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Posts Tagged 'JAMES B. COMEY'
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OBAMA AND THE FBI: CREATING PRESIDENT TRUMP–PART THREE (END)
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on July 10, 2019 at 12:08 am
There were solid grounds for the Obama Justice Department to indict Donald Trump or invalidate the results of the 2016 election. Yet no action was taken.
Case #4: The Justice Department did not invalidate the results of the 2016 election, despite overwhelming evidence that Russia intervened to elect Trump as Vladimir Putin's chosen candidate.
In July, 2016, the Russians hacked the Democratic committee's servers—but not those of the Republican National Committee.
Admiral Michael Rogers, director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and US Cyber Command, said in mid-November, 2016, that Russia made "a conscious effort" to sway the results of the Presidential election by the hacking of 20,000 emails from the Democratic National Committee.
"There shouldn't be any doubt in anybody's mind," said Rogers. "This was not something that was done casually. This was not something that was done by chance. This was not a target that was selected purely arbitrarily. This was a conscious effort by a nation-state to attempt to achieve a specific effect."
On December 16, 2016, FBI Director James B. Comey and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. agreed with a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election in part to help Donald Trump win the White House.
Case #5: The Justice Department did not prosecute Trump for treason, even though he solicited aid from Russia, a nation hostile to the United States. And no major official of the government—including President Obama—publicly condemned him as a traitor.
On July 9, 2016, high-ranking members of his Presidential campaign met at Trump Tower with at least two lobbyists with ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The participants included:
Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr.;
His son-in-law, Jared Kushner;
His then-campaign manager, Paul Manafort;
Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer with ties to Putin; and
Rinat Akhmetshin, a former Soviet counterintelligence officer suspected of "having ongoing ties to Russian Intelligence."
The purpose of that meeting: To gain access to any "dirt" Russian Intelligence could supply on Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton.
On July 22, 2016, Wikileaks released 19,252 emails and 8,034 attachments hacked from computers of the highest-ranking officials of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Early reports traced the leak to Russian hackers.
At a news conference in Doral, Florida on July 27, 2016, Trump publicly invited "Russia"—i.e., Vladimir Putin—to hack Hillary Clinton's emails: "I will tell you this, Russia: If you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."
Hours later, the Main Intelligence Directorate in Moscow targeted Clinton's personal office and hit more than 70 other Clinton campaign accounts.
This was essentially treason—calling on a hostile foreign power to interfere directly in an American Presidential election. And it was seen as such by both Democrats and even Republicans:
"This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent," Hillary for America policy adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. "That's not hyperbole, those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue."
"I find those kinds of statements to be totally outrageous because you've got now a presidential candidate who is, in fact, asking the Russians to engage in American politics," said former CIA Director Leon Panetta, a Clinton surrogate. "I just think that's beyond the pale."
Brendon Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan, said: "Russia is a global menace led by a devious thug. Putin should stay out of this election."
Throughout 2016, the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency (NSA) found numerous ties between officials of the Trump Presidential campaign and Russian Intelligence agents. Among these were future Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, future National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and future Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The discovery of such contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russian Intelligence agents led the FBI to launch an investigation into Russia's efforts to influence the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election.
On October 7, 2016, The Washington Post leaked a video of Donald Trump making sexually predatory comments about women. Among his admissions: That he had aggressively tried to bed a married woman, and "when you're a star….you can do anything. Grab them by the pussy."
The story rocked the Trump campaign—and threatened to upend it. Then it was eclipsed by an even bigger story.
Eleven days before the November 8 election, FBI Director James Comey announced that he was re-opening an investigation he had closed on Hillary Clinton's emails on a private server while she was Secretary of State.
That announcement erased widespread outrage over Trump's unintended admissions of predatory behavior toward women and reversed Clinton's growing lead in the polls.
Yet the Bureau has never issued similar statements about the continuing reports of close ties between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and Trump's history of investments in Russia.
To their shame, no one from the Obama administration—including the President himself—has apologized for failing to take action against these abuses.
And, to their shame, the news media has failed to indict them for their criminal negligence.
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OBAMA AND THE FBI: CREATING PRESIDENT TRUMP–PART TWO (OF THREE)
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on July 9, 2019 at 12:06 am
There were at least five instances when the Obama administration could have disqualified Donald Trump as a Presidential candidate—or secured his indictment. Yet it did neither.
Case #2: The Justice Department did not indict Trump for threats that he made—or inspired—against Republicans and Democrats throughout the 2016 campaign.
On July 29, 2016, Roger Stone, a notorious Right-wing political consultant acting as a Trump strategist, told Breitbart News: "The first thing Trump needs to do is begin talking about [voter fraud] constantly. If there's voter fraud, this election will be illegitimate, the election of the winner will be illegitimate, we will have a constitutional crisis, widespread civil disobedience, and the government will no longer be the government."
At a town hall meeting where Trump's Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence appeared, a woman named Rhonda said: "For me personally, if Hillary Clinton gets in, I myself am ready for a revolution."
In Cincinnati, a Trump supporter threatened to forcibly remove Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, from the White House if she won the race: "If she's in office, I hope we can start a coup. She should be in prison or shot. That's how I feel about it," said Dan Bowman, a 50-year-old contractor. "We're going to have a revolution and take them out of office if that's what it takes. There's going to be a lot of bloodshed. But that's what it's going to take…."
Even Fergus Cullen, former chairman of the New Hampshire GOP, expressed fear of what might happen if Trump lost the election:
Fergus Cullen
"That's really scary," Cullen said, recounting the violence at Trump rallies around the country leading up to the Republican National Convention. "In this country, we've always had recriminations after one side loses. But we haven't had riots. We haven't had mobs that act out with violence against supporters of the other side.
"There's no telling what his supporters would be willing to do at the slightest encouragement from their candidate," he said.
Trump even began encouraging his mostly white supporters to sign up online to be "election observers" to stop "Crooked Hillary from rigging this election." He urged them to act as poll watchers in "other" [non-white] communities to ensure that things are "on the up and up."
Many of his supporters promised to do so.
"Trump said to watch your precincts. I'm going to go, for sure," said Steve Webb, a 61-year-old carpenter from Fairfield, Ohio.
"I'll look for…well, it's called racial profiling. Mexicans. Syrians. People who can't speak American," he said. "I'm going to go right up behind them. I'll do everything legally. I want to see if they are accountable. I'm not going to do anything illegal. I'm going to make them a little bit nervous."
Knowing that large numbers of angry—and possibly armed—Right-wingers planned to descend on polling places could only have had a chilling effect on untold numbers of Democratic voters. And this would have been especially true in heavily conservative states.
Both the USA Patriot Act and the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act have statutes dealing with making terrorist threats against government institutions to influence their members.
President George W. Bush signing the USA Patriot Reauthorization Act of 2005
If Trump's remarks did not violate one or both of those laws, certainly remarks made by his surrogates did.
Thus, the Justice Department could have cited the Patriot Act in indicting Trump and/or any number of his followers for "activities that…appear to be intended…to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion [and]…occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States."
The Justice Department could have also demanded that the results of the election be invalidated on the basis that widespread voter and candidate intimidation played a massive role in it.
But of course this did not happen.
Case #3 Making threats against anyone under protection by the U.S. Secret Service is a felony. Yet Donald Trump was never held legally accountable by the Justice Department.
On August 9, 2016, Trump told a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina: "Hillary [Clinton] wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment. If she gets to pick her [Supreme Court] judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know."
Reacting to Trump's "dog-whistle" threat against Clinton, Michael Hayden, former head of the CIA and National Security Agency (NSA) said: "Well, let me say if someone else said that outside of the hall, he'd be in the back of a police wagon now, with the Secret Service questioning him."
In October, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) issued a joint statement: The Russian government had directed the effort to subvert the 2016 Presidential election.
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OBMAMA AND THE FBI: CREATING PRESIDENT TRUMP–PART ONE (OF THREE)
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
So wrote Edmund Burke (1729-1797) the Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher. And history has repeatedly proved him right.
One such example was the rise of Adolf Hitler as Germany's Fuhrer.
Writes historian Volker Ullrich, in his monumental new biography, Hitler: Ascent 1889–1939: "Historians have perennially tried to answer the question of whether Hitler's rise to power could have been halted….
"There were repeated opportunities to end Hitler's run of triumphs. The most obvious one was after the failed Putsch of November, 1923. Had the Munich rabble-rouser been forced to serve his full five-year term of imprisonment in Landsberg, it is extremely unlikely that he would have been able to restart his political career."
But that didn't happen.
Tried for and convicted of treason, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
At Landsberg Prison, in Bavaria. he was given a huge cell, allowed to receive unlimited visitors and gifts, and treated with deference by guards and inmates.
Nine months later, he was released on parole—by authorities loyal to the authoritarian Right instead of the newly-created Weimar Republic.
Hitler immediately began rebuilding the shattered Nazi party—and deciding on a new strategy to gain power. Disdaining armed force, he would win office by election—or intrigue.
On January 30, 1933, those intrigues bore fruit: Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany.
Future historians may one day write that what didn't happen played at least as great a role in electing Donald Trump President as what actually did.
There were at least five instances where the Justice Department of President Barack Obama could have utterly changed the outcome of the 2016 election. Yet, for reasons still unknown, it chose to do nothing.
Case #1: The Obama Justice Department did not indict Trump and/or the Attorney Generals of Texas and/or Florida for their roles in the Trump University scandal.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi personally solicited a political contribution from Donald Trump around the same time her office deliberated joining an investigation of alleged fraud at Trump University and its affiliates.
After Bondi dropped the Trump University case against Trump, he wrote her a $25,000 check for her re-election campaign. The money came from the Donald J. Trump Foundation.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton moved to muzzle a former state regulator who says he was ordered in 2010 to drop a fraud investigation into Trump University for political reasons.
Paxton's office issued a cease and desist letter to former Deputy Chief of Consumer Protection John Owens after he made public copies of a 14-page internal summary of the state's case against Donald Trump for scamming millions from students of his now-defunct real estate seminar.
After the Texas case was dropped, Trump cut a $35,000 check to the gubernatorial campaign of then-attorney general and now Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
But New York's Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, pressed fraud claims against Trump—and forced the real estate mogul to settle the case out of court for $25 million on November 18, 2016.
There have been no press reports that the Justice Department investigated these cases to determine if Trump violated the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act statutes.
If the Justice Department did not investigate these cases, it should have. And if he did violate the RICO statutes, he should have been indicted, even as a Presidential candidate or President-elect.
Even if an indictment had not produced a conviction, the mere bringing of one would have cast an unprecedented cloud over his candidacy—let alone his being sworn in as President.
Case #2: The Justice Department did not indict Trump for the series of threats that he made—directly and indirectly—against Republicans and Democrats throughout the 2016 campaign.
Threatening political opponents with violence is a crime under Federal law. Yet making threats against his Republican and Democratic opponents played a major role in Trump's Presidential campaign.
On March 16, he warned Republicans that if he didn't win the GOP nomination in July, his supporters would literally riot: "I think you'd have riots. I think you would see problems like you've never seen before. I think bad things would happen. I really do. I wouldn't lead it, but I think bad things would happen."
An NBC reporter summed it up as: "The message to Republicans was clear on [March 16]: 'Nice convention you got there, shame if something happened to it.'"
That Republicans clearly saw this as a threat is undeniable. Paul Ryan, their Speaker of the House, said on March 17: "Nobody should say such things in my opinion because to even address or hint to violence is unacceptable."
Philip Klein, the managing editor of the Washington Examiner, wrote on the eve of the Republican National Convention in July: "Political commentators now routinely talk about the riots that would break out in Cleveland if Trump were denied the nomination, about how his supporters have guns and all hell could break loose, that they would burn everything to the ground. It works to Trump's advantage to not try too hard to dispel these notions."
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BUSH WAS NAIVE; TRUMP IS A TRAITOR
In Bureaucracy, History, Military, Politics, Social commentary on April 17, 2019 at 12:29 am
In June, 2001, President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Slovenia. During the meeting a truly startling exchange occurred.
Putin, a former KGB Intelligence officer, had clearly done his homework on Bush. When he mentioned that one of the sports Bush had played was rugby, Bush was highly impressed.
"I did play rugby," gushed Bush. "Very good briefing."
President George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin
But more was to come.
BUSH: Let me say something about what caught my attention, Mr. President, was that your mother gave you a cross which you had blessed in Israel, the Holy Land.
PUTIN: It's true.
BUSH: That amazes me, that here you were a Communist, KGB operative, and yet you were willing to wear a cross. That speaks volumes to me, Mr. President. May I call you Vladimir?
Putin instantly sensed that Bush judged others—even world leaders—through the lens of his own fundamentalist Christian theology.
Falling back on his KGB training, Putin seized on this apparent point of commonality to build a bond. He told Bush that his dacha had once burned to the ground, and the only item that had been saved was that cross.
"Well, that's the story of the cross as far as I'm concerned," said Bush, clearly impressed. "Things are meant to be."
Afterward, Bush and Putin gave an outdoor news conference.
"Is this a man that America can trust?" Associated Press correspondent Ron Foumier asked Bush.
"Yes," said Bush. "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue.
"I was able to get a sense of his soul, a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country. I wouldn't have invited him to my ranch if I didn't trust him."
In short: Bush got played.
He believed that Putin was trying to lead Russia into a democratic future. He did not admire Putin as a dictator—nor want to be a similarly autocratic "President-for-Life."
He didn't constantly praise Putin, nor demonize American Intelligence agencies—such as the FBI, CIA, National Security Agency—when they contradicted what Putin told him.
Nor did he coerce or encourage House and Senate Republicans to defame the integrity of those Intelligence agencies.
From the end of World War II to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it was unthinkable for a Republican Presidential candidate to find common cause with a Soviet dictator.
But that utterly changed when Donald Trump won, first, the Republican Presidential nomination and, then, the White House.
Trump has:
Repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, both during his Presidential candidacy and since taking office. In fact, Putin remains the only major public figure that Trump has never criticized.
Repeatedly attacked United States' membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Claimed the United States is paying an unfairly large portion of the monies needed to maintain this alliance—and he wants other members to contribute far more.
Threatened that, if Russia attacked NATO members, he would decide whether to come to their aid—only after determining whether those nations have "fulfilled their obligations to us." If he believed that they had not done so, he would tell them: "Congratulations, you will be defending yourself."
"Russia, if you are listening," Trump said at a press conference in Doral, Florida, "I hope you are able to find the 33,000 emails that are missing—I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."
This was nothing less than treason—calling upon a foreign power, hostile to the United States, to interfere in its Presidential election.
On December 16, 2016, then-FBI Director James B. Comey and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. agreed with a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election in part to help Donald Trump win the White House.
Trump, however, has steadfastly denied any such role by Russia: "I think it's ridiculous," he told "Fox News Sunday." "I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it….No, I don't believe it at all."
Since becoming President, Trump has:
Fired FBI Director James Comey for pursuing an investigation of "the Russia thing,"
Told visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, the day after firing Comey: "I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job. I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off."
Repeatedly attacked his own Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, for not "protecting" him from agents pursuing the Russia investigation.
Demanded that when he met Putin in Helsinki, Finland, no Americans be in the room with the two of them.
Bush was simply naive. Trump displays the classic hallmarks of an autocratic traitor.
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TRUMP AND TREASON
In Bureaucracy, History, Military, Politics, Social commentary on December 21, 2018 at 12:08 am
According to President Donald Trump, Democrats are guilty of treason.
Their crime? Refusing to stand and applaud him during his State of the Union message in January, 2018.
On February 5, he told a crowd in Cincinnati: "They were like death and un-American. Un-American. Somebody said, 'treasonous.' I mean, Yeah, I guess why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean they certainly didn't seem to love our country that much."
For Trump, to love the United States, you must first prove that you love him.
But Article Three of the United States Constitution defines treason as:
"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court."
In short: Actions such as colluding with a foreign power hostile to the United States (such as Russia) to subvert America's democratic election process.
By that standard, Donald Trump stands rightly accused of a crime that traditionally carries the penalty of death.
Example #1: The infamous June, 2016 meeting at Trump Tower starring Donald Trump's son, Donald, Jr.; Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner; and Trump's then-campaign manager, Paul Manafort—and two Russian lobbyists who wanted the United States to end its sanctions against Russia for human rights abuses.
The meeting's purpose: To obtain from Russian Intelligence agents "dirt" on Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Example #2: On July 27, 2016, Trump said at a press conference in Doral, Florida: "Russia, if you are listening, I hope you are able to find [Hillary Clinton's] 33,000 emails that are missing—I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."
Hours later, the Main Intelligence Directorate in Moscow targeted Hillary Clinton's personal office and hit more than 70 other Clinton campaign accounts,
Example #3: On December 16, 2016, then-FBI Director James B. Comey and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. agreed with a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election in part to help Donald Trump win the White House.
Trump, however has steadfastly denied any such role by Russia.
On July 16, 2018, he attended a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, with Russian President Vladimir Putin. There he blamed American Intelligence agencies—such as the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency—instead of Putin for Russia's subversion of the 2016 Presidential election: "I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be."
