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January 01, 2020

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HES IN THE HOT SEAT! MARCON IS NOW PRESIDENT OF FRANCE

May 08, 2017

 

 

Despite what France has done to Haiti, the Media has now announced the new president. According to New York times, LONDON — Emmanuel Macron will take office as France’s next president on May 14, President François Hollande announced on Monday, a day after the independent centrist candidate defeated Marine Le Pen in a battle for the country’s leadership.

Mr. Macron appeared beside Mr. Hollande at a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe to observe the 72nd anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.

Mr. Macron did not make a statement, but his attention will already have turned to the choice of a prime minister and to the legislative elections of June 11 and 18, when all 577 seats in the National Assembly, the lower, more powerful house of the French Parliament, will be up for grabs.

Expectations could hardly be higher. “Beyond the symbols, the new, optimistic president of this country in depression will have to demonstrate by concrete signs, very quickly, that he received the messages from this extraordinary campaign,” Jérôme Fenoglio, the editorial director of Le Monde, wrote in a front-page editorial.

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Mr. Macron’s year-old political movement plans to field candidates — a mix of newcomers and more experienced figures — for all of the seats. In the meantime, he is expected to name a prime minister and a cabinet.

But if Mr. Macron’s party does not win enough seats in the legislative elections, the Assembly could essentially force him to choose another prime minister.

The two mainstream parties — the Socialists and the Republicans — hope to reassert themselves in the legislative elections, as does the far-right National Front, led by Ms. Le Pen. The movement of the far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon also hopes to do well.

In short, the parliamentary elections could easily be a five-party affair, a reflection of the electorate’s fragmentation and a loss of faith in mainstream parties.

Sylvie Goulard, a centrist member of the European Parliament who supports Mr. Macron, told the CNews channel on Monday that Mr. Macron would go to Berlin for his first trip outside France, but she added he might first visit French troops posted abroad.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany congratulated Mr. Macron on his “spectacular” victory on Monday.

“He carries the hopes of millions of French people, and of many people in Germany and the whole of Europe,” Ms. Merkel said at a news conference. “He ran a courageous pro-European campaign, stands for openness to the world and is committed decisively to a social market economy.”

Mr. Hollande has privately complained that he was betrayed by Mr. Macron, his onetime protégé, but he showed no signs of bitterness on Monday.

Mr. Macron resigned as economy minister in August to clear the way for a run for president. In December, Mr. Hollande, whose popularity plummeted during his five-year term, said that he would not seek a second term.

“It is true that he followed me for many years, but afterward he freed himself,” Mr. Hollande said of Mr. Macron on Monday. “He wanted to propose a project to the French. It is up to him now, strengthened by the experience he has acquired with me, to continue his march. I wish him every success.”

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia joined a chorus of world leaders, including President Trump, who have congratulated Mr. Macron.

“The citizens of France have trusted you with leading the country at a difficult time for Europe and the whole world community,” Mr. Putin said in a statement. “The growth in threats of terrorism and militant extremism is accompanied by an escalation of local conflicts and the destabilization of whole regions. In these conditions, it is especially important to overcome mutual mistrust and unite efforts to ensure international stability and security.”

Mr. Putin made no mention of the widespread reports that agents linked to Russia had tampered with the Macron campaign, just as they hacked the Democratic National Committee and the campaign of Hillary Clinton in the United States last year.

Mr. Macron’s campaign said Friday evening that his party had been the target of a “massive and coordinated attack,” after a trove of stolen campaign documents and emails was published online.

A New York-based cyberintelligence consultancy, Flashpoint, said there were indications that a hacker group with ties to Russian military intelligence had been behind the attack. Mr. Putin and his spokesman have repeatedly denied interfering in the elections of foreign countries.

The National Front in France was regrouping after the presidential race. The latest results showed that Ms. Le Pen won 33.9 percent of those who voted — less than expected, but by far the party’s strongest showing in a presidential election. (Ms. Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, won 17.9 percent in the 2002 runoff against President Jacques Chirac.)

