, to get us to fight against each other over whether our elections are legitimate and divide us in the way that sows the sort of chaos that they sought to achieve.''
Comey would not say whether there is an FBI investigation into any contact between relationships between Russians and individuals associated with the Trump campaign and his incoming administration, noting it was not appropriate to reveal the answer in an open setting.
''The American people have a right to know this!'' Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) exclaimed, pounding on the dais, and demanding that the FBI release an unclassified report about such interactions before January 20.
There were ''intrusions and attempted intrusions into state-level voter-registration databases,'' but there was no indication that any changes were made, only that information was taken, Comey said.
Is it fair to compare RT to CNN, MSNBC or Fox News, Heinrich asked.
''To me, the major difference here is the bulk of funding for RT comes from Russian government and the Russian government gives editorial direction on what RT is supposed to broadcast,'' Clapper replied. ''So I think that's a little bit different from CNN.''
''I think there's an RT channel here,'' Clapper told Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) that's accessible to ''some number'' of people here.
''I doubt if [the audience] is very large'' in the US, Blunt replied. ''I don't want to defend RT. I think it's a propaganda arm of a government that's definitely not on our side, and we need to be aware of that.''
Read more
Russia is similarly interfering with or influencing the elections in ''a couple dozen or so'' other countries, Clapper told Sen. John Lankford (R-Oklahoma). The DNI previously told the committee that authorities in Germany, France and the Netherlands, all of which have upcoming elections, should be aware of Russian attempts to meddle.
The Chinese are also conducting espionage in the US, but it's a more passive collection of data than actively ''purloining information and using it for a political end,'' Clapper told Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia). ''The Russians are unique.''
Russia ''got far deeper and wider into the DNC than the RNC,'' Comey said. ''It's hard to say why in this forum, hard to say in a closed forum because they didn't get into the RNC.'' The Russians were able to access some Republican-affiliated organizations, especially at the state level, but not the RNC itself, he added.
''Vladimir Putin undermines the United States and our interests for the same reason the scorpion stings the frog as it crosses the river,'' Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) said. ''It's in his nature.''
Trump and his team are ''very sensitive to this threat,'' and the intelligence community has educated the transition group to the ''pitfalls of mobile devices,'' Comey said. When Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) asked him about the security of Trump's Twitter account, the DNI refused to discuss any steps taken in an open setting.
Russian hacking has been going on ''since the 1990s,'' Rogers told Sen. Jeff Cornyn (R-Texas).
The multi-layered, multifaceted campaign to interfere in the US election is ''a progression of capabilities as they've acquired and used them,'' Clapper said. The Russians ''certainly have long-standing practices like that against European countries.''
As a response, the US government has ''tried to up our game defensively'' since Russian intrusions began in the 1990s, Clapper told Cornyn. ''We've responded selectively,'' he said, referring to the US response to the Sony hack and to the recent increase in sanctions against Russians for the current situation. The DNI once again warned senators that it's inappropriate to have a policy of retribution for all espionage activities in the US because the United States also conducts espionage.
Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) sought to put the Russian interference in perspective for the American people.
''This hacking business is ubiquitous, and it has been since the internet was set up. The question was asked 'When did Russia start this?'; I suspect the day that they hooked up to the internet,'' he said. ''This goes on constantly. And as we've been sitting here, there have been thousands of efforts against US entities, US computers '' government, non-government '' and that's just in the US! This is going on all over the world.''
Risch also agreed with Clapper's assessment that the US needs to be careful in how it responds to such meddling, so as to prevent escalation. He praised the DNI for admitting that the US does conduct espionage, and said that the focus needs to be on upping the country's defensive posture and called on everyone to be supportive of such defensive measures. At the same time, though, he noted that a ''silver bullet'' would likely never happen.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-North Carolina), the committee chair, adjourned the open hearing, which was set to be resumed after a vote as a closed session where the four intelligence chiefs would be able to go into the classified details about Russian interference that weren't included in the report released Friday.
''There's more behind that conclusion, we just can't discuss that here'' in an open forum, Comey had said earlier in the hearing.
