A senior lawyer called on Tuesday for the top United Nations human rights body to investigate evidence that China is murdering members of the Falun Gong spiritual group and harvesting their organs for transplant.
Hamid Sabi called for urgent action as he presented the findings of the China Tribunal, an independent panel set up to examine the issue, which concluded in June that China’s organ harvesting amounted to crimes against humanity.
Beijing has repeatedly denied accusations by human rights researchers and scholars that it forcibly takes organs from prisoners of conscience and said it stopped using organs from executed prisoners in 2015.
Apparently China offers organ transplants to overseas patients customers at a very stiff price but a…”greatly reduced waiting time.”
Three days after his now infamous phone conversation with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Donald Trump abruptly fired his director of national intelligence in favour of an inexperienced political loyalist.
According to a New York Times report, the White House learned within days that the unorthodox call on 25 July with Zelenskiy had raised red flags among intelligence professionals and was likely to trigger an official complaint.
That timeline has raised new questions over the timing of the Trump’s dismissal by tweet of the director of national intelligence (DNI), Dan Coats, on 28 July and his insistence that the deputy DNI, Sue Gordon, a career intelligence professional, did [must] not step into the role, even in an acting capacity.
The only thing to do is get a rank amateur into the job, one who wouldn’t notice if Trump invited Putin to attend intelligence briefings.
Instead, Trump tried to install a Republican congressman, John Ratcliffe, who had minimal national security credentials but had been a fierce defender of the president in Congress. Trump had to drop the nomination after it emerged that Ratcliffe had exaggerated his national security credentials in his biography, wrongly claiming he had conducted prosecutions in terrorist financing cases.
Well it’s sad, because a guy like that would clearly be no threat to Trump.
Gordon was forced out anyway. She was holding a meeting on election security – uh oh! – when Coats interrupted it to tell her she had to resign.
The Office of the DNI (ODNI) and its inspector general has the authority to receive whistleblower complaints from across all US intelligence agencies and determine whether they should be referred to Congress.
“We all knew Coats’ departure was coming because he had clashed with the president on several issues. What was weird was the president’s forcefulness in not wanting Sue Gordon to take over as acting director,” said Katrina Mulligan, a former official who worked in the ODNI, the national security council, and the justice department.
“I was hearing at the time that Sue was getting actively excluded from things by the president that she would ordinarily have taken part in, and she was being made to feel uncomfortable,” said Mulligan, now managing director for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress.
“And then the president tried to install someone who was clearly unqualified,” she added. “Now the timeline of the whistleblower in the White House raises a lot of questions about the Sue Gordon piece of this.”
Just to clarify what is going on here, the White House appears to be engaged in massive, systemic abuse of the classification system and underlying presidential authorities in order to cover up egregious wrongdoing including impeachable conduct. This is a historic scandal.
Also self-incriminating. They can’t use any “we didn’t realize it was wrong” defense because they hid the records. Watergate all over again: chorus: It’s not the crime it’s the cover-up.
As the House prepares to consider whether to impeach President Trump over an unprecedented plot to turn Ukraine into an opposition research factory, his personal attorney and associate Rudy Giuliani has decided to keep busy: he is scheduled to attend a pro-Russian conference in Armenia next month with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
And to be paid for it, according to Wittes and others, but I haven’t seen a journalistic source for that so far.
Trump is begging the NRA to help him not be impeached, and the NRA is demanding more fanatical support for More and More Guns as the price. It’s hard to know which half of that sentence is the most disgusting.
The President of the United States trading legislation the American public is demanding to stop the weekly slaughter of gun violence in exchange for money for his personal legal defense.
With President Donald Trump facing impeachment, the NRA is reportedly looking to leverage the political moment to lock in his opposition to new gun control measures.
Trump and NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre met Friday to discuss the the NRA providing financial support for Trump’s impeachment defense, the New York Times reported Friday.
The support comes at a price.