Echoing Ms. Le Pen’s concession speech, Nicolas Bay, the National Front’s secretary general, said that “a new divide is emerging: the patriots face the globalists.”

He said it was “obviously necessary for the National Front to transform itself.” Asked whether the party’s name would change, as Ms. Le Pen has hinted, he suggested that such a move was likely.

“I think it can be one of the means to be even more unifying and to live up to what the French are waiting for,” he said. “This decision will not be made in the next few weeks, but rather in the coming months.”

Ex-Officer Who Shot Walter Scott Pleads Guilty in Charleston

May 02, 2017

According to By ALAN BLINDER

 

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A former South Carolina police officer who killed an unarmed black motorist in an encounter that was captured on video pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday.

Michael T. Slager, who shot and killed Walter L. Scott after a traffic stop and foot pursuit in North Charleston in April 2015, entered his plea Tuesday afternoon in Federal District Court here.

Mr. Slager pleaded guilty to a single count of using excessive force to deprive Mr. Scott of his civil rights. Under the terms of the plea agreement, federal and state officials will not pursue other charges against Mr. Slager, including a state murder count. The charge to which Mr. Slager pleaded guilty carries a maximum of life in prison. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he will most

“We hope that Michael’s acceptance of responsibility will help the Scott family as they continue to grieve their loss,” Mr. Slager’s defense lawyers said in a statement.

Ryan Julison, a spokesman for lawyers representing the Scott family, said he could not comment. The family scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon.

The plea agreement, reached nearly five months after a jury in state court deadlocked on a murder charge against Mr. Slager, represents a rare conviction of a police officer in connection with an on-duty killing.

Mr. Slager, unlike many other officers who opened fire while on patrol, was charged within days of the shooting, which occurred on a Saturday morning after Mr. Slager stopped Mr. Scott for a broken taillight.

 

Graphic: Looking for Accountability in Police-Involved Deaths of Blacks

 

Although the traffic stop was initially routine, Mr. Scott soon jumped from his car and began to flee. (His family has suggested that Mr. Scott ran because he feared being jailed over outstanding child support payments.)

Mr. Slager gave chase and, he later testified, struggled with Mr. Scott in a vacant lot. But Mr. Scott broke free and continued to run. Mr. Slager then opened fire, striking Mr. Scott in the back and sending him crumpling to the ground.

Part of the episode — some of the most controversial seconds — unfolded as a local barber recorded it on his cellphone. The images ricocheted around the internet, made newspaper front pages and led television broadcasts.

Mr. Slager was charged with murder and swiftly fired, and the City of North Charleston reached a $6.5 million settlement with Mr. Scott’s family.

 

Mr. Slager and his defense team had argued that he was a victim of a national campaign against law enforcement and that a good officer had been swept up in an era of protest.

Testifying in court last year, Mr. Slager said that at one point during the encounter, Mr. Scott gained control of his Taser, leaving the officer in “total fear.”

 “I pulled my firearm, and I pulled the trigger,” said Mr. Slager, who added that he suffered from nightmares after the shooting. “I fired until the threat was stopped, like I’m trained to do.”

At the state trial, Mr. Slager’s lawyers raised questions about the prosecution’s evidence and Mr. Scott’s character.

Jurors nearly returned a guilty verdict anyway, intensifying the pressure on Mr. Slager to resolve the outstanding federal and state charges through a plea agreement.

HES JUST A GREAT MAN! TRUMP DONATES TO THE NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE.

April 05, 2017

According to NBCNEWS by ALI VITALI

 

President Donald Trump is donating his first salary to the National Parks Service.

The first quarter salary — totaling $78,333 — was given ceremoniously to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke at the outset of Monday's White House Press briefing and Press Secretary Sean Spicer presented an enlarged check. The check was flashed on screens flanking Spicer's podium.

The president is personally proud to contribute the first quarter of his salary to the important mission of the Parks Service, which is preserving our country's national security," Spicer said, handing the check to Zinke and Superintendent of the Harper's Ferry Parks cite, Brandy Berg.

