It Begins: Maxine Waters Vows To Examine Trump Ties To Deutsche Bank

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday that she will investigate President Trump's ties to Deutsche Bank if she is elected chair of the House Financial Services Committee.

President Trump's relationship with Deutsche Bank has long been in Waters' crosshairs - as the 80-year-old Congresswoman has made repeated calls on the German financial institution to provide documents concerning any ties that Trump might have to Russia. As the ranking minority leader on the House Financial Services Committee she has thus far only been able to sabre-rattle, however she will now be able to subpoena records connected to a President whose impeachment she has repeatedly promised constituents since his election in 2016.

Waters also told Bloomberg that she would also investigate changes made at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the direction of acting director Mick Mulvaney, as well as Wells Fargo - which she has urged the Federal Reserve to come down hard on in the wake of several scandals.

The CFPB has not faced much Congressional oversight since Mick Mulvaney, President Trump’s budget director and acting director of the CFPB, took over. Trump has nominated Kathy Kraninger, who worked under Mulvaney in the Office of Management and Budget, to be the next permanent director of the Bureau. If she is confirmed, which is likely since Republicans currently have a majority in the Senate and extended their gains in Tuesday’s election, any moves she and the Bureau make will likely come under increased scrutiny of Waters’ committee. -Chicago Sun Times

Waters has other plans as well:

But Waters does have a list of policy priorities; she told CNBC in July that if she became committee chair, she would address affordable housing and the conservatorship of the two government-sponsored enterprises — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. She also pledged to “undo that harm” that Trump-cabinet member Mick Mulvaney has done at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency created in the aftermath of the crisis that was tasked with policing financial services products.

Speaking to MSNBC on Tuesday, Waters also expressed strong thoughts on banking regulation and lashed out at Republicans for using the last two years to enact revisions to the post-crisis Dodd-Frank financial regulatory framework. -Yahoo!

"For everything that we have tried to do to bring about some fairness and justice for these financial services companies and etcetera, we have absolutely been fought against by Republicans," said Waters.

In a pre-midterm note, JPMorgan Chase predicted "There will be more oversight and subpoena with committees headed by Democrats."

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-07/it-begins-maxine-waters-vows-examine-trump-ties-deutsche-bank

Syrian Refugees In Turkey To Organize Protest Demanding “Liberation” Of Tell Abyad From SDF

Syrian refugees in Turkey will organize a protest on November 11 in the Turkey territory north of the Syrian city of Tell Abyad to demand a Turkish military intervention to “liberate” the city from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Syrian Baladi News outlet reported on November 7.

According to the pro-opposition news outlet, the Islamic Syrian National Movement and several Arab tribes from the area around Tell Abyad agreed to organize the protest during a recent meeting in Turkey.

“We agreed on holding protests in the Turkish part of the city of Tell Abyad … to demand the entrance of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Turkish military to Tell Abyad in order to liberate it from the Syrian Democratic Forces,” Ibrahim Habash, a spokesman for the Syrian National Movement, told Baladi News.

While the organizers of the protest claim that their main goal is allowing the refugees to return to their homes in Tell Abyad, local observers believe that the upcoming protest is nothing more than a propaganda stunt to justify an upcoming military operation against the SDF there.

In late September, Kurdish sources reported that the Turkish military deployed hundreds of armored vehicles, battle tanks and trucks on the border with Tell Abyad. Back then, Syrian actives warned that Turkey is planning to invade the northern city.

Later, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to clear the entire area east of the Euphrates River from what he called “terrorists.” Erdogan’s threat was clearly aimed against the SDF.

These developments indicate that Turkey is indeed planning to launch a military operation in Tell Abyad, similar to the one we saw in Afrin. However, it is unclear yet if the U.S. would allow such a move, especially that it could harm its relations with Syrian Kurds.

https://southfront.org/syrian-refugees-in-turkey-to-organize-protest-demanding-liberation-of-tell-abyad-from-sdf/

We're getting hammered!!!!