VIDEO - The Mysterious FBI Sunday Document Dump #5 and The ''Missing'' Clinton Seagate Hard Drive'... | The Last Refuge
Update to clarify the context of the FBI release from Katica, the internet researcher who discovered the documents:
(Via Katica) Please keep in mind that this release was not a Sunday doc dump. It is still not on the FBI Vault site. https://vault.fbi.gov/hillary-r.-clinton And the FBI Vault Twitter account has not Tweeted it out. https://twitter.com/FBIRecordsVault Nor has the FBI released a statement on it. I imagine they are freaking out right about now. I'm probably on a list for sure now and it isn't for employment.
The document was only accessible from my archive.is link. Now that it has been shared a million or more times (lol) it is becoming searchable on Google. We have no idea if/when they were going to release it. The FBI has made no mention of the document as of yet either. I do hope that a news site does an article on that aspect of it.
As many of you are aware the FBI mysteriously dumped 300 pages of investigative material in an unusual Sunday evening upload. For the sake of brevity we are calling it ''a release''.
The timing and content of the FBI release are curious and a few people are attempting to understand what's going on.
It has taken us a full day to look over the #5 release and scour it for information. There's some rather interesting findings.
What follows below may possibly indicate a motive, and might also outline an internal effort within the FBI to push forward: a.) action by President Obama on behalf of Hillary Clinton, vis-a-vis a pardon; or, b.) action by the incoming administration to ensure criminal charges.
Most of the MSM attention, scant though it is, has focused on the last few pages of the latest document release (pgs 295-299) which highlight specific evidence that Hillary Clinton was passing on classified information, via email, to Sidney Blumenthal.
Watch this interview with Lou Dobbs last night and Judge Andrew Napolitano:
In addition to the Sidney Blumenthal angle, the question posed by Lou Dobbs about FBI motive for uploading the documents is a dangling participle remaining from the discussion. However, within the release on Page #283 there's an important discovery which may answer that question.
Bear with me, as I try to explain a complex issue.
As outlined by the research group behind the Thompson Timeline, there's always been a question about a missing ''Seagate Hard drive''.
March 2009'--June 2011:An external hard drive backs up the data on Clinton's private server, but it is unclear what happens to it or its replacement.
When Clinton's first server is upgraded with a new server in March 2009, a Seagate external hard drive is attached to the server to store back-up copies of all of its data.
Bryan Pagliano, who manages the server at the time, will later tell the FBI that daily changes are backed up onto the hard drive every day, and a complete back-up is made once a week. As space on the hard drive runs out, backups are deleted on a ''first in, first out'' basis.
This continues until June 2011. That month, Pagliano travels from Washington, DC, where he works in the State Department, and goes to where the server is, in Chappaqua, New York. Pagliano replaces the Seagate external hard drive with a Cisco Network Attached Storage (NAS) device, also to store backups of the server.
['...] It is unclear what becomes of either back-up device or the data they contained. The FBI's September 2016 final report on the Clinton email investigation will only mention: ''The FBI was unable to forensically determine how frequently the NAS captured backups of the Pagliano Server.''
But the report will also complain about the ''FBI's inability to recover all server equipment,'' and there will be no mention of any data recovered from either back-up device.
['...] Also in September 2016, Justin Cooper, who helped Pagliano manage the server, will be asked about these hard drives at a Congressional hearing. He will say he only heard about them from reading the FBI final report. (link)
Please re-read that excerpt a few times, or go to the original source to read the full article.
[Research Note: Not trying to be a conspiracy theorist, but the actual govt link to the FBI report -pdf attached to the information described above in the Thompson Timeline- is now dead (see here). Fortunately, CTH always uploads these sensitive releases to alternate pdf hosting on SCRIBD. So, we are able to go back and look at information independently.]
''The Final Report'' '' When the original 47 page FBI investigative outline, immediately following the James Comey decision not to prosecute, was released there was a section about hardware retrieved by the FBI only AFTER they initially gained access to the server.
It should be alarming on it's own that Clinton Lawyers didn't tell FBI investigators of their volition they held additional email data storage devices. The Clintons', through their attorneys, gave the FBI the server in August 2015 '' and not any additional data hardware until the FBI forensic investigation discovered there was additional hardware used.
Two months later, when confronted with that FBI forensic discovery, the Clinton's, again through their lawyers, released more storage hardware. This is where the Seagate Hard Drive comes in.
