Sharyl Attkisson

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Sharyl Attkisson

Papaya workshops simulate and advocate for abortion

As conversations over abortion rights and Roe v. Wade continue, does the papaya effort to "demystify" and advocate for abortion help or hurt the cause? Leave your comments below.

The following is an excerpt from a Vice story about papaya "abortion" workshops.

When the papaya was fully “dilated,” [abortion provider Zoey Thill] placed a plastic tube called a cannula inside and attached it to a manual vacuum aspirator, a plastic, syringe-like device, sucking out the inner contents of the papaya: what, for our purposes, was the pregnancy. From start to finish, the procedure had taken no more than three minutes.  Thill admired the seeds in the plastic tube. “This is a really [expletive] good one.” Then it was our turn. We partnered up, holding the papayas for each other as we repeated what she had just shown us. I felt slightly nervous, even though I knew I was only practicing on a fruit, not a person. Thill held the papaya for me and after I dilated it, she reminded me how to attach the aspirator to the cannula. I clamped down the two small locks on the end of the instrument, pulled the handle toward me to create suction, and eased it gently onto the plastic tube—I wasn’t going to be the one to perforate my papaya’s fundus.

“It’s even more satisfying when it’s a real abortion,” Thill said.

The point of papaya workshops isn’t necessarily to teach people how to perform an aspiration abortion at home. Thill said she wanted to educate people about what an abortion procedure entails—information she believes shouldn’t belong only to doctors—to help combat fear, misinformation, and stigma. “I just want to be clear that when you leave here you won’t be competent at providing abortions, so don’t go (expletive) crazy,” Thill said by way of disclaimer.

Zoey Thill, a New York City-based abortion provider, to Vice

Read the entire Vice article by clicking the link below:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3k334w/how-to-do-an-abortion-with-manual-vacuum-aspiration-papaya-workshop

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The Mueller Report's "shaky" footnotes

A new report from Real Clear Investigations outlines crucial information contained among some 2,000 footnotes in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Trump-Russia collusion.

Eric Felten from Real Clear Investigations says many of the the footnotes raise more questions than answers. According to Felten:

  • Some footnotes appear to treat former FBI Director James Comey's word as absolute truth.
  • Other footnotes apparently exist just to smear people such as Michael Flynn, President Trump's first security adviser.
  • More footnotes seem to be "places to air unfounded speculation."

Read more of Felten's article here: Mueller footnotes.

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Overstock.com CEO reportedly admits being FBI informant in figure related to Trump-Russia scandal

Maria Butina

When you thought things couldn't get stranger, journalist Sara Carter has a new interview with the Chief Executive of Overstock.com, Patrick Byrne. It reveals new tangles in the Russia collusion web.

In the interview, Byrne acknowledges providing the government "exculpatory" material in support of Russian gun rights activist Maria Butina. Butina is in prison after pleading guilty to working as a foreign agent without properly registering in the U.S.

Butina was part of the government's effort to prove that the Russians interfered with the 2016 election. But as the heart of the case dissolved in 2018, Butina plead guilty instead to the unregistered lobbying.

According to Carter, Butina attorney Robert Driscoll has now written federal authorities to object to the government's alleged mistreatment of his client, and to complain about alleged disinformation provided by federal officials in her case.

Orally...I directly told the government that I believed Patrick Byrne, Chief Executive of Overstock.com, who had a sporadic relationship with Maria over a period of years prior to her arrest, was a government informant. My speculation was flatly denied. My associate Alfred Carry made similar assertions in a separate debrief that he covered and was also rebuffed. Mr. Byrne has now contacted me and has confirmed that he, indeed, had a ‘non-standard arrangement’ with the FBI for many years, and that beginning in 2015 through Maria’s arrest, he communicated and assisted government agents with their investigation of Maria. During this time, he stated he acted at the direction of the government and federal agents by, at their instruction, kindling a manipulative romantic relationship with her. He also told me that some of the details he provided the government regarding Maria in response was exculpatory—that is, he reported to the government that Maria’s behavior and interaction with him was inconsistent with her being a foreign agent and more likely an idealist and age-appropriate peace activist.

Maria Butina attorney Robert Driscoll

Read Sara Carter's entire article by clicking the link below:

Russia Probe Twist: A Billion Dollar CEO, A Convicted Russian Agent And The FBI
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Daily Mail touts exclusive report on Rep. Omar marriages, divorces, brother

It’s really strange, right, to prove a negative. [As for Elmi]: If someone was asking me, do I have a brother by that name, I don’t. If someone was asking … are there court documents that are false … there is no truth to that.