Example #4: On May 9, 2017, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey for investigating Russia's subversion of the 2016 Presidential race. His motive: To end that investigation before it reached him.
The next day, meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office, Trump said: "I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job. I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off."
On May 11, during an interview with NBC's Lester Holt, Trump admitted: "And, in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said: 'You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won.'"
Example #5: During that same meeting, Trump gave the Russian officials highly classified Israeli Intelligence about an Islamic State plot to turn laptops into concealable bombs.
At first, the White House denied Trump had done so. Then Trump admitted in a tweet: "As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining … to terrorism and airline flight safety.
Example #6: Trump has surrounded himself with men who had close ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Among these:
Paul Manafort – His former campaign manager. His longstanding ties to pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine lead directly to Putin.
Roger Stone – Self-confessed dirty trickster and former business partner of Manafort. Stone had extensive contacts with hacker Guccifer 2.0, whom the CIA, NSA and FBI believe was actually a front for GRU, Russian military intelligence.
Michael T. Flynn – Former United States Army lieutenant general and director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. A leading Trump supporter during the 2016 Presidential campaign, he was rewarded with the post of National Security Adviser when Trump took office.
Michael T. Flynn
On February 13, 2017, The Washington Post reported that Acting Attorney General Sally Yates had warned Trump in late January that Flynn had lied about his contacts with Kislyak–and that he could be blackmailed by Russian Intelligence. Flynn was forced to resign that same day.
In December, 2015, he had appeared on Russia Today, the news network that serves as "the Kremlin's principal international propaganda outlet." For this he received more than $45,000 as a "speaking fee."
At the gala where Flynn received the fee, he sat next to Putin for dinner.
The Republican party—which for 50 years claimed to be America's defender against Communism—has now fervently embraced a man with demonstrated ties to a Communist dictator.
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WHY OMAROSA WINS AND LIBERALS LOSE: PART FIVE (END)
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on August 24, 2018 at 12:48 am
Omarosa Manigault-Newman has struck a chord of fear in President Donald Trump that rivals the fear he has struck in others.
She has done so by using many of his own tactics against him: Deceit, intimidation, media manipulation.
Syndicated Columnist Mark Shields noted on the August 17 edition of The PBS Newshour: "In a White House where most of the people are recent acquaintances of the president, she goes back longer than anybody, except the president's daughter. She goes back 15 years. She is a Donald Trump protege and product….
"But what she does, obviously, like Elizabeth Warren, she gets under Donald Trump's skin. And she has said things that, you know, may be subject to fact-check, but the reality is, she has tape.
"She has tape of Donald Trump groveling before her, pretending that he didn't know that John Kelly had the day before brought her to the Situation Room…which therefore confirms the suspicion widely held that Donald Trump doesn't have the stomach for confronting people who work for him, that he lies.
"And you can see that he obviously is absolutely upset by her, and she's got everybody in the White House, every male, quaking in his Guccis about those tapes. I can tell you that."
David Brooks and Mark Shields
New York Times Columnist David Brooks, speaking on the same episode of The Newshour, outlined why her attacks on Trump have been so effective.
"Well, what's interesting about her is, she plays by reality show rules. She plays by Trump rules. And most people who go against Trump don't quite play by his rules. And she plays by his rules, which is no rules, that do whatever you can, it doesn't matter what the norms and standards are.
"And taping somebody in the Situation Room is a rather serious offense and, to me, a pretty great betrayal of any—how any White House should work. I mean, if we're walking around each other in the hallway taping each other, just think about doing that.
"That's just a betrayal of how normal life should happen….And so she said, they're going to lie about me, they're going to screw me, so I'm ready."
In perhaps the most-quoted passage of The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote:
Donald Trump has always used fear to instill and maintain loyalty among his closest associates—and to intimidate his many enemies.
But Machiavelli offers a warning on the uses of fear:
"Still, a prince should make himself feared in such a way that if he does not gain love, he at any rate avoids hatred, for fear and the absence of hatred may well go together.
"Cruelties ill committed are those which, although at first few, increase rather than diminish with time….In taking a state, the conqueror must arrange to commit all his cruelties at once, so as not to have to recur to them very day, and so as to be able, by not making fresh changes, to reassure people and win them over by benefiting them.
"Whoever acts otherwise, either through timidity or bad counsels," warns Machiavelli, "is always obliged to stand with knife in hand, and can never depend on his subjects, because they, owing to continually fresh injuries, are unable to depend upon him."
From the onset of his Presidency, Trump has violated this warning with a vengeance. And now he is "obliged to stand with knife in hand."
Omarosa is the first former Trump loyalist to emerge as a fervent Trump critic. And she may have even worse in store for him.
Warns David Brooks:
"All sorts of signs are pointing in this direction, that we're going to wind up with an election where….people are basically going to be voting, when race is a hot button issue, with a man who has a history of bigoted comments, and then voting along those lines."
With Democratic voters—many of them blacks and Hispanics—energized, Trump's obvious racism could sweep Republicans from the House of Representatives.
Omarosa seems determined to make that happen.
WHY OMAROSA WINS AND LIBERALS LOSE: PART FOUR (OF FIVE)
On the August 12, 2018 edition of NBC's "Meet the Press," Omarosa Manigault-Newman revealed that she had recorded a conversation with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
This had occurred on December 13, 2017, in the White House Situation Room. This is the part of the White House where the most sensitive conversations occur.
She justified her unprecedented violation of the Situation Room thus: "They take me into the Situation Room, the doors are locked, they tell me I can't leave and they start to threaten me, put fear in me, to put me under duress.
"I protected myself because this is a White House where everybody lies; the President lies to the American people, [press secretary] Sarah Huckabee [Sanders] stands in front of the country and lies every single day.
"You have to have your own back or else you'll look back and you'll have 17 knives in your back. I protected myself because this is a White House where everybody lies."
The next day, August 13, 2018, Omarosa threw an even more embarrassing bombshell at the man who had once been her mentor and promoter.
She revealed the conversation—also taped—she had had with President Donald Trump on the day of her firing.
TRUMP: "Omarosa? Omarosa what's going on? I just saw on the news that you're thinking about leaving? What happened?"
OMAROSA: "General Kelly came to me and said that you guys wanted me to leave."
TRUMP: "Nobody even told me about it,"
OMAROSA: "Wow."
TRUMP: "You know they run a big operation, but I didn't know it, I didn't know that. Goddamn it. I don't love you leaving at all."
The tape reveals a duel between practiced deceivers: Trump is trying to convince Omarosa that he knew nothing about her firing—and that he can do nothing to prevent it.
She, on the other hand, never tips her hand that she doesn't believe him—and that she's recording their conversation.
At least for the moment, Trump was the more deceived, tweeting that same day: "Thank you Omarosa for your service! I wish you continued success."
Apparently he didn't expect her to attain that success at his expense.
And on August 16, 2018, Omarosa embarrassed another member of the Trump family—Lara Trump, the wife of Donald Trump's son, Eric.
She did so by revealing yet another tape—of a conversation between the two—during her appearance on MSNBC.
This had occurred on December 16—three days after Omarosa's firing by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Lara Trump referred to a December 15 New York Times article where Omarosa had said: "I have seen things that made me uncomfortable, that have upset me, that have affected me deeply and emotionally, that has affected my community and my people. And when I can tell my story, it is a profound story that I know the world will want to hear."
LARA TRUMP: "It sounds a little like, obviously, that there are some things you've got in the back pocket to pull out. Clearly, if you come on board, like, we can't have . . ."
OMAROSA: "Oh God, no."
LAURA TRUMP: "Everything, everybody positive, right?"
Lara Trump then offered Omarosa a speaker's position with the 2020 Trump re-election campaign. It would pay her about $15,000 a month.
LARA TRUMP: "All the money that we raise and that pays salaries is directly from donors, small-dollar donors for the most part. So I know you, you were making 179 [$179,000 a year] at the White House, and I think we can work something out where we keep you right along those lines."
After Omarosa played her tape of the conversation, Lara Trump released a statement. She and her "entire family was concerned" about Omarosa after her firing.
"We still wanted her on our team because we cared so much about her personally. That's why I reached out to offer her a position with the 2020 Trump Campaign before we knew anything about the gross violations of ethics and integrity during her White House tenure."
Omarosa viewed the offer differently: "I saw this as an attempt to buy my silence," she said on MSNBC.
And she issued her own statement: "I am not going anywhere. I'm not going to be bullied. I'm not intimidated. And I'm going to go toe-to-toe with him [President Trump]. Everything he throws at me—believe me, my tapes are much better than theirs."
She threatened to release more tapes "if I need to. I'll do what I have to do to protect myself."
Meanwhile, President Trump has not remained silent—although he has reportedly been urged to do so by his closest aides and attorneys.
On August 13, he attacked Omarosa on Twitter: "When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn't work out. Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog!"
Arizona United States Senator Jeff Flake objected to this use of language: "This kind of language is unbecoming of a President of the United States. There is no excuse for it, and Republicans should not be okay with it."
WHY OMAROSA WINS AND LIBERALS LOSE: PART THREE (OF FIVE)
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary, Uncategorized on August 22, 2018 at 12:37 am
On December 13, 2017, Omarosa Manigault-Newman was told that she would be leaving the White House on January 20, 2018—one year from the day she had arrived there.
But Omarosa didn't want to part with her $180,000 position as director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison.
She reportedly asked Ivanka Trump to intervene on her behalf, but the request was denied.
Deciding to go right to the top, she headed for the Trump's private quarters. There she tripped an alarm—which brought guards and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to the scene.
An enraged Kelly ordered her ejected from the White House. Multiple sources report that she was physically restrained and escorted—cursing and screaming—from the Executive Mansion.
Next day—December 14—Manigault-Newman appeared on "Good Morning America."
The woman who had been Donald Trump's ambassador to blacks now sang a different tune: "I have seen things that made me uncomfortable, that have upset me, that have affected me deeply and emotionally, that has affected my community and my people. And when I can tell my story, it is a profound story that I know the world will want to hear."
On August 8, 2018, news broke that Omarosa Manigault-Newman had secretly taped Trump during several phone conversations in the White House. And that she planned to use these to promote an upcoming—and highly critical—book on the President.
The book—Unhinged-–was released on August 14. Omarosa has since launched her book tour blasting Trump as a racist, a misogynist and in mental decline.
On Trump as a racist: Interviewed on The PBS Newshour, she said: "One of the most dramatic scenes in Unhinged where I talk about taking him to task for the birther movement."
On Trump as a misogynist: In an Associated Press interview, she claims she saw Trump behaving "like a dog off the leash" at numerous events he attended without his wife, Melania Trump.
On Trump's mental decline: On the PBS Newshour: "We're in the White House and Donald Trump couldn't remember basic words or phrases. He couldn't read the legislation that was put in front of him."
On August 12, Manigault-Newman appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press"—with an audio of the exchange that had occurred between her and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on the day of her firing.
Kelly had directed her to meet with him in the Situation Room.
In the Executive Mansion, this is the "holy of holies"—the inner sanctum where the most secret exchanges of information occur.
It was from this room that President Barack Obama and his topmost officials tensely listened as U.S. Navy SEALS assaulted Osama bin Laden's fortified compound in Pakistan—and killed him.
It is, in short, the room where recording devices of any type are strictly forbidden.
So Kelly naturally assumed that the exchange he was about to have with Omarosa—the director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison—would be totally private.
He didn't know that Omarosa had smuggled in a recording device—which picked up the following:
JOHN KELLY: "It's come to my attention, over the last few months, that there's been some pretty, in my opinion, significant integrity issues related to you and use of government vehicles and some other issues."
OMAROSA: "That I—that I did?"
KELLY: "Just stay with me, just stay with me. Yep. That it would be a a pretty serious offense. So with that I'm just going to ask you—these gentlemen will explain it. We'll bring a personnel person in after after they talk to you. But just to understand that I'd like to see this be a a friendly departure.
"There are pretty significant legal issues that we hope don't develop into something that, that'll make it ugly for you. But I think it's important to understand that if we make this a friendly departure we can all be, you know, you can look at, look at your time here in, in the White House as a year of service to the nation.
"And then you can go on without any type of difficulty in the future relative to your reputation. But it's very, very important I think that you understand that there are some serious legal issues that have been violated. And you're, you're open to some legal action that we hope, I think, we can control, right?
"So with that, if you would stay here with these gentlemen they'll lay this thing out—"
OMAROSA: "Can I ask you a couple questions? Does the President—is the President aware of what's going on?"
KELLY: "Don't do—let's not go down the road. This is a non-negotiable discussion."
OMAROSA: "I don't want to negotiate. I just, I've never talked—had a chance to talk to you General Kelly so if this is my departure I'd like to have at least an opportunity—"
KELLY: "No."
OMAROSA: "––to understand."
Omarosa revealed this tape to the public on the August 12, 2018 edition of NBC's "Meet the Press."
WHY OMAROSA WINS AND LIBERALS LOSE: PART TWO (OF FIVE)
"When they go low, we go high!" was an inspiring line from then-First Lady Michelle Obama during the 2016 Presidential election.
Unfortunately, it proved only that good guys finish last.
During the campaign, supporters of Republican candidate Donald J. Trump repeatedly threatened violence against his opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Among those threats:
In Cincinnati, a Trump supporter threatened to forcibly remove Clinton from the White House if she won the race: "If she's in office, I hope we can start a coup. She should be in prison or shot. That's how I feel about it,"
Dan Bowman, a 50-year-old contractor, said of Clinton: "We're going to have a revolution and take them out of office if that's what it takes. There's going to be a lot of bloodshed. But that's what it's going to take….I would do whatever I can for my country."
Even Fergus Cullen, former chairman of the New Hampshire GOP, expressed fear of what might happen if Trump lost the election.
And many of his supporters promised to do so.
But that, of course, did not happen.
So far, only one person has proven Trump's equal—if not superior—in fighting fire with fire: Omarosa Manigauot-Newman, his onetime "Apprentice" protégé.
The relationship between Donald Trump and Omarosa dates to 2004, when she became a participant in the first season of "The Apprentice," NBC's "reality" TV series.
Her rudeness and ruthlessness toward other contestants quickly made her "the woman America loved to hate," according to Jet magazine.
TV Guide included her in its 2013 list of "The 60 Nastiest TV Villains of All Time."
In 2008, she appeared on "Celebrity Apprentice"—where she was again fired after failing to sell more artwork than a rival team.
During the 2016 Presidential race, she served as Trump's Director of African-American Outreach, although she had absolutely no credible ties to the black community.
Omarosa Manigault-Newman
(By Photography by Glenn Francis of PacificProDigital.com)
And, in September, 2016, she famously predicted: "Every critic, every detractor will have to bow down to President Trump. It's everyone who's ever doubted Donald, who ever disagreed, who ever challenged him. It is the ultimate revenge to become the most powerful man in the universe."
When Trump moved into the White House on January 20, 2017, Manigault moved in with him as his director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison.
Her arrogance and rudeness quickly won her as many enemies among White House staffers as among her former "Apprentice" rivals.
A typical example: On April 8, 2017, she married John Allen Newman, the senior pastor at The Sanctuary at Mt. Calvary, a church in Jacksonville, Florida. Afterwards, in full bridal attire, Omarosa took her 39-member bridal party to the White House for an extended photo shoot.
According to Politico, White House senior aides and security officials were caught by surprise. Omarosa hadn't alerted them in advance. Her visitors—lacking security clearances—"loudly wandered around" the Rose Garden and West Wing.
WHY OMAROSA WINS AND LIBERALS LOSE: PART ONE (OF FIVE)
Throughout the 2016 Presidential election, then-First Lady Michelle Obama famously exhorted: "When they go low, we go high!"
Inspiring, yes. But it didn't prevent Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump from employing Russian Intelligence officers and computer-hackers to win the election.
On June 9, 2016, high-ranking members of his campaign met with Russian Intelligence agents at Trump Tower.
The purpose: To obtain derogatory information about Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Among those attending:
Trump's son, Donald Trump, Jr.;
At least two lobbyists with ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, including Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya; and
(By Jorge Láscar from Australia)
This was nothing less than treason—meeting with officials of a hostile foreign power to manipulate an American Presidential election.
After The New York Times broke the story, Trump "helped" his son draft a false statement to explain the purpose of the meeting.
On July 8, 2017, Donald Trump, Jr., issued the following statement: "It was a short introductory meeting. I asked Jared and Paul to stop by. We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government."
Confronted with overwhelming evidence, President Trump tweeted on August 5, 2018:
"Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics – and it went nowhere. I did not know about it!"
On July 22, 2016, Trump said at a press conference in Doral, Florida: "Russia, if you are listening, I hope you are able to find the 33,000 emails that are missing [from Hillary Clinton's personal email server]. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."
Thus, Trump called upon a foreign power, hostile to the United States, to interfere in its Presidential election.
"When they go low, we go high" did not deter Trump from threatening his Republican and Democratic opponents with violence.
No other candidate—Republican or Democrat—had ever made such repeated and brutal use of threats of physical assault in pursuing the Presidency.
On March 16, 2016, he warned Republicans that if he didn't win the GOP nomination in July, his supporters would literally riot: "I think you'd have riots. I think you would see problems like you've never seen before. I think bad things would happen. I really do. I wouldn't lead it, but I think bad things would happen."
An ABC reporter summed this up as: "The message to Republicans was clear on [March 16[: 'Nice convention you got there, shame if something happened to it.'"
Republicans clearly saw this as a threat: Paul Ryan, their Speaker of the House, said on March 17: "Nobody should say such things in my opinion because to even address or hint to violence is unacceptable."
On August 9, Trump told a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina: "Hillary [Clinton] wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment. If she gets to pick her [Supreme Court] judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know."
"Well, let me say if someone else said that outside of the hall, he'd be in the back of a police wagon now, with the Secret Service questioning him," said Michael Hayden, former head of the CIA and National Security Agency (NSA).
Making threats against anyone under protection by the U.S. Secret Service is a felony. Yet Donald Trump was never held legally accountable by the Justice Department.
Threats of this type continued to be made by Trump supporters right up to the day of the election.
On July 29, Roger Stone, a notorious Right-wing political consultant acting as a Trump strategist, told Breitbart News: "The first thing Trump needs to do is begin talking about [voter fraud] constantly. If there's voter fraud, this election will be illegitimate, the election of the winner will be illegitimate, we will have a constitutional crisis, widespread civil disobedience, and the government will no longer be the government."


