JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
1 CORINTHIANS 6:9-10
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
GALATIONS 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Daryush 'Roosh V' Valizadeh cancels neo-masculinist meetings over safety-Valizadeh apologises for cancelling meetings planned for Saturday, saying he ‘can no longer guarantee the safety or privacy of the men who want to attend’-Last modified on Friday 5 February 2016 01.59 GMT-the guardian
The leader of a self-described neo-masculinist movement has cancelled a series of meetings planned for cities worldwide on Saturday because he “can no longer guarantee the safety or privacy of the men who want to attend”.Daryush Valizadeh, who goes by the name Roosh V, posted a brief statement on Thursday apologising to his “supporters” whom he said were “let down by my decision”, but said he “could not stop men meeting in private groups”.Meetings were planned in 43 countries, including Britain, where planned gatherings in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Shrewsbury raised concern among police chiefs and MPs.Nearly 80,000 people signed an online petition calling for Roosh V’s group, dubbed Return of Kings, to be banned from the UK after they advocated women being banned from voting, described a woman’s value as dependent on her “fertility and beauty”, and that women with eating disorders make the best girlfriends.Before the events were cancelled, shadow Home Office minister Sarah Champion MP demanded that Theresa May take action against the group using hate crime laws.“Rape of women has increased by 41% in the last year. I’m appalled that the government are sitting idly by whilst a group who believe women are pieces of meat without any rights are allowed to spread their poisonous ideology in the UK,” she said.“As far as I’m concerned Return of Kings are encouraging violence against women and girls. This should be viewed as a hate crime and the government and police should use our existing laws to deal with it swiftly to show we won’t accept anyone promoting abuse.”Northumbria’s police and crime commissioner, Vera Baird, had also written to the home secretary urging her to ban Roosh V from the UK, saying his “abhorrent” views have no place in Newcastle.— The Chronicle (@EveningChron)-February 4, 2016-Front page: Petition to ban Roosh V rallies reaches 40,000 signatures.https://t.co/UIHVC8yo94 http://pic.twitter.com/IFWcBzIxu4-It is understood a number of the planned meetings, including in Melbourne, Australia, were already moved to private property, a reflection either of the concern over safety or the size of the gathering.Melbourne’s lord mayor, Robert Doyle, told ABC radio on Wednesday that the City of Melbourne could charge anyone planning to hold a meeting for Valizadeh’s group on city land with trespassing.-Nearly 50,000 sign petition to ban pro-rape pick-up artist-Valizadeh’s stated concerns for the safety of male attendees ironically echoed concerns voiced by a number of women on social media, who shared details of the meet-ups accompanied by a warning to other women to “try not to go anywhere alone” this weekend.He announced his plan to visit Australia by tweeting a screenshot of an airline booking page on Monday and a petition calling for him to be stopped at the border had gathered more than 100,000 signatures by Wednesday.The organisers of the petition called the result “a victory”, claiming that the Australian immigration minister, Peter Dutton, had denied Valizadeh’s visa, but a spokeswoman from Dutton’s office said there was “no evidence to suggest he had ever applied for a visa”.The spokeswoman suggested the travel plans were concocted to create outrage and garner media attention – which worked.Waleed Aly made the same point in a speech about Valizadeh on Channel 10’s The Project on Tuesday.Valizadeh, a self-published author who has apparently produced 15 books on how to pick up women in various countries, refused all Australian interview requests but linked or shared all media about his supposed visit. He also claimed he could enter Australia without a visa, apparently via boat.He has since claimed to be misrepresented by the media, saying an oft-quoted blog post from February 2015 that argued rape was legal if done on private property was “satirical”.— Roosh (@rooshv)-February 3, 2016-I'll state once again: the "How To Stop Rape" article was satire. Neither me or my supporters want rape to be legalized. The media is lying.“I can tattoo ‘it was satire!’ on my head but the anger wouldn’t be one decibel softer,” he tweeted on Wednesday. “The masses think what the media tells them to think.“If I get killed right now by an idiot, the media wouldn’t care. They love their power. Tomorrow they would find a new Roosh to martyr.”He then called for “feminine women who are disgusted with media lying” to follow the hashtag #femininewomenforRoosh. It attracted 17 tweets in five hours, most from men or women mocking Valizadeh.
UN voices alarm at growing number of child marriages in Iran-AFP-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
Geneva (AFP) - A growing number of young girls are being forced to marry in Iran, UN rights experts warned Thursday, decrying laws permitting sexual intercourse with girls as young as nine.Following a review of the situation in Iran, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) urged the country to "repeal all legal provisions that authorise, condone or lead to child sexual abuse."The committee, which is made up of 18 independent experts who monitor the implementation of international children's rights treaties, said it was "seriously concerned" over reports that child marriages in Iran were on the rise.A growing number of "girls at the age of 10 years or younger ... are subjected to child and forced marriages to much older men," CRC said.Compounding the problem were laws allowing sex with girls as young as nine, and a lack of criminalisation for sexual abuse of even younger children, it said.The committee also lamented a law obliging wives "to fulfil sexual needs of their husbands at all times," which it stressed "places child brides at risk of sexual violence, including marital rape."Stressing the devastating effects child marriage can have on the physical and mental health of young girls, the experts called on Tehran to introduce national laws clearly banning and criminalising the practice.The committee also raised a range of other disturbing issues, including the fact that boys in the country are considered criminally responsible at the age of 15, and girls at nine.This means children down to those ages can be subjected to "sentences involving torture or cruel, degrading treatment of punishment," it said.Most distressing perhaps is that some crimes committed as a minor in Iran are punishable by death, and that the country occasionally executed children."A small number of children have been executed in Iran," committee member Bernard Gastaud told reporters.His colleague Benyam Mezmur described the situation as being "of very serious concern."
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
Statehood is Catalonia's 'only option' By Helena Spongenberg-euobserver
Barcelona, 4. Feb, 15:21-The new Catalan government installed last month under Carles Puigdemont has promised to adopt a constitution and organise a referendum on independence in about 18 months.One part of this strategy is to boost the region’s profile and influence in Europe. To this end, a foreign affairs department has been created in Barcelona to replace the previous secretariat.The new portfolio was entrusted to Raul Romeva, a former Green MEP who led the separatist coalition in the last election in September 2015.“We aspire to become a state and an ally of the states in Europe and in the world,” Romeva told EUobserver in an interview.“We want to explain in Europe that we want to bring solutions. We have the will and the intention to continue contributing to the European project, being an asset and not a problem.”-Divided left-wingers-The new foreign department, Romeva explained, would maintain and nurture the economic, social, political and cultural ties that Catalonia already has with the rest of Europe.“We will also explain that we are preparing a series of structures and laws that at a certain time will be put to a vote to the citizens,” he said.The Catalan government, run by Romeva and Puigdemont’s Junts pel Si (Together for Yes) coalition with the support of the left-wing separatist CUP, plans to implement judicial and tax laws as well as a social policy reform.The objective is that the laws will be adopted by parliament within 18 months, and then Catalans will vote on a new constitution.For now, however, the government in Madrid and most Spanish political parties say the Catalan push for independence contravenes the constitution, which describes Spain as the "indivisible homeland".The Catalan question is also one of the reasons why the Spanish left is having a hard time agreeing to form a government. The populist Podemos party has promised to back a legal referendum on independence but the socialist PSOE is opposed to such a promise.“It is in no way useful for Europe that we for years have stagnant problems like this one,” Romeva told EUobserver. “We have an electoral mandate that we presented in an election with a road-map towards independence and as we have the majority in the parliament, we are implementing this program.”-'Different sensibilities'-Romeva’s role is, among other things, to give the regional authorities’ views on the situation abroad and give Barcelona more weight in the showdown with Madrid.Catalonia has a permanent representation in Brussels and government delegations in Austria, France, Germany and Portugal, as well as in Australia and the US.“We want to have a normal relationship with Europe – Europe is our natural environment,” said Romeva. “However, we have a series of difficulties with the Spanish state, which prevents us from having this normal relationship with Europe.”But Romeva accepts that there are "very different sensibilities" outside of the region about the possibility of Catalan statehood.“There are people and states that understand it from a democratic point of view and there are other states where the government keeps a more rigid line,” he explained.“We are an ally, but the states obviously have a certain caution because of their state relations with Spain.”He admitted that this caution was logical.“It is difficult for a state to have non-state relations against the wishes of another state, especially if that state is a partner in other spheres,” he said.-Scottish role model-After many years of claims and stalled negotiations with Madrid, the “only option now is to become a normal state and have a normal relation with the world”, the foreign minister said.“We’re not a normal state, and we’re not what Spain wants us to be. We have a bit of a strange situation and we want to resolve that,” he said.If a new Spanish government, when it is formed in Madrid, puts an agreed and legal referendum on the table now, it would be welcomed in Barcelona, said Romeva.“A perfect situation would be like the referendum in Scotland,” he said.“But it won’t happen. We have asked for a referendum 17 times. What is the limit for how many times you can ask for a referendum? Seventeen times more or should we look for an alternative solution?-“We have for decades now tried to find solutions within the framework of the Spanish constitution to take account of the different realities that there are in Spain. It hasn’t been possible and it has now reached an exhausted dimension where enough is enough.“In order for Catalonia to be useful for Spain and for Europe we have to resolve this issue.”Romeva added that his government wanted “to resolve this in a constant dialogue with all parts, although to have a dialogue, you need someone who will talk to you”.-EU citizenship question-The foreign minister also complained about the “difficulties” put by the Spanish government when Catalan officials try to do business abroad.“When you move to find foreign investors, you constantly have a Spanish representative looking over your shoulder to see whether it is in favour not of economic interests but of the unity of Spain,” he said.“This criterion is absolutely irrational because they prefer losing economic opportunities that are also beneficial for the rest of Spain.”Romeva mentioned the Mediterranean corridor - an EU railway project to link the South of Spain to the Hungarian Ukraine border - where he said that Spain had continuously played down the importance of Catalonia’s role.Although he assured that Catalan authorities “do not want a situation of chaos”, Romeva admitted the separatist drive could create a problematic situation for Europe.“Catalonia is part of the European Union and the 7.5 million Catalans have the nationality of a member state of the European Union and therefore also EU citizenship,” he said. “One cannot take that away.”Potential problems arising from Catalonia becoming independent would continue to be “a European issue,” he said.
