Obama Says ‘Violent’ and ‘Bullying’ Men in Politics Are Having THIS IMPACT on Him

By The Blaze. Former president Barack Obama wants women to become more politically involved, saying Wednesday that “men have been getting on my nerves” lately.

Obama made the comments during the second day of his visit to South Africa, during a town hall before members of the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg.

“Every day I read the newspaper and just think like ‘Brothers, what’s wrong with you guys?’” Obama said. “What’s wrong with us? We’re violent, we’re bullying. Just not handling our business.” . . .

Obama said that the increased inclusion and empowerment of women in politics would create better policy, both in Africa and in the world generally, and warned the students not to shy away from politics because of corruption or conflict. . .

“The one thing you can’t do is pretend that politics doesn’t matter and say to yourself ‘that’s too corrupt, that’s too broken, I’m not going to get involved in it’ because at some point if you are ambitious about what you are doing in your home country, you will confront politics.” (Read more from “Obama Says ‘Violent’ and ‘Bullying’ Men in Politics Are Having THIS IMPACT on Him” HERE)

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Obama Rebukes Identity Politics

By National Review. During a speech celebrating Nelson Mandela’s would-be 100th birthday, President Obama condemned the idea that only people from marginalized groups can comment on marginalized groups’ issues.

Obama made the comments when he was discussing the best way to interact with those with whom we disagree.

“Democracy demands that we’re able to also get inside the reality of people who are different than us, so we can understand their point of view,” he said. “Maybe we can change their minds, maybe they’ll change ours.”

“You can’t do this if you just out of hand disregard what your opponent has to say from the start,” he continued. “And you can’t do it if you insist that those who aren’t like you because they are white or they are male, somehow there is no way they can understand what I’m feeling, that somehow they lack standing to speak on certain matters.”

It might not seem like all that big of a deal, but what Obama did in that last statement was rebuke a way of thinking that has actually become quite pervasive in social-justice circles. In these circles, it’s often the case that men have no authority to speak out about certain issues just because their men, or that white people have no authority to speak out on certain issues just because they’re white. (Read more from “Obama Rebukes Identity Politics” HERE)

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Media Trainwreck: Yeah, About That Picture of the Alleged Russian Spy in the Oval Office…It’s Not Her

. . .So, of course, collusion fever reached unhealthy levels again yesterday. There was a picture of a woman with red hair—Butina is a redhead—in the Oval Office with President Trump. Great Odin’s raven! But it’s not her. It’s an NSC staffer with red hair. Regardless, the initial tweet went viral (via Mediaite):

. . .

And liberal media figures wonder why they’re mocked and not trusted anymore. (Read more from “Media Trainwreck: Yeah, About That Picture of the Alleged Russian Spy in the Oval Office…It’s Not Her” HERE)

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Here’s Why MGM Just Filed a Lawsuit Against the Las Vegas Shooting Victims

MGM International Resorts, the owners of Mandalay Bay and the Route 91 Harvest Festival venue, have filed a lawsuit against more than 1,000 victims of the Las Vegas shooting. The goal of their lawsuit is to avoid liability, the Las Vegas-Review Journal reported.

According to the lawsuit, MGM’s security company, Contemporary Services Corp., was certified by the Department of Homeland Security for “protecting against and responding to acts of mass injury and destruction.”

A 2002 federal act, known as the SAFETY Act, extends liability protection to companies who use “anti-terrorism” technology and services that “prevent and respond to mass violence.” Contemporary Services Corps. utilized those technologies, which allowed them to be certified by DHS. Having that certification removes security companies from being held liable should an incident like the Las Vegas shooting occur.

MGM argues that the liability protections extend to their company because they were the ones who hired Contemporary Services Corp. They cite the SAFETY Act as their cause for being protected from liability.

The purpose of the lawsuit is for a judge to decide if MGM falls under the SAFETY Act. If the judge rules in the company’s favor, future civil lawsuits against MGM would not be viable. (Read more from “Here’s Why MGM Just Filed a Lawsuit Against the Las Vegas Shooting Victims” HERE)

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Feds Reveal Suspected Serial Rapist Is Illegal Alien

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday blasted San Francisco over its sanctuary policy that “shields criminal aliens who prey on the community” by pointing to an illegal immigrant charged in connection to the rapes of four women, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Orlando Vilchez Lazo, 36, is a citizen of Peru and “present in the U.S.,” the report said. He was arrested last week after police said they came across a man who fit the description of the assailant. Police said they took a DNA sample and found a link to four rapes.

Vilchez Lazo has been dubbed the “ride-share rapist,” because he would allegedly drive his car around clubs in the city and pose as a driver. The New York Times, citing authorities, reported that he even had a sticker on his car to indicate he was working for a company.