text:
Aldi expands 'Local' concept in London
Aldi U.K.
Jeff Wells @JeffWellsWH
Aldi recently opened seven additional Aldi Local stores in London, according to The Sun. This comes just three months after the discounter opened its first Local store, a 6,000-square-foot location in the city's south end.
The latest openings include a 5,000-square-foot location, Aldi's smallest store in the U.K. Six of the stores are remodels of existing Aldi locations while one, located in Camden, is a new opening.
Aldi Local stores are smaller than traditional locations and offer 300 fewer products than a conventional Aldi. The new format also has fewer general merchandise items, stocks products that are less bulky and easier for city dwellers to cart around.
Representatives with Aldi U.K. told local news outlets the expansion of Aldi Local follows a successful first three months for the first rebranded location in south London.
But the decision may have more to do with what discount competitor Lidl is up to. Earlier this month, Lidl announced it will build 40 additional locations in London, including its first store in the city center. The discounter, which has around 60 stores in the U.S., has 88 stores in London and 760 throughout the U.K.
Both Aldi and Lidl have put the squeeze on conventional supermarkets, expanding their combined market share to nearly 15%. Tesco recently opened a scaled-down format called Jack's in an attempt to fight fire with fire, while Sainsbury's is also testing out a smaller-store format.
Although Aldi Local is an ocean away and still in the test phase, it's not hard to imagine the format migrating to the U.S. in one form or another. Young consumers have migrated to urban markets in recent years, and retailers from Meijer to Dollar General have responded with new store concepts. Developers are looking to grocery stores to anchor residential developments, prizing the regular foot traffic they see.
Aldi Local stores are designed around specific shopping occasions, including small fill-in trips and meal stops. The assortment includes a range of fresh produce, a bakery and grab-and-go meals. Pack sizes are smaller and there's less general merchandise than a typical Aldi. There's also no parking lot.
Bill Bishop, chief architect with Brick Meets Click, said Aldi Local showcases the flexibility of the hard discount model.
"The store embraces the same operating and merchandising principles as their larger stores and stays true to the emphasis on ultra-low prices," he told Grocery Dive in March.
Bishop said he has "little doubt" Aldi will eventually move into U.S. cities when it's ready to do so.
Follow Jeff Wells on Twitter
Filed Under: Alternative formats Corporate

