SPLC Implodes: President And Legal Director Resign Amid Sexual Misconduct Scandal

The Southern Poverty Law Center - the "vicious left-wing attack dog" used by the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Google and Amazon to identify "hate groups" - is unraveling.

A week after co-founder Morris Dees was ousted over sexual misconduct claims - with two dozen employees signing a letter of concern over "allegations of mistreatment, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and racism," the head of the SPLC, Richard Cohen, as well as the organization's legal director, Rhonda Brownstein, resigned on Friday.

Cohen had been with the organization 33 years and was one of its most prominent figures.

At 5:03 p.m. Friday, Cohen sent a message to staff, with the subject line “Stepping Down,” announcing that he, too, would be leaving the organization that he and Dees had turned into a research and fundraising juggernaut.

“Whatever problems exist at the SPLC happened on my watch, so I take responsibility for them,” Cohen wrote, while asking the staff to avoid jumping to conclusions before the board completes an internal review of the Montgomery, Ala., organization’s work culture. -LA Times

Earlier this week, the SPLC board of directors appointed Michelle Obama's former chief of staff, Tina Tchen - who, in an unrelated matter, unsuccessfully tried to pull strings and have the Jussie Smollett case transferred from the Chicago PD to the FBI. Tchen is heading up the inquiry into the sexual misconduct claims.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-23/splc-implodes-president-and-legal-director-resign-after-co-founder-ousted-over

Chris Matthews Suffers Epic Meltdown Over Mueller Report “How Can They Let Trump Off the Hook?!” (VIDEO)

Mueller’s attempted coup of President Trump ended on Friday when he gave his final report to the Justice Department and AG Bill Barr with no new indictments.

The Democrats and their stenographers in the media spent over 2 years spreading Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy theories so they all suffered epic meltdowns Friday night after Mueller’s investigation ended in a whimper.

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews came unhinged Friday night and the spittle from his mouth was flying as he digested the news that Mueller would not be indicting Trump or any of his family or friends on conspiracy charges.

Matthews was livid and none of the guests who appeared on Hardball were able to console him.

“HOW CAN THEY LET TRUMP OFF THE HOOK?!” Matthews screamed at one point.

“The investigation is over and according to a senior DOJ official there will be no further indictments. That means no charges against the President, his children or associates after all those meetings with the Russians. Not only that but the Special Counsel completely his report and signed off on it without ever directly interviewing the President of the United States about collusion or obstruction of justice,” Matthew said.

NBC’s Ken Dilanian, a huge Trump-Russia conspiracy theorist even pushed back against Matthews and said that the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya was “a bust.”

Matthews repeated over and over again that Trump never answered any of Mueller’s questions in person.

“Why was there never an interrogation of this president? We were told for weeks by experts – you cannot deal with an obstruction of justice charge or an investigation without getting the motive, you can’t get the motive without hearing from the person himself who’s been the target of the investigation,” Matthews said. “How could they let Trump off the hook?”

“So far tonight we have no reason to believe Trump is gonna be charged…he will not be charged with obstruction or collusion without ever having to sit down with the Special Counsel Mueller and answer his damn questions! HOW CAN THAT HAPPEN?!” Matthews screamed.

It looks like those “experts” were wrong, Chris — go have a good cry with Rachel Maddow, you’ll feel better.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/03/chris-matthews-suffers-epic-meltdown-over-mueller-report-how-can-they-let-trump-off-the-hook-video/

Adam Schiff Rejects Mueller Report, Says Special Counsel Should Testify

Rep. Adam Schiff, the Chairman of House Intelligence Committee, rejected reports that no more Mueller indictments are coming, and suggested he would call the special counsel before a House panel if necessary to learn what is in the report.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-23/adam-schiff-rejects-mueller-report-says-special-counsel-should-testify

‘Total elimination’ of ISIS in Syria? US-backed forces confirm, Damascus calls it a bluff

The Kurdish-led and US-back Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said that they crushed the last remaining pocket of jihadist resistance in Syria. Damascus earlier dismissed the celebratory news as a “bluff.”

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) suffered “total elimination” and “a 100 percent territorial defeat,” SDF spokesperson Mustafa Bali announced on Saturday. The news came after Kurdish forces reported heavy fighting near Baghouz in northeastern Deir ez-Zor Province, along the Iraqi border.

Baghouz was regarded as the last remaining pocket of Islamic State resistance in Syria. The SDF, assisted by US airstrikes, spent the past few months closing in on the militants as its troops were clearing IS holdouts along the Euphrates Valley.