Vilchez Lazo allegedly committed at least four rapes, one in 2013 and three this year, with the most recent attack in June. Commander Greg McEachren says he often waited outside bars late at night, then drove to other locations.

He reportedly worked for Lyft at the time, but the company told the paper that there is no indication that the alleged attacks occurred while he was working for them. A spokeswoman said he was “deactivated” after word of the allegations. (Read more from “Feds Reveal Suspected Serial Rapist Is Illegal Alien” HERE)

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Poll Shows How Americans Reacted to Trump’s Summit With Putin

By The Blaze. While many in the media were excoriating President Donald Trump for his bizarre comments during the press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a new poll shows how Americans saw the episode. . .

According to a new Reuters poll, Americans’ approval of the president did not change substantively from the daily average in the same poll after the highly criticized meeting in Helsinki. . .

However, the average approval rating for Trump’s treatment remained low, at 42 percent of registered voters. The daily average for the month of July for the rating fell between 40 and 44.

When questioned about Russia specifically, a majority of registered voters (55 percent) said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of Russian relations, while only 37 percent approved of the same.

(Read more from “Poll Shows How Americans Reacted to Trump’s Summit With Putin” HERE)

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‘Better Than Super’: Russia Reacts to Trump-Putin Summit in Helsinki

By NPR. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a master of diplomatic verbosity and sardonic barbs, summed up the results of the Helsinki summit in just three exuberant words: “better than super.”

After four years of getting short shrift by his American counterparts, Russian President Vladimir Putin was standing side by side with President Trump, who lavished him with the words of praise, respect and awe normally only heard on Russian state television.

When Putin militarily intervened in Ukraine in 2014, President Barack Obama called Russia a “regional power” that threatened its neighbors out of weakness, not strength. Russia’s annexation of Crimea set off a precipitous decline in relations with the United States. When he took office, Trump could not reverse the trend because of accusations that Moscow interfered in the 2016 election. . .

There is relief in the Kremlin that Trump didn’t do anything unpredictable, make any demands on which further cooperation would depend or just appear ambivalent, according to Stanovaya. But despite the friendly atmosphere, she said, the Kremlin is aware Trump could still end up taking them by surprise.

Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, says that in the short term, the Kremlin can be happy about Putin’s burnished image as a statesman who holds his own with the U.S. president. (Read more from “‘Better Than Super’: Russia Reacts to Trump-Putin Summit in Helsinki” HERE)

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According to Dem, THIS Is Enough to Impeach Trump

President Donald Trump’s performance during a joint press conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin is enough for a potential impeachment to go forward, according to the Democratic representative challenging Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) told The Dallas Morning News that he would vote to impeach the president if he was asked to.

“Standing on stage in another country with the leader of another country who wants to and has sought to undermine this country, and to side with him over the United States — if I were asked to vote on this, I would vote to impeach the president,” O’Rourke said. . .

New calls for impeachment of Trump and even some mentions of the word “treason” followed a joint press conference during which Trump said he believed Putin that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 elections, despite U.S. intelligence agencies having said otherwise. . .

“In order to prosecute a case for impeachment, you have to have the underlying facts,” Sanchez told Politico. “We don’t know all the facts yet. And until the time that we do, we can’t make a decision on whether or not impeachment is warranted.” (Read more from “According to Dem, This Is Enough to Impeach Trump” HERE)

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Lesson From Putin Summit: Democrats and GOP Equally Hate President Trump

By CNN. After President Donald Trump’s stunning news conference Monday next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, members of Congress — including some powerful Republicans — were quick to rebuke Trump’s performance on the world stage and Trump’s refusal to call Putin out for interfering in the US election.

House Speaker Paul Ryan contradicted several comments Trump made during his Helsinki news conference, most notably backing the US intelligence community assessment that Russia meddled with the US 2016 presidential election. . .

Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican who has consistently criticized the President, said Trump’s comments were “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.”

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker said the President “made us look like a pushover” and that Putin was probably eating caviar on the plane home. (Read more from “Lesson From Putin Summit: Democrats and GOP Equally Hate President Trump” HERE)

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Trump-Putin Summit: U.S. Leader Hails ‘Good Start’ in Helsinki

By BBC. US President Donald Trump says his face-to-face meeting in Helsinki with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was “a good start”.

After two hours of closed-door talks the two leaders went into a working lunch with their senior advisers.

Speaking earlier, Mr Putin said it was time to discuss “difficult multi-national issues”.

