28 July 2017
by Harry Yorke
There are "reasonable grounds" (click here) to suspect that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and its Tenant Management Organisation committed corporate manslaughter, Scotland Yard announced yesterday.
In a letter circulated to survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, the Force confirmed that officers had notified the council that they may be charged for their role in the blaze which left at least 80 people dead.
As part of the investigation, which has drafted in experts from the 9/11 terror attack and more than 200 Metropolitan Police officers, senior executives from both organisations will be formally interviewed....
Thursday, July 27, 2017
This is the Las Vegas crowd. Tough guys. Just as a side note there is that section of Republican constituency that believes swearing is just talking.
July 27, 2017
By Ryan Lizza
On Wednesday night, I received a phone call from Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director. He wasn’t happy. Earlier in the night, I’d tweeted, citing a “senior White House official,” that Scaramucci was having dinner at the White House with President Trump, the First Lady, Sean Hannity, and the former Fox News executive Bill Shine. It was an interesting group, and raised some questions. Was Trump getting strategic advice from Hannity? Was he considering hiring Shine? But Scaramucci had his own question—for me....
...Scaramucci was particularly incensed (click here) by a Politico report about his financial-disclosure form, which he viewed as an illegal act of retaliation by Priebus. The reporter said Thursday morning that the document was publicly available and she had obtained it from the Export-Import Bank. Scaramucci didn’t know this at the time, and he insisted to me that Priebus had leaked the document, and that the act was “a felony.”
By Ryan Lizza
On Wednesday night, I received a phone call from Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director. He wasn’t happy. Earlier in the night, I’d tweeted, citing a “senior White House official,” that Scaramucci was having dinner at the White House with President Trump, the First Lady, Sean Hannity, and the former Fox News executive Bill Shine. It was an interesting group, and raised some questions. Was Trump getting strategic advice from Hannity? Was he considering hiring Shine? But Scaramucci had his own question—for me....
...Scaramucci was particularly incensed (click here) by a Politico report about his financial-disclosure form, which he viewed as an illegal act of retaliation by Priebus. The reporter said Thursday morning that the document was publicly available and she had obtained it from the Export-Import Bank. Scaramucci didn’t know this at the time, and he insisted to me that Priebus had leaked the document, and that the act was “a felony.”
“I’ve called the F.B.I. and the Department of Justice,” he told me.
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“The swamp will not defeat him,” he said, breaking into the third person. “They’re trying to resist me, but it’s not going to work. I’ve done nothing wrong on my financial disclosures, so they’re going to have to go fuck themselves.”
Scaramucci also told me that, unlike other senior officials, he had no interest in media attention. “I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own cock,” he said, speaking of Trump’s chief strategist. “I’m not trying to build my own brand off the fucking strength of the President. I’m here to serve the country.” (Bannon declined to comment.)
He reiterated that Priebus would resign soon, and he noted that he told Trump that he expected Priebus to launch a campaign against him. “He didn’t get the hint that I was reporting directly to the President,” he said. “And I said to the President here are the four or five things that he will do to me.” His list of allegations included leaking the Hannity dinner and the details from his financial-disclosure form....
No one will tell Donald Trump to "Shut up!"
28 July 2017
Twitter has made it clear that it won't ban Donald Trump (click here) from its service, whether the president follows its rules against harassment or not.
That's no surprise: The president's tweets draw attention to the struggling service, even if tweets mocking reporters and rivals undercut Twitter's stated commitment to make the service a welcoming place.
The company has been cracking down on accounts that violate its terms, and Trump's critics say he has broken Twitter's rules multiple times.
Calls to ban Trump from Twitter, largely by liberal activists, writers and Twitter users, sounded even before he became president. They were renewed recently when the president posted a mock video of him "body slamming" a man whose face was covered by CNN logo. Groups such as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press condemned the video as a threat against journalists (a White House aide said at the time that the tweet should not be seen as a threat)....
Twitter has made it clear that it won't ban Donald Trump (click here) from its service, whether the president follows its rules against harassment or not.
That's no surprise: The president's tweets draw attention to the struggling service, even if tweets mocking reporters and rivals undercut Twitter's stated commitment to make the service a welcoming place.
The company has been cracking down on accounts that violate its terms, and Trump's critics say he has broken Twitter's rules multiple times.
Calls to ban Trump from Twitter, largely by liberal activists, writers and Twitter users, sounded even before he became president. They were renewed recently when the president posted a mock video of him "body slamming" a man whose face was covered by CNN logo. Groups such as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press condemned the video as a threat against journalists (a White House aide said at the time that the tweet should not be seen as a threat)....
Let's get to the bottom line; why don't we know how many transgender Americans have died for their country?