TTIP investor court illegal, say German judges By Nikolaj Nielsen-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 4. Feb, 18:17-German judges dealt a blow to EU-US free trade agreement talks after declaring a proposed arbitration court illegal.The European Commission last September proposed setting up an investment tribunal court that would allow firms to challenge government decisions as part of its larger Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).Critics says the new court, which is intended to replace a much loathed investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system, will pressure governments into clawing back consumer protection rights and environmental standards in favour of corporate interest.Earlier this week, the German Association of Magistrates, a Berlin-based judicial umbrella organisation, said it "sees neither a legal basis nor a need for such a court".It says existing national courts are good enough and that efforts by the Commission to create a new court undermines jurisdictions across the Union."The German Magistrates Association sees no need for the establishment of a special court for investors," it states.It says the new investor court would alter national court systems "and deprive courts of member states of their power."The German magistrates also cast doubt on the independence of the judges in the new system as well as their appointment procedures.Proponents, for their part, say the investment tribunal court is needed to both protect and attract foreign investment from potentially hostile governments or biased domestic courts.-'Democratic principles and public scrutiny'-The European Commission declined to comment but instead referred back to its previous stated positions.EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, who is heading the TTIP talks, last year said the new court would be "subject to democratic principles and public scrutiny".The centre-right European People's Party and the centre-left Socialists & Democrats groups in the European Parliament spearheaded the new investor court last summer and backed the commission's proposal. Others, like the Greens, opposed the plan, noting businesses should not be allowed to file cases in private courts outside current legal systems.The TTIP talks, which have been largely held in secret since 2013, aim to remove non-tariff barriers to trade.The 12th round of talks will be held in Brussels on 22 February."We will only know closer to the date what topics will be discussed," said a commission spokesperson.
UK to discuss Tusk draft with EU states By Eszter Zalan-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 4. Feb, 19:18-Government advisers and EU ambassadors will gather in Brussels on Friday (5 February) for a first discussion on the proposals put forward by EU Council president Donald Tusk on the UK's requests for a renegotiated EU membership in preparation of the EU leaders' summit.Sources said the gathering will provide an opportunity for member states to clarify issues in the document that they received on Tuesday and have been studying since."We want to ask questions, clarify details," a diplomatic source said.One of the key issues is curbing benefits for EU workers in Britain through an "emergency brake".The EU Commission has already given the UK assurances that in their case circumstances persist that justify the brake.Some eastern European countries, which have a large number of their citizens working in the UK, are worried that the emergency brake opens the door for other member states to cap or limit benefits for EU workers."We want to make sure that it does not open the door for other countries to restrict benefits for EU workers, we would like to see them spelling out why, on what evidence does the situation in the UK merits this brake, and make sure it is not only a political decision but has some footing in evidence," a source added.The time frame over which the brake can be used is still up for negotiation, but that might only be decided by EU leaders at their summit later this month, where British prime minister David Cameron hopes to secure a deal to enable him to hold an EU membership referendum in his home country on 23 June.For the time being, there is one more so-called "sherpa" meeting scheduled for next Thursday.The British prime minister met with Slovak premier Robert Fico in London to discuss the UK-EU deal. Cameron will travel to Poland on Friday to lobby for the UK-EU agreement.Polish prime minister Beata Szydlo said Thursday that her government "will do everything" to keep Britain in the EU, but called the benefit issue "a problem".Also in London, Tusk and Cameron met on the sidelines of the Syria conference in London, where they took stock of the capitals' initial reactions so far.Nobody appears to be happy with the proposals so far, indicating that an agreement may be hard to secure, even if the document is balanced.-'No new negotiations'-Tusk also met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders in London.The French president, Francois Hollande, has made some tough comments, and has been active in making sure the UK does not secure a veto or an option to delay decisions made by the eurozone member states.The package of EU reforms offered to David Cameron is non-negotiable and Britain will be offered no further concessions, the French President has said.Hollande warned Wednesday evening that there would be “no new adjustments or new negotiations” to the draft package of measures.“We want the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union,” Hollande told reporters in Paris, according to the AFP.“The compromise that has been found will likely allow us to find solutions to problems that until now seemed difficult to resolve. But at the European Council there can be no new adjustments or new negotiations," Hollande said."We have reached a point that should give Britons the reassurances needed while respecting European principles,” he added.
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
Panama looks to GM mosquitoes to combat Zika-AFP-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
Panama City (AFP) - Panama is mulling releasing millions of genetically modified mosquitoes on its territory to combat the spread of the Zika virus, a prominent health official told AFP on Thursday.The health ministry and a tropical disease research lab, the Gorgas Institute, are evaluating "the viability and feasibility" of repeating and expanding on just such an experiment that took place two years ago, said Israel Cedeno, head of the ministry's epidemiological unit.As back then, the idea would be to introduce male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes whose genes had been altered so that their offspring, after mating with bloodsucking females, die at the larva stage.In 2014, the project, carried out in a town west of Panama's capital, resulted in a 93 percent decline in the mosquito population in the area.Cedeno cautioned however that while the results were encouraging "its cost is high."Because of that, the government needed to work out if the money would be better spent on genetically tinkering with mosquitoes or boosting public information campaigns to urge eradication of breeding spots for the insects.In Panama there are 50 confirmed cases of Zika infection, all of them in its Caribbean coastal region.The World Health Organization has said it suspects the virus might be behind a sudden spike in birth defects in a part of northern Brazil.
Florida extends health emergency over Zika amid growing U.S. concern-Reuters By Letitia Stein-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott expanded a public health emergency over the Zika virus on Thursday, adding a fifth county to the list of areas in the state with travel-related cases.His action came as the mosquito-borne virus generates increasing concern in the United States. Zika is spreading rapidly in the Americas, and has been linked to a spike in birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil.Florida's warm climate and nearly year-round mosquito season makes it particularly vulnerable to spreading, although so far all of the state's cases were acquired abroad, officials said.Scott has directed state officials to pay special attention to mosquito control in the affected counties. They are Broward and Miami-Dade in south Florida, Hillsborough in the Tampa region, Lee County in southwest Florida and Santa Rosa County in the Florida Panhandle."Just like a hurricane, we have to ensure Florida is safe," Scott said on Thursday, calling it prudent to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.He also called for federal health officials to provide the state with at least 1,000 Zika antibody tests so the state can test pregnant women who have traveled to affected countries and experienced symptoms of the virus. The state is also boosting its inventory of testing kits for active cases, Scott said.Meanwhile, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo expanded his state's free Zika testing to include all pregnant women who have traveled to countries where people are being infected.Authorities in Texas said on Tuesday a person in Dallas had become infected with Zika after having sex with another person who had traveled in Venezuela, where the virus is circulating.Local health officials said on Thursday both those people have fully recovered from the virus.(Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Bernard Orr)
In San Bernadino attack, trial delayed for man accused of supplying weapons-Reuters-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
(Reuters) - The trial for Enrique Marquez, accused of supplying assault weapons to the husband and wife who massacred 14 people in San Bernardino, California, has been postponed until July, prosecutors said Thursday.Marquez, 24, has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying about purchasing firearms that the pair later used for their December shooting rampage.U.S. District Court Judge Jesus Bernal, citing requests from both the prosecution and the defense for more time to prepare, moved the start of the trial from Feb. 23 to July 19.Bernal signed the order on Monday, and it was distributed to the press on Thursday by U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Eileen Decker.Authorities say the husband-and-wife shooters, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 29, opened fire at a holiday gathering of Farook's co-workers on Dec. 2, killing 14 people and wounding 22.Farook, the U.S.-born son of Pakistani immigrants, and Malik, a Pakistani native he married in Saudi Arabia in 2014, died in a shootout with police four hours after the massacre.Marquez, a childhood friend of Farook, was also accused in a five-count indictment of entering a sham marriage with a Russian immigrant, whose sister is married to Farook's older brother, so that she could live in the United States.He is accused to conspiring with Farook in 2011 and 2012 to provide material support to terrorists including weapons, explosives and personnel for attacks that were never carried out.(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Grand jury indicts 16 in connection with Oregon occupation-Reuters-February 3, 2016 8:18 PM-YAHOONEWS
(Reuters) - A U.S. grand jury returned an indictment on Wednesday against 16 people in connection with the armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in Oregon, prosecutors said.The U.S. Attorney's Office in Portland did not disclose the charges contained in the indictment, which has been sealed, but said it would likely be made public soon. A previous criminal complaint charged 11 former occupiers with conspiracy to impede federal officers.(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Sandra Maler)
Earthquake shakes Tokyo, no tsunami risk-Associated Press-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
TOKYO (AP) — An earthquake has struck close to Tokyo, shaking much of the metropolitan region. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, and no tsunami risk.The Japan Meteorological Agency said the 7:41 a.m. Friday morning quake had a preliminary magnitude of 4.6. The epicenter was in Kawasaki city, just south of the border with Tokyo.Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the quake briefly interrupted bullet train service between Tokyo and Odawara, a nearby city to the south.