Can even click auto

Major Math Error Puts Widely-Cited Global Warming Study On Ice

An widely-circulated study which concluded that global warming is far worse than previously thought has been called into question by a math error, reports the Daily Caller's Michael Bastasch.

Princeton scientist Laure Resplandy and researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography concluded in October that the Earth's oceans have retained 60% more heat than previously thought over the last 25 years, suggesting global warming was much worse than previously believed.

The report was covered or referenced by MSM outlets worldwide, including the Washington Post, New York Times, BBC, Reuters and others.

The Washington Post, for example, reported: "The higher-than-expected amount of heat in the oceans means more heat is being retained within Earth’s climate system each year, rather than escaping into space. In essence, more heat in the oceans signals that global warming is more advanced than scientists thought."

The New York Times at least hedged their reporting, claiming that the estimates, "if proven accurate, could be another indication that the global warming of the past few decades has exceeded conservative estimates and has been more closely in line with scientists’ worst-case scenarios."

Unfortunately for the Princeton-Scripps team, it appears that their report has been proven inaccurate.

Independent scientist Nic Lewis found the study had “apparently serious (but surely inadvertent) errors in the underlying calculations.” Lewis’ findings were quickly corroborated by another researcher. -Daily Caller

"Just a few hours of analysis and calculations, based only on published information, was sufficient to uncover apparently serious (but surely inadvertent) errors in the underlying calculations," wrote Lewis in a blog post published on climate scientist Judith Curry's Climate Etc. website.

After correcting the math error, Lewis found that the paper's rate of oceanic warming "is about average compared with the other estimates they showed, and below the average for 1993–2016."

Lewis's conclusion was replicated and supported by University of Colorado professor, Roger Pike, Jr., who tweeted his work.

Lewis found the study’s authors, led by Princeton University scientist Laure Resplandy, erred in calculating the linear trend of estimated ocean warming between 1991 and 2016. Lewis has also criticized climate model predictions, which generally over-predict warming.

Resplandy and her colleagues estimated ocean heat by measuring the volume of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere. The results: the oceans took up 60 percent more heat than previously thought. The study only sent alarm bells ringing, especially in the wake of the United Nations’ latest climate assessment. -Daily Caller

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-07/major-math-error-puts-widely-cited-global-warming-study-ice

The new acting AG Whitaker penned this Op-Ed last year.

(CNN)(This article was originally published on August 6, 2017. On November 7, 2018, President Donald Trump announced that he was naming Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general.)

Last month, when President Donald Trump was asked by The New York Times if special counsel Robert Mueller would be crossing a line if he started investigating the finances of Trump and his family, the President said, "I think that's a violation. Look, this is about Russia."

The President is absolutely correct. Mueller has come up to a red line in the Russia 2016 election-meddling investigation that he is dangerously close to crossing.

According to a CNN article, Mueller's investigators could be looking into financial records relating to the Trump Organization that are unrelated to the 2016 election. According to these reports, "sources described an investigation that has widened to focus on possible financial crimes, some unconnected to the 2016 election." The piece goes on to cite law enforcement sources who say non-Russia-related leads that "involve Trump associates" are being referred to the special counsel "to encourage subjects of the investigation to cooperate."

This information is deeply concerning to me. It does not take a lawyer or even a former federal prosecutor like myself to conclude that investigating Donald Trump's finances or his family's finances falls completely outside of the realm of his 2016 campaign and allegations that the campaign coordinated with the Russian government or anyone else. That goes beyond the scope of the appointment of the special counsel.

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Subpoenas issued in Russia investigation 01:32

In fact, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's letter appointing special counsel Robert Mueller does not give Mueller broad, far-reaching powers in this investigation. He is only authorized to investigate matters that involved any potential links to and coordination between two entities – the Trump campaign and the Russian government. People are wrongly pointing to, and taking out of context, the phrase "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation" to characterize special counsel's authority as broad.

The word "investigation" is clearly defined directly preceding it in the same sentence specifically as coordination between individuals associated with the campaign of Donald Trump and Russia. The Trump Organization's business dealings are plainly not within the scope of the investigation, nor should they be.