“Mr. LaPierre asked that the White House ‘stop the games’ over gun control legislation, people familiar with the meeting said,” the Times said.
As vice president, the elder Biden lead the U.S. diplomatic efforts to bolster the country’s fledgling democracy and root out corruption after mass protests ousted the country’s pro-Russia president, Viktor Yanukovych.
Biden spoke frequently with Ukrainian leaders and in April 2014, he traveled to Ukraine, bringing financial support and warning the Russians — who had recently annexed Crimea — to stop intervening in Ukrainian sovereignty.
That all seems good. But the next paragraphs…
In May 2014, Hunter Biden was hired by a Ukrainian gas company, Burisma Holdings, as a board member reportedly making $50,000 a month. He stopped working with the company earlier this year.
The company had ties to Yanukovych, raising eyebrows among White House aides and others who saw potential for a conflict of interest. The Obama White House said at the time that the younger Biden was a private citizen, and that there was no conflict of interest.
Come on. Of course there’s a conflict of interest! There’s also the matter of appearances. People in government must not only be incorruptible they must be seen to be incorruptible. Joe Biden’s kid taking a wildly lucrative position with a Ukrainian company the same year his father the VP was active in Ukraine does not look incorruptible. It looks, at the very least, like Biden Junior eagerly cashing in on his father’s job – and why would anyone in the administration want that?
I know next to nothing about business and being on boards and so on, but surely 50 k a month is a hell of a lavish salary for being on a board, which I take to be not the same as an actual full-time job? I take it Biden Junior didn’t move to Ukraine? Presumably he just Skyped it in when there were meetings?
And the other point is, why would a Ukrainian company hire some random American lawyer to be on their board? They wouldn’t. They hired a Biden because he’s a Biden. Yes, Virginia, that fucking is a conflict of interest.
It seems we’ve gotten so used to this miserable pay for play routine that we can’t even see it any more. Clinton charged $$$ for access to him when he was president, and bragged about it – he said money couldn’t buy his vote but it could buy access to him. He said that out in the open, as if it were obviously fair and reasonable and not at all corrupt.
But there’s little evidence he acted to help his son: Earlier this year, Bloomberg News, citing documents and an interview with a former Ukrainian official, reported the Burisma investigation had been dormant for more than a year by the time Biden called for the crackdown on corruption. The then-Ukrainian prosecutor general told the news agency he found no evidence of wrongdoing by Biden and his son. And PolitiFact reported it found no evidence to “support the idea that Joe Biden advocated with his son’s interests in mind.”
And now with video (and with more of the content, too).
At one point he says “that’s on top of hundreds of thousands of millions of dollars” that Hunter Biden is supposed to have “walked away with” from Ukraine. Then he claims (or insinuates) that Hunter Biden went to China on Air Force 2 and China gave him $1.5 billion.
All of this is addressed to UN staff, whom he is supposed to be thanking for their service.
To show you how dishonest the LameStream Media is, I used the word Liddle’, not Liddle, in discribing Corrupt Congressman Liddle’ Adam Schiff. Low ratings @CNN purposely took the hyphen out and said I spelled the word little wrong. A small but never ending situation with CNN!
President of the United States, everyone: doesn’t know what a hyphen is, doesn’t know what an apostrophe is, adds an apostrophe to an adjectival epithet for no known reason, announces for all the world to see that he doesn’t know what a hyphen is and doesn’t know what an apostrophe is and is basically only semi-literate.
Also misspells “describing” and thinks attaching a hyphen to a word makes it a new word.
The Trump administration is calling on U.N. member nations to oppose efforts to promote access to abortion internationally, a move immediately criticized by reproductive rights groups seeking greater access to the services globally.
At a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar spoke on behalf of the U.S. and more than a dozen other countries stating that abortion is not an international human right.
Well he’ll never need an abortion, will he.
Azar was joined by representatives from countries including Brazil, Poland and Iraq in making the statement, which was signed by a total of 19 countries including the United States.