Family of murdered ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller speaks out-Michael Isikoff By Michael Isikoff-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
In a statement honoring American hostage Kayla Mueller on the anniversary of her death in Syria, her family suggests they are preparing to go public with “the heartbreaking story” of their attempts to ransom her from the Islamic State. And, they say, they will be speaking out about “those who hindered us” — an apparent reference to their frustration with officials in the Obama administration over how their daughter’s case was handled.The statement by Marsha and Carl Mueller, Kayla’s brother Eric and other family members and friends is the first they have made since shortly after receiving confirmation last February of the death of the 26-year-old humanitarian worker from Prescott, Ariz., who was killed in Syria after being held captive by the Islamic State for nearly two years.U.S. officials have confirmed that Mueller was tortured by her Islamic State captors — and, according to debriefings of some who were held with her — even taken as a “wife” and sexually abused by the terror group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But much remains unknown about what happened during her horrifying ordeal: Although the family has received photos of her body, it has not been recovered and the way she died, whether murdered by her captors or killed by a coalition bombing, remains unclear.The new statement, along with a newly released photograph of Kayla with her parents taken just months before she was kidnapped in 2013, invokes the memory who, in volunteering to help refugees from the Syrian civil war, was committed “to serving the most vulnerable.”“Kayla was given a special heart and mind to not only see suffering in its many forms but to reach out and find a way to help those God placed before her,” reads the statement, released by a spokeswoman for Atlantic Media, the company owned by businessman David Bradley, who attempted to assist the families of Mueller and other American hostages who were being held by the Islamic State. But it strongly hints that the family will have more to say, especially about the actions of the Obama administration and the dispute about whether the families should have been permitted to pay ransom in an attempt to save their loved ones.“The heartbreaking story of our efforts to bring Kayla home and of those who helped and those who hindered us will be told,” the family’s statement reads.As has been recounted in multiple media accounts, the Muellers as well as other families of American hostages — including that of James Foley and Steven Sotloff, both of whom were beheaded in grisly videos released by the Islamic State — ran afoul of administration policies that effectively prohibited them from negotiating a ransom with the captors.While the FBI over the years has often quietly assisted families interested in paying ransom, other agencies of the government — especially at the Treasury and the State Department — took a hard line, asserting that any such payments would only encourage further hostage-taking and even violate U.S. laws against providing “material support” to terror groups.At a tense White House meeting, one counter-terrorism official issued what the families took as a threat that they could be criminally prosecuted if they made such payments. After the families of Foley and Sotloff went public with the threat, the White House began a review that led to a new hostage policy last year. While not explicitly condoning ransom payments, the new stance is that the government will not prevent families from “communications with hostage takers” — a formulation that seemed to open the door to paying ransom in some circumstances. (Obama also made clear that official threats to families that they might be prosecuted were “totally unacceptable.") But the Muellers’ anguish over the handling of their case seems to go beyond that and could become politically awkward for the White House. In the one interview they have given so far to NBC News, shortly after their daughter was confirmed killed, members of Mueller’s family confirmed that the family had been in communication with her Islamic State captors, and they were seeking to raise a demanded ransom of $6.2 million. But, they said, the talks fell apart after the White House agreed in 2014 to trade American soldier Bowe Berghdahl in exchange for five Taliban detainees being held at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo.“That made the whole situation worse,” Eric Mueller, Kayla’s brother said. “Because that’s when the demands got greater. They got larger. They realized that they had something. They realized that, ‘Well, if they’re gonna let five people go for one person, why won’t they do ths? Or why won’t they do that.”Sources who have talked to the Muellers say they are still frustrated about the lack of information they have received from the U.S. government about her treatment — and what happened to her.A spokeswoman for the White House did not respond to a request for comment.One of the key figures who could unravel lingering questions is Umm Sayyaf, the wife of the Islamic State official in charge of oil and gas money, Abu Sayyaf, who was killed in a Delta Force raid last May. In the raid, Delta Force commandos captured Umm Sayyaf. During debriefings, she is believed to have confirmed accounts from other rescued Yazidi captives, that Mueller had been sexually abused by al-Baghdadi.But another former U.S. intelligence official familiar with the debriefings said Umm Sayyaf was more responsible than anybody else for the mistreatment of Mueller, saying she was in charge of female captives and participated in “horrific” torture and beatings. Umm Sayyaf is now in Kurdish custody, and when the former official recently inquired about her current status, he was told that “others” — an apparent reference to the U.S. government — had an interest in possibly putting her on trial in the United States.A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined comment.
Hillary’s Financial Armada-Michael Isikoff-Chief Investigative Correspondent-February 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
On the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton has repeatedly said she will stand up to big banks, drug companies and other special interests. “Democracy can’t just be for billionaires and corporations,” she proclaims.But she has struggled to answer questions about her ties to Wall Street, telling CNN’s Anderson Cooper Wednesday night she accepted $675,000 in speaking fees from one investment bank because “that’s what they offered” and that financial firms are not giving her “very much money now.” In fact, as new campaign disclosure reports filed this week reveal, Clinton has been fueled by millions from a network of well-connected Washington lobbyists, Wall Street bundlers and billionaire donors.Here is a Yahoo News guide to some of the key players in Clinton’s $157 million campaign:A savvy political operative who was once chief of staff to Democratic Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, Elmendorf now runs Subject Matter, a go-to Democratic lobbying firm for corporate interests, raking more than $10 million in fees last year. Among its top clients: Wall Street banks (Goldman Sachs and Citigroup), the casino industry (the American Gaming Association), telecoms (Verizon and Time Warner), tech firms (Facebook and Microsoft), agribusiness (Monsanto) and the NFL.The superlobbyist brother of John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, he runs Podesta Group — a powerhouse firm for defense contractors (Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Bechtel), pharmaceutical and health insurance giants (Merck and Blue Cross-Blue Shield) and banking and private equity firms (Well Fargo, Credit Suisse Group, KKR). Podesta has used his D.C. mansion, famously decorated with expensive modern art, to host a Clinton fundraiser (offering fine Italian cooking by him and his brother) as well as a book party for Clinton super-PAC attack dog David Brock (co-hosted by Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Elias and Clinton email pal Sidney Blumenthal.) Another branch of Podesta’s portfolio: foreign governments, including several — Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Burma and the Maldives — accused by the State Department of human rights abuses. A new senior partner working on the firm’s new $1.68 million a year Saudi account: David Adams, former assistant secretary for legislative affairs while Clinton was secretary of state.The stylish ex-wife of Tony Podesta, who battled with him over the expensive art in their home during a messy divorce, she runs her own rival firm, Heather Podesta & Partners. It raked in $7.5 million last year lobbying for MacAndrews & Forbes (the Wall Street investment firm owned by billionaire Ronald Perelman) as well as Marathon Oil, the Cigna Corp. and the National Pork Producers Council, among others. But one of her new clients has raised the most eyebrows: the National Cannabis Industry Association, making her the pot lobbyist in chief on Capitol Hill.Sullivan is the former DNC finance chair who first got attention as the supervisor of John Huang, the fundraiser convicted of campaign finance violations during Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection. Sullivan, who is Cliinton’s most prolific Lobbyist bundler, now is a partner at Capitol Counsel, which specializes in protecting tax breaks for private equity and real estate investment firms (Blackstone, Beacon Capitol Partners and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.) Other big clients include the PhRMA, the drug industry’s lobbying arm, and two of its leading members (Roche Holdings and Amgen.) Sullivan recently dropped one of his clients, a firm that electronically monitors prison inmates, after Clinton met with a racial justice group and said she would not take money from lobbyists for private prison companies. Sullivan’s partner at his lobbying firm, David Jones, another longtime Democratic fundraiser, has bundled another $386,000.When the former Indiana Democratic senator announced his retirement in 2010, he bemoaned the “corrosive” impact of money in politics. But since then, Bayh has become a K Street fixture as a “strategic adviser” to the business clients of McGuireWoods, the legal, lobbying and fundraising juggernaut that represents Exxon Mobil, Duke Energy and the National Association of Manufacturers, among others. Bayh, who hosted a fundraiser for Clinton at the McGuireWoods K St. office last spring, also serves as a strategic adviser to Apollo Management, the Wall Street private equity firm (which paid Clinton $225,000 for a speech after she left office.) Two of his McGuireWoods colleagues, Andrew Smith and former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges, are also bundlers who have raised $240,000 for the Clinton campaign while lobbying for clients that include Smithfield Foods (now owned by the Chinese-based Shuanghui Group) and Dandong Port Group, a Hong Kong-registered port and grain importing firm owned by secretive Chinese billionaire Wenliang Wang, who has donated $2 million to the Clinton Foundation.After serving as Hillary Clinton’s deputy secretary of state, Nides returned through the Wall Street revolving door to become vice chairman of Morgan Stanley. A top Clinton bundler, he has helped raise $132,124 from the investment bank’s executives and employees, including donations from the firm’s chief operating officer, its chiefs of fixed income and wealth management, two managing directors and four members of its board of directors. Morgan Stanley, which last year agreed to pay a $2.6 billion fine to settle U.S. government claims over its role in the 2008 financial crisis, has donated $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation. It also paid Hillary Clinton $225,000 for a speech in 2013, two and a half months afar she stepped down as secretary of state.He is the chairman of Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street colossus that last month agreed to pay a $5.1 billion fine to settle a Justice Department investigation for its role in marketing subprime mortgage bonds in the runup to the 2008 financial crisis. Among the Goldman executives who helped Blankfein’s firm profit from the crash: Donald Mullen, the former chief of its credit department, who last year made a $1 million donation to Clinton’s super-PAC, Priorities USA Action. “Sounds like we will make some serious money,” Mullen wrote in an email in the fall of 2007, after learning the subprime mortgage market was about to crash, according to a 2011 Senate report. The firm has also been the single biggest source of funds for Hillary Clinton’s post-government speaking career, paying her $625,000 for three speeches since she stepped down as secretary of state in 2012. Blankfein so far has been sitting out the 2016 race. “I don’t want to help or hurt anybody by giving them an endorsement,” he said in a rare TV interview this week. But his wife, Laura, gave the legal maximum of $2,700 to Clinton, and Blankfein, in his interview this week, said that Sanders’ candidacy has “the potential to be a dangerous moment.” Goldman Sachs’ ties to the Clintons have been personal and political: Goldman’s executives and employees have contributed $750,000 to Clinton’s