Indeed, Sunday on Fox News, Rod Rosenstein acknowledged Mueller had limited authority and would need to seek his permission to expand the investigation.

Beyond the legal reading, the broad authority argument defies plain logic: If the special counsel could investigate anything he wants, why would there even need to be a letter spelling out the specific limits of the investigation?

http://12160.info/page/the-new-acting-ag

Rod Rosenstein is no longer overseeing the Mueller probe. New Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker is…

>>3790027

kek

Washington passes strictest firearms laws in the country….

A state gun-regulations ballot measure seeking to make Washington’s firearms laws among the strictest in the country passed Tuesday with 60 percent of the vote in election-night returns.

The measure led in large western counties and trailed in most eastern counties. Votes will continue be counted in the coming days.

“My generation has been defined by gun violence. We have been defined by continued and repeated inaction by our elected officials,” Stephen Paolini, 22-year-old campaign manager for Initiative 1639, said at a gathering at Seattle’s Edgewater Hotel where Tuesday’s results drew cheers. “I hope tonight this victory is a message to our elected officials: Enough is enough.”

The sweeping 30-page measure will raise the legal age to buy semi-automatic rifles to 21. To obtain such weapons, people will need to pass an enhanced background check, take a training course and wait 10 business days after a purchase.

I-1639 also will enact a storage law. Gun owners who don’t secure their firearms with devices such as a trigger lock or safe could be charged with gross misdemeanor or felony “community endangerment” crimes for allowing prohibited people (such as children) to access and display or use the weapons.

Proponents of the measure said I-1639 would address the root causes of many mass shootings and generally help to reduce gun violence.

https://govtslaves.info/2018/11/07/washington-passes-strictest-firearms-laws-in-the-country/

Texas state House Democrat celebrates his re-election victory behind bars

A Texas Democrat is celebrating his re-election victory from behind bars — the same place he’s been for the past two months.

State House Rep. Ron Reynolds, also known as inmate No. 232573 at the Montgomery County Jail, ran unopposed in District 27 and pulled in 47,305 votes in Tuesday’s election, according to the Houston Chronicle. Reynolds represents Fort Bend County, which is southwest of Houston.

The Democratic lawmaker, who was first elected in 2010, turned himself into the county jail Sept. 7.

What’s the story?

The 45-year-old Missouri City lawyer is serving a yearlong sentence after being found guilty on five counts of barratry, KXAN reported.

Reynolds was convicted for illegally soliciting clients by using a middleman to chase ambulances. He was convicted in 2015 but has spent the last three years appealing his conviction.

Why didn’t he resign after his convictions?

Reynolds’ five convictions were misdemeanors, which means he did not have to resign from office.

However, his law license was suspended in May 2016.

What else?

After Reynolds was booked into jail, his office released a statement, according to the Texas Tribune.

“Rep. Reynolds has full confidence that his experienced staff will be able to handle any immediate needs of his constituents, during his 4-6 month absence,” the statement said in part.

It’s unclear whether he will have to serve his full sentence, which would end Sept. 7, 2019.

The Texas Legislature will begin its 86th regular session Jan. 8.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/11/07/texas-state-house-democrat-celebrates-his-re-election-victory-behind-bars

Trump “Seriously” Considering Declassifying Key Russia Investigation Documents

Congressional members say the declassification would expose extensive evidence of abuse by the FBI and FISC

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is “seriously” considering declassifying a slew of documents requested by former Republican House leaders investigating the FBI’s handling of the Russia probe. Trump was pummeled with questions during a rancorous White House press briefing where he congratulated Republicans for winning Senate races and said he hoped to work with the new Democratic House leadership.

The president addressed questions regarding whether or not he would end Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, stating, “I could, I could fire everybody right now. Politically, I don’t like stopping it.”

“It’s a disgrace,” said Trump of the Special Counsel investigation. “It should have never been started because there is no crime.”

“They all have conflicts over there that are beyond anything anybody has ever seen in terms of conflicts,” he added.