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Three subs made the difference as Kinsale, the AUL Premier champions, defeated St Mary's 3-1 after extra time in a lack-lustre Lucozade Sport Munster Senior Cup encounter at St Mary's Park on Saturday afternoon.
Kinsale took the lead in the first half through inter-league striker Derek "Scully" McCarthy. Mary's, living on scraps and their traditional fighting spirit for most of the game, pulled one back in the final quarter before being run out of it by the fresh legs of Sean Prior, Craig McCarthy and Declan Ryan in extra time.
It would be a busy afternoon for Mary's keeper Keith Lynch but he looked up to the task. First half Kinsale chances fell to defenders Jeremy O'Donovan and Florence Lynch and neither, though well placed in the penalty box, found the target.
Lynch had help from centre-half Dave Keating throughout, notably in the 29th minute. Then a superb pass forward by Kinsale midfielder Colin Kilty put McCarthy through the middle but Keating stayed with him and made a timely tackle to concede a corner.
The opener came in the 32nd minute. Following a foul on Ken Harrington, Coyle hit a terrific 19-yard free kick. Lynch dived to his left but the ball beat him. It came back off the post and then hit his fallen body. The soft rebound might well have crossed the line but McCarthy, always on the alert, ran in ahead of the defence to make sure.
Kinsale were on top for the first ten minutes or so of the second half but didn't have luck on their side. Barry and Harrington combined well and placed McCarthy who beat Lynch but referee Steve O'Connell ruled that the striker was offside and a few minutes later turned down Kinsale appeals for a spotter.
It hadn't been the most exciting of games and got even quieter for a spell. While Mary's were trying hard, there seemed little real danger to Graham Quinn's goal. But the Saints enlivened the encounter with an unexpected 72nd minute equaliser. A terrific right wing cross by Steve Hosford was expertly finished off at the far post by the unmarked O'Connor to make it 1-1.
The Kinsale management team, Ger Foran and player Peter Jones, began to bring in their subs but the switches didn't have the desired results until extra time. Scorer McCarthy did have a few shooting chances, a couple from frees, but failed to beat Lynch again in normal time.
Kinsale came very close in the final minute of the first period of extra time when a 25 yard power packed drive from the outstanding Kilty spun wide off the outside of Lynch's left hand post.
Kinsale, with the trio of subs prominent, took over in the second period. They came very close two minutes in when, following good approach play by Ryan and Harrington, McCarthy had his shot well saved at close quarters by the keeper.
The seasiders went ahead two minutes later, thanks to the three subs. Prior and Craig McCarthy combined and sent Ryan in to the box to blast past the keeper from 14 yards.
Kinsale made it 3-1 with less than two minutes to go. Ryan was denied but the hasty clearance fell to Craig McCarthy and, with the keeper well out of his goal, he tried to lob the ball into the net. It wouldn't have made it but Derek McCarthy outjumped the last defender to head home and make the final score 3-1.
St Mary's: Keith Lynch, Anthony O'Callaghan, Ken O'Sullivan, Thomas O'Connor (captain), Dave Keating, Liam King, Noel Barry, Stephen Hosford, James O'Sullivan, Robbie Murphy and Colm Coveney. Subs used: Adrian O'Callaghan for O'Connor (start of extra time) and Leonard Lyons for O'Sullivan (107th minute).
Kinsale: Graham Quinn, Lyndon Kiely, Florence Lynch (captain), Peter Jones, Colin Kilty, Ryan Coyle, Jeremy O'Donovan, Derek McCarthy, Ken Harrington, Dave Barry and Daniel Searls. Subs used: Sean Prior for Searls (57th minute), Craig McCarthy for Coyle (65th) and Declan Ryan for Barry (start of extra time).