political campaigns, including $100,616 to this year’s run. The firm itself has donated at least $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation and paid $1.2 million to Bill Clinton for speeches dating back to 2001. Blankfein, who has described himself as a friend of Hillary Clinton, has lent a helping financial hand to the Clinton family: He (along with two other former Goldman executives) is among the investors in Eaglevale Partners, the hedge fund founded in 2011 by Marc Mezvinsky, husband of Chelsea Clinton, and the former secretary’s son in law.A billionaire hedge fund kingpin, co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucs and avid high-stakes poker player (for stakes as much as $20,000 a hand) Lasry is among Clinton’s most steadfast Wall Street backers, with close personal ties to her family. He has donated between $100,000 and $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation, hired Chelsea Clinton at his Avenue Capital hedge fund, invested (along with Blankfein) in son-in-law Mezvinsky’s fund and made his corporate jet available to Clinton while she was senator. When Clinton launched her campaign last year, Lasry threw one of the initial fundraisers, sending out an email saying he would “love to try to raise 270” — as in $270,000.The former right-wing journalist now runs an interlocking network of pro-Clinton nonprofits and super-PACs informally known as “Brocktopus.” One of Brock’s arms is Correct the Record, a super-PAC that has collected $3.4 million from wealthy donors while openly proclaiming its intention to coordinate with the Clinton campaign — an arrangement that some experts say may violate campaign finance law. (The Clinton campaign has made two payments to Brock’s super-PAC totaling $281,000 for “research.” ) The Brock super-PAC, which received a $1 million infusion from allied pro-Clinton super-PAC Priorities USA Action last December, was the first to raise questions about Bernie Sanders’ medical records; Correct the Record was also recently outed for offering “off the record” tips about Sanders to a Vermont newspaper. Brock’s ties to the Clinton world are close and multilayered: When he held the book party for his tome, “Kill the Messenger,” last September at the home of Clinton bundler Tony Podesta (see the K Street Army), the co-hosts included Marc Elias, chief counsel for the Clinton campaign, who also serves as the lawyer for Correct the Record and allied Democratic super-PACs, and Sidney Blumenthal, Clinton’s most prolific email correspondent, who was being paid by another Brock outfit, Media Matters, as well as the Clinton Foundation.The billionaire Hungarian-born hedge fund investor has been among the biggest donors to Democratic causes for years but has recently stepped up his game for Clinton. New disclosure reports show he cut a $6 million check last December to Priorities USA Action — the main super-PAC backing her candidacy. That’s on top of another $1 million check to Priorities earlier in the year as well as $1 million to American Bridge 21st Century, an allied super-PAC run by David Brock (see above). Other million-dollar donors to Priorities: Hollywood moguls Stephen Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, Wall Street heavyweights Donald Mullen (a former Goldman Sachs executive) and Donald Sussman and investor Haim Saban (see below).A one-time bass guitarist in an Israeli rock band, multibillionaire Los Angeles-based tycoon Saban — who is best known for creating the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers — may be Clinton’s most generous and committed superdonor: He proclaimed last year he would spend “whatever it takes” to elect her president. But Saban, who has donated $10 million to the Clinton Foundation and whose wife serves on its board, may be in a position to help her candidacy in other ways: He is principal owner and CEO of Univision, the largest Spanish-language media organization in the country.Dennis Cheng is the silent chief of the Clinton fundraising operation — the national finance director who is almost never seen in public and refuses to talk to reporters. Cheng joined the campaign after serving for four years as chief fundraiser for the Clinton Foundation, where he collected hundreds of millions of dollars from overseas donors that have generated intense media scrutiny and allegations of conflict of interest for Clinton. Cheng’s ties to Clinton go way back: He started as an intern during her 2000 Senate run, gradually moving up to become her finance director while she was in the Senate, then moving with her to the State Department as deputy chief of protocol.* Bundlers raise “hard money” to Clinton’s campaign in individual checks that, under federal law, are limited to $2,700 apiece. Super-PACs are permitted to raise sums from donations in unlimited amounts. ** Total includes $2.5 million donated by his wife, Cheryl Saban.Source for numbers: Federal Election Commission and Center for Responsive Politics
Obama visits US mosque, says impression of Muslims distorted-Associated Press By DARLENE SUPERVILLE-February 3, 2016 3:25 PM-YAHOONEWS
CATONSVILLE, Md. (AP) — President Barack Obama sought Wednesday to correct what he called a "hugely distorted impression" of Muslim-Americans as he made his first visit to a U.S. mosque. He said those who demonize all Muslims for the acts of a few are playing into extremists' hands.Inserting himself into a debate that has ricocheted in the presidential campaign, Obama told parishioners at a mosque outside Baltimore that he'd heard from young Muslims worried they'll be rounded up and kicked out of the country. He said Muslims, too, are concerned about the threat of terrorism but are too often blamed as a group "for the violent acts of the very few.""We've seen children bullied, we've seen mosques vandalized," Obama said, warning that such unequal treatment for certain groups in society tears at the nation's fabric. "That's not who we are."For Muslim advocates, Obama's visit was a long-awaited gesture to a community that has warned of escalating vitriol against them that has accompanied the public's concern about the Islamic State and other extremist groups. Although Obama has visited mosques overseas, he waited until his final year in office to make such a visit at home, reflecting the issue's sensitive political implications.In this year's Republican presidential campaign, Donald Trump has called for banning Muslims from the U.S. temporarily and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio warned of "radical Islamic terrorism." Muslim-American advocacy groups have warned of growing antagonism that has followed recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, by those purporting to act in the name of Islam."We have to understand: An attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths," Obama said. He said it fell on all Americans to speak up.For Obama, the visit reflected a willingness to wade into touchy social issues that often eluded him earlier in his presidency. For years, Obama has fought incorrect claims that he's actually a Muslim and was born in Kenya, beliefs that polls suggest remain prevalent among many Republicans.Obama, a Christian, was born in Hawaii.-Obama, acknowledging that uncomfortable chapter in his own story, noted that Thomas Jefferson had also been accused of being a Muslim."So I was not the first," Obama said to laughter from a hundred or so Muslims who gathered for his speech. "No, it's true. Look it up."Obama challenged Hollywood to start casting Muslims in roles "that are unrelated to national security." Drawing a parallel with African-Americans' struggle for broad societal acceptance, he noted, "there was a time when there were no black people on television."With no plans to ever again appear on a ballot, Obama faces less pressure to avoid political controversy, and seemed to relish the possibility that his visit would raise eyebrows among some of his most entrenched critics. Ahead of his visit, White House officials acknowledged the visit could spark controversy but suggested that would help make his point about ignorance and religious bias.Still, the president was pointed in acknowledging that concerns about violence emanating from some corners of the Islamic world were not ill-founded. He denounced what he called an "organized extremist element" twisting selective Islamic texts in a way that ends up reflecting negatively on the overwhelming majority of law-abiding Muslims."It is undeniable that a small fraction of Muslims propagate a perverted interpretation of Islam. This is the truth," Obama said. He added, "It's real. It's there."But Obama said suggestions that Islam is at the root of the problem only play into terrorist propaganda, weakening U.S. national security as opposed to strengthening it. He said IS and other extremist groups are desperately working to legitimize themselves by masquerading as religious leaders and holy warriors."We must never give them that legitimacy. They're not defending Islam," Obama said. "The vast majority of the people they kill are innocent Muslim men, women and children."Ahead of his speech at the suburban Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama met with Muslim university chaplains, community activists and public health professionals to discuss religious tolerance and freedom. Among the participants was fencer Ibtihaj Muhamma. The White House said she'll make history at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games as the first United States Olympian to compete in a hijab.Nearly half of Americans think at least some U.S. Muslims are anti-American, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday. Two-thirds of Americans said people, not religious teachings, are to blame when violence is committed in the name of faith. However, when respondents were asked which religion they consider troubling, Islam was the most common answer."We never thought that when we held our first prayers in the small room nearly a half a century ago that we would be hosting the president," said Muhammad Jameel, the mosque's president. "Today is a new starting point. It is also a continuing journey — a journey steeped in American history and tradition."____Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Josh Lederman in Washington and AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll in New York contributed to this report.___Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap
Obama visits a mosque to send pointed message to non-Muslims-Reuters By Roberta Rampton-February 3, 2016 5:05 PM-YAHOONEWS
CATONSVILLE, Md. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama made his first visit to a U.S. mosque on Wednesday, in an effort to allay the fears of Americans accustomed to pop-culture portrayals of Muslims as terrorists, and to reassure Muslim American youth about their place in the nation.Obama, declaring that attacks on Islam were an attack on all religions, decried the "inexcusable political rhetoric" against Muslims from Donald Trump and other Republican presidential candidates.“We have to understand that an attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths," he said at the mosque outside of Baltimore, which he said had received threats twice in the past year. "When any religious group is targeted, we all have a responsibility to speak up."Trump, the Republican front-runner, called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States after authorities described a California couple who killed 14 people last December as radicalized Muslims inspired by Islamic State militants.Obama's visit was aimed at showing Americans another side of Islam. Before he spoke, Cub Scouts who attend a school run by the mosque carried the American and Maryland state flags into the prayer hall, a plain room save for a three rows of window panes, 99 in all, each depicting one of the names of Allah in Arabic."Think of your own church or synagogue or temple, and a mosque like this will be very familiar," said Obama, who, following Islamic custom, took off his shoes to enter the hall.The children led the audience, with some men in prayer caps and most women in head scarves, in the Pledge of Allegiance. A man and a woman recited a verse from the Koran about tolerance and inclusion.Obama, a Christian, outlined the tenets of Islam, and gave a brief history of Muslims in America. He noted that founding father Thomas Jefferson specifically mentioned Muslims when he spoke about the American right to freedom of religion."Thomas Jefferson’s opponents tried to stir things up by suggesting he was a Muslim, so I was not the first," said Obama, who has long been accused of secretly being a Muslim, to a roar of laugher. "I'm in good company," he said.Obama asked a row of Muslim American military service members to stand, as well as Ibtihaj Muhammad, a member of the U.S. fencing team who will be the first American Olympian to compete in a hijab, or head scarf, in this year's Rio Olympics.The president touched on pop-culture depictions of Muslims as terrorists. "Our television shows should have some Muslim characters that are unrelated to national security, Obama said.Turning to extremist groups such as Islamic State and what he characterized as perverted versions of Islam portrayed by them, Obama urged regular Muslims to "show who you are. To use a little Christian expression - let your light shine."Later, he told a crowd of cheering children, who had packed the mosque's gymnasium to watch his speech on large screens, that one day they too could become president.Obama urged young Muslims not to embrace a worldview that required them to choose between faith and patriotism."You fit in here. Right here," he said. "You're not Muslim or American. You're Muslim and American."(Additional reporting by Ayesha Rascoe and Jeff Mason; Editing by James Dalgleish and Jonathan Oatis)