Omar to the Star Tribune in October, before she was elected.

A provocative new article in London's Daily Mail unravels developments in allegations that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar previously married her brother and, separately, is now heading for her second divorce with the father of her children.

The article is entitled: "EXCLUSIVE: Ilhan Omar SPLITS with her husband and moves into luxury penthouse as she heads for SECOND divorce with father of her three children."

By way of background, according to the Star Tribune, Associated Press and other news reports:

New investigative documents released by a Minnesota state agency have given fresh life to lingering questions about the marital history of Rep. Ilhan Omar and whether she once married a man — possibly her own brother — to skirt immigration laws. Omar has denied the allegations in the past, dismissing them as “baseless rumors” first raised in an online Somali politics forum and championed by conservative bloggers during her 2016 campaign for the Minnesota House. But she said little then or since about Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, the former husband who swept into her life in 2009 before a 2011 separation.

Star Tribune and AP reporting

Omar has previously denied marrying her brother. A spokesman for Omar issued a statement on July 19 that did not directly address allegations about her brother:

Since before she was elected to office, Ilhan has been the subject of conspiracy theories and false accusations about her personal life. Emboldened by a president who openly treats immigrants, refugees and Muslims as invaders, these attacks often stem from the presumption that Ilhan — like others who share those identities — is somehow illegitimate or not fully American. Ilhan has shared more than most public officials ever do about the details of her personal life — even when it is personally painful. Whether by colluding with right-wing outlets to go after Muslim elected officials or hounding family members, legitimate media outlets have a responsibility not to fan the flames of hate. Continuing to do so is not only demeaning to Ilhan, but to her entire family.

Jeremy Slevin, spokesman for Rep. Omar, July 19

According to new reporting by the Star Tribune and AP:

Questions surfaced again this month in a state probe of campaign finance violations showing that Omar filed federal taxes in 2014 and 2015 with her current husband, Ahmed Hirsi, while she was still legally married to but separated from Elmi. Although she has legally corrected the discrepancy, she has declined to say anything about how or why it happened. The new documents also detail the Omar campaign’s efforts to keep the story of her marriage to Elmi out of the press, arguing that detailed coverage would legitimize the accusations and invade her privacy.

Star Tribune and AP reporting

Meantime, the Daily Mail recently published the following alleged developments:

  • Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and her husband Ahmed Hirsi – the father of her three children – have split, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively
  • Omar left her husband and has moved into a penthouse apartment in one of Minneapolis's trendiest neighborhoods  
  • 'Wow,' said Hirsi, when approached about the split by DailyMail.com. 'I can't comment on that. I'm sorry, I just can't say anything'
  • Omar did not return calls requesting comment from DailyMail.com by deadline 
  • The news comes as critics are demanding Omar answer questions about whether she married her own brother in a successful bid to get him into the US 
  • 'Obviously we are proud that a Somali-American has been elected — but we just think it is the wrong Somali-American,' a community leader told DailyMail.com
  • Omar first married Hirsi in an Islamic ceremony in 2002 when she was 19, but six years later they 'reached an impasse in our life together,' and divorced
  •  In 2009, Omar married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a British citizen, who has been identified as her brother - but this has not been proven 
  • Omar had a third child with Hirsi in 2012, even though she was still legally married to Elmi - who she divorced in 2017 and married Hirsi in 2018 

Read the Daily Mail article by clicking the link below:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7287273/Ilhan-Omar-SPLITS-husband-father-three-children.html

Additional details are below:

It’s really strange, right, to prove a negative. [As for Elmi]: If someone was asking me, do I have a brother by that name, I don’t. If someone was asking … are there court documents that are false … there is no truth to that.

Omar to the Star Tribune in October, before she was elected.