On page #5 of the First Investigative FBI report the Seagate Hard Drive is mentioned:
(Page #5 Link)
However, it should be noted that ''footnote #58'' assigned to the Seagate Hard Drive as mentioned, along with all other footnotes in the original FBI final report, IS REDACTED as released.
To summarize so far: The original September FBI final report, used by FBI Director Comey to justify his non finding of illegality, outlined mobile data storage devices -connected to the Clinton email set up- that were not voluntarily turned over to the FBI until evidence of their existence was determined by forensic examination. AND the FBI reporting of those devices was opaquely revealed, with details redacted, in the final report itself.
Now we fast forward to last Sunday's mysterious 300 page FBI release.
Along with 200+ pages of ''Notice to Preserve Evidence'' documentation, we find numerous pages outlining actual physical evidence retrieved. Within those pages we find the following:
(Page #283 FBI Investigative Release #5)
There it is. The mysterious missing Seagate Hard Drive appears; along with dozens of more exhibits of computers, servers, lap tops, thumb drives and portable storage devices gathered by the FBI and held as physical evidence.
The FBI has these devices in their custody. They are not ''missing''.
So why is this important? Again, remember the original question: ''what's the motive behind the latest release/upload''?'...
A reasonable case can be made that internal elements within the FBI are intentionally showing how much evidence there is to support the case against Hillary Clinton. Evidence that was clearly never revealed as part of the original James Comey final public report.
Additionally, the questions expand: Was Comey aware of that evidence? or was Comey's determination and decision isolated away from that evidence by internal political elements favorable to the Clintons, who hid -albeit openly- some of the investigative material?
Continuing: Are there FBI White Hats beaconing to incoming administration? '....and/or simultaneously notifying FBI Director Comey of additional knowledge they will not allow to remain hidden? '....and adding to that evidence file they release specific aspects proving Sidney Blumenthal was sent classified information to ensure the latest release cannot simply be brushed aside.
If I were a betting person, I'd say that's the most likely scenario. If that wasn't the motive for this release there would have been no need for redactions -of this specific information- in the original FBI final report.
Essentially, if you connect these now visible dots, this mysterious release #5 is the story behind the redactions in the original September 2nd Comey final report.
Some may argue an alternate motive might be to force the hand of Obama to grant a pardon for Secretary Clinton. However, in the larger scheme of things that's a moot point because a pardon implies the presence of guilt.
Accepting the way this has been done, it just doesn't look like a release to force the hand of President Obama. Again, this release is not a public records release announced by the FBI. The 'forced pardon' motive/approach could much more easily be undertaken with a simple phone call to a back channel at the White House.
My hunch is, this latest release could be just as much news to FBI Director Comey as it is to us.
VIDEO - US to Send 300 Marines to Afghanistan's Helmand Province - ABC News
The United States will send some 300 Marines to Afghanistan's southern Helmand province to train, advise and assist Afghan security forces, who have been struggling to drive Taliban insurgents out of the opium-rich region.
U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Salvin, a spokesman for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, said the Marines will begin deploying this year and will remain in the province for nine months, where they will work with the Afghan army and militarized national police.
"The Marine Corps has a long operational history in Afghanistan, particularly in Helmand Province. Advising and assisting Afghan defense and security forces will assist in preserving gains made together with the Afghans," he said.
The U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014, but thousands of troops remain in the country, where they train and assist Afghan forces and carry out counterterrorism operations.
The Taliban are battling Afghan forces on a number of fronts, and the fighting has been particularly intense in Helmand, where the insurgents have repeatedly assaulted the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, in recent months.
Helmand is the main source of poppies for Afghanistan's thriving opium trade, which is worth an estimated $4 billion a year, much of which funds the insurgency. Provincial officials estimate the Taliban controls 85 percent of the province, up from just 20 percent a year ago.
In northern Afghanistan, meanwhile, a roadside bomb killed two police officers and wounded another three, according to Sakhi Dad Haidari, head of the Badakhshan province's criminal investigation department. The Taliban claimed the attack.
Over the past week, Afghan forces have been carrying out clearing operations in different parts of the province. Haidari said around a dozen insurgents have been killed and wounded.
VIDEO - Autonomous drones set to revolutionize warfare - 60 Minutes - CBS News
Autonomous drones are being called the biggest thing in military technology since the nuclear bomb. David Martin reports.