As reports of Baghouz being on the verge of complete liberation were coming in, US President Donald Trump rushed to boast of the US-led Coalition’s victories. Earlier this week, he showed reporters a map showcasing how IS-controlled territory has dramatically shrunk over the years, and said that the militants “are losers and barely breathing.”

On Wednesday, Trump even promised that IS will be “gone by tonight,” despite the SDF still reporting that it was waging battles that day.

Syria’s envoy to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, dismissed Trump’s jubilant language as a “bluff” and “untrustworthy.”

“ISIS is not over yet in Syria,” he said, adding that militants are still hiding in the Rukban refugee camp, located within the US-controlled area.

Russia and Syria have tried to get the camp closed down and have the refuges evacuated. Attempts to do so were prevented by the US military, Moscow said. The UN, meanwhile, has sounded the alarm on the horrible “stone age” conditions that refugees face in Rukban.

https://www.rt.com/news/454555-sdf-declare-victory-syria/

Macron lectures UK on democracy while France burns every Saturday

French president Emmanuel Macron, who rebuked British MPs for failing to respect the will of the people after they repeatedly refused to accept Theresa May's Brexit deal, has been criticised for ignoring his own people.

Former UK parliamentarian George Galloway said that Macron's lecture came from a leader whose country was "on fire every Saturday”.

Macron, one of the European Union's harshest critics of Britain’s indecisiveness over Brexit, told a meeting of the European Council on Thursday that the result of the British referendum must be respected.

“We need to hear our people, we need to address their fears. We can’t play with fears, or simply tear up pages without offering anything else," he said.

But former Labour MP Galloway said that Macron’s own record of listening to the people was far from flawless.

There have been on-going anti-austerity protests in France since last November and the French authorities have been criticised for their heavy-handed approach against the demonstrators.

And earlier this week, the French Interior Ministry announced plans to ban rallies in some parts of Paris following rioting last weekend.

Macron has also announced plans to deploy French soldiers in the streets this Saturday to secure government buildings and symbolic sites. Critics said this move was reminiscent of last time the army patrolled the streets in France, in the late 1940s.

“As I recall, [Louis XVI] Bourbon, the king of France, banned demonstrations back in 1789. We know what happened next. The French people are not to be excluded from their own streets,” Galloway told RT.

By the way, he was lecturing [Britain] about democracy, while his whole country is on fire every Saturday afternoon.

https://www.rt.com/news/454546-macron-lectures-uk-democracy/

State Senate Committee Unanimously Passes Bill to End Common Core

The legislation would terminate Common Core standards and replace them with the courses of study for math and English language arts previously in place.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (TAC) – This week, an Alabama Senate Committee unanimously passed a bill that would end Common Core in the state.

Sen. Del Marsh (R-Anniston) introduced Senate Bill 119 (SB119) on March 19. The legislation would terminate Common Core standards in Alabama and replace them with the courses of study for math and English language arts that were in place immediately prior to Common Core, pending the adoption of new standards by the State Board of Education.

The bill would also bar the board from adopting or implementing any other national standards from any source or requiring the use of any assessments aligned with them.

On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Education Policy passed SB119 by a 10-0 vote.

BACKGROUND

Common Core was intended to create nationwide education standards. While touted as a state initiative through the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), the U.S. Department of Education was heavily involved behind the scenes.

Initially, the DoE tied the grant of waivers from the No Child Left Behind Act to the adoption of Common Core, using the standards as powerful strings to influence state educational policy.

The Every Student Succeeds Act passed by Congress in 2015 prohibited the DoE from attempting to “influence, incentivize, or coerce State adoption of the Common Core State Standards … or any other academic standards common to a significant number of States.”

ESSA gives more latitude to states and local school districts in determining standards, but the feds still maintain significant control over state education systems.

States are required to submit their goals and standards, along with a detailed plan outlining how they plan to achieve them to the DoE for feedback and then approval.

Even with the federal strings cut from Common Core, for the time being, it is still imperative for each state to adopt its own standards independent based on their own criteria. The feds can once again use these national standards to meddle in state education at any time if they remain in place. Just as importantly, one-size-fits-all standards simply don’t benefit children. State and local governments should remain in full control of their own educational systems.

Giving parent the option to opt out of Common Core could undercut the program and force it to end if enough parents took advantage of the option. We’ve seen a wide-spread Common Core opt-out movement evolve in several states, particularly New York with thousands of parents opting their kids out of associated standardized testing.