Trump referenced former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired in May of 2017, after DOJ Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote a scathing letter listing Comey’s failures. That letter led to Trump firing Comey.

However, after Comey’s firing, Rosenstein (under pressure from Democrats) appointed Mueller to to the Special Counsel to investigate Trump. In October, concerning information about Rosenstein surfaced during a deposition of former FBI General Counsel James Baker. Baker had told lawmakers that he met with former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and former FBI attorney Lisa Page shortly after they had a meeting with Rosenstein in May, 2017. Baker said that McCabe, Page and Rosenstein had discussed the possibility of secretly recording President Trump. Baker, who was the top lawyer for the FBI and a close confidant of Comey, noted that he was not in the meeting with Rosenstein. Baker said that Rosenstein also discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment on the president in an effort to remove him from office for being unfit.

“Comey, who by the way, lied and leaked and also leaked classified information–nothing happened there it might, perhaps, maybe something is happening that I don’t know about,” Trump said Wednesday. “But you know what I do. I let it just go on. They’re wasting a lot of money, but I let it go on…I could end it right now and say that investigation is over but… it’s a disgrace frankly, an embarrassment to our country, it’s an embarrassment to the people of our country and it’s too bad.

The president warned that he was still “seriously” considering declassifying the documents that the Republican Congress has been demanding for the past year. Lawmakers have sighted a need for transparency in the bureau’s handling of the FBI investigation into the Trump campaign.

“We’re looking at that very seriously, declassification very seriously,” said Trump. “It’s amazing how people on the other side just don’t want those documents declassified…we’re looking at that very carefully. I certainly wanted to wait until after the midterm.”

https://saraacarter.com/trump-seriously-considering-declassifying-key-russia-investigation-documents/

Tijuana Sees 36 Murders in One Week, 2,124 in 2018

The cartel violence in Tijuana continues with at least 36 murders registered in the first week of November, bringing the unofficial total to 2,124 for 2018.

The cartel killings are related to the street level distribution of drugs, despite numerous measures taken by the federal government to intervene, according to local reporting and law enforcement sources.

On Monday, November 5, a male victim was gunned down while his female companion was critically wounded. An unknown male also sustained gunshot wounds in colonia Ermita, according to local reports.

On the morning of November 6, a male victim was found stabbed to death inside his residence in colonia Guaycura. At 6:17 am, in colonia Anexa Sánchez Taboada, municipal police located two male murder victims in the street who sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Police later reported that at approximately 3:40 pm, a suitcase was found containing dismembered human remains in colonia 20 de Noviembre. At approximately 8 pm, a male victim was found shot to death in colonia Mariano Matamoros Centro.

Breitbart News reported extensively on the cartel violence in Tijuana and recently noted when local Deputy Attorney General Jorge Alberto Álvarez Mendoza acknowledged that only two percent of murder cases end in convictions.

Breitbart News spoke with local law enforcement contacts who said that the main factor for cartel violence is the low risk of apprehension. Most experts grant that a very small number of criminals are responsible for the overwhelming majority of violent cases. Cartel killers are more likely to be stopped by rival factions than law enforcement.

In a recent development, the state attorney general’s office announced the arrest of a cartel hitman responsible for the murders of at least nine in Tijuana. Manuel Coria Rosas aka “El Coria” or “El Meño,” 56, allegedly murdered nine victims in three separate attacks. Rosas was named in three homicide arrest warrants–the first on December 3, 2017, where one male was gunned down in colonia Las Torres. The second occurred on May 12, 2018, in colonia Magisterial where five were gunned down. The third warrant was for a triple murder on August 30. Rosas was handed over to investigative personnel for the state attorney general’s office.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2018/11/07/tijuana-starts-november-2018-with-40-homicides/

New York Lawmakers Want Social Media History To Be Included In Gun Background Checks

Legislation arising from tragedies is almost uniformly bad. One need only look at the domestic surveillance growth industry kick started by the Patriot Act to see that fear-based legislation works out very badly for constituents.

A few New York lawmakers are reacting to the horrific Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a gun control bill that makes zero sense. Expanding on criminal background checks, these legislators are hoping to give law enforcement the opportunity to dig through gun buyers' online history.