June 26, 2017
By David Remnick
...Let’s begin with the retrograde cruelty. (click here) There are thousands of transgender people already serving among the 1.3 million active-duty members of the military. These are people who have volunteered their service and have potentially put their lives on the line, and yet their President, who managed to come up with a flimsy doctor’s note back in the day, denies them their dignity, their equality. He will not “accept or allow” them in the military. Imagine the scale of this insult....
We don't know because people didn't worry about it until Same Sex Marriage became a political issue. Why did it become a GOVERNMENT political issue? Because of Texas and it extremist right wing evangelicals that covet government as if the Bible gives them the authority to do so. The problem is the break down of the wall between church and state. This is a prime example of how personal choices become directives in government that started with the Hyde Amendment.
July 26, 2017
By Noga Tarnopolsky
Gay Pride Parade in Tel Aviv.
...Retired Gen Elazar Stern (click here) was stupefied when a reporter from Israel Army Radio called Wednesday to ask for his reaction to President Trump’s series of tweets about banning the service of transgender military personnel.
“What?” Stern asked. “Why?”
“It makes us strong that we don't waste time on questions like this," said Stern, the former commander of the Israel Defense Forces Manpower Command. "It’s something to be proud of."
Speaking with The Times, Stern, now a member of Israel’s parliament for the centrist Yesh Atid party, said that throughout his 34-year career in the army, “in every post, at every level, always, I knew there were homosexual individuals serving with me. No transgendered people that I knew of, but maybe. We would never ask, honestly, and we’re not supposed to know. The army’s task is to support its soldiers no matter what their needs, not meddle about in their lives.”...
Ever since the damn evangelicals have taken over Texas politics and the Hyde Amendment became law, they think they can run the country as a theocracy. "marie claire" has some numbers.
July 28, 2015
By Kenny Thapoung
...The life of a transgender person (click here) —in the U.S. and around the world—can be vastly challenging and rife with discrimination. But it can also be joyful, triumphant, and transformative—not just for the individual, but for those who love and accept them....
Basically, 15,000 transgender members in the USA military which is something like 0.1 percent. The cost $15,000 for the sex reassignment surgery. So the cost for the surgery IF EVERY TRANSGENDER MILITARY MEMBER WANTS IT is $225,000,000. You got that? Let me spell it for you; two hundred-twenty-five million dollars US. Donald Trump can pay for it himself without a pain to his pocket book.
Now if Donald Trump finds the military dysfunctional over 0.1 percent of its' members he seriously is looking for a reason to TAKE MATTERS IN HIS OWN HANDS and release a few nukes. That is the ONLY reason this is an issue!
The United States of America is behind the curve in instituting CHILD RIGHTS to a safe and sane childhood when faced with being transgender. When the USA institutes practices allowing transgender children to be a real partner in their country there WON'T BE ANY PROBLEM IN THE USA MILITARY with transgender people.
Right now 'the religious bedroom' is the focus of wackos like Trump when it comes to politics and so here we are AGAIN.
Barbara Starr has been at the epicenter of military issues for as long as I can remember and if she says the Joint Chiefs had no clue, then they had no clue.
Trump is a liar! He treats the US military as a toy in his political and personal wealth ambitions and this is a prime example of same. I am glad General Dunford is the grown up in the room.
July 27, 2017
By Barbara Starr
Washington - The Joint Chiefs of Staff, (click here) including chairman General Joseph Dunford, were not aware President Donald Trump planned to tweet a ban on transgender service members, three US defense officials told CNN -- the latest indication that top military leaders across all four service branches were blindsided by the President's announcement.
For now, Dunford has informed service members that there will be "no modifications to the current policy until the President's direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidelines."
"In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect," Dunford wrote in a memo to the military that was obtained by CNN. "As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions."
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Thursday that, to date, he has not received "directives on implementation" for a ban and learned about the President's decision through the media....
One of the measures that President Obama tried to instill in the USA's educational system was that transgender children can use the bathroom of which they identify. Sounds right to me! From a national security stand point, that is.
By David Remnick
...Let’s begin with the retrograde cruelty. (click here) There are thousands of transgender people already serving among the 1.3 million active-duty members of the military. These are people who have volunteered their service and have potentially put their lives on the line, and yet their President, who managed to come up with a flimsy doctor’s note back in the day, denies them their dignity, their equality. He will not “accept or allow” them in the military. Imagine the scale of this insult....
We don't know because people didn't worry about it until Same Sex Marriage became a political issue. Why did it become a GOVERNMENT political issue? Because of Texas and it extremist right wing evangelicals that covet government as if the Bible gives them the authority to do so. The problem is the break down of the wall between church and state. This is a prime example of how personal choices become directives in government that started with the Hyde Amendment.