Rejecting nationalized education standards is the first step toward bringing true academic choice, and freedom. Passage of this legislation into law would take a positive step forward for the people of Alabama and a path for other states to follow.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/common-core-repeal-education/

Merkel’s party blames USA for nationwide protests against internet censorship proposed in Article 13

Even though the German CDU and SPD both agreed in their coalition agreement that there would be no upload filters this promise is now to be broken, but instead of admitting mistakes and owning the demonstrations they are now blaming the USA.

The official CDU/CSU-account tweets: “When American corporations with massive use of disinformation and paid protesters attempt to block bills our democracy is under threat.”

According to some sources 10.000s up to over 100.000 people took to the streets today to march against the CDU’s proposed upload filters and further censorship of the internet.

Massive demonstrations with thousands of participants can be seen across almost all major German cities including Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.

Nonetheless EU politician Daniel Caspary of the CDU/CSU believes this grassroots movement, which has continuously been defamed by them as bots is to have been paid up to 450 euros per person by American NGOs.

Axel Voss the CDU/CSU man pushing for Article13 in the European Parliament also blames U.S. companies like Google, YouTube and Facebook for spreading false information to further their goals.

Demonstrations in Switzerland and Austria, which took place simultaneously have not been attacked yet in the same way.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2019/03/merkels-party-blames-usa-for-nationwide-protests-against-internet-censorship-proposed-in-article-13/

French Yellow Vest leader: “We will continue fighting whatever measures the government takes”

Protests in France will continue no matter what security measures the French government intends to take, Christophe Chalencon, who calls himself the Yellow Vest movement’s spokesman, told Sputnik News.

The comment comes after French media reported that President Emmanuel Macron was mulling banning all rallies on the Champs-Élysées after a group of aggressive activists smashed boutiques on the main Parisian avenue last Saturday.

The 18th week of rallies was also marked by clashes with the police, with the protesters acting aggressively and provocatively.

“The problem is that even if they prohibit protests at the Champs-Élysées, it won’t stop the manifestations, the manifestations will move elsewhere and the episodes of destruction will continue.”

“They can implement all the security measures they want, but people are determined. People who didn’t see the changes that could improve their living conditions, will continue fighting. And the more weeks pass, the more determined they are to stand till the end”, Chalencon said.

Chalencon stressed that the Yellow Vests were “not vandals,” and these were actually some “black sheep” that come to protests only to crash everything.

According to Chalencon, the “clear” rise in violence is yet understandable since the government failed to come up with a political solution to the socioeconomic problems that triggered the protests.

Chalencon suggested that Macron, who, he says, tightened security around the Élysée Palace and then went for a skiing trip at the weekend, was thereby seeking to escape pressure.

“There were 10 CRS (Republican security companies), 1,000 policemen who circled the Élysée Palace, fearing intervention. This means that the government is afraid. If they don’t come up with political solution, this government is dead, it’s certain”, he claimed.

The Yellow Vest leader opined that Macron was making a grave mistake by ignoring the protesters, instead of sitting down at the negotiating table with them.

“The problem of Macron is that he doesn’t even question his politics… He needs to meet the yellow vests, sit down with them, listen to what they have to say and come up with a solution together.”

“And he avoids it as if it didn’t exist. And why he doesn’t want it is because he knows that he will not be a winner in this situation, that he will have to change his politics, otherwise people will continue protesting”, he said.

“In the situation of high abstention that we have, one needs to succeed in presenting a different political program with the three pillars: ecology, social sphere and democracy. We need to inherit the 5th republic legacy, but come up with another political spectrum”, he concluded.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2019/03/french-yellow-vest-leader-we-will-continue-fighting-whatever-measures-the-government-takes/

Democrats Won’t Say If They’ll Return Donations From Accused Sexual Harasser

Jess Ravich, a senior employee at major investment firm TCW Group, resigned from his position on TCW’s board after his “unprofessional communications” with a subordinate were uncovered.

Ravich has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats, including $10,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and $50,000 to the Democratic National Committee.

Democrats who received money from Ravich did not respond when asked if they would consider returning the money or donating it to women’s groups.

Democrats declined to say Thursday if they would return contributions from a wealthy donor who recently resigned from the board of an asset management firm amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Jess Ravich, a former board member of Los Angeles-based TCW Group, has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic campaigns and committees over the years.

A January 2018 lawsuit against Ravich and TCW alleges that Ravich repeatedly coerced his employee, Sara Tirschwell, into sex in exchange for support of her investment fund. Tirschwell says that when she complained about the behavior, TCW fired her in retaliation.