“There is no international right to an abortion, and these terms should not be used to promote pro-abortion policies and measures,” Azar added. “Further, we only support sex education that appreciates the protective role of the family in this education.”
The comments follow a letter issued in July by Azar and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressing similar concerns and asking foreign leaders to “join the United States in ensuring that every sovereign state has the ability to determine the best way to protect the unborn and defend the family as the foundational unit of society vital to children thriving and leading healthy lives.”
Well you know forcing women to continue pregnancies they don’t want is not a particularly good way to encourage people to form healthy loving families that will help children thrive. People should want the children they have rather than being forced to have them when they don’t want to. Forced affection is kind of a contradiction in terms.
But also there’s the fact that women have a right to decide for themselves whether or not to have children, as opposed to being forced into it.
Shannon Kowalski, director of advocacy and policy at the International Women’s Health Coalition, was in New York for the meeting. She said dozens of other countries have signed on to a competing statement calling for international investment in sexual and reproductive health care.
The U.N. press office says it has not received that statement, but the Netherlands’ minister of foreign trade, Sigrid Kaag, tweeted and spoke in support of sexual and reproductive health care on behalf of several countries:
The Netherlands is speaking out, on behalf of 58 countries, for the importance of women’s rights, gender equality and #SRHR, especially now that these issues are under pressure. When women have the right to decide about their own bodies they have a more prosperous future.#UHC2030
We’re in the weeds on this one, not surprisingly.
“The United States is isolated. Their position is extreme,” Kowalski, of IWHC, said in an interview with NPR. “They read their statement in conjunction with countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain — which are hardly champions of women’s rights. And if they’re the countries that the U.S. is aligning themselves with, then I think we’re right to dismiss that they have any moral stake in this battle.”
Caitlin Horrigan, director of advocacy at Planned Parenthood Global, released a statement saying, in part, “It should come as no surprise the Trump-Pence administration is lobbying other countries to join them in working to undermine sexual and reproductive rights on a global scale at the United Nations. From day one, the Trump-Pence administration has tried to take away access to birth control and safe, legal abortion.”
Apparently Trump deleted a tweet from today. Good thing people kept records. Malcolm Nance:
How do you get @realDonaldTrump to violate the Presidential records act and delete a tweet? Mock him with his own words! You’re welcome America! #Impeachment
One thing Maguire was firm on was reiterating that the still-anonymous whistleblower was judged to be “credible” by the intelligence community’s inspector general and that he deserved the full protection and security afforded to him by the law. “That individual works for me, therefore it is my job to make sure I support and defend that person. … I think the whistleblower did the right thing,” said Maguire.
Turns out his boss has a different view on the whistleblowing process! From the Los Angeles Times’ account of Trump’s remarks Thursday to a group of U.S. diplomatic staffers in New York (audio here):
“I want to know who’s the person, who’s the person who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that’s close to a spy,” he continued. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”
Trump was alluding to the fact that the whistleblower’s memo included information he’d been given by other officials, other officials who would therefore potentially be what’s known as “witnesses.” Less than 48 hours since the Democrats announced they were formally opening impeachment investigations, then, Trump has obligingly given them another section to add to the eventual articles.
The Washington Post reported this week that President Donald Trump’s proposal to strip food stamps from three million Americans could cause a half-million children to lose free school meals “since food stamp eligibility is one way students can qualify for the lunches.”
“Trump is depriving 500,000 kids of their school lunches for no damn reason — even after 139 members of Congress warned him not to,” Sanders tweeted, referring to a letter he sent along with House and Senate lawmakers last month condemning the food stamps rule as “unconscionable.”
…
Congress last year approved a farm bill that excluded SNAP changes sought by the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers, so the president and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue have worked to unilaterally slash eligibility for the program, which is widely recognized by policy experts as an effective way to reduce hunger.
And reducing hunger in children improves their ability to learn. Trump and his friends are deliberately pushing poor children deeper into poverty.
