Monthly Archives: May 2016

Trump slams press, defends donations to veterans’ groups

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Republican presumptive Presidential nominee Donald Trump held a press conference in New York on Tuesday morning to outline his recent donations to veterans’ organizations. For much of the 50-minute event, he attacked his treatment by the “dishonest” press.

Watch here:

Elsewhere in the campaign today…

and with the Democratic convention looming,

so there’s that.

Because of the brave

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Simple wisdom

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One image dominated the media in both the US and Asia on Friday, after President Obama met with a man who had survived the nuclear attack on Hiroshima. In his speech, the President said:

Those who died, they are like us. Ordinary people understand this, I think. They do not want more war. They would rather that the wonders of science be focused on improving life and not eliminating it. When the choices made by nations, when the choices made by leaders, reflect this simple wisdom, then the lesson of Hiroshima is done.

The world was forever changed here, but today the children of this city will go through their day in peace. What a precious thing that is. It is worth protecting, and then extending to every child. That is a future we can choose, a future in which Hiroshima and Nagasaki are known not as the dawn of atomic warfare but as the start of our own moral awakening.

obama

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WORLD

After recent violence at a Trump rally in Albuquerque, there were further disturbances at a gathering on Friday in San Diego.

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SPORTS

Could a fear of the Zika virus really cause the Olympics to be moved? That would be something of a big deal for NBC…

Saturday is the Champions League final between Madrid rivals Real and Atletico.

 

 

G7 beset by global challenges

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The G7 is wrapping up its meeting in Shima, Japan on Friday, seemingly overwhelmed by an inability to stimulate economic growth and issuing the requisite warning on Brexit.

President Obama makes an historic visit to Hiroshima today before returning to Washington.

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WORLD

Donald Trump passed the required number of 1,237 delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination at July’s convention in Cleveland. So, clearly not rigged after all, then?

Trump, meanwhile, may or may not have been kidding about a potential debate with Bernie Sanders for charity ahead of the California primary.

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SPORTS

After a potential last-minute hiccup over IP rights to his personal image, Jose Mourinho is set to take over at Manchester United.

Finally, not really “sports” per se, but people seem to watch it like it is…

 

 

 

 

Billionaire confirms bankrolling Hogan lawsuit against Gawker

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In a story with already almost too much backstory, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel confirmed to Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times today that he had been funding the recent lawsuit brought by wrestler Hulk Hogan against Gawker which resulted in a $140m award against the publication. Here’s why…

Jack Shafer writes at Politico that Thiel has “done the impossible” in getting people to sympathize with Gawker. He writes:

To add a little moral clarity to Thiel’s legal maneuvering, ask yourself what sort of public response there would be if he had secretly financed a lawsuit against the New York Times instead of Gawker. The First Amendment lobby would be up in arms, and petitions denouncing Thiel would be in wide circulation, accusing him of trying to neuter the press. But because Gawker—vile little Gawker—is the target of Thiel’s offensive, few observers seem to be upset.

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MEDIA

Oh f*ck right off…

 

 

Riot at Trump rally in New Mexico

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There were disturbances – and even reports of shots fired – at a Donald Trump rally in downtown Albuquerque tonight, with police using smoke grenades, horses and pepper spray to break up protests outside the event at the city’s Convention Center.

Meanwhile Trump was declared the winner of the GOP primary in Washington state this evening.

Elsewhere, in the Democratic contest(s) in Washington, Hillary Clinton won the non-binding primary, while Bernie Sanders won the state’s caucus. Confused? This will help…

 

 

 

And this is just today…

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Sometimes, I can’t keep up. And I’m proactively interested in this stuff. What the actual f*ck must ordinary folks be thinking…?

Time for a deep breath.

 

Egyptian military ‘finds crash debris’ as speculation continues

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As speculation inevitably continues about the cause of yesterday’s crash of EgyptAir flight 804, the Egyptian military said it had discovered debris from the plane, which disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean yesterday after a four-hour flight from Paris.

 

Someone, at least, was certain that it was terrorism…

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MEDIA

Finally, RIP Morley Safer.

 

EgyptAir plane ‘crashes in Mediterranean’

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Update 8am London: It was confirmed on Thursday morning that a missing EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo had crashed. French officials said an act of terrorism “could not be ruled out.”

The Airbus A320 with 66 people on board left Paris late on Wednesday night and had lost contact with air traffic control after crossing into Egyptian air space over the Mediterranean. There were conflicting reports about whether a distress call had been received from the plane, or whether or not such a signal may have been sent automatically.

 

 

 

 

 

Queen’s Speech to set out Tory legislative plans

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Queen Elizabeth delivers her 65th Queen’s Speech, setting out her government’s legislative agenda, at today’s State Opening of Parliament.

Even though the speech’s provisions will likely be overshadowed by – or provide welcome respite from – the ongoing debate over next month’s EU referendum, there is set to be some interesting things, from prison reform to a British Bill of Rights. It could also mark the first time the monarch has publicly said the words “driverless cars.”

Meanwhile, The Sun’s recent headline on the aforementioned referendum was found to be “significantly misleading” by the press regulatory body Ipso. Does the Sun care? Likely not.

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WORLD