text:
TACHS Reading : Understanding and evaluating opinions and arguments in the passage
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TACHS Reading Help » Reading Comprehension » Social Science Passages » Main Idea, Details, and Evaluative Meaning » Understanding and evaluating opinions and arguments in the passage
Example Question #2 : Reading Comprehension
Adapted from Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads by John A. Lomax (1910)
The big ranches of the West are now being cut up into small farms. The nester has come, and come to stay. Gone is the buffalo, the Indian warwhoop, the free grass of the open plain—even the stinging lizard, the horned frog, the centipede, the prairie dog, the rattlesnake, are fast disappearing. Save in some of the secluded valleys of southern New Mexico, the old-time round-up is no more; the trails to Kansas and to Montana have become grass-grown or lost in fields of waving grain; the maverick steer, the regal longhorn, has been supplanted by his unpoetic but more beefy and profitable Polled Angus, Durham, and Hereford cousins from across the seas. The changing and romantic West of the early days lives mainly in story and in song. The last figure to vanish is the cowboy, the animating spirit of the vanishing era. He sits his horse easily as he rides through a wide valley, enclosed by mountains, clad in the hazy purple of coming night,—with his face turned steadily down the long, long road, "the road that the sun goes down." Dauntless, reckless, without the unearthly purity of Sir Galahad though as gentle to a woman as King Arthur, he is truly a knight of the twentieth century. A vagrant puff of wind shakes a corner of the crimson handkerchief knotted loosely at his throat; the thud of his pony's feet mingling with the jingle of his spurs is borne back; and as the careless, gracious, lovable figure disappears over the divide, the breeze brings to the ears, faint and far yet cheery still, the refrain of a cowboy song.
Which of the following does NOT fit with the author's description of the cowboy?
Hot-headed
The author describes the cowboy in a very positive light: "Dauntless, reckless . . . he is truly a knight of the twentieth century." From that section alone, the reader can tell that the author thinks of the cowboy not only as daring, but also as a romanticized hero and a symbol of the era. He does not mention anything about the cowboys' temper, and "hot-headed" does not fit with this description.
Rosa Janet
The Ohio State University, Bachelor in Business Administration, Accounting.
Out Lady of the Lake University, Bachelor of Science, Mathematics. Texas Tech University, Master of Science, Mathematics.
University of North Texas, Bachelors, Mathematics/Biochemistry.
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Agencies are recognizing the benefits of encouraging mobile production of content. Forrester found that 62 percent of leaders in organizations that value creativity said they use technology to help their staffs find creative solutions to problems.
85% or more of government processes start with a form and almost 100% of these forms were optimized to be filled out with a pen on a piece of paper. Over the years, we have moved electronic copies of these forms online, but now it is time now to re-imagine what the form should be. Stop making paper forms electronic. Instead re-think how you would deliver a brand new user experience.
Public sector CXOs are now in a position to see what happened in the commercial world with the rise of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) – often a private sector counterpart of the public sector CXO – and learn from the experiences in the private sector.
Today, we're seeing a move away from dense text documents and lengthy spreadsheets. We're seeking ways to communicate with people that take advantage of the technologies everyone has at their disposal, like responsive websites, faster browsers, and broader bandwidth. At the same time, we want to produce stories that engage people with images and turn dry statistics into memorable messages.
Creative teams in government agencies are under the same pressure as those in the private space to produce quality content efficiently. And that pressure is significant; creative professionals' greatest concern is the need to produce more content faster. Timeliness and accuracy are even more important for government teams; a production delay or content error in the private sector can cost money, but a delay or error in the government sector can impact the lives of the public at large.