Relations between Russia and the West were severely strained by Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Russia is also accused of meddling in the 2016 US election, a claim it strongly denies. (Read more from “Trump-Putin Summit: U.S. Leader Hails ‘Good Start’ in Helsinki” HERE)

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Nunes: Mueller Indictment Would Look Ridiculous If Trump Had Taken This One Step

By The Daily Caller. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said Sunday that the special counsel’s indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers “would look ridiculous” had President Donald Trump declassified portions of a congressional report that laid out Russian efforts to steal and disseminate Democrats’ emails. . .

The indictment accuses military intelligence officers with Russia’s GRU of hacking into the DNC and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton campaign’s computer networks and releasing stolen documents through the fake online personas, Guccifer 2.0 and DCLeaks.

Nunes said in an interview on “Fox Sunday Futures” that much of the information was included in Chapter 2 of the House Intelligence Committee’s report, but it was heavily redacted in response to requests from the Department of Justice and intelligence community. . .

“If the President of the United States had declassified this … the Mueller indictment would look ridiculous today if this was unredacted and declassified,” Nunes said Sunday.

Nunes’ call for declassification mark a subtle shift in the Republican’s public stance on the Russia investigation. He only recently started calling on Trump to declassify documents related to the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government. The comments suggest that Nunes believes that the only way that the public will see some of the information about the Justice Department and FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign is if Trump orders the documents be declassified. (Read more from “Nunes: Mueller Indictment Would Look Ridiculous If Trump Had Taken This One Step” HERE)

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Rep. Devin Nunes: Indictment of Russians Leaves out Targeting of GOP

By Washington Examiner. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said special counsel Robert Mueller’s recent indictment of 12 Russian officials on charges of hacking Democrats’ computers during the 2016 campaign looks “ridiculous” because it left out Republicans who were also targeted.

During an interview Sunday on Fox News, Nunes accused the media of largely ignoring the findings of his committee’s months-old report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which he asserted was more comprehensive than Mueller’s indictment. However, he also claimed the redactions in his panel’s report prevented the presentation of the full picture and urged President Trump to declassify it.

“This entire report that you have in front of you, all you had to do was get to page 4, and you only had to read chapter 2 and you would have had nearly everything that’s in the indictment,” Nunes said, referring to a copy of the report held by host Maria Bartiromo. “There’s more in this report than what’s in the indictment. And this is what’s very frustrating.”

A grand jury returned Mueller’s indictment Friday, after which it was announced by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The charges said 12 Russian officials “engaged in a sustained effort” to break into computers owned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee, and Hillary Clinton’s campaign in the lead-up to the 2016 election. (Read more from “Rep. Devin Nunes: Indictment of Russians Leaves out Targeting of GOP” HERE)

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Congressman Calls for Military Coup Against Trump

On Monday, after President Trump’s inflammatory remarks concerning the U.S. intelligence community, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) seemingly called for a military coup to overthrow Trump:

. . .

Cohen has made his feelings quite clear when it comes to President Trump; Speaking with MSNBC in January, Cohen snapped, “Donald Trump is the most despicable human being to ever reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue … a narcissistic sociopath doesn’t change. It endangers the country. And war … is something he could get into to improve the rating for the [20]18 elections, where [Republicans] are in desperate shape. And will do anything to improve ratings.”

(Read more from “Congressman Calls for Military Coup Against Trump” HERE)

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NRA-Involved Woman Charged With Being a Russian Spy

A 29-year-old woman active in Washington, D.C., politics has been arrested and charged with being a Russian agent. She was reportedly very involved with gun rights groups in D.C., including the NRA, and conspired to use one of these groups as a conduit to facilitate communication between a U.S. political party and the Kremlin. . .

Maria Butina was arrested on Sunday and appeared before a U.S. District Court judge on Monday. According to the unsealed criminal complaint, Butina was charged “with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation within the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General.”

A press release from the Department of Justice stated that “from as early as 2015 and continuing through at least February 2017, Butina worked at the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government who was previously a member of the legislature of the Russian Federation and later became a top official at the Russian Central Bank. This Russian official was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control in April 2018.

The Washington Post reported that her attorney had said that the FBI had searched Butina’s residence. The complaint lists (with redacted names) messages between Butina, a Russian official, and at least two U.S. citizens.

According to a LinkedIn page for a Maria Butina with a profile picture that resembles pictures of her from news stories, Butina has been a research assistant at American University’s Kogod School of Business in Washington, D.C., since October 2017. It also claims that she “founded a gun rights organization in Russia [The Right to Bear Arms] that grew to over 10,000 members.” Her lawyer confirmed to the Post that she had recently earned a master’s degree from American University. (Read more from “NRA-Involved Woman Charged With Being a Russian Spy” HERE)

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