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
GALATIONS 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Daryush 'Roosh V' Valizadeh cancels neo-masculinist meetings over safety-Valizadeh apologises for cancelling meetings planned for Saturday, saying he ‘can no longer guarantee the safety or privacy of the men who want to attend’-Last modified on Friday 5 February 2016 01.59 GMT-the guardian
The leader of a self-described neo-masculinist movement has cancelled a series of meetings planned for cities worldwide on Saturday because he “can no longer guarantee the safety or privacy of the men who want to attend”.Daryush Valizadeh, who goes by the name Roosh V, posted a brief statement on Thursday apologising to his “supporters” whom he said were “let down by my decision”, but said he “could not stop men meeting in private groups”.Meetings were planned in 43 countries, including Britain, where planned gatherings in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Shrewsbury raised concern among police chiefs and MPs.Nearly 80,000 people signed an online petition calling for Roosh V’s group, dubbed Return of Kings, to be banned from the UK after they advocated women being banned from voting, described a woman’s value as dependent on her “fertility and beauty”, and that women with eating disorders make the best girlfriends.Before the events were cancelled, shadow Home Office minister Sarah Champion MP demanded that Theresa May take action against the group using hate crime laws.“Rape of women has increased by 41% in the last year. I’m appalled that the government are sitting idly by whilst a group who believe women are pieces of meat without any rights are allowed to spread their poisonous ideology in the UK,” she said.“As far as I’m concerned Return of Kings are encouraging violence against women and girls. This should be viewed as a hate crime and the government and police should use our existing laws to deal with it swiftly to show we won’t accept anyone promoting abuse.”Northumbria’s police and crime commissioner, Vera Baird, had also written to the home secretary urging her to ban Roosh V from the UK, saying his “abhorrent” views have no place in Newcastle.— The Chronicle (@EveningChron)-February 4, 2016-Front page: Petition to ban Roosh V rallies reaches 40,000 signatures.https://t.co/UIHVC8yo94 http://pic.twitter.com/IFWcBzIxu4-It is understood a number of the planned meetings, including in Melbourne, Australia, were already moved to private property, a reflection either of the concern over safety or the size of the gathering.Melbourne’s lord mayor, Robert Doyle, told ABC radio on Wednesday that the City of Melbourne could charge anyone planning to hold a meeting for Valizadeh’s group on city land with trespassing.-Nearly 50,000 sign petition to ban pro-rape pick-up artist-Valizadeh’s stated concerns for the safety of male attendees ironically echoed concerns voiced by a number of women on social media, who shared details of the meet-ups accompanied by a warning to other women to “try not to go anywhere alone” this weekend.He announced his plan to visit Australia by tweeting a screenshot of an airline booking page on Monday and a petition calling for him to be stopped at the border had gathered more than 100,000 signatures by Wednesday.The organisers of the petition called the result “a victory”, claiming that the Australian immigration minister, Peter Dutton, had denied Valizadeh’s visa, but a spokeswoman from Dutton’s office said there was “no evidence to suggest he had ever applied for a visa”.The spokeswoman suggested the travel plans were concocted to create outrage and garner media attention – which worked.Waleed Aly made the same point in a speech about Valizadeh on Channel 10’s The Project on Tuesday.Valizadeh, a self-published author who has apparently produced 15 books on how to pick up women in various countries, refused all Australian interview requests but linked or shared all media about his supposed visit. He also claimed he could enter Australia without a visa, apparently via boat.He has since claimed to be misrepresented by the media, saying an oft-quoted blog post from February 2015 that argued rape was legal if done on private property was “satirical”.— Roosh (@rooshv)-February 3, 2016-I'll state once again: the "How To Stop Rape" article was satire. Neither me or my supporters want rape to be legalized. The media is lying.“I can tattoo ‘it was satire!’ on my head but the anger wouldn’t be one decibel softer,” he tweeted on Wednesday. “The masses think what the media tells them to think.“If I get killed right now by an idiot, the media wouldn’t care. They love their power. Tomorrow they would find a new Roosh to martyr.”He then called for “feminine women who are disgusted with media lying” to follow the hashtag #femininewomenforRoosh. It attracted 17 tweets in five hours, most from men or women mocking Valizadeh.
UN voices alarm at growing number of child marriages in Iran-AFP-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
Geneva (AFP) - A growing number of young girls are being forced to marry in Iran, UN rights experts warned Thursday, decrying laws permitting sexual intercourse with girls as young as nine.Following a review of the situation in Iran, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) urged the country to "repeal all legal provisions that authorise, condone or lead to child sexual abuse."The committee, which is made up of 18 independent experts who monitor the implementation of international children's rights treaties, said it was "seriously concerned" over reports that child marriages in Iran were on the rise.A growing number of "girls at the age of 10 years or younger ... are subjected to child and forced marriages to much older men," CRC said.Compounding the problem were laws allowing sex with girls as young as nine, and a lack of criminalisation for sexual abuse of even younger children, it said.The committee also lamented a law obliging wives "to fulfil sexual needs of their husbands at all times," which it stressed "places child brides at risk of sexual violence, including marital rape."Stressing the devastating effects child marriage can have on the physical and mental health of young girls, the experts called on Tehran to introduce national laws clearly banning and criminalising the practice.The committee also raised a range of other disturbing issues, including the fact that boys in the country are considered criminally responsible at the age of 15, and girls at nine.This means children down to those ages can be subjected to "sentences involving torture or cruel, degrading treatment of punishment," it said.Most distressing perhaps is that some crimes committed as a minor in Iran are punishable by death, and that the country occasionally executed children."A small number of children have been executed in Iran," committee member Bernard Gastaud told reporters.His colleague Benyam Mezmur described the situation as being "of very serious concern."
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
Statehood is Catalonia's 'only option' By Helena Spongenberg-euobserver
Barcelona, 4. Feb, 15:21-The new Catalan government installed last month under Carles Puigdemont has promised to adopt a constitution and organise a referendum on independence in about 18 months.One part of this strategy is to boost the region’s profile and influence in Europe. To this end, a foreign affairs department has been created in Barcelona to replace the previous secretariat.The new portfolio was entrusted to Raul Romeva, a former Green MEP who led the separatist coalition in the last election in September 2015.“We aspire to become a state and an ally of the states in Europe and in the world,” Romeva told EUobserver in an interview.“We want to explain in Europe that we want to bring solutions. We have the will and the intention to continue contributing to the European project, being an asset and not a problem.”-Divided left-wingers-The new foreign department, Romeva explained, would maintain and nurture the economic, social, political and cultural ties that Catalonia already has with the rest of Europe.“We will also explain that we are preparing a series of structures and laws that at a certain time will be put to a vote to the citizens,” he said.The Catalan government, run by Romeva and Puigdemont’s Junts pel Si (Together for Yes) coalition with the support of the left-wing separatist CUP, plans to implement judicial and tax laws as well as a social policy reform.The objective is that the laws will be adopted by parliament within 18 months, and then Catalans will vote on a new constitution.For now, however, the government in Madrid and most Spanish political parties say the Catalan push for independence contravenes the constitution, which describes Spain as the "indivisible homeland".The Catalan question is also one of the reasons why the Spanish left is having a hard time agreeing to form a government. The populist Podemos party has promised to back a legal referendum on independence but the socialist PSOE is opposed to such a promise.“It is in no way useful for Europe that we for years have stagnant problems like this one,” Romeva told EUobserver. “We have an electoral mandate that we presented in an election with a road-map towards independence and as we have the majority in the parliament, we are implementing this program.”-'Different sensibilities'-Romeva’s role is, among other things, to give the regional authorities’ views on the situation abroad and give Barcelona more weight in the showdown with Madrid.Catalonia has a permanent representation in Brussels and government delegations in Austria, France, Germany and Portugal, as well as in Australia and the US.“We want to have a normal relationship with Europe – Europe is our natural environment,” said Romeva. “However, we have a series of difficulties with the Spanish state, which prevents us from having this normal relationship with Europe.”But Romeva accepts that there are "very different sensibilities" outside of the region about the possibility of Catalan statehood.“There are people and states that understand it from a democratic point of view and there are other states where the government keeps a more rigid line,” he explained.“We are an ally, but the states obviously have a certain caution because of their state relations with Spain.”He admitted that this caution was logical.“It is difficult for a state to have non-state relations against the wishes of another state, especially if that state is a partner in other spheres,” he said.-Scottish role model-After many years of claims and stalled negotiations with Madrid, the “only option now is to become a normal state and have a normal relation with the world”, the foreign minister said.“We’re not a normal state, and we’re not what Spain wants us to be. We have a bit of a strange situation and we want to resolve that,” he said.If a new Spanish government, when it is formed in Madrid, puts an agreed and legal referendum on the table now, it would be welcomed in Barcelona, said Romeva.“A perfect situation would be like the referendum in Scotland,” he said.“But it won’t happen. We have asked for a referendum 17 times. What is the limit for how many times you can ask for a referendum? Seventeen times more or should we look for an alternative solution?-“We have for decades now tried to find solutions within the framework of the Spanish constitution to take account of the different realities that there are in Spain. It hasn’t been possible and it has now reached an exhausted dimension where enough is enough.“In order for Catalonia to be useful for Spain and for Europe we have to resolve this issue.”Romeva added that his government wanted “to resolve this in a constant dialogue with all parts, although to have a dialogue, you need someone who will talk to you”.-EU citizenship question-The foreign minister also complained about the “difficulties” put by the Spanish government when Catalan officials try to do business abroad.“When you move to find foreign investors, you constantly have a Spanish representative looking over your shoulder to see whether it is in favour not of economic interests but of the unity of Spain,” he said.“This criterion is absolutely irrational because they prefer losing economic opportunities that are also beneficial for the rest of Spain.”Romeva mentioned the Mediterranean corridor - an EU railway project to link the South of Spain to the Hungarian Ukraine border - where he said that Spain had continuously played down the importance of Catalonia’s role.Although he assured that Catalan authorities “do not want a situation of chaos”, Romeva admitted the separatist drive could create a problematic situation for Europe.“Catalonia is part of the European Union and the 7.5 million Catalans have the nationality of a member state of the European Union and therefore also EU citizenship,” he said. “One cannot take that away.”Potential problems arising from Catalonia becoming independent would continue to be “a European issue,” he said.