“[Ravich] repeatedly coerced [Tirschwell] into sex, implicitly threatening that if she rejected his advances, TCW would deprive her of resources and investor access that were essential to her successfully building out the Distressed Fund,” the suit claims.

Ravich resigned from his position on TCW’s board in October 2018 after the company learned of “unprofessional communications” he had with Tirschwell, but he remains a senior-level employee.

Since 1998, Ravich has contributed to the following Democratic campaigns and committees:

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR): $6300 (1998-2015)

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA): $1000 (2012)

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: $10,000 (2008)

Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE): $2000 (2006)

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: $25,000 (2000)

Democratic National Committee: $50,000 (2000)

The Daily Caller reached out to the offices for Sens. Wyden, Casey, and Carper, as well as the DSCC, DCCC, and DNC to inquire if they would return the donations from Ravich. None of them responded.

In October 2018, around the same time Ravich stepped down from the TCW board, Sen. Wyden spoke of the “enormous pain” inflicted on sexual assault and harassment survivors by the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

“I believe Dr. Ford when she says she was assaulted in that room in 1982,” Wyden said of the uncorroborated allegation of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. “I believe Dr. Ford when she says her attackers locked the door, a hand was pressed over her mouth, and she feared she might die. I believe her when she says she remembers them laughing.” (RELATED: Senate Judiciary Finds ‘No Evidence’ To Support Blasey Ford Allegation)

Sen. Casey similarly said, “I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.”

Democrats slammed Republicans in the aftermath of Kavanaugh’s confirmation, citing Ford’s allegation of sexual assault.

https://dailycaller.com/2019/03/22/democrats-jess-ravich-donations-tcw-harassment-suit/

British Government Rules Christianity Is Not a Religion of Peace, Rejects Convert

The Home Office has rejected the asylum application of a Christian convert from Iran who said they had been drawn to the faith by its peaceful nature, due to a Government official ruling that Christianity is not peaceful.

The applicant indicated that they had converted to Christianity from Islam because of its peaceful nature, stating that “In Islam there is violence, rage and revenge. In Christianity in the contrary it is talking about peace, forgiveness and kindness.”

This earned the ire of the Home Office bureaucrat or bureaucrats charged with assessing the application, the Times reports.

The official cobbled together six passages from the King James Version and New Internation Version of the Old and New Testaments — such as Matthew 10:34, in which Christ proclaims he “came not to send peace, but a sword” — in an effort to prove that the applicant’s view of Christianity was wrong, and that Christian scripture is in fact “filled with imagery of revenge, destruction, death and violence”.

“These examples are inconsistent with your claim that you converted to Christianity after discovering it is a ‘peaceful’ religion, as opposed to Islam which contains violence, rage and revenge,” the rejection letter to the applicant admonishes passive-aggressively; an implicit ruling that Christianity is not peaceful — certainly not relative to Islam — and indeed is so clearly not peaceful that the Home Office does not consider perceived peacefulness a credible reason for conversion.

“I am extremely concerned that a Government department could determine the future of another human being based on such a profound misunderstanding of the texts and practices of faith communities,” commented Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham for the Church of England.

“To use extracts from the Book of Revelation to argue that Christianity is a violent religion is like arguing that a Government report on the impact of Climate Change is advocating drought and flooding,” he added.

The United Kingdom is, at least nominally, a Christian country, with the Queen also serving as the Supreme Governor of the established Church of England, and charged with defending the Protestant faith by her Coronation Oath.

Meanwhile the Islamic Republic of Iran is, as the name would suggest, officially Islamic, with a religious cleric acting as Supreme Leader.

Conversion from the state religion of Islam to Christianity in Iran is officially deemed as “apostasy” — a criminal offence which is punishable by death.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/03/23/british-govt-rules-christianity-is-not-a-religion-of-peace-rejects-convert/

Farage Rallies Hundreds of Brexit Marchers Against EU Loyalists: ‘They Are the Minority, We Are the Majority’

Brexit campaign leader Nigel Farage has addressed hundreds of Leave supporters on the March for Brexit from Sunderland to London, reminding them that “we are the majority”.

The LBC host, Leave Means Leave vice chairman, former UKIP chief, and Brexit Party MEP addressed the marchers from the top of an open-topped double-decker bus outside the Horse and Groom pub in Linby, a village in Nottinghamshire, in the East Midlands.

“What a week it’s been. I was hoping to spend more time with you on the march this week but I’ve been in Brussels watching a British Prime Minister reducing our nation in the eyes of the world to the state of humiliation,” Farage told the assembled crowd, according to the George Osborne-led London Evening Standard.