The check's was "every penny the president received from the first quarter" since his inauguration on January 20, Spicer told reporters.

The donation makes good on an early promise by the Trump administration that the president would donate his salary, though originally the idea was that he'd donate to charity. The National Parks Service was chosen from a list of options presented to Trump by counsel.

It's "not as easy as you'd think" to give money to the government, Spicer noted on Monday.

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune panned Trump's donation calling it a "publicity stunt" that's a "sad consolation prize" as Trump's budget proposes cuts to the Interior Department's budget by 12 percent.

"America's parks, and the people and economies they support, need real funding, not a giant fake check," Brune said in an emailed statement. "Parks are a good investment and we must invest now if we want them to be around for our kids.

I QUIT!AND IM NOT COMING BACK!- TONY ROMOS EXITS THE NFL

April 04, 2017

Tony Romo's QB days are over ... at least for now ... he is reportedly retiring from the NFL to pursue a career in broadcasting.

Romo lost his job as the Dallas Cowboys starting QB last season to Dak Prescott -- who seized the opportunity when Romo went down with an injury in the preseason.

There have been rumors that Romo would sign with another team for the 2017 season but that just ain't happening -- at least right now.

No word on which network Romo will begin his broadcasting career with -- but we're guessing if an NFL team comes calling for a QB he'll have the option to sign with a team.

ONE IRRLEVANT QUESTION GONE ! 15 MORE TO GO. AS NEW YORK CITY OUTLAWS SOME INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

April 04, 2017

Acooridng to TO HUFFINTON POST BY
By Catherine Pearson
 New York City could soon pass a bill that would ban employers from asking about a job applicant’s salary history, joining a small but growing number of cities and states using the strategy to fight the gender pay gap. The bill is expected to pass this week, coinciding with Equal Pay Day, which draws attention to how much longer women must work to make as much as men earned in the previous year. 

While the bill would apply to all employers and employees, it is aimed specifically at leveling the playing field, earnings-wise, between women and men and for people of color.

“Being underpaid once should not condemn you to a lifetime of inequity,” New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, who introduced the bill last summer, said in a roundtable discussion about the wage gap last week, The Cut reports.

Women in the United States are paid roughly 80 percent of what men earn on average, and women of color are paid even less. That gap starts out in entry-level positions ― even after controlling for the fact that women are more likely to go into lower-paying fields and may work fewer hours ― and increases the longer women are in the workforce. One reason why those pay differences compound over time is because many employers set salaries based on previous earnings. 

The goal of the New York City regulation is to disrupt that pattern and give women a chance to catch up.

“If you are making less in your current job because you’re a woman ― which definitely happens ― and you go to a different job, the employer shouldn’t be paying you less because you were discriminated against in your old job,” Emily Martin, general counsel and vice president for workplace justice with the National Women’s Law Center, the advocacy and research group, told The Huffington Post.

Raises are often based on a percentage of an employee’s salary, Martin added, which can make it even harder for women to catch up after they start out earning less. 

Of course, even if the bill passes, it still won’t necessarily be easy for a woman going through job interviews to push back if she is asked about her previous earnings. 

“Certainly it’s always a difficult thing to assert your legal rights when you’re looking for a job,” Martin said. “It’s difficult to say, ‘Hey, that’s illegal.’ But that’s one reason why the publicity this measure is getting is so important. It makes it more likely that employers know this is the law.”

And New York City, which recently passed a similar ban for city employers and employees, is not the only place considering a ban on employers asking about salary history. Massachusetts was the first state to make it illegal for prospective employers to ask about previous salary, and cities like Philadelphia and New Orleans have recently passed similar city-wide bans.

Martin believes the bans have captured public imagination in part because being asked about previous salary is something many people have experienced in the course of job hunting, which makes it relatable.

“People can get it, they can relate it to their own lives,” she said, sharing her own experience of being paid less than a male colleague when she was clerking for a judge because she had previously held a public interest job and he’d come from a private law firm where salaries were higher. 

But there is still a long way to go.

The gender pay gap in the United States is not expected to close until at least 2059, or even closer to 2152

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