Eric Adams, the president of Brooklyn Borough, and state Senator Kevin Palmer are currently writing the proposed legislation, which would give law enforcement authorities the power to check up to three years of an individual’s social media accounts and internet search history before they are allowed to buy a gun, WCBS Newsradio 880 reported. One of the main aims is to identify any hate speech shared by the users, as the politicians noted that such offensive comments are generally only discovered after mass shootings occur.

The facile explanation for this ridiculous piece of legislation is this: somehow the Pittsburgh shooter might have been prevented from buying a gun because he posted anti-Semitic content to a social media platform.

This premise will only make sense to those incapable of giving it more than a superficial examination. First off, gun ownership is Constitutionally-protected, whether these legislators like it or not. It doesn't make sense to abridge someone's rights over social media posts, even if the posts contain bigoted speech. That speech is also protected by the Constitution, so combining the two simply doubles the chance the law will be struck down as unconstitutional. Plenty of people engage in ignorant bigotry. Not all of them are would-be criminals.

This law would treat every gun buyer as a suspected criminal who may only take advantage of their guaranteed rights by engaging in government-approved speech. That's completely the wrong way around. This Brooklyn lawmaker doesn't seem to understand this inversion even when he directly, if inadvertently, addresses it.

“If the police department is reviewing a gang assault, a robbery, some type of shooting, they go and do a social media profile investigation,” the borough president pointed out.

Yes. But in these cases, a criminal act has occurred and an investigation is warranted. This legislative proposal treats gun buying as a crime and people's social media history as some weird form of evidence. That's fucked up, no matter how you might feel about the Second Amendment. Lots of shitposting and venting can look dangerous if viewed solely in the context of finding a reason to deny someone a gun.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/69140/new-york-lawmakers-want-social-media-history-to-be-included-in-gun-background.html

Motel 6 agrees to pay up to $7.6M to settle claims chain notified ICE about Hispanic patrons

Motel 6 has reportedly agreed to pay up to $7.6 million to settle a class-action lawsuit after the chain was accused of sharing Hispanic guests' personal information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Earlier this year, the chain was sued by former guests who alleged Motel 6 gave their private information to ICE, the Washington Post reported. The lawsuit came after a report by the Phoenix News Times stating at least 20 arrests were made by ICE agents at two Phoenix Motel 6’s between February and August. The motels were located in regions with a high Hispanic population.

As part of the agreement, the motel has agreed to pay up to $5.6 million to patrons who “were placed in immigration-removal proceedings” while paying up to $1 million to guests who were interrogated and up to an additional $1 million to patrons whose information was shared with authorities, court documents stated, according to the Washington Post. The motel will cover the former patrons’ legal fees.

Motel 6 told Fox News that, “as part of the agreement, Motel 6 has implemented additional controls to protect private information and enhance corporate oversight in cases where law enforcement requests information, including when lawful requests are made."

The court needs to approve the settlement.

"Plaintiffs and Motel 6 have filed a proposed settlement agreement that would resolve the lawsuit between the two parties if it is approved by the district court. In September 2017, when this issue emerged, the company launched an investigation and issued a clear directive to all locations nationwide, emphasizing that the practice is prohibited. Motel 6 fully recognizes the seriousness of the situation and accepts full responsibility for both compensating those who were harmed and taking the necessary steps to ensure that we protect the privacy of our guests,” Motel 6 and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund said in a joint statement to Fox News.

MALDEF represented the plaintiffs, who were eight people that were detained last year at two motels in the Phoenix area, in the lawsuit. MALDEF filed the lawsuit in January after it alleged the motel shared Latino guest’s private information including their passports to ICE agents with no warrants.

“It’s very important in our minds that Motel 6 is putting in place policies and procedures that would prevent this from happening again,” Thomas Saenz, MALDEF’s president, told the Washington Post.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/motel-6-agrees-to-pay-7-6m-to-settle-lawsuit-claiming-chain-notified-ice-about-latino-patrons