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Politics 2: Electric Boogaloo — Page 290

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/15/lobbyist-russian-interests-jeff-sessions-testimony

An American lobbyist for Russian interests who helped craft an important foreign policy speech for Donald Trump has confirmed that he attended two dinners hosted by Jeff Sessions during the 2016 campaign, apparently contradicting the attorney general’s sworn testimony given this week.

Sessions testified under oath on Tuesday that he did not believe he had any contacts with lobbyists working for Russian interests over the course of Trump’s campaign. But Richard Burt, a former ambassador to Germany during the Reagan administration, who has represented Russian interests in Washington, told the Guardian that he could confirm previous media reports that stated he had contacts with Sessions at the time.

“I did attend two dinners with groups of former Republican foreign policy officials and Senator Sessions,” Burt said.

Asked whether Sessions was unfamiliar with Burt’s role as a lobbyist for Russian interests – a fact that is disclosed in public records – or had any reason to be confused about the issue, Burt told the Guardian that he did not know.

Several media reports published before Trump’s election in November noted that Burt advised then candidate Trump on his first major foreign policy speech, a role that brought him into contact with Sessions personally.

Burt, who previously served on the advisory board of Alfa Capital Partners, a private equity fund where Russia’s Alfa Bank was an investor and last year was lobbying on behalf of a pipeline company that is now controlled by Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy conglomerate, first told Politico in October that he had been invited to two dinners that were hosted by Sessions last summer, at the height of the presidential campaign.

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I’m shocked that the biggest piece of garbage in politics may have lied to congress; just shocked, I tell you.

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Alderaan said:

Theresa May visited the site of the burned out Grenfell Towers–where 17 fatalities have been confirmed and scores more are feared dead–for a photo-op with firefighters.

She declined to meet any of the victims or survivors.

https://theintercept.com/2017/06/15/theresa-may-avoids-survivors-grenfell-tower-fire-visit-scene-disaster/

Scum of the earth. Sorry to our British friends who have to live with her.

Theresa May Snubs Grenfell Tower Survivors As Jeremy Corbyn Is Mobbed In Street:-

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/theresa-may-grenfell-tower-survivors-jeremy-corbyn_uk_59426df4e4b09ad4fbe58141

&

A lot of people are asking why Theresa May couldn’t spare time to meet Grenfell Tower residents:-

http://metro.co.uk/2017/06/15/a-lot-of-people-are-asking-why-theresa-may-couldnt-spare-time-to-meet-grenfell-tower-residents-6711249/

 

Hopefully she won’t be PM for much longer.

 

Theresa May’s chief of staff ‘sat on’ report warning high-rise blocks like Grenfell Tower were vulnerable to fire:-

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-mays-chief-staff-sat-10620357

&

Experts warned government against cladding material used on Grenfell:-

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/15/experts-warned-government-against-cladding-material-used-on-grenfell

&

Police launch criminal inquiry into Grenfell Tower blaze:-

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/15/grenfell-tower-police-fear-they-will-not-be-able-to-identify-all-the-dead

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More fuel to the fire, so soon after the horrendous shooting.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/15/politics/karen-handel-threatening-letters/index.html

Suspicious envelopes were sent to the homes of Georgia politician Karen Handel and her neighbors as well as two Atlanta-area news stations, law enforcement said.

Law enforcement responded to the suburban Atlanta neighborhood Thursday afternoon after a resident reported receiving an envelope, Roswell Police spokeswoman Lisa Holland said. The envelopes contained threatening letters and white powder.

Later Thursday, news stations WAGA Fox 5 and WXIA 11Alive received similar envelopes, the FBI said. An investigation is underway to see if they are related.

Preliminary field tests on the substance mailed to WAGA suggest the powder consisted mostly of baking soda, the FBI said.

Handel is a candidate in Georgia’s closely watched, tightening 6th Congressional District special election against newcomer Jon Ossoff.