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Text.Json;

namespace Mash.AppSettings
{
    internal class JsonSettingLoader : ISettingLoader
    {
        private Dictionary<string, string> _connectionStrings = new Dictionary<string, string>();
        private Dictionary<string, dynamic> _settings = new Dictionary<string, dynamic>();

        /// <summary>
        /// Creates an instance of DevSettingLoader
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="pathToJsonSettingsFile">The path to developer's file to load holding developer-specific settings, defaults to CurrentDirectory\%username%.json</param>
        public JsonSettingLoader(string pathToJsonSettingsFile)
        {
            if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(pathToJsonSettingsFile)
                || !File.Exists(pathToJsonSettingsFile))
            {
                throw new ArgumentException($"Unable to find file {pathToJsonSettingsFile}", nameof(pathToJsonSettingsFile));
            }

            string fileContents = File.ReadAllText(pathToJsonSettingsFile);

            LoadSettings(fileContents);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the specified connection string
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="connectionStringKey">The name of the connection string</param>
        /// <returns>The connection string</returns>
        public string GetConnectionString(string connectionStringKey)
        {
            _connectionStrings.TryGetValue(connectionStringKey, out string result);

            return result;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets all connection strings
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>A dictionary of all connection strings</returns>
        public IDictionary<string, string> GetConnectionStrings()
        {
            return _connectionStrings;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the specified setting by name
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="settingKey">The name of the setting</param>
        /// <returns>The setting value</returns>
        public string GetSetting(string settingKey)
        {
            if (!_settings.TryGetValue(settingKey, out dynamic value))
            {
                return null;
            }

            return value.ToString();
        }

        private void LoadSettings(string json)
        {
            _settings = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<Dictionary<string, dynamic>>(json);