TTIP investor court illegal, say German judges By Nikolaj Nielsen-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 4. Feb, 18:17-German judges dealt a blow to EU-US free trade agreement talks after declaring a proposed arbitration court illegal.The European Commission last September proposed setting up an investment tribunal court that would allow firms to challenge government decisions as part of its larger Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).Critics says the new court, which is intended to replace a much loathed investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system, will pressure governments into clawing back consumer protection rights and environmental standards in favour of corporate interest.Earlier this week, the German Association of Magistrates, a Berlin-based judicial umbrella organisation, said it "sees neither a legal basis nor a need for such a court".It says existing national courts are good enough and that efforts by the Commission to create a new court undermines jurisdictions across the Union."The German Magistrates Association sees no need for the establishment of a special court for investors," it states.It says the new investor court would alter national court systems "and deprive courts of member states of their power."The German magistrates also cast doubt on the independence of the judges in the new system as well as their appointment procedures.Proponents, for their part, say the investment tribunal court is needed to both protect and attract foreign investment from potentially hostile governments or biased domestic courts.-'Democratic principles and public scrutiny'-The European Commission declined to comment but instead referred back to its previous stated positions.EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, who is heading the TTIP talks, last year said the new court would be "subject to democratic principles and public scrutiny".The centre-right European People's Party and the centre-left Socialists & Democrats groups in the European Parliament spearheaded the new investor court last summer and backed the commission's proposal. Others, like the Greens, opposed the plan, noting businesses should not be allowed to file cases in private courts outside current legal systems.The TTIP talks, which have been largely held in secret since 2013, aim to remove non-tariff barriers to trade.The 12th round of talks will be held in Brussels on 22 February."We will only know closer to the date what topics will be discussed," said a commission spokesperson.
UK to discuss Tusk draft with EU states By Eszter Zalan-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 4. Feb, 19:18-Government advisers and EU ambassadors will gather in Brussels on Friday (5 February) for a first discussion on the proposals put forward by EU Council president Donald Tusk on the UK's requests for a renegotiated EU membership in preparation of the EU leaders' summit.Sources said the gathering will provide an opportunity for member states to clarify issues in the document that they received on Tuesday and have been studying since."We want to ask questions, clarify details," a diplomatic source said.One of the key issues is curbing benefits for EU workers in Britain through an "emergency brake".The EU Commission has already given the UK assurances that in their case circumstances persist that justify the brake.Some eastern European countries, which have a large number of their citizens working in the UK, are worried that the emergency brake opens the door for other member states to cap or limit benefits for EU workers."We want to make sure that it does not open the door for other countries to restrict benefits for EU workers, we would like to see them spelling out why, on what evidence does the situation in the UK merits this brake, and make sure it is not only a political decision but has some footing in evidence," a source added.The time frame over which the brake can be used is still up for negotiation, but that might only be decided by EU leaders at their summit later this month, where British prime minister David Cameron hopes to secure a deal to enable him to hold an EU membership referendum in his home country on 23 June.For the time being, there is one more so-called "sherpa" meeting scheduled for next Thursday.The British prime minister met with Slovak premier Robert Fico in London to discuss the UK-EU deal. Cameron will travel to Poland on Friday to lobby for the UK-EU agreement.Polish prime minister Beata Szydlo said Thursday that her government "will do everything" to keep Britain in the EU, but called the benefit issue "a problem".Also in London, Tusk and Cameron met on the sidelines of the Syria conference in London, where they took stock of the capitals' initial reactions so far.Nobody appears to be happy with the proposals so far, indicating that an agreement may be hard to secure, even if the document is balanced.-'No new negotiations'-Tusk also met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders in London.The French president, Francois Hollande, has made some tough comments, and has been active in making sure the UK does not secure a veto or an option to delay decisions made by the eurozone member states.The package of EU reforms offered to David Cameron is non-negotiable and Britain will be offered no further concessions, the French President has said.Hollande warned Wednesday evening that there would be “no new adjustments or new negotiations” to the draft package of measures.“We want the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union,” Hollande told reporters in Paris, according to the AFP.“The compromise that has been found will likely allow us to find solutions to problems that until now seemed difficult to resolve. But at the European Council there can be no new adjustments or new negotiations," Hollande said."We have reached a point that should give Britons the reassurances needed while respecting European principles,” he added.
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
Panama looks to GM mosquitoes to combat Zika-AFP-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
Panama City (AFP) - Panama is mulling releasing millions of genetically modified mosquitoes on its territory to combat the spread of the Zika virus, a prominent health official told AFP on Thursday.The health ministry and a tropical disease research lab, the Gorgas Institute, are evaluating "the viability and feasibility" of repeating and expanding on just such an experiment that took place two years ago, said Israel Cedeno, head of the ministry's epidemiological unit.As back then, the idea would be to introduce male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes whose genes had been altered so that their offspring, after mating with bloodsucking females, die at the larva stage.In 2014, the project, carried out in a town west of Panama's capital, resulted in a 93 percent decline in the mosquito population in the area.Cedeno cautioned however that while the results were encouraging "its cost is high."Because of that, the government needed to work out if the money would be better spent on genetically tinkering with mosquitoes or boosting public information campaigns to urge eradication of breeding spots for the insects.In Panama there are 50 confirmed cases of Zika infection, all of them in its Caribbean coastal region.The World Health Organization has said it suspects the virus might be behind a sudden spike in birth defects in a part of northern Brazil.
Florida extends health emergency over Zika amid growing U.S. concern-Reuters By Letitia Stein-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott expanded a public health emergency over the Zika virus on Thursday, adding a fifth county to the list of areas in the state with travel-related cases.His action came as the mosquito-borne virus generates increasing concern in the United States. Zika is spreading rapidly in the Americas, and has been linked to a spike in birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil.Florida's warm climate and nearly year-round mosquito season makes it particularly vulnerable to spreading, although so far all of the state's cases were acquired abroad, officials said.Scott has directed state officials to pay special attention to mosquito control in the affected counties. They are Broward and Miami-Dade in south Florida, Hillsborough in the Tampa region, Lee County in southwest Florida and Santa Rosa County in the Florida Panhandle."Just like a hurricane, we have to ensure Florida is safe," Scott said on Thursday, calling it prudent to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.He also called for federal health officials to provide the state with at least 1,000 Zika antibody tests so the state can test pregnant women who have traveled to affected countries and experienced symptoms of the virus. The state is also boosting its inventory of testing kits for active cases, Scott said.Meanwhile, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo expanded his state's free Zika testing to include all pregnant women who have traveled to countries where people are being infected.Authorities in Texas said on Tuesday a person in Dallas had become infected with Zika after having sex with another person who had traveled in Venezuela, where the virus is circulating.Local health officials said on Thursday both those people have fully recovered from the virus.(Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Bernard Orr)
In San Bernadino attack, trial delayed for man accused of supplying weapons-Reuters-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
(Reuters) - The trial for Enrique Marquez, accused of supplying assault weapons to the husband and wife who massacred 14 people in San Bernardino, California, has been postponed until July, prosecutors said Thursday.Marquez, 24, has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying about purchasing firearms that the pair later used for their December shooting rampage.U.S. District Court Judge Jesus Bernal, citing requests from both the prosecution and the defense for more time to prepare, moved the start of the trial from Feb. 23 to July 19.Bernal signed the order on Monday, and it was distributed to the press on Thursday by U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Eileen Decker.Authorities say the husband-and-wife shooters, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 29, opened fire at a holiday gathering of Farook's co-workers on Dec. 2, killing 14 people and wounding 22.Farook, the U.S.-born son of Pakistani immigrants, and Malik, a Pakistani native he married in Saudi Arabia in 2014, died in a shootout with police four hours after the massacre.Marquez, a childhood friend of Farook, was also accused in a five-count indictment of entering a sham marriage with a Russian immigrant, whose sister is married to Farook's older brother, so that she could live in the United States.He is accused to conspiring with Farook in 2011 and 2012 to provide material support to terrorists including weapons, explosives and personnel for attacks that were never carried out.(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Grand jury indicts 16 in connection with Oregon occupation-Reuters-February 3, 2016 8:18 PM-YAHOONEWS
(Reuters) - A U.S. grand jury returned an indictment on Wednesday against 16 people in connection with the armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in Oregon, prosecutors said.The U.S. Attorney's Office in Portland did not disclose the charges contained in the indictment, which has been sealed, but said it would likely be made public soon. A previous criminal complaint charged 11 former occupiers with conspiracy to impede federal officers.(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Sandra Maler)
Earthquake shakes Tokyo, no tsunami risk-Associated Press-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
TOKYO (AP) — An earthquake has struck close to Tokyo, shaking much of the metropolitan region. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, and no tsunami risk.The Japan Meteorological Agency said the 7:41 a.m. Friday morning quake had a preliminary magnitude of 4.6. The epicenter was in Kawasaki city, just south of the border with Tokyo.Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the quake briefly interrupted bullet train service between Tokyo and Odawara, a nearby city to the south.