“This afternoon we had some suspicious packages delivered to our house and to our neighbors. The packages contained threatening letters and a suspicious substance. The police were quickly notified and street is now being blocked off. We will continue to coordinate with law enforcement as necessary,” she said on Facebook.

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Handman said:

More fuel to the fire, so soon after the horrendous shooting.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/15/politics/karen-handel-threatening-letters/index.html

Suspicious envelopes were sent to the homes of Georgia politician Karen Handel and her neighbors as well as two Atlanta-area news stations, law enforcement said.

Law enforcement responded to the suburban Atlanta neighborhood Thursday afternoon after a resident reported receiving an envelope, Roswell Police spokeswoman Lisa Holland said. The envelopes contained threatening letters and white powder.

Later Thursday, news stations WAGA Fox 5 and WXIA 11Alive received similar envelopes, the FBI said. An investigation is underway to see if they are related.

Preliminary field tests on the substance mailed to WAGA suggest the powder consisted mostly of baking soda, the FBI said.

Handel is a candidate in Georgia’s closely watched, tightening 6th Congressional District special election against newcomer Jon Ossoff.

“This afternoon we had some suspicious packages delivered to our house and to our neighbors. The packages contained threatening letters and a suspicious substance. The police were quickly notified and street is now being blocked off. We will continue to coordinate with law enforcement as necessary,” she said on Facebook.

Why on earth would such packages also be sent to her neighbors and local news? Are they really this desperate for attention?

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
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NeverarGreat said:

Are they really this desperate for attention?

Bingo. Assign the action a number in terms of payoff divided by effort. For an assassination attempt, that number is scraping near zero. For creating a media circus, the number is huge. Such reasoning can always be thrown by the “complete idiot” factor, though. Which, to be honest, I think I’ve been failing to adequately account for lately.

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Cladding for Grenfell Tower was cheaper, more flammable option…

(Omnis Exteriors asked to supply cladding £2 cheaper a square metre than fire-resistant type, investigation finds)

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/16/manufacturer-of-cladding-on-grenfell-tower-identified-as-omnis-exteriors

 

& more despicable actions from The S*n…

S*n journalist ‘impersonated Grenfell Tower victim’s relative at hospital’…

(King’s College hospital launches complaint with watchdog over behaviour of Sun reporter)

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/16/sun-journalist-grenfell-tower-victim-hospital

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CatBus said:

NeverarGreat said:

Are they really this desperate for attention?

Bingo.

Just because we’re all Bingowings doesn’t mean everyone in real life is Bingowings.

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God I hope he fires Rosenstein.

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yhwx said:

We’re doomed.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/16/15810524/senate-ahca-explain-please

those interviews are not flattering. also this:

Chuck Grassley
Well, they can’t even file. They have to check the rates real high if they don’t know what the government policy is. And so the certainty is that passing a bill gives the health insurance companies certainty.

Jeff Stein
Wouldn’t not passing a bill also do that?

Chuck Grassley
No, it … well, yeah — it gives them certainty that you’ll have a lot higher rates than if you pass the bill.

Jeff Stein
So you’re saying [the bill] will lower the rates?

Chuck Grassley
Um, if you’re talking about lowering the rates from now down, no. The rates could be way up here. [Points to sky] And if they — if we get a bill passed, it maybe wouldn’t go up or would go up a heck of a lot less than they would without a bill.

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Ha, this just keeps getting better.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/deputy-attorney-general-privately-acknowledges-recuse-russia-probe/story?id=48080253

The senior Justice Department official with ultimate authority over the special counsel’s probe of Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 election has privately acknowledged to colleagues that he may have to recuse himself from the matter, which he took charge of only after Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ own recusal, sources tell ABC News.

Those private remarks from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein are significant because they reflect the widening nature of the federal probe, which now includes a preliminary inquiry into whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice when he allegedly tried to curtail the probe and then fired James Comey as FBI director.

Rosenstein, who authored an extensive and publicly-released memorandum recommending Comey’s firing, raised the possibility of his recusal during a recent meeting with Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand, the Justice Department’s new third-in-command, according to sources.