The following is a script from ''The Coming Swarm,'' which aired on Jan. 8, 2017. David Martin is the correspondent. Mary Walsh, producer.
One of the biggest revolutions over the past 15 years of war has been the rise of the drones -- remotely piloted vehicles that do everything from conduct air strikes to dismantle roadside bombs. Now, a new generation of drones is coming. Only this time they are autonomous -- able to operate on their own without humans controlling them from somewhere with a joy stick. Some autonomous machines are run by artificial intelligence which allows them to learn, getting better each time. It's early in the revolution and no one knows exactly where it is headed, but the potential exists for all missions considered too dangerous or complex for humans to be turned over to autonomous machines that can make decisions faster and go in harm's way without any fear. Think of it as the coming swarm, and if that sounds like the title of a sci-fi mini-series, well, stay tuned. As we're about to show you, it's already a military reality.
PlayVideo
60 Minutes OvertimeCapturing the swarm60 Minutes almost killed its story on a swarm of autonomous military drones for a simple reason: the devices were nearly impossible to film
This swarm over the California desert is like nothing the U.S. military has ever fielded before. Each of those tiny drones is flying itself. Humans on the ground have given them a mission to patrol a three-square mile area, but the drones are figuring out for themselves how to do it. They are operating autonomously and the Pentagon's Dr. Will Roper says what you're seeing is a glimpse into the future of combat.
Will Roper: It opens up a completely different level of warfare, a completely different level of maneuver.
CBS News
The drone is called Perdix. An unlikely name for an unlikely engine of revolution. Roper, head of a once-secret Pentagon organization called the Strategic Capabilities Office, remembers the first time he saw Perdix, which is named after a bird found in Greek mythology.
Will Roper: I held it up in my hands, it's about as big as my hand. And I looked at it and said, ''Really? This is, this is what you want me to, to get excited about?'' You know, it looks like a toy.
Perdix flies too fast and too high to follow, so 60 Minutes brought specialized high-speed cameras to the China Lake Weapons Station in California to capture it in flight.
A Perdix swarm captured by high-speed cameras at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California.
CBS News
Developed by 20 and 30-somethings from MIT's Lincoln Labs, Perdix, is designed to operate as a team, which you can see when you follow this group of eight on a computer screen.
Will Roper: We've given them a mission at this point, and that mission is as a team go fly down the road and so they allocate that amongst all the individual Perdix.
David Martin: And they're talking to each other.
Will Roper: They are.
David Martin: By what?
Will Roper: So they've got radios on and they're each telling each other not just what they're doing but where they are in space.
David Martin: How frequently are they talking back and forth to each other?
Will Roper: Many, many times a second when they're first sorting out.
David Martin: I mean, it looks helter skelter.
Dr. Will Roper, left, and correspondent David Martin
CBS News
Will Roper: You want them to converge to a good enough solution and go ahead and get on with it. . . It's faster than a human would sort it out.
Cheap and expendable, Perdix tries to make a soft landing but it's no great loss if it crashes into the ground.
Perdix can be used as decoys to confuse enemy air defenses or equipped with electronic transmitters to jam their radars.
David Martin: This one looks like it has a camera.
As a swarm of miniature spy planes fitted with cellphone cameras they could hunt down fleeing terrorists.
Will Roper: There's several different roads they could have gone down. And you don't know which one to search. You can tell them, ''Go search all the roads,'' and tell them what to search for and let them sort out the best way to do it.
The Pentagon is spending $3 billion a year on autonomous systems, many of them much more sophisticated than a swarm of Perdix.
This pair of air and ground robots runs on artificial intelligence.
Jim Pineiro: I'm going to say ''start the reconnaissance.''
They are searching a mock village for a suspected terrorist, reporting back to Marine Captain Jim Pineiro and his tablet.
Jim Pineiro: The ground robot's continuing on its mission while the air robot is searching on its own.
The robots are slow and cumbersome but they're just test beds for cutting edge computer software which could power more agile machines -- ones that could act as advance scouts for a foot patrol.
Jim Pineiro: I would want to use a system like this to move maybe in front of me or in advance of me to give me early warning of, of enemy in the area.