The New York Times, weirdly, chose to report information on the whistleblower…no doubt right around the time Trump was screaming threats at said whistleblower. Then it tweeted its explanation for doing so.
Dean Baquet, our executive editor, explains why we chose to publish the information about the whistle-blower http://nyti.ms/2loU4p0
That may be, but given that the subject of the whistleblower’s complaint is a raving maniac, it’s not the most urgent consideration.
(Mind you, I mentioned the chit-chat about Coats, but then I’m not the New York Times.)
Rudy Giuliani, livid over the whistleblower complaint alleging that he improperly tried to convince Ukraine to launch an investigation of Joe Biden, vented his frustration to an Atlantic reporter.
“It is impossible that the whistleblower is a hero and I’m not. And I will be the hero! These morons – when this is over, I will be the hero,” Giuliani told the Atlantic.
He added: “I’m not acting as a lawyer. I’m acting as someone who has devoted most of his life to straightening out government. … Anything I did should be praised.”
Giuliani’s role as the president’s personal lawyer has raised concerns about a private citizen getting involved in foreign policy.
Liddle’ Adam Schiff, who has worked unsuccessfully for 3 years to hurt the Republican Party and President, has just said that the Whistleblower, even though he or she only had second hand information, “is credible.” How can that be with zero info and a known bias. Democrat Scam!
Bloated’ Donald Trump is losing what’s left of his mind.
Somebody at that event this morning recorded Trump’s ravings and gave the recording to the LA Times.
Speaking at a private event in New York, Trump described reporters as “scum” and raged at the Democrats’ new impeachment proceedings, which were spurred by the whistleblower’s complaint alleging that Trump tried to strong-arm Ukraine’s leader to interfere in the 2020 election.
The still-unidentified whistleblower acknowledged that he did not listen to Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, but cited information from more than half a dozen U.S. officials over the past four months as part of “official interagency business.”
“Basically, that person never saw the report, never saw the call, he never saw the call — heard something and decided that he or she, or whoever the hell they saw — they’re almost a spy,” Trump said.
“I want to know who’s the person, who’s the person who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that’s close to a spy,” he continued. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”
The president brought up the whistleblower almost as soon as he began his remarks on a podium in front of a blue backdrop in the low-ceilinged hotel ballroom, again claiming that the phone call with Zelensky was “perfect.”
This is how out of control he is – he can’t do the job he’s supposed to be doing for even a few seconds before ranting about his own concerns at people he’s supposed to be congratulating.
In his remarks, Trump cited his awkward meeting with Zelensky on Wednesday where both leaders were asked about the implicit quid pro quo detailed in the call summary and whistleblower complaint.
“They said, ‘Was he pressuring you?’” Trump said, describing the question to Zelensky, who responded that he hadn’t felt any “push” but also said he didn’t want to get involved in a U.S. political squabble.
“You know, these animals in the press,” Trump went on. “They’re animals, some of the worst human beings you’ll ever meet.”
Yes that’s how we want a president talking about the press.
“They’re scum,” Trump continued. “Many of them are scum, and then you have some good reporters, but not many of them, I’ll be honest with you.”
He then accused Sen. Christopher S. Murphy (D-Conn.), who met with Zelensky in Kyiv this month, of pressuring the Ukrainian leader to accuse Trump of improper behavior.
“Democratic senators went over there and strong-armed the guy,” Trump said, affecting Murphy’s voice for a moment. “‘You better damn well do this or you’re not going to get any money from Congress.’ Oh, I see, that’s OK?”
“And then you have Sleepy Joe Biden who’s dumb as a rock,” Trump went on. “This guy was dumb on his best day and he’s not having his best day right now. He’s dumb as a rock. So you have Sleepy Joe and his kid, who’s got a lot of problems, he got thrown out of the Navy — look, I’m not going to, it’s a problem … so we won’t get into why. He got thrown out of the Navy and now this kid goes into Ukraine, walks away with millions of dollars, he becomes a consultant for $50,000 a month and he doesn’t know anything compared to anybody at this firm. He’s a stiff. He knows nothing. He’s walking away with $50,000.”