Although Rosenstein appointed a special counsel to lead the federal probe, he still makes the final decisions about resources, personnel and – if necessary – any prosecutions.

In the recent meeting with Brand, Rosenstein told her that if he were to recuse himself, she would have to step in and take over those responsibilities. She was sworn-in little more than a month ago.

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Write your congresspeople, folks.

Keep Circulating the Tapes.

END OF LINE

(It hasn’t happened yet)

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oojason said:

Cladding for Grenfell Tower was cheaper, more flammable option…

(Omnis Exteriors asked to supply cladding £2 cheaper a square metre than fire-resistant type, investigation finds)

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/16/manufacturer-of-cladding-on-grenfell-tower-identified-as-omnis-exteriors

 

& more despicable actions from The S*n…

S*n journalist ‘impersonated Grenfell Tower victim’s relative at hospital’…

(King’s College hospital launches complaint with watchdog over behaviour of Sun reporter)

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/16/sun-journalist-grenfell-tower-victim-hospital

Have I heard correctly that the building that burned down had no sprinkler systems and no fire alarms?

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Warbler said:

oojason said:

Cladding for Grenfell Tower was cheaper, more flammable option…

(Omnis Exteriors asked to supply cladding £2 cheaper a square metre than fire-resistant type, investigation finds)

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/16/manufacturer-of-cladding-on-grenfell-tower-identified-as-omnis-exteriors

 

& more despicable actions from The S*n…

S*n journalist ‘impersonated Grenfell Tower victim’s relative at hospital’…

(King’s College hospital launches complaint with watchdog over behaviour of Sun reporter)

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/16/sun-journalist-grenfell-tower-victim-hospital

Have I heard correctly that the building that burned down had no sprinkler systems and no fire alarms?

You heard right mate - there were no sprinkler systems - and going on the article below…

'Several residents said they did not hear a building-wide alarm. One man said the first thing he heard was the sirens of emergency vehicles. How was the building’s alarm system set up?

More than one resident has claimed there was no central fire alarm system for the tower block – or that it had failed – and only smoke alarms in individual flats were working. Were they battery operated or hard-wired into the system? Board minutes suggest installing hard-wired fire alarms had been planned.’

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/14/key-questions-about-the-grenfell-tower-fire

 

Thankfully it was Ramadan at the time of the fire breaking out - and several Muslims (awake and sitting down to have meals) in the area raised the alarm - http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-tower-fire-muslims-breaking-ramadan-fast-saved-everyone-when-alarms-failed-a3565081.html

 

 

London fire: Protests grow as fire anger increases:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40298473

&

Grenfell Tower fire: protesters march as anger mounts over disaster response – live:-

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2017/jun/16/grenfell-tower-fire-london-police-criminal-investigation-into-tragedy-latest-updates

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I don’t always agree with MP David Lammy but I really got choked up with this speech from the heart, that he gave to Channel-4 News this evening, on the Grenfell fire and cuts to the welfare state…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dISZpogzV_I

Channel-4 have done a sterling job covering this tragedy. Another video interviewing rapper Akala who as always, says it like it is…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9NWK7VOLig

Real anger today directed at the local Tory council and Tory Prime Minister May, as she has seemingly tried to avoided speaking directly to the distraught residents (Something the leader of the opposition, the Mayor and The Queen have done). Protests outside Downing Street too. I hope the anger doesn’t escalate out of control. I was there on the street when the 2011 London riots started kicking off and it was scary to see.

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a video of Justice For Grenfell Protesters marching towards Downing Street - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8aY8pufZ7c

and ‘Ishmail speaks reality to a sky news presenter GTR’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcJPlkqOYX0

^ both sum up how a fair few people are feeling at the moment.