Family of murdered ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller speaks out-Michael Isikoff By Michael Isikoff-FEB 4,16-YAHOONEWS
In a statement honoring American hostage Kayla Mueller on the anniversary of her death in Syria, her family suggests they are preparing to go public with “the heartbreaking story” of their attempts to ransom her from the Islamic State. And, they say, they will be speaking out about “those who hindered us” — an apparent reference to their frustration with officials in the Obama administration over how their daughter’s case was handled.The statement by Marsha and Carl Mueller, Kayla’s brother Eric and other family members and friends is the first they have made since shortly after receiving confirmation last February of the death of the 26-year-old humanitarian worker from Prescott, Ariz., who was killed in Syria after being held captive by the Islamic State for nearly two years.U.S. officials have confirmed that Mueller was tortured by her Islamic State captors — and, according to debriefings of some who were held with her — even taken as a “wife” and sexually abused by the terror group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But much remains unknown about what happened during her horrifying ordeal: Although the family has received photos of her body, it has not been recovered and the way she died, whether murdered by her captors or killed by a coalition bombing, remains unclear.The new statement, along with a newly released photograph of Kayla with her parents taken just months before she was kidnapped in 2013, invokes the memory who, in volunteering to help refugees from the Syrian civil war, was committed “to serving the most vulnerable.”“Kayla was given a special heart and mind to not only see suffering in its many forms but to reach out and find a way to help those God placed before her,” reads the statement, released by a spokeswoman for Atlantic Media, the company owned by businessman David Bradley, who attempted to assist the families of Mueller and other American hostages who were being held by the Islamic State. But it strongly hints that the family will have more to say, especially about the actions of the Obama administration and the dispute about whether the families should have been permitted to pay ransom in an attempt to save their loved ones.“The heartbreaking story of our efforts to bring Kayla home and of those who helped and those who hindered us will be told,” the family’s statement reads.As has been recounted in multiple media accounts, the Muellers as well as other families of American hostages — including that of James Foley and Steven Sotloff, both of whom were beheaded in grisly videos released by the Islamic State — ran afoul of administration policies that effectively prohibited them from negotiating a ransom with the captors.While the FBI over the years has often quietly assisted families interested in paying ransom, other agencies of the government — especially at the Treasury and the State Department — took a hard line, asserting that any such payments would only encourage further hostage-taking and even violate U.S. laws against providing “material support” to terror groups.At a tense White House meeting, one counter-terrorism official issued what the families took as a threat that they could be criminally prosecuted if they made such payments. After the families of Foley and Sotloff went public with the threat, the White House began a review that led to a new hostage policy last year. While not explicitly condoning ransom payments, the new stance is that the government will not prevent families from “communications with hostage takers” — a formulation that seemed to open the door to paying ransom in some circumstances. (Obama also made clear that official threats to families that they might be prosecuted were “totally unacceptable.") But the Muellers’ anguish over the handling of their case seems to go beyond that and could become politically awkward for the White House. In the one interview they have given so far to NBC News, shortly after their daughter was confirmed killed, members of Mueller’s family confirmed that the family had been in communication with her Islamic State captors, and they were seeking to raise a demanded ransom of $6.2 million. But, they said, the talks fell apart after the White House agreed in 2014 to trade American soldier Bowe Berghdahl in exchange for five Taliban detainees being held at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo.“That made the whole situation worse,” Eric Mueller, Kayla’s brother said. “Because that’s when the demands got greater. They got larger. They realized that they had something. They realized that, ‘Well, if they’re gonna let five people go for one person, why won’t they do ths? Or why won’t they do that.”Sources who have talked to the Muellers say they are still frustrated about the lack of information they have received from the U.S. government about her treatment — and what happened to her.A spokeswoman for the White House did not respond to a request for comment.One of the key figures who could unravel lingering questions is Umm Sayyaf, the wife of the Islamic State official in charge of oil and gas money, Abu Sayyaf, who was killed in a Delta Force raid last May. In the raid, Delta Force commandos captured Umm Sayyaf. During debriefings, she is believed to have confirmed accounts from other rescued Yazidi captives, that Mueller had been sexually abused by al-Baghdadi.But another former U.S. intelligence official familiar with the debriefings said Umm Sayyaf was more responsible than anybody else for the mistreatment of Mueller, saying she was in charge of female captives and participated in “horrific” torture and beatings. Umm Sayyaf is now in Kurdish custody, and when the former official recently inquired about her current status, he was told that “others” — an apparent reference to the U.S. government — had an interest in possibly putting her on trial in the United States.A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined comment.
Hillary’s Financial Armada-Michael Isikoff-Chief Investigative Correspondent-February 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
On the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton has repeatedly said she will stand up to big banks, drug companies and other special interests. “Democracy can’t just be for billionaires and corporations,” she proclaims.But she has struggled to answer questions about her ties to Wall Street, telling CNN’s Anderson Cooper Wednesday night she accepted $675,000 in speaking fees from one investment bank because “that’s what they offered” and that financial firms are not giving her “very much money now.” In fact, as new campaign disclosure reports filed this week reveal, Clinton has been fueled by millions from a network of well-connected Washington lobbyists, Wall Street bundlers and billionaire donors.Here is a Yahoo News guide to some of the key players in Clinton’s $157 million campaign:A savvy political operative who was once chief of staff to Democratic Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, Elmendorf now runs Subject Matter, a go-to Democratic lobbying firm for corporate interests, raking more than $10 million in fees last year. Among its top clients: Wall Street banks (Goldman Sachs and Citigroup), the casino industry (the American Gaming Association), telecoms (Verizon and Time Warner), tech firms (Facebook and Microsoft), agribusiness (Monsanto) and the NFL.The superlobbyist brother of John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, he runs Podesta Group — a powerhouse firm for defense contractors (Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Bechtel), pharmaceutical and health insurance giants (Merck and Blue Cross-Blue Shield) and banking and private equity firms (Well Fargo, Credit Suisse Group, KKR). Podesta has used his D.C. mansion, famously decorated with expensive modern art, to host a Clinton fundraiser (offering fine Italian cooking by him and his brother) as well as a book party for Clinton super-PAC attack dog David Brock (co-hosted by Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Elias and Clinton email pal Sidney Blumenthal.) Another branch of Podesta’s portfolio: foreign governments, including several — Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Burma and the Maldives — accused by the State Department of human rights abuses. A new senior partner working on the firm’s new $1.68 million a year Saudi account: David Adams, former assistant secretary for legislative affairs while Clinton was secretary of state.The stylish ex-wife of Tony Podesta, who battled with him over the expensive art in their home during a messy divorce, she runs her own rival firm, Heather Podesta & Partners. It raked in $7.5 million last year lobbying for MacAndrews & Forbes (the Wall Street investment firm owned by billionaire Ronald Perelman) as well as Marathon Oil, the Cigna Corp. and the National Pork Producers Council, among others. But one of her new clients has raised the most eyebrows: the National Cannabis Industry Association, making her the pot lobbyist in chief on Capitol Hill.Sullivan is the former DNC finance chair who first got attention as the supervisor of John Huang, the fundraiser convicted of campaign finance violations during Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection. Sullivan, who is Cliinton’s most prolific Lobbyist bundler, now is a partner at Capitol Counsel, which specializes in protecting tax breaks for private equity and real estate investment firms (Blackstone, Beacon Capitol Partners and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.) Other big clients include the PhRMA, the drug industry’s lobbying arm, and two of its leading members (Roche Holdings and Amgen.) Sullivan recently dropped one of his clients, a firm that electronically monitors prison inmates, after Clinton met with a racial justice group and said she would not take money from lobbyists for private prison companies. Sullivan’s partner at his lobbying firm, David Jones, another longtime Democratic fundraiser, has bundled another $386,000.When the former Indiana Democratic senator announced his retirement in 2010, he bemoaned the “corrosive” impact of money in politics. But since then, Bayh has become a K Street fixture as a “strategic adviser” to the business clients of McGuireWoods, the legal, lobbying and fundraising juggernaut that represents Exxon Mobil, Duke Energy and the National Association of Manufacturers, among others. Bayh, who hosted a fundraiser for Clinton at the McGuireWoods K St. office last spring, also serves as a strategic adviser to Apollo Management, the Wall Street private equity firm (which paid Clinton $225,000 for a speech after she left office.) Two of his McGuireWoods colleagues, Andrew Smith and former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges, are also bundlers who have raised $240,000 for the Clinton campaign while lobbying for clients that include Smithfield Foods (now owned by the Chinese-based Shuanghui Group) and Dandong Port Group, a Hong Kong-registered port and grain importing firm owned by secretive Chinese billionaire Wenliang Wang, who has donated $2 million to the Clinton Foundation.After serving as Hillary Clinton’s deputy secretary of state, Nides returned through the Wall Street revolving door to become vice chairman of Morgan Stanley. A top Clinton bundler, he has helped raise $132,124 from the investment bank’s executives and employees, including donations from the firm’s chief operating officer, its chiefs of fixed income and wealth management, two managing directors and four members of its board of directors. Morgan Stanley, which last year agreed to pay a $2.6 billion fine to settle U.S. government claims over its role in the 2008 financial crisis, has donated $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation. It also paid Hillary Clinton $225,000 for a speech in 2013, two and a half months afar she stepped down as secretary of state.He is the chairman of Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street colossus that last month agreed to pay a $5.1 billion fine to settle a Justice Department investigation for its role in marketing subprime mortgage bonds in the runup to the 2008 financial crisis. Among the Goldman executives who helped Blankfein’s firm profit from the crash: Donald Mullen, the former chief of its credit department, who last year made a $1 million donation to Clinton’s super-PAC, Priorities USA Action. “Sounds like we will make some serious money,” Mullen wrote in an email in the fall of 2007, after learning the subprime mortgage market was about to crash, according to a 2011 Senate report. The firm has also been the single biggest source of funds for Hillary Clinton’s post-government speaking career, paying her $625,000 for three speeches since she stepped down as secretary of state in 2012. Blankfein so far has been sitting out the 2016 race. “I don’t want to help or hurt anybody by giving them an endorsement,” he said in a rare TV interview this week. But his wife, Laura, gave the legal maximum of $2,700 to Clinton, and Blankfein, in his interview this week, said that Sanders’ candidacy has “the potential to be a dangerous moment.” Goldman Sachs’ ties to the Clintons have been personal and political: Goldman’s executives and employees have contributed $750,000 to Clinton’s political campaigns, including $100,616 to this year’s run. The firm itself has donated at least $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation and paid $1.2 million to Bill Clinton for speeches dating back to 2001. Blankfein, who has described