He’s all but screaming as he announces that Bidens father and son walked away with “millions of dollars from Ukraine, and then millions of dollars from [pause] CHYNAH.” Which is just made up out of his own rotting head.
Somebody needs to do something to make very sure he can’t take revenge on all of us.
Updating to add: CNN put up an instant fact check as Trump screamed lies about people into the cameras.
Trumptold a group of staffers from the US Mission to the United Nations this morning that he wanted to know who provided information to the whistleblower and alluded to possible retaliation, according to the New York Times.
The remark stunned people in the audience, according to a person briefed on what took place, who had notes of what the president said. Mr. Trump made the statement about several minutes into his remarks before the group of about 50 people at the event intended to honor the United States Mission. At the outset, he condemned the former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s role in Ukraine at a time when his son Hunter Biden was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.
Mr. Trump repeatedly referred to the whistle-blower and condemned the news media reporting on the complaint as ‘crooked.’ He then said the whistle-blower never heard the call in question. …
‘I want to know who’s the person who gave the whistle-blower the information because that’s close to a spy,’ Mr. Trump said. ‘You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right? We used to handle it a little differently than we do now.’
The event was intended to honor the United States Mission to the UN, but of course Trump talked about what concerned him instead, because he always does.
And he fantasized aloud about taking revenge on the whistleblower…you know, the very thing the whistleblower law is meant to prevent.
Speculation is that it’s Dan Coats. Hats off to him if so. Hats off to whomever.
Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released the declassified whistleblower complaint. The complaint can be viewed here, and the Intelligence Community Inspector General letter regarding the complaint can be viewed here.
Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) made the following statement:
“The Committee this morning will be releasing the declassified whistleblower complaint that it received late last night from the ODNI. It is a travesty that it was held up this long.
“This complaint should never have been withheld from Congress. It exposed serious wrongdoing, and was found both urgent and credible by the Inspector General.
“This complaint is a roadmap for our investigation, and provides significant information for the Committee to follow up on with other witnesses and documents. And it is corroborated by the call record released yesterday.
“I want to thank the whistleblower for having the courage to come forward, despite the reprisals they have already faced from the president and his acolytes. We will do everything in our power to protect this whistleblower, and every whistleblower, who comes forward.
“The public has a right to see the complaint and what it reveals.”
I just read it (skipping the footnotes until later) and I’m duly gobsmacked. It wasn’t just Trump flailing around being random, it was a systematic effort over many months. They tried to get rid of all records of that phone call, by stashing them in a system that’s reserved for classified information (which isn’t normally interpreted to mean “the president’s dirty secrets”).
IOC Charter, 4th Fundamental Principle of Olympian: “Participation in sport is a human right.”
You’re wrong. #sorrynotsorry
#factsdontcareaboutyourfeelings
He said it in reply to a tweet that said “I don’t think competing in sport is a human right. Sorry.”
Claim: “I don’t think competing in sport is a human right.”
Counter-claim: “The IOC Charter says ‘Participation in sport is a human right.'”
Where’s the cheating? In the fact that participation is not the same as competing.
That’s especially true of sports/activities like cycling that can be enjoyed perfectly well without other people. Team sports are little fun by oneself; sports like running, cycling, archery, swimming can be plenty of fun by oneself.
That’s the cheating. The silly is treating the IOC as a disinterested source of absolute truth about whether or not sport is a human right. The IOC has an interest in promoting sport, and that might possibly color its interpretation of whether or not it’s a human right. The second silly is treating a random body saying “[participation in] sport is a human right” makes it true. The IOC said it, but the IOC is not a human rights organization or a legislature. McKinnon is all but in “because my dad said so!” territory here. “The IOC thinks it is” would have been a slightly less fatuous response.
McKinnon is remarkably sloppy for someone who teaches philosophy.