David Martin (standup): This time I'm the target. The computer already knows what I look like, so now we'll see if it can match what's stored in its memory with the real thing as I move around this make-believe village.
Compiled photos of correspondent David Martin
CBS News
The robots' artificial intelligence had done its homework the night before, Tim Faltemier says, learning what I look like.
Tim Faltemier: We were able to get every picture of every story that you've ever been in.
David Martin: How many pictures of me are there out there?
Tim Faltemier: When we ran this through, we have about 50,000 different pictures of you that we were able to get. Had we had more time we probably could've done a better job.
David Martin: So because you've got 50,000 pictures of me, how certain would you be?
Tim Faltemier: Very.
David Martin: Now it's looking at me.
Tim Faltemier: It recognized you instantly.
Tim Faltemier: So, what we reported today on our scores we're about a one in 10,000 chance of being wrong.
While the robot was searching for me inside an auditorium at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, Lt. Cdr. Rollie Wicks was watching from a missile boat in the Potomac River.
Rollie Wicks: What I was doing was, I was turning over control of the weapon system to the autonomous systems that you've seen on the floor today.
Computer's point-of-view of target
CBS News
Had Wicks given permission to shoot, the missile would have struck my location using a set of coordinates given to it by the robots.
Rollie Wicks: They were controlling a remote weapons system. They were controlling where that weapons system was pointing, with me supervising.
It will be about three years before these robots will be ready for the battlefield. By then, Captain Pineiro says, they will look considerably different.
David Martin: Will those robots when they reach the battlefield will they be able to defend themselves?
Jim Pineiro: We are looking into that. We are looking into defensive capability for a robot '' armed robots.
David Martin: Shoot back?
Jim Pineiro: Correct.
This Pentagon directive states ''autonomous . . . Systems shall be designed to allow commanders and operators to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force.''
What that means, says General Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the military's man in charge of autonomy, is that life or death decisions will be made only by humans -- even though machines can do it faster and, in some cases, better.
David Martin: Are machines better at facial recognition than humans?
Paul Selva: All the research I've seen says about five years ago machines actually got better at image recognition than humans.
David Martin: Can a disguise defeat machine recognition?
Paul Selva: If you think about the proportions of the human body there are several that are discrete and difficult to hide. The example that I will use, as I look at you, is the distance between your pupils. It is very likely unique to you and a handful of other humans. A disguise cannot move your eyes.
David Martin: So if I have a ski mask on that doesn't help?
Paul Selva: Not if your eyes are visible. If you have to see, you can't change that proportion.
David Martin: So, if the machine's better, why not let it make the decision?
Paul Selva: This goes to the ethics of the question of whether or not you allow a machine to take a human life without the intervention of a human.
David Martin: Do you know where this is headed?
Paul Selva: I don't.
Virtually any military vehicle has the potential to become autonomous. The Navy has begun testing Sea Hunter, an autonomous ship to track submarines. Program manager Scott Littlefield says that when you no longer have to make room for a crew, you can afford to buy a lot of them.
Scott Littlefield: You could buy somewhere between 50 and 100 of these for the price of one warship.
David Martin: I've heard somebody describe this ship as looking like an overgrown Polynesian war canoe. Why does it look like it does?
Scott Littlefield: To be able to go across the Pacific Ocean without refueling, this hull form, the, the trimaran, was, was the best thing we could come up with.
David Martin: What is its range?
Scott Littlefield: We can go about 10,000 nautical miles on, on, on a tank of gas '' 14,000 gallons.
Sea hunter is at least two years away from being ready to steam across the Pacific on its own. Among other things, it has to learn how to follow the rules of the road to avoid collisions with other ships. When we went aboard it had only been operating autonomously for a few weeks and there was still a human crew '' just in case.
When testing is done, this pilot house will come off and the crew will be standing on the pier waving goodbye. From then on this will be a ghost ship commanded by 36 computers running 50 million lines of software code. And, these life lines will have to come off too since there's no need for them with no humans on board.
It has a top speed of 26 knots and a tight turning radius which should enable it to use its sonar to track diesel-powered submarines for weeks at a time.
Scott Littlefield: Many countries have diesel submarines. That's the most common kind of submarine that's out there.
David Martin: China?
Scott Littlefield: China has them.
David Martin: Russia?
Scott Littlefield: Russia has them.