            dynamic connectionStrings;
            if (_settings.TryGetValue("ConnectionStrings", out connectionStrings))
            {
                _connectionStrings = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<Dictionary<string, string>>(connectionStrings.ToString());
            }
            else
            {
                _connectionStrings = new Dictionary<string, string>();
            }
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Sean Field-Walton
Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
Employment Law Worldview
It's Black History Month – so let's talk about positive discrimination (UK)
To its critics positive discrimination is a set of benefits and privileges reserved for minorities. BAME inclusion events and initiatives designed to encourage BAME job applicants are frequently found in the firing line. It's a pretty dynamite topic which evokes feelings of victimisation, unfairness and inequity and can stunt enthusiasm for diversity in the workforce.
Is it lawful?
This is all a great shame given that contrary to popular belief as evidenced from the twittersphere and tabloid newspapers, positive discrimination is both uncommon and unlawful. The Equality Act 2010 section 159 did introduce a new concept of positive action, on the other hand, and the distinction is more than semantic. In short, where an employer runs a recruitment exercise and:
is faced with a choice between equally qualified candidates; where
one or more of the candidates possesses a "protected characteristic" (which includes, but is not limited to, being black); and
where people with the relevant protected characteristic are underrepresented in the role they are recruiting for
the employer may lawfully (but NB does not have to) prefer the black applicant. In other words, these provisions allow the protected characteristics of a person to act as a tie-break. However, it is, in any other context, blatant race discrimination against the unsuccessful candidate.
It will be seen from this that the scope for positive action in the recruitment process is narrow. How often do you arrive at the final two or three candidates and genuinely have no preference at any level between them? Bear in mind that "qualified" is not just an issue of GCSEs, NVQ and degree levels but takes into account also their soft skills, interests, health, personality, and so on. So arguing later that these candidates were "equally qualified" can put you on some potentially quite dangerous waters because you may be seeking to show equivalence between hard skills on the one hand and less competence but a nicer nature on the other. It is also still to be decided definitively whether "equally qualified" is an issue of objective fact or the employer's subjective opinion, so reliance on those softer aspects may be risky at the best of times. It may be because this hypothetical tie-break is so rare in practice that employers feel nervous or unentitled to rely on these provisions. This is reflected in, or rather in the absence of, case law. From 2010 to date, there has been only one single reported case on positive action in the recruitment process:
In Furlong v Chief Constable of Cheshire Police [2019] a well-intentioned police force strayed from lawful positive action into unlawful positive discrimination. White heterosexual Mr Fulton who had applied unsuccessfully for a job claimed that he had been treated unfavourably because of those characteristics of his. Instead of using positive action in a tie-break situation, in broad terms, the differences between candidates were ignored. Numerous candidates who were not white, heterosexual or male were "deemed" by the Police to be equally qualified. On this basis, Cheshire Police preferred other candidates in the genuine belief it was effecting positive action and so doing the Right Thing. The Employment Tribunal disagreed and upheld Furlong's claim for direct discrimination. To the extent that a lesson can be taken from a single ET case, it is that the employer's assessment of "equally qualified" must be a detailed, reasoned and individual one, not based on a blanket "deeming" or broad equivalence.
In the context of Black History Month
As it's Black History Month, let's consider positive action in that context for a moment. Pre-empting the response – "but we already have legal equality" – Black History Month is about more than that. It seeks recognition for the contribution to society and achievements of black people. Mention of civil rights in the UK takes many minds across the Atlantic to thoughts of Abraham Lincoln, emancipation, Jim Crow, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. Whereas we should also be thinking of the Oval Four, the Bristol Bus Boycott and the 19th century Lancastrian textile workers who refused to work with textiles that had touched the slave trade.
Implementing lawful positive action in 2010 was encouraging for the acknowledgment it signalled. As a piece of law it may have its issues, as above, but the thinking behind it is unimpeachable. However, a reality to confront is that minority job applicants can face disproportionate struggles throughout their lives. Employers are making a visible effort to encourage applicants from a broader range of backgrounds. Nevertheless, this only goes so far towards levelling the uneven playing field. To achieve radical change, employees need to consider making fundamental changes in how they score job applicants whilst keeping up the current emphasis on encouraging applications from untraditional backgrounds.
© Copyright 2020 Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLPNational Law Review, Volume IX, Number 290
Sean Field-Walton is an associate in our Labour & Employment Practice Group.
Sean advises on all areas of contentious and non-contentious employment law. This includes advising buyers, sellers and funders on the employment aspects of M&A transactions, negotiating post-termination restrictions, reviewing and preparing staff (including board-level) contracts and managing disciplinary and grievance matters.
He has particular experience defending clients against all manner of employment tribunal claims. This has recently been focused in the transport and retail sectors....
sean.field-walton@squirepb.com
44 20-7655-1341
www.squirepattonboggs.com
www.squirepattonboggs.com/en/blogs


Ok, when I first agreed to review this book, I did not research it before hand and thought it was a children's book. My kids DID love it, but it was more for me than them.
As someone who LOVES Paris AND is a dog lover and owner, I just adored this book. The book follows the adventures of Chula, a 9 year old Sheltie, through Paris and Provence through beautiful and whimiscal images.
If you, or someone you know, loves dogs AND Paris, then they are going to enjoy this book!
suebunting1977at(gmail)dot(com) I would keep it!


text:
Home / International News / Security Forces Cast Ballots In Regional And General Elections In Guyana
Security Forces Cast Ballots In Regional And General Elections In Guyana
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, February 21, 2020 (CMC) – Members of the security forces, here, began voting, today, as Guyana prepares to elect a new government in regional and general elections, on March 2.
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) said that members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and Guyana Prison Service (GPS) are casting early ballots at 60 polling places.
GECOM said that an estimated 10,226 members of the disciplined forces are eligible to cast ballots at the polling stations across the ten regions.
In a statement, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) said that only accredited persons will be allowed to observe the votes being cast by the disciplined forces.
Meanwhile, GECOM said it is advising all persons, who were registered for the first time, during the house-to-house registration and the Claims and Objections exercises, last year, and would be voting at the upcoming elections, that they can uplift their National Identification Cards from the Registration Office in their respective areas.
"This notice is NOT intended for persons, who already have an ID card, those who were previously issued with an ID card or those who are without their ID card for various reasons," GECOM added.


text:
5 key takeaways from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's first State of the State
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's speech was bare on details about the cost of her infrastructure and school fixes, or how they would be paid for.
5 key takeaways from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's first State of the State Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's speech was bare on details about the cost of her infrastructure and school fixes, or how they would be paid for. Check out this story on lansingstatejournal.com: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/02/13/five-takeaways-gretchen-whitmer-state-of-state/2849486002/
Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press Published 6:43 a.m. ET Feb. 13, 2019 | Updated 8:41 p.m. ET Feb. 13, 2019
The governor's annual speech to lawmakers predates statehood in Michigan. Justin A. Hinkley |Lansing State Journal
LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made improving roads, drinking water and education the key planks of her first State of the State address at the Capitol Tuesday.
She spoke for just under an hour in a speech that was bare on details about how much her infrastructure and school fixes would cost, or how they would be paid for.
Full speech: Gov. Whitmer's State of the State
Whitmer's calls for bipartisanship were interspersed with criticism of the Republican-controlled Legislature for what she denounced as pork barrel spending and sweetheart deals.
Here are five key things Whitmer said Tuesday:
On Michigan roads: "We have crumbling bridges with hundreds of temporary supports holding them up. Buses of school kids and families travel over them — and under them. Chunks of concrete have slammed through windshields. ... And while it's hard to imagine things getting worse, that is precisely what will happen if we don't act boldly and swiftly."
Nancy Kaffer: Whitmer sees a brighter Michigan, and she'd like you to, also
More: Gretchen Whitmer: Roads, schools are crises that must be addressed
More: Whitmer to deliver 'sober assessment' of state government shortcomings
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her first State of the State address
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shakes hands with state Rep. Triston Cole, R-Mancelona, as she greets guests before delivering her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, left, hugs Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist before delivering her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shakes hands with guests as she enters the House chamber before delivering her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, left, greets Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., right, before delivering her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, left, hugs Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, right, before Whitmer delivers her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield looks on during Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's husband Marc Mallory and two daughters Sherry and Sydney Shrewsbury clap before Whit delivers her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
David D. Dickson Jr., Chief Sergeant-At Arms, prepares to introduce Gov. Gretchen Whitmer before her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Many wore buttons in honor of former U.S. Rep. John Dingell, who recently died, for the State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer walks to the rostrum before delivering her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Lansing Mayor Andy Schor, center, sits in the crowd for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer 's State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
State Rep. Angela Witwer mingles in the House chamber before Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Guests applaud during Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack looks on on as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal
On drinking water: "Over the past year, toxic chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have been found in our lakes, our rivers and our water systems in more than 70 communities spanning both of our peninsulas. This problem may not have commanded the same kind of national attention as the situation in Flint. But it is just as urgent."
On education: "I want to send a message to all of the devoted educators across Michigan: You're not failing us. We have been failing you. Our educators deserve our support — not a funding crisis that undermines their work, weakens our schools and hurts our kids. We know that potential is universal, but right now opportunity is not."
On LGBTQ rights: "Nobody should ever be fired because of who they are or who they love. ... If we want Michigan to be a home for opportunity, it should be opportunity for all, in all workplaces. We need to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections for our LGBT community."
On access to public records: "For too long, our government has been plagued by a lack of transparency. We have consistently ranked the worst in the country. We have the power to fix that: let's expand FOIA (the Freedom of Information Act) to my office and to the Legislature.It's time to ensure that the sun shines equally on every branch of state government."
Contact Paul Egan at 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.
Read or Share this story: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/02/13/five-takeaways-gretchen-whitmer-state-of-state/2849486002/
Why #BlackGirlMSU went viral and what it means
Forecast: Torrential rain, 50 mph winds, hail possible
'Their bond was so strong,' dad says of mother, son found dead
Downtown Okemos development moves forward
Mason Depot Diner, closed after fire, was second home to many
Olivet man dies in Sunday traffic crash