By Noga Tarnopolsky
Gay Pride Parade in Tel Aviv.
...Retired Gen Elazar Stern (click here) was stupefied when a reporter from Israel Army Radio called Wednesday to ask for his reaction to President Trump’s series of tweets about banning the service of transgender military personnel.
“What?” Stern asked. “Why?”
“It makes us strong that we don't waste time on questions like this," said Stern, the former commander of the Israel Defense Forces Manpower Command. "It’s something to be proud of."
Speaking with The Times, Stern, now a member of Israel’s parliament for the centrist Yesh Atid party, said that throughout his 34-year career in the army, “in every post, at every level, always, I knew there were homosexual individuals serving with me. No transgendered people that I knew of, but maybe. We would never ask, honestly, and we’re not supposed to know. The army’s task is to support its soldiers no matter what their needs, not meddle about in their lives.”...
Ever since the damn evangelicals have taken over Texas politics and the Hyde Amendment became law, they think they can run the country as a theocracy. "marie claire" has some numbers.
July 28, 2015
By Kenny Thapoung
...The life of a transgender person (click here) —in the U.S. and around the world—can be vastly challenging and rife with discrimination. But it can also be joyful, triumphant, and transformative—not just for the individual, but for those who love and accept them....
Basically, 15,000 transgender members in the USA military which is something like 0.1 percent. The cost $15,000 for the sex reassignment surgery. So the cost for the surgery IF EVERY TRANSGENDER MILITARY MEMBER WANTS IT is $225,000,000. You got that? Let me spell it for you; two hundred-twenty-five million dollars US. Donald Trump can pay for it himself without a pain to his pocket book.
Now if Donald Trump finds the military dysfunctional over 0.1 percent of its' members he seriously is looking for a reason to TAKE MATTERS IN HIS OWN HANDS and release a few nukes. That is the ONLY reason this is an issue!
The United States of America is behind the curve in instituting CHILD RIGHTS to a safe and sane childhood when faced with being transgender. When the USA institutes practices allowing transgender children to be a real partner in their country there WON'T BE ANY PROBLEM IN THE USA MILITARY with transgender people.
Right now 'the religious bedroom' is the focus of wackos like Trump when it comes to politics and so here we are AGAIN.
Barbara Starr has been at the epicenter of military issues for as long as I can remember and if she says the Joint Chiefs had no clue, then they had no clue.
Trump is a liar! He treats the US military as a toy in his political and personal wealth ambitions and this is a prime example of same. I am glad General Dunford is the grown up in the room.
July 27, 2017
By Barbara Starr
Washington - The Joint Chiefs of Staff, (click here) including chairman General Joseph Dunford, were not aware President Donald Trump planned to tweet a ban on transgender service members, three US defense officials told CNN -- the latest indication that top military leaders across all four service branches were blindsided by the President's announcement.
For now, Dunford has informed service members that there will be "no modifications to the current policy until the President's direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidelines."
"In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect," Dunford wrote in a memo to the military that was obtained by CNN. "As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions."
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Thursday that, to date, he has not received "directives on implementation" for a ban and learned about the President's decision through the media....
One of the measures that President Obama tried to instill in the USA's educational system was that transgender children can use the bathroom of which they identify. Sounds right to me! From a national security stand point, that is.
I think Senator McCain has it right. The cost needs to be understood.
Banning Transgender Americans from serving in the military is out of the question. They are valuable people that are well trained and have dedicated themselves to service of our country. They should be honored no differently than any other solider at all times during and after their service.
Trump made promises he will never keep. It was impossible to know who an American was voting for when they pulled the lever for Trump.
26 July 2017
Trump made promises he will never keep. It was impossible to know who an American was voting for when they pulled the lever for Trump.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) (click here), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on President Trump’s tweet regarding transgender Americans in the military:
“The President’s tweet this morning regarding transgender Americans in the military is yet another example of why major policy announcements should not be made via Twitter.
“The statement was unclear. The Department of Defense has already decided to allow currently-serving transgender individuals to stay in the military, and many are serving honorably today. Any American who meets current medical and readiness standards should be allowed to continue serving. There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train, and deploy to leave the military—regardless of their gender identity. We should all be guided by the principle that any American who wants to serve our country and is able to meet the standards should have the opportunity to do so—and should be treated as the patriots they are.
“The Department of Defense is currently conducting a study on the medical obligations it would incur, the impact on military readiness, and related questions associated with the accession of transgender individuals who are not currently serving in uniform and wish to join the military. I do not believe that any new policy decision is appropriate until that study is complete and thoroughly reviewed by the Secretary of Defense, our military leadership, and the Congress.
“The Senate Armed Services Committee will continue to follow closely and conduct oversight on the issue of transgender individuals serving in the military.”
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