“Worse than that, the gap that’s now opened up between the people and the politicians is such that, despite everything we were told in the referendum, everything we were told in general election manifestos, every promise that was made when 498 MPs voted for Article 50 which said we leave on March 29 with or without a deal, the Prime Minister signalled that we will not be leaving this Friday,” he continued.

“And that means this March to Leave could not be better timed.”

Farage’s speech in Linby comes on the same day as the so-called People’s Vote campaign to re-run the people’s vote to Leave the European Union in 2016 in the Remain-voting metropolitan capital city of London.

Organisers claim one million are in attendance, although their estimates for a previous rally appeared to be grossly inflated, with a Greater London Authority analysis putting attendance at around 250,000 people — far fewer than the claimed “over 700,000”.

The March for Brexit, by contrast, is a much leaner, more symbolic undertaking, seemingly modelled on the famous Jarrow Crusade in the 1930s, which saw around 200 working-class men “march for work” from the north-east England town to London.

Quizzed by the media on the relative headcounts of the People’s Vote and March for Brexit events, Farage quipped, “There are 17.4 million here, can’t you see them?”

“Whatever battles we face and have to fight, be confident because we are united. They are in the minority, we are in the majority,” he reminded supporters later.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/03/23/farage-rallies-hundreds-brexit-marchers-against-eu-loyalists-they-minority-we-majority/

>>5848343

“Bonesmen” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

With a Hard Brexit Looming, UK Invites 10,000 Foreign Troops Over for Military Exercises

LONDON — As the drama over Brexit continues to reach new heights, the U.K. government has raised eyebrows by announcing that it will host 10,000 foreign troops for a massive military exercise beginning the day after Brexit had been set to take place.

The announcement of the exercise has raised the specter of a post-Brexit “martial law” scenario, given that the Theresa May-led government has been examining the possibility of declaring martial law in the country in the event of a no-deal Brexit since at least this January.

According to a government press release, the NATO-affiliated military exercise known as “Joint Warrior” will take place from March 30 until April 11 and will see the U.K. host 10,000 soldiers as well as 35 warships, five submarines, and 59 aircraft and helicopters. Thirteen countries will participate, including the United States, France and Germany, and the exercise will occur in areas spaced throughout Scotland, Wales and England.

Though the exercise has occurred for several years, its timing the day immediately after Brexit has raised concerns that the Tory government may, in fact, enact its publicly acknowledged no-deal Brexit martial-law plan despite claims from Health Secretary Matt Hancock in January that, while such an option exists, it “isn’t the focus of our attention.” When the exercise was announced on March 14, Brexit was set to take place March 29 but, a two-week extension having been worked out with the EU, that date was recently changed to April 12, the day immediately after the exercise is set to end.

Following the extension, Politico reported that the EU had essentially taken control of the Brexit timetable and a “no-deal” Brexit still remains the most likely option come April 12, with some EU leaders giving a Brexit deal a 10 percent chance of passing in Parliament.

Anticipating post-Brexit upheaval

The U.K. government’s martial-law option for Brexit, according to a report published earlier this year by the Sunday Times, would allow government ministers to impose curfews and travel bans, confiscate private property and deploy the armed forces to any U.K. location of their choosing. The plan, according to the Times, was drafted as a means of combating “civil disobedience” that could occur following a “no-deal” Brexit.

Since it was first revealed in January, many members of Parliament have asked that the current government, and specifically Defense Minister Gavin Williamson, rule out the possibility of using martial law in the event of the U.K. leaving the EU in absence of a deal, but the May-led government has refused to rule out the possibility and it remains under consideration.

Given the existence and very real probability of the imposition of martial law following the event of a no-deal or “hard” Brexit, the timing of this massive military exercise is troubling, especially so given that the announcement was made well before the current extension, so that it would have begun on the day immediately following the March 29 date then set for Brexit. Even in light of the recent extension, the threat of post-Brexit unrest the very day that this massive foreign detail is set to wrap up its operations fails to assuage many of those concerns.

Whatever takes place on April 12, it seems clear that both the May-led government and the EU are eager to make the process as arduous as possible in order to keep other nations, like France andItaly, from listening to the sizable portion of their populations that also want out of the EU. Those that want to keep the EU together and powerful — including May, who voted Remain and has hintedthat she would do so again — wish to set an example that would chill any future efforts to exit the bloc.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/71759/with-a-hard-brexit-looming-uk-invites-10000-foreign-troops-over-for-military.html