From the Star Tribune:

Beyond denying the provocative allegation that Elmi is her brother, Omar has shed little light on her married life, which began in 2002, when she wed Hirsi in their Muslim faith tradition. The Star Tribune has sought to authenticate some of the most egregious allegations, using public records and available social media posts, which make up the bulk of the case against her. Some of the original social media accounts linking Elmi to Omar after their split in 2011 appear to have been removed, and documents verifying the family relationships of refugees from war-torn countries with limited government record-keeping are notoriously hard to obtain, even by U.S. immigration authorities. Omar declined to make her tax and immigration records available for this report. What is known is that Omar, at the age of 19, sought a legal marriage license with Hirsi in Minnesota. Though they had three children together, they would not legally marry until January 2018, after she had been in the Minnesota Legislature for a year and had dissolved the marriage in 2017 with Elmi. After reaching what Omar called “an impasse in our life together,” she and Hirsi split for a period in 2008. They had two children at the time. In February 2009, public records show that Omar legally married Elmi, who she has identified as a “British citizen.” The relationship was brief. Omar said it ended in 2011, when she reconciled with Hirsi. While Omar said she and Elmi had divorced in 2011 “in our faith tradition,” they would not legally divorce until December, 2017 — a month before she got legally married to Hirsi.

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Fourth amendment victory for airline passengers

Nine passengers have settled a lawsuit against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after they were made to show their identifications (or IDs) to border agents without the agents citing reasonable suspicion.

That announcement from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The decision prevents border agents from conducting future baseless ID checks after domestic flights, according to the ACLU.

This settlement is a win for the Fourth Amendment rights of all travelers on domestic flights ... The Constitution protects passengers deplaning domestic flights just as it protects people on the street or in a car. CBP is bound by those protections, and this settlement helps make sure the agency stays within those bounds.

Hugh Handeyside and Anna Diakun, ACLU

Customs and Border Protection will issue a new policy making it clear that they must follow the Fourth Constitutional Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, according to the ACLU.

The ACLU also says that Customs and Border Protection is compensating the litigants for legal expenses.

Read the rest of the American Civil Liberty Union's report here: No more unreasonable ID checks.

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Democrat presidential candidate Gabbard sues Google, alleges election meddling

There's more reason to question whether the big tech companies are putting their thumb on the scale or even meddling when it comes to U.S. elections.

New allegations and a federal lawsuit come from the presidential campaign of Democrat Tulsi Gabbard.

According to Gabbard, in the immediate hours after the first Democratic Presidential debate on June 28th, 2019, "millions of Americans were searching online for information about Tulsi Gabbard."

The campaign points to news reports that state Gabbard was the most searched candidate on Google. Then, without any explanation, Gabbard says, Google suspended her Google Ads account.  

The following information comes from the Gabbard campaign:

For hours, Tulsi’s campaign advertising account remained offline while Americans everywhere were searching for information about her. During this time, Google obfuscated and dissembled with a series of inconsistent and incoherent reasons for its actions. In the end, Google never explained to us why Tulsi’s account was suspended.  Google controls 88 percent of all internet search in the United States – essentially giving it control over our access to information. That’s one reason why Tulsi has been a vocal proponent of breaking up the tech monopolies. And no matter what the motivation was for doing so, Google’s arbitrary and capricious decision to suspend Tulsi’s Google Ads account during a critical moment in our campaign should be of concern to all political candidates and in fact all Americans.

Tulsi Gabbard campaign

Gabbard's campaign has filed a lawsuit against Google in federal court stating that, "Big Tech’s dominance represents a clear and present danger to our democracy."

Google’s discriminatory actions against my campaign are reflective of how dangerous their complete dominance over internet search is, and how the increasing dominance of big tech companies over our public discourse threatens our core American values. This is a threat to free speech, fair elections and to our democracy, and I intend to fight back on behalf of all Americans.

Tulsi Gabbard

Google has repeatedly denied any misconduct or interference involving its product.

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Poll: Is competition or government the best health care solution?

Americans don't believe government policies are the best answer to the nation's health care problems.

That's according to a recent poll by ScottRasmussen.com.

Forty-eight percent (48%) of respondents said they believe new technologies will have a bigger positive impact on the future of health care than new government policies. Twenty-nine percent (29%) have the opposite view.

Forty-one percent (41%) of voters say more competition between health care providers is more likely than more government regulation to improve the quality of medical care.

Among other findings: 41% say technology and competition is good for the industry and will improve medical quality. Twenty-five percent (25%) say technology and competition will worsen medical quality and 34% said they are not sure.

In general, Democrats and Republicans agree that the health care system needs some fixing up, but Democrats are more focused on technological solutions. Republicans are more focused on competitive solutions, according to the Scott Rasmussen poll.

You can find more in-depth results here: Scott Rasmussen poll on healthcare, technology, and competition.

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