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Monthly archive

July 2016 - page 2

Trump: US “Not a Good Messenger” to Promote Civil Liberties Abroad

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Donald Trump dismissed the notion that the United States has the moral high ground in the world, and said the country should conduct itself accordingly. In an interview with The New York Times published Wednesday, the GOP nominee for President said that the US has little authority to exert itself and “lecture” abroad, and said the US must “fix our own mess” before intervening in other nations’ affairs. “Look at what is happening in our country,” he noted. “How are we going to lecture when people are…

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After Turkey Coup, Obama Admin Calls for Both Debt Relief, More Austerity for Greece

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Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said that he hopes the ongoing crisis in Turkey convinces Greece’s creditors to warm to “debt relief.” Lew made the remarks in an interview with the Financial Times, published Wednesday. On Thursday, he is scheduled to meet in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. “I would hope [the recent regional upheaval] would change the climate in which discussions of debt relief happen, just because it’s the right thing to do on its own, and at a time when Greece is…

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Report: Shoddy Government Work to Blame for Rise in Patent Trolls

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A government watchdog released a report on Wednesday that knocked the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for issuing low-quality copyrights vulnerable to bogus litigation. A review of district court filings by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the number of patent infringement lawsuits have more than doubled since 2007, with more than 5,000 actions brought last year alone. The rise, according to the GAO, is a result of deficiencies within the US patent office.  The bureaucracy has yet to define what a “quality…

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Plagiarism of First Black FLOTUS, Blatant Racism Somehow Both Mar Opening Night of GOP Convention

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The opening night of the Republican National Convention was, somehow, characterized by both racist commentary and the apparent plagiarism of Michelle Obama by Melania Trump. Bigoted remarks from two Republican figures ranged from xenophobic to overtly white supremacist, while at least one speaker invited to the convention accused President Obama of being a secret Muslim. Despite this, Melania Trump still seemed to somehow heavily crib from one of Michelle Obama’s most prominent addresses, when the wife of the presumptive GOP nominee spoke to the convention. “Several…

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Possible Clinton VP, Housing Secretary Broke Rule, Likely Won’t Face Punishment

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The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) determined that Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro broke the law when he campaigned on behalf of Hillary Clinton. The violation took place last April, during an interview with Yahoo News, which was broadcast from the department’s recording studio, with the HUD seal in the background. During the recording, Castro praised the former Secretary of State, claiming: “Hillary Clinton is the most experienced, thoughtful and prepared candidate for president that we have this year.” Although Castro prefaced his…

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Trump’s Campaign Manager Advocates for Breaking up the Banks

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The man steering Donald Trump’s run for the presidency, Paul Manafort, informed reporters that the party’s platform under the presumptive GOP nominee would include a call to break up certain big banks. During a morning briefing on Monday ahead of the start of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Manafort claimed that the party platform contained language pushing for the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act. He said that its revival was necessary to enact “barriers between what the big banks can do and try to avoid some…

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State Department Worried About “Backsliding” in Turkey Following Failed Coup, Mass Arrests

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Secretary of State John Kerry said that he and his European counterparts will be paying close attention to developments in Turkey, after thousands of Turkish officials were punished in the wake of a failed coup attempt. “Obviously a lot of people have been arrested and arrested very quickly,” Kerry said Monday, in Brussels. “The level of vigilance and scrutiny is obviously going to be significant in the days ahead. Hopefully we can work in a constructive way that prevents a backsliding.” Kerry made the statements…

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Rep. Cohen Tells State Dept. that U.S. Doesn’t Consider Saudis Terror Sponsors Because of “Oil, Which We’re Slaves To”

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A lawmaker told a high ranking American diplomat on Thursday that Saudi Arabia isn’t considered a government sponsor of terrorism by the US because the country has “been selling us oil, which we’re slaves to.” “And that’s why they’re not on the list,” Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) said to Anne Patterson, the top official overseeing Middle Eastern foreign policy at the State Department. Patterson immediately rejected Cohen’s claim. “Sir, I would take issue with that,” Patterson said. “They’re not on the list because they’re not…

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Obama to Sign Historic Opioid Addiction Bill, Regrets Cynical G.O.P. Underfunding

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President Obama has reluctantly agreed to sign into law a bill that purports to address the rise in opioid abuse in the United States. Obama said he would not veto the legislation, after it cleared its final legislative hurdle on Wednesday, in a 92-2 Senate vote.  Democrats have begrudgingly supported the measure, characterizing it as an under-funded election year ploy. “While the President will sign this bill once it reaches his desk because some action is better than none, he won’t stop fighting to secure…

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Cash-Strapped Flint Receives First Nod From Congress

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The House approved of meager relief measures on Wednesday intended to help the city of Flint deal with its drinking water crisis. A more substantial aid package, however, remains stalled in the Senate. Two amendments were attached to the Interior Department spending bill on Wednesday. One proposal would help fund a drinking water testing program in Flint, and the other permits Michigan to forgive loans it made to the city to finance public water services. The measures were introduced by Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), a lawmaker…

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DHS Set to “Fully” Establish Post-Wikileaks Employee Surveillance Program, “Insider Threat,” By Year’s End

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An internal surveillance program established in the wake of Wikileaks’ Cablegate publications is set to be “fully operational” throughout the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by the start of 2017. Department classified computer networks that share information with 23 other federal agencies will soon be equipped with “monitoring technology,” according to Congressional testimony given Wednesday by DHS officials and a US Coast Guard (USCG) Rear Admiral. The “Insider Threat” program had been mandated across all federal agencies “that operate or access classified computer networks” by President…

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