David Martin: Iran?
Scott Littlefield: Iran has them.
David Martin: North Korea?
Scott Littlefield: Yes.
David Martin: I think I get the picture.
Scott Littlefield: Yes.
But of everything we saw, tiny Perdix is closest to being ready to go operational '' if it passes its final exam. Will Roper and his team of desert rats are about to attempt to fly the largest autonomous swarm ever: 100 Perdix drones.
Will Roper: This is one of the riskiest, most exciting things that's going on right now in the Pentagon.
Risky not only because the swarm would be more than three times larger than anything Roper's ever done before but also because 60 Minutes is here to record the outcome for all to see.
David Martin: Why are you letting us watch?
Will Roper: Couple of reasons, David, I, I, when this first came up, I have, I have to be honest with you, my first response was, ''That sound, sounds like a horrible idea.'' Right? I mean, it's just human nature. I, I don't want this to fail on camera. But I did not like the fear of failure being my only reason for not letting you be here. And we also wanted the world to see that we're doing some new things.
This time, the Perdix will be launched from three F-18 jet fighters, just as they would on a real battlefield.
Will Roper: There they are.
David Martin: Yup.
Will Roper: All right. A little piece, a little piece of the future.
The F-18s are traveling at almost the speed of sound, so the first test for Perdix is whether they will survive their violent ejection into the atmosphere.
[Radio: Complete'...104 alive.]
Will Roper: That's 104 in the swarm, David.
David Martin: 104 alive.
Will Roper: That's 100 swarm. There they are. You see them?
David Martin: Yeah, yeah.
Will Roper: Look at them, Look at them.
Will Roper: They flash in the sun as the come into view.
David Martin: There's a '' oh yeah.
As the Perdix descend in front of our cameras, they organize themselves into a tighter swarm. Imagine the split-second calculations a human would have to make to keep them from crashing into each other.
Will Roper: Look at that! It's just everywhere you look it's coming into view. It does feel like a plague of locusts.
Will Roper: So they're running out of battery.
There are reams of data that still have to be analyzed but roper is confident Perdix passed its final exam.
[Radio: One vehicle down.]
And could become operational as early as this year.
David Martin: I've heard people say that autonomy is the biggest thing in military technology since nuclear weapons. Really?
Will Roper: I think I might agree with that, David. I mean, if what we mean is biggest thing is something that's going to change everything, I think autonomy is going to change everything.
(C) 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
VIDEO - Trump's Call To Investigate NBC News Leak Is Just The Beginning | Crooks and Liars
Donald Trump hasn't even been sworn into office yet, but he's already targeting the media and leakers for making him look bad, since NBC News was alerted to the intelligence report which states Russia was involved in hacking the US presidential election.
Usually the Justice Department is tasked with this issue, but since Republicans used their congressional powers to investigate Democrats nine ways to Sunday, Trump thinks this is Rep. Chaffetz's main function.
Here's a thought
Maybe Trump should attend his daily intelligence briefingevery day so he'd know about vital information before the media did.
And if he's really concerned with leaks, why not call for investigations into the many FBI agents who leaked information to Rudy Giuliani during the run-up to the general election?
On CNN's Reliable Sources, host Brian Stelter told The NY Times' David Sanger journalists are already worried Trump will relentlessly attack the media over leaked information and said, "My inbox is full of e-mails from journalists worried about the chilling effects of Trump's tweet, given that he hasn't taken office yet and he's already calling for this investigation."
Since Donald Trump said he would love to change the libel laws so the media could be sued, his tweet attacking NBC News is just the beginning of a non-stop assault on the freedom of the press.
And his surrogates are experts at attacking the press at every turn, so expect this assault on the free press to be one continuous loop of media-bashing.
Sanger stated correctly that President Obama, as well as every administration before, has tried to quell leaks as much as possible, even calling for investigations, but not because the media got ahead of him on an intelligence report.
And no other president-elect made media-bashing one of his prime election talking points than Trump.
Not only that, Trump hates not appearing to be the smartest man in every room, in his mind anyway. So hold onto your hats, journos.
'' Story continues below ''
Trump supporters will believe that Trump is the first president to have information leaked against him so it may get very ugly, as they take to social media to attack the journalists and media outlets.