A little patience goes a long way on this old-school Rebel base. If you are having issues finding what you are looking for, these will be of some help…

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Ryan McAvoy said:

I don’t always agree with MP David Lammy but I really got choked up with this speech from the heart, that he gave to Channel-4 News this evening, on the Grenfell fire and cuts to the welfare state…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dISZpogzV_I

Channel-4 have done a sterling job covering this tragedy. Another video interviewing rapper Akala who as always, says it like it is…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9NWK7VOLig

Real anger today directed at the local Tory council and Tory Prime Minister May, as she has seemingly tried to avoided speaking directly to the distraught residents (Something the leader of the opposition, the Mayor and The Queen have done). Protests outside Downing Street too. I hope the anger doesn’t escalate out of control. I was there on the street when the 2011 London riots started kicking off and it was scary to see.

Top post mate - unlike the BBC and Sky and much of the other media, Channel 4 still give a shit about the people involved in the news they broadcast. You can see it in their selection of presenters working for the channel, their questions, their compassion, their questioning of authority/those responsible.

They don’t patronise, or silence or shush people, look down on them, set an agenda or steer them to their political bias - unlike the others.

 

I lived in a tower block like Grenfell back in '94 to 2001 - fortunately all the work carried out on it back then was by council employees (skilled and experienced tradesman - apprentices under their guidance, bar the odd bad apple) - the work was quality and you knew there’d be little-to-no shortcuts, or corners cut on costs or safety. Council Clerk Of Works would have to sign off on any work - and there was no way they would sign off on anything substandard - they’d get the tradesmen back in to complete or re-do the job whilst standing over them if they did - I even saw on the odd occasion Clerks forcing tradesmen to apologise to tenants for some sloppy sub-standard work before signing off on their work.

Now it’s all sub-contractors and private companies with a mindset of profit - lowest quote wins - despite the quality and safety which gets overlooked. There are now so few Clerk of Works I’m not even sure they have to sign off on sub-contractors work. Instead of hiring more Clerks to ensure quality and safety during that time - the councils, through cuts and pressure from these private companies, got rid of many of them.

Self-assessment by the contractors - or their sub-contractors was and is the order of the day - as well as ignoring tenant’s complaints or putting out PR spin or pre-prepared messages saying they ahdere to the highest quality and safety requirements and are doing quality work - which we all know is bullshit.

The block I lived in wasn’t in a nice estate, the building was a 60’s concrete tower block, there was high unemployment, drugs, gangs, high crime, police collusion with dealers and escorts. But I felt safe - I’d hate to live in a block like that now - given what has happened over the years with the cuts to the councils (and emergency services) through ‘austerity’, and the proliferation of these often shoddy sub-contractors. I certainly wouldn’t feel safe living there now.

Really hope these terrible events force a re-think not only on the safety of social housing - but also the upkeep and the way contractors are given work on them. Profit before people hasn’t, doesn’t and will never work - and only ends one way - at the expense of the people using them.

(my rant over 😉)

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Grenfell Tower will forever stand as a rebuke to the right

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/16/grenfell-tower-rebuke-right-rampant-inequality

^ this is well worth a read.

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oojason said:

Top post mate - unlike the BBC and Sky and much of the other media, Channel 4 still give a shit about the people involved in the news they broadcast. You can see it in their selection of presenters working for the channel, their questions, their compassion, their questioning of authority/those responsible.

They don’t patronise, or silence or shush people, look down on them, set an agenda or steer them to their political bias - unlike the others.

I think the BBC coverage is great too. It’s just that they are broadcasting 24/7 on TV and on radio across multiple channels/stations, where as Channel-4 only has to put together an hour a day. It’s always going to be a more focused package.

The BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire was down there on the morning after and did some broadcasting full of compassion…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRBFMEgY4MQ

BBC Radio 5-Live’s Nihal (who used to live in the area) went down from Manchester on Thursday and was in pieces when he saw the scene…

https://player.fm/series/audioboom-1284543/nihal-overcome-with-emotion-at-grenfell-tower

He managed to composed himself somewhat for the start of his own Afternoon Edition 1pm show shortly after and gave a memorable opening speech. At one point mentioning a friend of his had said the burned out tower on the skyline looked like “the Death Star, something that does not belong in the sky”…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08tcnnb

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