himself as a friend of Hillary Clinton, has lent a helping financial hand to the Clinton family: He (along with two other former Goldman executives) is among the investors in Eaglevale Partners, the hedge fund founded in 2011 by Marc Mezvinsky, husband of Chelsea Clinton, and the former secretary’s son in law.A billionaire hedge fund kingpin, co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucs and avid high-stakes poker player (for stakes as much as $20,000 a hand) Lasry is among Clinton’s most steadfast Wall Street backers, with close personal ties to her family. He has donated between $100,000 and $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation, hired Chelsea Clinton at his Avenue Capital hedge fund, invested (along with Blankfein) in son-in-law Mezvinsky’s fund and made his corporate jet available to Clinton while she was senator. When Clinton launched her campaign last year, Lasry threw one of the initial fundraisers, sending out an email saying he would “love to try to raise 270” — as in $270,000.The former right-wing journalist now runs an interlocking network of pro-Clinton nonprofits and super-PACs informally known as “Brocktopus.” One of Brock’s arms is Correct the Record, a super-PAC that has collected $3.4 million from wealthy donors while openly proclaiming its intention to coordinate with the Clinton campaign — an arrangement that some experts say may violate campaign finance law. (The Clinton campaign has made two payments to Brock’s super-PAC totaling $281,000 for “research.” ) The Brock super-PAC, which received a $1 million infusion from allied pro-Clinton super-PAC Priorities USA Action last December, was the first to raise questions about Bernie Sanders’ medical records; Correct the Record was also recently outed for offering “off the record” tips about Sanders to a Vermont newspaper. Brock’s ties to the Clinton world are close and multilayered: When he held the book party for his tome, “Kill the Messenger,” last September at the home of Clinton bundler Tony Podesta (see the K Street Army), the co-hosts included Marc Elias, chief counsel for the Clinton campaign, who also serves as the lawyer for Correct the Record and allied Democratic super-PACs, and Sidney Blumenthal, Clinton’s most prolific email correspondent, who was being paid by another Brock outfit, Media Matters, as well as the Clinton Foundation.The billionaire Hungarian-born hedge fund investor has been among the biggest donors to Democratic causes for years but has recently stepped up his game for Clinton. New disclosure reports show he cut a $6 million check last December to Priorities USA Action — the main super-PAC backing her candidacy. That’s on top of another $1 million check to Priorities earlier in the year as well as $1 million to American Bridge 21st Century, an allied super-PAC run by David Brock (see above). Other million-dollar donors to Priorities: Hollywood moguls Stephen Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, Wall Street heavyweights Donald Mullen (a former Goldman Sachs executive) and Donald Sussman and investor Haim Saban (see below).A one-time bass guitarist in an Israeli rock band, multibillionaire Los Angeles-based tycoon Saban — who is best known for creating the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers — may be Clinton’s most generous and committed superdonor: He proclaimed last year he would spend “whatever it takes” to elect her president. But Saban, who has donated $10 million to the Clinton Foundation and whose wife serves on its board, may be in a position to help her candidacy in other ways: He is principal owner and CEO of Univision, the largest Spanish-language media organization in the country.Dennis Cheng is the silent chief of the Clinton fundraising operation — the national finance director who is almost never seen in public and refuses to talk to reporters. Cheng joined the campaign after serving for four years as chief fundraiser for the Clinton Foundation, where he collected hundreds of millions of dollars from overseas donors that have generated intense media scrutiny and allegations of conflict of interest for Clinton. Cheng’s ties to Clinton go way back: He started as an intern during her 2000 Senate run, gradually moving up to become her finance director while she was in the Senate, then moving with her to the State Department as deputy chief of protocol.* Bundlers raise “hard money” to Clinton’s campaign in individual checks that, under federal law, are limited to $2,700 apiece. Super-PACs are permitted to raise sums from donations in unlimited amounts. ** Total includes $2.5 million donated by his wife, Cheryl Saban.Source for numbers: Federal Election Commission and Center for Responsive Politics
Obama visits US mosque, says impression of Muslims distorted-Associated Press By DARLENE SUPERVILLE-February 3, 2016 3:25 PM-YAHOONEWS
CATONSVILLE, Md. (AP) — President Barack Obama sought Wednesday to correct what he called a "hugely distorted impression" of Muslim-Americans as he made his first visit to a U.S. mosque. He said those who demonize all Muslims for the acts of a few are playing into extremists' hands.Inserting himself into a debate that has ricocheted in the presidential campaign, Obama told parishioners at a mosque outside Baltimore that he'd heard from young Muslims worried they'll be rounded up and kicked out of the country. He said Muslims, too, are concerned about the threat of terrorism but are too often blamed as a group "for the violent acts of the very few.""We've seen children bullied, we've seen mosques vandalized," Obama said, warning that such unequal treatment for certain groups in society tears at the nation's fabric. "That's not who we are."For Muslim advocates, Obama's visit was a long-awaited gesture to a community that has warned of escalating vitriol against them that has accompanied the public's concern about the Islamic State and other extremist groups. Although Obama has visited mosques overseas, he waited until his final year in office to make such a visit at home, reflecting the issue's sensitive political implications.In this year's Republican presidential campaign, Donald Trump has called for banning Muslims from the U.S. temporarily and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio warned of "radical Islamic terrorism." Muslim-American advocacy groups have warned of growing antagonism that has followed recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, by those purporting to act in the name of Islam."We have to understand: An attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths," Obama said. He said it fell on all Americans to speak up.For Obama, the visit reflected a willingness to wade into touchy social issues that often eluded him earlier in his presidency. For years, Obama has fought incorrect claims that he's actually a Muslim and was born in Kenya, beliefs that polls suggest remain prevalent among many Republicans.Obama, a Christian, was born in Hawaii.-Obama, acknowledging that uncomfortable chapter in his own story, noted that Thomas Jefferson had also been accused of being a Muslim."So I was not the first," Obama said to laughter from a hundred or so Muslims who gathered for his speech. "No, it's true. Look it up."Obama challenged Hollywood to start casting Muslims in roles "that are unrelated to national security." Drawing a parallel with African-Americans' struggle for broad societal acceptance, he noted, "there was a time when there were no black people on television."With no plans to ever again appear on a ballot, Obama faces less pressure to avoid political controversy, and seemed to relish the possibility that his visit would raise eyebrows among some of his most entrenched critics. Ahead of his visit, White House officials acknowledged the visit could spark controversy but suggested that would help make his point about ignorance and religious bias.Still, the president was pointed in acknowledging that concerns about violence emanating from some corners of the Islamic world were not ill-founded. He denounced what he called an "organized extremist element" twisting selective Islamic texts in a way that ends up reflecting negatively on the overwhelming majority of law-abiding Muslims."It is undeniable that a small fraction of Muslims propagate a perverted interpretation of Islam. This is the truth," Obama said. He added, "It's real. It's there."But Obama said suggestions that Islam is at the root of the problem only play into terrorist propaganda, weakening U.S. national security as opposed to strengthening it. He said IS and other extremist groups are desperately working to legitimize themselves by masquerading as religious leaders and holy warriors."We must never give them that legitimacy. They're not defending Islam," Obama said. "The vast majority of the people they kill are innocent Muslim men, women and children."Ahead of his speech at the suburban Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama met with Muslim university chaplains, community activists and public health professionals to discuss religious tolerance and freedom. Among the participants was fencer Ibtihaj Muhamma. The White House said she'll make history at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games as the first United States Olympian to compete in a hijab.Nearly half of Americans think at least some U.S. Muslims are anti-American, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday. Two-thirds of Americans said people, not religious teachings, are to blame when violence is committed in the name of faith. However, when respondents were asked which religion they consider troubling, Islam was the most common answer."We never thought that when we held our first prayers in the small room nearly a half a century ago that we would be hosting the president," said Muhammad Jameel, the mosque's president. "Today is a new starting point. It is also a continuing journey — a journey steeped in American history and tradition."____Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Josh Lederman in Washington and AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll in New York contributed to this report.___Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap
Obama visits a mosque to send pointed message to non-Muslims-Reuters By Roberta Rampton-February 3, 2016 5:05 PM-YAHOONEWS
CATONSVILLE, Md. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama made his first visit to a U.S. mosque on Wednesday, in an effort to allay the fears of Americans accustomed to pop-culture portrayals of Muslims as terrorists, and to reassure Muslim American youth about their place in the nation.Obama, declaring that attacks on Islam were an attack on all religions, decried the "inexcusable political rhetoric" against Muslims from Donald Trump and other Republican presidential candidates.“We have to understand that an attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths," he said at the mosque outside of Baltimore, which he said had received threats twice in the past year. "When any religious group is targeted, we all have a responsibility to speak up."Trump, the Republican front-runner, called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States after authorities described a California couple who killed 14 people last December as radicalized Muslims inspired by Islamic State militants.Obama's visit was aimed at showing Americans another side of Islam. Before he spoke, Cub Scouts who attend a school run by the mosque carried the American and Maryland state flags into the prayer hall, a plain room save for a three rows of window panes, 99 in all, each depicting one of the names of Allah in Arabic."Think of your own church or synagogue or temple, and a mosque like this will be very familiar," said Obama, who, following Islamic custom, took off his shoes to enter the hall.The children led the audience, with some men in prayer caps and most women in head scarves, in the Pledge of Allegiance. A man and a woman recited a verse from the Koran about tolerance and inclusion.Obama, a Christian, outlined the tenets of Islam, and gave a brief history of Muslims in America. He noted that founding father Thomas Jefferson specifically mentioned Muslims when he spoke about the American right to freedom of religion."Thomas Jefferson’s opponents tried to stir things up by suggesting he was a Muslim, so I was not the first," said Obama, who has long been accused of secretly being a Muslim, to a roar of laugher. "I'm in good company," he said.Obama asked a row of Muslim American military service members to stand, as well as Ibtihaj Muhammad, a member of the U.S. fencing team who will be the first American Olympian to compete in a hijab, or head scarf, in this year's Rio Olympics.The president touched on pop-culture depictions of Muslims as terrorists. "Our television shows should have some Muslim characters that are unrelated to national security, Obama said.Turning to extremist groups such as Islamic State and what he characterized as perverted versions of Islam portrayed by them, Obama urged regular Muslims to "show who you are. To use a little Christian expression - let your light shine."Later, he told a crowd of cheering children, who had packed the mosque's gymnasium to watch his speech on large screens, that one day they too could become president.Obama urged young Muslims not to embrace a worldview that required them to choose between faith and patriotism."You fit in here. Right here," he said. "You're not Muslim or American. You're Muslim and American."(Additional reporting by Ayesha Rascoe and Jeff Mason; Editing by James Dalgleish and Jonathan Oatis)
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