VIDEO - Trump Apologists Keep Denying Russian Impact On U.S. Election Integrity | Crooks and Liars
Imagine if one fraction of the evidence that any Democrat encouraged foreign espionage to commit election fraud existed, like Trump openly admitted. Would his or her political career would be over in a matter of minutes?
There's no question there's an obvious double standard at play. But the relentlessness of the mistakes this man makes that would disqualify any other candidate are thrown at us at such breakneck speed, the outcome is the exact opposite: He's bulletproof. No scandal lasts long enough to stick.
CNN's State of the Union featured a discussion on the influence of the Russian hacking on our election. The far right wing was well-represented by ex-Bachmann/Cruz communications director, Alice Stewart, and Frothy himself, Rick Santorum. On the other side of the aisle we have one Hillary Clinton ally, Neera Tanden, and a vehement opponent of Hillary Clinton, Nina Turner, Bernie Sanders' biggest cheerleader.
Tapper starts the discussion with a clip of the blatantly audacious statement from Trump's last press conference, dated July 27th. He openly calls for the illegal hacking of the emails of his opponent. This call to commit a crime had no negative consequences on the outcome, just like his bragging that he could 'shoot someone on Fifth Avenue.'
TRUMP: Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.(That still makes my skin crawl.)
TAPPER: ...We're pretty sure Russia will be listening this time as well. What does he need to say when the subject (of Russia) comes up at the press conference?
SANTORUM: I think what he will say is what President Bush said, what President Obama said which is that, you know, he's going to -- on the subject of Russia try to chart a new path and reset the relationship. And that he's tweeted many times that he's going to have a better relationship with Russia. President Obama said that. President Bush said that, and I think President Trump is going to try that.
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Santorum praised St. Ronnie for his engagement with the then-Soviet Union and credited Reagan for bringing down the communist giant. Santorum believes that Trump "can engage Russia in a way that's more constructive." Because autocrats who jail or disappear dissidents are known for being open-minded, right?
Tapper asks Neera Tanden to comment on the reports from Russian hacking, which also directly affected her own emails. She urged Trump to be honest about the intel he received.
TANDEN: I don't understand why he cannot simply acknowledge that fact. He had his intelligence briefings. He's still misstating facts. He said they went -- they only went after Democrats. They never went after the Republicans. They did go after the Republicans. They haven't released that information.
And so I have to say I just do not understand why he will not basically state these facts, and the fact that he won't, makes me worried. And that's why I think it's a little ridiculous that we haven't had a single investigation out of the House, 33 investigations in the House on Benghazi. This is an issue in which all of our intelligence agencies are saying this is a clear threat, not just for now but for the future, and I don't understand why the president-elect, why Trump, will not say, 'I'm going to take action on this' and why Speaker Ryan won't hold a single hearing on it.
Playing defense, Alice Stewart explains that we've known about Chinese and Russian hacking for years, so she's confused about the sudden interest now. She throws China in there for distraction and also pretends that she doesn't know why hacking government databases is different than direct manipulation of our 'free and fair' elections.
STEWART: Why all of a sudden now during an election year?
TANDEN: Because they tried to -- they did -- they tried to get Donald Trump elected.. That's why it's a big deal.
STEWART: The frustration with Trump and the Trump campaign is the Democrats' effort to undermine his victory. He won this election fair and square to the electoral process...
STEWART: ... and now by focusing on the Russian hacking with regard to -- yes, we know that based on the evidence presented at the hearings that Putin did dictate influencing and hacking into the American institutions to influence the election...
TANDEN: I'm glad --you can admit that.
STEWART: ... but there has been zero evidence to prove whatsoever without a shadow of the doubt that it impacted the outcome of the election.
TANDEN: That's because the intelligence agencies -- please read the report, the intelligence agencies have said they can't determine that but obviously the fact that Donald Trump used it 164 times in the month of October shows you that there must have been something.
All the Trump proxies have been using the same talking point: that the investigation proved that it didn't have impact on the election. But that's not what the report said, as Tanden points out. The investigation didn't include investigating what, if any, effect Russia's activities had, which would have been virtually impossible to quantify. It didn't conclude that there was no effect. It stated that it did not seek to prove that one way or the other. And of course, not one person, including Tapper, corrected that other than Tanden.