text:
Rev. Jesse Jackson Calls Out Local Tech Companies For Lack Of Diversity
Diversity Google Jesse Jackson Twitter by Bay City News | March 19, 2014 7:47 pm	| in Bay Area | 5
Civil rights activist The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. said today that Palo Alto-based computer products firm Hewlett-Packard and other technology companies should try harder to bring blacks and Hispanics into the tech business.
Jackson, at HP's annual stockholders meeting at the Santa Clara Convention Center, said he wanted to address "the need to open up a new era of growth and inclusion of African Americans and people of color in Silicon Valley's technology industry."
When it comes to members of boards of directors, corporate executive and professional jobs and participating in corporate investments, "there are too many zeros" for minorities in the tech business, Jackson said.
"Tech powerhouses including Apple, eBay, Google and new media companies like Twitter and Facebook have zero blacks on their board of directors," Jackson said.
Blacks serve as chief executive officers for only one percent of Fortune 500 companies and tech firms like Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Apple and HP "have zero African Americans on their senior executive leadership teams," Jackson said.
Jackson said tech businesses should be offering to sell more of their corporate debt to minority-owned companies.
He chided HP for not inviting any minority firms "in 20 of its debt offerings" and congratulated Microsoft for using them "in all of its last 14 debt offerings."
But he told the audience of HP investors, which included company chief executive officer Meg Whitman and candidates for its board of directors, that HP was in a unique position to lead the drive toward more diversity in the technology workforce.
Jackson praised HP for its "Digital Village" program that has distributed HP notebook computers in schools to help teach technology in the predominately-minority city of East Palo Alto.
"Inclusion and fairness is part of the DNA of HP's history," Jackson said, describing Whitman and former company CEO Carly Fiorina as "two of the trailblazing women of technology."
"When women lean in, so must blacks and Latinos move forward," Jackson said. "Everyone must be included. I appeal to you today to forge new partnerships, build new relationships and lead the valley into this next era."
"At its best, Silicon Valley can be a tremendously positive change agent for the world; at its worst, it can hold onto old patterns that exclude people of color and woman from opportunity and advancement," Jackson said.
"Silicon Valley and the tech industry must transform itself to mirror the America it depends upon for talent and customers," he said.
Jeff Burbank, Bay City News


text:
Online Film School Free » Filmmaking Books
Best books on Filmmaking
Recommending filmmaking books is problematic because it depends on your level and the type of films you want to make. I've tried to create a list of the best books for filmmakers that will appeal to all film genres and suit different expertise levels. The list will open with the best filmmaking books for beginners and continue with the best books on filmmaking for more advanced filmmakers. The critical thing to remember is always to practice what you read (and learn). Don't be one of those who learn and read and never do, cause eventually, the real learning will come from practicing.
Best Filmmaking Books for Beginners
The Definitive Guide to Screenwriting by Syd Field
Syd Field is an acclaimed writer and director in Hollywood, and his book, The Definitive Guide to Screen Writing, Is an excellent guide that will help you to find and fix problems and errors in your script. This book is all about building a strong story structure, writing effective dialogue and much more. The book is well written, it uses examples from known films and it's also good for experienced writers that want to fix bad writing habbits.
In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing by Walter Murch
If I had to pick one which contains the best filmmaking advice, it would be this book. It's a book about editing, but it will teach you so much about how to approach filmmaking in general.
Walter Murch, the video editor of films like The Conversation, American Graffiti, Julia, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather (parts II and III), writes the best book on film editing. Since he is a professional, it is also the most straightforward book on the subject. In The blink of an eye is not about the technical settings of particular software; it focuses on the video editor's psychology. Walter Murch starts by asking the simple question with the complicated answer – Why do cuts work? And from that starting point, you will learn all the aesthetics and practical concerns when cutting a film.
Making Movies by Sidney Lumet
This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to participate in the filmmaking industry, especially directors. Sidney Lumet is one of America's most known directors with films such as 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Network( which you can learn a lot about filmmaking just from watching them), and much more. Making Movies is a beautiful summary of everything that makes Lumet's films awesome. He mixes film theories with practical filmmaking. He does that in a very easy to read style- not too technical.
How Not to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer
This is one of the best filmmaking books for beginners, as it touches the required fields of making a short film – it talks about how to write a good script, how to finance your film, and deal with the producer and the crew, how to cast, and much more. How Not to Make a Short Film also has an excellent section about post-production. But what makes this book a must-read for aspiring moviemakers is that it also talks about the film festival circuit. The book is written well and full of interviews with other filmmakers who have struggled with their films well.
Best Books on filmmaking for Advanced Filmmakers
The Filmmaker's Handbook By Steven Ascher and Edward Pincus
The Filmmaker's Handbook is a very practical and technical guide book that is well-written and full of great tips and techniques about every step in developing a film. If you are making short films for a while, you'll be amazed at how much you will learn from this book. This book will help you become a more professional filmmaker. It deals with shooting with DSLRs, video, film, and digital cinema cameras. It has a large section about lenses, lighting, sound recording, editing, and mixing. It also has a section about understanding formats, founding funding for your movie, distribution, and much more.
Poetics by Aristotle
This book is recommended for anyone that wants to work in the business of storytelling. Every film school uses Poetics to teach correct scriptwriting since everything you watch, read, or listen to in western society is influenced by this work. In the book, Aristotle examines the dramatic elements of plot, character, language, plot structure, and more by analyzing Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides' plays. This is not a definitive guide, but I recommend reading it. Once you start reading it, you will find it to be an essential read for anyone interested in understanding western storytelling.
Hollywood Producers Directory
This book is a must for every producer (or if you are producing your film). Instead of wasting time on Google, every time you need something, use this up-to-date contact information for every necessary resource you need for making a professional film.
Now, The Hollywood Producers Directory has more than just verified contact information for film distributors, sales agents, and producers. It also contains legal forms and legal details like state tax incentives and which state offers them to help you decide where to shoot, distribution deals, etc. If you want to take your producing business seriously, take this book!
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls
Okay, this is not a How to' guide book, but I believe it is a must for every serious filmmaker, explaining the foundations on which modern-western films are made today in a fast and enjoyable way. Easy Rider, a low-budget bikers movie, created a new Hollywood era, with its success in 1969, that started in the late 60's up until the early '80s. Those movies destroyed the old studio system and introduced the rising young filmmakers such as Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas, Spielberg, Altman, along with a new type of actors, such as De Niro, Pacino, Jack, and others.
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood is based on hundreds of interviews with the directors, the producers, the stars, the agents, the writers, the studio executives, and other influential members of the area.
Hitchcock by Truffaut
A book that is the ultimate film school is what you get when you put together two iconic filmmakers for a chat. Hitchcock by Truffaut is a set of interviews of Alfred Hitchcock by François Truffaut. This is an excellent opportunity to get an incredible insight into how one of the greatest directors of all time made his beautiful films.
They talk about Hitchcock's inspirations, the art of creating fear and suspense, and much more! Even if you're not the biggest fan of Hitchcock, you'll enjoy the discussions about the techniques he employs to create different effects in his films. This is a book that every movie geek and filmmaker needs to have in their library!
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