Instead, former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner agreed with Stewart that Trump legitimately won the election. With Democrats like Nina, who needs enemies, right? She threw Democrats under the bus in October following the release of confidential emails.
TURNER: ...Now, the election was free and fair, you know. I do not believe that that meddling, as bad as it was, influenced the outcome. President- elect won the electoral college and he will be sworn in as president...
So let's get this straight: Hillary Clinton's private email server was unforgivable, without evidence of any wrongdoing on her part, despite multiple investigations by multiple agencies. But when all of our intelligence agencies agree that Russia clearly meddled in our elections for a long time, in a big way, who cares?
Do you understand the logic? I don't.
VIDEO - Surveillance Footage Shows Deadly Jerusalem Truck Attack >> Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!
Surveillance footage has emerged of the Jerusalem truck ramming attack in which four were killed and 13 were wounded on Sunday.
The footage shows the moments leading up to the the truck ramming into a group of Israeli soldiers visiting an observation post in the capital's Jewish neighborhood Armon Hanatziv.
The video was shot from a distance of about 30 meters from the scene of the attack, and shows the truck speeding through the crowd, narrowly missing the standing bus. It then stops and starts maneuvering, moving backwards and turning, before finally coming to a stop.
Authorities suspected terror motives in the incident. According to media reports, Hamas's Qassam brigades says Jerusalem attacker, Fadi al-Qanbar, was a released prisoner, whom they called a ''Mujahid'' a term referring to a person engaged in a jihad, usually as a guerrilla warrior.
Police confirmed that the perpetrator was neutralized.
VIDEO - Empire of the Air (1992) Ken Burns Doc about the Men Who Made Radio - Documentaries
The U.S. media continues to make Russia their primary focus of the news cycle for the fourth consecutive week. Apparently nothing else has been going on in/around the world of politics that is as important to the media as the ''vast Russian conspiracy narrative''.
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus enters the echo-chamber and is immediately confronted with the Clapper/Brennan intelligence research into the schemes of Boris and Natasha.
First stop, Fox News and Chris Wallace:
Next stop, John Dickerson Face the Nation:
VIDEO - Sunday Talks: Kellyanne Conway -vs- The Vast Russian Conspiracy'... | The Last Refuge
The U.S. media continues to make Russia their primary focus of the news cycle for the fourth consecutive week. Apparently nothing else has been going on in/around the world of politics that is as important to the media as the ''vast Russian conspiracy narrative''.
To wit, President Elect Donald Trump's Senior Adviser and Spokesperson Kellyanne Conway enters the Sunday talk circuit today and is immediately asked about Boris and Natasha's dastardly intercepts.
First, Meet the Pus.
Next stop, Clinton News Network:
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VIDEO - Dem Intel Operative Mike Morell Claims CIA Has Sad Faces: ''they won't spy for us'''... | The Last Refuge
Over a month ago you might remember seeing various MSM outlets pushing a storyline about a former *interim* CIA Director, Mike Morell, calling Russian interference into the 2016 election: ''the political equivalent of 9-11''.
Today he claims if Trump doesn't agree with John Brennan's political construct to blame Russia for hacking the DNC, well, ''spys will no longer spy for us'''...
Former interim CIA Director Mike Morell is 100% a political operative.
The entire career of Morell has been spent as a political operative, selling various political outcomes of politically charged intelligence issues.
The most infamous political exhibition of Morell was when the Obama White House needed an interim CIA director to protect Hillary Clinton from the Panetta/Clinton Libyan covert engagement, and needed General Petraeus removed from the equation.
In October 2012, one month after the September Benghazi attack, DNI Director James Clapper told CIA Director David Petraeus about the FBI investigation into his affair with Paula Broadwell.
James Clapper recommended General Petraeus immediately resign.
The next day Petraeus resigned and v¶il', just in the nick of time, Mike Morell becomes ''Interim'' CIA Director able to testify before congress about the Benghazi attack.
It was 2012 acting Director Morell who constructed the infamous CIA You Tube Intelligence ''talking points'', which coincidentally seemed to aid Clinton, and blamed a video for the Benghazi attack. SEE: HERE '' and HERE '' and HERE
See how that works?
VIDEO - White Guilt In A Box: VICE News Tonight on HBO (Full Segment) - YouTube
